Chapter 75: An Increase In Affection level

Julian felt a chill that had nothing to do with the venom. The thought of his father’s icy eyes or his brothers’ mocking sneers was more than he could stomach in this state. He didn’t have the energy to play the role of the dutiful, discarded son.

He squeezed his eyes shut, a hand coming up to rub at his temples. "I... I can’t meet them, Your Grace. I feel a headache coming on. A bad one. I’d just like to rest."

Duke Alaric watched him closely. He didn’t know the specifics of the Astrea household—only the cold, public facts. He knew Julian was an illegitimate child, a ’mistake’ that couldn’t be kept in the shadows, but seeing the genuine physical recoil in Julian’s posture told him everything he needed to know.

This wasn’t just a headache. It was an avoidance of a different kind of poison.

The Duke’s expression shifted, settling into something dark and immovable. He stood up, his eyes still locked on Julian.

"Don’t worry about them," Duke Alaric said, his voice a low, fierce promise. "Focus on your recovery. If they come again, I will take care of it. No one enters this room unless I personally allow it."

Julian let out a long, shaky breath of relief. "Thank you, Your Grace. That assures me."

Julian noticed it, even when he didn’t exactly pay attention to it. The Duke had not once called him by his last name and had been calling him Julian.

His heart did a little flip, an excited one. He didn’t know why he was excited about just that fact. It’s not like the Duke had never called him by his name before. But it felt entirely different this time. He just couldn’t explain it.

Just then, the system chimed again, this time with a [QUEST COMPLETION NOTIFICATION]

> [MANDATORY QUEST GENERATED: THE IMPERIAL HUNT(COMPLETED)]

> Objective: Survive the Night Hunt. (CLEARED)

> Hidden Objective: Identify the ’True Hunter.’ (CLEARED)

> Reward Granted: 400 SP, Favorability with the Duke’s family has increased exponentially, & Survival rate increases exponentially.

Julian sighed. He nearly died trying to stay alive, and this system only cared about the game it was making him play. But then again, does this mean he won’t get into any dangerous situation for the time being? He hoped so. He was tired and didn’t want to attempt dying a second time.

His eyes locked onto the rewards. Not the 400 SP and not his survival rate increase, but the increased favorability of the Duke’s family. By how much?

He looked at the Duke. Has his affection level increased again? Was that why he was treating him so fondly? The 47% affection level had already been terrifying enough, so he wondered how much affection he had for him now.

Then, he decided to look at the Duke’s affection level, and as soon as his eyes saw the numbers, they dilated.

This time... it definitely had to be a glitch... right?

> [Target: Grand Duke Lucien Blackspire Alaric]

> Affection Level: [LOADING...]

> [RAPID INCREASE DETECTED]

> Current Affection level: 88%

> Status: [Obsessive/Protective/Worried]

> [Note: "A man does not watch a miracle for seventy-two hours and remains unchanged. You are no longer just a member of his household; you are a necessity."]

Julian felt his breath hitch.

Eighty-eight? His mind went blank. This had to be a glitch. A System error caused by the 114 seconds he’d spent being clinically dead. People didn’t just jump thirty points because of a snake bite, but with a system reward... maybe. This was probably what that exponential increase meant.

He looked up at Alaric, who was still looming over the bed. The Duke was watching him with an intensity that felt too hard to be real, his gaze tracing the lines of Julian’s face as if he were memorizing the fact that he was still breathing.

"Julian?" Alaric’s voice was softer now, but the underlying edge of fury remained. "You’ve gone pale again. Is the pain returning?"

"No," Julian whispered, his heart still drumming against his ribs. "I... I was just thinking."

"Don’t," Alaric commanded, reaching out to adjust the heavy fur blanket. His hand lingered near Julian’s neck, the cool skin of his palm a startling contrast to Julian’s heated face. "Don’t think about anything, Julian. You just need to focus on staying alive, whole and healthy."

The weight of that ’88%’ felt heavy. Too heavy and too surreal.

This man—this version of the Duke—looked like he would burn the capital to the ground if Julian so much as coughed. It was terrifying. It felt unearned.

"Sleep, Julian," The Duke muttered, his hand lingering one last time on the bedpost as if he were reluctant to step even a few feet away. Alaric turned toward the door,

Then, Julian pursed his lips and decided to take the chance.

With the Duke’s affection as high as that, surely, if it were him...

"Your Grace," he called, and the Duke quickly stopped himself from turning the latch of the door, as if he had been looking for a reason not leave.

"Yes, Julian?" he turned, his brow furrowed in immediate concern. "Is it the pain? Should I call the physicians back?" 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"N-no," Julian said, his fingers curling into the silk sheets. He looked the Duke directly in the eyes, stripping away his worry as he confessed. "There’s something you should know. About the pit."

Alaric stepped back toward the bed, his entire body going still. "Tell me."

"I wasn’t just alone down there," Julian whispered, his voice trembling with a mix of lingering fever and cold fury. "Before you found me... Someone else found me. Someone on a white horse."

Would he know if Julian just mentioned the color of the horse? There was only one man who used a white horse, so how could he not?

The air in the room seemed to vanish slowly, but surely. Alaric’s eyes narrowed, his pupils constricting until they were like pinpricks.

"The Emperor," he called, and Julian’s heart skipped.

"He looked down at me," Julian continued, the words coming faster now. "He saw the situation I was in, Your Grace. But he just... he smiled. He adjusted his hold on the reins, turned his horse, and rode away. He left me to rot in that hole without informing anyone. The Emperor... definitely wishes me dead."