[BL] Accidentally Becoming the Healer of the Deranged Archduke-Chapter 239: Using A Love Guide

"Do you want me to call you Grandma?" Xion asked, half-joking, half-serious.

"Oh, no!" Nazia waved her hand in vehement refusal. "I’d be much happier if you dropped the titles altogether."

"...Okay."

Xion was slightly thrown by the strong reaction. It felt like an oddly intense rejection, but he didn’t press the issue. Not everyone wanted a surprise grandson, after all.

Contrary to what Xion assumed, Nazia’s thoughts were far too simple. She was just saving herself.

Becoming Xion’s grandmother, tempting as the title was, also meant becoming his partner’s grandmother. And that was a complication Nazia wasn’t prepared to face.

Just imagining that icy, soul-piercing glare from Darius was enough to shake her straight back to her senses.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to accept the role. She just didn’t dare.

So, with practiced grace, she smoothly steered the conversation away, toward something that might ease her brooding master’s burdens.

"There’s been some unrest among the Archduke’s vassals lately."

The shift in tone sobered Xion immediately.

"Why? I’ve only heard praise on the way here. Some people are even considering moving north."

"But most don’t survive the journey," she said with a weary sigh.

"And that’s part of the problem. The villages already here don’t want to take in more mouths to feed when they’re barely managing their own. It’s caused some resentment."

Resources were scarce after all. And with winter deepening, hunting would soon become a deadly gamble. The colder it got, the fewer animals there were, and the more lives risked just to find them.

Xion nodded slowly.

No matter how prosperous the land was, there were always those villages which were on the verge of collapse. Not to mention how the bitter cold was already claiming lives with each passing day.

"I hope this gets better," Xion mumbled.

"That’s what I wanted to speak with you about." Nazia leaned in slightly as she continued.

"If you have the time, maybe you could help His Grace with some of these matters. You’ve likely noticed, he never shares his burdens. It worries me that he might make himself sick again like was in the past."

Mentioning Moonshade Affliction was a taboo in the castle.

But not out of fear. No, not anymore. Now, it was a silence born of sorrow because that name carried too much pain.

Nazia had seen His Grace struggle just to draw another breath while hiding his misery behind clenched teeth, trying hard not to make a sound.

The young lord had learned early that the sound of weakness invited wrath, especially from his father.

Hence, now that the archduke had gained such power and vitality, he had every right to seek the warmth and affection of someone he truly desired.

This was simply her way of giving Xion a little push toward him.

The more time they spent together, the more chances there would be for something deeper to blossom between them.

Wasn’t that, after all, one of the very lessons Allen had tried to teach His Grace?

She had just followed the Alchemist’s advice as well. "His Grace is far more comfortable with you than with anyone else."

"Haha..." Xion gave a fake laugh, "It might be because I’ve healed him. And I think he had been acting odd."

Darius wasn’t this talkative or even flirtatious when Xion had left him. He had been curious about what might have changed him so much.

So, who could be better than Lady Nazia to probe into His Grace’s life? Hence, he tried to push the topic in the direction he wanted to explore.

"Odd you say... Can you perhaps elaborate on that?" There was a strange glint in her eyes as she asked.

If Xion hadn’t been so focused on thinking how to word it out without giving away those strange remarks Darius had made, he might’ve noticed that she looked just like those aunties ready for some juicy gossip.

"Like he had been talking much? Maybe it isn’t a bad thing, but he had changed from what I recall from my memories."

It hadn’t just been odd. The whole day, not including the time he was asleep like a dead log, had been a burst of haze and fondness and oh gods, that strange flutters in his stomach.

Xion felt content, even more so when he had developed the perfect medicine for some distant Viscount.

The Viscount had given him a hefty sum of gold as the price of his special dedication.

At that time, he was very happy. But even that couldn’t come close to this feeling. It was as if he was looking at everything the world could offer.

Nazia gave him yet another mysterious smile. "It’s the way His Grace is treating you that’s so vastly different from the past. That’s what you are telling me, right?"

Xion was sheepish enough for the crimson to flare up on his ears. Damn, my sensitive ears... Xion silently cursed while nodding his head, agreeing with the lady. freewēbnoveℓ.com

Nazia laughed again when she saw Xion’s bashful look.

"Please bear with it even if those actions might come off a bit too much. His Grace didn’t have the luxury to indulge in any kind of love for reference."

That was why His Grace had been blindly following whatever random things Allen had scribbled in that "Love guide".

"Love?" Xion’s eyes widened once again and this time there was even a hint of rosiness over his tender cheeks. "Why are you ... mentioning that."

Now forgive Xion, but just like Darius, this silly kitten also had an almost negligible experience when it came to things like romance.

Nonetheless, he was well-versed in the theoretical knowledge. All of those animes he had watched were not without any merit after all.

But even with that, Xion felt it a bit embarrassing to discuss such a delicate topic with his nominal grandmother.

Besides that, the said grandma was also a very dedicated subject for the person he had been crushing over.