Julian stared at him, his mind sluggish and heavy. He felt the coolness of the Duke’s palm, a direct contrast to the blistering fire of the fever. It felt... real. Too real to be a dream.

"The... the pit," Julian rasped, his voice sounding like broken glass. "Lucius?"

"He’s safe. He found me, Julian. He led me right to you." Alaric’s hand shifted, his thumb brushing against Julian’s temple in a gesture that was far too intimate for a Lord and a tutor. "You were dying when I reached you. But thank goodness, you survived. I thought I lost you, Julian."

Julian let out a shaky breath, his head sinking back into the silk pillows. The memory of the Emperor’s smile flickered in the back of his mind, cold and sharp. He had almost died. He had been left in the dark like a discarded toy, and the only reason he was breathing now was that a mute child had braved the woods and a Duke had jumped into a hole for him.

"Did you... Save me?" Julian whispered, the question feeling heavy in the quiet room.

Duke Alaric didn’t pull his hand away. He just looked down at Julian, his eyes dark with an intensity that Julian couldn’t quite decipher.

"I did," the Duke said, his voice dropping to a low, fierce promise. "So you have nothing more to be worried about."

Julian’s heart was hammering as he stared at the Duke. There was a feeling thrumming in his heart, one he knew all too well. The feeling that only surfaced when the Duke was around.

’So, he saved me,’ he thought, his face flushing to his fever. ’I imagined it, and thought it would never come. I thought I would definitely die, but... he saved me. Thanks to him, I’m alive.’

Julian lay back, the silk of the pillows feeling unnervingly soft compared to the jagged stake he remembered. He felt hollow, emptied of the poison but filled with a new, cold clarity. Filled with relief.

He tried to shift his leg, but a sharp, localized throb reminded him that while he was alive, he was far from healed.

The system chimed, and its purple translucent window opened up in front of his vision.

> [NOTIFICATION: HOST SYSTEM STABILIZED]

> Host Status: Post-Traumatic Recovery Phase

> Time Elapsed: 72 Hours (Deep Comatose State)

But Julian only read the first few lines, and his eyes widened in shock.

"I’ve been asleep for how long?" Julian whispered, his voice still catching in his dry throat. It wasn’t a question, but more like a shock from seeing the system’s notification, but the Duke interpreted it as a question

"Three days," Alaric answered. He hadn’t moved his hand from Julian’s forehead. "You’ve been drifting in and out of a fever. The Physicians from the Palace stayed by your side every hour. And I... wouldn’t leave your side at that time."

Julian looked at him. He didn’t leave his side for the entire three days? Was that why he looked so disheveled? Julian’s mind raced. The Duke... he was doing too much, wasn’t he? But Julian couldn’t exactly hate it. It was thanks to this affection that he was alive. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

But it wasn’t just three days of the Duke hovering over Julian; it was three days of the Emperor’s court gossiping about the tutor who fell into a hole during the imperial event, and everyone talking about the Duke’s supposed affection towards his son’s tutor.

He looked at the rest of the system’s notification hovering in his corner sight.

> [CURRENT LOCATION]

> The Duke’s Estate in the Capital.

> [LIFE-CYCLE ANALYSIS]

> Survival Margin: < 0.01% — You escaped permanent cessation of life by a landslide.

> Causality Note: Biological death was recorded for 114 seconds before a ’miracle’ triggered a forced Neuro-Reignition. The system scavenged 90% of the remaining mana to jumpstart the heart.

A miracle? Julian thought. So he did die. But what was this about a miracle?

> [CURRENT PHYSICAL METRICS]

> Recovery Rate: 1.2% per hour (Accelerated by Southern Alchemical Treatment). Progress rate: 20%

> Wound Status: Right thigh puncture stabilized. Tissue regeneration in progress. Progress rate: 27%

> Toxin Levels: 4% (Residual traces remain; expect localized numbness and recurring cold-sweats).

> [WARNING] Your vessel is currently fragile. System Buffs have been fractured and cannot be activated for another 48 to 72 hours without risking permanent mental collapse. Rest properly at this time to ensure permanent recovery.

Julian stared at the word ’Miracle’ on the translucent screen until it blurred. He had been dead for 114 seconds. The math was cold and terrifying. He looked back at the Duke—at the bloodshot eyes—and wondered if the Duke had found him dead or after the miracle had occurred. If it had been before the miracle, then to the Duke, those 114 seconds must have felt like an eternity in hell.

He gulped, not even wanting to think of the despair this man might’ve faced in that moment.

"You stayed... the whole time?" Julian whispered, his voice cracking. He already heard it from the Duke, but it was as if he wanted to confirm. He wanted to hear it again.

He did not know that for those 72 hours, the Duke did not sleep properly, eat, or attend any meetings summoned by the Emperor. He simply watched Julian, doing the bare minimum for sustenance.

"I did." Duke Alaric answered, leaving out the most important details. "The Emperor’s physicians wanted to move you to the royal infirmary. I refused. You are a member of my household, Julian, so you shall recover within my house."

The Duke’s possessiveness was a heavy shroud that had settled over the room during those three days of silence.

Julian’s mind raced through the implications of his action. The court was likely in an uproar. A Duke of the North, notorious for his icy detachment that stemmed from the loss of his wife, refusing to leave the bedside of a common tutor? A man?

Was the Duke not scared of rumors flying about?

This was a scandal that would paint a target on Julian’s back—one even larger than the one the Emperor had already placed there.

The Emperor. Just thinking about him made Julian’s body shudder in fright.

He gripped the silk sheets while biting the inside of his mouth. That terrifying monster... he refused to be an entertainment piece to him.

"Your father and brothers came by," Alaric suddenly said, his voice hardening, and Julian flinched out of his thoughts.

Who and who came?

"Marquis Astrea and his sons have been here a few times to see how you’ve been."

Is it the same members of House Astrea that I’m familiar with?

There was no way those hypocrites would come and see how he was doing out of goodwill. They would probably rejoice at his death, since the stain would be no more.

"They’ve requested to see you several times, but you’ve been unconscious, so I didn’t let them."