Chapter 269

Chapter 269
## Chapter 269: Never Mind The Heir, I’ll Focus On Healing

Lion set his cup of tea down, folding his hands together as his gaze locked onto the Archbishop.

‘The Archbishop’s intent is transparent.’

He wanted to verify whether Lion’s accomplishments genuinely merited the title of a ‘Hero’.

And if they did, the Archbishop would certainly…

‘He probably assumes I’ll try to conceal it.’

In his mind, Lion retraced every single interaction he had shared with the Archbishop, whether direct or indirect.

Stripping away subjective feelings and isolating purely objective facts pointed to a single conclusion.

Though others remained unaware, Lion had never once displayed open hostility toward the Archbishop.

Furthermore, the current situation was one the Archbishop should logically find advantageous, given that they had successfully launched an attack on this very location.

“You must be quite exhausted after traveling all this way.”

“It cannot be helped, as I am simply fulfilling my duty.”

“You are truly remarkable. I grow weary just trailing behind my grandfather.”

“Oh dear, how I wish I could restore your health for you.”

“There is no need. A long soak in a hot spring once I get home will make me feel entirely better.”

“A hot spring, you say…”

“Indeed. The last time, alongside Priest Rihit… Ah, you haven’t heard about that either, have you?”

Lion casually shrugged his shoulders.

Naturally, the Archbishop’s expression did not sour over such a trivial comment.

‘It gets under your skin, doesn’t it?’

Based on everything confirmed thus far, the Archbishop held a fierce devotion to his family.

“At any rate, there is no need for you to fret over my condition. You came here on official business, did you not? Isn’t that right, Grandfather?”

A warm smile graced Lion’s features as he glanced toward Petrick.

“……”

Faced with his grandson’s combative grin, Petrick felt a cold sweat break out internally.

This boy was explicitly furious.

Petrick understood why the ordinarily gentle Lion was harboring such intense anger.

‘It is likely because of the expression I just wore.’

He must have failed to keep his features neutral, not anticipating that Lion would regain consciousness so soon.

Yet, it was beyond his control.

Just as Lion had predicted, the Archbishop had been heavily cornering Petrick regarding the ‘Hero’ matter.

He had even contemplated drastic measures, such as forcing a look at Lion’s face regardless of the consequences, even if it meant alienating the temple entirely.

A bitter taste lingered in his mouth.

He felt a deep sense of guilt, as though he were subjecting his own grandson to an unpleasant ordeal.

‘Lion despises engaging in conflict.’

In days past, Petrick had remained unaware due to Lion’s bedridden state, but presently, the youth displayed a strong inclination toward peaceful resolution.

He had always viewed him as a child who naturally gravitated toward harmony.

However…

“Grandfather?”

Hmm. Perhaps that assumption was wrong?

Was Lion actually someone who ensured things got done when the situation demanded it, much like Petrick himself?

Observing those slightly gleaming eyes, the boy hardly seemed soft-spoken.

‘Come to think of it…’

Long ago, around the time Lion first fell ill and Rikschel was merely stumbling about as a toddler…

‘He truly lost his temper once.’

An incident had occurred where a collateral branch child visiting the mansion bullied Rikschel.

From the adults’ perspective, it was a minor squabble born from the collateral relatives’ envy of the direct bloodline.

Petrick had planned to settle the matter with a simple warning.

Instead, he learned that Lion, despite his frail health, had forced himself out of the recovery room to directly confront the collateral relative.

‘I had briefly let slip from my mind.’

Of course, the heavy exertion resulted in a high fever and days of groaning the following morning.

It was an event where the aftermath carried far more weight than the inciting incident itself.

‘Could it be that Lion…’

Was he not inherently gentle, but rather peaceful simply because no one dared to provoke him?

Lost in these thoughts, Petrick chose to address Lion’s earlier prompt first.

“……Yes. The Archbishop has arrived to put to rest the rumors currently swirling around this ancient keep.”

“Ghosts?”

Petrick calmly recounted the tale of the ‘Ghost of Grand Duke Dragnas’ to his grandson, who feigned complete ignorance.

“I am curious if you, Lion, happen to possess any knowledge regarding this occurrence.”

Seizing the opening, the Archbishop pressed forward.

