"In fact, I was thinking we could skip the heavy theory today and spend some time in the library looking at the old maps of the Continent. Would you like that?"

Lucius’s eyes lit up at the mention of the maps, and he nodded so hard his hair flopped over his forehead. The lingering shadow of yesterday’s sadness seemed to vanish, replaced by the relief of having Julian back at the table.

Julian reached out, ruffling the boy’s hair with a gentle hand. "I told you, didn’t I? I’m not going anywhere. We’re a team."

He glanced at Alaric, who was watching the exchange with a profound sense of peace. The Duke reached across the table, his large hand briefly covering Julian’s on the white linen cloth. It was a public gesture—unusual for a man of his stature—but it felt almost right.

"I’ll let you get to your ’research’ then," Alaric murmured, his thumb grazing Julian’s knuckles one last time before he stood to attend to official matters.

"Are you done with breakfast?" Julian asked, and he nodded, pointing at his plate.

The Duke wasn’t exactly a breakfast person, but since he’d already made a promise, he had to eat with them at every mealtime.

Even if just a little bit.

Julian looked at the plate and saw he had eaten two slices of toast and drank his tea.

That should be enough.

"Then, have a great time at work, Your Grace," Julian said but the Duke’s brow furrowed in displeasure. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

He got closer, dropping his hand on Julian’s shoulder and suddenly leaned in to whisper,

"There’s nothing great about working," he said. "I would rather spend the time frolicking in bed with you."

Julian flinched, but what got him even more tense was how Alaric brushed the shell of his ear with his lips and breathed softly.

"Your Grace, we are at the dining hall," Julian whispered, as if trying to defend against the Duke’s ’attack’.

Alaric frowned even more. He didn’t like that Julian had gone back to calling him by a title. There were maids and guards lined in the hall, but it wasn’t like neither of them had any clue of the kind of relationship they had.

So what was the need to be official when he should be comfortable?

"Julian," Alaric called, but Julian’s gaze was secretly watching Lucius who was eating his fruits.

He was conscious of the boy.

This was no manners to show in front of a child.

The Duke saw this and nearly laughed. But this worked out well. He thought.

To get Julian on his toes, while the boy was not looking, he placed his hand over his face.

Julian, unaware of the Duke’s scheme, turned his face to meet his, only for his lips to meet the Duke’s as well, in a warm and quick kiss.

His eyes widened, his pupils dilating as the Duke pulled back right away and licked his own lips.

"You should have your breakfast, Julian." He said and turned. "Don’t skip your meals."

Julian sat there frozen, heat creeping up his neck and then to his face until steam gushed out of his ears.

He immediately covered his face, shame washing over him like a wave.

Just now... the Duke had kissed him in front of the staff. How could he?

He could feel their eyes all peeking at him, curious, entertained and shocked eyes.

And Lucius too... he spread his fingers to look down at the boy who still didn’t notice anything... Did he notice anything?

When Lucius noticed Julian was staring, he finally turned his head, chewing gently with his chubby cheeks full.

He tilted his head, watching his tutor’s red face and then tapped on his arm, looking worried that he actually had a fever and he was denying it.

"I’m fine, Lucius." he said, though he could not get rid of the heat lingering on his face. "But perhaps, I should get some rest before our lesson, just in case."

Julian left the dining hall and took a deep breath, trying to settle his racing heart.

He didn’t expect the Duke to do something like that. His hand hovered in front of his lips, still feeling the warmth from the Duke’s contact.

Then, he clenched his fist and twisted his lips.

He was doing too much, honestly.

The Duke should know there’s a time and place for anything. What would he have done if Lucius had seen the whole thing?

Or perhaps, that was his aim from the start.

He sighed. He just couldn’t figure out the Duke’s intentions right now, but whatever they were, they were bold and going to put him in a position where his cheeks would remain a flushed hue of red.

Julian got back to his room and stretched his waist. His back was aching but there was no remedy for it.

Ah, speaking of remedy.

"System Shop," he called out, and the shop displayed in front of him, in that translucent purple window.

He took a look at the options, hoping there would at least be something for a quick pain relief.

Even if the System did not exactly save him in a moment of crisis, it still had basic amenities that could help him stay on his feet.

And one of them was the pain relief potion he was currently looking at.

> [Item: Relief potion.]

> [Item effect: It can relieve mild aches in the body, as well as cure a hangover. Note: it does not stop deep, painful aches.]

> [50 SP]

Of course, it doesn’t stop deep, painful aches. If it did, he would’ve overdosed on this when his leg was still in such a critical condition.

Then, he looked down at his leg. The healing from the priest was absolute and amazing. It cured his thigh completely and left not even a single dent, as if there was nothing there to begin with.

His thigh was as good as new.

But as miraculous as this power was, it was also a bit terrifying. To make a massive wound disappear without a trace was very... godlike.

As soon as that thought came to mind, he brushed it off with a little chuckle.

I guess that’s why he’s a priest.

A power like that could only come directly from a god’s blessing.

He wondered, though, the gods in this world... did they manifest in physical form? He would love to know more about it, but diving into the knowledge of religion in the Viremount Empire was grounds to have people point at him for plotting something with the Holy Empire.

I can only do that if I visit the holy empire one day.

And so, Julian bought the relief potion, spent 50 SP out of his 905 balance, and was left with 855 SP. Even that was still a lot.