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Chapter 144
Arelene’s personal physician, Warren, once again found himself in a major crisis.
“How did I end up in a situation like this?”
He didn’t know the reason. Before he could even think, he was in a situation where he had to help the ailing Arelene recover.
The fortunate thing was… perhaps he wasn’t alone this time either.
“Having allies is really nice.”
Halbern was wealthy. The temple priests constantly summoned by his generous donations, the mages from the tower, and the backup doctors from the medical association were all immensely reassuring.
The problem, however, was that despite all this, Warren still felt the overwhelming urge to resign.
“I want to quit. I want to quit so badly!”
Even when Mehen had set boundaries for himself as a temporary guardian, it had been challenging. Now, as the full-time guardian, Warren was being drained every day, feeling like a wrung-out rag.
And recently, a new “problematic client” had been added: Duke Halbern.
“No, I have to endure. I can still endure. For my small, precious clinic!”
But today, a new problematic client was added to the list.
Regent of the Southern Empire, Ludwig.
“How can a personal physician not even know the patient’s condition?”
“Uh, well…”
Warren couldn’t make sense of the situation.
Who exactly was this distinguished person who suddenly appeared?
Well, perhaps it wasn’t the concern of a good-hearted physician to know that.
“Excuse me, but what is your relation to the patient?”
“…”
Suddenly, Ludwig, who had been causing trouble for asking why Arelene hadn’t woken up for a week, paused.
A brief silence.
“I’m her father.”
“Probably just pretending to be her father.”
Valer corrected Ludwig’s statement. Warren became even more confused.
“Two fathers?”
What kind of life had Arelene lived?
Leaving the bewildered Warren aside, Ludwig and Valer glared at each other fiercely.
“I am Sione’s legal husband, so naturally, I am Arelene’s father.”
“As long as Arelene resides in Halbern, I am the only father she has.”
“You’re stubborn and unreasonable.”
“Who’s really being unreasonable here?”
Ludwig smiled coldly. Valer gave a captivating smile that could mesmerize anyone.
Caught in between, the medical staff—Warren, the blessing-prayer priest shuttle, and the vitality-magic healing shuttle—trembled.
“Are we going to die today?”
“Stop whining and cast some more vitality magic, brother.”
“Priest, my magic is completely gone!”
“I’ve already finished all the blessing prayers for today…”
In the first place, the priest’s blessing prayers and the healer’s vitality magic were only temporary measures to enhance Arelene’s self-healing, since normal healing prayers and spells had no effect.
“Just pretend, just pretend.”
“It’s the thought that counts.”
While the medical staff desperately worked to prevent their lives from ending in such a tense atmosphere, Mehen, who had finished his official duties, arrived and, seeing the fathers squabbling in front of the patient, issued an order.
“Both of you are noisy and not helpful. Please leave.”
The two problem-makers had no objection and were driven away.
Halbern Manor was chaotic in many ways.
Although Arelene’s condition had improved slightly, she still had not regained consciousness. Valer and Regent Ludwig had stayed awake for over a week, guarding her. The Saren Knights had returned halfway, and the regent’s attendants were present as well.
Mehen thought it was time to start tidying up the situation that he had temporarily buried, as Arelene’s treatment was urgent.
“So, what exactly happened, my lord?”
“Your tone has become stiff again.”
“This isn’t a joking matter.”
Having dismissed Valer from Arelene’s room, Mehen pulled him into his office. Valer looked exhausted from not having slept properly for over a week, yet somehow even in that state, he exuded a decadent and alluring aura.
Mehen felt irritated by how industrious Valer’s confident face remained, even now.
“So, explain why these uninvited guests ended up in Halbern, my lord.”
Valer responded to the blunt question.
“They staged a protest with soldiers at the border.”
“I know that much.”
“When that didn’t work, they planned a kidnapping operation.”
“…?”
“They infiltrated Locke Castle to execute the plan, but Arelene fell ill and collapsed. We tried to bring her along but got discovered.”
“…??”
“However, instead of sending someone else, he insisted on accompanying us himself.”
“?????”
What did I just hear?
Are they insane?
Mehen was confused by a sequence of events that made no sense to a normal person.
Regardless, he now understood why they had suddenly returned to the manor so quickly—they had used the gate, obviously. That was the fastest way.
“And what about the troops at the border?”
“Well, I haven’t decided yet.”
“…”
Mehen felt a twinge of frustration but remembered that Valer hadn’t slept properly for a week, and restrained himself.
“Go rest for now. Sleep a little. Otherwise, you might collapse too.”
“I don’t think I can sleep…”
“Why? Insomnia again?”
“No.”
Valer shook his head.
“I feel like I’ll die if I don’t see Arelene wake up.”
He couldn’t stay still due to an undefined sense of anxiety. He was uneasy because he couldn’t see her.
Could it be… she’s already dead?
“She’s not dead. I’ve seen this happen before. She’s just… really sleeping.”
“…”
“She’ll wake up once she’s done sleeping, so don’t worry so much.”
Even Mehen felt worried, but seeing Valer and Ludwig acting this way made him oddly calm.
Still, Valer remained anxious.
“What if Arelene doesn’t wake up?”
Seeing him cower and shrink in fear was so unfamiliar that Mehen didn’t immediately know what to say.
It had always been Mehen who struggled and feared like this.
“I’ve committed too many sins.”
Valer bitterly muttered.
“So… this is why?”
Sins? What sins?
“Valer, what sins do you mean…?”
“Mehen.”
“Yes?”
Valer’s eyes darkened.
“My father didn’t die from illness.”
As if making a confession.
“He died by my hands.”
Suddenly dropped.
“I killed him.”
Mehen froze. For a moment, he couldn’t comprehend what he had just heard.
“Have you never thought it was strange? Halbern, my succession, the subsequent purges. Never once? Not even a little? You, so smart?”
“Th-That…”
Mehen hesitated.
It wasn’t that he didn’t know—it was that he had intentionally shut his eyes and ears. He thought some things were beyond his comprehension or involvement.
“Yeah, you probably thought it was strange too.”
Valer hadn’t planned to tell Mehen this truth. If Mehen learned it and became disappointed or left, Valer couldn’t guarantee what kind of monster he might become.
So the ‘former’ Valer had decided to seal the door to the ugly truth and bear it alone.
“Do you want me to tell you? The real story about Halbern?”
This was now a story only Valer knew. Mehen, who had always waited for his lord to speak first, couldn’t refuse this sweet temptation.
In a dazed, dreamlike moment, consciousness floated faintly.
When he briefly regained awareness, he thought he saw Mehen, but it was likely just a hallucination born from longing.
His body had once felt as if beaten all over, but now it felt so cozy and warm, as if he were being held.
Why…?
[──.]
Through his blurred vision, he saw a white face.
Eyes the color of porcelain, hair platinum and flowing like a waterfall.
‘Mother.’
It felt like a moment dreamed once before.
Back then, he had simply marveled at her beauty, thinking she could not be human.
[Child.]
A gentle, affectionate voice.
[You are my everything.]
Soft lips touched his forehead and then withdrew. He opened his eyes.
“Ah.”
It had been a real dream.
He blinked, still dazed.
“Huh?”
But why did he feel perfectly fine?
He tilted his head and froze, noticing the familiar ceiling above.
“Uh?”
Why does the ceiling look like our home?
