The Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health – Chapter 339

Author: Asternkm

With Chloe and the delegation’s arrival, the atmosphere of Albret’s social circles heated up all at once.

From Shugra!
No less than!
A delegation arriving after more than 500 years!

On top of that, elves were a long-lived race and rarely seen outside Shugra, which only fueled everyone’s curiosity……

Thanks to that, a welcoming party was held at the Albret Imperial Palace for three straight days.

“It happens to be social season, so the list of nobles attending just never ends.”

“The maids look like they’re about to collapse from overwork.”

The Spherom twins chimed in one line each.

The scale of this welcome party was unusually large compared to normal. And there were political reasons behind it.

“Internationally, it’s to show that even though a civil war broke out in the Wuyo Alliance, Albret remains completely unaffected and standing strong.”

“Domestically, it’s to calm the unsettled public mood after the Gairen incident and the black market affair by making things loud and festive.”

“They say it was Empress Ageni’s order.”

“If Her Majesty weren’t around, who knows what would’ve happened to this country.”

The twins, Ciel and Noel, joked as they took up positions on either side of me.

The three of us had been attending the lively welcome party regularly—but for people who were “attending,” we were always stuck in a corner of the second floor.

“Arell, you’re not going down to the first floor?”

“It’s fun when there are lots of people.”

I watched Chloe, who looked like a princess down in the first-floor hall, from the balcony above and shook my head.

“I don’t want to get crushed.”

“Classic Arell.”

“Seriously.”

The twins giggled.

“Then why are you two here?”

Ciel widened his eyes.

“Huh? You’re telling us to go over there?”

“I’m not telling you to go. I’m just curious why you’re staying here.”

“Well, why do you think?”

“If you’re not going to answer, forget it.”

“Because His Highness is busy dealing with that delegation. So we figured we’d at least stay by the side of poor, lonely Arell.”

“Right, Arell’s a loner, isn’t he?”

“…….”

Was it really necessary to punch me right in the face like that?

“I have plenty of friends too, you know?!”

“Like who?”

Ciel asked lazily as I snapped back.

“Silvy.”

“Miss Silvy is over there interviewing the elven delegation.”

“Sirua.”

“The lord is busy looking after Princess Luri.”

“Prince Therion too!”

“He’s right over there.”

Therion was, as usual, filming a solo food-fighter performance.

Ciel grinned broadly. He was clearly laughing at my painfully narrow social circle.

“No one else?”

This topic was not favorable for me.

I attempted a tactical retreat.

“Hey—Noel! Grab him!”

****

The escape attempt ended the moment it began.

Damn it. If the imperial palace weren’t a magic-restricted zone, I’d have escaped with magic.

“Arell can’t go~”

The twins blocking my path looked unusually happy today.

“We’re Arell’s friends!”

“Yeah, friends—so you’ll forgive us, right?”

Why did these idiots seem like they’d evolved into an even worse species?

Anyway. Forced back to my spot, I resumed watching the scene below the balcony.

Naturally, my gaze kept drifting toward Chloe.

‘Chloe…….’

Chloe, her pink hair neatly tied, smiled brightly. It was as if the whole world was smiling back at her.

Maybe because she was the female lead, Chloe sparkled just as much as Pession did.

But……

What was this feeling?

Why did something feel off?

‘That’s not Chloe.’

More precisely, she wasn’t the Chloe I knew.

I didn’t have a clear reason—just a feeling. But I had spent a good portion of my childhood with Chloe.

That was why I couldn’t shake the thought that the Chloe standing there wasn’t the same one I remembered.

‘Maybe she just changed because so much time has passed…….’

Just then, Ciel—who had been sitting and eating finger food—spoke up.

“That is Chloe.”

A strangely abrupt opening.

While chewing on a mini sandwich layered with cream cheese, smoked salmon, and capers, Ciel continued.

