[BL] Accidentally Becoming the Healer of the Deranged Archduke-Chapter 199: A Dumb Kitten’s Silly Reply

The wheels of the carriage turned in a gentle rhythm, rocking ever so slightly with each dip in the rough path.

Outside, the dark silhouettes of trees passed by silently in the cold night while inside, the enclosed space was comfortably warm, bordering on drowsy.

Xion sat with one leg tucked under the other, wrapped in a thin cloak that still carried Darius’s scent.

The farther they traveled from the capital, the colder it grew.

It was not quite cold enough to burrow under thick duvets or hold onto the warm fire crystals. Yet it was cold enough to make a cozy corner feel like a soothing lullaby.

And Xion might’ve given in to sleep already, if not for his nerves on high alert.

He leaned against the window, his breath fogging the glass slightly.

Darius was sitting across from him, dressed in the same sapphire robe. His braid was still resting over his left shoulder.

It made something shift in Xion’s heart.

What if... he silently wondered. What if I stayed?

Even if he failed the mission, even if he ended up broke again, it wouldn’t be the first time. He could always earn more merit points.

If the system abandoned him... well, that wouldn’t be the end of the world either.

Not if Darius was around. Not if he didn’t have to worry about protecting himself all the time.

It was not like he would forget all the knowledge he had been cramming from all these system books.

Books... That reminded him about the important thing he had been delaying all this time.

From his bag, he lifted a cloth-bound bundle of books. They were written with the help of his system while he had personally added more than just a few notes to make it easily understandable.

He extended it toward Darius, who raised his brow in question.

"Can you give these to Brother Allen?" Xion asked casually like he was handing over a grocery list. As if he hadn’t just asked the Archduke to run an errand.

It was actually funny how something that might’ve earned anyone else a punishment only earned him a lingering, unreadable stare.

Darius tilted his head slightly. "You could give them to him yourself. He’s in the supply wagon, barely two carriages behind us."

Xion grinned, his face looking even more delicate under the golden lamplight. "I’m too lazy to move right now. And I am sure I’ll forget, again."

Darius stared for a beat before accepting the books. It felt surprisingly heavy in his hands, and by the looks of it, there were more than five to six books wrapped in the cloth.

He took the bundle without another word, setting it carefully beside him. "What are they?"

"My notes," Xion replied while stretching his arms lazily above his head.

"Mostly alchemy, a bit of enchantment theory. Some of it might help with restoring the energy balance in corrupted mana stones you guys get from the dungeons."

There were many dungeons in the north, but the orcs there were far more advanced.

Their hardened skin could withstand even the fiercest storms, making them the most difficult kind to kill. Without the knights’ brutal training, survival would be impossible.

Ironically, that same danger made the northern dungeon crystals more valuable.

Yet, despite all the effort they had to go through, a large number of those crystals ended up infected with corrupted mana which would drastically lower their grade.

After all, the quality meant everything. The better purity meant longer energy retention, higher demand, and of course, a much better price.

They had struggled with this problem for centuries.

And now, this silly kitten had so casually given them a solution for it. Like it was no big deal.

If Xion had shared this method with the royals, he’d have been awarded a special title by now along with enough flattery to last a lifetime.

Not once did Darius doubt that this method would not work.

Was he not living proof that despite the unhinged ways, Xion’s strategy always worked?

He traced his fingers over the satin cover. The knowledge inside could shift the balance of power in the north.

Darius had already decided. He would give Xion everything he could. Not as a favor, but as repayment. For saving his life.

If Xion wanted a palace wing for his work, he would have it. If he asked for a title, he’d get one. Even if he asked for silence, Darius would grant that too.

Darius told himself this was all logical to do. He owed Xion this much after all.

And besides, how could he not want to protect someone who looked so endearingly cute?

It was a sight to behold when those blue eyes widened with innocent curiosity and babbled strange words that despite being so absurd still made sense.

Like that saying, ’Dine and Dash’... Darius had retained it in his memory.

It was only natural to keep this kitten close so he could protect him, and keep him away from the filth of the world.

But first, there was one very important question he couldn’t ignore any longer.

"Why do you call Allen ’brother’?"

"Because he is older than me," Xion replied while arranging the things in his now almost empty bag.

Most of his belongings were already stored in his system space, including his gold coins. It made things easier to carry and lighter on the shoulders too.

"But you don’t call others like that. Not to Ray and... not to me."

Xion looked up at the archduke.

Was it just him, or did His Grace look... vaguely offended? Sulking, even?

"Ah, that..." Xion scratched his cheek.

"Maybe it’s because Ray doesn’t seem as mature as Brother Allen? So, I never really saw him that way. As for you, Your Grace..." he trailed off, hesitating a little before continuing.

"I saw you as a little baby..."

The moment the words left his mouth, Xion regretted them.

This six-foot-something wall of muscle was definitely not a baby. Not even close.

Especially not with those narrowed green eyes now fixed on him, clearly harboring thoughts that somehow looked... less than angelic.

"I-I mean, I saw you as a kid at first, and later, well," Xion fumbled with the words, trying to come up with the better way to say it. "You turned out to be the most respected person after the emperor."

"So?" Darius crossed his arms over his chest. He clearly did not like the answer.

Xion swallowed.

Sure, he wasn’t the brightest when it came to human interactions—but he wasn’t completely brain-dead either.

Who in their right mind would dare call this terrifying man their brother? He definitely didn’t have a death wish, alright?

And yet... when he caught that frosty glint in Darius’s eyes, something short-circuited in his brain. His mouth moved faster than his thoughts.

"I can call you that now if you want," he blurted, and then, without thinking, added, "But I don’t want you as my brother."

He ended up offering the very thing he called brain-dead just a second ago.

Xion, "..." I have zero dignity left.

Across from him, Darius tilted his head, eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

"Why not?"

His voice dropped lower as he leaned in a fraction closer. His hands rested on both sides of Xion, trapping him, "Is he so good in your eyes that no one can compare to him?"

Why are you so adamant about looking up to Allen and not me? Am I not good enough? Not even when I am stronger than him, better than him, taller than him?

While Darius was thinking about how closely attached Xion was to Allen, Xion’s mind was running miles per second.

Abort mission. Retreat. Play dead.

But his mouth, as always, had other plans.

"B-Because brother Allen has a hot voice!" he blurted out the secret truth.

Darius, "..."

Xion, "..." Fuck me, I am so dead!

Black Box-

Xion sighed dreamily while chatting with his system.

"Brother Allen has such a hot voice... like one of those OP characters in anime."

Darius who heard every word uttered from his kitten’s mouth, did not hesitate and directly picked Xion in his arms.

"Wha—? Darius?!" Xion yelped, instinctively wrapping his arms around the man’s neck. "What are you doing?!"

"Hot voice, huh?" Darius murmured, leaning in close. His lips brushed just past Xion’s ear, voice dropping into a deep, deliberate rasp.

A blushing mess, Xion, "..." I am done for! Oi system, why didn’t you remind me?!

The system did not reply but Darius sure did as he walked into the silent hallways.

"I’ll make you moan until mine is the only voice you remember, my sweet."

Darius gently kissed flustered Xion’s forehead, "Until your body trembles at the edge of pleasure but can only cum at my command. Until there’s nothing in that pretty little head but me."

And after that night... no one saw Xion for a whole week.

While the poor, innocent Allen was suddenly assigned to a faraway land to guard.