Junior scans his surroundings, and he lets out a disappointed gruntle. "Really? I came all the way here and Robert Sturgeon isn't around? Hey, Lane! Tell your friend to come over and enjoy the party!"
"You Rapture dogs!" The first to break the silence was Christopher Lane. "What is it that you demand this time!?"
"Hah, our demand is simple." Junior's gaze lands on a completely stunned figure of my uncle. "We just want the Director of Eurus."
That's not going to happen! Although locked by the presence of a knife under my chin, I braved myself to resist by giving a punch to Junior's abdomen with my elbow. While that did an exceptional job at causing him to falter, his response was terrifyingly fast, and now his restrain against me has me on chokehold.
"Juliette!"
"H-Heh, that was close. Little Princess knows how to create an element of surprise... whatever, how does that sound, Director Richter? Don't worry, our leader simply wants to talk to you. They won't hurt you, but that really depends on their mood."
"If I agree to come with you, will you release her?"
His question practically shakes the entire building.
And me.
“Director Richter!?” Christopher Lane shook my uncle's shoulders, in an attempt to shake some sense into him. However, my uncle's face remains solid like a rock, his determination unwavering. If there's one thing I hate about him, it is that his most stand out trait is stubborness. Now I know where mine stems from.
Don’t! I try to voice my concern but Junior's hold on me, his palm above my lips tightens.
“Juliette!” Uncle’s voice echoes throughout the building, but Junior remains unyielding. “Can you be quiet for one moment, Princess?! Thank you. Now, what’s your decision, Roland?"
“Very well. I will come with you, but in return, you must free her.” The crowd goes wild at that moment. His surroundings are pushing, pulling, yelling, trying to make some sense into him. Even Christopher Lane is negotiating with him. If only I can do the same and slap some sense into him, because I know that if I’m involved in some way, he’ll definitely prioritize me over anything.
Unable to take this anymore, I take the liberty to bite Junior's palm, with hopes that I might see a chance of escaping. His abrupt shrill sends the entire theater into a frenzied panic, which also further deepened the dread on uncle’s face. Junior's arm loosens, and I find myself free from his grasp. At this moment, I enjoyed a momentary freedom, until I heard an unusually loud cracking voice. Glancing upwards, the cause is starting to be seen.
However still, I’m too late to notice the chandeliers dropping onto me, and the accompanying commotion of conflict coming from the backstage. Instinctively, I close my eyes to prepare for the crash, but the pain of being slammed upon glass shards never comes to me. Because for some reason, someone had forcibly pushed me to the ground, followed by loud noises of footsteps staggering from here to there and people screaming for their lives in the background.
My head never really touches the ground.
My mysterious rescuer’s hand had prevented me from completely falling to the hard wooden floor.
“...Urgh…. Who did…” Regardless, having to drop like that still hurts. Once the dust settles, the sight catches me by surprise.
What a handsome face.
His ashen-colored hair really helped in making him appear mysterious, but of all things he sports, his brightly colored apricot eyes are a pretty contrast to his dark fit. Also, he doesn’t seem to be old, probably around a year or two above me.
“Ah.”
Then I noticed the deep black color palette of his clothing style. There can only be one person in this whole building walking around wearing that.
On top of me, the man who acted as my cover from being crushed by chandeliers, is the assassin I’ve been trying to drive away from murdering my uncle.
Our eyes meet, but my astonishment hinders me from saying anything. On the other hand, he carefully removes his arm from beneath my head, mumbling something that clearly sounds like ‘change of plans’.
“We’re retreating. Pull Junior back and return to the rendezvous point.” His voice comes out deep, but not the old kind of deep. If anything, there’s a hint of freshness laced in his voice, giving me the impression that he might be fairly young if that were to indicate anything. I was too absorbed in this discovery to notice that he’s pulling my hand.
Then, I remember that Rapture wanted to capture me.
So I did what’s natural; kicking him in the crotch.
The sudden attack causes him to whimper on the ground, and I take this window of opportunity to escape.
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