Chapter 85: Julian Frontera (2)

“The person you are looking for is Julian Frontera, is that right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“What is your name?”

“Lloyd Frontera.”

“And what is your relationship with Julian Frontera?”

Relationship? Lloyd paused and thought for a second.

“Family,” he finally said.

Since he’s related by blood, Julian was his family. But it was awkward for him to utter the word “younger brother.” It felt strange. After all, Lloyd had never met Julian before, and he never had a younger brother, let alone a brother back in South Korea. The housemaster didn’t make any issues with his response, which relieved Lloyd.

“Very good. Now, please show me the token to verify your identity.”

“Here.”

This part was a breeze. He simply held out the family necklace, and the magical verification device in the necklace became activated.

Flash! A hologram image floated on the necklace. It was the face of Lloyd. He brought the image near his face, and it turned blue. It was a match.

“You are verified. Please wait here for a second,” said the housemaster.

“Thank you.”

Lloyd sat down and waited in the lobby, which was an antique space teeming with dark brown trees and the smell of old books. As he sat all alone there, a sense of nervousness began to creep inside him.

Julian, was it? Even the novel didn’t mention much about him. Julian Frontera, the younger brother of Lloyd. He never made any direct appearance in The Knight of Blood and Iron. Instead, he was briefly mentioned around the time the Frontera barony went up into flames.

When the barony fell, he had no way to pay the tuition. Eventually, he got chased out of the academy and died on the same day it happened. A thief stabbed him with a knife in the back alley while he was looking for a place to sleep.

He fought the thief to protect his mother’s pendant. And he was stabbed just like that. The unpopulated area squashed any hopes of survival. The boy, fallen to the ground of the alley corner, struggled until dawn, desperately calling in his feeble voice for help. But no one came. His final breath was in the puddle of his own blood thirty minutes before the sun rose. His death was a futile, unfortunate one. The book even mentioned that his death was more unfortunate because he was a good student at the academy.

His studious nature was all that the book mentioned about him. That was all Lloyd knew about Julian Frontera. He had absolutely zero idea about his personality, likes and dislike, and relationship with Lloyd. Nothing. So he was now getting the anxious.

Goodness. He’s not going to see me through, is he? Lloyd dismissed the thought right away. After all, Julian was seeing Lloyd after almost three years. Even if Julian found his tone and mannerism to be a little off, Lloyd simply needed to convince him that it was the years of separation that changed him.

There’s the perfect expression at a time like this. Turning over a new leaf. Turning over a new leaf. An older brother who came to his senses. That was the role he was going to play today. Lloyd was thinking over his plan prior to meeting Julian when he heard someone.

“What are you doing here? Why did you come here?”

A grouchy, no, a cold, harsh voice pierced into his ears. Lloyd turned his gaze toward the source of the voice, and there he found a young child who had an air of maturity around him. With orange curly hair and freckles on his face, the boy seemed to be, at most, 15 or 16 years old. His mature impression was even more noticeable in contrast with his physique. He was small, barely going over 5’2. His slim body accentuated his small physique, and the features on his face were cute and small, much like a doll.

That’s Julian? Lloyd simply stared at a baby-faced boy who he thought was Julian, and this made the boy grimace.

“Again, why did you come here?” He was still grouchy and thorny. Lloyd became convinced after seeing the boy’s attitude.

Yeah, it’s Julian. Lloyd had heard that Julian was the same age as Javier. 21 years old. So Lloyd was a little confused when he saw Julian’s much more youthful appearance. But the explicit grouchiness told Lloyd that the boy in front of him was indeed Julian. A corner of Lloyd’s lips rose, and he chuckled.

“Why else?”

Lloyd rose from his seat and took a big step to get closer to him. That made Julian flinch, but his green eyes nonetheless held much obstinacy, which seemed more like a venomous resolution to remain strong and undefeated.

Let’s not get too involved with this kid for now. Lloyd and Julian. Lloyd was in the dark about their brotherhood. He didn’t want to rush into Julian’s life too much just yet. After all, he planned on returning to the fiefdom after building the suspension bridge anyway. The boy wasn’t going to meet a tragic end like in the story, so there really was no reason for him to get too involved.

