[BL] Accidentally Becoming the Healer of the Deranged Archduke

Xion had no idea how long he had clung to Darius. It was only when Darius’ low voice drilled into his ears that he lifted his head from the broad shoulder.

"What did you say?"

Darius used his silken handkerchief to wipe away the lingering dampness on Xion’s face, which was slowly turning pink.

Am I using too much force, Darius mused, making his touch even gentler. So fragile, so delicate.

How can Xion even survive amidst the politics of all the nobles and royals?

Sure enough, it was better to keep Xion by his side.

"I said, you can be my fiancé."

Xion rubbed his eyes before blinking at Darius. For a moment, he was in such disbelief that he even ignored how Darius was rubbing his hair.

"You," Xion pointed his finger at the taller male, "My fiancé? I am sixteen. And you are..."

Xion halted. He had no idea how old Darius was.

Darius grabbed the finger pointing at him. He rubbed his calloused finger over the slender one, "I am twenty-six."

"You... you’re twenty-six?!" Xion gawked, his entire face heating up. "I thought you were-" He cut himself off, biting his lower lip.

He had been treating a twenty-six-year-old as if he were eleven! Xion felt utterly mortified of himself and his sense of judging others. I am never trusting myself again!

If it were any other time, he would have directly burst into the flames of mortification, but right now, he forced himself to focus on something else.

"Am I not Nikolai’s fiancé now?"

That made Darius chuckle. A low laugh that somehow made Xion tremble.

"You can’t, baby." Darius watched in amusement how the single word made Xion’s watery eyes widen.

"You promised to stay by my side, have you not? Sweetheart?"

Xion directly placed his hand on Darius’ mouth. It was a very similar action; one he had done before. At that time, he had dashed away, but now...

Xion tried to get up, only for two hands to directly grab his waist and pull him back.

Xion, who finally noticed his position, stammered, "L-let me go..."

Darius did not let him go. Rather, he dragged Xion closer until Xion could clearly see how those pale eyes shone brightly under the sunlight.

Xion had to put his hands on Darius’ shoulder to stabilize himself. There was a sudden coldness under his palm.

Xion gazed at the damp fabric. I cried like a toddler while... The way he used to hold Minato-sensei. freёwebnoѵel.com

Xion, "...!!!!" I am done for!

"I-I am sorry," Xion mumbled. "I ruined your clothes, and... I also caused you trouble."

"It’s fine, really."

Darius said so but the grip on Xion never decreased.

Xion, helpless, could only voice it out, "If you are not angry, then... why are you holding me? Will you punish me?"

After all, Xion had seen it with his own eyes how afraid the archduke’s retinue was of him. Hence, in the end, he could only come up with this answer.

Darius merely patted Xion’s head. The archduke found those raven strands very comfortable to touch.

"If I don’t hold you, you will run away." He paused, his fingers tightening ever so slightly around Xion’s waist. "And I don’t like losing things that are mine."

Xion, who really was thinking about running away, "... I was not. I really won’t."

Under the pressure of those pale green eyes, Xion gained his freedom and silently settled onto the chair beside Darius.

Xion hesitated before bringing up the thing mentioned earlier, "You said something about being my fiancé. What do you mean by that?"

"Think about it," Darius drawled lazily. "A royal decree isn’t a joke. If you’re mine, no one— not Nikolai, not the king— can touch you."

The archduke knocked Xion’s forehead lightly, punishing him for focusing on the important thing so late. This silly healer really could not be left alone.

Shaking his head, Darius spoke, and this time, he properly explained that royal decree was not something to be taken lightly.

Although he never took it seriously, that did not stop him from scaring a certain wide-eyed kitten. It was so very interesting to see those myriad emotions so vividly displayed in those eyes.

"So, we can say that we are betrothed. That we are in love with each other, and because you did not want to attract any attention, you pretended to be my aide."

Xion finally understood everything. So, this was why Darius had asked him to be his fiancé. Honestly, Xion was terrified when he heard it.

Perhaps it was because he trusted Darius, he subconsciously focused on Nikolai’s trouble and threw Darius’ fiancé at the back of his mind.

But Darius was actually very nice, Xion peeked at the archduke. With his chin resting on the back of his hand, Darius looked calm, lazy even.

As if the royal decree was not something worth worrying about. Maybe for him it really was true.

But that was not the case for Xion. Xion was just a simple person. Albeit from the noble lineage of Marquis, he was just an illegitimate child.

He did remember that his dear family might be looking for him to fill the vacancy of an heir for the time being.

Xion did not wish to join them. If he was not wrong, Nikolai had the intention of using this to force him to obey.

The prince, his father, the king’s decree... compared to being a pawn in Nikolai’s hands, Xion directly picked the best option of them all.

He took a deep breath. "Okay, I will be your fiancé then."

Darius’ grin widened. "Good choice, sweetheart."

The words made Xion’s face heat up. "Can y-you not say that?" he almost stuttered.

Darius gently pinched Xion’s nose, "But we are fiancé now, are we not? It should be okay to call you like that. After all, you used to call me that-"

"Got it." Xion instantly stood up. "Thank you for your help. I’ll leave now so you can rest."

Then without waiting for a response, a certain blushing kitten ran away leaving behind a laughing archduke.