Julian Frontera

* Webtoon
* Novel

> You're my brother. I trust you and I am proud of you more than anyone else.
>
>

**Julian Frontera** is a student at the Magentano Royal Academy. He is the son of Arcos and Marbella Frontera as well as the younger brother of Lloyd Frontera.

In the events of *Knight of Blood and Iron*, Julian was evicted from the academy dorms due to his family's inability to pay tuition and was killed by a thief while wandering the streets.

## Appearance

Julian is stated as being the same age as Javier Asrahan, though is rather small for his age and is barely as tall as the knight's shoulders. He was also physically weak when he was younger and nearly injured himself while attempting to learn the sword. He has fluffy orange-red hair, relatively thick eyebrows, and a small number of freckles dotting his cheeks and nose. His green eyes are noticeably more vibrant than those of his father and brother.

After participating in construction work alongside his brother Lloyd, Julian has gained a substantial amount of defined muscle, though remains short for his age.

## Personality

Julian is a smart, responsible young man that has grown to be quite meek and self-conscious due to the abusive treatment from his older brother. This treatment followed him even after moving out of the estate, receiving harsh insults and physical abuse from his classmates at the Royal Academy, though he did not make any attempts to stand up for himself out of fear that it would only get worse if he did. He displayed great fear towards his bullies after being approached during lunch with Lloyd, sweating profusely and having to stutter as he answered their questions.

Despite this, he is diligent and hardworking, as he worked without complaint during the construction of the suspension bridge and was recognized at the academy for being an exemplary student.

He appears to be rather soft-hearted at times, as he was clearly distraught at the idea of Javier leaving their family and grew tearful at his return. He also does not seem to be a hateful person at heart as he did let go of the deep-set resentment he held for Lloyd after seeing his genuine growth. In general, Julian does not make much of an attempt to lie or hide his emotions and often lets his mood show on his face.

## History

Julian was born to parents Arcos and Marbella Frontera approximately 20 years prior to Suho's arrival and the beginning of *The Greatest Estate Developer*. In his youth, he was tormented by relentless physical and verbal abuse from his older brother and developed a deep resentment for him in the process. He once asked Javier to teach him swordsmanship, though was unable to succeed due to his physical incapability. Julian was eventually able to leave the estate and attend the Royal Academy of Magentano, where he was bullied again due to his family's poverty.

Following Lloyd's feat of defeating the Gigatitan, a messenger from the palace was sent to inform him of his brother's deeds, though he did not believe these claims in the slightest and justified it in his head as having stolen credit from Javier.

## Story

### Reuniting with Lloyd

Julian makes his first appearance following his mother's request for Lloyd to visit him. He is exceedingly suspicious of his brother's uncharacteristic kindness, exemplified by the latter's compliance and lack of physical or verbal assault, and immediately begins to doubt his identity. Lloyd turns to leave after delivering the clothes and blankets their mother sent with him, though remembers her request to have lunch with him as well and reluctantly asks if there are any restaurants around. Julian stutters while responding and repeatedly questions why he is asking, continuing to glare with wordless suspicion after he explains their mother's request.

At the restaurant, he continues to be wary of his brother and meekly orders the basic set A. Lloyd berates him for this, mocking that he likely doesn't get to eat expensive food often, and is quiet for a moment before tacking on the insult of "little shit". Taking keen notice of this, he cautiously changes his order to the special set D and internally questions why he is being so normal. When ordering from the waiter, Lloyd denies the offer of wine, stating that he has stopped drinking and again drawing suspicion from Julian.

After the food arrives, the two begin eating when Julian is smacked on the back of the head by Diego Lacona. He asks what he is doing there, to which Julian sweats profusely and apologizes before being hit multiple times again. Diego continues to mock and berate him, asking if he is allowed to break the rules just because he feels like it and repeatedly insulting both his family's poverty and status. Lloyd stops eating because of this, looking around to see the other students of the academy snickering between themselves, and Julian only silently glares at him to warn that he not interfere. Lloyd debates what to do, intending to honor his brother's wishes and stay out of it until Diego begins boasting about his own family.

Recognizing the surname, Lloyd stands and calmly asks what his father does for a living before slapping him hard enough to knock out his teeth. Multiple other students stand up on Diego's behalf and attempt to subdue Lloyd, only to be slapped in the very same way and incapacitated one after another. Diego manages to stand back up and punches Lloyd directly in the face, only to swiftly regret this once he is beaten down again by an enraged Lloyd. Julian desperately begs for him to stop out of fear that his bullying will only get worse moving forward, to which his brother calmly explains that they cannot bully him if they are dead, and Julian is left terrified before the situation is interrupted by the academy's dean and guards. Julian briefly wonders if Lloyd intends to fight them as well, but to his surprise, Lloyd greets them politely and apologizes for causing a commotion. He justifies his actions as attempting to restore the honor of the Queen, reintroducing himself as a royal guest of Empress Alicia Termina Magentano herself and quickly quelling all opposition.

The two brothers leave the restaurant to instead pay a visit to the administration office. Lloyd explains that he will request a leave of absence for him, to which Julian finally snaps and shouts at his brother for screwing up his life, further worsening his reputation, and interrupting his studies. Lloyd remains undeterred and offhandedly explains that the academy won't be much good for studying in the near future, instead inviting him to rest and get himself in shape through construction instead.

