[BL] Accidentally Becoming the Healer of the Deranged Archduke-Chapter 151: The Trigger of Darius’ Possession

In the morning, he had been too nervous and stressed to notice how long the journey actually was.

But now, over an hour had passed, and they were still in the carriage.

Xion was slumped against the seat, his head tilted to the side as his eyelashes fluttered lower with each slow blink.

"Sleep if you want. I’ll wake you up."

Xion was really sleepy. With all the chaos that had happened in the jail and with only a little bit of sleep, his eyes were fighting a losing battle to stay open.

But he had one important thing to focus on. While he had been discussing his future plans with Darius, a certain phrase kept rolling around in his mind.

Be honest with the one you wish to protect, and you shall find what you seek.

Serena had told him that. And there was only one person Xion desperately wanted to protect right now.

Darius.

"The holy book..." Xion mumbled, his sleepy gaze struggling to focus on Darius. "Do you know where it is? I need it."

That was why Darius had taken an extra trip to meet Ethen.

But now...

Darius hesitated for a brief second. The book’s inscriptions were still unreadable, practically useless to Xion unless he found a way to translate them.

But... this was Xion. He always had his little tricks.

And there was something he wanted to make sure about. Something he wanted to confirm.

Although Xion only had hair of the color black, while his eyes were deep blue, that dark color was still something related to the mythical beings.

The entities who were said to walk between light and shadow. Angels, gods, their holy servants... beings Darius had always dismissed.

The Holiness was something he never bothered to pay attention to.

But if that included this silly kitten, maybe he needed to reconsider a few things.

Xion’s head kept lolling with each jerk of the carriage. His drooping eyes barely managed to stay open.

A flicker ignited in his grace’s dull green eyes.

Maybe it is nothing. Maybe I am just thinking too much... Darius told himself. Despite his thoughts, his hand moved on its own.

He reached for a small wooden box. Inside, resting on a satin red cloth, lay a book. Its dark cover had been stuffed with far too many pages that it looked swollen to the brim, not to mention the condition of those pages.

Regardless of being protected by the spells, the parchment had become rusty and yellowish, with broken corners at the edges. Just one heavy touch, and it would make its state even worse.

The archduke didn’t speak. Instead, he flipped to a random page and pushed the book toward Xion.

"If you read this, I’ll give that holy book to you."

Xion, half-asleep, one-quarter exhausted, and one-quarter frustrated by his own inability to heal Rael, blinked blearily at the page.

He rubbed his eyes, forcing himself to focus and began to read aloud.

"The royals and churches are not what they seem... just like I thought. I really want to go back to my world, and I’ve finally found a way to do so. Just one more artifact and I can return home..."

The writing grew messier toward the end. Whether it was from Xion’s blurred vision or the sheer laziness of the writer, the several lines became unreadable.

Xion squinted at the text smudged with dark spots as if someone had tumbled a few drops of water after writing. He directly skipped down a few lines, before continuing his reading session.

"I hate humans. They’re so ungrateful. If it wasn’t for my system telling me I can return, I would’ve burned this damned world to ashes a long time ago."

Xion blinked and then burst into laughter.

"Hey, I have a system too," he slurred while softly giggling to himself. "I also have a home... just like you..."

His feeble attempt to read such awful handwriting drained whatever strength he had left.

He did not even notice when his eyes finally closed without his permission, nor when a dull thud sounded in the now utterly silent carriage.

Unintentionally, Xion had slumped forward and somehow managed to land squarely against Darius’ frame.

The archduke barely reacted. Then instead of pushing him away, he sighed and without much effort pulled the almost unconscious healer directly onto his lap.

He adjusted Xion’s head to rest against his shoulder while his one arm secured him close.

Xion mumbled something unintelligible in his sleep or perhaps it was the same cryptic language scrawled across those worn pages. Either way, Darius couldn’t understand a word of it.

Something thrummed in his chest before spreading through his veins to the entire body. The familiar feeling, the same simmering darkness urging him to destroy, to kill, to feel the warm blood trickle down his hands ... do something heinous.

No, not now... Xion is asleep.

Without making any sound, Darius silently patted Xion’s back.

His touch was so gentle, so careful... yet his clenched jaw and blazing eyes betrayed something far less tender raging underneath his calm facade.

It was a strange contradiction, a man cradling another like something fragile, yet looking as though he might burn the world to ashes.

For what though? What had triggered me?

He had not felt it for almost a few weeks now, and he almost assumed he could control it.

A soft snore accompanied by a gentle breath brushed against Darius’ ears, instantly drowning his messy thoughts into nothingness.

He closed his eyes tightly, let out a foul breath before opening them again.

This time there was no raging storm, only his pale green eyes that dulled into a dark haze.

He shifted his gaze to the holy book. It was a revered relic, hailed by the entire kingdom as one of the most important treasures of the Angel of Goddess Myrthia.

And now, that sacred book was lying carelessly on the carriage floor, its pages were bent and even crumpled from the earlier fall.

Yet Darius made no move to pick it up.

No matter how important it was to others, in his eyes, that book was nothing more than garbage. It was a piece of trash that should have been destroyed long ago.

Or perhaps he should soothe his irritation by burning it until nothing remained.

But for now, the archduke kicked the book away, forcing it to slide under the opposite seat.

His focus shifted back to the sleeping young man in his arms.

"Sleep, and we will be home soon." Darius ran his fingers through soft black strands.

I’ve finally found a way to do so. Just one more artifact and I can return home...

Those words lingered in his mind like a splinter.

Although his voice remained soft, there was a thinly veiled anger simmering beneath it.

"Once we reach the north," he whispered, "everything will be fine."

No matter what this ’system’ of yours is... Darius’ fingers curled slightly around Xion’s nape, his thumb brushing against the delicate skin.

The pulse thrummed beneath his fingertips. It was steady, fragile, and oh, so beautifully vulnerable.

Darius liked that, the way he could just curl his fingers, and make that beating obey him.

Let it throb violently, before slowing down until there was nothing left. But that was not what Darius desired.

For the first time, he had been this entertained, this amused. He had enjoyed Xion’s company more than his once beloved toy.

And was it not Xion who had arrived in his life at his own will?

Now that Darius had claimed this silly kitten as his own, there was no corner of the world far enough to keep Xion from him.

Call him a pet, toy, healer, or even his fake lover, the title meant nothing to Darius. What mattered was that Xion was his.

And Darius had always been possessive of what was his.

You will be where I want you to be. Right by my side. Always.