[BL] Accidentally Becoming the Healer of the Deranged Archduke-Chapter 227: Going A Full Circle

Xion’s attention was taken away by the carriage standing just a few steps away.

Built from black minewood and pulled by towering snow beasts with silver manes and curling horns, the carriage loomed large and imposing.

Xion barely registered the sight of the strange creature when he was settled inside.

The warmth inside the carriage hit him like a lullaby.

It felt like the one they’d traveled in before — only this one was much larger. Or maybe his brain was just too tired to tell.

Xion instinctively tried to sit on the opposite seat, but Darius tugged him back on his lap.

"Let me hold you for a while... Please."

The words were spoken so softly, almost pleadingly, that for a moment, Xion wondered if he’d imagined them.

They carried none of the cold authority of a man who ruled the battlefields.

How could Xion say no to him? Especially when he didn’t have the strength or will to move on his own anymore.

So, he let himself be pulled into Darius’ lap.

Darius unfastened his robe and wrapped it around Xion, then added another heavy duvet, bundling him like a cocoon. The sight brought another smile to Darius’ lips.

The blood that had stained his face still hadn’t been cleaned. Xion’s blood. That thought made something twist in Darius’ chest.

The wheels rolled slowly over the deep snowy pathway.

The carriage rocked gently. And Xion, who knew his family was perfectly safe let his body melt against the Archduke.

Lulled by a warm embrace and the gentle patting on his back, he subconsciously snuggled closer into Darius’ chest.

Soon, the exhausted healer drifted to sleep. Even in sleep, his fingers still clutched the Archduke’s shirt in a death grip.

Darius slowly unfurled them. His movements were so gentle as if they were petals, not fingers caked in dried blood.

He stared at the cuts littering Xion’s body inch by inch. His precious little kitten looked like a like a tabby cat, all covered in scratches.

Xion looked like an adorable little mess. But...

They dared touch him. They dared hurt him.

The angelic image that had entranced Xion earlier shattered like ice beneath a boot. In its place bloomed a smirk no less beautiful, but far more dangerous. Darius looked every bit a devil cloaked in angel’s skin.

Once, he’d casually wondered what Xion would look like drenched in blood.

Now that he’d really seen it, he wanted to rip those limbs apart that caused this.

Darius raised his hand, letting his mana thread itself around Xion’s body.

They had been in such a hurry that he hadn’t even brought Allen with him. And now, he was unable to instantly heal his Xion.

He scowled at his own negligence.

As his fingers stroked through Xion’s dark hair, he noticed they were no longer silky like before. They were tangled and stiff with wind and blood.

Darius exhaled slowly.

"My kitten’s grown up. He even has claws now..." he murmured to himself.

"...You moved so beautifully, Xion."

To watch Xion kill those imbeciles was such a beautiful sight that Darius felt his heart swelling even more with pride.

His eyes glowed brighter, madness dancing at the edge.

"What should I do with you now, hmm?" he whispered, pressing a kiss to Xion’s temple.

"I find you even more... irresistible."

He looked down at the sleeping beauty.

The blood on Xion’s skin had dried. The snow outside had quieted, but inside this carriage — inside him — a storm had only just begun.

Anyone who dared to lay a hand on his precious... Would not be allowed the luxury of death, including those who had been hiding under the pretence of blessings in that rundown church.

However, before that, he needed to feed Xion. He tapped on the red stone embedded in his ring. It was a signal for his people to prepare.

While the two were cocooned in warmth and silence, Serena was having a harder time.

Controlling Noxian was proving nearly impossible.

The boy was still seething. No, not just angry. Noxian was frustrated by his own helplessness.

He hadn’t been able to protect Xion.

Even when Xion was surrounded, bleeding, and fighting with everything he had, Noxian could do nothing.

Not because he didn’t want to, but because the protective shield around the cave had kept him from stepping outside.

So I’m still a child in his eyes... Noxian pursed his lips.

He had once basked in that feeling, being doted on and cherished. But now, it felt like shackles. A chain that kept his hands tied when Xion needed him most.

What’s the point of it all, if I can’t even be there for him when it counts?

"Fate spins the wheel, and we end up where we’re meant to be," Serena said gently, watching him with that knowing calm she always wore. "It’s useless to worry. And doesn’t Xion always tell you ’not to borrow grief from nothingness’?"

Noxian ran a hand through his curly purple hair, agitated. "I know, Aunt. I just... I can’t accept it."

They had run away together. And yet, here they were — right back where they started. Wasn’t it all just a cruel joke?

"Xion met His Grace in Marquis Roberto’s estate," Serena sighed as she continued. "And he parted from him in the same place. Full circle, isn’t it?"

Noxian nodded slowly, lips still pressed into a thin line.

Marquis Roberto was a relic of a crumbling era, teetering on the edge of disgrace. Yet somehow, he still clung to his title. Still kept that arrogant son of his, Soren, under noble protection.

How? Noxian couldn’t understand. But Serena knew.

It was Archduke’s handiwork. Feeding Roberto just enough hope to keep him alive — only to rip it away when it amused him.

That was why Serena had asked Xion to choose. It was either the North where Darius was or the East where Nikolai and other promising power wielders were.

Now that they were already in the frozen lands, the choice had been made. As Xion’s family, they would stand by his side no matter what.

"Fate is a circle, Noxian," Serena said, placing a slender hand on his shoulder. "Everything we do, everything we ignore — it all comes back to us eventually. In Xion’s case, it’s his goodness that’s guarding him now."

Though his protector was no angel.

But then again, devils made far better guardians. Especially when the threats were other devils in disguise. Like Silas, or those wretched hypocrites from the Holy Order.

Noxian knew just how deep Archduke’s influence ran. He had served under the Archduke long enough to understand that when His Grace decided to shield someone, even the Emperor thought twice.

And after the chaos of the internal and external wars, that truth had only grown more undeniable.

If there was anyone who could truly keep Xion protected, it was Darius Rael Darkhelm, and Noxian was having a hard time digesting it.