The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1266

Unfortunately, Isildi and Verdandi hadn’t been able to pinpoint the cause of the baby's ailment either.

Perserque wasn’t the only one worried sick about the newborn’s health. Davey stayed by his son’s side for days without sleeping, watching for the slightest change, obsessively checking again and again.

It wasn’t just paternal love—it was also the near-mad devotion of a doctor determined to heal their patient.

“I’ve never seen Davey this fixated and obsessed before,” Illyna said anxiously to Daphne, who had descended as a representative of the Saint Sanctuary.

“It’s an illness,” Daphne replied flatly. “One that can’t be treated.”

“An illness?”

“When Davey studied medicine under Hypocria, how do you think he learned?”

Illyna thought for a moment, having a hard time imagining how it would have gone. “Didn’t he just open up textbooks and stay awake until he completely understood them?”

While it was a silly answer, that was how seriously Davey was neglecting himself while pouring all of his focus into his youngest son.

“Don’t you feel jealous?” Daphne asked.

Illyna shook her head. “No. If anything, I love him even more for it. Seeing how far he’ll go for his family... Honestly, it’s kind of attractive, isn’t it?”

“Davey sure picked the right wife.”

“Thank you,” Illyna answered calmly.

While Daphne chuckled, she took a drag from a long herbal pipe. It was similar to one of the medicinal blends Davey occasionally used.

“Hypocria only spent ten years at most teaching Davey medical theories. Everything else, he learned through practice.”

“Through practice?”

“In the Hall of Heroes, everyone has their own power of manifestation. Hypocria’s was the ability to manifest the countless patients she’s treated.”

A doctor so brilliant that she was revered as a Divine Physician. She had seen more patients than anyone alive.

Strange symptoms. Unexpected constitutions. The body of a living being was endlessly complex, so Davey, who had only learned theory at first, went through countless failures to refine his knowledge.

The first time Davey failed to save a patient, he had faced the lifeless body of a man, his grieving wife clutching it and wailing, and his children screaming in despair.

They had grabbed Davey by the collar, crying out how he could let this happen, how a quack like him had dared to treat someone. Their anguish and agony had frozen him in place.

Their emotions had been so realistic, almost beyond what actual humans displayed, that he had been deeply shocked. For nearly three years, he could barely carry out proper medical work, refusing food and suffering in agony.

While the other heroes tried to console him, Hypocria had been merciless, refusing to coddle him. She told them not to humor an incompetent failure who couldn’t even face a patient or their family.

Davey was only brought back to the right path when he saw the tears of a little girl crying in pain.

When he'd listlessly stepped into the illusory ward again, he met a boy clinging to his legs, begging him to save his sister. The frail girl had looked like she could die any moment, and her symptoms were the same as the patient he’d failed to save before.

After losing trust in himself, he had nearly refused to treat her. Yet once he saw her coughing up blood and still comforting her brother, telling him it was alright, Davey couldn’t turn away.

He cast off his pride and arrogance, and even the thought that they were only illusions. For the first time, he truly saw a patient for who they were.

It took a grueling effort, but he eventually saved her. When he stood stunned afterward, Hypocria finally came to him with comfort.

Even with his past life’s memories, Davey was still nothing but a little kid compared to her. He clung to her, sobbing like a child, crying out why she had been so cruel, why she had put him through such torment.

Hypocria had embraced him before finally responding.

- For a patient, illness is the line between life and death. The moment you stop classifying them by their condition and start seeing them as someone who is simply suffering, that is when you truly become a doctor.

Her words completely shattered the arrogance he had held about being a doctor.

He had thought it wouldn’t matter because they were mere illusions. Davey, who had once thought that his Absolute Memory of medical knowledge made him flawless, broke down in her arms and wept for a long time.

“So...” Illyna was wondering why Daphne bothered telling her the story.

“Among the heroes, Divine Physician Hypocria especially cherishes Davey like a younger brother. What she wanted to teach him wasn’t just medicine, but how to face patients with the right heart.”

Hearing Daphne’s explanation, Illyna felt her eyes sting faintly.

“For Davey, every patient is like a wounded finger he can’t ignore.”

That was why, even after leaving the Hall, Davey threw everything aside to treat patients.

