[BL] Accidentally Becoming the Healer of the Deranged Archduke-Chapter 344: The Drunken Kitten

As luck would have it, Xion wasn’t the kind of drunkard who smashed things or raised his voice or went on a rampage just for the sake of it.

No, his kind of drunk was far quieter and also far more dangerous to himself.

Perhaps it was because he wasn’t used to drinking, or maybe because he’d never had much of a filter to begin with.

Either way, once alcohol warmed his veins and dulled his edges, his body seemed to slip into a numb, languid mode.

His thoughts swirled until they loosened his tongue.

If something displeased him, he’d say so without thinking about the consequences.

If something pleased him, he’d praise it, and that too with an almost childlike earnestness, as if nothing else in the world mattered anymore.

Just like now. When his foggy mind could only circle around one thought. I messed up.

Red had spilled everywhere.

No, thank the gods, that it wasn’t blood this time.

The soup that was once steaming in the bowl now lay sloshed across the polished table, dribbling down its edge and pooling onto the floor.

The liquid had splashed over Darius, too. Because, of course, the silver-haired elf was too close to the chaos called Xion.

Though Darius’ dark-grey robes wore only faint stains, nothing he couldn’t wipe away, the same couldn’t be said for the younger one.

The rich broth streaked his delicate cheek, making him look like an exquisite dish himself.

The soup had dribbled on his dark pants and even seeped into the pristine white of his shirt, peeking from beneath his robe.

Why was I fumbling so much? Xion wondered.

Well, he was trying to set everything in place before Darius returned after doing something urgent.

But the Archduke was quick with his long legs, and the silly kitten’s paws? Not so much.

Xion pressed one foot over the other, as if pinning himself still. If he hadn’t been wearing shoes, he’d have been rubbing his toes against each other under the table.

It was an unconscious little habit of his to chase away the nervousness.

And then it came. That sinful voice.

The voice that, no matter the tone it took, managed to slither down his spine and set his nerves alight.

"Xion."

Just his name. And yet, the way it was spoken so low, it was enough to make his ears itch for more.

Long black lashes quivered. He peeked up at Darius from under them, only to find himself ensnared by those searing green eyes.

Before he lost himself in them, he quickly dropped his gaze back to his lap.

"I left for one minute," Darius said, dragging each word like expensive silk across his silly kitten’s delicate skin. It made Xion shiver.

"And you drank three more cups."

Slender little fingers blessed to heal, knotted in his lap.

In truth... Xion had drunk even more than that. He’d even finished the little bit left in Darius’ own cup.

Now here he sat with his cheeks flushed pink. Poor baby was trying very hard not to squirm under the weight of that piercing stare.

"...It was tasty," he finally muttered as if confessing his sins. His voice was no louder than a mosquito’s buzz. "I just wanted one more sip."

There was no reply.

Xion bit his lower lip. Then, like a greedy little kitten, his tongue darted out to lick the lingering sweetness from the corner of his mouth.

Long fingers, which were still tapping on the messed-up table, now pinched his chin, forcing Xion to lift his head properly.

Xion gasped.

Ah. There it was. The most beautiful, yet dangerously cold face he had ever seen. Darius, when angry, looked like a menace, but... my menace.

"Xion," Darius called, tilting his chin this way and that as though inspecting him for any wounds. There were none. "You look like you have something more to say."

And oh, he did.

His drunken little glare and the stubborn frown in his brow said so. If there was anything left unsaid, it was vividly said by that pout of his lips.

Normally, he’d have kept quiet, especially after spilling soup all over himself like a fool. But this Xion was not normal anymore.

Drunk Xion was bold like a tiger.

"You..." he began, poking one delicate finger into the hard muscle of Darius’ chest. "Why are you so handsome that everyone flocks around you? Hm? If you dare scold me, then... then I’ll find someone else who won’t!"

His words slurred slightly, yet satisfaction still made his blue eyes sparkle like gems.

And why wouldn’t the kitten be proud when he was scolding before Darius could even get angry at him?

[Umm, host. I will take my leave before you get me locked in the black room. You still have some refreshing agents left in stock. Feel free to use.] The system muttered in haste and disappeared.

Despite knowing every word, he didn’t understand what the buzzing in his mind meant. What is the black room?

However, the grip on his chin tightened and stole all his attention away. The intense stare of those deep pools of green had him subconsciously gulping down.

The pad of Darius’ thumb dragged down the fine line of Xion’s throat, circling lightly over the vulnerable knot there before gliding lower still, just enough to let him swallow.

And swallow he did. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Who?" Darius asked softly. "Who would you find, Xion?"

Xion, who was nearly hypnotized by his own husband’s beauty, even forgot what the question was.

"...Huh?" He let out a nonsensical noise. "Find a dark room?"

"A dark room. I see."

Long fingers continued to glide over the delicate skin as if the Archduke was leisurely teasing a kitten. With the way Xion leaned into his touch, maybe he truly was.

He gently stroked up the side of the slender, unmarked neck, along the line of his jaw, until the tips of his fingers ghosted over Xion’s soft lips, still shimmering faintly from the drink.

"The one who seduced you..." The thumb rubbed under the red stain on the fair cheek before he leaned forward and licked it. "Be good, and tell me."

Tell me the name so I can make that person vanish without any trace. The glint in those green eyes had dulled even further.

Seduce? The gears in the drunken kitten’s head started running again.

Ah. That word was enough to pull up an old memory.