[BL] Accidentally Becoming the Healer of the Deranged Archduke novel Chapter 367

Chapter 367: To Beg Is To Love

"It takes almost an hour to reach where the healers live," Xion pointed out.

It was exactly this overbearing person who had made them live so far from the castle grounds.

"And... and I don’t want to take you with me."

That earned him a narrow-eyed glare.

"Why?" the Archduke demanded. The look in his eyes promised that, without a good reason, he might punish Xion again.

"You’ll scare them," the brave kitten scoffed. "Don’t think I didn’t see how you glared at that poor bard..."

Darius’ expression hardened further, though a mocking little smile tugged at his mouth.

"You pity him."

Xion exhaled in exasperation. "Of course, I pity him. Can’t I even feel sorry for someone being wrongly accused and glared at?"

"No." The reply was flat, just like the Archduke’s pursed lips.

And then, as though to silence any further protest, he flopped down fully onto Xion again, knocking the breath right out of his lungs.

"Too heavy!" Xion gasped, squirming under him.

"Good," Darius said smugly, nuzzling against the soft skin just below his ear.

It was as though he were wordlessly urging, Focus only on me.

With the weight of Darius pressing close, the scent of him filling his senses, Xion really couldn’t think of anything else.

His whole attention was drawn back to this frustrating, devastating man looming over him.

Finally, after a long silence, Xion exhaled shakily.

"I’ll be back as soon as I can," he promised. "And then... You can take me to see the place you built for school. Okay?"

"...Will you teach them personally?"

Xion smiled. As if his fingers had a mind of their own, they were threading through Darius’ long silver hair.

"Yes, I want to."

Something in Darius’ chest ached at that. He wanted Xion to become his cheerful self again, to smile without any burden.

Just the thought of that face drenched in tears when Xion lost his eyes had left him sleepless for nights.

His arms tightened around the fragile angel below him.

"...Fine," he mumbled in a hoarse voice. "...One condition."

"Huh?"

"You eat your lunch properly."

Fiery bubbles fizzled in his chest until Xion couldn’t hold back his laughter.

Darius had been so scary. Yet all he asked was to eat properly.

He simply couldn’t get angry at this person even if he wanted to.

The earlier crying and emotional turmoil had taken a toll on Xion, and without even realizing it, his eyelids grew heavier until he couldn’t open them anymore.

His hand remained on Darius’ head.

"You’re so defenseless," the Archduke sighed helplessly as he propped himself up on his elbow.

After detangling Xion’s fingers from his hair, he kissed the palm before placing it at his side.

He couldn’t help but rest his chin on the back of his hand and study the sleeping person with concentration.

On one hand, he felt grateful that Xion trusted him enough to sleep so unguarded beside him.

But there was another part of him, the darker part he usually kept under lock, that seethed with something vile.

He wanted to punish Xion.

For leaving him. For making him wait for so long before returning to him. For daring to say so easily that he couldn’t always stay at his side.

He wanted to be patient, really. Darius wished to be as gentle as Xion asked him to be.

But the endless letters from the church and the royals — demanding to know the truth of Saintess Talia’s death — were already straining his composure.

The darkness he had tried to keep hidden was already starting to seep out.

He’d almost lost control earlier. Those swollen lips and flushed cheeks were evidence of his brutality.

"What should I do with you, Xion?" he murmured, letting his fingers drift down the open collar of his white shirt to rest on Xion’s bare chest.

He could feel the steady rise and fall of each breath.

"Must I chain you to this bed, just to keep you here?"

One by one, he undid the rest of the buttons, baring the slim torso to the cold air and his own greedy gaze.

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