CHAPTER 354: THE LAST LETTER OF GOODBYE

"Today, I went to attend a meeting in the city and came across an old couple. One called the other darling, and they laughed together. I want to see Xion laugh with me like that. "

"I keep wondering... should I call him by such names? Would he allow it? Or would he turn his gaze away in anger?

But if he did... even his anger is beautiful. I can picture it so clearly — the way his cheeks flush, the way his eyes narrow like a little wildcat about to pounce. Adorable, in every sense."

"I might end up calling him a kitten with how often I’ve compared the two. But I can’t. Allen said it might be disrespectful to call Xion that. Apparently, it was like reducing someone to an animal?

I don’t want that. I want to shower Xion with all I have. I respect him more than anyone else in the world, but he hates me."

"Will he ever like me? What should I do if he hates me even after following all these instructions?"

"It had been three years, and I miss him all the same. Maybe more than ever. Xion had built his own school and ’The Healing House’. How talented my healer is. I have instructed my people to keep him safe without getting too close."

"I’ve asked them to construct buildings in the same style here. I want everything ready for my sweetheart. Ah... I’ve already started calling him that."

"It is another day, and I am waiting for my lovely healer to return to my side again..."

Xion’s fingers trembled as he flipped to the other page. The way the book had been placed in the box, it should have been in perfect condition. Yet it wasn’t.

The parchment had yellowed. The edges were torn. Many extra sheets were wedged between the pages, covered with dense notes.

For almost four years... the great Archduke had been learning how to love me.

Xion recalled how easily those endearing terms had left Darius’ lips when they met after such a long time.

How many times had Darius uttered those affectionate terms that they had become his second nature?

[His Grace loves you so much, host. You should be happy, right?]

Happy? It was far more than that.

The warmth pooling inside him had filled his chest to the brim. His vision started to blur at the edges as a wet stain appeared on the last page.

Xion hastily pressed the wide arm of his robe onto the sheet, soaking up the excess liquid before blowing on it.

His long lashes trembled as he blinked rapidly. He couldn’t let his tears fall and ruin such a precious thing.

When he was about to put it back, he saw it. The pendant, which Rael used to wear to control his mana affliction, was also thrown inside.

Along with it was the last letter he had left for Darius.

His fingertips inched closer to the letter, yet the moment he touched the paper, he yanked his hand back. Almost as if he had been electrocuted.

The letter I left for Rael on that rainy night...

Was he hurt every time he opened this box?

Xion refused to think about it. Or rather, he didn’t dare to.

Placing ’The Love Guide’ back inside the box, he closed the lid with a snap.

His breathing had tumbled out of rhythm, and so did his blinking speed.

It had been almost half an hour since he had entered this room. The colors started to distort even as he tried to clear his vision. His left eye had completely turned dim.

Should I go and take one last look at the painting? Or should I take a stroll on the other side?

His dilemma halted when the door creaked open.

Xion spun on his heels. His gaze met the green eyes, wide with emotions he couldn’t decipher.

However, the Archduke’s arrival solved Xion’s primary issue.

He stared at the taller man approaching him step by step. This is what I want to look at

.

His gaze remained focused on Darius, noting with almost belated amusement how tense his jaw was.

The blurriness started to distort the beautiful view he was looking at. He blinked rapidly, trying to clear his sight.

Xion had the urge to commit this face to his memory more than ever. He wanted to soak that terrifying love overflowing from those eyes.

"Xion?"

The coldness on his cheek had Xion leaning into the wide palm.

[Host. The thirty-minute time limit has passed. I’ll leave the two of you alone. If you need something, give me a call and I’ll rush back.]

The system didn’t even wait for Xion to reply before disconnecting.

The corner of his lips curled up. There was no need for the system to inform him about the time. The gorgeous face that had become hazy once again was enough.

"Baby, what happened?"

"Hmm?" That was all Xion replied with. A nasally sound that sounded more like a whine.

Ah, Xion blinked. He noticed how he was rubbing his face on Darius’ palm and had an urge to laugh. He really was acting like a kitten.

It was only when the Archduke wiped his tears away that the certain fool, drunk on his emotions, realized that he was crying.

"Why are you crying? Are you hurt?"

The growing panic in Darius’ expression somehow eased the weight on his chest. Ironic, wasn’t it?

He had feared becoming a burden to Darius, yet nothing calmed him more than seeing this man worry over him so openly.

Almost as if he were the only one who mattered.

"Baby... talk to me."

"I missed you," Xion blurted out. His voice cracked. "The first day I left you, I missed you. The second day, I missed you. Every day... I wondered if you were eating, if you were in pain, if you were..."

"Xion..."

"I worried if the mana in the pendent was enough for you. If you’d need more. But I also prayed you wouldn’t. That you’d never need my healing again."

Before Xion could utter another word, a pair of lips crashed onto his own.