Julian stayed still even after his last words. The Duke has released his grip but he didn't know how to get up.
What if he attempted to get up, and they ended up in a more awkward position? And the Duke wasn't asking him to her odd either.
"Um, Du- my Lord," Julian called. "I will..." His words felt heavy. "I will get off now. Once again, my apologies." With this, he finally made the attempt to get up and succeeded.
He let out a sigh inwardly, thinking he might've already been counting his steps to the guillotine but thankfully, it was still far away.
He watched the Duke sit up and then brushed his hand over his hair, getting rid of the snow that clung to him. He looked like he was exhausted, looking for sleep.
'I should probably leave now.' Julian thought and bent down to pick up his coat. He put the apple inside, where the other apple was, when the Duke spoke up again.
"You're warm." His words were a little hushed, like a whisper, but his eyes were fixed on Julian. "What makes you warm?"
Julian went silent. If anything, the Duke was the one with the warmth. He still recalled the warmth lingering in his voice after being caught in his arms.
In this cold weather, he was dressed lightly, and yet not a single part of his body was freezing cold. He should be asking the Duke this, if he so dared to, and not the other way round.
But he guessed the Duke felt the moisture of the winterizing balm and got curious.
Should he deny it and claim it is his body's special condition?
He pursed his lips and thought that if he wanted to win points with the Duke as well, he should do all the good stuff.
"I have a special cream I made by myself," he said.
Though, it was a lie, it was better than saying he got it off the market, whereas it doesn't exist in this world.
He tucked his hand in his coat and used his mind to purchase a balm from the store. It appeared in his hand inside the coat and he brought it out.
"I made a few in preparing for coming to the North." He said and Duke Alaric looked at the balm.
He reached for it and then sniffed it.
"It's the same," he mumbled, which confused Julian.
"Pardon?"
But the Duke did not say anything else. What did he mean by 'it's the same.' Julian had no idea that the Duke was quite interested in the foreign scent that lingered on him, more than the warmth.
And seeing the balm had the same scent, he guessed that was the reason. And he was probably the owner of the scent he found in his room earlier.
He looked at Julian. Did he mistake it?
It was possible this tree climber climbed his balcony as well and got into his room, but what if he didn't?
He knew he heard something in his room but he didn't see anyone, all he felt was the lingering warm scent floating in the air that led him to the balcony.
Julian felt a little anxious when the Lord's stare, not knowing what he was thinking as he stared at him, and decided to leave.
"Then, my Lord, I will excuse myself," Julian said and quickly walked away before anything else came up.
His heart was hammering hard against his ribcage and the way his skin crawled, not in irritation, but a certain sensation, caused him to walk stiffly.
The Duke... The Duke... He just met the Duke, and not just meeting the Duke, he fell on the Duke, lay on his body, and had his hands pressed on his hard chest.
The Duke held his waist, keeping him close too. Though it was to make sure a suspected criminal didn't escape, it still happened.
What in the world happened there?
His head felt a little fuzzy, and what he didn't understand was why the Duke's affection rose when he hadn't done anything. And when he finally did, when he gave the winterizing Balm to the Duke, his affection level did not flicker one bit.
It stayed in two and Julian wondered if he didn't like the balm.
'Whatever. As long as I survived the encounter.'
Just then, the system pinged.
>[SECRET QUEST COMPLETED]
Julian looked at the window floating in front of him. Secret quest? But he didn't get any quest notification beforehand.
>[Raising the Duke and the Young Lord's affection from 0% is a success. Host has laid the groundwork in the North and will be rewarded with 100 survival points.]
Julian's mouth nearly fell open. A hundred? That's a lot. So many points just because he raised both their affection from 0%?
Ping!
>[SYSTEM SHOP UPDATE AVAILABLE]
Julian closed his eyes from the system shop and decided to take a look when he got to his room. If anyone saw him standing still and staring into space, there would be rumors about him.
As he walked, he saw the Young Lord and his nanny along the garden path. He wanted to say his greeting but then noticed the Nanny change course before Lucius could notice him.
Julian stood there, his eyes dark as he looked at the affection level of the nanny.
>[Target: Margaret, Lucius's nanny. Affection level: -1% (Suspicious)]
Well, that explains why she was hostile towards Julian. Her negative affection level must be a result of her not trusting a single tutor to cater to the Young Lords education after the few who had tried to take advantage of the little one.
Julian wanted to think that was the case and not blame the nanny. It just meant that he would have to work harder to seem competent. That way, she would no longer be hostile towards him.
Julian lunged into his room, locking the door and leaning his back against the wood. The silence of his quarters felt deafening after the raw, suffocating presence of the Duke. He took out both apples from his coat, set them on his desk, and sat on his bed, looking at them with his arms resting on both his legs.
For some reason, they both glowed the same way.
One was the winter apple and the other was an apple Lucius gave him, but he came to tell the difference at all. Was it this easy to get a special-looking apple, or did Lucius give him something precious?
The System flickered to life, the purple light almost comforting now that he was in the confines of his own room.
>[Shop category Unlocked: Affinity & Legacy Items]
>[The System has recognized your 'Teacher's Heart' and your accidental 'Duke-Tackling' prowess. New items are now available to help you navigate the frozen hearts of the Alaric family.]