Luc (Luca)–Julius

Luc (Luca)–Julius is the former relationship between Luc and Julius, a romance cut short as Luc was leaving to serve as a Hero. Their separation was not simply a consequence of distance: Julius later revealed that Hero Eliza threatened him to keep him from joining Luc, making their lost future part of the same system that treated Luc’s life and relationships as instruments of heroic succession.

The Relationship and Its Separation

Luc recalled that his longest relationships had been with people from the capital where he grew up. One was a maid in training, a youthful relationship he considered only a partial one; the other was a squire who trained with him. When Luc announced that he was leaving and asked the squire to come with him, the squire broke things off. Luc described the separation as one cost of the Hero’s itinerant life, which repeatedly made lasting relationships difficult.

Julius’s later account supplies the pressure behind that break. He told Theo that he had been happy when Luc invited him to join the party and did not want to leave him. Hero Eliza ordered him to refuse, insisting that Luc needed no distractions, and threatened to take everything from Julius if he did not let Luc go. The earlier account presents the breakup as the squire’s action; Julius’s disclosure shows that Eliza’s coercion shaped the choice. The relationship ended under the demands of Luc’s departure and the authority surrounding his Hero’s role, rather than through evidence of a lack of attachment.

Their History at the Capital

The relationship returns to the story when Theo is taken to the capital after revealing his connection to Malthios. Luc says nothing as Theo is led away, and Theo cannot bring himself to look at him. In the dungeon, Theo recognizes the blond knight guarding him as Julius, whom the narration identifies as Luc’s former lover. Julius’s expression is blank, but he tells Theo that he will pay for hurting Luc. The threat makes clear that Julius’s concern for Luc remains active, even as he occupies a position within the authorities holding Theo.

Julius later speaks to Theo in private, lowering his voice so the surrounding audience cannot hear. He explains his desire to stay with Luc and the threat that drove him to refuse the invitation. He also warns that Eliza wants Luc to continue the bloodline and father the next Hero, a future Julius says neither of them could provide. The warning exposes a dynastic motive behind Eliza’s control of Luc’s intimate life. Theo appreciates the disclosure but tells Julius he has no intention of being frightened away from Luc.

What the Past Reveals About Luc’s Choice

Julius’s history gives personal weight to Luc’s eventual refusal of Eliza’s expectations. When she challenges him over ending their bloodline and abandoning what he had trained for, Luc describes choosing a quiet, peaceful life with the man he loves. He also imagines a world in which people born with the Hero’s gift can choose their own fate instead of being bound to duty. His choice with Theo does not restore his former relationship with Julius, and the evidence does not describe a reconciliation between the former lovers. Instead, their past reveals how the same hereditary obligation that severed Luc and Julius also threatens to dictate Luc’s future.

Narrative Significance

The relationship links private heartbreak to institutional power. Luc’s departure made lasting intimacy precarious; Eliza’s threat turned that vulnerability into a means of control, while her ambition to produce the next Hero cast Luc’s romantic life as a matter of bloodline policy. Julius’s warning helps Theo understand what Luc is being asked to sacrifice, and his presence in the dungeon brings that old attachment into the immediate conflict over Theo’s fate. The former lovers’ story therefore stands as a counterpoint to Luc’s later choice: instead of accepting a future organized around inheritance and duty, he chooses a life with Theo on terms he has made for himself.