Boreas Fletcher chewed on a soft piece of succulent strawberry as he inspected the two people right in front of him. They looked like the stark opposite of each other: One of them was neatly dressed, the other looked like he had been preparing to go to the beach. The man threw another gaze at the picture in his hand.
"As I understand it, you want to find the relatives of this man and tell them he is deceased, correct?" Boreas tapped on his chin and shoved the picture over the white linen back to his guests. Julian swiped it into his pocket. The young man kept a soft smile on his lips, no matter what he did.
"Exactly. That's why we went around asking in the town hall for anyone who might've known the man. But as you might've guessed, our little information hunt ended without any leads." Julian leaned back into the comfortable embrace of his chair. His smile never left his face. However, his eyes were not laughing. His cold blue gaze bored straight into the person in front of him, continually analyzing him.
"…Please continue your search for the man. For his peace and for the peace of his loved ones." Gromwell's governor grunted and swallowed the last piece of beef. His bushy moustache wobbled back and forth as he gestured to the nearest butler. Remy stepped from the shadows and listened to his Master's whispers. A short nod later, the rust-haired man disappeared behind a curtain. A shocked gasp erupted from the man sitting in front of Carmilla.
"Father? You're allowing these outsiders to research our city? Have you forgotten our trad—" The young man was silenced by a simple flick of his father. Julian had to admit they took after each other. Both had light-brown hair with intelligent blue eyes. Both were wearing expensive jewellery on their fingers and were dressed in exquisite materials.
If Julian recalled correctly, that man was called Adrian. Adrian Fletcher. A soft smirk appeared on Julian's face when he thought back to the moment the young man introduced himself. His eyes wandered to Carmilla's cleavage which earned him a slap of the purple-haired Artifactor along with the strict promise of his father for a stern lecture.
"Those traditions have been in place for over five-hundred years now. It is time we have a fresh wind cleaning out our city." The man said as he ignored his son's complaints.
Julian didn't like his tone. While the governor sounded light-hearted enough, the blue-eyed Artifactor couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. He just couldn't put his finger on it.
"Does that mean we can look into the citizen's registry tomorrow, Sir?" Julian cut straight to the matter at hand. With that registry, they could do their work so much faster. Besides, it could help them answer more questions than the one Julian was lying about.
"Of course, Remy shall hand you the necessary papers tomorrow morning." The governor snapped his fingers and glanced at Edward, who leaned against the furthest window. His eyes constantly looked outside. However, Julian couldn't see anything on that side. Only some trees and other mansions.
"…Edward, please." Boreas cleared his throat several times before he snapped his fingers once more. That seemed to do the trick; Edward shook out of his daydreaming and noticed the empty plates. Without so much as a word, he paced around the table as he grabbed the plates. Julian saw the tight grip he had on the delicate table gear.
Uncharacteristic for a butler, Julian noted. And then there were Edward's muscles. Julian understood butlers had to have some power, but the elf's muscles were too overdeveloped to be a mere house aid. Almost like he did something outside of his job that required a tremendous amount of force. As the elf walked through the nearest door, the jingle of cracking porcelain echoed throughout the dining room. Boreas sighed.
"That's the fifth this night…" The governor rubbed his forehead.
Julian found that single sentence of more worth than the entire conversation he just had. So the elf had a problem keeping his power under control. And it had happened multiple times before Carmilla or Julian entered the room and almost stopped when the young lady, Marianne, disappeared from the room. The blue-eyed Artifactor made a mental note of this. Carmilla brushed her hair behind her back, her tear-drop shaped earrings reflecting the light of the chandelier.
"You are most generous, Mister Fletcher. Of course, we shall make sure your good name is spread throughout the city, more than it already is." Carmilla said with a soft smile. Julian appreciated that move; some compliments never hurt in discussions like these.
"Well then, I suppose we shall be taking our leave now. If you'll excuse us…" With those words, Julian pushed his mahogany wooden chair backwards and reached for his coat. The dinner had finished, and they had discussed what they came here. Julian found no reason to stay in the governor's mansion any longer. Boreas snapped his fingers once more, which caused Remy to appear once more.