“Have you perhaps encountered any specters?”

“Ah.”

“If you are aware of anything that might put their restless spirits to rest, do share it. Otherwise, I will have no choice but to thoroughly search every single chamber.”

The Archbishop attempted to back Lion into a corner.

In truth, only two paths had been available from the start.

To voluntarily offer information, or to endure a forcible search of all quarters.

‘Naturally, the preferred outcome would be…’

For the boy to confess of his own accord.

Yet, that was an unlikely outcome.

Even looking at Petrick confirmed as much.

An unspoken pact had already been established between them—a promise to never interfere with matters pertaining to the Hero.

It was a profoundly sensible course of action.

“Ah, if that is your concern, I hardly think you need to worry.”

“Might I know the reason?”

“Well… primarily because there were no ghosts to begin with?”

“That phrasing makes it sound as though you resolved this crisis single-handedly?”

“Something along those lines.”

“……Do you have proof to back this up?”

“I do. However…”

Lion cast a glance toward Petrick, offered a slight nod, and requested permission to excuse himself from the chamber.

Sending his grandfather away under such circumstances was, in strict etiquette, a grave discourtesy.

“Since the issue appears to be settled, I shall return to the Great Barrier. The two of you can discuss the rest amongst yourselves.”

Petrick delivered the words as flatly and swiftly as possible before stepping aside.

It was a clear testament to his immense trust in his grandson.

Click.

Petrick exited the chamber, leaving only Lion and the Archbishop behind.

In other words—

‘It means I am free to act without prying eyes.’

After all, one could not throw caution to the wind while in the presence of their grandfather.

“Your Eminence.”

“Speak your mind, Lion.”

“Surely you did not journey all the way out here over some trivial ghost tale, did you?”

“Such a remark could easily be construed as an accusation that I arrived with ulterior motives. You would do well to weigh your words more carefully.”

“Hmm…”

Lion sank back against the sofa, lazily crossing his arms.

Ordinarily, such posture would be entirely inappropriate before the Archbishop, the supreme head of the temple.

‘And what would you have me do about it?’

I am no priest. Why should I care.

Lion’s mood remained thoroughly sour.

“My grandfather has departed, so wouldn’t it spare us both a great deal of fatigue if we stopped speaking in riddles?”

“What are you driving at?”

“This whole phantom business is merely a convenient pretext, isn’t it?”

Lion let out a soft sigh, his voice carrying an undercurrent of exhaustion.

“Or shall I spell it out for you?”

“……”

The current demeanor of Lion Asteri felt entirely alien to the Archbishop.

There was a strange, languid irritation in his gaze, accompanied by a palpable edge of restrained fury.

‘Is this his true disposition?’

No, that could not be right.

It was impossible for Lion Asteri’s previous mildness to have been an elaborate facade.

That gentleness had been his genuine nature.

Therefore, to suggest that his present attitude was an act…

That was equally untrue.

‘In a rather different sense, the boy possesses a dual nature.’

Still, it leaned closer to favorable news.

At the very least, their relationship had grown a fraction tighter, had it not?

Which meant—

‘I am that much closer to the truth.’

At long last.

After decades of searching!

The Archbishop felt goosebumps prickle across his arms beneath his vestments as he silently braced himself for Lion’s next words.

And those words proved to be precisely what he anticipated.

“You are chasing after the hidden history of the Hero and the former Archbishop, aren’t you.”

It was the exact answer the Archbishop had desperately wished to extract from Lion.

Feeling as though the core secret of his quest had been laid bare, the Archbishop struggled to mask his surge of hopeful anticipation.

‘Indeed. Lion Asteri must harbor a desire to uncover the truth as well.’

The phenomena manifesting from Lion himself were far from ordinary.

Yet, his entire family had consistently sought to sweep those facts under the rug.

If one were to demand an explanation for such secrecy, would they have received a straight answer?

Of course not.

They would have been utterly incapable of providing one!

‘A meaningless, empty death!’

Such an outcome would constitute a profound insult to both the Hero and Petrick himself.

“Do you possess knowledge of it?”

“I am aware of things that remain hidden from everyone else.”

“Ah. Carrying that burden must have been agonizing for you. You likely could not even confide in your own blood. Therefore…”

Unable to contain his surging excitement and eager expectation, the Archbishop pressed on.

