CHAPTER 350: THEIR HOME

When the carriage came to a screeching halt, the Archduke very reluctantly pulled himself out with a hoarse groan.

Suddenly, he wished the path were longer. Funny, considering he had complained more than once about how terribly long it took for him to visit the meeting chambers, which were very close to the night market.

Xion let out a muffled groan as he felt something sliding down his thigh. However, instead of caring about it, he buried his head deeper into the crook.

They needed to step outside, and he was still naked, if one ignored the crumpled shirt still hanging on his elbows.

He clung to the broad shoulders, trusting Darius with all his heart.

Someone like him, who got flustered by the simple kisses in public, was now utterly content with a warm embrace.

Looking outside where the moon was so high in the sky, Darius could more or less guess that it must be past midnight.

Using his robe to pack Xion up like a perfectly wrapped gift, he gathered the discarded clothes from the ground before putting them in a small bag.

Throwing it over his shoulders, he picked Xion up with ease.

His silver brows drenched with sweat furrowed. While in the throes of passion, he hadn’t noticed it, but his baby seemed much lighter than before. Had Xion lost weight in just a few days?

An image of Xion trying to pick up his food flashed in his vision.

The grip on the little bundle tightened as he moved down the carriage.

The guards flagged the pathway, silently doing their duties, but none dared raise their eyes to look.

"No one is allowed to look at their second lord if not necessary." That was something their commander, Raymond Eldritch, had warned them all.

Despite the burning curiosity as to why His Grace was carrying the young Lord like that, they all kept their gazes at the front.

As the Archduke passed them, all they saw were the delicate pair of feet dangling under the grey coat. They were turning pink from the chill.

Darius, aware of it all, hastened his steps.

He needed to give Xion a warm bath and then let him sleep. For the sake of Xion’s health, there would be no more fucking... for now.

As he walked into the dark corridor lit by the torches and mana crystals, he found himself wondering if this place was always this calm.

No, it wasn’t. In fact, he had felt a strange sense of suffocation whenever he stepped onto this side of the castle.

To others, this was the place he had lived since he was a child, but to him, this was nothing but a cage. A place where he was bound to return, no matter how far he went.

And now that same cage had become his home.

Ironic, really, he muttered under his breath.

Then he looked down at the hazy blue eyes blinking up at him. All the world was there for him to see, to love, to cherish. There was a tiny smile at the corner of those bruised lips.

Even without any words, he could hear those eyes.

Home.

And for a moment, a wave of warmth wrapped around him, seeping directly into his core.

He leaned down. Without even registering it, he had placed a kiss on the damp forehead. Like an instinct.

"Bear with it a bit. We are almost reaching our room. You can rest then."

Xion hummed softly. Although he doubted Darius would still be so calm after they returned to their chambers.

He was content in the embrace. Barely aware of the sticky mess between his legs or the cool air around them.

It was always like this, Darius losing control like an adolescent who had just learned about sex. It even left him baffled. How was this person so full of energy every day?

Even after taking care of him like a nanny and handling the court affairs with such care, he still found time to mess around.

That was also why Xion would hardly stop Darius. Not even when he woke sore and aching.

Honestly, if it weren’t for the system’s refreshing reagents, he probably wouldn’t indulge this seductive demon to this extent.

Yet after all that, he couldn’t deny it. The way Darius looked at him made his heart feel full.

While thinking such things, he drifted into the hazy lands of the sleeping realm. The dizzy kitten had no idea when he was cleaned up or when he was placed on the bed.

Hence, when he woke up the next morning, tired and sore, his senses weren’t on the ache tumbling in his lower back. His whole attention was on the golden chains dangling over the curve of his ankle.

Tiny filigree leaves were woven into the design, and from the joint hung a single, perfect flower charm, crafted with such exquisite detail it looked real.

A gorgeous little flower that would keep the chain from slipping away like a little guard and also like a cage.

Darius must have clasped it on him sometime during the night.

Just as he was fiddling with the delicate flower, flicking it and watching it swing under his whims, Darius returned with a plate full of food.

This taller being had rested much later than him, and yet there wasn’t a single frown of tiredness on his face.

Perhaps it was the golden rays pouring into the room, or maybe it was the trick his broken vision was playing on him. The Archduke looked like a glowing flower.

A bright silver flower on the snowy top. So resilient, so charming that even the harsh environment couldn’t harm it.

"Ah, you saw it? How is it?" Darius asked.

In a few strides, he was standing near the edge of the bed. Picking Xion up like a toddler, he carried him toward the small dining table at the other side of the room.

The spot was perfectly close to the window where one could enjoy the view and also sunbathe. This was placed just a few days ago, when Xion had refused to leave his room.

"Is it too tight?" Darius asked as he sat down, though he didn’t bother to put Xion in another chair. Instead, he preferred to keep him seated on his lap. It was easier for him to feed this way.

Xion glanced at him, amused.

He knew perfectly well Darius would never have left it on if it had been too tight.

And yet here he was, feigning concern as if he hadn’t been the one to fasten it there himself.

What a liar.

Xion’s lips curved faintly at the absurdity of it all, and, ironically, at his own lack of resistance to such behavior.

"Why did you do it?" Xion asked, adjusting to a comfortable position where the sunlight could reach him.

At this point, this had become their morning routine. Darius would feed him like a baby before rushing to do whatever the kings were supposed to do for their lands.

"Do what?"

Still feigning innocence? Xion used both hands to pinch the cheeks of the liar. "I am asking why you make me wear this anklet."

He squished the cheeks until Darius’ lips puckered up. There was helplessness shining in those green eyes as if silently asking, ’How am I supposed to answer like this?’

Xion gave a smooch and then burst into laughter.

Having enough fun with pinching the soft skin, he generously let the culprit go.

"First, it was this—" Xion picked up the red mermaid tear around his neck, which seemed to mingle with the exquisite marks on his neck, "and now you want me to wear another one. I didn’t know you liked ornaments so much."

If Darius did, he could ask his system for something exquisite that would suit this silver-haired elf.

It wasn’t his fault for not noticing until now. If he didn’t count their couple ring, which the great Archduke refused to take off even when taking a bath, Xion had never seen Darius wear anything else.

"I don’t."

The reply didn’t surprise the healer. But what came after that from that mouth he had just kissed had him choking on his saliva.

"After seeing you dressed like that, I want to cover you in chains... everywhere."

With the sound of ’everywhere,’ the hand on Xion’s waist tightened.

Darius held the coughing beauty flushed against his chest, while gently patting the quivering back.

"I wanted to put little bells on them, too. They would make such a heavenly sound when I ram into you. Right, baby?"

Xion pressed a hand to his mouth, fighting another coughing fit. Red rimmed watery eyes glared at the gentle being who had transformed into a demonic elf.

But there wasn’t the least bit of intimidation in his form. Only dependence.

"Okay, fine." The Archduke relented and picked up a spoon. "I won’t tease you. Here, you need to eat more."

As Darius fed Xion and himself, his thoughts still latched onto that urge.

One by one, he was going to do all the things he wanted to.

He would put a chain around Xion’s slender waist that wouldn’t break even when he tugged at it to pull his baby closer.

Anyway, they had all the time in the world... Right?