Forgotten Juliet

Chapter 136:

“Marquis!”

Soon after, the face that popped out belonged to someone he recognized.

“…Dolores?”

“Marquis, Dolores is here!”

Marquis Guinness was taken aback by the unexpected appearance.

“Dolores? How did you…”

Dolores hastily interrupted him.

“There’s no time to explain. We need to get out of here!”

Marquis Guinness was puzzled.

He couldn’t fathom how Dolores had bypassed the strict guards to rescue him, and more so, why Dolores was here in the first place.

The Dolores he knew was certainly not someone who would come to rescue him. Their relationship was barely a few months old, more akin to an employment contract.

However, Dolores quickly unlocked the prison door with a key she brought, and effortlessly helped Marquis Guinness escape.

As they exited, he saw that for some reason all the guards were unconscious.

Led by the servants Dolores had brought with her, they went outside and boarded a carriage. Only then did Marquis Guinness fully realize he had successfully escaped.

“Dolores, what’s going on?”

“Dolores received an order to extract you, Marquis.”

Dolores, who looked somewhat nervous, hurriedly explained.

“Order? By whom?”

“You’ll find out soon.”

Dolores started the carriage.

‘Who could it be?’

The carriage carrying the recently rescued Marquis Guinness began to speed off.

Lost in his thoughts, staring blankly out of the window, the Marquis suddenly came to a realization.

‘Of course!’

Being a great noble, it was only natural for someone to want to rescue him.

Regaining his confidence, Marquis Guinness asked the coachman:

“Where are we headed?”

“We are taking you to a safe place, Marquis.”

Before he noticed, Dolores had disappeared, but Marquis Guinness was too engrossed in the obedient coachman’s tone to notice.

“But first, I need…”

Only then did Marquis Guinness realize he was still bound in chains.

“Hey! Release me from these!”

But the carriage rattled harshly on the rough mountain path, and his voice seemed to go unheard.

Eventually, the coachman halted the carriage.

“Please, get out.”

Without much ceremony, Marquis Guinness was pulled out.

Confused, he took a few steps before collapsing.

The dim mountain top was surprisingly bustling with people and horses at this late hour. He noticed an old man sitting gracefully on a large, flat rock.

Though he had never met this elder before, there was an undeniable aura about him.

“Hey old man! Did you bring me here? What do you want?”

Marquis Guinness shouted a bit irritably, catching the old man’s fleeting glance.

“If it’s money you’re after, I can compensate you adequately…”

Not recognizing the old man, Marquis Guinness assumed he was a servant of someone.

Who could this be? Someone who, at this hour, dispatched Dolores, incapacitated the guards of the Carlyle house, and facilitated such a smooth escape. Surely, this person wasn’t ordinary.

Could it be the 2nd Prince, plotting a rebellion? Or bribed nobles from the nobility council?

“Hello, Marquis.”

However, it was a melodious female voice that addressed him.

“No, you…”

When he looked in the direction of the voice, Marquis Guinness was taken aback.

“…Juliet Monad?”

There stood Juliet Monad, dressed in unadorned black attire.

She smiled gently.

“Yes, it was me. I orchestrated your escape.”

But why?

Marquis Guinness couldn’t understand.

Juliet Monad was the lover of Duke Carlyle. So why?

‘…Could it be?’

– That woman was your slave in the past.

Dahlia had mentioned that.

– So, if you introduce Dolores as your wife, it would be easy to gain her sympathy.

Not quite grasping the significance of Juliet having been a slave in the past and the mention of ‘The Miracle Shown by Dahlia’, Marquis Guinness believed and followed Dahlia’s words.

– Just press her a bit, and she’ll likely succumb to her trauma and follow you.

‘Ha! Perhaps it’s not my time to die yet.’

Interpreting the situation favorably for himself, Marquis Guinness became quite smug.

‘As expected, Dahlia must’ve foreseen even this!’

Though he wasn’t sure about the exact details, Juliet Monad before him seemed very fragile.

If he willed, he felt he could easily control her. His true concern was Duke Carlyle, not a young girl.

Emboldened, Marquis Guinness arrogantly commanded:

“Whatever the reason, you did well. I’ll praise you, now release me from these chains.”

“Praise?”

Instead of obeying, Juliet covered her mouth with her hand.

For a moment, seeing her slender shoulders shake, Marquis Guinness suspected she might burst into tears.

“Pfft.”

However, the next moment, Juliet burst into laughter, echoing around.

‘Is she laughing?’

Marquis Guinness frowned but impulsively lost his temper.

“You wretched girl! Do I need to whip you into obedience? Release me now!”

“Whipping… Right. I remember.”

Yet, Juliet neither showed fear nor followed his command. She chuckled dryly.

“That red room.”

Marquis Guinness flinched.

“How do you know about that… Did the Duke tell you?”

“The reason I came to see your disgusting face is that I had a question.”

