[BL] Accidentally Becoming the Healer of the Deranged Archduke -
Chapter 95: "Don’t hate it because it’s you."
Chapter 95: "Don’t hate it because it’s you."
Darius, startled by his own outrageous thoughts, turned his gaze to Xion.
The healer sat quietly, seemingly lost in his own world as his fingers idly traced patterns on the extra pillow resting on his lap.
Darius had asked for those. Xion tended to be in a daze, and that would always lead him foolishly bumping himself here and there.
At least, now his back would not hurt.
The archduke had never been one to let others affect his mood, yet Xion, without even trying seemed to do just that.
The healer had a way of slipping past his defences, planting himself into Darius’ thoughts and disrupting his carefully maintained control.
Xion blinked. A slight frown crept onto his forehead before he began biting his lip.
What is making you look so troubled?
Darius’ hand twitched, and a strange impulse rose within him. An urge to reach out, to break Xion’s quiet contemplation, to make him look his way again.
And that was exactly what he did.
He pinched Xion’s fleshy cheek. "What are you thinking?"
When Darius saw himself in the reflection of those deep blue eyes, he noticed his own frown.
With a slight pinch on the soft skin, he leaned back. His finger rubbed over his thumb as he enjoyed the way Xion’s warmth lingered on his skin.
Xion rubbed his now reddened cheek, shooting Darius a half-hearted glare.
Their conversation had stirred a thought that had been lingering in the back of his mind. Soon, Rael would return to his territory in the North.
Albeit he had a good impression of Rael, he had no intention of following them back.
With everything that had happened, he couldn’t predict what the royal family would do with the archduke, and that uncertainty extended to everyone under him, including Rael and him.
Xion’s goal was still the same. A peaceful life. And to get that, he needed to focus on Rael’s problem first.
Now that he had a lab, he was finally qualified to conduct his own experiments. As for the ingredients, they were readily available through the system.
It was no surprise that the price and conditions to open the lab were so high. With 100,000 Merit points, everything was included in the package.
That also meant that he should clear his doubts regarding proceeding further.
Xion hesitated for a moment before asking, "I was wondering if you could tell me more about Moonshade Affliction. You said it was a curse. Why do you think so?"
Were they not talking about fiance? How did the topic change so quickly?
Perhaps he had so few casual conversations that such sudden changes were simply normal? It must be like this.
Darius looked at the eager Xion before he turned toward the window, watching the trees blur past. "A priest cursed me."
Xion sat up straighter. His fingers tightened around the pillow as he followed. "A priest? Why?"
Darius was still looking out as if the scenery was a very impressive thing. "It happened when we raided a church. The priest was enraged by my actions and cursed me in a fit of fury."
Xion frowned. Why was Rael destroying churches?
He himself was not a devotee, nor was he a believer. However, that had changed.
Therefore, his first instinct was to find that same priest and ask him to undo the curse.
"The moment he spoke, I felt something burn through my veins," Darius spoke in a very light tone.
Yet his hand instinctively clenched at the memory of the first pain that burned his senses. "I thought it was just my imagination, but then the symptoms started."
"Symptoms?" Xion was mentally noting down everything. "Like what?"
Darius exhaled slowly. "Pain. Unnatural exhaustion. And... a strange reaction to certain relics and divine energy."
Xion’s mind whirled. That did sound more like a curse.
"Have you ever had it examined by other priests?"
Darius scoffed. "Do you think any priest would dare assist me? I demolished their home, Xion. They despise me more than their hypothetical demon lord."
Xion fell silent at that. Humans tend to take things to extremes. Loving too much, devoting too much, hating too much.
That priest seemed to despise Rael a bit too much as well. If not why would a servant of god curse a mere child? Should he not forgive Rael for his mistakes and guide him onto the right path?
As for why Rael destroyed the churches, there must be a reason.
Although it sounded absurd when said for an eleven-year-old child, Xion knew Rael was not someone who acted on mere whims.
"What else? Don’t leave anything out."
Darius’s gaze shifted to Xion. There was a sharp glint in his green eyes which became darker as he thought about the curse.
"It is not related to the curse, but I can’t feel other people’s temperature. I can’t sense the warmth they radiate, nor can I bear their touch."
Xion remained silent for a long time. Considering Rael’s upbringing and his condition, it was not surprising that he did not like other’s touch. Rather than a jinx, it was more of a psychological reaction.
As for not being able to feel others’ warmth... Is it because he is allergic to mana?
Allergic! Xion’s eyes went wide as he guessed the possibility of Rael’s condition.
Everyone possessed a basic if not a huge amount of mana in their bodies. If Rael was truly just allergic to mana like one would to some nut, then wouldn’t that mean the key to understanding his condition lay in his own mana?
There had to be something unique about Rael’s body, something that caused such a severe reaction.
"Have you always been like this? Unable to touch anyone since you were a child?" Xion asked eagerly.
"No," Darius shook his head. He had been normal, or at least as normal as he allowed himself to be.
It had started after his nanny died. At first, it was just mild irritation, an instinct to recoil. But over time, the foreign sensation of touch twisted into something unbearable, something revolting.
"I just hate it when strangers try to touch me. It makes me..." It makes me want to cut off their hands.
Recalling a few things from the past, Xion slowly wrapped his fingers around Rael’s palm. "And now? Do you hate it when I touch you?"
Darius looked down at the hand holding his. Hate? No. He didn’t dislike it. If anything, he found himself drawn to the warmth that only Xion seemed to offer.
"Don’t hate it because it’s you."
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