Forgotten Juliet

Chapter 122:

* * *

“Miss!”

“Miss Juliet!”

“…”

In a dim underground. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw many people with worried expressions.

Juliet understood the situation.

“No matter how much we tried to wake you up…”

“Do you know how worried we were?”

“I’m fine.”

Juliet sighed and reached out her hand.

“Please help me up.”

Despite the darkness, the knights who helped her up thought her necklace shone brightly.

“Where’s the exit?”

“Ah, about that…”

Twinkle twinkle.

While staring at the butterflies emitting light, Juliet abruptly said,

“It’s that way.”

“Huh?”

Juliet calmly led them to a spot. There was a door that looked like it was blown off by an explosion.

“Ah, that door.”

“We tried pushing it, but it wouldn’t budge…”

Surprisingly, the doorknob turned.

The knights all watched with stunned expressions as the door opened.

“It seems we’ve found the exit.”

The ever-calm Juliet spoke.

Indeed, the door led to the first floor of the castle.josei

(We. Could have. Gone anywhere.)

(Not now.)

(Bad. Humans. Trapped us.)

“I see.”

Even while inside the carriage after escaping the underground, the butterflies constantly buzzed.

Long ago, Juliet’s ancestor, the first Count Monad, apparently locked up the demon using this key.

As Juliet fiddled with the key, she took a brief look outside the carriage.

She thought it was just a silver ornament…

According to the chattering butterflies, it can open and close doors.

Juliet didn’t know what that meant, but she was grateful it helped them escape.

The Duke’s knights didn’t ask how she precisely found the door leading outside.

Although they seemed eager to ask, once they reached the surface, it didn’t seem to matter.

“What do you mean?”

Sir Milan urgently inquired.

“So, is the Duke safe or not?”

“It’s… strange.”

Elliot, the Duke’s secretary, gave them that vague response, which was unlike him.

“You’ll understand when you see for yourself.”

So, late in the evening, they were on their way to an abandoned temple on the outskirts of the capital.

Marquis Guiness and his subordinates were successfully subdued, but something had happened to Duke Carlyle. The knights thought it was a preposterous story.

“Don’t worry too much. His Highness will be fine.”

Jude, a knight sitting across from Juliet, tried to reassure her.

“I’m not worried.”

Juliet, sneaking a glance at the humming swords of the knights, smiled.

The magic stones in the swords resonated all at once. Jude thought the situation was eerily similar to what happened seven years ago.

Back when he was still a novice knight. Something similar had happened then. He stole glances at the surprisingly calm Juliet Monad.

They had first met her in the same place 7 years ago.

* * *

Immediately upon the carriage’s arrival, the knights hurriedly dismounted.

“Your Highness!”

The atmosphere of the temple ruins after sunset was quite mysterious. Knights with familiar faces were seen everywhere.

Yet, they looked somehow scared.

Juliet, who descended from the carriage without any support, went straight to the man she was looking for.

Hadin, a stoic knight who rarely got flustered, stuttered, blocking her way.

“N-no… Miss. That…”

He felt like he shouldn’t let her see what was happening.

“You shouldn’t approach His Highness right now.”

In truth, they didn’t know what had happened to Duke Carlyle.

A few hours earlier, the Duke suddenly lost consciousness. They tried everything, but they couldn’t get close to him. And the Duke hadn’t woken up for hours.

However, Juliet, who scanned the knights with a stoic face, briefly said:

“Move.”

Juliet passed the knights and approached a man kneeling in the middle of the temple ruins.

The sun had set, and a crescent moon hung in the night sky.

The moonlight shone down, and the man was there, kneeling as if in prayer, completely motionless, like a statue.

Relying on a single sword, the man kneeling under the moon exuded a strange aura.

From a distance, Juliet looked at the man and asked:

“How long has he been like this?”

“…About eight hours.”

“That’s right.”

Juliet responded calmly. However, Hadin wasn’t sure if he could trust her to approach the Duke.

For the past few hours, they had tried everything. They had summoned priests, doctors, and even magicians. But none could approach him.

Whenever they tried to come close, the Duke’s sword would menacingly sound as if creating a barrier that prevented anyone from approaching.

“Your Highness.”

Yet, before Hadin could warn Juliet to be careful, she easily crossed the line where the barrier stood.

“!”

This time, the Duke’s sword didn’t make a sound.

Whether or not she noticed the astonishment of the onlookers, Juliet slowly approached and knelt before him, making eye contact.

“Lennox.”

Juliet carefully reached out and touched the man’s cheek. And in the next moment, as if by magic, the man woke up.

He squinted for a moment as if he was emerging from a hazy dream, then his face contorted as if he had experienced the worst nightmare.

Tuk.

A single tear rolled down his cheek.

“…Juliet.”

He hurriedly grasped her wrist, but she didn’t resist.

* * *

The woman who appeared in the ballroom wearing a pure white dress was stunningly beautiful. Her presence captured the attention of everyone in the room.

The dress, which revealed her neck and back, made it evident that she had been harshly whipped. Yet, she seemed unaffected by the murmurs and stares of the crowd.

[Hello, Lennox.]

Contrary to her previously lifeless state, she was vibrant.

But he was still clearly upset.

Despite blatant flattery, she laughed heartily surrounded by people, dancing gracefully among them.

He just watched her in silence.

Then, someone asked her for a toast, and he reluctantly handed Juliet a silver cup filled with wine.

As he handed her the cup, he felt an ominous foreboding.

What was it?

The woman who received the cup from him remained silent for a long moment.

She stared blankly into the silver cup, and suddenly, a tear dropped.

But just for a moment, she raised her cup with a bright smile.

[Thank you, Your Highness.]

Before anyone could comprehend her cryptic words, she downed the poisonous drink in one gulp and dropped the cup.

Clank.

Krrrrrrrr.

The clang echoed as the cup rolled away.

Before he could grasp what was happening, he found himself holding the staggering woman. Her long hair, once neatly tied, came loose.

She coughed violently in his arms.

[…Juliet?]

Her once white dress began to stain red with blood.

It was a surreal sight.

Lennox Carlyle. Or the man who once was, couldn’t understand the significance of the woman’s closing eyes or what was happening.

He held the dying woman, trying to suppress his breath.

Why? Since when?

All questions seemed meaningless.

The surrounding screams and murmurs became irrelevant.

The only thing that mattered was the woman’s cooling body. He was captivated by her pale, silent face.

“Your Highness.”

A calm voice brought him back from the never-ending nightmare.

(Such a thing.)

The black panther-shaped demon, who had been watching over him, clicked its tongue in annoyance.

She’s here.

The intruder is still…

The mumbling panther, seemingly regretful, turned away and disappeared. And with that, his long nightmare ended.

“Lennox.”

In the midst of the enveloping darkness, the image of the woman who had awakened him remained clear.

Her pale cheeks, delicate features, and soft blue eyes glistened with moisture.

“…Juliet.”

He wasn’t even aware of the tears streaming down his face, lit by the torches around them.

With only half his senses present, Lennox instinctively reached out to the woman before him.

The only reassurance he felt was from Juliet’s usual calm expression and the steady pulse he felt from her wrist he was gripping.