By the time the afternoon session arrived, Julian had changed his clothes and regained his composure, though his face still felt a bit flushed.
He entered the study to find Lucius already waiting. The Rubikās Cube sat on the desk, its colors significantly more organized than Julian had left them. The boy had clearly been practicing.
> [Target: Young Lord Lucius ā Affection: 7%]
> [Status: Anticipation]
The slight bump in affection made Julianās heart swell. It was working.
But as he sat down, he noticed something odd. On the corner of his own desk sat a small, crystal plate with a single, perfectly red apple. It was a luxury in the North, something that certainly wasnāt part of his āsimpleā tutorās meal.
Julian looked at Lucius, who was staring intently at his notebook and trying not to meet Julianās eyes, but his slightly pink ears gave him away.
"Lord Lucius," Julian said softly. "Is this for me?"
Lucius gave a stiff nod. He didnāt look up, but looked at the Rubikās cube, his fingers toyed with the edges.
Julian picked up the apple, feeling its smooth, cold surface. He glanced toward the shadow where the masked knight was hiding, but made sure not to seem like he already noticed the spy.
Where did this come from?
Julianās mind flashed back to the broad shoulders and the blond hair in the hallway but quickly shook it off. It couldnāt be the Duke since he definitely didnāt see him.
"Lucius, did you get this for me?" He asked and Lucius nodded, stiffly again.
This made Julian smile a little.
"Thank you," Julian said, his voice warm. "Itās my favorite."
Julian kept the apple aside, planning to savor it later.
"Now, shall I tell you the new rules of the game?"
Julian felt Lucius would be more familiar with the Rubikās Cube now, so it was best to increase the difficulty if he wanted to make it fun and be able to teach.
If he let Lucius win, Lucius might not want to continue the lesson.
He thought for a bit and then came up with the perfect lesson method this time.
He watched as Luciusās eyes sharpened just after hearing there were new rules. It looked like the boy was already hooked on the challenge. He was secretly competitive, huh?
"Since youāve clearly mastered the basics of the cube," Julian said, leaning forward with a playful glint in his eyes, "weāre going to play āContinental Conquest.ā"
He pulled out a large, blank parchment and quickly sketched a rough map of the Empire from memory and its neighboring territories.
"Here is the game," he said. "I will scramble the cube. For every color you align, you get to āclaimā a territory on this map. But," Julian raised a finger as he mentioned the catch, "...to claim it, you must tell me one thing about that landās etiquette or its history. If you canāt tell me anything, the territory remains āneutral,ā and I get to challenge you with a question. I will tell you one thing about it so in case you plan to claim the territory again, youāll have a chance. Is that alright?"
Lucius looked at the map, then at the cube. This wasnāt just a game of fingers anymore; it was a game of memory. His face grimaced like it would be a problem and Julian continued,
"If you conquer more than half the map before the hour is up, Iāll give you a āSecret Prizeā from my collection." Luciusās head tilted at the sound of that. "But if I hold the most territory... You have to practice your formal greeting stance for twenty minutes without complaining."
Luciusās small hand reached out and grabbed the cube with a newfound determination. He didnāt say a word, but the way he began to twist the layers, more focused than this morning, said a lot.
Julian had succeeded in winning the young Lordās attention once again.
> [Target: Young Lord Lucius ā Affection: 8%]
> [Status: Competitive]
For the next two hours, the room was filled with the rhythmic clack-clack of the cube and Julianās soft prompts.
"The Southern Isles," Julian pointed to a spot on the parchment after Lucius aligned a yellow row. "What do they do when they meet a superior?"
Lucius paused, his brow furrowed. He struggled for a moment, then mimicked a specific, low bow with his head while sitting. It was a bit crude, but it was better than nothing.
With more practice, he would get it perfectly.
"Correct. The Deep Curtsy of the Sun," Julian praised. "The territory is yours, young Lord."
By the time the lesson ended, the map was a mess of scribbles and Lucius had successfully conquered three-quarters of the map. The boy was breathing a bit heavily, his cheeks flushed with a healthy color that hadnāt been there when Julian first arrived.
"A victory by a landslide, thatās very impressive." Julian laughed and then raised his hand for a high five.
Lucius looked at the hand, tilted his head and Julian realized it.
"Oh, this is a friendly gesture." He said ask took Lucius hand. "This is how you do it."
He clapped their hands together and Luciusās eyes lit up.
"Thatās right. Itās a nice gesture. Itās called a high five. So, whenever you do well, weāll do this."
Lucius nodded, more vigorously than usual and Julian laughed.
It was nice to see the color return to his face, even if it was just a little bit compared to the result he planned to achieve by the end of the week.
Julian packed his materials.
"Iāll bring your secret prize to the next session. For now, you can play more with the Cube."
Then, the nanny walked in without knocking. She took a mean look at Julian and then Lucius walked up to her. She placed his coat over his shoulder and then turned to wave when Lucius waved first.
Julian was surprised, but he made sure to wave back, and this earned an even meaner look from the Nanny.
āIt suddenly feels like that nanny will throw me out the window with her eyes alone.ā he thought and huffed.
But it was fine.
Before Lucius left, he had an affection level of 10%.
The progress was gradual, but it was all right.