The orange wisps of fire crackled brightly in the midst of the dark night. Xion rubbed his hands in a vain attempt to warm his cold hands.
The chill seeped deep into his bones. He shivered, his teeth faintly chattering. He did not expect the night to go this cold.
He glanced longingly at the campfire in the center of the clearing. Its golden glow danced across the surrounding busy figures and cast floaty shadows over the surface of the tents.
He remained where he was, sitting against the trunk of the same big tree, and looking at the cozy flames with yearning.
Ray was there, and Xion thought better than to go near the knight at this time.
Rael did not ask him to cook dinner for him, which Xion was glad about.
He was not in the mood to cook another dish at the moment.
He tilted his head up, and his hood slid under the effect of gravity. His deep blue eyes reflected the starry sky. For a moment, he forgot his frozen hands and the chill biting at his nose.
He pressed his knees to his chest, holding himself closer to retain his body's warmth as he watched the tiny specks of light glimmering with brilliance.
Those mesmerizing twinkling stars flickered and hazily overlapped with the shining street lamps around the park where he used to go for a stroll. Rather than morning, he had always preferred the night walks.
They were less noisy and, for the most part, helped him think about things that bothered him.
"I want to go back," he murmured. His voice was so low that even the wind seemed to carry it away.
Just then everything went dark. A shadow crossed his vision for a brief second. Before he could react, a thick, fur-lined coat was draped over him.
The sudden warmth of the heavy garment made him shudder. Even before looking up, he knew who it was.
Xion's fingers clenched around the coat as he looked up. Standing before him was Darius Rael, his slight frame outlined against the bright orange light of the fire.
Though his face was obscured under the darkness, those green eyes still gleamed. Too venomous to endure, yet too pretty to look away.
Even as a child, he exuded an unmistakable aura of royalty. One could only imagine how devastatingly handsome he would grow to be in the years to come.
If this child were in his previous world, the entertainment industry would have gone crazy for him.
Thank god, I won't be there to deal with the adult Rael then. Xion mused silently. The older the nobles get, the scarier they tend to be.
"Who allowed you to leave?" A low voice startled Xion out of his reverie.
"Yes?" Xion tilted his head slightly, confused at the sudden question.
Darius stepped closer until his polished boots crunched against the fallen leaves near the healer's feet.
Xion shifted under the weight of the coat. He was suddenly hyper-aware of everything around him. How the cold air brushed his cheeks, how the big coat warmed his body and how those green eyes remained fixed on his face.
"I told you to sleep in my tent." Darius kneeled in front of him. "Why are you still here?"
"Umm, admiring the stars?" Xion almost stuttered while replying. Why is Rael looking angry and... scary?
"You just said you want to go back," Darius said, catching Xion's chin between his tiny thumb and forefinger, forcing the teenager to look straight at him. "Listen well, healer. I have no tolerance for lies. So, you better not think of running away and breaking your promise."
Xion trembled as Rael's cold finger rubbed his chin. Darius was angry, which made Xion aware of the one important fact he had been subconsciously throwing at the back of his mind.
This was no ordinary rich child. This was the future Archduke, someone who would rule his own territory like a king. Someone so important that even the royalty would not dare to mess with him as easily.
The Viscount, the Marquis, and even the legendary dukes were on a lower social ladder than this intimidating child.
"I-I won't break my promise, I swear," Xion stuttered while holding the coat closer to his body. "I was just thinking of my real home far away in the south."
Darius finally let go of his face and Xion gulped. With the way those cold eyes stared at him for a moment longer, he had no idea whether Rael believed it or not.
"Come with me," Darius said abruptly, rising to his feet.
Xion pushed himself up from the dusty ground and trailed behind Rael without another word.
Perhaps, it was the cold night, or the sudden realization of his situation, but Rael looked too scary in his eyes.
Xion's steps followed behind the smaller ones while his mind drifted to what Ray had shouted at him earlier.
"Calling his grace by his name is a sin punishable by death."
Xion subconsciously bit the inner lining of his lower lip. He had really been treating Darius Rael like his other patients. The ones who had to respect him due to his profession, and most importantly, the law.
But this was not the case in this world. If he made a single mistake, then there was no law that could save his neck.
Xion decided then and there that he would hurry with the treatment and run away from these scary nobles.
With the number of Merit points he had saved after treating the servants in the camp, he should be able to open a learning channel.
He had already decided to learn about Mana first. Only then would he be able to treat Moon Affliction properly.
Author's Note- Silly Xion is slowly becoming aware of his new surroundings. And the first thing he decided to do after understanding the power dynamic was to ... run away.
Well, we will let Xion do his things at his own pace. But the question is... Can Xion run away?