“If you share what you know, I will disclose every piece of intelligence I have gathered. As you are well aware, Lion, I have dedicated myself to tracking the Hero’s footsteps. It is quite possible I hold more information than any other living soul. What do your terms say?”

“Oh, every single thing you know?”

“Yes. Without exception.”

Had Lion harbored a personal ambition to become a Hero—

Or alternatively, had he remained completely ignorant of the Hero’s final resting place—he might well have agreed.

However.

‘I haven’t the slightest clue where the Hero actually is.’

He possessed no desire to enter into such an uneven bargain.

Should Lion pool his knowledge with the Archbishop’s vast archives, various missing puzzle pieces might indeed surface—

Clues concerning the southern territories or perhaps Mermaid Island.

Even so.

‘I can uncover those secrets independently without striking a deal.’

Before pitching his proposal, the Archbishop had committed a fatal error.

He had alienated the other party.

In any transaction, isn’t keeping the client pacified the single most crucial element?

Regardless of how lucrative the terms might appear, human interactions ultimately hinge on raw emotion.

“Your Eminence.”

“Speak freely, Lion.”

“We bear a striking resemblance to one another, do we not.”

Lion uncoiled from his relaxed sprawl, fixing his eyes directly on the Archbishop.

He could not help noticing how much the man resembled Rikschel, despite the absence of any blood ties.

That likeness likely stemmed from the gentle composure characteristic of devoted priests.

Yet, on this day—

‘We do not resemble one another at all.’

Obsession with bygone days, a stubborn inability to let go. As the years rolled on, those attachments had etched deep lines into the man’s face, fundamentally altering his expression.

“If my own kin vanished in such a manner, I suppose I, too, would yearn to scour the earth for them just as you have, Your Eminence.”

A microscopic fracture appeared in the Archbishop’s composure.

Lion’s words carried a deliberate, chilling detachment.

“Yet, I would not go to your lengths.”

Naturally, he would launch a search.

However, he would never allow himself to remain obsessively shackled to the pursuit for decades on end.

And the reason was simple.

“Because there are still people left behind in the present.”

Above all, he would never entertain the notion of exploiting others or sacrificing someone far younger than himself to achieve his goals.

That was the fundamental divide separating the Archbishop from him.

If one were to weigh their characters as family men, which side held the greater virtue?

Lion offered no answer to the unspoken question.

“A sigh. Are you turning down my offer simply out of personal pique?”

“To a degree, yes… but the intelligence you possess is far too meager compared to what I already hold. Under those conditions, cooperation makes very little sense for me.”

A faint smile touched Lion’s lips as he slowly rose to his feet.

“You don’t even know the true whereabouts of the Hero, do you?”

“What are you implying…!”

Jolting out of his seat, the Archbishop surged upright.

His expression, a moment ago sliding into bitter disappointment, was now twisted with raw shock.

It hadn’t been there.

The trail had vanished entirely, refusing to show itself even after combing the entire globe!

How had the boy uncovered that truth?

As expected of him.

Was this uncanny insight simply part of his destiny as a prospective Hero?

“Lion, let us reconsider and speak further! Yes, you are entirely correct. If your knowledge surpasses mine, then cooperation is only fitting.”

“Ah, well. That will have to wait, seeing as I am still somewhat displeased.”

You may not realize it, but I can be remarkably petty.

Unlike the Hero.

With that final remark, Lion turned his back with unwavering finality.

Defenseless though he appeared, the Archbishop could easily have struck him down at that exact moment.

Yet, the Archbishop found himself utterly paralyzed, unable to so much as lift a finger against the youth.

It felt akin to clinging to a fraying, rotting rope high in the air while a singular, unbreakable lifeline descended from above.

“So I must ask you to wait patiently, Archbishop. Oh, and should you attempt anything reckless, I might just dismantle your entire scheme piece by piece, so do exercise caution.”

Having delivered the parting blow, Lion strode out of the chamber.

True to his usual impulses, he would have loved to stir up an even greater commotion…

* Hey, human! Lion! Your nose! It’s going to bleed!

A sharp sniffle escaped him.

The limits of his physical shell were painfully evident today…

Lion gave a quiet sniff.