[BL] Accidentally Becoming the Healer of the Deranged Archduke-Chapter 153: Cursed by Beauty, Trapped by Hair?

Darius did not recall dying.

Not being dead in the literal sense, of course. But more in the sense of identity.

There had been times when he felt a little closer to death, when the small parts of him had crumbled away over time, when his mind was lost to the erosion of suffering.

But he was never exactly there. The feeling where one would be so drowned in pain that he wished for death.

He could barely remember what it felt like to desperately cling to life. There had been sorrow, misery, torment...

And funnily enough, those were the moments that had made giving up feel impossible.

Darius had never known what it felt like to be weak. He was a healthy child, stronger than his peers.

After all, even after getting beaten by that thorny whip of his father, he was still able to stand on his shaky legs, still able to reach his room before collapsing.

So when he first coughed up blood, he dismissed it. Forget him, even the servants had barely spared him a glance.

They must have assumed it was just another consequence of his parents’ punishments.

Then it all began. He started fainting constantly and fell into bouts of terrible fevor.

The blood flowing from his lips increased, and each time, he felt the sting of a thousand needles crawling beneath his skin.

He had been on the death doors so many times, that each time he survived, it was another miracle.

However, when miracles happen too often, they do not appear that charming anymore.

Just like him being alive.

No one worried anymore. Not the servants, not his father, not even Darius himself.

He had taken it for granted that he would wake up again, that there was no need to make a fuss, no need to call the healer in the middle of the night when his body was burning as he lay there on the cold floor, curled up in his own blood.

The pain would always make his mind hazy until he would slip into a coma, and then he would wake up only to fall into the same routine.

Wake up. Study. Learn mana control. Follow the archduke Theodore’s words. Receive punishment. Repeat.

All for the sake of being a great helper for his father’s future child, something Darius hadn’t even known about until they began drilling it into him.

That he was supposed to die soon. That it was only natural for him to lay a foundation for someone else... someone who was not ’defective.’

Defective. Darius hated that word.

All of them were so sure that he would not live past twenty.

Yet here he was still breathing, and dare he say... alive.

It was not because of the expensive healers he had sought out over the years. It wasn’t due to Allen’s careful attempts to stabilize his fraying mana.

Sure, their efforts had prolonged his defective body ... but that could not explain why his heart beat faster now, why his mind felt clearer, why his lips curled into a smile more often than not.

No, none of it was because of them.

The only reason was this tiny figure. The silly kitten was muttering to himself as he sat on the carpeted floor, his small frame hunched over the holy book.

That book... Darius had half a mind to destroy it. Yet he recalled how Xion had looked at him with such innocent eyes.

He had so trustingly asked him about the book, and Darius could not bring himself to deny his request.

And now he was feeling a new emotion. Regret.

At most, he had regretted not torturing his enemies more, but this time, it was because he had been standing there for almost five minutes, and Xion still had not noticed him.

I should have just burnt that book...

The archduke stepped forward and directly plucked the heavy book away from the engrossed readers.

Xion blinked blankly at his empty fingers as if struggling to comprehend where the words had disappeared to.

Then his gaze followed upward to the pair of legs before him.

Okay, the legs were long, and so were those silver hair... Darius?

"Your Grace?" With confused eyes, Xion asked, "Do you need something? Why are you here?" freewebnσvel.cøm

"It is my room," Darius replied plainly as he sat on the bed.

And now Xion had to twist his neck to look at the silver-haired beauty.

"Oh," Xion still did not understand the meaning until he saw Darius unbuttoning the top button of his purple shirt.

My room... It meant Darius was supposed to be here.

Shit!

Xion turned around so fast he nearly hit his own knee. Then he froze. Should I stand up and leave? Or should I wait for him to change?

The muddled head Xion sat there stiffly hugging his knees, silently hearing the low breathing and soft rustle of clothes behind him.

The voices stopped soon, and Xion gulped. However, he still did not dare to turn around.

"Can you give that book back?"

Now, forgive Xion for focusing on pages when the possibly half-naked archduke was sitting on the bed, but he, like an avid fan, was just dying to read more!

Sakura Mei was so chaotically funny! The woman had somehow convinced all those old-fashioned nobles to create a law allowing men to marry men, and vice versa, all because she was a fujoshi.

She sure was a weird creature but Xion was not complaining. He had to stifle his laugh when he read how she smacked the enemy prince’s head with a giant radish and gave him radish PTSD.

"Is it so interesting?"

A few silver strands fell over Xion’s shoulder, and that low baritone murmured near his ear.

"How about you tell me about it too? After all..." Darius’ voice dipped lower with the edge of laziness. "...I fetched it for you, didn’t I?"

An audible gulp echoed lightly in the silent room.

Xion did not need to look in the mirror to see how red his face was, nor did he need to touch his itchy ears to feel the heat radiating from his entire being.

Damn that voice!

Suddenly, he recalled how Sakura had cursed Duke Nocturne for being hot and causing her thoughts to become disoriented.

So this was it... The charm of beauty that no one can escape.

Xion was about to scoot to the other side when the book was placed in his hands.

The weight brought his distracted mind back. Yet, that was not all.

The archduke stretched out lazily on his stomach, his face resting on the pillow. The edges of that soft cushion were directly touching Xion’s neck!

Too close. Close enough that Xion could feel his breath on his cheek, not to mention his sensitive ears burning with heat.

Then came those silver long hair. They fell over Xion as if silently taking them under their territory, refraining him from moving even an inch.

"Continue and tell me what is written in this garbage."

Xion looked at the page.

’I am confused now. Should I let Duke Nocturne take my virginity or let the crown prince fuck me?

I mean it’s my first time and having it with the future ruler kinda adds to my checklist and Reze Valaria is handsome. But... oh good lord! Duke is such a hottie!’

Xion, "..." Yeah, I’m not reading that aloud. Not a chance.