"Remy, guide these people to the front gate, will you? Oh, and please send an invoice to the usual people for the broken plates." The governor himself stood up and reached out for Julian's hand over the table. The blue-eyed Artifactor carefully shook the man's hand, followed by Carmilla. The governor's son shook Julian's hand but didn't dare to do the same with Carmilla. He caressed his right cheek were the faint imprint of the emerald-eyed Artifactor's hand still burned.
As they stepped into the foyer, they found Edward sitting on a chair. The young elf looked out of the window at an empty spot next to the parking. Julian remembered a limousine being there when he arrived. A soft smirk appeared on his lips as he paced towards the daydreaming elf.
"Looking at something interesting?" Julian smirked as Edward shook out of his daydream. He quickly turned around with a panicked face. When he saw Julian's face, however, he relaxed.
What a curious reaction, Julian thought.
"N-No, just a tad tired…" came Edward's reply. The young elf didn't look all too good, but Julian judged the late hour to cause that. As Edward stood up, a small plan formed inside Julian's head. Truth to be told, he still didn't trust the governor for as far as he could kick the old man. So he needed more information on Boreas Fletcher. Preferably, from an inside man. With a couple of steps, Julian closed the distance between him and the muscled elf.
"She is quite the looker, isn't she?" Julian smirked when Edward slowly nodded. A couple of seconds, the realization hit. The young elf swung around on the back of his heels and took on a defensive position. Julian didn't know why, though.
"W-what do ya mean?" Edward's voice cracked. His eyes squinted as the elf inspected the smaller man in front of him. In Edward's eyes, Julian didn't look dangerous. No strong muscles, thin and smaller. However, Julian didn't force to win. He just needed two sentences.
"Maybe I'll go look. See what she thinks of me, you know?" The reaction it pulled with the muscled elf surprised the blue-eyed Artifactor. One of his gigantic hands reached out and grabbed Julian by the collar. With one step, Edward had closed the gap between him and Julian before forcing his forehead against the black-haired human. An angry gaze took hold of Edward's milky-white eyes, speckled with emerald.
"If you lay one hand on her, I'll—" He never got to finish his sentence. A pair of hands reached for Edward's wrists and pressed on his muscles. Hard. With a soft scream, Edward stumbled backwards as Remy forced himself between Julian and Edward. The blue-eyed Artifactor clicked his tongue when he saw the copper-haired butler.
Definitely not a typical house aide, Julian noted.
"Edward, behave yourself! Your behaviour is unacceptable, I—" Remy stopped his rant as Julian placed his right hand on the butler's shoulder.
"Relax, Remy. It was merely a slip of the tongue on my part. However, since you're here… I seem to have forgotten my heirloom pen back at the dining table when I wanted to write something. Could you go and get it for me?" Julian flashed the rust-haired butler a soft smile while he never let Edward out of his sight. Remy bowed politely.
"Of course. I shall return shortly." The copper-haired butler walked back to the dining room. Julian smirked and turned his attention to the muscled elf in front of him.
"Now that nuisance is out of the way, let's talk." Julian leaned against the windowsill and smiled. In the corner of his eyes, Clarissa talked to the governor and his son. None of the house's staff was close to them either.
"I was just kidding, I have no interest in relations. What does interest me is the whereabouts of those two men." Julian gestured at the dining room and the governor behind his back. Before Edward could ask anything, he continued.
"Of course, I am reasonably kind. If you give me updates, I'll see to it the lady knows your good deeds. Who knows, she might fall for you." That offer certainly got a reaction out of the Elven butler. However, it wasn't the one Julian expected.
"Of course she's falling for me. She told me herself." Edward crossed his arms. His brow furrowed as he looked down on the young blue-eyed human in front of him.
The answer wasn't exactly what Julian was hoping for. He had expected the elf to jump on the opportunity. The blue-eyed Artifactor had noticed the Elven butler's bouts of nervousness whenever the young noblewoman became the centre of the conversation. Not to mention his longing gazes at the spot where her car stood and in the direction of her mansion.
