CHAPTER 361: BLUE, BLUE, BLUE...

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

Luna’s fingers tapped lightly against Xion’s neck. Just that single touch sent a shiver down his spine.

"Hmm?" He glanced at the young woman, who only smiled sweetly, as though nothing unusual had happened.

Tightening the robe around his neck, he asked, "What kind of creatures?"

"The kind who think they deserve praise without ever earning it," Luna replied, adjusting the collar of his red shirt, which he’d mistakenly thought was a robe.

Her fingers were cool and steady, and Xion caught the faint scent of jasmine clinging to her sleeves.

Talia had always smelled like jasmine.

He had come to loathe it, though he couldn’t very well ask others to stop wearing it just for his sake.

Ignoring his discomfort, he focused on Luna as she sank gracefully to her knees, fastening the cufflinks at his wrists.

"But you, Your Grace, deserve every bit of it."

Xion pointed a finger to his own chest, puzzled. "Me?"

"Yes, you." Luna grinned, her youthful energy making her seem even younger. "Since you arrived, the Archduke has become... approachable. You brought life back to this place."

He chuckled softly, flicking her forehead.

For all her cheer and strange devotion, Luna reminded him of a little bird — fluttering around, always singing about the greatness of love.

She, at times, really did sound like a fanatical admirer of both him and Darius. "Go on, then. I’ll head out on my own later."

Her shoulders drooped, her bright mood deflating like a pricked balloon. In a listless voice, she murmured, "Yes. Take care, Your Grace."

Xion was amused at her antics. She was happiest when she saw him with Darius. Funny, really.

The door closed behind her, and as if on cue, the system chimed in.

[You look like you’re about to get married again.]

Well, the red robe was ceremonial and Darius’s color, even though the Archduke claimed blue was his favorite. Perhaps he should have picked the blue one instead?

[Look at you blushing, host. You’re hopelessly in love~]

Xion caught sight of his pink cheeks in the mirror and chuckled. ’I am. It is as simple, yet just as complicated.’

[What’s complicated? You’ve been acting like a lovesick fool for years.]

’Because I truly was a lovesick fool.’ Four years was a long, long time to pine after one person.

[Now that you’re finally together, why not indulge yourself? Let your husband handle the healers and the school.]

The thought made him smile faintly. Darius would happily take care of everything if asked. Ah, that seductive demon would also demand a prize for that.

I will give it to him. Whatever Darius would ask, be it his life, Xion would have obeyed without a second of hesitation.

’Still... it feels strange to me.’

[What feels strange?]

Xion fiddled with the small cufflink. The tiny diamonds studded in the circular shape shimmered under the light beautifully. Almost as if telling him, look how bright one can shine.

’I don’t know. I’m happy — truly. Yet... there’s this strange absence inside me.’ Like I’m missing something important.

His senses stayed vigilant, warning him that if he failed to find whatever it was, he would regret it deeply.

What was it? No matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t put his finger on it.

The system stared silently at its host, then at the special message from the higher-ups.

Protect Xion.

Just those two words had made the system alert.

Since then, it had scanned all of Xion’s food without being told. Yet now it understood that emotional protection mattered just as much.

[What kind of absence? Is Darius hurting you?]

The system pressed on gently. After all, talking was the first step to finding a solution to the problem.

’I can’t name it,’ Xion murmured, sinking into the plush back of his chair.

’It’s just... there. I can decorate it with good memories, but I can’t seem to fill it. Whenever I look back, the hole is still there, staring at me.’

His blue eyes remained fixed on the ceiling, though his gaze seemed utterly distant.

’I’m overjoyed that Darius loves me. So much that I want nothing more than to let him hold me. And yet...’

The system stayed quiet for a moment, then spoke again.

[Host, are you feeling guilty?]

Guilty? For what?

Xion didn’t respond. Or perhaps, he simply couldn’t.

Nonetheless, the system could hardly miss the signs it had been monitoring for years. It knew its host’s nature all too well: kind to a fault, with a streak of hero complex.

Over time, Xion had grown used to working hard, constantly suppressing his own discomfort.

It had increased to the point where if Xion wasn’t exhausted to the edge, he would feel that he hadn’t done enough.

[You feel guilty because you think you’re useless now. You feel guilty for all the love and adoration you’re receiving — as if you haven’t earned it.]

Xion continued to stare at the ceiling, watching the blue curtains sway at the edge of his vision.

Blue, blue, blue... The curtains swayed like waves, endless and cold, and he felt as if he were drowning in their gentle motion.

[But resting doesn’t mean you’re not working hard, host. Exhausting yourself isn’t the only way to show you are worthy. You’ve done enough. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying the love you’re given. So please — be happy, okay?]

Xion let out a soft chuckle.

When had this system grown so... perceptive?

It felt like only yesterday when it first arrived. At that time, it was nothing but a screen without even a hint of consciousness.

’Hmm,’ Xion mumbled half-heartedly.

Luna had said something similar as well.

He suddenly wondered if she ever felt hollowness, too, or if she simply didn’t know better.

Then again, she was too young, and he hoped she remained just as blissfully unaware of such things.

The closed door opened, revealing the Archduke dressed in the same colored shirt as him.

Just the sight of Darius in red, his silver hair fluttering in the gentle wind, made Xion’s heart stutter.

"I think I fell in love with you, again," Xion said with a smile.

He had barely pushed himself out of the chair when Darius engulfed him in a warm embrace.

"Then keep falling for me until the end."

The hollowness in his chest seemed to ease.