Ardyn didn’t know what he initially expected before opening the door leading to the private room.
For one, the hallway was empty and silent, only the sound of quiet murmurs coming from the closed door that connected this corridor and the main hall on the second floor. Indeed, this part of the castle might be reserved for confidential meetings and the like.
Mathias led the way, and when they entered the room, Ardyn was greeted by the sight of four people huddling close in front of the coffee table, discussing intently about something. There was a piece of paper on the surface that closely resembled a large map.
When Evan lifted his head and saw Ardyn, his features instantly brightened.
“You’re here!” he greeted, automatically going towards Ardyn and taking his hand. “We’ve been waiting for you.”
“Yeah, I’m here,” Ardyn said, his gaze flitting awkwardly between Evan and the other three unfamiliar people who were now staring at him. “Hi.”
Before he knew it, they were suddenly surrounding him, and Ardyn felt like he was a lab rat being observed by curious scientists.
“…Well, at least he’s not ugly,” Clay remarked.
“I’ve never seen one in person before,” Gideon said, eyes wide in fascination. “There were never any drawings or pictures in the books.”
“Hello!” Ansel greeted, extending his hand towards Ardyn. “My name is Ansel. What about yours?”
Ardyn reached out and accepted his handshake politely. “Adrien,” he said. “Just call me Ardyn.”
“It’s nice to meet you!” Ansel said in delight. “So this is what an Otherworlder looks like in real life… You look just like us!”
Clay rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “How else is a human supposed to look? Of course he’s gonna look like us.”
“To be fair, the books portrayed them as some kind of foreign life forms…”
“Those books that you read probably exaggerated the details.”
“I’m Gideon,” Gideon greeted with a smile. “Nice to meet you.”
Ardyn nodded. “Hello.”
“I’m Clay,” Clay said simply.
“Now that we’ve met him, I feel like protecting him, too!” Ansel exclaimed. He reached out to touch Ardyn’s dark locks, unintentionally barging into the latter’s personal bubble. “You have really nice hair!”
“Ansel, what did we say about personal space?” Clay reminded.
“Sorry about that,” Evan said with an apologetic smile. “He gets excited very easily.”
Surprisingly, Ardyn didn’t feel like his privacy was being invaded. He looked at Ansel’s innocent face and couldn’t even bring himself to feel the slightest bit of irritation.
“It’s fine. I don’t mind,” he said.
Ansel beamed. “You’re so nice!”
Gideon watched all this with amusement in his eyes. “Ansel’s adopting another older brother again,” he remarked.
Clay sighed heavily. “At this rate, everyone in the kingdom is a part of his family.”
Evan laughed.
Clay stepped forward and gently pulled Ansel away. He stood before Ardyn with his arms folded across his chest, giving the latter an appraising look.
“So, you’re a Guardian?” he said sternly.
“Uh… yes?” Ardyn said uncertainly. Evan believed that he was, but Ardyn still couldn’t find any kind of mark on his body. He had never conjured any kind of magic, either. But Evan probably knew what he was saying, so…
“Where’s your Mark?” Clay asked.
“Clay, maybe you should speak a little more gently,” Gideon pointed out with a smile.
“Come on, don’t scare him,” Evan added, trying to hide a chuckle.
Clay’s stony expression instantly softened into that of confusion. “I’m not trying to be scary,” he protested.
“Clay, no matter how much you try not to be scary, your face always says otherwise!” Ansel laughed.
Clay frowned, but for some reason, he was now looking more like a kicked puppy. “You are all so annoying.”
“I will say sorry on Clay’s behalf,” Gideon said apologetically to Ardyn. “He may seem like a thug, but I can promise you that he’s friendly.”
“And cuddly!” Ansel added, wrapping his arms around Clay in a side embrace, looking like an adorable puppy clinging to his owner.
Clay rolled his eyes at the gesture, but there was now a small smile on his face that made his intimidating aura fade away into the background.
“I see” was all Ardyn could say. He felt much more relaxed now though in their presence. Maybe it was because of their obvious camaraderie. These people had clearly been friends for a long time.
He couldn’t help but observe them for a while.
They’re all Evan’s Guardians, aren’t they?
Mathias, Clay, and Gideon look dependable, but Ansel feels like a younger brother that needs protecting.
He smiled wryly.
I had the same impression about Evan when we first met and it turned out that he’s some kind of Summoner.
Maybe appearances are deceiving.
“All right, maybe we should focus on the plan first,” Mathias interrupted before they all got off-track again. “We don’t have much time left before the banquet, remember?”
“Oh. Right.” Clay took a step back, but his wary eyes were still on Ardyn. It was evident that he still didn’t trust the guy completely yet.
Ardyn, of course, couldn’t blame him.
“We should start briefing him on our plan so far,” Mathias suggested.
They all nodded, and Evan started leading Ardyn towards the coffee table where the map was laid out.
“For starters, we have to remain inconspicuous during the banquet,” he began. “Ardyn, we want you to keep a low profile until Voss and Blade — they’re my other Guardians who aren’t here yet — arrive purposefully an hour later.”
“A low profile? How exactly?” Ardyn asked.
“Using a foolproof disguise.” Evan smiled. “That way, when you go on a journey later on far away from this kingdom, you’ll be able to live normally for a while. Nobody will recognize your appearance.”
“That’s where Ansel comes in,” Gideon said, causing Ansel to step in front of Ardyn with a bright smile.
“For… what?” Ardyn said, confused. A disguise? How would that even work?
“I’ll be the one to take care of your disguise. You can leave everything to me!” Ansel chirped.
“Uh, how, exactly?” Ardyn asked, blinking rapidly.
“Using my resources, of course!”