Cheers roared through the city, as the citizens made way for horses pulling their carts. The royals of Venichian were visiting this town, along with some others. It was loud, a lot louder than usual.
All Julian could do was watch from the window of his hospital bed. The doctors told him that he had broken several parts of his body. With the healers they had on hand and the amount of money Faustus gave him, it would take a while for him to heal completely.
Julian sighed, leaning against the windowsill. The room was unsurprisingly bleak, with the walls being painted a... cool gray kind of color. The only color within the entire room was a poster of a rainbow.
As he peered out the window, a familiar face was seen. It was that guy that had saved him. The blondie.
He sat on the carriage, waving to the citizens.
At that moment, Faustus opened the door. "I'm here to check on my worker."
"Hey, Faustus. Do you know who that guy is?" Julian asked, his eyes glued on the man. Faustus walked up to check to see who he was pointing at.
"Hm? Ah, of course. That's Alexander. The strongest knight of Venichian."
"What? I've never heard about the guy."
"Yeah, he wasn't in the kingdom for a while since he was on duty, but he's finally back now. Thank goodness!"
"Why are you so happy?"
"Once the news gets out about Alexander being back, there's gonna be a lot of tourists trying to see him. That's just extra money!"
"Haa. What did I expect from you."
...
..
.
Julian picked up a newspaper, deciding to read it for once. Reading in the newspaper was not something he believed in. He simply didn't like how the paper felt on his fingers. But what else could he do?
There was nothing else in the room. So he decided to read.
He was interrupted by the door crashing open.
"Guess who!"
The voice yelled. It was Marie. It wasn't that hard of a guess.
"How'd you even know I was here?" Julian sighed, placing the newspaper back down on its rack.
"Faustus told me. Are you okay, by the way?"
"I could be better. But it's bearable."
"I barely remember anything, after drinking all the alcohol. I just remember Enzo and Juliana escaping with me. We must've forgotten you."
"It's fine-"
Marie hugged Julian, squeezing him tightly. It was suffocating since it was more of a head hug than a body hug. Plus, he didn't even ask for it.
But... it was nice.
"L-let go of me!" he struggled. Marie giggled.
"Seriously! It was a bad idea for us to leave you there with the beast. You're like this... because of us!" she spoke with her head down, on the verge of tears.
'Oh... oh no. She looks like she's about to cry! I can't even move, with these bandages on me. How could I even comfort her?!'
Julian was in disarray.
"Th-there there... it's not your fault. If you really feel bad... you could feed me that food you have in your bag."
Julian patted her head awkwardly with the club he had for an arm. Marie sniffled.
"Y-you're right..."
'I feel a little bad for taking her food. But it is technically her fault I'm like this.'
...
..
.
(Julian)
Ah... how did I get myself into this situation? I just wanted some free food, and now...
"Can you stop moving so much?" Marie whined. She moved the spoon closer and closer to my lips.
"I'm... I'm not moving!" I responded.
In the current situation I was in, I could not eat by myself. The old nurse had been feeding me, but she wasn't here right now. I'm too hungry to pass up an offer like this.
But... Marie?
Just... think of the good things, Julian. Stop avoiding this! Besides, it's not like Marie's an ugly person.
"Say 'ahh!'" Marie teased. Reluctantly, I opened my mouth. She spoon-fed me. This was so pitiful.
But... it's not really a bad thing, right? If I think about it.
A lot of boys would be happy to be in a situation like this. I can't deny it, but I'm a little happy about this.
If you put past that ungodly personality of hers, she's a pretty girl. And this pretty girl is here, doing something that a lot of people would never ever get the chance to do.
I began to chew.
"Mm..mmh."
Now that I think about it...
"...if anyone saw us, they would think we were a couple, right?" my thoughts slipped out.
"..."
"..."
"Wh-what're you talking about? Julian... you can't say such foolish things..."
Marie started blushing, her head tilting down. Was she mad? Did I say something wrong?
"I mean... I could never date you! It's not that you're ugly... but you're just too beastly and odd!"
She twiddled with her fingers. Is she trying to... reject me nicely, or something? What does she think this is?
"What're you talking about?"
"Weren't you just... confessing to me, just now?"
"No?"
"Oh. I got scared for a second. You almost got me there!"
"What do you mean?"
"I thought you were trying to subtly ask me out. I mean, I could never see myself with you. That's just... ah! Scary. Don't even make me think about it."
Now she's just doing too much.
"I mean, really. You're like a... wild animal with manners sometimes. You're always eating with your hands. And your teeth. Your canines, they're like... an animal!"
Okay! You don't have to talk anymore.
"Not to mention..."
Marie kept on blabbering about my negative qualities until the sun fell. I was lucky enough for Faustus to come into the room and shoo her away.