What in the world was he thinking?
Julian could feel the sweat flowing down his neck after realizing what he has done.
He has impulsively brought 16 bios – whose backgrounds are not vetted by the third prince's people – to this own manor 'without his permission!'.
Even though the prince treats Julian kindly, he still remembers his position. He is nothing more but an unwanted bio child from the baron family who is not yet the prince's wife or even hold the position of Duchess or Princess. Even if he is, his position is not always permanent. That is the reality of women and bios when they marry in this polygamous society. They have to work hard to gain and sustain their husband's favor so that they could keep their position in the harem. And trying to bring 16 people into their household without the man's permission, is not giving him any favors!
He was so focused on the decision in saving the bios that he forgot about it. Is the prince going to be mad at him? He hoped he won't return him to the Monets. He was already given such opportunities to stay in the manor due to the prince's good graces. Most of the time, the public frowned upon a bio or a woman who enters a man's home without being married but this is not unusual for women or even bios to gain access to a single man's home usually through backdoor means (like getting the emperor's initiative or relative) just so they can get a wife position in the future.
But the sight of these bios gave Julian a dose of reality. Ever since his grandfather died, he has always dreamed of escaping. His memory outside of the house has always been positive but that was mostly because he saw Monet's household as a cage. He knows life as a bio is not perfect, he just never realized how hard and unfair it was. It made him realize that whether he stays or leaves the Monets before, he will suffer regardless because of his gender.
Bios not only have to work hard but they don't reap the rewards for working hard. So, they are stuck working through the bone to survive, not paid well, treated like trash by everyone else, and have to live in harsh conditions as these are what they can afford. Some say that those bios who have noble backgrounds are lucky to have food or even a roof over their heads even if they were never treated well in their own families. This is the life of bios. And he is mad at it.
It was not their fault they were born bios. They never ask to be born bios but the world treats them like they are one.
"Beautiful brother, are you sure we can stay here?" one of the young bios with dark skin, bright curly reddish-orange hair, and olive-green eyes asked him. His name is Yule. He was rather shy and thin, the complete opposite of the outgoing Thomas who is energetically looking around the room.
Beautiful? Julian just smiled at him. Why are people keep calling him beautiful? Even the servants in the prince's household refer to him as one but he never really thought of himself as beautiful.
"Yes, for now. "Julian smiled as he pats the young boy on the head.
"Yule. You can't just call him that" One of the teens chastised the young boy. "He's a noble."
"It's fine," Julian said. "He can call me brother. I'm sorry you have to stay here. It is not much but it is a lot safer and cleaner than your previous house"
Not much? The bios looked at him in disbelief. This is a manor! Even though there is no furniture in sight, it's still a freaking manor! Most commoners never had the chance to even step foot in it, let alone be able to stay in it. Even in the commoner society, the servants of nobles are considered elite for even having the chance to stay in a manner even if it is just the servant's quarters.
"Ekkkk!" Julian turned to Emma who glanced at the window. "Young master! The prince is here! He is early!"
"What?" Hulio and Julian asked in disbelief. Fel was too busy treating the poor man and did not hear them. They made a clean and makeshift bed on the floor since there was no furniture. The baby was on a small basket also being looked after by Fel.
The rest of the bios felt their shock so they froze on the spot. They were not sure what is going on as these people did not give a lot of information to them but they could feel the tense atmosphere.
"I thought he would stay out a little longer," Julian mumbled. The prince is normally so busy. Julian knows that the prince has been trying to stabilize his position as the third prince of the empire and trying to find income for himself. Although the prince tries to make time for him in the afternoon (he didn't ask to but the prince still does anyway), on days when he plans to go out, Prince Victor is often outside the manor usually having to deal with the palace drama.
But what is he going to do? Bringing these bios here was a logical decision for him at the time but now he is a little nervous and conflicted. He was simply planning to just hide them for a while until they find a long-term solution but can he even do so? He looked at Emma, Hulio, and Fel. He is pretty sure that the three will face trouble because of his decision. He was a little grateful these three agreed to cater to his whims sometimes even though they were unreasonable.
"As long as we stay still, he might not know we are in here," Emma suggested calmly.
'Yeah, I highly doubt that.' Hulio thought. 'The prince probably already knew what the young master did. His shadow guards have been following him all day. But he can't tell them that. None of them should know that the shadow guards are present.
BANG! The main door opened and walked in the dark-haired, golden-eyed handsome man looked surprised at the people in the room.
The entire room froze. The children bolted toward the older bios and hid behind them while the older bios are terrified.
This man is a royal! The gold eyes were a distinct feature of those coming from the royal blood of the empire! The bios were conflicted on what to do. Should they bow? They should bow! But before they could do anything, the man marched towards their beautiful brother who looked very nervous.
"Your Highness, wait!" An older man entered, Rufus as he cried towards his master.
They all watch as the man raised his hand toward Julian. Julian couldn't help but try to stammer and explain. Everyone looked terrified.
"I knew it." The prince's voice echoed in the room.
Huh?
Prince Victor's hand is on Julian's forehead. It doesn't look like he slapped the young man like most of them have thought. (If Prince Victor is aware of their thoughts, "Do you think so badly of me?").
