Where to Hide

Xion held his breath, shrinking further into the cramped space of the cupboard. His heart raced as if it might burst out of his ribcage any second.

A bright light entered through a very small slit between the closed wooden panels, but he still managed to catch glimpses of shadows darting back and forth.

"Did you find him?" A loud shout broke through the air.

"No. Hurry up or the young master will kill us!"

"Search every corner!" another voice hissed, closer than before.

The sharp orders forced a tremor to run through his fragile body. His fingers clamped heavily over his mouth, as the cold sweat rolled down his back.

He couldn't afford to make a single sound, not even the smallest shuffling movement. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to stay hidden.

He had no idea what these men would do if they found him. No, that was a blatant lie.

Xion was well aware that if those men running around in the estate found him, he would be taken to their Young master.

He, by no means, wanted to provoke any noble, nor did he want to risk his freedom at the hands of his older brother Soren.

So, the poor Xion could only run blindly and crashed into the cupboard filled to the brim with clothes.

These clothes were good enough to hide his shivering body. However, that also meant that he could not run away any further!

"Over here!" someone shouted, and for a second, he thought they had found him.

A clamor of heavy footsteps hurried past his hiding spot, and Xion wiped the sweat rolling down his forehead.

Through the tiny crack, he caught a glimpse of boots stopping just outside the cupboard. His pulse thundered in his ears as the owner of those boots bent down to peer around, eyes scanning for any sign of his presence.

Xion squeezed his eyes shut and stilled every muscle, praying they would move on. He counted the seconds with shallow breaths.

"Nothing here either," the man finally said to his companion, his voice filled with irritation. "Let's check the outer rooms before the young master arrives."

"Hey, you guys!" A new voice shouted at the two men standing right outside the cupboard.

"Don't you know whose room is that? Hurry up and leave! Don't you dare touch anything inside!"

The footsteps gradually retreated one by one, until silence settled again over the area. Only then did Xion allow himself to exhale.

To know what exactly happened to Xion, a time needs to be reversed a few hours.

Due to treating so many patients and using mana constantly all day, Xion felt hollowed out as soon as he hid inside the barrel. The moment the wagon stopped, he rushed to his room and collapsed on his bed.

He even forgot to check his merit points let alone other things. So, without eating and drinking, Xion slept straight for eight hours.

When he opened his eyes in a daze, the bright sun rays were already dancing on his face.

Then he started his race against time. It would do no good to him if Soren caught him. While taking a nice warm shower, Xion checked his system interface.

He had noticed that, on average, a human had twenty merit points. Only those who had done good deeds would have a bigger amount. There were also those who only had five to six points to offer.

However, no matter what, Xion felt extremely rich at the moment. So, after wearing a new set of clothes, he ate a hearty meal and finally bought a pill for his legs in a good mood.

When the pill entered his mouth, Xion felt a warm current rushing to his limbs. He was shocked by the immediate response he felt in his legs.

He jumped and then ran a circle in his room. Feeling excited, he tried doing some action moves. There was no pain, no soreness.

His weak chicken legs felt powerful enough to kick someone!

So, when he heard someone enter the room, he subconsciously swung his leg on the person. His feet pressed heavily onto the warm flesh, and he nearly toppled over from the impact.

He managed to stand with the help of a bed frame, but that was not true for the groaning male lying on the floor.

The scared Xion fumbled toward the person he had accidentally knocked out only to see the very familiar face.

"You!" Soren sat on the floor, his bloodshot eyes glaring daggers at Xion.

The second Xion recognized Soren, his mind halted. Without waiting for the older male to finish his scolding, he directly jumped over Soren and ran away.

He thought he managed to survive. But who would have thought that the moment Xion was about to bypass Soren's room, he would bump into his biggest nightmare!

Caspian Hale, dressed in his formal attire, was standing at the doors of Soren's chambers. And, he, the silly Xion, had directly run into the arms of the very enemy he was supposed to run away from.

All the blood drained from his body. His doll-like face turned white as a blank sheet.

Xion looked petrified when he noticed how the blue-haired Caspian had tightened the grip around his waist.

"L-let me go, p-please," Even if Xion wanted nothing more than to directly push the pervert smiling gently at him, he could not afford to offend the viscount family, especially when he himself was just an illegitimate child.

"Easy there, beautiful. How about you tell me your name first?" Caspian gave his most genuine smile to the beauty clinging to his body.

He was not surprised to see people throwing themselves at him.

He was so handsome that everyone wanted a piece of him. Nothing new there.

However, he still disdained those shameless sluts who offered themselves on their own.

Normally, he would have long since pushed the person away, but those oceanic eyes filled to their depth with such dazzling innocence somehow managed to stir a thrill within his chest.

Hence, Caspian, like a peacock, tried to show his most charming smile. After all, there was no one who could stand that.

Caspian had no idea that his charming smile was akin to a thorny rope tightening around Xion's neck. The poor Xion only wanted to stay away from Caspian Hale or anyone at the moment.

"It's V-Vaelis," Xion deliberately stuttered.

Sure enough, the moment Caspian heard the surname he was left stunned.

Marquis Vaelis had brought a bastard home. It was certainly a secret. A hidden thing that silently floated in the air the members of the high society breathed in almost a day after Xion's arrival.

Nonetheless, no one cared much. There were plenty of such cases, and Halos were no different from such situations. Yet, no one knew what the Vaelis bastard actually looked like.

Never in his wildest dreams had Caspian imagined that he would find a perfect angel at the useless banquet.

In an instant, Caspian started imagining various places he could use to play with his new toy.

Albeit a bit, Xion felt the grip loosening around his body. Taking a chance, he wiggled out of dazed Caspian's grip and ran away.

He willed his legs to move faster when he heard the vague shouts echoing in the otherwise empty southern wing.

Without thinking, he pushed open the huge double doors and entered the new zone. If it were not for his fear, Xion might have admired the huge room and its delicate decorations.

For now, though, he gently closed the doors and sprinted toward the only cupboard in sight.

Pilling the clothes on his body, Xion slowly closed the creaking cupboard shut while his chest ached from the tension. He pressed a hand over his heart, silently willing it to slow down.

Slowly, the voices faded into the distance. Yet, Xion remained still.

Once he was sure the area was clear, he hesitatingly pulled his head out of the pile of clothes and leaned forward.

He did not dare to open the cupboard directly, rather, he peered through the slit more boldly this time. He could just vaguely make out the far side of the huge empty room.

But before he could let out a sigh of relief, a different voice, a cool, deadly one-broke the silence.

"I can hear you breathing, little rabbit."

Xion's heart lurched, and his mind screamed at him to run.

While praying that the voice was not talking to him, Xion huddled back under the hill of clothes.