Julian felt Lucius's grip tighten. The boy didn't move, his small face set in a mask of polite hesitation. He looked up at Julian, silently asking for permission, his loyalty clearly displaced from the throne to the tutor.
The Emperor's eyes finally flickered to Julian, and the warmth vanished instantly, replaced by a cold disdain. Julian, the roach that had crawled out of the pit he was meant to die in and somehow managed to burrow deeper into Alaric's heart, was here again.
He couldn't even hide the disdain he felt with a fake smile now that there was hardly an audience.
"Master Astrea," Aurelian said, the name sounding like an insult. "I see the Duke has finally allowed you out of your cage. You look... remarkably fragile. One might wonder if the air we all breathe in is too thick for someone of your 'limited' constitution."
Julian bowed low, keeping his expression a perfect, scholarly blank.