Julian's mind went at a thousand miles an hour. He didn't want to lose his only source of relatively reliable information in this house. He needed it to keep the governor in check. Then Julian remembered the scene when he arrived at the dining room. The woman stormed out angrily, seemingly after a heated dispute with her father. The woman's father said something about it being necessary. The blue-eyed Artifactor didn't forget the cocky smirk playing on Aiden's face either. He came to a dirty conclusion, but the end justified the means.
"I might… be able to pull Aiden and Marianne away of each other." That got the reaction Julian hoped for. Edward froze in his tracks before he swerved back towards Julian. His face revealed his intense curiosity. Just as Julian hoped it would. Edward paced closer with significant steps and leaned forward.
"Really?" The Elven butler asked with a whisper. His eyes constantly shifted from Julian to the governor and his son standing in the entry hallway. Carmilla kept them busy. Julian should've known the purple-haired woman would realize something was going on.
"Yeah. It really isn't that hard to make their relationship a no-go." Julian even had an idea of how to do it. From what he had seen, the governor's son was quite strict about formalities and traditions. Ages ago, Julian learned that arranged marriages were a thing and still done in some noble families.
"Just add a lie here and there, sprinkled with a rumour or two and some … convenient evidence." Julian's eyes twinkled. He knew that he might be making a grave mistake here with possibly ruining two people's lives. He didn't care, though. Julian only had his goal in mind. Edward kept his voice to a silent whisper as he leaned forward.
"… Okay, what do ya want me to do?" Edward was all ears. His body tensed up slightly as his gaze continued to watch Boreas Fletcher and his son engage in idle conversation. Just like Julian expected.
"Nothing. Just call me regularly whenever the governor, his son or that butler, Remy do anything out of place or go to meet someone." Julian's orders were simple. He didn't want to issue any complicated instructions when he didn't know Edwards'strong points and weaknesses. Nothing was as useless as someone being put to the wrong use. Julian knew that from experience. The Elven butler's face wrinkled with questions.
"That's it?" Edward couldn't believe his pointy ears. This human would solve his problems with only wanting some information in return.
"Yeah. Of course, I advise you to use some kind of stealth. If they'd find out, who knows what would happen." While he spoke, Julian scribbled his cell phone number on a small velvet napkin and hid it in Edward's pocket. At the same moment, Remy returned with a displeased expression on his face.
"My sincerest apologies, I've failed in locating your pen." The copper-haired butler bowed. His voice dripped with discontentment. Julian smirked at the man from above and waved his hand through the air.
"No matter," Julian improvised while giving Edward a stern stare to make sure he understood the deal's terms. "I have pens back at the hotel. Still, if you happen to notice it, please do let me know. You know where to find me, of course." Julian's words hadn't cooled off yet, or he shook Edward's hand with a firm grip. The cold blue gaze bored straight into Edward's emerald-speckled one. The elf returned the handshake with vigour and returned the look with determination.
"If you'd excuse me now, I don't want to hold you any longer." Julian paced towards the front door. He noticed Carmilla leaning against the nearest marble pillar with a bored expression plastered across her face. Once Julian entered her vision, she mumbled something and concluded the one-sided conversation with a polite bow before she joined her companion on the way outside. Once they were out of earshot, Carmilla let out a soft sigh.
"I'd thought they'd kill me with their boring speeches." The emerald-eyed Artifactor threw her curly hair backwards and fixed her gaze on the young man walking beside her through the packed streets. The evening had set in and with it, the buzz of the casinos. Drunkards lined the streets' curbs while a cacophony of smells permeated the air.
"So, what was up between you and that butler. Talking that long to somebody is not your style, Julian." Carmilla pushed a couple out of the way as she paced back towards the hotel. Julian shrugged and dodged flying empty bottle champagne after a homeless man stumbled over it.
