[BL] Accidentally Becoming the Healer of the Deranged Archduke

Berry had killed the infected people, but the epidemic did not stop with those five people.

More and more people began to fall sick.

Berry and Oswin had to deal with the civilians without arousing panic while also dealing with the constant attacks, trying their best to keep the enemy out of the city gates.

In just two days, they lost hundreds of soldiers.

When Xion returned the next evening, he was welcomed by the sight of horror.

There were corpses of civilians being urgently torched inside the forest.

The stench of charred flesh seeped through the camp like an invisible fog. No matter how tightly the guards wrapped cloth around their faces, the smell clung to their throats, bitter and metallic.

To keep it secret and prevent panic, the guards carried out the burnings in the dead of night.

The fear of turning into a Death Walker hung over them as the feverish patients multiplied across all the camps.

Healers had been fussing around, trying to decrease the temperature, but the effects were negligible. Within a matter of a few hours, they would cough up blood and die.

"Your Grace," Oswin smiled, though coupled with his haggard face, it looked more like he was about to cry. "We are glad you have returned safely."

Xion nodded, his gaze lingering on the burning corpses.

"Thanks to Berry's advice, we managed to get rid of animal remains in time. But it still affected a few people."

Xion realized Oswin's relief was genuine.

Perhaps dealing with just a few dozen people felt far easier than facing hundreds or even thousands.

"You should rest now. Tomorrow won't be easy."

Xion nodded again.

Silas Valaria... The name left a flicker of rage burning inside his chest.

The Devil's Heart was no mere trinket. Silas had been twisted by it, and now he could hardly be called human.

To watch so many lives suffer just for the sake of his personal enmity with Darius...

It was so ridiculous that Xion couldn't even bring himself to speak, to curse.

Xion had tried to use his healing on the few feverish people.

It worked, though it was hard to tell if it was the mere fever or the plague thrumming inside their veins.

The only good thing about this was that the corpse didn't quickly turn into Death Walkers.

Whatever parasite was forcing the ignition of flesh-hunger needed at least a few hours to start working. It was enough for the guards to burn the flesh to ashes until nothing remained.

After returning to his room, Xion took a hasty bath and sat at the table. His gaze was fixed on the notes.

Each new discovery about those orcs was listed, and yet he couldn't find the main issue.

The knock on the door forced Xion to lift his head.

"Your Grace, do you have some time to spare?" Berry asked, waiting for permission to enter the room.

"Come in."

Unlike Oswin, Berry didn't beat around the bush. He was already stating the situation before even taking a seat.

"That bastard is a cunning brat. We have separated the guards who come in contact with the animal corpses to see if they will develop fever, and burned the infected, but..."

"But?" Xion looked at the old man. His bald head glittered under the light of the torch.

If it were another day, he might have wanted to touch it or smack it. Not that he would've acted on it.

But not everyone was good at holding back their impulses.

Silas Valaria, for one, was the prime example.

"But I don't think you should face Silas. He is after you, Your Grace. And if I am not wrong, he wants to capture you alive."

With all the things happening, Xion had guessed that much. It must be Michael who wanted him, not Silas. Though it wasn't relieving in the least.

"What else?" he motioned Berry to continue.

"I think he wants to marry you."

Xion blinked and then burst into laughter. "I assure you, Silas doesn't."

"Why not?" Berry insisted. "You might not be aware, forgive my bluntness, of your beauty, but we all can see it. Soren, Caspian, Kelin... I doubt the list ends there."

Darius had taken care of more pests than Xion could ever imagine.

It was Berry who had handled it himself. Even when Xion was living at the southern border, it was Berry who had taken care of quite a few perverts, especially the ones who liked to send him letters.

The Archduke had never told Xion, and Berry had no desire to bear the wrath of His Grace. So, he remained silent about that matter.

"Trust me, Your Grace, there are more people who want to have you than you think.

Xion shook his head, eyes glittering with a smile. "There might be, but Silas isn't one of them. The one who is pulling the strings does want me."

Even if Michael wasn't that kind of pervert yet, Xion doubted it would remain that way.

The need to possess Xion's every thought was far too deeply carved in Michael's mind. There was no cure for it.

In Michael's eyes, Xion was a pet. A pet so precious that Michael could kill the entire province to get it back.

A pet needed to be trained so it would act exactly how its master pleased.

Michael had spent a long time molding Xion into a puppet who would walk to his side at a signal command.

Now that the pet had escaped, Michael wanted it back on a leash. Tighter and more concrete.

Knowing Michael, he must be thinking of somewhere along the lines of 'cleaning Xion of the bad influence' and 'making him pure again'.

It was nothing but the ravings of a madman, and now that madman had gone more insane if possible.

"It's Michael who wants me," Xion admitted so easily that it left Berry stunned.

"Ain't he a priest? Should he not be free from any of the worldly emotions?"

"Is that even possible, Berry? To get rid of all emotions?"

"I dunno," Berry scratched his beard. "Don't like those piles of garbage dressed in white cloaks like some pure maiden anyway."

Xion chuckled again.

His clear laugh rang in the room like a soothing melody. It was as if they weren't on the battlefield, but at home.

"Then, let's kill them all. Shall we?" Xion said with a brilliant smile. "Kill every single one of them."

Berry froze. For a moment, he swore he was staring not at the healer but at the shadow of his liege, who was born to slaughter.

"Ah?" Berry uttered, still baffled.

What happened to the sweet, innocent child who would treat the blight rot in exchange for a few worthless coins?

Nonetheless, there was no one to answer him.

"... As you command, Your Grace." Berry bowed his head.

His heart thudded in his chest because that smile didn't reach Xion's eyes. Those pools of blue were cold, without their usual gentleness glinting in them.

No wonder Allen had insisted that Berry talk to Xion.

But what was he even supposed to talk about?

The Archduke was like a jar sealed too tightly, filled with violent mana. One careless touch and it would explode.

He dared not speak about Darius, and other than the battle, he had nothing to share.

What do these youngsters even do? The poor old man was hit by the generational difference.

It was Xion who saved him from awkwardly scratching his bald head.

"Take a good rest, Berry. We need that in the morning."

"Yes, Your Grace."

Berry left the room with heavy footsteps.

When Allen approached him, he shook his head.

"He looks... cold. Like our liege. I don't like it."

Allen hummed. "I know."

No one did.

"He is angry, yah know. So, let him vent it on the battlefield. And you, lad, need to sleep. Or your Ray would yell at me for not taking care of you."

Allen blinked before a slight, almost invisible smile appeared in his honey-brown eyes.

"I will make a last round in the infirmary before hitting the bed," Allen said as they both walked toward the camps where the patients and possibly infected guards were being held.

Berry trudged beside him, watching the infirmary tent's flaps sway in the cold breeze.

"He's changing, yah know. Our divine healer," Berry muttered.

"We forced him to change. This is exactly why I didn't want teacher to stay with our liege."

Berry recalled how Ray had insisted on separating Xion from the Archduke when they first met.

Later, though, it was Allen who would try to keep the two separate.

Berry never really understood why, until now.

Allen had always been quiet, but the young man was also the one who was more perceptive than all of them.

He must have seen the Archduke's growing obsession much earlier than him or Ray.

Berry stared at the city where refugees were trying to huddle together for warmth while their divine healer turned colder with every second.

"Our liege is cursed after all. Everyone around him changes."

Allen didn't reply.

The night became silent.