The System didn't ping an alarm, but Julian could feel the weight of a gaze coming from the deep shadows of the towering bookshelves.
Someone was spying on them.
They probably wanted to make sure Julian wasn't going to break the rules and do something weird with the kid.
Like this, they can let him teach.
'It doesn't matter if they watch.' he thought. 'The pressure is less compared to when I have an investigator from the education body listening to a class along with my students.'
He could remember those times like it was yesterday. It brought a smile to his lips.
If this was a test they set for him, then he was going to confidently ace it.
He didn't care who was watching as long as he could keep his job and his life.
Julian watched as Lucius's small fingers gripped the cube. The boy turned one layer, the clacking sound of the plastic echoing in the silent study. It was the first time Lucius had initiated an action in the room, but he could not get it right.
Julian took it from him and said,
"I'll demonstrate how it's done and then let you try it. So, count to sixty and if I don't get the first layer by then, I lose. Okay?"
He nodded and began to count but he did not let out the words and used his fingers.
It was different from what Julian wanted but it was a start. At least he was responding.
He looked at the Rubik Cube and moved the layers. It had been a while since he did it so he might be rusty and yet... He wasn't worried at all.
In no time, he had finished the first and second layers, having been immersed and then laughing.
"I got a little excited," he said, and then looked at Lucius, who was looking at the even colors in surprise.
How did he do that so fast? Was written on his face.
"Now, I'll scatter it so you can try." He twisted the layers and then stretched the cube towards Lucius. "Your move, Lord Lucius," he whispered and Lucius took it.
The little flint of determination in the child's expression made Julian smile. He was making progress. Though small, it was still something.
In the shadows, there was a knight—Lucius's bodyguard—who watched with narrowed eyes and a black mask covering the lower parts of his face, including his nose.
He had seen several tutors try to bribe the boy with gold, and he had seen them try to break him with canes with the guise of discipline. But he had never seen a man sit as an equal with the child, offering a game instead of a command.
He stayed in the darkness, his hand resting on the hilt of a concealed dagger, waiting to see if this Julian Von Astrea was truly a teacher worth keeping... or just a more talented liar and actor than the rest.
Lucius had failed to get the colors in line, and so he had to agree to their end of the bet, but he refused to speak.
He was more inclined than Julian thought but Julian was not discouraged. Time was on his side.
The first lesson ended, and Julian waved at Lucius, who was leaving work with his nanny.
"I'll see you during the afternoon class." He simply said, and Lucius glanced back, his eyes fixed on the Rubik's Cube on the table. "Ah, do you want this to practice?" He asked and Lucius nodded.
The way he heavily nodded his head got even the nanny surprised. Lucius was never this responsive.
"Alright then. I guess you'll need to be familiar with it for you to ever be able to win one of our bets." He chuckled softly, walking up to the little boy and knelt in one knee.
He looked at Lucius closely, gazed at his eyes, and patted his head, smiling.
"You worked hard. Let's continue later."
Though Lucius felt something light up inside him with this contact, the Nanny cleared her throat, finding this contact inappropriate.
"Please refrain from touching the young Lord's body." She said, her grin face looking like that, or a butcher's, and Julian nodded, getting to his feet.
"Then, I'll apologize." He said, though he did not promise he would not do it again.
After all... He looked at Lucius who finally had a glint in his eyes... The way to a child's heart isn't just sweet snacks but compliments and pats.
He watched them leave and then went to pick up his materials.
He had passed the morning lesson without issues and... He remembered the affection level pinging to 5%, a smile playing on his lips as he closed his eyes... He had gained something great.
If he continued like this, that child would want to keep him as his tutor until the end.
Just as Julian was heading back to his room, he took turns that were deemed too unfamiliar to be the right way.
In no time, he soon realized that he had strayed from the right path and was in a place he did not know.
"Where am I?"
He scratched his head and then grimaced. Why did the system not provide a map anyway? Having a map is also considered having a life-saving utility, right?
'I should just go back the way I came.' he thought, but he didn't know the way he came off hand and screwed the route even more until he took a turn and saw the back of a man dressed loosely even in this cold weather.
He had such a strong energy that made him feel like a main character walking through an iconic hallway scene with lots on his mind... Longing.
He had broad shoulders and his bright blond hair flowing over his neck looked similar to Lucius, and—
Julian paused right away as that fact hit him like a stick, and he immediately checked who it was.
Above his head, he saw his information,
[Duke Alaric—Affection level 0%(coldhearted)]
Julian nearly staggered back with eyes wide in disbelief.
'That... That's the Duke?'
How did he come across the Duke?
As soon as he realized this fact, the Duke stopped walking and Julian flinched.
'He's going to turn around.'
Without thinking, he opened the nearest door and shut it gently, his heart racing. He just met the Duke and...
'I almost lost my job on the first day.'