Forgotten Juliet

Chapter 118:

“You, you… how…?”

Solon, at a loss for words, stammered. The chains that were tied around her ankles had somehow come undone.

“I thought it was strange. I didn’t think you would have developed a magic stone mine in such a short time.”

Juliet calmly examined the fake magic stone in her hand.

“Eshel told me about the dark magic used to make these fake magic stones.”

Juliet said nonchalantly.

From her tone, it seemed as though she wasn’t in an underground prison but rather in a parlor of her own home.

“It was artificially made, wasn’t it?”

Flutter. A butterfly quietly flew in behind her.

“You, you… how did you, hypnotized…?”

Hypnosis.

Juliet smirked, recalling memories from a few days ago.

A few days ago.

“Peep!”

Surrounded by unfamiliar magicians, Onyx let out a sharp cry as if annoyed.

However, he could only  toss and turn because he was being held by Juliet.

Eventually, Juliet met the suspicious magicians who came with Eshelrid.

Having seen Onyx consume something suspicious multiple times, she couldn’t simply ignore it.

“Oh, this is the one I’ve only heard of…!”

“These wings! Perfect balance!”

“Quick, sketch it! Sketch!”

While Juliet held Onyx, the magicians bustled about, closely observing Onyx.

“Onyx ate something strange.”

“Strange, you say?”

Eshel, who had been disdainfully watching his colleagues, asked with a puzzled expression.

“He seems to hunt something every night, but I don’t know what he’s eating.”

Juliet listed her concerns.

“I’ve closed all the windows, but every morning, he seems to have developed a new taste… Is it okay?”

“Miss Juliet, I’m not a vet.”

Juliet chuckled.

“If magicians don’t know about dragons, then who does?”

“You’re right!”

“Thank you.”

Eshelrid, who had been looking disdainfully at the chattering magician colleague, said with a resigned tone.

“But rest assured, there’s no poison or curse that can kill a dragon.”

However, Juliet looked down at Onyx with concern.

“But it’s worrying. It’d be fine if he was just catching mice or rabbits. But every morning he’s consuming something black and transparent.”

“Black and transparent…?”

“Yes, it looks like a shadow.”

Eshel and the other magicians, who had been in a fuss, suddenly froze.

“Why? What is it?”

Juliet, sensing the gravity, grew serious.

“Well, it seems like… a manifestation of a spiritual entity.”

The magicians exchanged glances.

“It’s a forbidden curse.”

“A curse with hundreds of years of sacred power.”

“It was used by corrupt ancient priests to control people…”

“You’re saying this manifestation appears in the room every night?”

Around that time, Eshel jumped up in shock.

“Someone is targeting Miss Juliet!”

‘…I guess that’s how it happened.’

Juliet smirked.

When Eshel said that, the only people who came to mind were Marquis Guinness and Dolores.

‘As expected, it was accurate.’

Right after hearing this story, she met Marquis Guinness and heard the entire story from him.

So, Juliet had never really been under any hypnosis.

She just played along because she found the overly triumphant attitudes of Marquis Guinness and Dolores amusing…

“I never thought you’d discover this.”

It was suspicious. There’s no way Marquis Guinness could have owned a magic stone mine overnight.

The existence of the mine was a lie, and it was undeniable that they kidnapped people with magic to turn them into magic stones. The method Eshelr mentioned, to artificially make magic stones, was exactly that.

But there was no need to kindly explain this to them.

“Now, I’ll take this fake magic stone as evidence.”

Juliet, holding the crimson fake magic stone, calmly said.

“Hah…!”

Only then did Archbishop Solon come to his senses and step forward.josei

“Foolish woman. Do you even realize where you are right now?”

Then, the Marquis’s subordinates also snapped back to reality with smug smiles on their faces.

She might’ve woken up from the hypnosis, but this place was Marquis Guinness’s underground prison. It was impossible for someone with a frail body to escape from here.

