The Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health – Chapter 289

Author: Asternkm

It was before we departed for Gairen.

I had this thought.

‘Is the assassination attempt on Empress Ageni really over just like this?’

I had saved Princess Luri, the beast king’s granddaughter, but it still bothered me that we hadn’t rooted out the people behind it.

‘Empress Ageni must not die.’

If she did, our country would be finished.

To see how it would end, all one had to do was recall the IF Albert I had seen in the ruins.

‘Even ordinary artifacts aren’t reassuring enough.’

So I presented Eter to Her Majesty the Empress under the name of a “protective artifact.”

In the end, it felt like the best possible decision, but……

Uuung, uuung!

……It didn’t work on Eter at all.

You threw me aside to protect someone else and left, and then you come back this late?! Your love for me has cooled off!

There was no way to block it out. Eter kept buzzing nonstop, pouring its complaints straight into my head.

I didn’t know I’d be gone this long either. No—how was I supposed to know something like that would happen when I just went to look for Dad?!

But Eter didn’t listen to my excuses.

Uuuung—.

You know I can’t even communicate with anyone unless you’re my master! There’s nothing fun and no one I know in this imperial palace, and you just left me here alone! You completely forgot the promise you made to come back quickly, didn’t you?

The constant droning resonance of Eter’s chatter was driving me insane.

Uuung, uuuuuuung—

Do you have any idea how amazing my performance was? If you don’t give me proper compensation right now, I’ll torment my master all day long.

Eter was outright threatening me.

“Lady Arellin……”

And on top of that, Empress Ageni was cautiously starting to speak to me.

‘I’m going to lose my mind.’

Well, it couldn’t be helped. At times like this, you had to handle things properly.

I activated my secret technique: passing it off to Dad.

“I didn’t expect Your Majesty to come in person, but thank you so much for coming. You haven’t greeted my father yet, have you? You should greet him too!”

“No, I’m not particularly…….”

I could feel Empress Ageni’s flustered reaction, but there was no helping it.

I knew she wasn’t close with Dad, but I had to survive first.

“My daughter, why have you come back—”

Dad had been smiling warmly at my return, but the moment he saw Empress Ageni I had brought with me, his expression stiffened completely.

“…….”

An icy silence pressed down on the space between them.

‘They seem even worse than I’d heard.’

Did I make a mistake bringing her over?

I regretted it for a moment, but thankfully Mehen read the room and stepped in.

Mehen jabbed Dad in the side and greeted Empress Ageni with a smile.

“Your Majesty.”

“Ah, Lord Mehen.”

“You honored us with your visit. I should have gone to greet you first.”

“No, it’s fine. I was just looking around…….”

Even at this point, my problem child of a father was still just staring at Empress Ageni with a sulky expression.

Poke.

Following Mehen, I jabbed Dad in the side as well, then quickly slipped away to a quieter area in the back.

I needed to deal with this clingy thing right now. With my head this noisy, I couldn’t do anything at all!

“All right! I’ll listen to everything you say, so be quiet, you inanimate object!”

Calming Eter in a hurry was just an added bonus.

****

The atmosphere in the party hall was good.

With people from all walks of life invited, they naturally gathered together and formed a space for socializing.

Duke Idikels, Terence—who especially favored this kind of party—was extremely satisfied with this event, which had been held for the first time in a full 23 years.

“Simon, did you know? I’m someone who even attended the last Halbern party held 23 years ago.”

The Duke of Sperom frowned.

“What good does it do me to know that? And I think I attended that party too. I was very young, but still…….”

“Even back then, Halbern’s standing was impressive. No—doesn’t it feel like Halbern’s status now is much lower than it was then?”

“That’s because the owner changed.”

Valer, the new head of the family, had no interest in things like the family’s standing.

“Still, back then……”

Duke Idikels searched his memory. The current Grand Duke of Halbern was no ordinary man, but the pressure the previous Grand Duke of Halbern had carried was certainly on another level.

“But Terence, why are you even here? You haven’t even greeted Valer, have you?”

“Haha.”

“Don’t just laugh.”

“…Because I’m scared.”

Duke Idikels muttered in a shrinking voice. The Duke of Sperom looked at him with a pitiful gaze.

“But the Grand Duke of Halbern has an unusually low opinion of me! I feel like I’m walking on eggshells.”

Duke Idikels complained indignantly, but the Duke of Sperom snorted in response.

“Valer dislikes people in general.”

“That does seem to be the case.”

Still, the Duke of Sperom thought that the Grand Duke of Halbern’s dislike of people seemed milder than it used to be.

‘Is it because he raised a daughter?’

Back when rumors had spread that the daughter had died and the Grand Duke of Halbern had gone missing, he never would have imagined seeing such a harmonious Halbern family.

‘Harmonious?’

Thinking that it was a modifier that didn’t suit Halbern at all, the Duke of Sperom casually turned his head.

“Hm? Isn’t that Her Majesty the Empress?”

“Huh?”

At the Duke of Sperom’s words, Duke Idikels turned his head as well and rubbed his eyes.

“What am I looking at right now?”

“Her Majesty the Empress… talking with the Grand Duke of Halbern?”

“?”

Cold sweat ran down the backs of the Duke of Sperom and Duke Idikels.

Those two…… aren’t they supposed to be on terrible terms?

*****

It was a serious conversation.