By the time the afternoon session arrived, Julian had changed his clothes and regained his composure, though his face still felt a bit flushed.
He entered the study to find Lucius already waiting. The Rubik's Cube sat on the desk, its colors significantly more organized than Julian had left them. The boy had clearly been practicing.
> [Target: Young Lord Lucius — Affection: 7%]
> [Status: Anticipation]
The slight bump in affection made Julian's heart swell. It was working.
But as he sat down, he noticed something odd. On the corner of his own desk sat a small, crystal plate with a single, perfectly red apple. It was a luxury in the North, something that certainly wasn't part of his 'simple' tutor's meal.
Julian looked at Lucius, who was staring intently at his notebook and trying not to meet Julian's eyes, but his slightly pink ears gave him away.
"Lord Lucius," Julian said softly. "Is this for me?"
Lucius gave a stiff nod. He didn't look up, but looked at the Rubik's cube, his fingers toyed with the edges.
Julian picked up the apple, feeling its smooth, cold surface. He glanced toward the shadow where the masked knight was hiding, but made sure not to seem like he already noticed the spy.
Where did this come from?
Julian's mind flashed back to the broad shoulders and the blond hair in the hallway but quickly shook it off. It couldn't be the Duke since he definitely didn't see him.
"Lucius, did you get this for me?" He asked and Lucius nodded, stiffly again.
This made Julian smile a little.
"Thank you," Julian said, his voice warm. "It's my favorite."
Julian kept the apple aside, planning to savor it later.
"Now, shall I tell you the new rules of the game?"
Julian felt Lucius would be more familiar with the Rubik's Cube now, so it was best to increase the difficulty if he wanted to make it fun and be able to teach.
If he let Lucius win, Lucius might not want to continue the lesson.
He thought for a bit and then came up with the perfect lesson method this time.
He watched as Lucius's eyes sharpened just after hearing there were new rules. It looked like the boy was already hooked on the challenge. He was secretly competitive, huh?
"Since you've clearly mastered the basics of the cube," Julian said, leaning forward with a playful glint in his eyes, "we're going to play 'Continental Conquest.'"
He pulled out a large, blank parchment and quickly sketched a rough map of the Empire from memory and its neighboring territories.
"Here is the game," he said. "I will scramble the cube. For every color you align, you get to 'claim' a territory on this map. But," Julian raised a finger as he mentioned the catch, "...to claim it, you must tell me one thing about that land's etiquette or its history. If you can't tell me anything, the territory remains 'neutral,' and I get to challenge you with a question. I will tell you one thing about it so in case you plan to claim the territory again, you'll have a chance. Is that alright?"
Lucius looked at the map, then at the cube. This wasn't just a game of fingers anymore; it was a game of memory. His face grimaced like it would be a problem and Julian continued,
"If you conquer more than half the map before the hour is up, I'll give you a 'Secret Prize' from my collection." Lucius's head tilted at the sound of that. "But if I hold the most territory... You have to practice your formal greeting stance for twenty minutes without complaining."
Lucius's small hand reached out and grabbed the cube with a newfound determination. He didn't say a word, but the way he began to twist the layers, more focused than this morning, said a lot.
Julian had succeeded in winning the young Lord's attention once again.
> [Target: Young Lord Lucius — Affection: 8%]
> [Status: Competitive]
For the next two hours, the room was filled with the rhythmic clack-clack of the cube and Julian's soft prompts.
"The Southern Isles," Julian pointed to a spot on the parchment after Lucius aligned a yellow row. "What do they do when they meet a superior?"
Lucius paused, his brow furrowed. He struggled for a moment, then mimicked a specific, low bow with his head while sitting. It was a bit crude, but it was better than nothing.
With more practice, he would get it perfectly.
"Correct. The Deep Curtsy of the Sun," Julian praised. "The territory is yours, young Lord."
By the time the lesson ended, the map was a mess of scribbles and Lucius had successfully conquered three-quarters of the map. The boy was breathing a bit heavily, his cheeks flushed with a healthy color that hadn't been there when Julian first arrived.
"A victory by a landslide, that's very impressive." Julian laughed and then raised his hand for a high five.
Lucius looked at the hand, tilted his head and Julian realized it.
"Oh, this is a friendly gesture." He said ask took Lucius hand. "This is how you do it."
He clapped their hands together and Lucius's eyes lit up.
"That's right. It's a nice gesture. It's called a high five. So, whenever you do well, we'll do this."
Lucius nodded, more vigorously than usual and Julian laughed.
It was nice to see the color return to his face, even if it was just a little bit compared to the result he planned to achieve by the end of the week.
Julian packed his materials.
"I'll bring your secret prize to the next session. For now, you can play more with the Cube."
Then, the nanny walked in without knocking. She took a mean look at Julian and then Lucius walked up to her. She placed his coat over his shoulder and then turned to wave when Lucius waved first.
Julian was surprised, but he made sure to wave back, and this earned an even meaner look from the Nanny.
'It suddenly feels like that nanny will throw me out the window with her eyes alone.' he thought and huffed.
But it was fine.
Before Lucius left, he had an affection level of 10%.
The progress was gradual, but it was all right.