Chapter 55: There was a thief in the Palace

The Duke looked at his hands, stained by the mess of his unholy feelings. He could ask for forgiveness, he could beg and say it was the work of a demon, but... he was very sure he would repeat it a second time if given the chance.

He let out one final huff and then looked up, post-nut clarity hitting him as he whispered.

"What did I do to him?"

The Duke cleaned his hand and cleaned the mess he had made of Julian, making sure to get rid of the evidence.

He took a look at Julian one more time before deciding to leave with the evidence of his sin.

He didn’t feel guilty, but he felt a little... conflicted. How would he ever look Julian Von Astrea in the eye from now on?

After the Duke left, Julian was left to rest. He had fallen asleep even before the Duke left, but was it a good night’s sleep from exhaustion?

His upper body lifting and his eyes lifelessly staring at the door afterwards definitely meant otherwise.

His lips curled in a very conniving smirk, and he muttered,

"Now, this is surprising. What a twist, haha."

Of course, the one speaking was Julian, but at the same time... it was not Julian.

He got up from the bed, headed for the balcony, and looked around. To think he would get into the royal Palace. He felt delighted.

"This just made my work easier."

With that, Julian disappeared into the shadows. But... was that truly Julian?

The next morning, Julian woke up to his usual morning startle, cold sweat, and an undeniable panic in his chest.

But this time, it wasn’t just the waking madness that caused him to panic.

The thought of what had transpired between him and the Duke the previous night flashed through his mind like a nightmare, and he panicked in different languages, biting his thumb as he sat there, soaked in his cold sweat.

What happened? Where did it all go wrong?

Why did his body react to the Duke? Why did he secretly anticipate what the Duke was doing? Why did he like the Duke’s kisses?

There were so many questions that he couldn’t find answers to. He felt he had been damned. He felt he had been cursed the very moment he set foot into the capital.

"I should’ve just stayed back in the North!" he regretted everything right that instant, but it wasn’t like he could have defied the system’s mandatory quest.

Now everything was so complicated.

After getting dressed, Julian sat on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands. He said he would leave it until later, but every time he closed his eyes, the feeling of the Duke’s calloused hands on his waist and the weight of his body pinning him down came rushing back.

Now, he felt like a traitor to himself.

I should have pushed him away. I should have woken up and asked him what he was doing. It would’ve been awkward, but better than this. How is this any better?

A sharp knock at the door made him jump nearly out of his skin.

"Master Astrea?" a soft, feminine voice called from the other side. "His Imperial Majesty has requested your presence for breakfast in the Sunburst Pavilion. He specifically asked that you join him and the Grand Duke."

Julian’s stomach dropped. Together? It was one thing to face the Duke, but to do it under the golden, predatory gaze of the Emperor was a nightmare.

But even as he hated it so much, he couldn’t refuse the request. He squinted.

"I... I will be out shortly," Julian called back, his voice sounding soft and a little cracked at the edges.

He picked up his high-collared coat that covered every inch of his neck, terrified that the Duke might have left a mark he hadn’t noticed. He checked his reflection; the dark circles around his odd-colored eyes made him look haunted, but the ’Calm Mind’ buff was fighting to keep his expression neutral.

As he stepped out into the hallway, a young maid bowed and began to lead the way. However, as they moved through the corridors of the Jade Wing, the usual professional silence of the palace was gone. Servants were huddled together, whispering frantically. Guards were moving in double-time, their armor clanking with a sense of urgency.

Julian frowned, his internal panic momentarily shifting to curiosity. The whispers didn’t feel like they were directed at him for once, but it still made him feel uneasy as he had done something worthy of setting every gossiping lips on fire.

’It couldn’t be... right?’ He pursed his lips worriedly and then decided to find out.

"Is something the matter?" Julian asked the maid, keeping his voice low. "The palace seems... restless."

The maid glanced around nervously before leaning in toward him. "Oh, Master Astrea, it’s a scandal! They say a thief broke into the Royal Treasury last night. Right under the noses of the Imperial Shadows!"

Julian stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening. He was glad the whispers had absolutely nothing to do with him, but this was just absurd. "The Royal Treasury? Who could be so bold?" 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"No one knows," she whispered, her eyes darting around with fear. "They say the thief left no trace, no scent, nothing. But the Emperor is furious. The Grand Duke has been with him since dawn, helping with the lockdown."

Julian’s heart skipped a beat. A thief that broke into the treasury on the very night they were asked to sleep in the palace. Something that had never happened before. What a coincidence.

Julian swallowed hard, his throat feeling bone-dry. For the first time, he was actually glad he and the Duke did ’that’ so he could very much be his alibi and believe that he had nothing to do with the theft.

How would he even be able to avoid the Imperial shadows when he couldn’t even have the boldness to sneak into the Forbidden Garden, which wasn’t even guarded?

Whoever it was, they definitely had a death wish.