Chapter 85
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Translator: Prime Works
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: Julian Frontera (2)
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“Is the person you’re looking for Julian Frontera?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“And your name, sir?”
“Lloyd Frontera.”
“What is your relationship to Julian Frontera?”
Relationship.
Lloyd thought for a moment before answering.
“Family.”
They were blood relatives, after all.
But calling him his little brother felt awkward and strange.
He had never even met Julian face-to-face.
On top of that, he had no siblings back in Korea either.
Fortunately, the dormitory supervisor didn’t make an issue of the vague response.
“Very well. Please show me proof of your identity.”
“Here.”
Proving it was simple.
He presented the family necklace.
The necklace’s magical verification device activated.
Whoosh...
A holographic image floated into the air from the necklace.
It was Lloyd’s own face.
Lloyd aligned his face with the image.
The faces matched, and the image turned blue.
“That checks out. Please wait here for a moment.”
“Thank you.”
Lloyd sat in the dormitory lobby and waited.
The lobby was a stately space filled with dark mahogany wood and the scent of old books.
Sitting there alone, a faint unease began to bubble up like the stock in a bone broth.
‘Julian, was it? The novel didn’t mention much about him.’
Lloyd’s younger brother, Julian Frontera.
In the novel *Iron-Blooded Knight*, he had never appeared directly. He was only briefly mentioned in the early part, during the fall of the Frontera Baron’s family.
‘The family fell into ruin, and there was no way to pay the academy fees. He got expelled. And then he died. On the night he left the dormitory, he was wandering back alleys looking for a place to stay when he ran into robbers and got stabbed.’
He had stubbornly tried to protect his mother’s pendant even with robbers right in front of him. That’s when he got stabbed.
It wasn’t instant death. He had a chance to survive. But he couldn’t seize it. The alley was too deserted.
He lay collapsed in the corner of the alley, writhing until dawn. He called out desperately in a weakening voice. But no one came. He breathed his last in a pool of his own blood, just thirty minutes before sunrise.
A truly futile death.
There was even a mention of how tragic it was, given that he had a reputation for diligence at the academy.
‘And that was it. Diligence.’
That was everything Lloyd knew about Julian Frontera.
Exactly what kind of personality he had.
What he liked or disliked.
What their actual relationship had been like.
He knew nothing else.
That’s why he felt anxious.
‘Tch. Still, it won’t blow my cover.’
Julian hadn’t seen him in nearly three years anyway. Even if he found the changes in speech and behavior a bit odd? He could just chalk it up to growing apart.
‘There’s a perfect word for this situation, right? A complete turnaround.’
A complete turnaround.
The prodigal son who finally got his act together.
That was the concept he’d go with today.
Lloyd was in the middle of formulating his strategy(?) for the meeting with Julian when—
“What’re you doing here?”
A prickly—no, sharp as a thorn—voice stabbed into his eardrum.
Lloyd turned his gaze.
Toward the source of the voice.
There stood a youthful ‘grown child.’
Curly orange hair. A freckled face that looked barely fifteen or sixteen. His small stature only amplified the boyish impression.
He was short.
Maybe just scraping 160 cm.
His slim build made his petite frame stand out even more.
Even his features were doll-like and delicate.
‘That’s Julian?’
Lloyd silently stared at the ‘grown child’ he presumed to be Julian.
The boy furrowed his brow sharply.
“What’re you doing here?”
Still prickly and sharp.
Seeing that, Lloyd was certain.
‘Yeah, that’s Julian.’
He’d heard Julian was the same age as Haviel, twenty-one. The far younger appearance than expected had made him a bit unsure.
But that openly prickly attitude toward him.
It confirmed the guy was Julian.
A smirk tugged at one corner of Lloyd’s mouth.
“Why do you think?”
He stood up.
Took a step toward the boy.
He saw Julian flinch.
Yet those green eyes were filled with stubbornness.
No, it wasn’t just stubbornness—it felt more like venomous defiance, gritted teeth refusing to yield.
‘Don’t get too entangled right now. Keep it short and shallow.’
Lloyd and Julian.
He didn’t know exactly what their relationship had been like.
He didn’t want to dive deep with the guy recklessly.
He planned to finish the suspension bridge construction and head back to the barony anyway. And Julian wouldn’t suffer the same misfortune as in the novel, so there was no need to get deeply involved.
‘Just do exactly what the Baroness earnestly asked and leave.’
Lloyd picked up the bundle.
He held it out to Julian, who was glaring up at him with sharp eyes.
“Here.”
Plop.
The fairly large bundle landed in the boy’s small arms. Or rather, on them.
“What the—ugh.”
Was it heavier than expected?
Julian’s body swayed.
Lloyd asked him.
“Is there a place to eat around here?”
“Eat? A meal?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“She said to at least have a meal together while seeing your face.”
“Who?”
“Who do you think?”
It had been one of the things the Baroness had earnestly asked when he’d left the barony.
Julian seemed to grasp it without needing details.
“Ugh, seriously.”
Julian’s round nose wrinkled up.
“This way.”
He hugged the bundle and turned.
He led the way down the hall.
There was a visitors’ dining hall on one side of the first floor.
It was for families and friends visiting academy students.
“What’re you gonna eat?”
He sat first and asked.
While observing his brother, Lloyd.
‘Tch.’
No, better not observe.
Just looking at his face soured his mood.
There was no special reason. His brother had always been that way.
“I’m telling you upfront—no alcohol here.”
He preempted just in case.
Even then, he worried a bit.
Because of his memories of Lloyd Frontera.
‘The kind of guy who’d hunt for booze even if thrown in the corner of hell.’
