Chapter 241: On your trip to the Holy Empire, take Lucius with you

Then, the door to the library creaked, and Julian lifted his gaze, his teary eyes and wet face catching the light of the hallway, and the man who stood at the door.

Alaric paused, seeing the crying scene. He knew right away that Julian had told Lucius about it.

And that was why they were in this crying heap of a mess.

"Lucien," Julian called, his voice cracking, and Lucius flinched, turning his head right away to look at his father. "Lucius, he..."

"Daddy," Lucius spoke, and Alaric’s entire body went rigid. This child... did he finally decide to stop staying silent?

He had heard Lucius speak before. It was the early morning before dawn, after the night of his birthday.

He had clearly spoken from his sleep, calling him ’Papa’.1 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

From that moment, he knew the child could speak, and his silence was by choice.

He did not question it. And just went ahead to regard him as mute as everyone else.

But now... he had broken his silence. All because he did not want Julian to leave.

"Daddy, stop him." he walked towards his father, his legs shaking like they were being weighed down by metal. "Don’t... don’t let him go,"

Alaric stepped forward and lifted his son from the ground into his arms. He watched the child cry so openly, no longer scared of crying in front of him.

"Julian," Alaric called.

He had deliberated on this for a long time, all night, while he spent his time in the study, working.

He had thought long and hard, and Zane’s words made more sense the more he thought about it.

But then again, the South and the North will have to return after dropping Julian off at the Holy Empire.

Even if he was there to witness the deal and can stand witness if the Holy Empire does not agree to release Julian in two months, it doesn’t set a fixed guarantee.

What if, in some way, they have a way to brainwash Julian? He trusted Julian to the very end, but the Church... they were conniving. What if the reason Elian agreed to this deal was because he had a sure method to make sure Julian changed his mind and agreed to join the clergy?

He needed something... something that could pull Julian out of their illusion with one glance.

Not a gift, not a belonging, but... he looked at Lucius.

He was not happy with the idea, but even the child could get sick once Julian left, given how much he was crying. And he was not confident enough to fill the gap Julian would create in these two months.

So...

"Take him with you," Alaric said, and Julian, who was halfway up his feet, froze.

"What?"

"On your trip to the Holy Empire, take Lucius with you."

The library instantly fell into a silence so profound you could hear the soft hiss of the dying embers in the fireplace.

Julian stayed frozen in his crouched position, his hands suspended in the air as if he were still holding the boy’s weight.

"Lucien... you can’t be serious," Julian whispered, his breath hitching. "The Holy Empire is a lion’s den. I’m going there to negotiate, to be their target, and show them I am not weak. I... I can’t bring a child into that environment."

Alaric stepped further into the room, his silhouette blocking out the light from the hallway.

He looked down at Lucius, who had stopped his frantic sobbing the moment the words left his father’s lips. The boy was looking up at Alaric with wide, red-rimmed eyes, his small fingers still trembling against the Duke’s leather doublet.

"This child refused to speak even if he could."

"What are you saying?" Julian asked, looking at Lucius, who now bowed his head. "He could... speak?"

"Yes, he spoke once, though probably not intentionally," Alaric mentioned, brushing the child’s hair back.

He recalled that day as if it were just yesterday. After all, it was around the time he first held this child in his arms and slept on the same bed as him.

"And now, he found his voice for you, Julian," he added, his voice dropping into a low. "If you leave him here now, after he broke years of silence just to beg you to stay, what do you think will happen to that voice? He will bury it again. He will break, Julian. You do not want the child to break once again, do you? He considers you... more important than me,"

Alaric shifted Lucius in his arms, his grip firm but undeniably tender.

Julian’s heart was hammering in his chest. It wasn’t like he didn’t know Lucius relied on him way more than he relied on his father.

He had helped Lucius break out of his cocoon of loneliness, break out of the tag of being ’cursed’ and ’unloved’.

If he left the child... he pursed his lips.

"There is another reason why I want him to go with you," Alaric added.

Julian lifted his gaze once again and found Alaric’s eyes glowing with a fierce, protective intensity.

"The Church specializes in brainwashing the masses just to increase the number of people who revere their god. They will surround you with incense, gold, and whispered ’truths’ until you start to doubt your own name." He had not experienced it firsthand, but just watching from afar was enough for him to understand it all.

Pure or not, if they come on so strong, it was as if they were imposing their own will on the individual who resisted at first until they broke and became a believer.

"What other methods they use, I do not know. But there is one thing I do know. They cannot brainwash a father’s love. They cannot weave a lie strong enough to make you forget the boy whom you love and care for as your own." Alaric stated. "And with Lucius by your side, you will never forget that I am waiting, not just for you, but for you to bring my son back home."

Check Chapter 31 ending. Well, close to the ending