Chapter 37: Did I turn from a tutor to a caregiver?

Julian sat opposite Lucius on purpose so the Duke would sit next to his son, but then the Duke did something else, leaving the young boy to sit alone.

He finally picked up the words that were caught in his throat and asked,

"Your Grace, I believe there’s more room next to the Young Lord."

"Huh?" The Duke raised a brow. "Are you saying you don’t want me to sit next to you?"

"No, it’s not that, it’s just..." He kept his mouth shut, trying to put it in a way that even the Duke, who was a bit dense to these things, would understand.

Wait, no, why did he have to code his intentions?

"Your Grace, you should sit next to the Young Lord since it’s his first time in a carriage." He said, his eyes firm and his voice smooth. "That’s what you should do as a father."

The Duke folded his arms and looked at Julian for a long agonizing moment.

Julian wondered if it was a mistake to be too direct, since the Duke was a bit... Well, rough and unpredictable.

"So, you’re saying I’m supposed to sit next to the boy because I’m his father?" He asked and Julian nodded.

"Yes, your grace."

He looked towards Lucius who was sitting upright, his mitten hands pressed on his thighs and his head down. He was nervous while listening to this conversation.

"I see." The Duke said, rubbing his smooth chin. "That would be ideal since he’s so small and could fly out of the carriage with the smallest rocking."

Julian nodded, thankful that the Duke got his point.

"But what should I do? I want to sit right here, though."

Julian paused.

"What?"

He was a bit lost. What was the Duke thinking? Why would he want to sit next to him?

"Ah, is it that you like this part of the carriage?" Julian asked. "If so, I can go sit at the other side while Lucius comes here and—"

"No, it’s not the carriage." The Duke said, his eyes fixed on Julian and this made Julian feel a little uncomfortable.

What did the Duke want?

After staring for what felt like minutes, he turned his face away and sighed.

"Well, let’s come up with another solution." He said, his eyes droopy like he was bored. "I want to sit here, next to you, but the kid can’t sit there alone, so why not bring him here as well?"

Julian felt even more lost.

"Excuse me?"

And with that, the three of them ended up sitting on one side of the carriage with Lucius in the middle.

’This is ridiculous.’ Julian thought, but he had no choice but to hold out in this ridiculous situation.

By the time they reached the border of the Duchy, the sun had dipped below the horizon and night was upon them.

Luckily, it wasn’t the middle of nowhere so they didn’t need to camp outside. There was a village at the border and thankfully, a functioning inn that could shelter them for the night.

Julian was very exhausted.

He had been sitting the whole day but did not dare close his eyes in sleep.

Lucius slept, lying his head on Julian’s thigh, and even the Duke slept at some point, his arms folded and his head pressed against Julian’s.

Both father and son used him as support while they slept and he had to keep watching, his eyes staying on both of them so they wouldn’t strain their necks too much.

He felt his own neck strained though, because the Duke was taller than him, thus pressing his head down on Julian.

’Did I turn from a tutor to a caregiver?’ Julian thought and sighed, his hand roaming through the young lord’s head. ’Nothing to be done, I guess.’

When the carriage stopped, he was this close to falling asleep and was relieved the carriage halt had snapped him out of it, but then his eyes fell on the Duke’s who had woken up and was silently watching him with his head on Julian’s shoulder.

He got startled and flinched, his heart nearly flying out of his chest through his throat.

Why was the Duke staring?

"D-Duke... Your grace?" He called, his heart still hammering in his chest. "The carriage has stopped for the night." He said, but the Duke did not say anything, just stared.

The situation felt so awkward to Julian and he wished Lucius would wake up and break the tension.

"You know," the Duke finally spoke up. "There’s something strange about you, Astrea."

Julian gulped.

"But I just can’t put my finger on it." He added. "Still... I feel calm just sitting next to you and staring at you. Could this be some sort of alchemic effect you placed on me?"

Julian quickly shook his head.

"No, not at all, Your Grace." He quickly defended. "I did no such thing."

The Duke looked into his eyes, reading his sincerity, and then closed his eyes.

"Well then, I guess it must just be the kind of person you are." He said and finally raised his head. "Let’s get off."

Julian watched the Duke head out of the carriage, his heart hammering in his chest.

What was that just now?

It felt like an interrogation, like the Duke had seen through him and was trying to get at the bottom of where his soul lay.

But it definitely couldn’t be that. The Duke was just feeling a strange sense because of the system’s effect and nothing more.

He wanted to see the Duke’s affection level.

He carried Lucius instead of waking him and got down, but lost his footing on his numb leg and fell forward, his face landing on the Duke’s back.

The Duke looked back at him and said,

"You must be feeling lagged from the long journey," the Duke said, and helped him so he wouldn’t fall.

He looked at Lucius in his arms and asked,

"Can you walk?"

Julian nodded, of course. What would happen if he said he couldn’t?

But little did he know that despite his response, the Duke was prepared to do what was on his mind.

"You’re still feeling lagged so you can’t walk properly," he said and suddenly lifted Julian in his arms, carrying him like a bride while he held tight to sleeping Lucius.

"Y-Your Grace!" Julian was beyond baffled. "What are you doing?"