So I’m just going to tell him what the baroness hammered into my head and leave. Lloyd lifted the bundle and held it out to Julian, who was still glaring daggers at him.

“Here.”

Fwump. A considerably large bag got tossed into his small embrace.

“What, argh.”

It looked like it was heavier than he expected as his two legs staggered as he caught the bag.

“Any place to eat around here?” asked Lloyd.

“Eat? Do you mean a meal?” asked Julian incredulously.

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“I was instructed to have a meal with you when we met,” said Lloyd coolly.

“Who said that?” retorted Julian.

“Who else?”

What Lloyd just suggested was one of the things the baroness told Lloyd countless times when he departed for the royal capital. Julian seemed to have understood that somewhat even without a proper explanation.

“Oh, goodness sake.” Julian’s nose crinkled.

“This way.”

Julian spoke, turning with the bag in his embrace. He led along the hallway, where there was a cafeteria for the visitors. Located on the first floor, it was a place frequented by families and friends who came to see the students.

“What are you having anyway?”

Julian asked after getting a seat first. Then he started observing Lloyd.

Tsk. Julian instantly retracted his decision to observe Lloyd because his mood soured the moment he laid his eyes on him. There wasn’t any particular reason behind it. That was how he always felt about his brother.

“I’m telling you in advance, but you can’t drink here,” said Julian.

It was Julian’s way of taking precaution. At the same time, he felt like he was on pins and needles when he remembered the type of person Lloyd was.

He can be thrown to the corners of Hell, and he’ll still go looking for booze. It was Lloyd who had said that his body became all itchy and red if he lived a day without alcohol. And each day, he threw his drunken tantrum at all people. Breaking stuff in the house was commonplace. Sometimes, he hit people, and Julian wasn’t an exception. Arguably, Lloyd whacked Julian the most. When Julian was young, Lloyd beat him for not doing his errands. When Julian grew older, Lloyd beat him for hovering around while he was drinking. His violence grew worse to the point that Lloyd whacked, punched, and kicked Julian for always living an upright life. It pestered Lloyd. That was how much of a piece of trash Lloyd was. He was one of the most disgusting scumbags Julian ever met. And so, Julian couldn’t believe the current situation.

What could that man possibly accomplish? Just then, an event from a few days ago popped into his head. A man from the royal palace came looking for him and shared the news about Cremo, the city of commerce. The city was the center of Cremona, the region where part of his hometown was located. The man had said that the Gigatitan wreaked havoc by arriving on the inland. The sailboats that floated in celebration of the statue construction sank, and the actual statue and the posts were destroyed. Even more, the city district was set on fire.

But no one died, according to the man. Moreover, I was told someone exerted superhuman courage and selflessness to fight against the Gigatitan. Julian was honestly very impressed, and his heart was filled with awe to the point that it began to thump when he heard the story. The reason behind the man from the palace telling him the story was lost in his thoughts. He was curious. He wanted to know the man behind such a fantastic achievement. He wondered what kind of life the man led and what kind of wisdom he held. Julian direly wanted to know more about him, and if he could, Julian wanted to meet the man and learn from him. Become a bit like him after personally meeting the amazing hero with his own eyes. In short, Julian was mesmerized by this hero. So he did a double take when he heard the name of the hero, which forced Julian to scratch his head in confusion several times.

No way! The hero who saved Cremo, the city of commerce. His name was Lloyd Frontera. Julian couldn’t believe it and for obvious reasons. But eventually, he was left with no choice but to buy it because the story was told by the man from the palace. So it had to be true. On top of that, the man reminded Julian that he should not speak of this to anyone for the time being as the official announcement would be made when Her Majesty sent a letter to Lloyd Frontera. His brain felt numb. The longer Julian listened, the more dazed he became. It felt as though he got hit by a hammer in the back of his head.

Lloyd Frontera?! Not in a million years. There must have been a misunderstanding, or something must have gone terribly wrong. Everyone could have gotten confused. If not, they might be enchanted or possessed by something evil.

