In the silence of the room, the Knights on their knees felt a weight pressed down on their necks that they could not describe.

Alaric stood over the unconscious assassin, watching to make sure he didn’t suddenly spring up and try to finish what he started. He didn’t look at Kaelen yet. His eyes were fixed on Julian and Lucius, who was now by Julian’s side, watching the way Julian’s pale fingers trembled as he smoothed the boy’s hair.

The Duke’s face was unreadable, but there was this fury that was prancing around in his eyes. What was the Duke thinking?

Everyone wondered.

Well, it was quite simple.

He had believed Julian instantly when he said an assassin was coming, and even more when he specified the time, as if he had been tipped off. He asked no questions and did the first thing that came to mind, which was to protect Julian with all he had.

But now that the assassin was gone and there was no more danger, he finally took a moment to ask himself, how had Julian known?

How did a man confined to a bed, one who had no combat skills, sense a Master-Rank raider that even the Duke’s own mana-sensing hadn’t picked up until the last second?

Was it because he was a mage?

The Duke still believed that Julian was a magus. One who could make anything happen, so long as it was within his power. How else had he gotten the soul of his late wife to appear before him? How else had he melted the grief in his heart and opened his eyes to the things he refused to see before? 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

The questions lingered in the back of Alaric’s mind, but he pushed them aside.

There were more pressing matters.

He turned slowly toward Kaelen and the kneeling knights. The air in the room seemed to thicken, the pressure rising as his cold eyes landed on them until the knights began to break into a cold sweat.

"Failed, you said?" Alaric’s voice was a low, lethal whisper that was scarier than any roar. "You didn’t just fail to protect this room, Kaelen. You allowed a shadow into the heart of the very place you should be protecting. If Julian hadn’t warned me—if I hadn’t been standing in wait—you would be guarding a corpse right now."

Kaelen’s head bowed lower, his forehead nearly touching the rug.

"There are no excuses, Your Grace. The assassin used high-altitude vents. We were focused on the ground perimeters and the Golden Guard."

"Then broaden your focus," Alaric snapped, his blue eyes flashing. "And strip this filth of his gear." He added, pointing at the assassin on the floor. "Check every tooth for poison and every seam for a needle. I want him chained in the deepest cell of the manor. If he dies before he can testify against the Marquis, I will hold you personally responsible."

"Yes, Your Grace!" Kaelen signaled the knights, who moved with frantic efficiency to haul the ’Rapier Reaper’ away.

As the room cleared, save for the few knights who stayed behind for protection, Alaric finally turned back to the bed, his gaze lingering on Julian with a mixture of awe and protective intensity. He walked over, sitting on the chair in front of Julian, and reached out to cup his face.

His hand was steady, but his thumb traced Julian’s jawline with a lingering, desperate pressure.

"Thank you," Julian finally said, his voice soft and low. "You saved me," But the Duke looked at him with a lingering warmth in his eye, his lips curling almost regrettably.

"You saved yourself tonight, Julian," He murmured. "Don’t ever think otherwise."

Julian leaned into the touch, the ’Shared Vitality’ humming between them, doubling the warm and soft energy that filled him from the Duke’s touch. He was about to respond when a soft, hurried knock came at the door.

A guard entered, pushing his hood back. He was dressed conspicuously like someone who had been sneaking around, and that hinted to Julian that he wasn’t like the rest who had been guarding the perimeters.

"Your Grace," he spoke, his eyes staying on the floor as he said, "The scout has arrived." He lowered his voice and finally raised his gaze. "The guest is in the lower study."

Julian’s heart skipped at that moment. He didn’t need to be told who the guest was. The priest was finally here.

Just as the guard spoke, the system window in front of Julian finally stopped its calculations, glowing with a bright, crystalline light.

> [QUEST: ’SILENT SHADOW’ COMPLETED]

> Reward 1: 500 SP

> Reward 2: Skill Unlocked: [Danger Sense - Rank F] (Passive). Effect: Your instincts have been sharpened by a brush with death. You will now receive a subtle physical premonition (chills, sudden racing pulse) 3 seconds before a direct physical assault.

Danger sense? Julian barely had time to read all of it before Alaric stood up, his eyes turning toward the door with a renewed sense of purpose.

"The time has come," the Duke said, looking down at Julian. "Stay here with Lucius. I will bring him up through the servant’s passage. Within the hour, Julian, you will have your cure."

The air immediately went still after the Duke’s words, like the room itself had held its breath.

The fact that he was only minutes away from getting healed weighed on Julian and caused his heart to keep hammering in his chest. And then he wondered, if my heart keeps racing like this every now and then, how am I supposed to tell the difference between a danger sign and my heart dancing the rumba?

It was a cute worry, and at the same time, not so cute.

The Duke didn’t leave immediately; he lingered by the bed, his hand resting on the hilt of his dagger, his eyes scanning Julian’s pale face as if searching for a wound he might have missed on the assassin’s descent.

Julian noticed this and then let out a shuddering breath before calling out to him,

"Lucien," Julian whispered, and the knights in the room shifted a bit. This was the first time they were hearing Julian call the Duke by his name.

They had heard the stories from all over the mansion—the maids wouldn’t keep quiet about it—but never actually seen it in person. Now they understood what kind of person Julian was to the Duke.

And Julian, who had told himself he would only call the Duke by his name when they were alone, had grown comfortable with the name to the point he did not look around before whispering his name with such fondness.

"You should go," Julian said. "The sooner he’s here, the better for all of us."