1 Chapter 12 : Wearing the Mask

A few minutes before, Zina's door was being opened.

"Crown Prince!"

Prince Zhang Wei smiled at General Julius when a lowly person called his attention while bringing a brown bag.

"Lower down your voice." General Julius said.

"Are you ready to begin our deal earlier?" Prince Zhang Wei asked General Julius.

Julius on no occasion thought that the prince really wanted to try risking both of their lives and the upcoming engagement.

"I have not put in my mind that it would be today."

"What did you expect General? Wait for another day?" Zhang Wei asked, not even bothered about the extra person watching them talk in the hallway. Instead, Zhang Wei put his concentration on finding a room to open the brown bag, the lowly person's face was just staring at the General as if he was just an obstacle, and Julius could not get enough of the thought that the fake face idea would be today. Julius did agree with Zhang Wei, but the prince does not know what he was actually feeling, since he'd often hide his real character and besides neither of them could be seen as weak in the people's eye.

"Let's just choose this room, shall we?" Zhang Wei asked.

The lowly person nodded but General Julius just quickly went inside the room.

"I guess the general can not wait any longer," Zhang Wei could not believe that the timing was on point. "I should let you know that you can enter the room but you have to give me your word that you are not going to tell anybody what you just witness or I will kill you directly with my own hands, are we clear?"

"It sounds as if you are threatening him," General Julius's head popped out in the open area near the door. "What is your name?"

It took a few minutes before the lowly person responded. "Isagani is my name, General. And I will keep my word, your highness."

"Good, now the question-and-answer portion is over, let's go inside."

Isagani placed the bag on the floor which got Julius shock by his attitude. "Why did you do that? You are with the prince, it is disrespectful!"

"General, calm down. He probably did that for a reason. No need to be all work up." Zhang Wei reminded.

Isagani then kneeled down on the floor before reaching his hands to take the things out from the inside of the bag. Julius just observed as he eventually calmed down, he had a temper when someone acts suspicious and disrespectful—but it does not apply to him when he was being disrespectful to Zhang Wei.

"Here is your exclusive order, Prince. My grandfather told me that I must be careful not to let anyone scratch it, the outer skin is sensitive just like real human skin. If you both ever scratched it then my grandfather will have to remake it. Because one tiniest scratch would not heal itself. In case you will have a problem taking the mask off, just rub this aloe vera oil that he also prescribed." Julius looks at the two masks that Isagani was currently holding and it was creeping him out, but only a little. Besides, seeing how real it was just made him think about how talented some people are but in a different way.

"It is really not that simple to take it off, am I right Isagani?" Zhang Wei wanted to confirm that the item was going to last long with its strong grip on their real faces.

Isagani stood up, handing over one mask to Zhang Wei. "Prince, you already know the answer that is why you let my grandfather take the risk with what you are planning on doing."

And Zhang Wei was forever mindful of it, he did try not to cause any problems but he guess that it was not easy as it seems.

"This person does seem to disapprove of your plan, Prince." General Julius expressed.

"Still, both of you promised to keep your word with me." Zhang Wei took the mask from Isagani's hand with Julius' face printed on it. "For that reason alone, I understand equally both of your difficulties." Zhang Wei looked at the two watchers, "What are you both doing? Come on, start moving those hands. And General put your mask on."

Julius was not sure if he really wanted to act like Zhang Wei, his life was already in danger—definitely, both of their lives are. But there was no turning back, a deal was a deal after all. And death should not be feared as long as his dignity had not been stained in connection with unfaithfulness.

"What kind of material is this?" General Julius stretched out Zhang Wei's face printed on his mask. God! It felt like he was removing a face from the corpse.

"Silicone rubber. Grandfather really sculpted that without even molding it to your faces. I really admire him."

"Exactly! That is why I am confident that nothing bad will happen." Zhang Wei proudly said as he faces Julius. "So how do I look? Do I look like you, General?"

Julius's eyes gradually widen, "I do not look like that? Do I?" He asked Isagani who was presently laughing at them.

"Oh no, Am I that handsome?" Zhang Wei cockily said as he stepped forward to poke Julius' mask.

"I can't believe that my fake shaved beard looks so real on this mask," Julius said with satisfaction.

"I told you, Isagani's father did a pretty amazing work!"

"Do you both like me to leave now? Since the two of are done fixing your masks." Isagani asked but he was being ignored.

"Hey, fake Prince Zhang Wei do you want to go into the field to train our horses?" Zhang Wei asked Julius. And Julius responded back, "General Julius, you fought hard."

Isagani seems to look at the General and the Prince differently. They were good buddies. And he will pray that the risk would not harm anyone of them, including his grandfather.