“We were confused too since it’s been so long, but it doesn’t seem like impersonation. It really is her. After you died, we held the funeral ourselves, and then Chloe suddenly disappeared.”

“When we traced what happened after that, it looks like she traveled all over the world.”

“Traveled?”

“Yeah. Then about five years ago, she ended up staying in Shugra at the elves’ request…… From the circumstances, it seems related to the World Tree.”

“The elves say Chloe awakened a ‘purification ability,’ healed the World Tree, and saved them.”

A word I couldn’t just ignore slipped out.

“Wait. Awakened?”

Purification ability, no less?

When I reacted sharply, Noel—who was sipping wine—tilted his head.

“Why? Is something weird?”

Weird?

‘Way too much.’

As I narrowed my eyes, staring at Chloe laughing among the crowd, Noel refilled his glass and spoke to me.

“By the way, Arell. What on earth have you been up to lately?”

“?”

“That video orb your workshop made? It’s causing a huge stir. Do you know how many requests our merchant guild is getting from other cities asking for more stock?”

“What’s that got to do with me?”

When I played dumb, Ciel cut in.

“Yeah, what was it called? Wife Murders Husband?”

“It’s Wife Hides Husband, okay?!”

When I snapped, Ciel grinned.

Ah. I messed up. Walked right into his trap.

“Right, that one. They say you’re sponsoring it. Including all the other videos being produced at the workshop.”

“The content’s kind of weird.”

I frowned at Noel’s muttering.

What did he mean, weird?

“What’s weird about it?! There’s never been a train wreck like this before! This new drama satisfies pure, shameless curiosity! Wife Hides Husband is a revolution! Do you know how much it’s shocking the world right now? Even the maids at our estate only talk about it when they gather!”

“Uh… wow……”

Maybe my passionate rant was impressive—Ciel stared at me with his mouth open.

“You really seem to be enjoying it.”

“I’m not! I just watched it once because the title was weird, okay? It turned out better than I expected, so I recommended it to people I know, but it’s not like I love it or anything!”

“Right. You love it.”

“I said I don’t.”

Sure, I had poured a huge amount of money—and lobbying—into the workshop to adapt my favorite novel into a drama, but that definitely didn’t mean I was obsessed.

“Arell, there’s no need to be embarrassed. The literary world, theater troupes, opera houses—basically the entire arts scene praises you every day for your patronage. That’s not even a secret anymore.”

What in the world was he talking about?

As I stared awkwardly at Ciel’s mischievous smile, Noel slung an arm over my shoulder.

“It means your ‘fangirling’ has already been completely exposed.”

What did that even mean?

Seeing my shaken expression, Ciel delivered the finishing blow.

“Pession probably knows too.”

“…….”

Oh gods.

****

If someone asked who benefited the most from Albret’s lively party, Chloe could confidently say it was herself.

“Ah, Miss Chloe.”

“This gentleman governs the Olendo territory in the southern region as a count—”

“Ah, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Being introduced to—and greeting—so many people meant……

‘Free quest rewards, basically.’

She had already greeted Crown Prince Pession and the rest of the imperial family, as well as Duke Spherom and the twins. She’d also met the two Muebisque brothers—but strangely, she hadn’t seen Duke Muebisque himself.

‘Well, he’s stationed at the northern fortress, so that makes sense, but……’

Little bits of information differed from what she remembered. Gremwat had no duke, and Duke Idichels was alive.

It was also strange that Empress Ageni was still alive……

‘What is this? Did I clear the tutorial too fast?’

Meanwhile, the elves who had come for cultural exchange had received “new cultural items” from noble ladies during that time.

According to them, just looking at it would “open one’s eyes” or something like that.

“Roel, what’s that?”

“This? It’s called a video orb. Hmm. They say there’s an interesting story inside. A drama, apparently.”

“A drama?”

Chloe flinched at the familiar concept in a foreign land.

‘It’s not the thing I’m thinking of… right?’

“Well, I’ll try watching it when we get back.”