CHAPTER 360: EARTH SHATTERING... WHAT?

"Your Grace," Luna said, looking at Xion expectantly. "What do you think of these?"

Xion stared at the thin, almost see-through blue robe, then at the red silken one. His lips twitched, his ears burning with heat.

Choosing clothes for a date — and that too in front of Aunt Serena — was embarrassing.

Eager to get it over with, he picked the more decent-looking one.

"Red."

"It will look good on you, Your Grace." Luna was practically buzzing with enthusiasm as she held the dress carefully, already matching it with jewelry.

Why, one might wonder?

Well, Xion was wondering the same thing.

The Archduke had asked for a reward for being so generous to the healers, and judging by the way his horniness had been so blatantly obvious, Xion assumed he’d have to... oblige.

Not that he minded.

He did enjoy it when Darius lost his control. But it was the exhaustion, the way he’d end up sprawled boneless on the bed afterward, that made him hesitate.

Yet strangely, Darius had only asked for dinner. Just the two of them.

Dinner? Were they not always eating together? Darius was the one feeding him half the time, until his stomach bulged.

Even Noxian had gotten used to it and no longer insisted on exchanging the seats with Darius.

So why the enthusiasm? Oh, well. He didn’t have the desire to spend his brain cells on such trivial matters.

"Aunt," Xion said at last, glancing at the red-haired woman sitting silently on the cushioned sofa.

She had come to him a few hours ago. Other than chatting idly and asking after his health, she hadn’t said anything of substance.

But Xion knew Serena’s habits well. She preferred solitude. Rarely did she go out of her way to seek anyone out.

At his voice, she raised her chin.

Even with his blurry vision, those pale white eyes gave Xion the impression of worry.

"Is there something you needed to tell me?"

His words made Luna step discreetly to the corner of the chamber.

When the masters spoke, servants were to leave the vicinity—at least far enough not to overhear, though close enough to keep watch for any threats.

Serena didn’t reply for a long time.

So long that the silence made Xion’s heart beat faster.

"Something’s wrong? Is Noxian... fine? Is he hurt again?" The brat had been getting more and more injured while challenging the knights to a fight.

"He is fine." Noxian was more than fine, but...

Serena stared at her son, at the murkiness lingering in those blue eyes. If she’d noticed it earlier, would Xion have been spared from this misery?

She doubted it. Because if she’d told Darius about the sacrifice Talia was planning... that statue would still be alive.

But only Xion could destroy something like that.

Her actions were aimed at saving the many lives meant to be devoured by that monstrous thing. And in doing so, she had almost lost her son.

The Archduke’s terrified gaze that day still chilled her to the bone. Perhaps that was the difference between her love and Darius’s.

Darius was devoted to Xion alone.

While she... to the goddess.

Her blessing was a shackle. She could not move of her own accord, nor speak beyond what she was permitted.

"...Live well, my child. Sometimes, it is all right to let others die. You have no obligation to save them at the expense of yourself."

"Huh?" Xion tilted his head, confused.

"Promise me, Xion," she said, taking his hands gently into her own, "you will live for yourself. Not for Noxian, or me. Not for the people. Not even for Darius. Only yourself."

Only that way, she thought, could he truly go on living.

Xion blinked, trying to process her words.

Ah, is that the reason?

His near-blindness must have shocked Serena more than she let on.

Her words finally made sense to him.

While Noxian had cried himself into hiccups and clung to him until his snot was dripping down, Serena had only stood silently in the corner.

She had watched everything with that same inscrutable calm.

So, she was hiding her ache all along?

Xion sighed to himself.

Big or small, everyone needed to be handled with equal care.

"I will," he said with a bright smile. "I’ll live for myself. I promise I won’t throw myself into trouble again."

His words managed to soften the firmness of her face.

"I’ve taken up too much of your time already," she murmured, reaching out to ruffle his black hair until it was a messy tangle. "I should leave before your husband kills me with his murderous glare."

Xion laughed. "He won’t. He is very gentle."

Darius was intimidating at times, but he was very nice. Hadn’t Xion personally experienced his tender care?

Serena highly doubted that. If Xion hadn’t liked her to this extent, Darius would have long since gotten rid of her and Noxian both.

But it was also true that no one else could keep this angel as safe as Darius could.

As long as her silly child remained at the Archduke’s side, she doubted that madman would let anyone come near Xion.

With a gentle pat on Xion’s shoulder, she left the chambers.

Luna personally saw the lady out before ushering Xion to change his clothes and pulling him in front of the dressing table.

There were so many things she needed to do and so little time!

Xion, on the other hand, was far too calm.

He let the young lady fuss over his hair. But he found the chains troublesome to deal with.

While keeping the anklet on, he refused the rest.

"Do you love the Archduke, Your Grace?" Luna had her eyes downcast as she tied the silver tassel at Xion’s waist.

Love... What a wonderful thing it was.

It could bring such joy to his vacant heart. Xion stared at himself in the mirror, at the way the corner of his lips curled into a smile.

"Yes. I do."

Luna smiled, her eyes shining as if holding stars. "Everyone said that you were only with the Archduke for his power, but they were proved wrong when you fought with that earth-shattering beast."

Earth-shattering... what?

Xion was half amused, half exasperated with the strange naming sense of these people.

"It doesn’t matter what they say."

Xion might have been troubled with such trivialities, but not anymore.

"Oh, but you should." Luna’s lips curled up until they reached her ears, looking eerie, almost sinister.

"People, after all, are the ones to push the non-deserving creatures on the pedestal as if they were divine."