Satisfied, Julian let go of Eliz, who stumbled back with a flushed face, half from arousal, half from shame. He didn't say another word—just turned away, leaving her trembling and speechless in his office.
He walked off in silence.
A moment later, the door to his room clicked shut behind him.
He exhaled softly, glancing around the room.
The grand bed covered in black and gold sheets.
The old wooden drawers carved with the Easvil crest.
Paintings of landscapes.
And the ornate chandelier overhead, still glowing with silverish glow.
This was the room where everything had begun.
From the clumsy son of a Duke…
…to the Archduke of the Kingdom.
The climb was long. But for him?
"I had it very easy," Julian murmured.
His mind drifted to the past—the exact moment everything shifted.
That day at the awakening hall. When he had first gone to test his elemental affinity.
He remembered placing his palm on the orb like everyone else.
He remembered the silence… the waiting…
