The Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health Chapter 284

“Deal?”

The eyes of Ludwig, the Regent Duke, changed instantly.

True to a man who once ruled the Southern Empire, the regent duke seemed to understand exactly what I was getting at.

“What do you want? Money? Artifacts? I’m rich, you know.”

“Hm.”

Tch, that didn’t work.

Settling things with objects would’ve been best, but considering the regent duke had contributed about thirty percent to my wealth, maybe that was why his reaction was so lukewarm.

“A deal, huh. So you’ll do anything I ask?”

It seemed like the regent duke had something specific in mind.

And of course, I already knew what it was. Mehen probably knew too. Dad definitely knew. Our maids and butlers knew. The sky knew. The earth knew.

“Not anything. And unfortunately, you can’t be my dad. Please be satisfied with the godfather position.”

“……”

Was that too sharp?

The regent duke’s face crumpled like he’d just been punched.

‘You’ve got karma piled up with my biological mom—don’t try to quietly smooth things over now.’

I almost rejected the deal out of spite, but then I remembered I was at a disadvantage and quickly put on a business smile.

“So, what do you want?”

“Then there’s only one thing.”

“?”

What could he possibly ask for?

If it wasn’t about becoming my dad, I couldn’t even guess what he wanted, so I tensed up.

“I want ten uses of the right to be called ‘Dad’ whenever I want. How about that?”

…You wanted to hear ‘Dad’ that badly?

When I stared at him with dead eyes, the regent duke cleared his throat awkwardly. He seemed to realize how pathetic he looked.

‘What should I do.’

I thought about it.

If calling him ‘Dad’ a few times could smooth this over, it was probably worth it.

Compared to getting caught and nagged by Mehen, and Dad possibly going wild on Pession—who he already disliked…

“Ten is too many. One time.”

“Seven times.”

“Two.”

“Five.”

“Three.”

“Four.”

“Fine. Four.”

A deal both sides were satisfied with was struck, and today’s incident successfully became a secret between the two of us.

“I’ll trust you, Dad.”

“…!”

The regent duke’s eyes widened at the word Dad, and he nodded quickly.

I’d only called him that once, but seeing him clutch his chest, he really did seem happy.

“…I swear on my soul that today’s events will remain a secret.”

“Y-Your soul too?”

I hesitated at his solemn declaration. Wasn’t that a bit much? If it was just a figure of speech meaning he’d really keep the secret… I guess I could accept it.

Watching how fired up he was, I couldn’t help shrugging smugly.

“It’s very late. Go back to your room and sleep.”

“Yes. You should sleep too, Godfather.”

“Alright. Sleep well.”

After he even saw me off to make sure I got back safely, the tension finally drained away. Maybe because of that, a sudden wave of sleepiness hit me.

“Why am I suddenly so sleepy?”

I hadn’t been tired at all just a moment ago. I yawned, lay down on the bed—and fell asleep instantly.

And then, the next morning, I didn’t wake up.

 

 

****

 

 

After the Grand Duke of Halbern regained consciousness, everyone in the Halbern estate—including Mehen—finally relaxed.

“His Grace the Grand Duke is recovering smoothly.”

“That’s truly wonderful news, Gregory.”

Mehen, who had been drowning in work, prepared a gift for Valer.

The gift was none other than a pile of documents Valer could look at once he recovered even a little!

“I’m sure Valer will be delighted.”

Watching Mehen deliberately create a mountain of paperwork that he could’ve handled himself, Dylan felt an inexplicable sense of dread.

“……”

It felt like staring into the abyss.

Even when he’d worked as an unofficial broker in El Sionel, Mehen hadn’t been like this.

It seemed fifteen years of pent-up resentment had evolved in a very unhealthy way.

‘If you add everything from before that…’

Thinking of the karma the Grand Duke had piled up, even Dylan nodded.

‘Well! It’s not like I’m the one who has to look at it!’ he thought, choosing to ignore Mehen’s actions.

Just then—

“Mehen, may I come in?”

Yuni, who had shut down her successful business to return as a maid of Halbern, entered the office with a strange expression.

“Yuni, what is it?”

“Mehen, the young lady won’t wake up.”

She had gone to wake Arellin for breakfast, only to find her still asleep, and ended up coming all the way here.

