[BL] Accidentally Becoming the Healer of the Deranged Archduke-Chapter 219: Xion Wants to Visit North?

Just as Xion was burning holes into the royal blue with his stare, the system chimed in his mind.

’Host, I’ve run the scans. The cause is indeed linked to this plant. But...’

The system slightly paused as it showed Xion data sheets.

’We’ll need a significantly larger quantity if we want to create an antidote.’

That was exactly what Xion had been worried about.

The plant Mycosera Tenberis was native only to the frozen lands. It was not only rare and precious, but equally dangerous if in the wrong hands.

When he saw her agitated look and the same shawl, he was almost certain that Lady Norva was somehow linked to the disaster.

The Faymere was not so big, whereas that wasn’t the case with the territory Lord Varnehold had to govern.

She wouldn’t have risked leaving anything that could be traced to the deadly disease behind during a long journey.

He sure guessed it right, but a pinch was only fine for tests. To make a viable cure, they’d need bags of it.

’Oh, and just a thought,’ the system added with unexpected enthusiasm. ’If the plant mutated due to corrupted mana, maybe we can cleanse it... with pure mana?’

’Pure mana?’ Xion considered the possibility. It was clever in theory. But not realistic.

’We might be able to get rid of the problem if in direct contact with the source, perhaps,’ he replied after pondering over the possibility.

’But once corrupted mana triggers a mutation... the structural changes become irreversible. With its core changed the purifying mana alone wouldn’t work."

The system said after a beat of silence, ’If we can locate the original strain Mycosera glacialis?’

The system was considering all the facts displayed on the charts that Xion just closed. ’Then, we might be able to weaken or even reverse the mutated Mycosera Tenberis. No?’

That actually made more sense. Xion mused.

The system didn’t forget to throw a sarcastic remark at the end. ’But good luck keeping it alive under the sun,’

It was as if those words made something snap in Xion’s mind.

Serena had asked him to choose. The king had summoned him east.

But if it came down to a choice... why not go north?

He needed a larger sample anyway. Because there was something that was making his nerves tingle.

What were the chances that a perfectly good plant got mutated under the corrupt mana and ended up causing trouble on the other side of the earth?

Something about it didn’t add up. At least to him, it sounded like a careful plan for something and that something was also dragging him into the pit.

The mutation was too specific, too aggressive, and also too convenient to be declared to be his doing if he managed to produce an effective cure.

Would he not be worthy of royal recognition then? And if there was even a tiny suspicion of him being the one behind all the chaos, despite him being innocent, he would be the biggest sinner.

"I’ve decided to go north," he said aloud.

Those words fell, and the almost asleep boy was the first to react.

Noxian bolted upright. His wide purple eyes locked onto Xion in disbelief.

Grabbing Xion by the shoulders and shaking him hard, he asked, "Are you out of your mind?! Have you finally gone insane from stress?! What do you mean, ’I’ve decided to go north’?!"

"Hold on—!" Xion nearly lost his balance. "Stop shaking me and use your words like a normal person!" He was on the verge of falling off the couch.

Noxian huffed, "It’s not ’I’ve decided’ when it comes to the North, brother! It’s ’His Grace’s choice’ once you cross the border!"

He wasn’t wrong.

Noxian might have been a child when he stayed in the archduke’s court, but he remembered it vividly.

That place had left an impression on his young mind and all the words he could think of to describe it were... cold, and scary.

Especially him. The Archduke.

Even back then, something had felt off to him. Now that Noxian was older, he could put words to the unease he felt whenever Xion was with His Grace.

His Grace didn’t just respect Xion. He watched him with the possessiveness of an owner.

He was sure that his grace had special feelings for his brother.

And his brother, being the emotionally blind genius he was, never noticed it!

Xion — the walking miracle of medicine, adored by half the continent — treated admiration the same way he treated weather.

For a while, Noxian thought Xion didn’t understand his own charm. But then he realized. No, his brother understood it perfectly. He just didn’t care.

If someone blushed at his smile? Normal.

If someone ignored him entirely? Even better as they were easier to work with and also very normal.

In the end, normal wasn’t worth remembering nor was it something to worry about.

Nonetheless, Noxian found it funny. If those admirers knew that they were all categorized under "normal" tag, they would surely protest.

But that wasn’t the case when it came to Darius Rael Darkhelm.

Noxian wasn’t sure if his silly brother dangled in front of that devil archduke, he would be able to return safely back south.

"Brother," Noxian tried again, this time with a softer, almost pleading manner. "Don’t go. What if... what if he takes revenge on you? What if the archduke got mad when he saw you?"

Xion flicked his forehead. "And why would he be mad?"

"Because... because—!" Because you left him heartbroken! Noxian couldn’t possibly say that. So, like a copying parrot, he could only repeat the same word.

"See? No answer," Xion said almost smugly.

Noxian, "..." I have but I dare not say it!

"I cured him just as I promised. We parted ways, and even if he was angry for some reason..."

Xion thought of the silver-haired beauty who would allow him to mess around with his hair and even let him do things he wasn’t supposed to.

A small smile flickered across his visage, making his deep blue eyes shine brightly.

"... Do you know how many people he must meet every day? From delegations of different lands to lords and ladies who wished to form ties with him, the list goes on. After so many years, he wouldn’t even remember me, a random healer he picked up from the street."

A snort resounded in the hall. And this time, it was not Noxian but Serena.

"If anyone dares to touch my child," she said coolly, "I’ll break their hands. What are you even worried about?"

Noxian opened his mouth, then obediently closed it. He had seen her make good on such promises. Many times.

"...I’m going too," he muttered as a last resort and slumped back down onto Xion’s lap like a cat resigned to its fate.

Anyway, with Aunt Serena by their side, Noxian wasn’t so worried... Okay, that was a lie. He was not just worried, he was terrified!

Even when the night fell and they lay in bed, Noxian couldn’t shake the image out of his head:

Xion, trembling in the snow, was trying to leave while the devil archduke smirked and said, "You came willingly... and now, as punishment for breaking my heart, you’ll rot in the harshest dungeon."

Noxian successfully managed to scare himself with his own imagination. He shuddered under the covers.

"Oh, goddess Myrthia, please look after my silly brother," he fervently prayed into the pillow. It took him until well past midnight to finally fall asleep.