Chapter 417

When Valerie brought up Julius, it took a moment for the room to react. Several people looked blank, as though the name meant nothing at first. Even Lucius paused, caught in a brief fog of confusion before memory began to surface. It was Keane who leaned in and quietly filled the gap. "Your eldest brother." Only then did it click for Lucius. His eldest brother, who was old enough to be his father, was named Julius. His history with Julius was long enough to stretch across days and nights without repetition. In the end, Lucius had forced Julius out of the city and sent him to the countryside to fade into retirement. As for the sons Julius had raised, none of them had escaped unscathed. At its core, everything traced back to a fight over succession. It was a chapter of his past Lucius had never wanted to reopen, which was why hearing Julius' name come out of Valerie's mouth was a surprise to him. "Val," he asked, "what does this have to do with Julius?" Valerie answered withou