Juliet didn’t smile and looked down at the Marquis. With a contemptuous gaze, Marquis Guinness, kneeling on the ground, finally came to his senses.

My God.

He couldn’t understand why he had believed so firmly that this woman would follow his command.

Her pale, cold blue eyes were as intimidating as someone merciless.

“You’re curious? Fine. If you promise to release me first, I’ll answer…”

“It was Dahlia Fran who told you that you could win my sympathy by pretending that Dolores was your eight wife, wasn’t it?”

“How do you know Lady Dahlia?”

Marquis Guinness inadvertently asked, forgetting his change of tactics.

Juliet smirked as if that was enough of an answer.

“Yes, it was indeed Dahlia.”

She spoke to someone behind her as if it was all she wanted.

“My business here is done.”

“Hey, wait!”

The Marquis shouted, fearing being left alone.

But Juliet didn’t return, and instead, an old man who had been quietly listening to their conversation approached him.

“My name is Lionel Lebatan.”

The old man who had been watching the Marquis said suddenly.

“Yes…?”

The Marquis, who had once operated a small business, couldn’t possibly not know the old man’s name.

He murmured the name as if sighing.

“Li, Lionel Lebatan…?”

Though it sounded absurd, the Marquis couldn’t believe the old man was lying.

A man with red hair known by everyone in the east. He looked old and faded, but he stood tall with sharp eyes.

The fact that he was alive was shocking enough, let alone standing before him. The Marquis couldn’t understand how it had happened.

‘Could it be Lady Dahlia?’

Inflated by baseless hope, the Marquis irrationally pieced together the situation. Juliet Monad and the like were no longer on his mind.

‘The Red King, Lionel Lebatan!’

If someone of his stature was involved, it was possible he could be snatched away from the northern Duke.

A legendary figure had saved him!

Although he didn’t understand why, the Marquis looked at him with admiration.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Lord Lebatan.”

The redhead old man looked down at the Marquis.

“You must be uncomfortable tied up like that.”

“Ah, yes, a bit.”

The Marquis replied awkwardly.josei

It was clear that after this, the Red King would order his subordinates to release him.

“…?”

But the king’s subordinates just stared blankly.

“…Lord Lebatan?”

“The moonlight is nice tonight.”

Lionel Lebatan casually admired the moon. Though the moonlight was indeed beautiful, the Marquis, who had been tied up for a long time, was getting annoyed.

Suddenly, Lebatan asked:

“Was the moonlight this good the night when the Count and Countess Monad died?”

“No, there was sudden thunder and lightning…”

The Marquis was startled and fumbled with his words.

“…I misspoke. Ahem.”

“It wasn’t a slip of the tongue, but a testimony.”

“Pardon?”

“Isn’t that right? You arranged for the Monads’ deaths.”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

The Marquis was flustered.

While it was true that he had arranged the death of the Count and Countess, he didn’t understand why Lionel Lebatan was bringing it up now.

What did the downfallen Red King of the East have to do with the Monads?

“It seems there’s been a misunderstanding…”

Trying to deny with a forced smile, a memory flashed through the Marquis’s mind.

The deceased Countess Monad.

Juliet Monad’s mother, known as the daughter of an elegant knight, was certainly a beautiful redhead.

“Yes. She was my daughter.”

Lionel Lebatan casually dropped a bombshell.

“…”

The Marquis was speechless, staring at him.

Without a care, Lionel Lebatan searched through his belongings.

“Not only did you kill my daughter, but you also tried to harm my granddaughter?”

The Marquis understood perfectly well who this ‘granddaughter’ referred to. There was no need to involve Duke Carlyle.

There was no anger in Lebatan’s voice or expression. But seeing the glass bottle in his hand, the Marquis went pale.

“P-please spare me…”

The Marquis knew little of black magic.

However, he knew that this was a spiritual entity, and he had witnessed firsthand what happened when it entered a person.

“I’ve heard that if you put this strange thing in one’s shadow, they will only speak the truth?”

The Marquis had tested this essence on experimental slaves, and had also planned to use it on Juliet Monad.

But now, he was in no condition to make a rational judgment.

“It’s quite handy. With this, you’ll confess everything you did to my daughter, right?”

Marquis Guinness’s mind went blank.

He suddenly realized that Dolores, who had gotten him out of prison, might have been part of some larger plan.

“Let’s find out slowly. We have plenty of time.”

Lionel Lebatan calmly opened the glass bottle and placed it on the floor.

“Oh, Lord! Please have mercy…”

“Don’t worry too much. After hearing the testimony, my sons will make a fair judgment.”

The Marquis thought that he didn’t know which should be more frightening.

The entity that escaped from the glass bottle ran furiously towards his shadow. And around him, who was kneeling, men with grim faces were glaring at him.

It was the last scene the Marquis Guinness witnessed with his mind and body intact.