The next weekend Ioan decided to hold a private banquet at home to introduce his brother to a few of his friends with fame and prestige and nearly all of them were people Ioan had business dealings with.
The news about it quickly spread among the upper class circles and Julien's appearance had become the center of everyone's attention.
The result of the investigation also came out. Lucius was utterly dissatisfied and smashed the documents in his hand onto the ground. Nothing he wanted to know was there.
The man sitting on the sofa pushed his glasses up to the ridge of his nose. One couldn't clearly see his expression enshrouded in shadow, only a pair of hands loosely put on the laps beautiful as porcelain was visible. The cigarette was twisted between his fingers as he slowly opened his eyes.
After saying his goodbyes to the elderly butler inside the house, he drove away and headed to the Baume villa.
At the same time, in his home, Julien had taken a casual outfit to another level to be appreciated by System. He wearing red suspenders over the white graphic t-shirt, jeans with decorated paint splashes and an inhibitor made of red silk cord.
Today he was the host in a double sense who didn't care about proper attire.
Ioan took him into the guest area on the first floor of their family's villa. Among these people, Ioan would pick up some important friends to be introduced to his brother who was standing next to him.
For example, at this moment, he was pointing to the person who came to greet them and said: "This is the chairman of 'Shine' entertainment company."
Ioan paused his words and glanced at the other party.
The chairman of the 'Shine' immediately said: "Finally we have a family gathering, nice to see you again Julien."
Noel was smiling in satisfaction.
Julien only nodded politely: "Likewise."
At the same time, the System's voice rang in his head.
[System: The protagonist also has appeared. He's behind the male lead.]
Julien saw the appearance of the person about whom System had been speaking. It was a fairly good looking but still ordinary looking young man. Probably because the other had very pale skin, when he wore a suit, he looked even younger.
Then Noel said seriously: "Let me introduce my boyfriend Romdemio."
Romdemio nodded: "I'm Romdemio Gallo. It's an honour to meet you."
Julien's gaze was dark. He hid the inscrutable emotion in his eyes and then curled his lips into a smile: "Hello, I'm Julien."
Romdemio blinked his eyes and his voice was carrying a bit of a fawning tone: "You are that artist performing in 'White Rose'?"
Julien lowered his gaze and said in an indifferent manner: "Not any more."
Romdemio's voice was mellow with a liveliness to it that only young people had which made it easy for people to develop goodwill towards him: "I heard that you sing well. I will be very happy if we can work together in 'Shine' company. What do you think about it?"
Julien didn't speak and heard Romdemio continue: "You can't always keep depending on your brother's support like this. Your brother has his own life, as do you. By doing this, he's deliberately interfering in your life, pampering you. This will only make you more and more unwilling to start doing anything in your life."
Julien kept silent, staring at him.
Romdemio was very confident in himself.
However, Julien flashed a smile and mercilessly rejected him: "It's inconvenient."
Romdemio was startled, having been rejected. But, there was neither resentment nor awkwardness on his face: "Sorry, I guess I asked for something I shouldn't have."
Julien nodded slightly as if agreeing that the other's words just now had been really rude: "My brother treating me well is none of your concerns."
As soon as Julien had spoken, the atmosphere became strange.
Ioan was looking at the protagonist obviously unhappy and Noel was standing awkwardly not knowing where to place his eyes.
At this time, no one spoke.
When Romdemio saw this, he was first surprised before an expression of self-blame took over. He first looked Julien and then at Ioan: "I didn't mean it like that just now. I misspoke. Sorry."
After that, Ioan glanced down at the absent-minded youth next to him: "Bored?"
Julien nodded then shook his head. He was actually thinking about how to get away from the protagonist.
Ioan said: "If you are bored, you can go to eat some snacks at the buffet."
Looking at his brother who was so eager to go, a touch of helplessness flashed inside Ioan's eyes. He said: "You can go, but remember to not drink too much alcohol."
Julien smiled sweetly at Ioan: "Okay, Big Brother."
Romdemio clenched his fists, but his face showed no signs of anger.
It was a half hour later when Lucius had arrived and as he approached his friends: "It seems that I'm a little bit late."
Romdemio widened his eyes slightly, making his average face look a bit cute then he asked Noel: "Who is your friend?"
Noel's mouth quirked at the corners: "It is Lucius Valentinus. He is my friend, but also my biggest rival in the business field, owner of the 'Famous' entertainment company."
When he heard the other speak like this, Romdemio's impression of Lucius became a lot of better.
Lucius nodded, smiling in thanks.
The banquet was bustling with noise and excitement. Some familiar people got together to chat.
Julien was a new face for the people around here. Which was why no one came forward to chat with him. Therefore, he gladly took the opportunity to be carefree. He hid in a corner and drank red wine in peace. The bitter, spicy, tart, and sour liquid slid down his throat, irritating it. He felt very satisfied. He was so happy that he didn't realize that his actions were all seen by Lucius, who was quietly observing from the side.
Lucius, while exchanging pleasantries with the people around him, secretly observed Julien. He saw him stick out his tongue and lick the wine stain on the corner of his mouth. He drank glass after glass, eyes narrowing whenever he took a sip. It was obvious that he was really enjoying the wine.
Right now, the other's eyes held a smile. His eyes were bright as if they held starlight. They were dazzling and clear, the bottom of them visible for once. It made him want to reach out and grab hold of the light in Julien's eyes.
Lucius's gaze changed slightly. His lips that had held a nearly imperceptible smile pulled into a straight line. He wanted to look away, but it was like something was controlling his body, making it so that he couldn't move as he wanted.
A tree glass of wine had very quickly been emptied. Right now, Julien felt a bit tipsy.
[System: I've discovered that your blood alcohol concentration has already exceeded the amount it takes to get you humans drunk.]
The corner of Julien lips curled up: "I'm just a bit tipsy, not drunk."
He said that although he felt a little hot and his movement coordination was a little impaired.
He walked out of the main room in a sullen way to get some fresh air.
The hall was empty so he didn't bother to talk with System in mind: "Let me sing to pass the time."
His voice was filled with a sense of earthiness and roughness:
When you walked into this happy party with all your dreams and desires
There were all kind of faces with makeup and no one could remember your face
After having three drinks you hid in the corner and insisted on singing bitter songs
Even though your voice was drowned out by the noise raising up your glass you spoke to yourself
One drink is for the sun and another for the moon
One drink is for my tomorrow and another is for my past
One drink is for the freedom and another for death
Julien lost control of his body for a moment. He stumbled and almost fell over.
The man who was following him held his breath. Lucius swallowed down his frustration and started to walk at a faster pace.