[BL] Accidentally Becoming the Healer of the Deranged Archduke novel Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Got Caught

The warm sunrays filtered through the gauzy curtains, spilling a golden glow into the room and draping it in a cozy calm.

Xion stirred from his slumber. His lips parted slightly in a soft moan of comfort as he stretched languidly.

Unbeknownst to him, his shirt had ridden up to his chest, revealing an expanse of milky white skin that gleamed under the golden light.

It was smooth, delicate, like the petal of a newly bloomed moon flower, sending a silent invitation to touch. And the man sitting silently by the bed accepted that unspoken call.

The cold touch against his stomach jolted Xion from his blissful oblivion.

His long, dark lashes fluttered like butterfly wings as he blinked himself into wakefulness. Turning his head to the side, Xion saw him.

Soren Vaelis.

Xion's heart dropped. The comfort of waking up was replaced with an icy dread that snaked through his veins.

He dragged the blanket up to shield his body and scrambled backward until his back pressed against the cold wall. His deep blue eyes kept staring at the figure who had so easily invaded his room.

At that moment, Xion realized the fragility of the warm safety he had built the previous night.

Perhaps Xion's wide, fear-stricken eyes were a little too amusing to the eldest young master. Soren's lips curled up.

A soft chuckle echoed in the room. And that softness had pricked at Xion's nerves.

Utterly baffled, Xion watched in horror as Soren rubbed his thumb and forefinger together as if savoring the sensation of the warmth he had stolen before licking the same thumb with an obscene smile.

His golden hair that could rival the sun, and those light blue eyes shone with mischievous glint.

"What?" Soren said, his voice was still so smooth. "Did I scare you, my dear little brother?"

Xion pressed into the wall even further when Soren leaned forward. The young master rested his elbows on the edge of the bed.

His handsome face so perfectly sculpted that it could have been mistaken for angelic, was propped on his palm. But his piercing gaze stripped away any illusion of kindness.

Xion huddled against the corner, his knuckles almost turning white as he gripped the blanket tighter.

He did not respond. Rather, he could not. The fear had choked his throat.

Soren tilted his head ever so slightly and a sigh escaped his lips. "I've been thinking a lot, you know," his voice was deceptively soft. "And I realized... I may have wronged you."

The words made Xion's stomach churn.

"You were innocent," Soren continued, a faint note of feigned regret threaded through his tone, and into his words. "It was Father, after all, who couldn't resist the lure of beauty. So..."

He paused, his lips curving into a smile he might have considered warm. "I've decided to be good to you. From now on, I'll treat you as you deserve. How about it? Does that make you happy, little brother?"

However, that smile was very similar to the predator who seemed happy to find a nice prey to play with.

Yes, to Soren, Xion might just be a toy. Or a slave, perhaps. A thing to be played on his master's whims and then thrown away.

Soren's words... This is not an olive branch. It is a trap.

That cold touch, the one he had woken to, still burned on his skin. A phantom sensation lingering on his body had left him feeling unclean.