TMLOH 11

Chapter : 11

Mehen gently pressed his fevered forehead. His body, already dysfunctional, had gotten worse from recent sleepless nights, but it was the frayed nerves that were the real issue.

The chaotic atmosphere of the mansion was probably his fault. Entirely his. However—

“Butler General.”

“Yes, Lord Mehen. Please speak.”

“Do I really have to worry about things like this too?”

Publicly, Mehen was in charge of this capital mansion, but while he managed the estate’s assets, it was Gregory, the head butler, who handled all personnel matters.

Naturally so. There was no way Mehen could manage over five hundred employees by himself.

“I apologize, Lord Mehen.”

“You should be sorry, Butler General.”

Mehen’s voice was ice-cold.

“Do you realize how much today’s incident has tarnished the Halbern name?”

“……”

The Halbern name wasn’t so fragile that it would falter from such petty gossip. In other words, it wasn’t a family that should be embroiled in such scandal.

This incident probably wouldn’t leak outside—but the fact that it happened at all was the problem.

“And frankly, that’s not even the real issue.”

Mehen was fully aware of his own value and importance.

A key figure holding dozens of major offices. The sole person with a direct connection to the Duke of Halbern.

And who was the Duke of Halbern?

‘The only duke with power rivaling the imperial family.’

Naturally, Halbern had countless enemies—external and internal alike.

Why else would the Halbern family proverb be: “Don’t even trust your own father.”

‘Was this a ploy to shake Halbern?’

Though the target appeared to be Arellin, Mehen knew he was the true aim of this incident.

Because in this mansion, Arellin was the only Achilles’ heel he couldn’t control.

‘I’ve been too shaken lately.’

Mehen rubbed his face dryly.

Uncharacteristic of him. Even if it was because of Arellin’s sudden change in attitude, his emotional upheaval had been too much.

‘Am I getting old?’

Maybe it was time to retire.

Would his damned liege even allow him to retire when he couldn’t even leave work on time? Still, Mehen clung to a sliver of hope.

“I’ll clean up today’s mess myself.”

“You’ll have to do it cleanly. I’d like to keep seeing you around for a long time, Butler General.”

Gregory’s rising lip faltered slightly at Mehen’s painted-on smile.

These days, people didn’t get killed over insulting nobles—but they did get slapped with massive fines.

Their reputations would be destroyed, their employment opportunities gone, and they’d spend the rest of their miserable lives regretting that moment.

Even if they got lucky and found work, Halbern had the power to strip even that away.

“Well then, shall we find out who had the gall to pull this little stunt?”

He was already burning with anger and now had a target to unleash it on.

He was just about to hunt down the legal troublemakers and wring them dry to blow off some steam—

Bang! The door slammed open and Dylan burst in.

“Lord Mehen—!”

“My hearing isn’t gone, Dylan. What is it? I don’t recall teaching you to barge in like that.”

“That’s not the problem! Lord Mehen, right now—!”

“Manners are always a priority. Do you need retraining?”

“Miss Arellin has collapsed!”

“You’re still not thinking clearly… What?”

Catching his breath from running, Dylan shouted again.

“Miss Arellin has collapsed!”

Mehen stood frozen, stunned for a second—then shot to his feet.

Fortunately, when Arellin collapsed, Uni—her personal nurse—was right there. That prevented the situation from worsening.

“Where’s the physician?!”

“He’s been summoned!”

“Should we contact the Mage Tower?”

“Wouldn’t it be best to alert the Temple too?”

While the butlers debated in a panic, Uni calmly examined Arellin’s condition.

“She’s already showing signs of a seizure…”

Carefully managed for years, Arellin hadn’t shown symptoms like these in a long time—but now the dormant power in her small body was showing signs of going berserk.

Mehen arrived late and demanded harshly:

“What’s her condition?!”

“I-I don’t know. She collapsed suddenly, and now she’s seizing…”

“What’s the physician doing?!”