"Call it insurance. I'd like to keep my blades right on my targets' throats if you know what I mean." Julian's eyes sparkled with devilish delight. A soft smirk tugged at his lips. A rush of contentment surged through his body. It had been a fair time since he had to resort to these tactics, but he revelled in it. The blue-eyed Artifactor couldn't wait for his plans to come to fruition and finally get a step closer to his own, private goals.
No matter what it took, no matter what methods he had to employ… He'd get his hands on his targets, wherever and whoever they were.
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It had been several days after the dinner with the governor and his son. All those days, Carmilla and Julian had been looking through the civil registry of the city of Gromwell. However, the registry alone was the size of a library, complete with dust. And that wasn't even counting the auxiliary volumes stored away in the other room scattered across town hall.
"This is bullshit!" Julian skittered from underneath a mountain of mouldy binders and reached for a plastic bottle of water. "Why can't they just put it all on a hard drive or something?" The young man clearly was irritated. His eyes were bloodshot of staring at crusty papers for twenty-four hours straight. And they didn't come closer to their bomber's identity, nor his relation with the multi-coloured powder that showed up in the bomber's bag. Carmilla brushed the dust from her clothes and simply flopped down in a comfortable-looking stack of papers.
"You know as well as I do that any government is antiquated." The woman rubbed her temples, grabbed a bottle of water and emptied with a couple of healthy gulps. Her heels dug into the large stacks of paper around her as she stretched some cracking joints. Julian sighed and looked around the windowless room.
"How far did we get today already?" The blue-eyed Artifactor sneezed some speckles of dust out of the way.
"Not even close to half of the total," came the sighed reply.
Julian groaned and ruffled his hair. If he had known the Artifactors engaged in such mundane activities, he had never signed himself up. However, as he mentally prepared himself to bury himself in paper, Julian's phone rumbled.
"Oh. Sorry, I have to take this one." The blue-eyed young man ignored Carmilla's complaints and walked out of the room. Luckily, there was no one in the hallway.
"Yes?" Julian didn't introduce himself. Even if he had the distinct impression the person on the other side could only be one particular Elven butler, he was still careful. However, his assumptions proved to be correct.
"Is this Julian?" Edward's voice sounded like a whisper through the phone. Julian imagined it to be because he was somewhere he couldn't speak clearly. After a short confirmation, Edward continued.
"Apparently, that stuffy-pants is scheduled to visit a shop this afternoon. About ten minutes from the station towards the central square, or so they told me." The elf finished with a small explanation of what the shop was. Apparently, it was a shopkeeper who wanted to get a contract with the governor's market chain.
"Most excellent. This is more than sufficient for your first report. Be careful and ring me once something pops up once more." Julian cut the call right then and there. A couple of people walked towards him, and the blue-eyed Artifactor wanted to be safe. Both for his own as Edward's sake. The Elven butler might've been a mere pawn, but a pawn that gets taken out was worth nothing to begin with. Behind him, the wooden door that led to the civil registry creaked open.
"What was that all about?" Carmilla peaked from behind the mahogany wooden door and adjusted her glasses. Julian put his phone back into his jacket and flashed his purple-haired companion an excited smile.
"It seems the little Aiden is going out on a walk to mediate for a contract between a shop and his father." Julian's eyes glinted in the dull light of the cloudy sky. "Seems interesting to check out, no?" Carmilla took one look over her shoulders before she flashed Julian an entire row of white teeth.
"Let's go. I need air to ventilate my mind." With those words, she paced out of the town hall with Julian hot on her heels. Their enthusiasm made them miss the swerving shadows moving back and forth behind them.
"Now, let me see your secrets, Aiden." Julian licked his lips. He knew the lead they had would probably amount to nothing. However, anything is better than nothing. The blue-eyed Artifactor knew that anything might help find his goal, no matter how trivial. While they walked to the area Edward described over the phone, Julian's thoughts went to the mystery Artifactor they met the other night.
Something told Julian that was a piece of the puzzle he couldn't miss. However, he had no idea how to track it down. Not yet, at least. The young man loved a challenge, certainly if it could get him closer to his goals.