[BL] Accidentally Becoming the Healer of the Deranged Archduke-Chapter 34: Waking Up on the Wrong Side of the Bed

Xion jolted awake from the icy chill of the floor biting into his skin. Blinking away the remnants of sleep, he sluggishly shoved the blanket off his head. His bleary gaze drifted to the chair he had occupied the night before.

Ah, I fell from the chair, he winced, straddling his left knee which had just made intimate contact with the floor.

His dark hair stuck out at every angle, most likely from rubbing his head on the table in his sleep. Groaning, he rubbed the back of his head only to flinch as a faint static jolt pricked his fingers.

"I am killing anyone who forced me to sleep at four again," he muttered groggily while completely forgetting that it was he who insisted on learning all the basics of the mana in one night.

After detangling himself from the treacherous floor and a blanket, he stood up. Wondering when he bought such an antique-looking lamp, he stumbled toward the left door.

That was where his bathroom was.

His bare feet shuffled across the wooden floor, the chill of the planks barely registering as his mind drifted somewhere between sleep and wakefulness.

With one hand, he pushed the door open heavily; the other rubbed at his half-closed eyes as if willing them to focus.

However, instead of the familiar bathroom, what greeted him was a cute child dressed in beautiful blue clothes. Completely ignoring Ray who stood beside the boy, Xion smiled.

"Yo, good morning, baby," he greeted, his hand landing squarely on Darius’ head as though patting an obedient child.

Ray’s eyes widened in disbelief. In an instant, his hand shot toward the long sword hanging around his waist.

With a blissful, silly smile, Xion yawned as he waved his delicate hand, and then shut the door in their faces.

Ray’s grip tightened around the hilt of his sword. A loud crack echoed as his knuckles turned white. If it were not for Darius shaking his head, that sinful hand would have been lying on the floor by now.

Allen, standing a respectful distance away, turned his face toward the sky. A silence spread into the corridor of the first floor of the inn.

Darius... blinked his green eyes which looked much darker than before.

After a brief second, he resumed his steps down the hallway, looking as calm and composed as a king inspecting his domain.

Ray followed behind. He was barely suppressing his outrage. "Your Grace! Are you just going to let him-" he sputtered, his low hissing voice carrying disbelief and the faintest hint of righteous fury.

"What?"

"You need to punish him!" Ray’s voice rose an octave, "He’s out of his mind! Acting like... like you’re his friend!"

Darius descended the stairs with a relaxed grace. "He’s still half-asleep," he murmured after a beat.

Half asleep? Ray’s eyes widened as he looked at his master incredulously.

No, why do I suddenly recall the time you burned down the city lord’s mansion because his daughter barely touched your arm? Not hold but touched it!

Ray knew that she was trying to seduce his grace, but still!

Darius ignored his knight’s constipated look and resumed his path to the ground floor.

His people had rented out the entire inn for safety. They could not afford to leave any risk of prying eyes.

However, Ray wasn’t worrying about strangers today; the stupid healer seemed to pose enough of a problem on his own!

The said stupid healer freshened up and finally got his sleepy brain to start working normally.

Though lately it was not helping at all, he still went ahead to do the thing. Xion pressed his palms together, eyes turned to the only hope left for his life, heaven.

"Oh, great gods up in the sky," he mumbled while looking at the painted ceiling, "Please help me keep all my limbs attached to my body. Especially my hands! I like my hands. They make food!"

He flexed his fingers as he remembered with horror how he had just ruffled Rael’s hair like a toddler!

They felt nice... Wait, that’s not the point!

"What’s wrong with you, Xion?" he whispered to himself, pacing frantically. "He’s not a boy. He’s a literal scary child with scary eyes and scary guards and scary... everything! Oh gods, is my head still attached?!"

He slapped his cheeks, his brain waking up fully as panic set in. "Okay, okay, play it cool. He probably thinks I’m stupid. Right? No one chops off someone’s limbs for being stupid. Ha, ha... Right?"

There was a soft knock at the door. Xion flinched so hard he stubbed his toe on the chair, the very chair that started this madness.

Limping and muttering curses at it, he shuffled to the door and peeked through the crack only to see the tuft of brown hair.

"Breakfast," Allen called softly, clearly having been forced into the errand by none other than Raymond Eldritch.

"Oh no," Xion whispered, clutching the doorframe. He was about to say that he was not hungry but his stomach decided it was a very good time to show its presence.

A loud grumble echoed making Xion’s cheeks turn pink. Did I wake up on the wrong side of the bed? Ah, I did not even get to sleep on the bed!

Gathering what remained of his tattered dignity, Xion grabbed his robe and followed Allen toward the dining room, mumbling under his breath.

The polished walls of the hallway were adorned with intricate carvings of mythical creatures said to guard travelers to their destination.

A faint shimmer of protective runes ran along the wooden beams to provide safety to the dwellers from any possible harm.

Xion might have been intrigued by the rune pattern but he was too busy keeping his nerves in check.

"Keep cool, Xion. Don’t ruffle anyone’s hair. Just... don’t die."

When Xion arrived at the special dining area, he was greeted with the sight of Darius sitting at the center table, looking perfectly composed.

Even those thin strands of silver were perfectly flowing like a liquid moonlight. How pretty...

The morning sun filtered through the window and bathed his composed small figure in a glow that somehow made him look even more intimidating.

Darius lifted his gaze to meet Xion’s, and for the briefest moment, something that could only be described as amusement flickered across his pale green eyes.

"Awake?"

Xion immediately wanted to evaporate. Or shrink. Or find the deepest hole possible and leap into it headfirst. frёewebnoѵēl.com

"Y-yes, your grace," he stammered a reply though his voice came out more of a squeak as he scrambled to bow awkwardly.

Xion could clearly see Ray’s jaw clenched with tension. The knight’s light blue eyes burned with an unconcealed fury, and Xion wisely decided not to provoke him further.

Not wanting to make another mess early in the morning, he shuffled over to a seat far away from Rael and his angry knight.

Darius was the only one sitting at the center table. His sharp gaze lingered momentarily on the empty chair beside him, then flicked over to Xion, who was now sitting at a table with Berry and a few other soldiers.

Saying nothing, Darius turned his attention to the food in front of him. His spoon moved with an elegance that should have been mundane but instead felt oddly regal.

Yet as he took a bite, a faint frown formed on his brow. Was this not the finest inn in Uzera city? How come breakfast tasted so bland?

After taking two more sips, he rose from his chair and slowly made his way to his room.

Ray cast a glance at the nearly untouched plate and sighed. Archduke had always been like this. He hardly had any appetite, especially in the mornings. Nor could he fall asleep at night.

All of this accompanied by the curse of Moon Affliction, it only made Archduke’s health even worse.

Ray thought of the empty plates in the past two days and looked at the healer who was gulping down the soup.

For once, Ray thought, perhaps having this bumbling fool around wasn’t entirely terrible.