[BL] Accidentally Becoming the Healer of the Deranged Archduke Chapter 220: A Chaos in Royal Court

A week. That was all it took for chaos to descend upon Fayre.

Being a border village, Fayre was no stranger to tension. Its defenses were solid with high stone walls, fortified gates, and a watch rotation tighter than a miser’s purse. It was enough to stop a small fleet of soldiers.

But this ti, the threat wasn’t carrying swords. It was dragging itself on trembling legs, coughing blood, and begging for rcy.

The very gates that once welcod rchants and wandering monks now stood locked.

On the other side were the desperate sick with purple veins curling beneath their skin like a curse.

No one knew where the rumor had started.

Maybe it was because of Lord Varnehold, who had taken extra dicine and left with his family that very night. People mistakenly thought that the young master was cured.

But like all good rumors, it had fire for a spine and wings for legs.

The healing house had found a cure for the Purple Plague.

"Purple Plague." That’s what folks had started calling Tenberis due to the strange violet veins that surfaced beneath the skin after the fever lasted for more than three days.

Xion wasn’t surprised by that. What did surprise him was the sudden appearance of Ravik.

"My lord," Ravik said with caution, "There are people saying... you’re withholding the cure just because they’re poor. What should we do with them?"

Ravik had only recently beco a guard, but he was already familiar with most duties.

"Let them talk," Xion replied, not even glancing up from his desk covered in ink stains and half-finished molecular formulae. "As long as they’re not setting anything on fire, I don’t care."

Although there hadn’t been any confird case of the Purple Plague yet, the villagers were too tense when they saw the people crowding at the gates.

Even without a fever, the healing house was busy enough. He really didn’t have the extra energy to take care of so stupid rumors.

"But..." Ravik hesitated, "It’s Lukas. He’s leading them. Says his son had a plague and he died because you refused to treat him."

Xion groaned. If there was anything that could cause more trouble than a deadly disease, it was an angry mob.

Still, he waved Ravik off. "Watch him. Don’t touch him unless he hurt soone else first."

Ravik didn’t argue. But before he left, he paused just long enough to glance at Xion’s face as though he had another question lingering on his tongue. Then he vanished into the hallway with silent steps.

The room was quiet again, save for the scratching of pen on parchnt and the occasional crackle from the mana stone kept in the hearth.

’You sent the letter. Do you think it’ll work?’ The system had been more eager about the court drama than the antidote.

’Why wouldn’t it?’ Xion responded internally while his hand moved quickly over a diagram of molecular chains.

He’d phrased it carefully, told the crown in the letter that the plague might be spreading due to so unknown elents and he needed to travel to different regions so he could find the solution.

He had very ’humbly’ pleaded with his majesty to allow him more ti. And because court politics were like a snake pit, he had included one very specific, very strategic lie.

He’d said he would be traveling to see his husband, the Archduke as well.

In the eyes of the court, he and the archduke had been indeed spouses all due to that fake declaration. Although his fingers holding the pen tightened and his ears turned red when he wrote ’husband’, he still did it.

Yes, he gambled on Darius’ na like a wildcard.

Because in court, power didn’t lie in truth, it lived in perception. And Xion had no power of his own. But Darius... did.

It wasn’t like they could confirm it. And even if Darius said that there was nothing between them anymore, Xion could just pretend to be heartbroken.

The royal court thrived on such things. They’d eat it up with wine and gossip while hushing the words like they were so sort of secret.

His priority was to get his hands on that violet spider flower, anything else could be pushed aside.

What Xion didn’t know was that, miles away, his letter had landed like a war drum in the royal court.

First, it read like a polite middle finger shown to the monarch.

"I’d rather be trampled by oxen in the mountains while traveling than serve in your fancy little palace."

That was honestly what the officials concluded when they read Xion’s ’humble begging’ to give him more ti.

Second, it terrified the officials. The holy healers had failed to control the plague’s spread. And now the one man who might have a solution wanted to leave for so distant lands?

Lastly, and perhaps most deadly was the Crown Prince.

Silas Valeria had long believed that Darius scared off his little pet healer with his cold glares. Archduke was far too bland and had no bone for romance in his stiff body. Everyone knew it.

And for the past four years, even if he had been losing when it ca to public recognition, he didn’t miss any chance to taunt the Archduke’s failure in love.

But now? The "beloved" was crawling right back to Darius.

Silas nearly crushed his wine cup in rage when he read the letter.

He had asked the Church to develop the antidote, and they were already very close. All he had to do was distribute it when the panic was at its highest.

His plans... It was all going down the drain!

Ironically, it wasn’t any enemy who did it. It was thanks to his father’s ddling to bring that damn pretty boy inside the palace.

If that wasn’t enough, due to the royal decree, they had successfully scared that healer into running back to Archduke’s side.

And Darius? That bastard didn’t even need to lift a finger while he managed to win the beauty back.

Even without looking, Silas could imagine how smug that damned devil would be!

Xion on the other hand, was completely unaware of the chaos his words had unleashed in the royal court. But then again, even if he knew he wouldn’t care.

He had bigger things to worry about like a working dicinal formula.

In just seven days, he had gathered enough alternative herbs with similar chemical structures to create a temporary treatnt.

It wouldn’t cure the plague. But it could delay the worst of it.

Two more days... if all went according to plan, in two days he would leave Fayre under the care of the healer he had been training all these years.

So would be sent to other regions, while he would leave for the north.