The Substitute Healer (BL)-Chapter 80: What a slut you are!”

After knowing what had happened between Soren and Cael, Alaric felt as if something heavy had suddenly settled on his shoulders and pressed tightly against his chest.

It wasn’t anger, at least, not in the way he was used to but it wasn’t acceptance either.

The feeling lingered in that uncomfortable space in between, making it hard for him to think and decide properly.

He had never seen Soren as anything more than a substitute for Torin, his beloved healer. Soren was just a replacement, yes. He’s dispensable. He can be replaced by anyone. Someone who existed only because the one they had lost was no longer there.

That was how Alaric had justified his distance and indifference. Soren was useful and necessary, but never important.

Or so he had believed.

He didn’t even pay much attention to him the very first time Soren set foot on the Davenmore Estate until now that he arrived in the north.

Yet now, knowing that Cael had been the one to make the first move, knowing that Cael who treated most people as nothing more than fleeting amusement, had set his sights on Soren, something inside Alaric twisted painfully.

Cael had always seen Soren as entertainment, someone to provoke, tease, or use to pass the time.

And the fact that he had crossed that line so easily made Alaric feel... betrayed.

As if something unspoken had been taken from him without his consent.

It didn’t make sense.

Alaric didn’t adore Soren.

He had never protected him the way he once protected Torin, never lingered in concern and never even allowed himself to care too deeply. And yet, now that Cael’s intentions toward Soren were laid bare, Alaric couldn’t deny the strange ache blooming in his chest.

Why did it bother him now?

Why did it feel like he was the one left behind when he had been the one who never reached out in the first place?

When his parents died and followed by the death of the one person he had held closest to his heart, Torin, Alaric shut his heart completely to everyone else. Grief had taught him that attachment was a liability, something that would only be torn away in the end.

Loving once had been enough to teach him that lesson.

And so, he never believed he would be capable of adoring another person again.

Or at least, that was what he told himself.

Soren existed in his life as nothing more than an outcast.

Someone who filled a role that had once belonged to Torin, and nothing more.

To Alaric, Soren was pathetic and weak in ways that were difficult to respect. He never stood out and never carried himself in a way that demanded attention or admiration. There was nothing about him that should have drawn Alaric’s gaze, much less his concern.

And yet, there were moments when Alaric felt discomfort or almost guilt.

He could never understand Soren’s choices.

Time and time again, Soren placed himself at a disadvantage, as if his own safety and dignity meant nothing. The clearest example was when Soren had nearly been assaulted by the knights. Any healer in his position could have easily turned the tables, could have let them suffer, could have taken revenge in subtle and irreversible ways.

However, Soren did none of that.

Instead, he saved them again and again.

He healed the very men who had wronged him, risking himself in the process as if cruelty was something to be endured rather than resisted.

To Alaric, it was almost unbearable to witness such pathetic, foolish, and infuriating actions all at once.

What made it worse was Soren’s silence.

He never complained and ranted.

Never even demanded justice for what he had been forced to endure and not even once did he go to Alaric, despite knowing full well that he had every right to do so. As an essential healer, as someone being treated unfairly, Soren could have spoken up.

He could have asked for protection, acknowledgment, or for something.

But he never did.

And Alaric hated himself, just a little, for noticing that silence more than anything else.

Sitting face to face with Cael, the man who had most likely taken advantage of Soren’s indifference made Alaric uneasy. He couldn’t quite name what he was feeling, only that it sat heavy in his chest.

Afterwards, he set his cup down slowly and met Cael’s gaze while keeping his face carefully neutral.

"Your Highness," he asked, steady despite himself, "what did you just do?"

The words sounded calm enough, even though his thoughts were anything but something about the situation bothered him, and he still didn’t understand why.

Hearing such question, Cael leaned back in his seat while clearly amused while wearing a smug smirk tugged at his lips as his eyes lingered on Alaric, searching for a crack in his composure. However, Alaric didn’t give him one since he knew Cael too well.

The prince enjoyed reading people while pulling reactions from them and twisting emotions until they gave something away.

"Hm?" Cael said lightly. "What do you mean, Duke? I don’t really understand so you’ll have to explain what it is that I did."

The smirk never left his face but whatever was happening between them, Cael was clearly enjoying it.

Alaric only learned about it later, after he had already spent days buried in paperwork and sending reports back to the palace because the situation in the north couldn’t be ignored.

