Chapter 813: New wall
Julian waited patiently, letting the silence stretch. He could feel the tension radiating from her: the guilt, the confusion and the lingering heat of what they had done. It was almost amusing how hard she tried to maintain the image of the dignified Duchess while her body clearly remembered every touch.
Finally, Olivia broke the silence.
“Are you excited?” she asked, still not quite meeting his eyes. “About Lady Elara’s arrival, I mean.”
Julian considered his words carefully before answering.
“Well, to be honest, no,” he said, his tone calm but honest. “I have a lot on my mind, and marriage is the last thing I want to think about right now.”
Olivia finally lifted her gaze to meet his. There was a plicated mix of emotions there. She took a small step closer and lowered her voice even though they were alone in the corridor.
“You cannot speak that way, Kraven,” she said, gently but firmly. “There are traditions we, as a noble family, must uphold, even when they are not what we wish for. The betrothal with House Azmed has stood for years. It is not only about you or Lady Elara. It concerns alliances, stability, and the future of the duchy. Especially now, with everything happening around us, we cannot afford to appear weak or unreliable.”
Julian nodded slowly. What she said made sense, and yet one thing did not add up.
“Mother,” he said after a moment, his voice lowering as he stepped closer to her. “Where was the Count all this time? Vanessa mentioned that House Azmed had helped our duchy in the past, that they were among our closest allies. So where were they when our family was nearly destroyed by Liam’s faction?”
Olivia’s expression grew plicated. She looked away again, her fingers twisting together in front of her. For a long moment, she seemed to wrestle with how much to say.
“Its plicated, Kraven,” she finally replied, her voice going quiet and thoughtful. “Some things are beyond the reach of even the most powerful people.”
She looked up at him then, her eyes carrying a mixture of sadness and quiet reproach. “And you are the reason for all of it.”
Julian raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.
Olivia took a deep breath, as if steeling herself for what came next.
“News of you… lusting after Vanessa and me reached the Count,” she said. “Your father did not want to lie to his oldest friend when the Count confronted him about it. And the way you ignored Lady Elara, as though she did not exist, only deepened his suspicion.”
She paused, gathering herself before continuing.
“Your father and the Count had truly looked forward to this marriage. It was meant to be the day our two families were bound together pletely. For the Count especially, it mattered more than anything. He valued his daughter above all else.”
She paused again, her expression darkening with the weight of memory.
“But after everything you did, the Count was so devastated that he saw no choice but to distance himself from us. And yet, even in his disappointment, he did not abandon us entirely. He could have broken the engagement outright and allied himself with another noble house instead. He did not. He told no one else of the scandal, and he sent his daughter to the royal capital for training, hoping that time and distance might mend what had been broken by the time she returned.”
The weight of her words settled between them. Olivia’s voice had grown softer, almost pained, as she spoke. The guilt from their own recent encounters seemed to make her even more sensitive to the topic of Kraven’s past.
Julian remained silent for a long moment, turning the information over in his mind. So the Count had known of Kraven’s past indiscretions, the inappropriate desires he had harbored toward his own mother and sister, and had still chosen to give him one last chance rather than sever ties pletely. That spoke volumes about the strength of the old friendship between the Duke and Count Azmed.
“I see,” Julian said finally. “Then this visit is more than a social call. It’s a test.”
Olivia nodded, her eyes meeting his for a longer moment this time. There was something vulnerable in her gaze… a silent question about whether the “new Kraven” would repeat the mistakes of the old one.
“Yes,” she whispered. “And you must be careful, Kraven. For all our sakes.”
The corridor felt smaller now, the pressure of secrets and expectations pressing down on them both. Julian could see the conflict in Olivia’s eyes. He reached out and gently touched her arm. It was brief but a reassuring gesture that sent a visible shiver through her.
“I understand, Mother,” he said softly. “I won’t make the same mistakes.”
Olivia didn’t pull away immediately. For a heartbeat, her hand covered his, a silent acknowledgment of the plicated bond between them. Then she stepped back, posing herself once more.
“That is why we cannot repeat what happened before, Kraven,” she whispered, her voice barely carrying in the quiet corridor. “Whatever passed between us, we must leave it behind. You must live a new life now. For the family, and for yourself.”
Julian offered a small smile, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I understand, Mother. I have no wish to burden this family any further. If forgetting everything between us is enough to change our fortunes, then so be it.”
Olivia’s eyes searched his face for a long moment. There was a flicker of something vulnerable in her gaze — relief mixed with a deeper, unspoken sorrow. The memories of their private sessions still lingered between them like ghosts, impossible to fully erase. She then nodded slowly, as if trying to convince herself as much as him.
With that, she turned away and said, “Make sure to e to the grand hall. Lady Elara’s party will arrive within the hour, and your father will expect you at his side.”
Her footsteps echoed softly down the corridor as she left, leaving Julian standing alone in the quiet space. The morning light filtered through the tall arched windows, casting long golden beams across the polished stone floor. For a long moment, he simply stood there, his hands clasped behind his back.
A new wall had appeared just when things were getting bloody plex.
A fiancée.
Count Azmed.
And, most importantly, the political alliance that came with it.
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