The Duke had never, not once, called for his son. He didn’t even want to look at the boy. If he did, his face twisted in disgust and he quickly turned away.

But now, on the day he was supposed to be drowning himself in alcohol and calling out his deceased wife’s name, he was here.

Why?

What happened?

What changed?

Then, all eyes fell on Julian.

Their piercing gaze seemed to have found a jewel they wanted to snatch to their side.

If there was someone who could move the Duke, then they would very much want to be in their good books.

The nobles had misunderstood Julian as being someone who could move even the depressed Duke.

He was... Special.

That was where the first rumor of the young Lord’s tutor being someone ’special’ to the Duke would come from.

The Duke stood in front of the stairs and Lucius’s eyes went wide, his small fork clattering against the gold plate of nearly finished honey cake.

He looked terrified, his shoulders trembling.

Was the Duke here to take his honey cake? Was he going to punish his teacher?

All sorts of negative thoughts filled the boy’s head as this was the first time he was enjoying anything. He was scared his father was here to take away even this little thing in his hand and there was nothing he could do about it.

Julian was just behind the Duke, his heart in his throat as he wished more than anything that the Duke would not suddenly utter something harsh and ruin the child’s life for good.

He just needed to say ’Happy Birthday’ and that was it. He could get out of there and continue to wallow in his misfortune.

The Duke looked at Lucius for a moment and then walked up the stairs, stopping right in front of him. He looked down at the honey cake, then at the tear-streaked face of his son.

The silence was agonizing. Margaret, who had found her way to Lucius’s side while Julian was gone, dropped into a deep, trembling curtsy.

But it was depressing, like the air itself had held its breath.

Duke Alaric reached out. For a second, Lucius flinched, his shoulders hunched as if expecting to be hit.

Even Julian felt his heart was going to fly out of his throat any second now.

The guests were all silently watching, waiting for what would become the next big gossip in their circle.

But the Duke’s hand did not strike; it hovered just a few inches from the boy, then settled awkwardly—clumsily—on the boy’s head.

Lucius’s eyes widened even more, confused and perplexed. What was this? What was he doing?

"Happy Birthday," the Duke said. His voice came out stiff, rusty, and lacked any real warmth, but it was spoken. He called out his son’s name for the first time. "Lucius."

Lucius’s eyes grew teary in that instant, as if hearing those words was all he wanted to hear from his father, who never once glanced at him.

Even though there was no warmth, even if it looked like he had been forced to do it, the fact that he was here... He had said his name and told him happy birthday, instead of glaring at him and declaring this day of mourning... Was enough. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

> [NOTIFICATION: Quest ’The Unrecognized Heir’ — CRITICAL SUCCESS!]

> [Rewards: 150 SP, +15% Affection (Lucius), +5% Affection (Duke) Acquired.]

> [Additional reward for a critical success: 50 SP]

Julian saw the numbers tick up.

> [Current Survival Points: 305]

Julaing didn’t wait. He didn’t even celebrate at the extra reward. He immediately tapped the screen, purchasing The Moonlit Echo before anything went wrong.

There was no telling if the item would suddenly disappear from the store so before that happened, he bought it.

The Duke turned away from Lucius, his hand dropping from his son’s hair as if it had been burned. He was just about to walk away when Lucius took up the courage and grabbed his father’s hand, the plate in his hand clattering to the floor with the rest of the honey cake.

He clung on to his father desperately, his eyes glossy and pleading.

The Duke looked at Lucius, his fragile and pathetic figure and as much as he wanted to swat his hand away, he couldn’t.

It wasn’t because of a sudden fatherly warmth; it was simply because Julian suddenly spoke.

"Is there something you need from your father, Lucius?"

Duke Alaric looked at Julian, wondering what he was up to. He already did his part and wished the boy a happy birthday. What else did he want?

Lucius bowed his head, his shoulders still trembling.

Nothing particular came to mind, but he didn’t want to let go.

Julian could see that. It was just the desperate clinging of a child.

So, he decided to help out a bit.

"Your Grace," he stepped closer and whispered in his ear. "As it is a special item, it has an activation criterion. It must be midnight, and there are still a few minutes to midnight. So before then, would you care to fulfil one more wish of this lowly teacher?"

The Duke frowned.

"I have already done my part." He said and Julian nodded.

"Yes, and you have done your part of the deal. Now it is my turn, but I can do nothing but wait till the clock strikes twelve."

Of course, that was a lie but in order to give Lucius a little more special time, he was going to dare and go this far.

This did not please the Duke.

"Why wasn’t this mentioned?" He asked and Julian stayed silent. "I will return to my chamber and wait until the clock strikes twelve,"

"Or..." Julian dared to interrupt. "Instead of that, why don’t you stay here? It’s only a few minutes. The first step to righting your wrong is to show recognition."

"Are you saying I am wrong?" The Duke asked, which was a serious offense, but Julian did not deny it, nor did he affirm it.

"I am simply giving my humble advice. I am merely concerned about the child’s mental well-being as his tutor."

"Then leave me out of it."

Julian felt pissed, his forehead irked. Was it so hard to sit in one place and wait for a few minutes to pass?

The Duke was quite the stubborn guy.

To the guests who were watching, Julian and the Duke were having a serious conversation, but in truth, they were just bickering about this and that.

"Your Grace, please recognize the child so that he is no longer thrust into the jaws of darkness and despair," Julian said, his tone more serious this time. "In about a few minutes, I will fulfill my part of the deal, and who knows? You might no longer despair. But what about the child? Do you wish for him to live his life believing he is a murderer and that his father hates him?"

"That has nothing to do with me." The Duke responded coldly and this pissed Julian off even more.

"But it does!" He snapped, but did not raise his voice. "You’re the one who caused all of it. You’re the one who turned your back on the child and let the world point fingers at him. You... You are the one causing that child more pain than anyone else. That is why I am risking my neck to ask you, Duke Alaric, to fix the mess you made."