He could understand that since they were a bit too dumb to even look through the act of a child, but unlike them, his father, the Duke Of Radiance, knew that he was merely pretending, yet he always gave him that apathetically cold look, as if his expectations had been betrayed.
Every time, the now Ulric saw that expression on his father's face, he wanted to curse at him and laugh at his face, mocking him for how he couldn't even protect the only son he expected great things from.
But,
He couldn't bring himself to, hence ignoring everything around him, except for his mother, he pretended to have became as pathetic as one could expect him to be, while training to strengthen his prowess in the shadows.
Even with his evident progress, as if his efforts weren't enough, the so-called father of his gave him his iconic cold glare that made him want to give up on everything and just run away.