The Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health Chapter 287

Of course, the party held at Halbern drew the attention of all of Albert.

“‘Halbern’ party held for the first time in 23 years”

“Halbern estate opened to outsiders for the first time in 23 years”

There were many reasons, but the first thing people noticed was that ever since Valer became the Grand Duke of Halbern, not a single party had been held.

“Is this to show that the Grand Duke of Halbern is still going strong?”

“Beauty that doesn’t change even as time passes”

Next, the Grand Duke of Halbern—an absolute blue-chip for newspapers that guaranteed sales no matter when—captured people’s hearts.

“At last, the Crown Prince’s first love (the real one) appears!”

Most decisively, the appearance of the long-time gossip of Albert high society, the “Crown Prince’s first love (the real one),” sent people into a frenzy.

“Is she really that pretty?”

“What’s different about her compared to all the fakes before?”

“They say honey is dripping straight out of His Highness the Crown Prince’s eyes.”

Even when she was believed to be dead, her presence had been overwhelming—so just what kind of presence would the young lady of Halbern show now that she had returned alive?

“Does this mean Albert is finally getting a Crown Princess!”

The fruit of a fresh love nurtured since childhood. The appearance of the person who had received the Crown Prince’s unwavering love from childhood until now made all of Albert buzz with excitement.

Meanwhile, the person herself had only been informed five hours before the party and was completely frantic trying to prepare.

“Aaaah! Please, someone save me!”

 

 

****

 

 

“How are the party preparations going?”

“The food and decorations are all finished. We hired a professional company, so there shouldn’t be any shortcomings.”

“Hmm.”

“All the outfits we ordered in advance have arrived as well, and people from the dress shop are helping with styling.”

Mehen nodded in satisfaction.

Party preparation was usually the responsibility of the lady of the house, so a party at the Halbern estate—with no Grand Duchess—was bound to fall behind compared to other families with experienced hostesses.

Unable to accept that, Mehen made use of his own strengths.

‘You just hire people.’

This was already an era when companies that helped wealthy commoners prepare parties—people who admired noble gatherings—were popping up everywhere.

Mehen boldly brought them in.

And above all, the purpose of preparing this party.

“What about the reporters?”

“They’re ready.”

Only then did Mehen smile.

“Perfect.”

The guest list was perfect as well.

Empress Ageni, Crown Prince Feshion and other members of the imperial family, people from the other five great ducal houses, major retainers, and key figures who formed the core of Albert.

Just gathering them in one place was enough to become a headline. And there was no worry that they wouldn’t come.

Why? Because this was Halbern.

‘There’s even an archmage here, just in case.’

Could they really afford not to come? Anyone who didn’t show up today would surely regret it deeply.

“Hehehe.”

Freed from piles of documents for the first time in a while, Mehen laughed cheerfully, enjoying the refreshing mood. The aides following behind him looked at him with sparkling eyes and whispered quietly.

“As expected… it’s Lord Mehen.”

Regent Duke Ludwig had questioned how Mehen could protect Halbern when he wasn’t even the real Duchess of Halbern, but…

In truth, everyone belonging to Halbern knew very well that even if the official head of the family was Grand Duke Valer, the real power lay with Mehen.

‘If it weren’t for Lord Mehen, Halbern would have ended back when the Grand Duke disappeared.’

Even if it hadn’t completely fallen, its massive size would clearly have shrunk drastically.

After all, Mehen had wielded full authority as a proxy, including internal governance, for a total of 23 years.

Even when Mehen stepped down from his position as proxy and worked as a shadow broker in El Sionel, Halbern continued to run smoothly just from the times he briefly returned to manage things.

Well, put another way, you could say that the Grand Duke of Halbern’s talent management—handing over full authority to and supporting such a capable person—was even more impressive.

That remarkable Grand Duke of Halbern was currently pouting and whining because he didn’t want to wear his party outfit.

“Mehen, do I really have to wear this?”

Mehen, who had stopped by briefly because there was an issue, answered firmly.

“It’s a masterpiece from the Glitta Atelier, designed with you as its muse. Please put it on quietly.”

