267: 6.27 Show Yourself

6.27 Show Yourself

Jillian and Maia exchanged a few more letters to confirm the time and place and in the end, both agreed that they shouldn't go to cities for risk of being spotted. The only alternative was to meet in the middle of the forest where no one would catch them red-handed. It made Jillian feel a bit complicated. Never had he expected that one day, he, Jillian Lacrosa of all people, would have a secret meeting with the barbarians behind his men's back. Life was truly filled with surprising events.1

He had only thought that Hayden seemed to fulfill the criteria of Maia's ideal type but nothing could ever prepare him for the exact moment when those two laid their eyes upon each other. Maia's eyes rounded and she was frozen in place, staring straight at Hayden as if he was the only thing she could ever see. Slowly, a blush spread all over her cheeks, neck and practically her entire body. Jillian could even see steam fuming out of her ears. 

Hayden wasn't any better. He was obviously fidgeting under Maia's persistent stare, nervous and shy at the same time. Jillian never told him what they came here to do thus Hayden threw him an uncertain glance, confused. "G—General, they are…"

Maia snapped out of her reverie at the sound of Hayden's voice and let out a high pitched screech like that of a dying beast. She promptly hid behind a middle aged man's back, presumably the elder whom she had talked to, and peeked at Jillian over his shoulder "W—W—Who is that, General? I—I…"

Somehow, Jillian was pleased to see Maia reduced into a stuttering mess. She didn't even act like this when she saw Regius. Good, very good. Feeling generous, he introduced the two. "Hayden, this is Miss Maia. Miss Maia, this is Hayden."

The elder of the barbarian tribe cleared his throat. "You're in the presence of the daughter of the 47th Chief, Lady Maia. As for I," he inclined his head toward Jillian. Not low enough to be humble but it was a gesture of politeness, nevertheless. Jillian didn't blame him. They had been enemies for years and suddenly had to act cordial with each other was… perplexing. "You may call me Alain."

"Elder Alain." Jillian deliberately used the title to show his goodwill.

As he had expected, Alain's rigid face softened imperceptibly. "I have heard so much about you, General. I heard you have been… discussing something with our Lady, is that true?"

"Yes." Jillian replied. "We are here to talk about the possibility of a peace treaty between us."

Hayden's eyes popped up in shock. W—What did he just hear? He still hadn't recovered from the fact that he had almost fallen in love at first sight only to be heartbroken when he found out that she was their biggest enemy's daughter. And now, the General was suddenly talking about a peace treaty?! Hayden listened dumbly when for the next fifteen minutes, the General laid out his grand plan which included an arranged marriage — between whom and whom?! — and some exchange of knowledge and skill he hadn't heard of before. But that wasn't the thing which shocked Hayden the most.

"You…" He stuttered, flabbergasted. "General, you intend to take me as your… your…"

"Sworn brother." Jillian finished for him. "I'd like to officially invite you to become a new member of Lacrosa Duchy. You will rise in rank to be a nobleman and you will be treated with respect befitting of an aristocrat. How about it? In exchange, the possibility that there is talk of an arranged marriage is huge. When that time comes, you have to prepare yourself."

"Me…?" Hayden pointed at his own nose. "Marriage? To—To whom?"

"Me." Maia raised her hand shyly. She tucked her hair behind her ear and shifted between her feet. "Um… are you not amenable?"

"No—no. It's nothing like that." Hayden hastily replied, unwilling to let his crush misunderstand. "I am amenable. Very amenable..." He coughed into his fist, feeling heat creep up his cheeks.

He discreetly pinched his thigh and almost yelped in pain. This wasn't a dream… Hayden felt kind of lightheaded. Twenty four hours ago, he was still galloping on his horse, trying to get to the basecamp as fast as he could whilst brewing in his own uselessness and all of a sudden, he was going to be a nobleman and… and married the girl who had made her heart throb and also broke it in pieces in the short span of one minute?

"That's settled, then." Jillian exclaimed, ignoring the two lovebirds' shy glances toward each other. "Do you have something to add, Elder Alain?"

"That's enough, General." Elder Alain said in satisfaction. There was an excited twinkle in his eyes. Who wouldn't be happy to finally end this goddamn war? "I only wish that you will keep up the end of your bargain until the end."

"Please do not worry." Jillian placed his palm over his heart. "I swear on my honor that I will definitely see the long awaited conciliation happen between us. Peace is imminent, and it's time for us to end the war that gives us nothing but pain."

Tears glistened in Elder Alain's eyes and he nodded.

It was at that moment that Maia piped in. "Eh? Where's Regius?" She looked around curiously. "Why haven't I seen him around?"

This damned woman! Jillian shut his eyes and counted to three before he could grab his sword and shave her head bald. "He's not coming."

"Liar." Maia exposed his lie with such conviction that it rendered Jillian speechless for two long seconds. "You two are inseparable. There's no way you would come here without him."

Hayden latched on to the topic like a starving dog. His light brown eyes flickered in doubt. "Regius? Who is that?" Even Elder Alain was looking at Jillian with an intrigued look.

Suddenly being the center of the spotlight, veins bulged out of Jillian's forehead. Should he just drop the plan to marry Hayden and Maia? For some reason, he didn't want to see this woman happy. They should suffer a bit more for all the hardship they had put Jillian through. Yes, he was just that petty and he wasn't ashamed of it.

When Maia realized that she had said something wrong, everything was too late. "Uhh…" She looked at Jillian and Hayden back and forth, chuckling nervously. "He… doesn't know?"

"Doesn't know what?" Hayden directed his puppy eyes toward Maia that immediately made the woman swoon.

"I have heard of Sir Regius from Lady Maia." Elder Alain interjected, equally curious. This blabbermouth woman! If a glare could kill, Maia would have already died a thousand times with holes all over her body. Alas, it wasn't that easy. The aforementioned woman didn't even look guilty in the slightest as she grinned victoriously. "It's all because of Sir Regius that this discussion can happen between us now. If he's here, I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude."

Besieged from all sides, Jillian pinched his brows exasperatedly. "First, if this talk spread among people other than us four," he especially trained his gaze on Maia who had the gall to look sheepish. "I will have your head. Our cooperation be damned. Under no circumstances, bear that in mind, will you reveal his existence. Understand?"

He got excited nods from Maia, a thoughtful hum from Elder Alain, and a confused look from Hayden.

Finally, Jillian heaved a sigh. "Regius, you may show yourself."

No matter how many times Jillian had seen him materialize from thin air, he couldn't seem to get used to it. His breath caught on his throat as the air shifted around them and a faint outline of a tall man gradually appeared beside him. One second he was only a blurry shadow and in the next second, Regius was there in  glory and beauty like the God he was. Under the dark sky and dim moonlight, he was surrounded by a light halo. His inky hair fluttered along with the hem of his pristine white robes. Then, he opened his dazzling silver eyes and offered everyone a smile that could make Jillian climb up the sky to grab the star and present it under his feet. 

"Y—Y—You…" Hayden's eyes went as wide as saucers. He clutched his chest, wheezing. Fortunately, he still remembered not to raise his voice otherwise Jillian would have to knock him off forcefully. "You are the General's doll!" The event tonight had been too much. He had been through so many shocks and this one was the last nail in the coffin. Feeling dizzy, Hayden's sight promptly went dark and he passed out just like that.

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