"The Priest stays in the hall. He doesn’t move, he doesn’t ’investigate,’ and he doesn’t breathe without my permission," Alaric snapped. "If he tries to come to me, detain him."

It was a bit overboard, but for the Duke, who was too annoyed that his time with Julian kept getting ignored, it was the best he could do without losing his mind.

The knights felt the Duke’s fury and knew it was best to obey.

"Understood, Your Grace," Prid replied, his hand resting firmly on his hilt as he turned a cold, menacing gaze, ready to carry out the order unconditionally.

Alaric continued his march, his boots echoing like thunder as he carried Julian toward the guest wing. He had every intention of kicking the door shut and locking it, but as the double doors to Julian’s swung open, the scene inside brought him to a dead, frigid halt.

Sitting on the velvet divans were the young Prince and Princess, looking remarkably at home, while Lucius sat on a small stool across from them, looking like he was getting teased for all the things he wasn’t proud of.

Julian’s heart skipped a beat. The ’Calm Mind’ that had taken a nice ’break’ while the Duke was making a mess out of him, finally snapped back into place through sheer panic.

Julian picked up his composure right away and gripped the Duke hard.

"Lucien, put me down!" Julian hissed, his voice a frantic whisper.

Before Alaric could even tighten his grip to keep him in place, Julian practically scrambled out of his arms, his feet hitting the carpet with a soft thud. He winced as his leg protested the sudden weight, but he stood as straight as he could, frantically smoothing his hair and checking his buttons with trembling fingers. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

He couldn’t afford to show the kids such a disheveled appearance. What would they think? That he got into a fight with the Duke? They fought a war?

He was definitely not having that.

Alaric’s face transformed into a mask of pure, frigid fury. He turned his head slowly toward the butler and the knights standing by the door.

"Kaelen," Alaric began, his voice dropping to a terrifying, quiet register.

Sir Kaelen stepped forward, his expression pained.

"Your Grace..." He quickly answered, already knowing what the Duke was going to ask. "I was informed by the Butler that they arrived an hour ago. They claimed the Emperor sent them to ’familiarize’ themselves with their new tutor."

Julian heard this and thought it was all a farce. The court trial ended no less than 30 minutes ago. And the verdict was carried out then, so how was it that the kids were already here about an hour back?

Ah, it looked like the Emperor was confident the end of the trial would be Julian becoming the Royal Tutor.

He somehow knew Julian would make it to the trial and that the Duke would not be ruled guilty.

Tsk. Julian clicked his tongue. He hated how that man could see so far and manipulate the situation to go exactly how he wanted.

"They tried to divert them to the tea garden, or the drawing room, but the Princess... insisted on waiting here." Kaelen continued. "And so the prince stayed as well."

Julian had managed to straighten his clothes, but he was not in pristine condition, and of course, the children had seen the whole thing, watching with their big, bright eyes, golden and blue, curiously watching their master turn his back and try to straighten up.

Liora stood up, her silk skirts rustling. She tilted her head, her bright eyes scanning Julian’s slightly disheveled state and her uncle’s murderous expression. He tried to smile and seem ’friendly,’ but there was no hiding that pink hue on his cheek.

"Is Master sick again? Your face is very red, just like the roses in the garden."

Julian cleared his throat.

"It’s quite hot, that’s why." He said, though he wasn’t sure this little princess would buy it.

She always had the most abstract thoughts going around her head.

"It’s because he was busy with me, doing—" Julian elbowed the Duke to keep him quiet before he could finish his statement.

"Your Grace," Julian called over gritted teeth. "I think you should definitely go see the priest. You have a lot of explaining to do, don’t you?"

The Duke frowned.

"But I..." the words hung on his throat as Julian gave him a stare, if not a glare, that said, ’Go, or we won’t do that thing you’re trying to get at right now.’

Suddenly, the Duke felt that Julian was quite scary.

"Ahem, he cleared his throat. "I’ll go see the priest and come back soon."

"Take your time."

The Duke’s face twisted in annoyance as he made his way out of the room. He hated it. He just wanted to have some alone time with Julian, but everyone just keeps interfering. It was his house, and he could throw them all out, but Julian won’t let him.

He was upset.

After he left, Julian let out a little sigh of relief. Thankfully, he didn’t prolong the matter.

Lucius vigorously scribbled on his slate, which he had been using to communicate with the prince and princess, and held it up, his expression a mix of jealousy and worry: Is Master Hurt? Why was Father holding you?

"Ah, I’m not hurt, Lucius," Julian said. "But your father wouldn’t believe I was fully healed, that’s why he carried me." He smiled, his eyes closed. It wasn’t entirely a lie, but he felt like he was deceiving the poor kids.

"Really?" Cassian finally spoke up, walking over with his hands in his pockets. "Are you fully healed now? Without the help of the healers from the Royal Sanctum?"

Julian nodded, but his eyes narrowed to the hands Cassian tucked in his pocket. It looked like this little prince was reverting back to being a thug. It seemed like he’d have to teach them etiquette from scratch in their first lesson, so it’s etched into their bones.

There was no way he would let anyone ridicule the prince and princess for their etiquette for as long as he was the royal tutor. They had the basics down, but it wasn’t enough.

"I’ve got good news." Julian announced, and all three kids perked their heads up, waiting to hear the good news. "I accepted the position of Royal Tutor, so that means I’ll be teaching all three of you."