VIELLTRONZO

Chapter Five- Friend Or Foe

He groaned, slowly opening his eyes. He was tightly wrapped with a thick rope on a hard and wooden chair, unable to move freely. He widened his eyes as he tried to speak but the cloth around his mouth prevented him from doing so.

He was still in his black suit but the left side of his pants were cut up until his knees. A bandage was tightly wrapped around his left leg and the tiny reddish spot indicated that he really had some kind of wound.

Wait, what happened?!

Flashback...

After Julien's encounter with an irritated Damian, Finneas saved him by introducing him to King Augustus. The king immediately liked Julien and he could tell by the way King Augustus patted his shoulder that he was now on level two of his mission.

"Let's not keep the citizens waiting! Come on! "

As the carriages pulled at the carts, King Augustus walked on the right side while Damian stood on the left. Julien was walking behind the prince as Finneas suggested Julien to help until they reached District Five. Julien, despite their strange encounter, observed the prince from behind. He was as tall as North and his unique features could never be mistaken.

"Thank you so much your highness! You don't know how grateful we are for having you as our future king."

A lady said as she received the bag with her small daughter behind her. Damian smiled so brightly at her which made Julien knit his eyebrows. Indeed, that was a different Damian from what he saw earlier when he accidentally bumped into him.

Ah, what a fake...

The issue wasn't anything foreign to Julien, especially to noble people. Infront of the crowd, they always seemed so flawless in every way but once they're inside the comfort of their huge quarters, their true image will be revealed. As they walked, Julien widened his eyes upon seeing Reena infront of her door, smiling innocently as if the man behind Damian wasn't planning on killing him. When they made eye contact, Reena was startled for a while before composing herself, setting a reminder that she would have to ask Julien why he was so close to the royal family to the point that he is even helping them.

None of the past assassins ever tried to get close to any of the members of the royal family. They just observed from afar and proceeded to their plan which always failed for different reasons. She smirked, crossing her arms against her chest as she laughed to herself.

Maybe Julien is special after all...

"Hi Julien!"

Reena waved, knowing well enough that both of them should act comfortable to each other as to not raise any suspicions. Julien rose uo his hand and waved back, feeling proud of his special skill in acting. Once they stopped just infront of Reena, she smiled and happily took the bag of goods along with the basket of vegetables that Julien was carrying.

"Good day, your highness. I hope Julien isn't giving you a hard time."

"Don't worry, he's fine. Although, we haven't properly introduced ourselves yet, he seems nice enough to help us."

Reena bowed happily as the group moved forward. Julien looked back, giving Reena a signal that he will be investigating further. Julien unconsciously snorted at the thought of the prince's fake
persona that he just witnessed. Uppon hearing the annoying sound, Damian looked behind him and saw Julien covering his mouth with his hands as if it was the only thing that could keep him from bursting into a fit of laughs. Damian cleared his throat as he handed another bag to a civilian.

"So tell me, dwarf, what is it with you that made my brother fetch you to help along with us? I am aware of his friendly soul but you should know that I'm nowhere near his level of kindness."