[BL] Accidentally Becoming the Healer of the Deranged Archduke
Chapter 75: Xion Fell Silent

Chapter 75: Xion Fell Silent

Author’s Warning:

Get your tissues ready, because this Chapter might hit you in the feels.

I do hope it doesn’t trigger any bad memories, but if you’ve ever experienced anything like bullying or similar struggles, know that this silly author is sending you a warm hug and hoping you’ll find reasons to smile. You’re stronger than you know, my brave angel.

While sitting in an ox cart, Xion closed his eyes. He did not bother looking at the decaying village, nor did he want to see the people dressed in rags looking at them with abhorrence.

They were supposed to be the way for these people’s own survival. So, now that their group was moving away, they could not hold back their resentment.

Love. It was the most paradoxical word Xion had ever known.

Every sin was born from love.

Love for money, love for the body, love for food, love for power. Every kind of love, without fail, led to tragedy.

Was it not love for life that had driven these people to hurl stones at them? Was it not the intoxicating hope of a better future that made them push their own kin into the jaws of death?

It had started in the morning. They were packing their things, not that they had much to begin with. Most of their belongings remained in the carriage, while some were secured to the horses.

Now, Xion understood why Rael had urged him to hurry. The moment they left the inn, people began following them. At first, they were sneaky about their movements until they reached another junction on the road.

A mob of desperate people blocked the path.

If not for Ray and the other soldiers protecting them, Xion was certain he would have died there. There was no way he could have survived against fifty-some people on his own.

Another stone struck the cart, thudding against the protective barrier before rolling to the ground.

Xion held Noxian on his lap. Another heavy object fell and his hold tightened onto the small boy curled up in his arms.

Gently, Xion pressed a kiss to Noxian’s forehead. Dark purple eyes, filled with blatant worry, stared up at him.

"It’s okay, baby. Your brother will protect you, yeah?"

Noxian hummed lightly as he snuggled closer to Xion. On the surface, he appeared content, but inwardly, he thought about how kind, and silly, his brother was.

If it were him, he would have slipped away unnoticed. It wouldn’t have been the first time a mob had tried to kill him.

There were people who wanted to give him to the old healer back at home. These people included his neighbors, and of course, his family members.

No child ever returned after going with that healer.

Back then, his grandfather had saved him. The foolish boy he once was had believed he was rescued, only to be sold to the general later.

He was silly at that time, just like his brother was now. Brother Xion trusted people too easily. And he was so pretty, too.

What if those bad people saw Brother Xion and decided to take him away?

That wouldn’t do! Noxian made a silent promise to himself—he would grow stronger, grow taller, so that when Brother Xion felt afraid, like he did now, he would be able to protect him.

Was Xion afraid?

Of course, he was. There were angry people rushing at them from all sides, ready to drag him back to that mountain.

"Catch them!"

"Don’t let them leave!"

Loud voices echoed. Their shadows so deep that they seemed to merge with the distant memories Xion had buried deep in his mind.

Even now, when he closed his eyes, he could see the wide open mouth with jagged teeth, rushing toward him, ready to bite.

He had never been good with the scary stuff. He hated all the supernatural things, and he also hated scary movies.

Now, that he had to live in the one, he was more than just afraid. He was petrified.

The wheels rolled onto the uneven ground. The dust rolled in the air. The heavy scent of rain lingered in the atmosphere. The clouds rumbled loudly as if warning them to take shelter as soon as possible.

However, Xion felt detached from it all. His body was slowly slipping into numbness. Though his arms were still securely wrapped around Noxian, he could not feel his loudly thumping heart.

"Have you heard? Xion was the one who did it!"

"What? He looks so innocent though. You sure can’t trust anyone just by their face, huh?"

"No. I have not." Xion mumbled just the way he had done countless times that day. He had yelled, screamed, cried, until his throat felt sour. But those hideous voices filled with mockery refused to stop.

"He stole his own brother’s underwear and brought it to school. How disgusting!"

"Fucking pervert! How can he do that to his own brother?"

"Eww, he touched me last time! I feel so gross!"

"I did not! I was just trying to catch you before you fell!"

"Disgusting homo! He has no shame! Let’s strip him and upload it on the net."

"No, p-please, no. Don’t touch m-me...p-please..."

"Hahaha, your bad taste is coming out, Takumi. Count me in!"

"Trash like him belongs to the dustbin, no? Let’s throw the pervert naked Xion into the dustbin later. It will be fun!"

"Don’t come closer... Don’t... Do..." Xion fell silent.

It was the voice of one of his closest friends, Hira Takumi. The same person who had a crush on his brother. The same person who had carried out all of this under the same brother’s orders.

Why? The reason was simple enough. Xion had accidentally stumbled upon Takumi sniffing his eldest brother’s shirt.

"You should just die. Your face disgusts me." His eldest brother had said so in front of the entire school.

Until then, Xion thought his eldest brother just did not talk much.

Yeah, he did not. Not to him. Never to him.

What had happened after that? Ah, he remembers now. It felt all too familiar, so much like now.

He was running from the angry high school students, who cursed him, threw trash at him, tried to strip him.

The loud voices overlapped in his ears.

"Brother!"

"Bro-"

The vague distant chatter echoed in his mind, yet like a fine sand it slipped from his sense. No matter how he tried to focus, he understood nothing.

Then, a blanket of haziness swallowed up everything; his thoughts, his senses, until there was nothing left but a foggy haze. A silent sea into which Xion drowned.

The blood roared in his ears, yet he could not sense it. He sat there stiffly, taking slow deep breaths, the way he was taught by Minato sensei.

In and out. In. Out. In. Out... In.....

His breathing grew slower, almost faint. A lone tear slipped from his deep blue eyes as they gradually faded out of focus.

Xion went catatonic.

A tree branch was hurled at the cart. But he did not even flinch. He sat there, staring blankly into the distance, lost in a trance.