While he was busy handling responsibilities, Cael had stationed his knights around Soren’s tent. When Soren finally woke up, Cael hadn’t allowed anyone near him except the heir of the Rennovar House. Caelius.

It was done discreetly, but not quietly enough.

Alaric heard what Cael had done to Soren, though the full truth only became clear a few hours ago when Soren returned to his post as if nothing had happened. The marks on his neck were still there and impossible to miss.

What unsettled Alaric more than the rumors was Soren’s reaction or lack of one.

He didn’t dwell on it and complain. He simply continued working while ignoring the whispers and the tension surrounding him.

That alone made Alaric uneasy and it made him think that, to Cael, Soren really was nothing more than entertainment.

"Did you know that that common-" Alaric paused, then corrected himself, "-Soren has been having problems around here?" 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Cael’s brow furrowed slightly, though his smug smile never faded. "Ha. I didn’t realize you were that kind of person, Duke. You never cared about him before, did you?"

"Yeah. I don’t care about him," Alaric replied flatly with expression calm and unmoved. "What about you, Your Highness? Why are you doing this?"

Cael let out a soft laugh. "As I said before, Duke, I don’t understand what you’re talking about. You’ll have to explain it to me. You know, I’m rather slow. If you don’t spell it out, I won’t get it."

Cael only shrugged, as if he truly didn’t know what Alaric was talking about but Alaric knew better that, it was just how Cael handled questions he didn’t want to answer.

He was just playing dumb.

After so many years of friendship and acquaintance, Alaric knew exactly how skilled Cael was at pretending.

"Please don’t act like this, Your Highness."

"I should be the one saying that," Cael shot back lightly. "You’re acting out of character. Where’s the Alaric I know? The one who never gets nosy? Because right now, it looks like you’re interfering in my business with that commoner. Isn’t that right?"

Meanwhile, while they were busy with their battle of wits and emotions, Soren was facing a different kind of struggle. Imperial knights had been harassing him now.

It turns out that they’re just waiting for him to cross the line but they didn’t know that the prince was clearly at fault for what had happened.

"Ugh..." Soren groaned as the impact reverberated through his back.

He was just slammed against the trunk of a huge tree with one knight’s elbow pressed against his throat and another pulled his coat down just enough to expose his neck.

"You slut! So that’s why His Highness was always in your tent! Seducing him, huh? How dare you stain our prince? Someone like you? Really?"

Soren, struggling for breath just closed his eyes and gasped.

Beyond that, he felt no other pain.

He knew most of the knights had grown to favor him unlike during his first months there, but he also knew better than anyone that perseverance, silence, obedience, and submission could not please everyone.

No matter how much he tried to make himself invisible, some people would always find fault and it was nothing new.

It always happened.

The only difference now was that Soren had allowed himself hope and in the back of his mind, he thought that maybe, just maybe, while still in the north, he could find a place where he belonged.

But, as usual, he was wrong.

"How dare a filthy commoner like you! Tell me, did you seduce His Highness or not?"

"Yeah, right! Just look at the marks on his neck, pal!"

"What a shameless bastard. What a slut you are!"

The knights continued their insults while pinning him against the tree until Lyric and Sylas arrived, the rustle of their footsteps startling the attackers. Then the knights let go of Soren who fell to the ground coughing.

"Wh-what... What are you doing here, Your Lordships?" one knight stammered while glancing at his companions. Lyric, still too shocked to speak, dismissed them with a simple wave of his hand.

When the knights ran off, Sylas looked at Lyric who remained frozen while staring at Soren as he panted on the ground.

"See? This is why I said commoners are all the same, brother," Sylas said lightly. "But don’t be too disheartened. You should’ve expected it. A commoner is a commoner. They’ll do anything to climb the ladder of power."

Lyric glared at Soren who could only stay silent while unable to explain himself, with disappointment and rather disgust. Seeing Lyric who had been defending him for the past days turned his back on him without hesitation made Soren lose all kinds of hope to them.

Under the snowdusted tree, all hope of warmth and of feeling accepted drained from him. Soren sighed with his eyes lifeless, and when he closed them, tears slipped out without him realizing.

He wasn’t angry.

He was just hurt.

"What did I do wrong this time?" he murmured with head bowed while still on the ground, helpless.