[BL] Accidentally Becoming the Healer of the Deranged Archduke novel Chapter 182

Chapter 182: When Ray Met Little Darius

"If you save him..." Ray’s throat tightened. "My life is yours to take."

Xion’s teasing smile turned lopsided, weary but amused as he stared at the devoted knight.

"Do you have to be so dramatic?" He leaned down, staring straight into Ray’s tense eyes.

"What I meant was ... are you willing to help me with something?" And then, without warning, he flicked the knight’s forehead.

Ray winced, caught off guard.

"What am I supposed to do with your life, huh?" Xion huffed. "Stand up, Sir Knight Captain, we need to hurry back and look after his grace."

"Ah?" Ray muttered, looking utterly baffled. As Xion commanded, he was instantly back on his feet, walking at the pace of the other two.

However, his mind was still reeling with what just happened.

For Xion, it might have been just a casual question, but for Ray, it was anything but.

The Eldritch family was a prestigious lineage of knights and soldiers. Even their noble title of Earl was earned by their ancestors by doing meritorious deeds on the battleground.

Throughout the generations, the first thing they were taught after the basic morals was to be loyal to their lord.

Loyalty above all. It was their creed drilled into them from a young age.

And yet, Ray had not always been so loyal.

Raymond Eldritch was the third son of his family. With two older brothers and one eldest sister, he was the youngest of them all.

Since a young age, he had been a whirlwind of chaos. He was the little tyrant of the Eldritch family, adored by his household yet impossible to control.

Little Ray was the leader among his peers, always causing mischief wherever he went.

His family, worrying about his increasingly naughty nature, did not let him skip any of his classes.

Despite their strict teachings, Ray would always find a way to escape, to slip past tutors and even his knight training sessions.

One of the worst incidents was when he vanished for three days, throwing the entire household into absolute chaos.

Mother Eldritch ended up having a high fever due to all the crying while his siblings, though not openly crying like her, were not in a better state.

With the special help of Archduke Theodore, his father managed to gather clues.

Nervousness and fear gnawed at his senses as Sir Eldritch rushed to the border of the city. There was no time to rest, no time to eat.

How did my child get so far alone? Was he kidnapped? Hurt? Goddess forbid — was he being sold somewhere? Is he alright? He is strong. He will fight but .... what if they hurt him?

Many such terrifying thoughts circled in his mind as he entered the inn they had been looking for.

They indeed saw Ray in that inn. However, unlike their appearance of wet dogs tossed in the hurricane, little lord Ray was perfectly fine.

He was sitting atop a table, swinging his little chubby legs as he casually bit into a freshly baked bun. On the other hand, he held an unidentifiable drink.

Taking a sip, he casually commanded a boy who was clearly older than him. "Wipe properly there! What are you doing, being so willy-nilly?"

"Yes, big brother."

Even at the age of seven, Ray had somehow managed to make the older boy call him "big brother." Whether it was through charm or sheer willpower (definitely not brute force ... probably), no one knew.

Father Eldritch who was dying from worry, "..."