[BL] Accidentally Becoming the Healer of the Deranged Archduke novel Chapter 196

Chapter 196: One Heart Healed; Another Heart Shattered

"Your Grace... have you ever liked someone?"

A delicate voice asked him.

Liked?

The word echoed strangely in Darius’ mind. They were spoken so softly, so vaguely that it felt oddly out of place.

Darius didn’t answer immediately. Instead, his gaze lingered on Xion’s face, searching for something — a reason for the sudden question.

Why was he asking that now?

Had someone caught your pretty eyes?

A flicker of displeasure crossed his eyes, and his jaw instinctively clenched.

He’d been occupied lately, far too busy with missions, court sessions, and war briefings.

There had been unrest in the northern territory, forcing him to send Nazia and Berry ahead of them.

Despite all that, he’d tried to keep Xion close, but the healer had slipped from his sight more than once.

Not to mention, this foolish kitten was far too trusting.

It had taken Xion such a long time, three long years to be exact, to notice Soren’s dirty inclinations, and even longer to understand what they meant.

If not, Xion would have run away a long time ago.

His curiosity was childlike, and his sense of danger... Well, it was laughable at best.

Darius remembered vividly how Xion had barged into his carriage while smiling like the sun itself.

What if that person wasn’t me?

This soft, reckless little thing would have been kidnapped and sold off before he even realized it.

Darius’s brow furrowed at the thought. Xion also got kidnapped while shopping at the road stall.

On the other side, Xion watched those jade-green eyes narrow in contemplation.

His heart stilled.

Ah... he’s angry. By now Xion had somehow mastered the way to read Darius’ mostly expressionless face.

Did I say something wrong? The silence was crushing him, along with that familiar tightening in his chest which had returned again.

Just as Xion was at wit’s end and thinking of saying that it was a joke, Darius spoke.

"Like..." As the Archduke repeated the word, it somehow tasted foreign on his tongue. "No. I’ve never had the time for such fleeting things."

Xion’s heart stilled.

Darius’s voice was flat. Dismissive even as if just the thought of it all was nothing but a waste of his precious time.

"Feelings like that... they come and go because they are stirred in the heat of the moment. But interest? Now, that endures."

Darius covered Xion with the blanket up to his slender neck while continuing to preach, "Attraction fades, Xion. But use, loyalty, purpose... Those last longer."

"As for like and love," He scoffed. " It is nothing but a useless thing to manipulate little fools."

Not all do that... Xion silently gulped, trying to force the defensive words down his throat.

’Love is a thing to manipulate little fools.’ His Grace had said so, but...

What if I really want to stay by your side? Without any interest, without any greed?

"The people who say that they want nothing in return," Darius added, "are the ones who are more greedy than anyone. Stay away from them, alright? All they know is how to talk sweetly and use you until nothing is left."

And with that, the first person Xion had ever fallen for broke his heart. The archduke had just rejected the very notion of affection itself.

So he’d been right.

To Darius, he was like a pet. Amusing at some times, occasionally useful, and someone to pet when convenient.

Only a pet and not someone to love... I see.

Something shattered and a dull ache bloomed in his chest, but he didn’t let it show.

Instead, a soft smile tugged at his lips.

His hand slowly rose and gently brushed against Darius’s forehead.

"If you keep frowning like that," Xion spoke with deliberate amusement, "you’ll get wrinkles. Then no one will like you, even if you want them to."

Darius snorted, "Who would say no to me?"

Xion’s eyes softened as he laughed lightly. "But you’re not willing to ask, Your Grace."

There was no malice in his voice. Just a light, teasing warmth. But something in it made Darius pause.

He allowed those slender fingers to trace a path from his temple to his cheek.

The Archduke didn’t pull away. Rather he leaned into Xion’s touch.

"If I asked..." Darius grasped Xion’s hand, pressing it closer to his face, "...would you say no?"

Xion’s smile widened and the watery sheen in his deep blue eyes shimmered. "Yes, Your Grace. I’ll say no to you."

And a frown was back on Darius’ forehead.

I can even give you the empire, he thought. All of Eldoria Lunareth, my North, anything. Just say the word...

And if it was someone else Xion wanted... well, Darius still knew how to make things disappear.

It is fine as long as I keep it away from your eyes, right? A dark gleam flashed past his eyes.

Yes, Xion pondered, this is what I wished for. For Darius to live a healthy and long life.