### Suspension Bridge Construction

That evening, Julian meets with Javier to talk about Lloyd. The knight advises that he trust his brother, assuring that it will turn out for his benefit and asking that he trust in his word if he cannot believe Lloyd's. Furthermore, Javier gives Lloyd full credit for the defeat of the Gigatitan as well as his construction of vital infrastructure and payment of the baron's debts, calling him the savior of their estate. Julian listens to every word, though still expresses great doubt due to Lloyd's prior actions and questions if Javier truly thinks he could change so drastically. Javier agrees stating that such a change would be impossible, and explains that he has rather convinced himself that Lloyd's body is being possessed by a different soul with the knowledge that Lloyd himself is eavesdropping outside of their room. However, Javier explains that he could not find any evidence of this and asks that Julian dismiss it as nothing but speculation before letting the topic go.

Returning to a previous talking point, Julian admits that this is the first he has heard of their family's debts. He believed that he was the only one having a hard time with his life at the academy and instead says that he must've had the most comfortable life of all when compared to Lloyd's efforts to raise money. He smiles as he acknowledges his brother's efforts, giving him proper credit for being the savior of their estate and raising his Approval Rating by two points (-61 to -59). Lloyd chooses this moment to enter the room and calls for Julian to join him at the construction site.

Lloyd tasks Julian with creating the clay, dirt, and rocks based pizza eaten by Bangul in order to produce steel dung. This process is the very first step in the entire construction project, as the steel will be turned into metal wire, and Lloyd further pressures Julian with the information that both their estate's debts and his own future at the academy rests solely on his lack of mistakes. Julian quickly grows nervous and questions why he is being tasked with something so important, to which Lloyd indignantly explains that his intelligence and responsibility is precisely why he is tasked with it. While working, Julian is happily cheered on by Ppodong and Hamang.

Following the successful construction of the bridge and the investigation of the royal academy, Julian meets with Lloyd and asks if he already knew that everything would happen the way it did. Lloyd casually explains his reasoning before pausing and belatedly calling him a little shit, to which Julian smiles and says that Lloyd no longer has to force himself to be so rude. He explains that, as he is his little brother, he trusts him and is more proud of him than anyone else. He lets go of his resentment and now respects his older brother, thinking of him as a hero that awoke in their family's time of need and raising his approval rating by 65 points. The two sit in silence for a few moments before loudly proclaiming their disgust, with Lloyd claiming that he is about to vomit and Julian quickly regretting being so cringey.

After returning to the academy, Julian continues his studies is eventually recognized as one of the best student in his school.

### Returning Home

Two years later, Julian is able to graduate as second in his class and is given the opportunity to work within the Magentano Capital. He plans to return to the Frontera Estate while waiting for his appointment and writes a letter home explaining his current situation. His letter ends with a promise of becoming a reliable son like his older brother Lloyd, which his parents do not understand due to already being very proud of him.

## Relationships

### Lloyd Frontera

Rather than the nervous submission he displayed towards the bullies at the academy, Julian was openly resentful of his older brother. He once held the deepest grudge seen by any character in the series, with his approval rating of Lloyd being a staggeringly low -60 (compared to Javier's -30) when he was first introduced. He was extremely cautious around his brother and skeptical of everything that he did, doubting Lloyd's identity to the point of setting off several System warnings when he wasn't physically or verbally abusive from the moment they met. Despite his blatant glaring, Julian still answered Lloyd's questions and reluctantly followed him to a restaurant after being invited to lunch.

Julian was able to better learn of his family's debts and observe Lloyd's changed behavior during his stay in the capital and worked hard to contribute to the project as well. Following the successful construction of the suspension bridge, he was able to acknowledge his brother's commendable efforts and even let go of his resentment to instead respect him as their family's savior, displaying great emotional maturity. The two brothers sat in a brief silence after this revelation before quickly cringing at its sappiness and calling it disgusting.

The two have since maintained a relatively healthy sibling relationship, with Lloyd being comfortable meddling in his affairs while Julian does not offer more than mildly annoyed protest.

### Arcos & Marbella Frontera

Julian is cherished by both of his parents and he cares deeply for them all the same. He strives to be a son that they can be proud of, while they already believe him to be one regardless of whether he has anything to show for it. It is clear that they only want what is best for him, as they were able to send him to the royal academy despite their poverty and did not tell him of their debt to keep from making him worried. Arcos has also expressed that Julian is free to return home at any time, as he would be happy just to have him by his side.

His mother Marbella is particularly doting of him, as she tearfully requested that Lloyd bring him blankets and winter clothes during his trip to the capital. She also requested that he have lunch with him, lamenting how lonely he must've been on his own.

### Javier Asrahan

Julian is very close to Javier, likely seeing him as a brother figure to look up to in the place of Lloyd. He was deeply troubled upon learning of the Queen's interest in him as her personal aide, worrying that he would leave their family and tearing with relief once Javier simply restated his loyalty. When the two were young, Julian asked for Javier to teach him swordsmanship, only to be too physically weak to do so without injury. Javier recalls this memory following the construction of the bridge and smiles as he praises how strong Julian became in the process.

### Serajard

Upon their first meeting, Julian quickly developed a crush on Serajard due to her beauty and impressive strength. While he is rather bashful in front of her, he is not scared of approaching her, as his concern for her wellbeing supersedes his own embarrassment. He is able to notice when she is upset and grows worried on her behalf while feeling similarly relieved once she is alright. Serajard was similarly smitten by Julian's first impression of compassionate integrity and developed a crush on him as well, an interest that only grew deeper after seeing his kindness towards her as well. The two were certain of their feelings from the start and, after learning that it wouldn't be long before the other had to travel far away, the two were quick to confess their feelings and married after seemingly a few days.