Those thoughts were what first came to Julian. There was definitely something missing here. Something distorted or misunderstood. It didn’t make sense otherwise. His scumbag drunkard of a brother was the last person who could obtain such an accomplishment. He was nothing but a scum who drank every day and got in trouble. That was all he was.

That’s what I’d thought… Julian lifted his head and glanced across the table. Lloyd was slowly going through the menu. For some reason, he wasn’t browsing the alcohol section. He was simply looking at the food selections with a serious expression. And just then, Lloyd looked up, locking gaze with Julian.

“What are you looking at?” asked Lloyd.

“Eh…?”

“If you want to look at it first, go ahead. I’m buying. This restaurant is for visitors, so it’s not free, is it?” asked Lloyd.

“Y-Yes. Yes,” muttered Julian.

“Then take your pick.”

Tap. The way Lloyd passed the menu. The slight scoff. It all felt too distant and strange. Julian thought that Lloyd was acting odd.

“…”

Julian covered his face with the menu after receiving it from Lloyd. He couldn’t focus on anything that was on the menu. And he started blabbing out words without meaning to.

“Uhm, you see, how’s Sir Asrahan?”

“Javier?”

“Yeah.”

“What about him?” asked Lloyd.

“I heard you came here with him,” answered Julian.

“Have you been keeping up with my news?”

“Yeah…”

Shoot! Why am I having this kind of conversation with that person?!

Julian grasped the menu. Lloyd Frontera is not ordering booze? But he always cursed and lashed out at me every time we had a conversation that was longer than ten words!

Since the situation was terribly strange, awkward, alienating, far-flung, severing, and shocking, Julian even let his mind come up with an eerie possibility that the man in front of him might not be his real brother. In short, he was a bit befuddled. But Lloyd was completely ignorant to what was going on inside Julian. He simply spoke, his tone dripping with much more humanness.

“Well, one thing led to another, and then we’re here. Don’t mind us too much,” assured Lloyd.

“Okay…”

“Oh, did you want to see Javier?”

“Eh…? Yeah, a little.”

“Are you upset that I didn’t bring him?” asked Lloyd.

“Not to that extent.”

“Then, good. He actually wanted to tag along, but I stopped him.”

“You stopped him?”

“Yeah. It gets really rowdy when he’s around. He attracts people’s attention,” said Lloyd.

“Y-Yes, you’re right. He’s handsome and cool.”

“Anyway, that’s why I stopped him. He was being stubborn about it, so I told him that I wouldn’t sing a lullaby to him anymore. That shut him up right away.”

“A lullaby?”

“Don’t worry about it. Anyway-”

Lloyd, who was talking very well, suddenly stopped talking and turned serious. This made Julian flinch. Finally, Lloyd opened his mouth and asked, “have you decided what to eat?”

“Huh?” Julian’s voice was raised a pitch.

“What are you getting so surprised for? I’m asking if you have decided. The menu.”

“Oh, yes. This one,” Julian said.

“Get something more expensive.”

“It’s all right. Really,” Julian assured.

“If you’ve chosen what to eat, put down the menu.”

“…”

Julian wanted to keep his face covered like this. Lloyd’s behavior was making him feel unbearably awkward and uncomfortable. He bit his bottom lip, hanging his head down.

Ha. This is nuts. It had been a long while since Julian met Lloyd. It was an unexpected meeting as well. When the housemaster informed him that his older brother was here, Julian wondered if he had heard it right. And on the way down here, he even made a stern resolution to not get distracted and swayed by Lloyd like in the past. That was why he had acted in such a grouchy manner. He treated Lloyd with as much sharpness as he could muster. Otherwise, that man would either hit him or throw an ugly fit, Julian expected.

I planned to call the housemaster if that happened. The housemaster would have the authority to kick Lloyd out. He wanted to keep the meeting with Lloyd as short and brief as possible. But his plan failed within ten minutes because of Lloyd’s eerily normal behaviors.

Should I just ask upfront why he’s acting like this? To be honest, Julian held many questions for Lloyd. For starters, why was he acting so normal? And what kind of scheme did he employ to trick Cremo people into believing that he accomplished something there? Julian finally lifted his gaze to ask those questions. He then threw a determined gaze at Lloyd, but just at that moment, Julian witnessed something he never expected to see.