"Julian Von Astrea, I admit you have great teaching prowess, but to my children, you are a poor influence. I recall the incident of my brother's marching mare,"
Julian flinched as the memory of the children rushing in to stop the Duke in that moment flashed through his head, and he bit the inside of his mouth. "...if that horse had trampled my heirs, the fault would have rested solely on your head and not my brother's, I would have made sure of it."
"It wasn't him!" Cassian suddenly blurted out, stepping forward with a trembling lip. "We were the ones who—"
Aurelian didn't let him finish. He leveled a glare at his son so freezing that the boy visibly cowered, his small shoulders hunching.
The Emperor turned his gaze back to Julian, a slow, sharp smile spreading across his face.
"They have even learned how to talk back to their father now," Aurelian purred. "Their Emperor. Who am I to blame for this sudden burst of... courage, if not you?"
