[BL] Accidentally Becoming the Healer of the Deranged Archduke-Chapter 67: A Glimpse Into The Past

Legacy. Darius knew no word more intimately than this. His father had continuously drilled into him what their legacy meant, and how, even at the tender age of five, it was his solemn duty to guard it with his own life.

At times, Darius had felt relieved. Having a legacy gave him purpose, something to strive for, and if he managed to do splendid work, his dear father would look at him.

Perhaps he might speak more than a few words to him, or just maybe, even offer a hug.

All the hugs he had received were from his nanny.

One in the morning when she would help him down the stairs, one in the night when he would doze off at some random corner exhausted from trying to memorize the names of noble houses.

Despite that he was glad. Albeit tired, little Darius was delighted. He had a very important responsibility to hold after all.

Then there were those moments when Darius saw his cousin, Talia Velaria, giggling and screaming as she rushed through his gardens with his mother.

Though Darius was not old enough to fully understand the difference, he could still sense it. Unlike his own screams that only left his lips after his father’s punishments, Talia was not in pain.

She seemed... happy.

His mother, a royal princess, had a different legacy she intended to pass on to her daughter. Unfortunately, that never came to pass, as the archduke Darkhelm never once visited her chambers after Darius’s birth.

"Your mother loves you. She just needs time," his nanny had assured him.

Little Darius would often find himself trying to climb the window of his mother’s chambers, and there he would see Talia and his mother decorating each other’s long golden hair with various flowers.

At times, they would sit together on the swing, or wade in the cool waters of the nearby ponds. They looked so carefree, so full of joy that little Darius dreamed of joining them.

But every time Darius tried to inch closer, his father would call him, well it was the servant. Always the servants.

His father had never visited his side of the castle. He was a busy man after all, and Darius came to understand that at a very tender age.

It would have been easier if his mother had lived closer, but even that distant hope was stifled.

He was glad that there were gardens closer to his assigned area, or his mother too would never come to see him.

Serve... For as long as Darius could remember, he had wanted to serve his mother. Maybe pour her tea, sit by her side with Talia, and perhaps, just perhaps, have her place flowers in his hair. But he never dared to ask.

How could he when his hair was so dull like ash, unlike the pretty gold that flowed so radiantly from his mother’s hair and eyes?

His hair was short too. So, he thought all he needed to do was grow it a bit. Just a tad more than his shoulders to get a loving head pat... or maybe when they reached his back...

And then there were his eyes. The same venomous green shade as his father’s. Talia’s, on the other hand, gleamed with golden light.

Talia Velaria, a royal princess, a niece of his mother and a daughter of the ruling emperor, was a splitting image of his mother.

Sadly, he, Darius Rael Darkhlem, was the very portrait of his father.

Darius knew even then that he was not considerate. At least, not the way he showed it in front of others.

He had given his one and only toy to Talia. A tiny flower pot which his mother had touched in the passing.

He had not given it to her out of kindness. No, he had given it to the little princess in hopes of reaching his mother through her.

Greedy, yes, he was greedy for affection, for attention. Was he not?

Ironically, his nanny had once told him that he was much like his mother, that he had a kind heart.

That was the last time he saw his nanny.

She tried to steal something and was punished by being flanked to death. He, Darius, as her master had to witness it with his own eyes.

It was then, for the first time, he saw it. The black miasma. It wrapped around his nanny, pulsating with a seething hatred. Was it aimed at him? At his uselessness?

He had not noticed how bit by bit his soul was getting lacerated by his parents. His childhood was getting clipped away.

And before he even knew it few years had passed.

He was holding his father’s sword to the archduke’s chest. He wanted to point it directly at the neck, but his small frame did not give him much option.

"Are you planning to serve someone? Perhaps the king?" A curious voice brought him out of his hazy memories.

Those innocent blue eyes looked at him without any malice. There was so much life in them, free from any dark, inky snakes slithering everywhere his eyes could reach.

There was a certain radiance in Xion. The kind that seemed too pure for someone like him.

Xion possibly could not have known that Darius had long since sworn to serve no one.

Even if he were on his deathbed, he would never lift a hand to aid the emperor. No, not even then.

The healer also had no idea those words if uttered by anyone else, would have angered Darius enough to alert his entire group.

But Xion somehow managed to slide past the fire. His words, rather than making the archduke angry, managed to pull a light chuckle from Darius’s lips.

"No. I have my parents’ legacy to carry on."

Xion grimaced, "Legacy? What a heavy-sounding word." He even shook his shoulders as if shaking the invisible weight the word might have placed on him. "The only legacy I am following is my own."

He puffed his chest and proudly declared. If he were in an anime, his nose might have grown bigger from his pride by now.

My own legacy... It sure sounds nice. Curious, Darius asked, "And which is?"

With a light laugh, Xion jumped to his feet and casually brushed the nonexistent dust from his pants. "To become a good healer, of course," he said, grinning.

Darius chuckled again despite himself, "Yeah, it suits you."

"I know right," Xion waved his hand at the boy who was not ignoring him anymore. Not only that, Rael even had a tiny smile on his lips.

Was that not a wonderful thing?

"I will see you later, then. I need to go and make a decoction for Allen. Bye-bye."

Without waiting for Darius to utter any more words, Xion hopped out of the carriage.

He had been busy teaching Allen how to prepare various decoctions to treat viral fevers and other ailments. Miraculously, he’d discovered that he was earning points for doing so!

After carefully reading the rules, Xion realized that the more he taught or created new medicines, the more merit points he would accumulate.

In short, as long as he introduced new methods of treatment to the people of this world, his points would rise steadily.

After teaching for nearly a week, Xion had managed to gather 95,000 points. He would have never managed to do so by only treating the patients.

So, in that sense, he had gained far more from this journey than he had originally anticipated. freeweɓnøvel.com