Julian's heart was hammering. This was the only way he felt he could stop the Duke from leaving and creating an irreversible mistake. He wanted revenge on the Emperor, but not at the expense of the Duke getting charged for treason and thrown into the underground cellar.
They would figure something out. Later. He just needed the Duke to calm down first.
The Duke looked at Julian's pleading face. He hadn't thought of it. He hadn't thought of the fact that after going through all that, Julian might have gotten traumatised.
And truly, Julian wasn't saying all that just to keep the Duke from leaving and creating trouble with the Emperor. His body was already reacting to the experience. Being alone in the dark, being alone in a quiet place entirely, made him reenact the dread from the pit, like he was going through that hell over and over again.
It was sickening and frightening that he began to tremble without realizing it.
