[BL] Accidentally Becoming the Healer of the Deranged Archduke novel Chapter 169

Chapter 169: The Point Of No Return

A terrible vision of the future flashed before Allen’s eyes. A world engulfed in flames, with His Grace standing at its center. Among all the destruction, Xion was nowhere to be seen.

He had always known how His Grace was cursed to be alone. That anyone who dared step too close to Darius Rael Darkhelm was doomed to a terrible fate.

It was not just a belief, or some foolish superstition whispered among the nobles. It was a fact, carved in blood, etched into history itself.

Take Lord Ethen Blackthorne, for example.

The son of a Marquis Blackthorne. A child born into privilege. He had once stood close to His Grace under the disguise of the well-wisher.

Not as a real friend, of course, but as someone who believed himself clever enough to use the young lord of House Darkhelm to do his dirty work.

At that time, Ethen had been nothing more than an arrogant youth. He was too blinded by his ambition to realize he was playing with fire.

He thought he could manipulate the Archduke into eliminating those he found inconvenient. He thought he could stand beside a monster and remain unscathed.

And yet, when the time came, when His Grace’s mana raged unchecked, Ethen had been nothing more than another piece of collateral damage.

He lost his arm that day.

No, not just his arm, he lost everything.

His ability to wield mana. His craze to marry Talia Valaria, the little princess, and his future.

It wasn’t even Darius who harmed him directly.

His Grace had simply let loose an explosion of raw, violent power, letting it rain destruction upon all who happened to be in its path.

There was no discrimination, nor was there any mercy.

The Marquis Blackthorne, Ethen’s father and an influential figure in the royal court, had gone mad with desperation.

Using his connections to his majesty, he brought the finest healer from the church. He was a priest whose power was said to rival the saints.

But the moment the healer attempted to mend what was broken, the lingering traces of Darius’ mana reacted violently.

The result?

The skin started festering at such a rapid speed there was no other choice than to directly cut it away.

Ethen lost not just his ability to use mana, but his entire right arm.

Even now, more than two decades later, no magic, no divine power, no miracle could restore it.

The priests claimed it was an unfortunate accident. That they had simply been careless in their approach.

But Allen knew better.

Even as a child, Darius had been terrifyingly precise. So much so that he hardly ever made mistakes. That act had been intentional all along.

Allen had long since suspected as much, but until now, he had never truly acknowledged it.

Because to do so would mean admitting that His Grace — no matter how young, no matter how seemingly unshaped by the world — had already been a force beyond human comprehension.

Darius was a monster among men. He used people until they had nothing left to offer, then discarded them without hesitation.

Allen’s boots pressed into the cold earth as he walked further and further away from the tent. His mind was becoming an uneasy mess.

How many times had Raymond Eldritch, the Knight Commander himself, told him to keep his teacher away from His Grace?

"Don’t be a fool, Allen." Ray had tried to put sense in his mind back then.

"You’ve seen what happens to those who get too close."

"The Archduke does not form attachments. He consumes them."

Allen had dismissed those words just as easily as he had heard them. In his eyes, Xion was just a healer.

Albeit an extremely smart one, and also with peculiar ways of speaking, in the end, Allen had thought that it was better to let his grace feel different emotions other than being bored.