“It’s not my style…”

“May I take a vacation?”

“Looking again, it is my style.”

Mehen’s threat—that if he didn’t wear it, she’d dump him into document hell and go on vacation—worked.

Valer smiled brightly, took the clothes, and went behind the partition.

‘With that face, he’d shine even if he wore rags.’

All the more reason to dress him in something flashy to make him stand out even more.

Mehen put everything into this party, with the firm determination to plaster Halbern across every page of the newspapers.

‘If you want to wipe out all the nasty rumors surrounding Halbern, this kind of display works best.’

It might seem cliché, but surprisingly, it was very effective.

And she could get some personal revenge, too.

“So, Valer. Do you regret handing full authority over to me now?”

At Mehen’s sharp provocation, Valer—who was being dressed by the attendants—burst into laughter.

“Well, I might regret it… or maybe not…”

“Do you want to wear a dress instead of a tailcoat?”

“If you want to see it.”

Valer asked back smoothly, without even looking disgusted.

“So, do you want to see it?”

“…Forget it.”

She had tried to tease him, but it was hopeless.

‘Valer in a dress.’

She didn’t want to see that. But naturally imagining it was unavoidable.

‘Why… does it seem like it would suit him?’

Mehen shook her head with a grimace.

At that moment, Valer came out wearing a tailcoat embroidered lavishly with gold and silver thread. His looks, working hard as always, didn’t lose to such a flashy outfit.

“Mehen.”

“What.”

“Is that all you’re wearing?”

Valer tilted his head slightly.

“It’s too plain.”

“This is more than enough.”

“Not enough at all.”

Valer personally fastened a tie pin made of obsidian, engraved with Halbern’s crest in gold.

“Now you look presentable. If you dress too plainly, people will look down on you.”

‘Like I care whether people look down on me or not.’

It wasn’t plain at all. At what kind of party would Mehen dress plainly? But in Valer’s eyes, it must have seemed that way.

“Because you’re not just anyone.”

Reading Mehen’s expression, Valer spoke as he touched his cufflinks.

“You’re Halbern too.”

His glossy purple eyes shone more sharply than usual. The deep violet color sparkled like candied violets.

Mehen was about to deny it out of habit, but instead just let out a sigh.

“Just do your job as host properly today.”

Despite the sudden scolding, Valer smiled calmly.

“Have you ever seen me bad at anything?”

“Being a dad.”

At the instant reply, without even a second of hesitation, Valer burst out laughing.

 

 

 

****

 

 

The people attending the Halbern party all admired the scene of the ballroom, which showed luxury at its absolute peak.

‘Did they commission this from the Mage Tower?’

The high ceiling of the party hall sparkled like the night sky.

On top of that, there were tapestries bearing the Halbern crest, woven line by line with painstaking care by master craftsmen, and ceramic and glass tableware decorated only with the Halbern emblem. From the very start, it was enough to overwhelm anyone.

Emily, a young lady who had long admired Crown Prince Feshion, couldn’t close her mouth at the splendor she was seeing for the first time in her life.

“Gasp, that person is……”

Even though he had stepped down as regent long ago, the true power of the Southern Empire—still called the “Regent Duke”—Grand Duke Ludwig, was standing at one side of the ballroom with an unpleasant expression.

And beside him stood a handsome elf, no longer wearing a mage’s robe.

“Who is that person?”

“A mage.”

“A mage?”

“But not just any mage, apparently.”

Luka was there as well, but people who couldn’t sense mana failed to recognize him, even though a saint-rank mage was standing there like a newcomer to society.

“Haha……”

Luka wanted to run away.

If it weren’t for the kind Halbern maids who checked on him from time to time, he would have fled on his own and returned to the Mage Tower long ago.

Even with such a rare and important figure standing there, the focus of all the male guests’ attention was someone else.

None other than the real power of Halbern.

“-Lord Mehen!”

Just as Mehen was losing his composure under the unwanted attention of men (middle-aged ones).

“Gasp!”

At last, today’s main characters entered the party hall.