CHAPTER 355: PAMPERING THE ARCHDUKE

The crystals seemed to dim, as if attuned to the mood of their owner. A thin fog of haze obscured the view.

The only thing Xion felt was the Archduke.

The searing touch at his nape, the soft lips pressing on his own, the thundering heartbeat against his chest and the arm wrapped around his waist.

He was unable to decide who it belonged to anymore. Two beats seemed to thump in a strange out-of-rhythm tone.

Xion struggled amidst turbulent tides, gasping for breath as monstrous waves threatened to devour him whole. However, the grip at his nape had merely tightened further, pressing him forward.

The kiss had dragged on for long enough that Xion went from kissing back eagerly to struggling and then to surrendering.

The pliant healer seemed born to yield to the Archduke’s whims, bearing the onslaught without much complaint.

His thin back softened. All of his defenses melted until he was utterly bare, opening his mouth wider so Darius could do as he pleased.

Unable to stand on his own, his body sagged against the taller frame.

Like a bandit, the treacherous tongue inside his mouth plundered him of every last bit of oxygen, leaving him trembling.

Dizzy and on the verge of fainting, he gasped. The scant breath he managed to draw came only from the air Darius shared with him.

With how harshly the Archduke sucked on his tongue, even swallowing had become an ordeal.

That tender muscle inside his own mouth no longer felt like it belonged to him.

It was bitten, sucked, drawn deep and wrung relentlessly, left nearly raw.

Xion’s mind turned to mush, teetering on the brink of endearment and delirium.

Hearing a muffled whimper beneath him, Darius reluctantly released the captive mouth.

A wet sound, lewd in the otherwise silent room, echoed as the Archduke drew back slightly, granting his gasping baby a moment to breathe.

Xion’s eyes glistened with moisture, silently accusing him of having gone too far.

With his cheeks flushed with hues of pink and red, lips swollen and wet with saliva, he looked like a perfectly ripe peach.

A little delicacy that had been bullied to tears.

The sight of him looking so docile and pitiful could have softened any heart, sparking the impulse to cradle this fragile being in the palms and carefully take care of him.

Yet, Darius only leaned down again, pressing gentle kisses onto those teary eyes before capturing those puffed-up lips again.

Xion couldn’t recall how long they had kissed. In the end, he couldn’t even stand properly.

Darius picked him up, cradling him against his chest like a precious being.

"Forget everything else, Xion. Just remember this time we are sharing, remember only me."

What was the point of dwelling on the yellowed pages?

Xion mumbled a soft hum in agreement. His arms wrapped around the wide shoulders before he rubbed his forehead into the crook of Darius’ neck.

"I really act like a cat when I am with you," he muttered. He had never really noticed how easy it was for him to rub against Darius.

The body under him stiffened.

"You... You read all of it?"

Xion’s lips twitched at the obvious hesitation.

Darius was so strange. He had kissed him so mercilessly that his lips had swollen. They tingled, and even the root of his tongue had gone numb.

Speaking felt like a chore.

But Darius wasn’t worried about that. This northern lord was more attentive to the pet name he had been calling secretly.

"I won’t call you that." As if to emphasize the truth, Darius kissed the raven black tuft before adding, "Really."

Exhausted beyond his limit, Xion was far too lazy to even reproach. He lay sprawled over Darius, ordering him at will. "Take me back. I am hungry."

"Yes, my lord."

The answer came swiftly after that. And those words only made Xion laugh.

Darling, baby, sweetheart, lord — So many nicknames, and yet the Archduke always seemed to call his name. ’Xion’ had become something that left Darius’ lips more than any other word.

As they bypassed the guards along with Noxian and Ray standing in the hallway, Xion wasn’t that ashamed of showing his proximity to Darius anymore.

Sure, his face still burned, and he kept his head buried in Darius’ shoulder so his brutally kissed lips wouldn’t show to his younger brother... but he didn’t ask Darius to take another path to avoid them.

I will pamper you, Darius. With all the love I have. I promise.

A vague sense of déjà vu prickled at his senses. Why did it feel like I had spoken those words before?

Shaking his head free of messy thoughts, he called his system.

[...Yes, host? Why are you out of the room so early?]

The system sounded almost... dissatisfied.

’I thought you would be eager to offer some help. Not interested anymore?’

[Of course, I am. I just didn’t expect you guys not to have sex. That way, you would have bought more refreshing reagents. What a loss.]

Xion, "..." What a greedy little thing.

Deep blue eyes narrowed slightly. He had a vague suspicion this system had been pushing him into that room just so he would get emotional and indulge the Archduke.

Though, honestly, he’d have indulged his lover anyway, even without those letters.

[Tell me, my dear host. Why were you looking for me? Planning to buy something? Let me tell you, thanks to your love life, we have a lot of sex toys in stock. Want to try some?]

The heat that hadn’t even faded yet flared again on his flushed cheeks. Sometimes it was hard to deal with such a blunt, unashamed system.

All of its words were spoken without mincing.

At such points, the difference between being human and an artificial intelligence became apparent.

’No, we don’t need toys.’

Even without any such things, he was having a hard time getting out of bed.

Perhaps Darius had started to let go of his carefully curated persona from that book; the Archduke was very vocal about his ... certain needs.

’Help me prepare the basic school materials. The same as we did in Faymere.’

[Oh! You are starting to work on that! Leave it all to me!]

If he couldn’t teach the children personally, he’d train others to do it.

Sitting idly by was never his way of living.