“Of course, from my perspective it was excessive and extreme, even too harsh. But in the end...” Daphne shrugged. “When Davey comes out for a break, tell him that his beloved son doesn’t seem to have any serious problems. It’s just that the cause isn’t clear yet. Tell him to take his time, and approach it slowly.”

Having said her piece, Daphne left without even meeting Davey and returned to the Saint Sanctuary.

Meanwhile, Illyna quietly approached Davey who sat by the incubator with his eyes closed, holding his sleeping son’s tiny hand. She wrapped her arms around his neck from behind.

Davey turned his head toward her, and she kissed his forehead gently, giving him the best comfort she could. “Davey, want to touch my cheek?”

Her words were sure effective.

* * *

A week passed after the incident where the newborn had stopped breathing for a bit.

During that time, Perserque had been recuperating, and only after Davey told her there seemed to be nothing to worry about did she finally relax.

“I’ve received our youngest’s name.”

At his words, Aeria, Illyna, and Perserque all turned their eyes toward him.

“The goddess gave it?”

“Yeah. It’s Abel. Abel O’Rowane.”

Traditionally, princes who didn’t inherit the throne became grand dukes, but that was actually rare. Unlike princesses, who became outsiders after marriage and took another surname, princes generally didn’t leave the royal family.

“Even if middle names can’t be passed on after two generations, we’re the exception.”

Heins Territory had the Grand Duke Davey O’Rowane. His position wasn’t something others could overlook. In the royal family, in fact, across nearly all of Tionis, there was no benefit to challenging his authority. That was who Davey had become, and he knew it well enough to use it to his advantage.

“Abel, huh?”

The name itself didn’t sound bad, but their expressions were less than enthusiastic.

“Of all names, it had to be the same as Abel the Womanizer King.”

“No matter how much they call him a wise ruler, a man with fifty wives is still just a predator...”

Even Aeria shuddered with distaste.

That was the kind of image the name Abel carried in their head. Still, it wasn't a name that drew contempt, and it wasn’t as if having the same name would cause any real problems.

Still... It left a bitter taste.

“Did she not give you any other names?”

Facing Illyna’s question, Davey shook his head. “Whether we use it or not is up to us. Abel doesn’t get to decide, either.”

In other words, the name Abel, blessed by the goddess, carried weight suited to some future, fate, or path that awaited the child. There was no disadvantage in using it, though Davey couldn’t help but worry that it might attract unnecessary trouble as the boy grew.

“And for the record, I don’t think he’ll end up like Abel the Womanizer King.”

Abel wasn’t an uncommon name to begin with. It was just coincidence that in Tionis, that was the Abel everyone thought of first.

“In fact, on Earth, Abel has a completely different meaning,” he told them.

“A different meaning?”

“Yeah. Abel was the first human.”

The three women exchanged glances.

“There’s no need to decide right now. We’ll settle it when we settle it. But...” Davey let out a short laugh. “Do you really think a name can change someone’s future?”

‘As if that could happen.’

“So, let’s take our time. The goddess said she’d prepare other options, anyway. We can think about it then.”

If the name was being given by the Creator Goddess herself, there was no downside to receiving it.

* * *

Everything after that felt hazy.

The youngest, now healthy enough to no longer need the incubator, was taken out and placed in Perserque’s arms.

Watching her cry tears of joy made him wonder if he’d kept them apart for too long. Still, from a medical standpoint, with the cause of the condition still unknown, it had felt too risky to allow contact.

Even so, keeping a mother and her child separated any longer felt wrong. He remembered staying by her side as she held the baby in her arms and drifted off to sleep.

He was seated at his desk in the office for some reason. His head felt heavy and clouded.

Papers from Heins Academy lay scattered before him. The stacks included budget approval documents, forms regarding students, and event proposals.

He reached for his seal as usual, but something in the contents before him made him pause.

‘Wait... None of these names or events exist...’

With his perfect memory, he never forgot even the most useless of details. He’d never even confused the name of a single student as the headmaster.

“What’s going on?” He rose from his seat, scanning the room.

Through the window, he saw Perserque sitting in the garden, looking just as she always did. Abnormally, however, there was a boy next to her pouring tea into her cup.

His sharp, pointed ears gave Davey the impression that he wasn’t a butler. He was dressed neatly, his appearance refined. He looked to be in his mid-to-late teens.