“You surely don’t expect us to let you go, do you?”

“Well, let’s see.”

Juliet stepped closer to them with a sly grin.

Eek.

Feeling an inexplicable fear, the Marquis’s subordinates involuntarily stepped back and shouted.

“Guards!”

“Ah, yes. I’m on my way right now!”

Thud.

As expected, guards with anxious voices hurriedly came running. But the color of the cloaks of the approaching knights…

“…Black?”

Archbishop Solon and the subordinates of Marquis Guiness were puzzled. Usually, family knights wear cloaks of a specific color.

For instance, black is for the North…

“Sir Jude!”

Juliet scolded him with a feigned surprised look.

“You should’ve changed your cloak.”

“Oops!”

The young knight with orange hair started to open the prison door, but exaggeratedly feigned surprise.

“I’ll correct it right now, Miss!”

Grinning, Jude, who came into the prison, approached the closest subordinate of the Marquis.

Smack!

“Ugh!”

Suddenly throwing a punch, he took a red cloak from the fallen man and casually asked:

“Is this okay, Miss?”

“Ju, Jude Hayon?”

Only then did the Marquis’s subordinates realize the situation. They were the knights of the Duke Carlyle’s family.

Jude chuckled.

“Correct!”

As if taking that as a signal, the Duke’s knights surged in.

A brawl ensued.

“Look at these bastards! Look here!”

The quick-witted Archbishop Solon tried to grab Juliet as a hostage.

Flutter.

“Ugh!”

However, when threatening blue butterflies appeared, Solon backed away first. He vividly remembered what those butterflies did in Lucerne.

Archbishop Solon had a look of disbelief.

“But, the Marquis said that Dolores definitely took away your power…!”

“Oh, that.”

Juliet awkwardly tilted her head.

“I feel a bit sorry to say.”

Flutter.

A blue butterfly flew out of her fingertips and playfully fluttered.

“It’s fake.”

“What?”

“Just because you hand over the silver key doesn’t mean ownership of the butterflies is transferred…”

Marquis Guiness seemed to believe that just possessing the key would suffice.

If such a thing were possible, Juliet would have given the butterflies away during the annoying times.

Juliet pulled out the real silver key from inside her collar. What she pretended to have been taken by Dolores was a sophisticated imitation.

* * *

Whisper.

A ripple of unrest spread among the people gathered in the palace’s banquet hall.

“…?”

Marquis Guiness was momentarily taken aback by the unexpected reaction.

Just before, he confidently exclaimed:

“My adoptive daughter, Dolores, is actually a spirit summoner with excellent qualities!”

But then…

“What are you doing, Marquis?”

The emperor looked displeased.

“Excuse me?”

“Are you mocking us now?”

Standing in the middle of the banquet hall, Marquis Guiness was stunned.

“See what your adoptive daughter is doing now!”

Dolores was waving her hands at empty air.

Staring blankly at Dolores, Marquis Guiness wondered what was going on. Just a moment ago, he had clearly seen it: dozens of beautiful butterflies emerging from Dolores’ hands, showing off their sparkling wings…

Chuckle.

The laughter of the attendees snapped Marquis Guiness back to reality.

Dolores was still, with a rapt expression, acting as if she truly had butterflies in her hand.

Like someone under a spell.

‘Wait, a spell?’

Could it be…? Marquis Guiness shuddered.

That woman, Juliet Monad, cast a spell? No way.

He desperately denied it.

Last night, Juliet Monad was under his hypnosis. So, casting a spell on Dolores and the Marquis was out of the question.

Yes, didn’t Juliet, under his hypnosis, even go as far as to attempt to kill the Duke of Carlyle?

At that moment a commotion from outside was heard.

“Hm? What’s going on?”

The moment the banquet hall doors opened, the Emperor stood up abruptly and shouted:

“D-Duke!”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Marquis Guiness was equally shocked.

The man who walked in, as always with an unfortunate face, was Lennox Carlyle.