“He just examined her and went to prepare the medicine. He said tonight might be difficult…”

Mehen ran a hand through his hair, scowling.

“Why is she seizing all of a sudden…?”

“The physician said it could be due to extreme emotional stress from today’s incident, or possibly due to an underlying illness. She’s not in great health to begin with, even with the medication.”

“Medication. Right—the meds. Did she take them?”

“Pardon? Y-yes, she did, but… huh?”

Uni suddenly opened her eyes wide.

“Wait a moment!”

What now? Mehen sighed deeply, his brow furrowed.

He felt like he should follow Uni. He began to move when—

“—”

A small, faint voice.

So faint, no one could have heard it without straining.

But Mehen heard it—and froze as if something inside him had broken.

“…Mom…”

When the Duke of Halbern first brought home a child, the public’s murky curiosity turned in one direction.

‘Who on earth is the mother of this child?’

An unmarried duke showing up with a baby sent imaginations running wild.

Some said the child was a prostitute’s. Others claimed she was a noble-born bastard. Still others insisted she was the result of a secret affair.

Mehen gave credence to none of those theories.

“The misanthropic Duke of Halbern with a lover? Or a mistress? Please. Saying he reproduced asexually would be more convincing.”

The child was unquestionably of Halbern blood. The family’s guardian stone—reactive only to true blood—had resonated with Arellin.

That’s why the rumors that she might not be the duke’s child died off, and only curiosity about the mother remained.

Some even speculated she was the product of true love.

“Writing romance novels about the Duke of Halbern now? Is this how they all start these days?”

If anyone knew Duke Valère of Halbern well, it was Mehen.

The Duke of Halbern in love?

The least compatible words in the world were “love” and “Halbern.”

“Love? Don’t make me laugh. That man would live selfishly, breaking hundreds of hearts, and then die from a random stabbing or somewhere on the roadside.”

Thanks to Mehen’s scornful attitude, the gossip eventually faded—but curiosity persisted.

Some even accused Mehen of using cynicism to distract the public.

But who cared? It wasn’t like the boss’s private life mattered to Mehen.

They’d seen the duke and still talked like that?

And as for the mother—Mehen didn’t care in the slightest.

‘There must be some story behind it.’

There had to be. Otherwise, the child wouldn’t have been dumped on him so suddenly, while the duke holed himself up in the north, on the endless battlefield known as humanity’s final frontier.

Still, Mehen was certain: whatever the hidden story was, it didn’t involve legendary romance or sleazy scandal.

Let the truth be what it may. Mehen didn’t care.

What mattered more was the reality of raising a child, which weighed on him far more.

But that was his perspective. The child’s was different.

Surely she must have wondered about her parents.

How could someone never be curious about parents they’d never seen?

Yet surprisingly, Arellin had never once asked about her mother.

Not even once.

Mehen had prepared a model answer, expecting the question eventually—but the question never came.

Just as she had never been curious about the absent father, she had never asked about her mother either.

Well. At some point, it became so natural that Mehen stopped questioning it.

He simply thought, “She must not be curious.”

But maybe… that wasn’t it.

“…Mom… Mom…”

Maybe she had just been suppressing it.

“…Mom…”

The truths he believed began to crumble.

And in their place, suppressed emotions began to rise.

“…Moooom…”

A heartbreaking cry for her mother.

Weak from her condition, she couldn’t even cry properly—her voice cracked and faded, so faint you wouldn’t know who she was calling unless you listened closely.

His throat clenched.

There’s a saying that the person you call for when you’re sick is the one you truly long for.

Mehen never believed in that.

He never called for anyone when he was sick.

Maybe because he was an orphan. Maybe because he had seen the coldest depths of the world before ever feeling a warm touch.

“Wanna come with me?”

At least, until he met the current Duke of Halbern.

But still.

What was that child thinking—calling out with lips that had never once seen that person—uttering the name of someone she had never met?

“…Mom…”

With what heart?

Why cry for a mother she’d never even seen?