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Whenever he went to the palace, Julian felt of being in another dimension, one where the plague had not affected Vesuvius and life was good.
The fact that Lucio acted normally, ignoring the suffering and distress of the people outside the walls, was one reason, but not the only one.
A melody coming from the gardens was like a call to Julian, who strayed from the palace path to the trail among the bushes and trees.
Sitting on the grass and accompanied only by her lute was Michael, who had recently moved into the palace.
Julian had not yet fully understood why she was living there. They said it was an act of generosity and gratitude on Lucius's part, but Ilya still had doubts whether his friend could do things without a second intention.
However, Julian was grateful for Lucio's decision, even though the motive behind it was unclear. Thanks to whatever it was, now the Palace had something good to offer.
In silence, the doctor sat next to the young woman, watching her closely with affection.
She, in turn, did not reciprocate: she was attentive to the strings, being careful to position her fingers correctly without losing the rhythm and tone.
When she finished, Julian leaned over and kissed her shoulder, touching the uncovered skin and provoking a shiver and a laugh at the young woman.
"Perfect! "He praised in a whisper, with his lips glued to her skin.
"Don't lie to me. We both know I miss a few notes." She spoke as she took the lute from her lap and placed it next to her.
"If you miss, I didn't get it."
"So you weren't paying attention?" She questioned, apparently offended.
Julian wide-eyed and stuttered. "N-No! Of course I was! It's just that the melody was so nice that I couldn't even see that there were something wrong, and-"
He stopped trying to explain himself when he saw her a corner smile of lips and curved eyebrows. Oh, he was a joke.
"You talk too much, Doctor Devorak."
She leaned towards him and kissed him. Her lips wrapped his with affection, and he murmured with happiness.
But even in the palace, where life seemed perfect, the happy moments were not eternal.
The sound of familiar voices interrupted the lovers. Suddenly Michael split up with Julian, fixing her hair and drying her lips.
"Oh, you're here Michael and... Doctor Devorak?" Nadia asked, quite surprised to find them together.
"Any problems, Milady?" Michael stood up, worried.
"Valerius is looking for you. You're late for your class with him."
"Gods!" She shook herself, holding the bar of the dress, taking a few hurried steps.
Seconds later she came back, still elated. In a hurry she made a quick reverence, fulfilling one of the etiquette standards she had recently learned. "Countess. Doctor." In a hurry than before she left.
In silence, Nadia and Julian watched her disappear on the trail among the bushes. Alone, the Countess finally felt comfortable giving to Julian a advice.
"You've known Lucio longer than I have, and you know he doesn't like to have his things touched."