Free Web NovelChapter 400: The curtains falling on the North
The crisp morning air of the North carried the sharp scent of melting frost and heavy pine. Outside the grand gates of the Alaric estate, the sprawling imperial procession was fully assembled.
The massive, golden-crested royal carriage gleamed under the pale winter sun, surrounded by a tight vanguard of capital knights whose armor clanked rhythmically with every shift of their horses.
Emperor Aurelian stepped onto the snow-dusted path, his children following closely behind him. High above, lounging with an impossible, gravity-defying ease across the polished velvet roof of the carriage, sat Norx.
The deity was lazily swirling a flask of northern liquor between his fingers, his crimson eyes scanning the horizon with a petulant, completely unbothered indifference.
Alaric and Julian stood side by side near the iron gates to see them off, with young Lucius gripping his father’s coat, looking up at his cousins.
The imperial children were visibly heavy-hearted to leave the freedom of the snowy landscapes, but a quiet, fierce determination kept their small shoulders straight.
Before dawn, Aurelian had officially signed the proposal as well as stamped the blueprints for Julian’s proposed Northern Academy, ensuring that royal funding and labor construction would begin by the following week.
It wouldn’t be long before the siblings returned to the North to walk through those academy doors—and they were resolved to study their absolute best in the capital so they would never disgrace their teacher.
"Make sure you keep practicing your footwork, Bellard! That’s what Cassian would’ve said if he wasn’t so shy. Hehe." Princess Liora called out, her golden eyes bright despite her sadness as she waved to the greenhouse keeper’s daughter and the young boy standing near the estate walls. "And Betty, keep the winter lilies alive for me!"
"We will, Your Highness!" Bellard shouted back, adjusting his wooden sword with a proud, level stance.
Prince Cassian offered a dignified, serious bow to Lucius. "We will be off now, cousin. I expect a full report on the northern trade routes when we return." In other words, he wanted them to exchange letters more frequently.
"See you in a year, Brother Cassian!" Lucius countered, a vibrant, happy grin breaking through his stoic facade as he waved his small hand vigorously. "Safe travels!"
While the children exchanged their goodbyes, Julian turned his focus to the Emperor. There was something profoundly different about Aurelian today.
The heavy, unhinged malice that usually bled from his presence had completely withered away, leaving behind a deep, hollow exhaustion. The sadness in his golden eyes was fully exposed now, bleeding more openly than Julian had ever seen before. He didn’t even try to hide it behind his imperial mask.
Julian’s gaze flickered from the sovereign up to the floating deity on the carriage roof. He let out a soft, internal breath. Take care of him, Norx, Julian thought silently, a quiet wave of empathy touching his soul.
He was glad that, at the very least, these two individuals with deeply wounded hearts would be by each other’s side.
He didn’t wish for them to love one another—both were entirely beyond the concept of ordinary affection—but he genuinely hoped they could find solace as good companions, shielding each other from the biting isolation of their power. Perhaps they could salvage their own version of a quiet ending like that.
Alaric stepped forward, his massive frame casting a long shadow over his brother. His blue eyes were completely unreadable as he stared down at the ruler of the empire.
"Be a good person, Aurelian," Alaric rumbled, his voice incredibly deep and flat.
Aurelian looked up at Alaric, his lips tightening into a thin, grim line. He could not say anything to defend himself. He knew he was a strong, highly calculated ruler—the kingdom survived because of his decisions after all—but as for being a good person, he was miles away from it.
He had committed horrible, unforgivable acts to secure his hold on his brother, and he had never once refuted it. And all that was because he had only ever wanted his brother to truly look at him.
Aurelian looked away, staring into the dark interior of the carriage. "I will be what the kingdom needs, Lucien. As for a good person... do not expect too much from me."
"Just... stop hurting people. And stop hurting yourself," Alaric added quietly.
The moment Aurelian lifted his head, his golden eyes wide with a brief, vulnerable flash of hope—thinking his brother was finally showing a shred of genuine worry for his well-being—Alaric deliberately turned his face away.
The sharp, sudden pain that rippled across Aurelian’s features was undeniable, but looking at it did not wash away the scars of the past.
