Forgotten Juliet

Chapter 127:

* * *

A child remembers the first blessing they hear in their life forever.

Or so they say.

– A wretched thing.

Lennox Carlyle also vividly remembered the first words he heard from his father.

However, his first memories of his parents were far from beautiful.

Before he even turned twelve, the young boy, equipped with the typical Carlyle family’s twisted disposition, wasn’t so innocent as to be hurt by mere harsh words.

After all, they lived in a household where heated disputes over the family’s inheritance were a common occurrence. Such was the nature of disputes among the wealthy.

Maybe that’s what was strange about it.

Lennox’s father and former Duke of Carlyle, Ulysses Carlyle, had faced numerous assassination threats.

Ulysses had killed his brothers and taken the position of the family head, only to descend into a life of debauchery, drowning himself in alcohol and vice.

Lennox viewed his weak father with disdain. And his pitiful father had met his end through poisoning long before Lennox’s tumultuous youth came to an end.

Lennox’s mother, on the other hand, was somewhat infamous.

As a captive of war, she was the despised wife from the fallen family.

As arrogant and foolish as she was beautiful, she openly boasted of becoming the Duchess within three months.

Despite the ridicule from others, the ambitious woman managed to deceive Ulysses Carlyle and successfully bore his child.

However, she never managed to secure the coveted position of Duchess, as she died shortly after giving birth to her son.

Children of the Carlyle family were born with magical abilities from the moment of conception in their mother’s womb. While it might be considered a natural talent, it often came with tragic sacrifices.

Not content with siphoning off their mother’s magical power, it eventually affected their mental well-being.

The women who bore these children would have their magic drained, slowly wither away, and ultimately go mad and die around the time of childbirth.

– You should have never been born.

Lennox never paid much attention to his father’s public declaration of such words.

He never bothered to ponder why his own father hated him.

Perhaps he only suspected that it was due to his father’s resentment towards the lowly woman who had deceived him.

That’s how he thought of it.josei

“Your Highness.”

However, when he faced the woman who asked calmly, he couldn’t help but wonder if it might have been pure hatred directed towards him.

“If I bear a child, will my life be in danger?”

In his relationship with Juliet Monad, the only thing he wished for was stability.

While they were lovers, Juliet never demanded something he couldn’t give. Lennox wished for this state to last forever.

I won’t marry.

So, he drew a vague line with his usual ambiguous words.

The likelihood of her becoming pregnant had practically converged to zero. Even if Juliet showed signs of wanting more, he could easily ignore her. What’s the big deal about turning a blind eye to that? If Juliet didn’t give up hope, he could cut ties first.

As he deluded himself in this manner, his immature emotions grew unchecked.

When Juliet left him and ran away, Lennox Carlyle had to confront the emotions he had tried so hard to avoid.

He could never let Juliet go.

“It’s a strange story, isn’t it?”

The woman who had taught him unfamiliar emotions asked with a cheerful smile.

“If I have a child, will it be a curse that leads to death? Such an absurd notion…”

Juliet’s words trailed off. At the same time, her previously radiant smile gradually faded.

“Juliet.”

“…Why won’t you deny it?”

Without realizing it, he was holding Juliet’s fingertips.

Juliet didn’t push him away, but she lowered her head with a trembling face, looking at her own hand, which he held.

“…You should have denied it.”

Lennox desperately held the warmth in the hand he couldn’t even grip tightly.

What he had glimpsed was only a fragment of the past, but Lennox understood the situation as if he had witnessed it firsthand.

If Juliet found out, she would either be prepared to give birth with her life at stake, or she would abandon him and flee.

And his choice was clear.

No matter how many times he found himself in the same situation, he would never let go of Juliet.

Dung, dung.

The clear tolling of the bells from the temple’s bell tower, blessing a sacred wedding ceremony, reached their ears.

However, for him, that sound strangely resembled a funeral dirge.

* * *

Juliet sat alone in an empty reception room.

The late afternoon sun cast long shadows. She reflected on the conversation she had heard in the temple earlier that day.

– Do you know the snake called the viper?

When Roy had said that, Juliet had initially dismissed it as nonsense.

She thought it was an absurd story. She knew enough about the Carlyle family. The tale of children born with red eyes was a well-known one, but a lineage that killed their mothers and was born from their deaths?

‘Where is that kind of inheritance?’

But the answer was evident from Lennox’s expression alone.

Juliet closed her eyes.

In the end, she had a child she couldn’t even hold in her arms.

Thud.