When Perserque thanked him with a smile, the boy blushed faintly as his ears twitched.

It was the kind of closeness that, under normal circumstances, would’ve made Davey storm over and demand what he thought he was doing with another man’s wife.

However, he didn’t. He knew all too well who the boy was.

“Darian?”

The Darian he knew was a toddler, always waddling about with a smile. He wasn’t a handsome, well-groomed young man with a soft smile hiding a strong, disciplined flow of mana.

Looking at the young man made Davey marvel at how impressive he was. He also thought that if Darian grew up, he might really look just like that.

Looking around, he noticed more figures. Each of them seemed older, as if years had passed. It felt like he alone had traveled through time, a decade or more into a future that didn’t belong to him. The dissonance threw him off balance.

‘What is this?’

As he stood in a daze, the boy turned to look at him, smiling softly.

‘Huh?’

His head suddenly throbbed. His stomach churned as if he had downed glass after glass of harsh liquor.

Knock. Knock.

Then he felt it. He was able to make a judgment about the phenomenon. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Knock. Knock.

“Father-in-law, it’s Remina.” A young woman in her mid-to-late teens stood before him. “Did you sleep well last night?”

“Huh...?” He blinked blankly at her words, unable to process them.

She tilted her head, puzzled. “Are you alright?”

“Who are you?”

No matter how hard he searched his memory, he had never seen the girl before.

Hearing his response, her face fell in sorrow. “Father-in-law... How could you? Even if I dressed up a little differently, how could you not recognize your own daughter-in-law? It’s me, Remina.”

“What...?”

Wearing a hurt expression, she rushed into his arms. “With Abel gone... the only ones I can rely on are you and Perserque. Please don’t leave me alone.”

“Abel? Where’s Abel?” He knew he shouldn’t ask, but the question slipped out instinctively.

“Pardon? What a strange thing to ask. Didn’t you drive him out yourself after he flirted with two women at once? You told him not to come back for a while.”

His head spun violently.

Bang!!

“Haah... haah...”

When he came back to his senses, all he saw was the youngest, sleeping peacefully, and Perserque resting beside him.

‘Okay, I’m not dreaming anymore.’

He must’ve dozed off without realizing it.

Slowly sitting up, Davey sighed heavily, weighed down by a crushing sense of loss.

Hearing the sound of his sigh, Perserque stirred awake, her eyes opening slowly to look at him. “What’s wrong?”

“Ah? Oh...”

“You’re drenched in cold sweat. What kind of nightmare did you have?”

If he brushed it off as just a stress-fueled nightmare, at least his heart would be at ease.

Yet, Davey knew that it had been no ordinary dream.

It had been a prophetic dream.

“Perserque.”

“Hm?”

He told her, “I just had a dream.”

“If it wasn’t just nonsense, then for someone like you to have a dream... it was most likely a prophetic vision.”

“Yeah. It was.”

It had been far too vivid to dismiss as nothing.

“In it, I think we gave the youngest the name Abel,” he muttered.

Perserque perked up, pushing herself upright. “And?”

“He must’ve still been pretty young, but he was already married... and on top of that, he was off seducing other women.”

If there had been a good reason, Davey wouldn’t have punished him in the dream.

Which only meant there was only one conclusion—he had grown into a shameless womanizer.

“Davey... are you saying the goddess’s chosen name can change this child’s future?”

“No, not exactly. Still, it might not be entirely unrelated either.”

“Then it’s better not to use it,” she suggested.

“Good. That’s what I was thinking too.”

The name Abel would have to be put on hold.

Being named after the first human wasn’t bad. Yet if his son really grew up to be a womanizer, then as a father, Davey had every responsibility to stop it beforehand.

The baby, oblivious to it all, simply slept peacefully.

In the end, they decided to give him a different name.

None came to mind. Days passed, and Davey still hadn’t settled on one.

That was when the goddess appeared again and spoke a second name.

After that, once again, Davey had a dream. This time, he saw a familiar figure.

A boy draped in something blood-red, staring blankly at him. “Father. I will succeed you.”

His voice was cold, his eyes burning with clear hatred, and his frail body pulsed with uncontrolled power.

His appearance froze Davey on the spot.