The Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health Chapter 331 - illustration

I was looking at a familiar scene beyond my bedroom window.

The manor’s maze garden, and beyond it, the capital spread out far below.

“Huh?”

If there was one thing different from usual, it was that my point of view felt much lower.

Why are my hands so small?

“Young lady.”

I wasn’t the only strange thing—Rena looked younger too.

What is this… did I regress or something?

I couldn’t immediately understand my situation and just sat there blankly. While I did, Rena and the other maids dressed me and fixed my hair.

“You’re cute today as well.”

“So adorable.”

Is this a dream, or some kind of illusion?

I was staring at the maid’s youthful face, lost in thought, when—

“Arell!”

Suddenly, someone thrust a handsome face right in front of me.

“Dad?”

The purple eyes that met mine darkened in surprise, then gently curved into a soft expression.

“Ah, where did that radiant glow come from…….”

Someone muttered from behind.

A man whose simple smile alone could brighten the surroundings and make it feel like blessings had descended—Valer.

Whether or not everyone around him was getting wiped out by his smiling face, Valer himself just grinned foolishly and pulled me into his arms.

“Dad? You should call me Uncle.”

“?”

What is he talking about?

Even as I blinked blankly, Dad—no, Uncle?—kept muttering nonsense.

“No, wait. Should I just be Dad? Uncle doesn’t really mind either.”

Did this man eat something bad?

Technically, we were uncle and niece, but telling me to suddenly call him uncle?

Something felt wrong. But before I could figure out what, Mom—Mehen—grabbed Valer by the back of the neck.

“What kind of ridiculous nonsense are you saying? You’ll mess up the family registry, my lord.”

“So what? It’s my choice.”

“Your choice?”

Mehen’s expression visibly soured.

Valer, completely unfazed, continued cheerfully.

“Honestly, I never thought about having a daughter, but if it’s Arellin, I think I’d be fine with it. What do you think, Arell? Want to be my daughter?”

“What are you saying to the child right now—!”

Of course, I couldn’t interrupt this conversation.

What are they even talking about?

I am Dad’s daughter.

I was just staring back and forth between the two of them when—

“That’s enough, Valer.”

A gentle, warm voice instantly calmed the chaotic air—and captured my ears.

“……!”

It was a voice I’d never heard before, yet I knew immediately who it belonged to.

…Shione’s mom?

My gaze naturally followed the voice. Standing in the open doorway was Shione, smiling warmly at me.

How…

How is she alive?

Someone I’d longed to see, someone I could only glimpse through fragments of memory or portraits—standing here, right now. It felt unreal.

Am I dreaming?

“Head of the family.”

“Grand Duke, welcome.”

And the way others greeted Shione so naturally.

Ah.

Only then did I understand.

What this world was. What this situation was.

I’d imagined it once.

What if Shione hadn’t died? What if everything had gone normally? What kind of world would that be?

This was that world.

A world where Shione successfully drove out Morden, became the head of the family, didn’t die—and where Valer never faced any trials. That must be why Dad’s eyes were so clear, even while spouting nonsense.

“Sis, isn’t Arellin cute? Can’t I make her my daughter? We even kind of look alike.”

“Do you think that’s possible?”

“Aw.”

Shione smiled deeply at Valer’s nonsense. Sensing danger, Mehen—who worried endlessly about what kind of trouble her hopeless lord might cause if left unchecked—quickly grabbed Valer again.

“Head of the family, I’ll take full responsibility for keeping an eye on this hopeless man.”

“You always work so hard, Mehen.”

“If you truly appreciate my efforts, then please allow me to retire—”

“That’s not happening.”

“…….”

Mehen broke out in a cold sweat at Shione’s smiling eyes, then dragged Valer away.

“…….”

And suddenly, it was just the two of us.

Without realizing it, I had clung tightly to Rena.

Shione tilted her head slightly, looking puzzled. Even that movement was elegant—it was easy to see why everyone who met her became unable to forget her.

“Come here.”

Her gentle smile and warm voice carried a soft magic that made refusal impossible.

I hesitated, then toddled over and hugged her. A quiet laugh followed.

“My daughter’s acting shy around her mother today. Is it because it’s been a while?”

The woman my godfather loved obsessively, the woman Dad chased her shadow for his entire life—and my biological mother.

The Shione before me felt different from the faint dreamlike image I’d once seen, and different from the fragments in my memory.

Strangely, my expectation of discomfort was completely wrong. Even the thought that she might not feel like my mother disappeared.

Naturally, effortlessly, I accepted that this woman was my mother. How could someone who looked at me with such love not be my mother?

“Head of the family, today’s schedule—”

“Mm.”

At the aide’s words, Shione’s face showed hesitation. I was still wrapped in her arms, thinking even moments like this made her beautiful.

“Cancel everything today.”

“Pardon?”

Shione smiled down at me.

“I think today, I should spend the entire day with my daughter.”

“???”

Leaving the bewildered aide behind, Shione took me out of the room.

“Shall we eat first?”

After that, it was truly a warm, peaceful time.

We ate together, Mom helped me study, solved difficult problems effortlessly, and showered me with endless praise……

Aside from a small incident where Dad tried to butt in and was dragged away by a joint effort from Shione and Mehen, it was a day with astonishingly no trouble at all.

When was the last time I thought, I don’t want time to pass?

I wish every day were like today.

If only this weren’t a dream.

“Mom.”

“Hehe. Our daughter is especially clingy today.”

Was it because I knew this was a fleeting dream that would vanish once I woke up?

This moment felt like part of a real timeline—and yet also like an illusion that could disappear at any second.

As the sun set and bedtime came, I insisted on sleeping together, dragging Shione down beside me, then burrowed into her arms.

Shione smiled faintly as she looked at me clutching her clothes.

“Is there something you want to say to Mom?”

Something to say?

I had so many questions.

Who my real father was.
What exactly was happening to me now.

But in this moment, there was only one thing I wanted to ask.

“…Can we stay together from now on?”

The eyes holding me sank into quiet stillness.

“Mom was always with you.”

I didn’t have time to ask what that meant.

“I’m proud of you.”

A voice full of tender sorrow, gentle beyond measure.

“Our daughter is doing well.”

As a sweet, heavy scent of lilies wrapped around me, a low voice echoed by my ear.

“It must have been very hard. Thank you for staying alive until now, my daughter.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

That was how I opened my eyes.

“Ah.”

The dream had ended.

Even now, it felt like the sharp yet rich scent of lilies lingered at the tip of my nose—but when I opened my eyes, I was alone.

Suddenly, as if my tear ducts had broken, tears spilled down and soaked my cheeks.

Before I could think about why I had such a dream, what Shione’s words meant, or why I was crying—

My attention was stolen by the text filling my vision.

[Hidden user information has been updated]

After forcibly displaying my info window, which had been quiet for so long, my status window reappeared.

[※!WARNING! Access denied]
[※!WARNING! Access denied]
[※!WARNING! Access denied]
[…]

As red text flooded my vision, something else was displayed.

[Do you have the makings of a「Protagonist」?]

You have become part of a newly beginning story. Become the protagonist of this story!

Success: Survival / Failure: Death

Current share rate: 4■.■%