The letters from the late duchess Aurelian had cruelly held back while Alaric was bleeding at the war front, the psychological torment he had forced Julian to endure... Alaric could never truly forgive him for those sins.
But as long as they remained in separate corners of the empire, there was no need for forgiveness to exist between them. Distance would be their only peace.
"Goodbye, Uncle Alaric! Goodbye, Master Julian!" Liora and Cassian called out together as they finally climbed into the carriage, their small hands waving from the open windows.
Alaric offered a single, rigid nod. Julian stepped forward, a warm, radiant smile gracing his face. "Study hard, my students. I will see you in a year."
Norx took one good look at them and decided he was going to relax on the top of the carriage for the next three days they would be on the road. This was goodbye.
The coachman cracked the heavy leather whip, and the royal procession began to move, the massive carriage wheels crunching loudly over the frozen snow as they slowly wound down the mountain path, heading back toward the capital.
Once the long line of banners and cavalry had entirely vanished past the tree line, the heavy silence of the estate returned.
Alaric turned around, a soft, deliberate shift in his demeanor as he reached down, wrapping his large arm securely around Julian’s waist to pull him flush against his silver fox fur mantle.
"Now that the capital guards are gone," Alaric murmured, his voice dropping into a low, rumbling purr against Julian’s ear, "shall we finally begin our honeymoon talk?"
Julian felt a beautiful, familiar flush creep up his neck. "Oh, you..." He was about to tease him back when a sudden, distinct ripple in the fabric of the universe made the hairs on his neck stand up. A very specific, warm resonance thrummed through his soul.
Julian stopped walking, his expression turning a little serious. "Lucien... head inside for a moment with Lucius. I need to check on something out here."
Alaric’s brow furrowed at the sudden, strange alertness in his husband’s voice, but he had long learned to trust Julian’s spiritual instincts without question. He gave a firm nod, picking up Lucius into his arms, and walked back through the iron gates toward the manor.
Julian walked a few paces out into the pristine, open snowfield, away from the stone walls. He stopped, adjusting the platinum band on his left finger, the blue frost-sapphire glinting brightly under the morning sun.
"Alright," Julian said softly, looking out into the empty clearing. "It’s just you and I now."
A sudden, brilliant flash of light materialized directly in front of him. It didn’t take the shape of a solid silhouette, remaining instead as a warm, gently swirling ball of pure, transcendent golden energy that pulsed with an ancient familiarity.
"You did it," Alias’s voice whispered from the light, sounding incredibly proud, heavy with a profound, emotional relief that echoed through Julian’s mind. "I am so incredibly proud of you, Julian."
Julian shrugged a little, a soft, humble smile touching his lips as he looked at his soul’s ancient counterpart. "Well... it certainly wasn’t easy. But you helped out a lot too, you know."
"Yes... we both finally achieved it. Our true, unyielding Happily Ever After," Alias said, the golden light pulsing with a serene, beautiful warmth. "So... tell me. Is this the end?"
Julian looked back toward the grand manor house, catching sight of Alaric waiting by the massive wooden doors, watching him with an absolute, protective devotion.
"Yes," Julian nodded, a deep, euphoric sigh escaping his chest as a sense of absolute finality settled over his soul. "It’s the end. The credits are already rolling."
"Then go," Alias whispered, the golden ball of light beginning to fade lazily into the winter wind, leaving behind a trace of pure peace. "Now, absolutely nothing will stop you from achieving your dreams and being happy."
The end was indeed here, and as Julian closed his eyes for a single, brief second, his divine foresight allowed him to see the beautiful, unwritten future stretching out before him.
He could see the grand layout of the Northern Academy fully built, its halls filled with the loud, bright laughter of noble and common children learning side by side.
He could see the steady passage of years—seeing his own black hair eventually turning a beautiful, distinguished grey, with Alaric standing right by his side, equally old and weathered by the passage of time but holding his hand just as tightly.
And he could see young Lucius grown into a tall, broad-shouldered man—the new Duke of the North—ruling the lands with a happy, loving, and deeply responsible heart.
It was perfect. Entirely, completely perfect.
Julian opened his eyes, his boots crunching firmly in the snow as he turned on his heel and walked straight back toward the warmth of the manor, ready to live every single page of the story he had fought so hard to write.
THE END...