"You have a fever." The prince said a little bit annoyed.
"I-I what?" Julian blinked.
"You over-exerted yourself." The prince has his hands on his waist looking at Julian like a mother reprimanding her child. "You just recovered. You could have hurt yourself. Walking in the streets of the disease-infested streets among the slums – no offense (he directed towards the bios) – your immune system is still very low, so exposing yourself to such conditions can make you sick."
Julian was just speechless and do not know what to say. He only understood half of what the prince is saying.
"Wait, you knew?" Julian asked aghast.
"Yes." The prince answered nonchalantly like it was normal for him to know what is going on around his properties.
Victor turned towards Emma. "Please get Julian to his room, have him wash up, and put him to bed. Prepare for some soft food and call for a healer."
Emma could only nod as she approaches to help her young master.
"But but…" Julian looked conflicted in all of this.
"I'll take care of your bio friends."
*****
Julian did have a fever. He spent three days in bed in and out of consciousness because of it. He never considered the toll on his body for trying to go to the slums and save the bios from their situation but apparently, he has a weak constitution and the healer have told him to not overexert himself.
Julian hated it. Why is his body always this weak? Even before his grandfather's death, Julian has always been susceptible to sickness. He hated it. He wishes he has a stronger body. Like the prince. Who is tall, strong, and has a body full of muscles that can help him lift anything.
Ugh.
"Your Highness here's today's tonic," Emma said as she places the small table on the bed with the soup he was supposed to drink for this morning.
"Emma I am so sorry." Julian apologized to his head maid. "I got you, Fel, and Hulio in trouble."
"It is not something to worry about, young master. We are fine." Emma smiled.
Julian heard that the prince scolded Emma, Hulio, and Fel about what happened. The three of them got lucky as in most cases, they would have been punished severely but the prince was lenient on them this time.
Julian even heard that the prince has moved the bios in the main manor. The one they entered wasn't exactly very livable without the proper furniture in place. Mimi needed a bed to recuperate properly. He just found out that the prince sold most of the furniture there. Mimi woke up yesterday but was on bed rest.
He even heard some of the teenagers asking for work instead as they were not comfortable doing anything while provided with shelter, clothes, and food from the prince. They still could not believe that an actual prince is the one who owned the manor. Most of the teens are helping in the kitchen and cleaning. The children are still too young to work and were currently being monitored by Fel. Apparently, as punishment, Fel and Hulio were assigned temporarily to take care of the children and Mimi during their recovery.
"Young Master, the prince would like to speak with you," Emma stated.
Julian nodded. "Let him in" and he sat up properly.
Prince Victor entered the room and sat on the chair near the bed. The room was quiet and the two men are just sitting there a bit awkwardly.
"Your Highness, I am so sorry." Julian started.
Victor looked at Julian and sighed. "I also apologize for scolding you."
"But what you said makes sense. I was careless with my body." Julian said. 'After all, you did help me recover and be healthier than I was before. "I just wanted to help."
"I know." Prince Victor said. " I understand. Helping those bios were necessary. Without your help, they'll probably have died when you left them there. But you also have to understand your limitations or you could get hurt. It is difficult to take care of people when you can't take care of yourself."
Julian nodded shyly. "Thank you for helping them, your highness."
"No problem. I did recall asking you to just call me Victor."
"I still think it's inappropriate." Julian's face went red when he thought about it. Why is this prince always asking him to call him by his first name?
Prince Victor just chuckled. "You are blushing and I think it's adorable."
That only made Julian turn red even more. "Stop it, your highness!" he covered his face with his hands.
Prince Victor could not help but laugh.
"Laughing aside, we are going to need to make a plan about the bios. The teens can work in the manor but the children are too young, what are your long-term plans for them?"
****
Rufus glanced at his master and future master talking happily in the room. He still thinks the prince should have chosen a better location than the bedroom. He still thinks it is inappropriate. People are already talking about the bio that is living with the prince even though they are unmarried but Rufus and Aiden helped keep the secret about the prince constantly following the young bio around.
He didn't want to disrupt their peaceful talk. Rufus was happy that Prince Victor is showing signs of being happy. When the prince was a child, Rufus rarely sees him smile. He recalls how many times the prince would always ask about his father and mother but he always felt heartache knowing he can't bring the prince to them. The emperor could not do anything without the empress's permission and the empress ignored the young prince isolating him without any support.
He remembers the time when the prince finally realized what kind of family he has and Rufus could not forget the devastating look the young prince gave. Ever since then, the once very happy and bubbly little toddler was gone and a quiet and angry child replaced it, and an even quieter teenager. He was surprised that the prince has been so put together since then. He had expected some outburst of anger or even a rebellious stage but none of that happen.
Sometimes he thinks the prince was a different person but he can't help to be happy for him. He was even more surprised how the prince was a bit forgiving of the emperor. Most children should have hated their parents after all that neglect. He knows Prince Victor has not fully forgiven the emperor but compared to the empress, at least the emperor is showing some initiative.
And this is why Rufus was worried. He glanced at the letter he is holding in his hand. It was a summons from the empress. Rufus knows what kind of person the empress is. And while he expects the empress to summon the prince, the letter was addressed to him, Rufus Helman.