Mehen asked calmly,

“Didn’t she go to bed late last night?”

“That’s true, but she’s usually awake by this time.”

Maybe because she’d gotten so much healthier?

Lately, Arellin stayed up late and slept later, instead of falling asleep like a sick chick as soon as it hit nine.

“She said she was going to sleep after talking with His Highness the Crown Prince, so I didn’t check again…”

Normally, Arellin woke up easily when called. But today, she hadn’t moved at all.

Mehen didn’t think it was serious.

“She probably just wants to sleep in today. Let her rest.”

“Um… are you sure?”

“If there were a problem, that’d be one thing, but hasn’t she been fine lately?”

“Well… yes, but…”

Worry really had become a habit.

Even now, at the slightest sign of trouble, they worried she might vanish if they blinked or break if they held her too tightly.

“It’ll be fine. Nothing’s wrong.”

Yeah. Surely.

Yuni laughed lightly and left.

But that same Yuni burst back into Mehen’s office later that evening, practically screaming as she threw the door open.

“The young lady still hasn’t woken up!!”

 

 

 

****

 

 

Healer Mariel considered herself quite capable. She had treated many patients over the years, after all.

When mages entered the Mage Tower, they usually chose a field to specialize in based on their mana aptitude. Among those fields, the title of “Healer” was only granted after passing difficult exams, and only to mages with exceptional talent in vitality and recovery magic.

Within the Mage Tower, healers made up the second-largest group after magitech engineers, and Mariel was one of the most outstanding among them.

It was only natural—she was the dedicated healer for the imperial family and the Five Great Ducal Houses.

“Uh, so…….”

But that was only true among mages who hadn’t reached the rank of star mage.

For the first time in a long while, Mariel broke out in a cold sweat.

Everyone in the Halbern estate was staring at her.

“It looks like mana exhaustion, but…….”

“But?”

“Or maybe mana poisoning…….”

“?”

“Or is it mana burnout?”

“??”

After listing every magical illness she could think of, Mariel finally gave up.

“…I honestly don’t know.”

In the end, Mariel raised both hands and feet in surrender. She could feel the cold stares boring into her. It was unfair.

‘The priest and the doctor both said they didn’t know either—why am I the only one getting blamed?!’

In fact, Mariel had known this would happen and had tried not to examine the patient in the first place.

‘You were the ones who begged me to at least take a look!’

Was it just her imagination, or did Duke Mehen’s gaze feel especially icy today?

Still, Mariel was truly wronged.

“All living beings have at least a small amount of mana, which naturally forms a biological defense barrier. That’s why healing magic works on ordinary people. But mages, once they awaken mana, gain a higher-level mana barrier on top of that, right?”

That was why mages were sturdier than normal people, and why the same healing spell worked better on them.

“But star mages who receive divine power have another layer—the blessing of the stars. Of course I wouldn’t know how to deal with that!”

You mana-ignorant people! I’m not incompetent!

No matter how much Mariel had mastered healing magic, this was a gap she simply couldn’t overcome.

That was why, to treat a star mage, you needed another star mage at minimum.

To ordinary people who didn’t know this common knowledge, Mariel still looked useless—but she was genuinely frustrated.

“Do you understand? I’m not incompetent! If you want to heal the young lady, you need a star mage!”

But why would a star mage leave the Sky Tower to come all the way down here?

Mariel thought that even if she were a star mage, she’d lock herself away in the Sky Tower rather than treat nobles.

“…….”

The room fell silent in an instant.

Everyone looked serious—but the most serious one was Mariel.

‘Should I say something else?’

But since she couldn’t check the patient’s condition with mana, she had to rely only on outward symptoms, which made things even harder.

“Then… is it mana exhaustion after all?”

She mentioned the most common condition among mages—severe fatigue and long sleep after temporarily using too much mana.

“That’s not mana exhaustion.”

A gentle yet firm voice cut in, instantly drawing everyone’s attention.

A man wearing a long robe stepped into the room. Just seeing the symbol embroidered on the robe sent chills down Mariel’s spine, leaving her unable to react at all.

“Was I too late?”

The man pulled back his hood, revealing his face. Mariel barely managed to suppress a scream.

No—why is the Archmage standing there?!