"Noxian... You and Noxian have lived together longer than you and ."
Darius stared at Xion with a chilling smile. "Four more years than . Even though I was the first one to find you. First one to hug you. First one to kiss you."
"Noxian did all of those things before you."
Xion imdiately regretted the words that slipped from his mouth.
He understood rather late that he wasn’t completely out of Zen’s control just yet.
It wasn’t just him. Perhaps the entire room was in the sa kind of heavy emotional ss.
Only if Xion could see the drawer where Zen was kept, he would have scread by now.
The drawer yawned open like a silent mouth, and from its depths poured a tangle of black vines.
They weren’t just still tendrils of growth. They breathed. Their greasy, tar‑dark skin pulsed in slow rhythm, each throb echoing with the darkness coiled in Darius’ grasp.
They crawled over the cupboard in rippling waves, their tips tasting the air like the tongues of starving beasts.
In re monts, they had reached the wall, spreading as if mapping the room for their exploration.
Every now and then, a vine paused mid‑curl, its tip tilted toward Darius and Xion. Almost as if they were reacting to what the two humans were speaking, or rather what kind of emotions they were exhibiting.
With how the vines were moving so steadily toward Darius, they sure found the depravity in his thoughts much more delicious.
But Xion, shrouded in blindness, sensed nothing.
And Darius, though his eyes drank in every writhing motion, never looked away from Xion.
With a casual toss, he threw Zen away until it rolled toward vines.
The living infestation could have swallowed the entire wall whole, and still, his gaze would not have left the man before him.
"You and Noxian kissed?" he asked, calmly wiping his hand over the cloth before tossing it on the floor as well.
"N-No, I an... not like we did. It was just brotherly love."
The green in Darius’ eyes swirled with the hint of darkness.
"Love... You love Noxian... But you only love , right, baby?"
The sweet voice coiled around Xion’s throat, making his breathing heavy.
[Err... Host, your husband is losing it. You’d better correct it before we both end up chained.]
Xion was well aware of the threat hanging in the air like a noose.
"You!" He blurted out. "Of course, I only love you. That’s why I married you, rember?"
Darius didn’t reply.
Instead, he yanked Xion’s wrist and pulled him back into his arms. His hand casually drifted inside the shirt, moving over the warm skin before he let out an audible sigh of satisfaction.
"You are trembling."
Who wouldn’t? Xion wanted to yell, and while at it, he also wanted to smack Darius a few tis.
"C-cold. Your hands are cold."
Darius chuckled.
For the first ti, Xion truly understood why Raymond would get so worked up after hearing the Archduke’s laugh.
Because it was so terrifying!
Scary enough for his entire body to jolt.
Sothing in that sound sank its claws into him. It wasn’t just fear, but a deeper, older dread he couldn’t na. The kind that made you feel like running would be pointless.
[Okay, host, I’m creeped out now,] the system muttered. [If you’re planning to faint, please make it look extra dramatic.]
The vines in the corner pulsed faster, their slick skins twitching in rhythm with the pounding in Xion’s skull.
He could almost hear them breathing now, faint but steady, like a predator crouched in the dark.
’What is that?’ he asked, using his system as his eyes.
[Trust , you don’t want to know that yet. Just step away from the Archduke by any ans.] Saving their life was more important.
Xion forced his lips into sothing resembling a smile, but his knees buckled under him.
I am afraid of Darius.
The realization was even worse than the hidden intent of Zen.
’Give dicine and make faint.’
[Wait... you really agree with my suggestions?]
’Yes.’
His brain felt too muddled to think properly. Fainting felt like the best solution his system had ever offered.
Within a few seconds, the room started to spin. His heart clawed at his ribs, every beat rattling his bones.
[Hey. Hey. Sit down before you faceplant into Darius’ chest.]
Xion gasped, his fingers curled over the fabric of Darius’ shirt.
"Noxian is my brother! Don’t let Zen twist your thoughts," he uttered through gritted teeth. "It was only on my cheek. Trust , Darius. I have only loved you in this life, and even in my last."
That was the truth. When stupid Xion was on the mission to understand human nature, he fell for the gentle guardian.
"? You didn’t like , little angel. You ran away from . When I gave you all the things you asked to."
Darius patted the bare back before sliding his fingers over the delicate spine. "How heartless of you."
Xion stiffened all of a sudden.
Darius had called him many things. Sweetheart, darling, baby, but it was never little angel.
That word made sothing snap inside his core.
Little angel... little angel...
It echoed in his skull, wrapped in an old voice he had forgotten.
Without any warning, all the mories poured into his mind like a flood, sweeping everything aside and leaving him panting for breath.
The touch on his back, coupled with those visions flashing in front of his mind, made him gag. He couldn’t stop the bile clawing at his throat.
The bare minimum strength allowed him to push Darius away.
Without external support, he tumbled on the cold floor, heaving for breath. Yet his stomach gave him no rest before it started churning with more ferocity.
He vomited.
Blood, remnants of poison, and what little he had eaten in the afternoon.
His cough broke whatever trance Darius had been caught up in. The darkness from his gaze disappeared.
The Northern lord looked at shivering Xion and panicked.
"You... Wait a second."
He was quick to bring a towel and a glass of water.
There wasn’t the slightest bit of disgust for the ss Xion had made. Only imnse worry etched upon his furrowed brows.
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