Chapter 436: Finding the Trigger
Xion sat on his bed, his thin fingers flipping the pages of the book, adding the details he had missed during the day.
He had deliberately choked Caspian to see if he was the one controlling the Death Walkers. But there was no response.
Even after he cut off those heads, the blood and flesh didn’t entice the creatures in the slightest.
At first, Xion wanted to keep Caspian and slowly extract the truth from him, but he figured it was useless.
His letters had likely been intercepted midway. Perhaps Darius had already realized and stopped sending replies long ago.
No wonder he received a mere few sentences in response, telling him that things were fine.
In his letters, he had mentioned the situation of the patients and the authorities.
Although most of it was filled with his own itinerary of eating and sleeping on time, he still couldn’t directly cross out the leakage of sensitive information.
Who would have thought even their most trustworthy channel could be intercepted?
With everything that had happened today, Xion was sure of one thing.
There was some trigger that made those human-orcs act on their primal instincts. It wasn’t Caspian.
Even when he killed him, there was no response from the Death Walkers.
Xion had counted the seconds, and it was a longer time than it should have been, especially when there was such a thick scent of blood wafting in the air.
That led him to one conclusion. The real person who held the trigger was hiding somewhere nearby, overlooking everything.
Xion’s actions were too bloody for his ’noble’ image in the hearts of citizens.
It clearly stunned the trigger holder, causing a delay.
Closing his little journal, he put it back on the side table. When he picked up a glass of water, it slipped from his grasp, falling with a loud thud.
The delicate glass shattered, jagged shards scattering everywhere.
The sound was loud enough to send Allen rushing inside.
As to why this Alchemist was still pacing outside his door, Xion had no energy to ask.
"Your Grace, are you alright?"
Xion hummed. "Call someone to clean it."
"I’ll do it," Allen insisted before filling another glass with water and passing it to Xion.
Xion stared at the glass for a beat longer. The stunt he pulled had taken a toll on him.
Beheading so many heads had drained most of his mana, and raising a wall at the gate had wrung him dry.
There was no way he was going to meet Caspian without any protective shield.
Even if those hungry ghouls attacked them, they wouldn’t be able to cross the threshold.
He wanted to do it for two reasons. First, of course, was his hatred for Caspian. He truly wanted to get rid of him and his dirty gaze.
Second was fear.
He wanted to instill fear into the hearts of everyone. If he didn’t, then there would soon be voices in support of Michael.
It was better to suppress them as soon as possible.
And now, as a result, his hands still shook.
"Put it there," Xion said, looking toward the window. All he could see was darkness.
The night wasn’t silent for most of the city, but inside this bedroom, it was quiet.
So silent that he heard the slight thud of glass hitting the table loud and clear.
"Allen, how long do you think the war will last?"
Brother... Xion hadn’t said that word to Allen the entire day. And perhaps this was his silent way to exert his authority.
Even Allen would only call him teacher here and there, opting to use the official title as everyone else did.
The higher one climbed the ladder, the lonelier they became.
"I do not know, Your Grace. But we should keep hoping-"
"No. Not hoping, Allen. I know Darius is alive."
Those blue eyes didn’t glitter the way they used to. They were dull, almost as if the darkness had eaten away the shine.
"I know, Your Grace," Allen said, his voice gentle. "Our liege has the strangest luck. Trouble always seems to knock on his door, but somehow, he walks out of it stronger."
"Hmm," Xion nodded along. "I just want him to come back."
"We all do. And he is bound to return with the crown of victory over his head. But His Grace would be terribly saddened if he saw you in such a haggard state."
With his limbs trembling, his eyes sunken into the sockets, he looked worn out. The dark circles around his eyes and his thin wrist were enough to truly scare Darius.
After all, the archduke had spent such a long time feeding him and nursing him back to health.
Xion could almost feel the warmth of the spoon against his lips, the scent of stew lingering in the air, and Darius’ frown hovering over him.
"Just one more bite, and I’ll stop. You need to grow a little flesh on you, darling."
A slight smile finally graced his delicate features. "I am going to punish him."
"I’ll help you with it. We all will. I am sure Ray and Noxian would like that too."
Xion chuckled softly as he looked at the man who towered over most of the people, and yet he was bowing so humbly in front of him.
It wasn’t just because of Xion’s status.
Respect. Allen respected Xion.
Whether it was for his talent in medicine or the way he had cured his master’s incurable disease, since they had met, Allen had always been good to him.
Even now, he so easily agreed.
"You’d better keep your promise, or I’ll haunt you," Xion said jokingly.
Allen’s honey-brown eyes melted into a smile. A sight rarer than Darius’ laugh.
"Of course, I’ll do it. Before that, you should rest plenty. We can’t do that if you catch a fever again."
"You too. Good night," Xion waved his hand as a goodbye.
When Allen left the room after cleaning the glass shards, Xion took the mana-enhancing pills and shoved them down his throat.
The water spilled as he gulped it down. Some tiny droplets slipped inside his shirt, forcing another tremor down his spine.
Still, he swallowed every drop. He had to.
At least until Darius returned, he needed to stand at the front and prepare for the possible attack.