Lloyd had gone around saying he’d break out in hives without a drink every day. He’d get drunk and cause scenes almost daily. Smashing furniture was routine, and he sometimes hit people too.
Of course, Julian wasn’t exempt.
In a way, he’d been hit the most.
As a kid, for not running errands.
Once older, for lingering in sight while he drank.
Eventually, even beaten harder for ‘acting so diligent all the time, being such a pain.’
Lloyd had been trash.
The worst kind of trash Julian knew.
That’s why he couldn’t believe the current situation.
‘How the hell did that guy pull off such a feat?’
A few days ago came to mind.
Someone from the royal family had come.
Looking for him.
Brought the news.
Creemo, the trade city.
The central city of the Creemo region where his hometown lay.
A massive monster, a Gigatitan, had tried landing there and wreaked havoc.
The ship floated for the eastern statue completion celebration had sunk, the statue destroyed, the watchtower blown up.
Even fires had broken out in the city streets, apparently.
‘But no one died. And not only that—someone showed superhuman courage and self-sacrifice to repel the Gigatitan.’
Honestly, Julian had been purely impressed.
Deep respect welled up naturally.
His heart had pounded just hearing it.
Why a palace official was telling him this was secondary—he was curious.
What kind of person could achieve such a tremendous deed?
What life had they lived, what grand ambitions did they hold?
He really wanted to know.
If possible, meet them even once. Learn from them. Gaze upon that hero’s qualities firsthand and emulate even a fraction.
In short, Julian was utterly captivated.
So he was shocked.
The moment he heard the hero’s name, Julian couldn’t help scratching his ear roughly several times.
‘No way!’
The hero who saved Creemo.
That person’s name was Lloyd Frontera.
Of course, he couldn’t believe it.
But he had to.
It came straight from a royal envoy.
No way it was false.
On top of that, the royal asked him to keep it quiet for now.
The news hadn’t spread to the capital yet. Soon, Her Majesty the Queen would award Lloyd Frontera a medal, and it would be announced officially and grandly.
The more he heard, the more dazed he felt.
Like getting whacked in the back of the head with a hammer.
‘Lloyd Frontera? This is insane. Something’s wrong. A mix-up. Mass delusion. Or possession.’
That’s what he thought first.
There had to be some distortion or misunderstanding.
Otherwise, it made no sense. His trash of a wastrel brother was worlds away from such feats. Just human scum who drank and caused trouble daily.
‘...Or so I thought.’
Julian looked up.
Across the table.
He glanced at Lloyd, carefully scanning the menu.
Oddly, he wasn’t even opening the alcohol page. Just earnestly browsing the food list.
Then, by chance, their eyes met.
“What’re you staring at?”
“...Huh?”
“If you wanna pick something, go ahead. I’ll buy. This is the visitors’ hall—pays to eat here.”
“Uh, uh, yeah.”
“Then pick.”
Thud.
He slid the menu over.
Even with a slight smirk.
It was so unfamiliar and alien.
That’s why it felt weird.
“......”
Julian took the menu and hid his face behind it.
The words wouldn’t register.
And why was his mouth spouting nonsense?
“Uh, so, Sir Asrahan?”
“Haviel?”
“Yeah.”
“Why him?”
“I heard you came together.”
“Were you waiting for news about me?”
“...Yeah.”
Damn.
Why am I even talking to him like this?
Julian gripped the menu tightly.
Lloyd Frontera not reaching for booze. Exchanging more than ten words without curses or threats.
It was too bizarre, awkward, alien, unfamiliar, novel, unprecedented. He even wondered if this was really his brother.
In short, he was a bit confused.
Oblivious or not to Julian’s mood, Lloyd continued responding in a far more human tone than before.
“Well, things just led me here. Don’t sweat it.”
“...Yeah.”
“By the way. Did you miss Haviel?”
“Huh? A bit.”
“Disappointed I didn’t bring him?”
“Not that much.”
“Then whatever. Truth is, he subtly tried to tag along, but I stopped him.”
“Stopped him?”
“Yeah. Traveling with that guy’s a headache. Too much attention.”
“Uh, yeah, true. He’s handsome and cool.”
“Anyway, that’s why. He was stubborn, so I said no lullaby, and he shut up.”
“Lullaby?”
“There’s this thing. Anyway—”
Lloyd, who’d been chatting smoothly, paused and turned serious.
Julian flinched involuntarily.
Lloyd spoke.
“Decided what you want?”
“Huh?”
“Why so jumpy? Have you picked? Food.”
“Oh, this.”
“Go for something pricey.”
“It’s fine. Really.”
“Once you’ve picked, put the menu down.”
“......”
He wanted to keep hiding his face.
This Lloyd Frontera was so weird and unfamiliar it was driving him mad.
Julian bit his lower lip and bowed his head.
‘Ugh, this is nuts.’
It had been ages since they’d met.
An unexpected encounter at that.
So when the supervisor first said his brother was looking for him, Julian doubted his ears.
Heading to the lobby, he’d steeled himself: don’t let him take control, don’t get pushed around like before.
That’s why he’d been extra prickly.
As sharp as possible.
He’d expected that to make the guy lash out with violence or a tantrum, per his nature.
‘Then I’d call the supervisor.’
The supervisor could eject a visitor like Lloyd.
That’s how he’d planned to cut the meeting short.
But the plan crumbled in ten minutes.
All because of the guy’s bizarrely normal(?) behavior.
‘Should I just straight-up ask why he’s acting this way?’
He did have questions.
Why act so normal?
What scam did he pull in Creemo?
Since they were face-to-face, he lifted his head, steeling himself to ask. He shot Lloyd a determined look.
At that moment, Julian witnessed something completely unexpected.