At that moment, the door to the reception room opened, and a kind attendant entered and gently informed Juliet.

“You’ve been waiting a long time, Miss. The sinner will be here soon.”

Juliet smiled lightly and expressed her thanks.

“Yes, thank you.”

Whatever she had heard, Juliet still had something left to do.

Unfortunately, Juliet had a good memory, especially for grudges.

Marquis Guinness.

She still owed him a debt.

She had come to find someone who was relatively easier to approach than Marquis Guinness.

Squeak. Creak.

Just as the attendant had said, not long after, a woman with long hair entered the room.

“Hello, Dolores.”

Juliet greeted the woman with a warm smile.

The person who had come was none other than Dolores, who had been used as a pawn in Marquis Guinness’s schemes.

Dolores had been confined to the clock tower of the estate. That is, until Juliet vouched for her and had her released.

“…Sniff.”

Dolores, who had become quite emaciated in just a few days, glared at Juliet, but Juliet didn’t seem to care.

“Come over here and have a seat.”

Juliet saw through Dolores at a glance.

Dolores was the type who was loyal to her desires. Without a word, she changed her conflicted expression and came over to sit opposite Juliet.

“Eat.”

Juliet pushed a basket of food towards Dolores.

With a wary eye on Juliet, Dolores picked up a piece of bread.

“Huuh…”

Perhaps she was very hungry, as Dolores ate in a daze for a while and then suddenly burst into tears.

“Miss is very kind to Dolores.”

Juliet let Dolores hold onto her misconception.

Observing Dolores, who eagerly devoured the bread as if she had been starving for days, Juliet asked:

“Why did you lie?”

“Marquis Guinness ordered it!”

Dolores’ change of stance was faster than expected. She obediently answered all of Juliet’s questions.

“Dolores was just being used!”

Dolores said she was originally from a small village in the south. She wasn’t a noble to begin with.

“Marquis Guinness adopted Dolores, saying she had talent.”

“But when I first saw you, he introduced you as his wife, didn’t he?”

That was clear.

When they first met in the south, Marquis Guinness introduced Dolores as his eighth wife.

However, in front of the Emperor, he introduced Dolores as his adopted daughter.

“That’s because Marquis Guinness said I should get close to Miss.”

And according to what she later learned, Dolores was indeed Marquis Guinness’s most recent adopted daughter. So why did he introduce her as a wife when they first met?

That fact would be revealed soon enough.

“He thought it would make it easier to gain your sympathy.”

Juliet hesitated.

Clearly, Marquis Guinness’s strategy had worked.

In her previous life, Juliet had been Marquis Guinness’s eighth wife. She had pretended to be a refined noblewoman, but Marquis Guinness had abused her behind the scenes. It had been a short but hellish time.

When Marquis Guinness first introduced Dolores as his new wife, Juliet had been unsettled.

Her own image overlapped with Dolores’s.

‘Not that I figured it out quickly.’

Dolores didn’t have a single bruise on her, and yet, easy to gain sympathy?

Juliet found that statement a bit odd.

For a moment, she had almost pitied Dolores, who had been deceived. It was because Juliet herself had a similar past.

Something Marquis Guinness wouldn’t know. Why did he think she would feel sympathetic toward Dolores?

“Dolores doesn’t really know… Dolores thought Miss was a good person!”

“Thank you.”

Well, that made sense.

Juliet was a bit perplexed. She had seen Dolores change her attitude as easily as turning her hand over, so she couldn’t fully trust her. Moreover, Dolores’s acting skills were amateurish. Lies would be exposed quickly.

Juliet smiled.

“Then, what were you trying to steal my key for?”

“I’m sorry… Marquis Guinness said that key was a very important treasure.”

It was as if Juliet knew from the beginning that she had handed over the fake silver key.

But Juliet wasn’t interested in hearing an apology. She raised her chin and asked:

“What did he want to do with that key?”

Thanks to the spell Juliet had placed on Marquis Guinness and Dolores, Dolores was supposed to demonstrate spirit magic to Juliet.

It had been reported that she had gone out to do so but had ended up embarrassed.

“Are you really a spirit summoner?”

Juliet asked out of pure curiosity.

“But you’ve never seen your own spirit in person?”

“…I haven’t, but it’s true. Dolores is a spirit summoner.”

Dolores hesitated for a moment, then nodded earnestly. There was no hint of deceit in her expression.

“Dolores’s eyes are covered, so I can’t see anything, but Marquis Guinness said it. He said Dolores is the ‘most suitable spirit summoner’.”