Forgotten Juliet

For a moment, they listened to the sound of falling snow without uttering a word.

Fumbling with the horse’s mane, Juliet sneakily glanced at the man standing beside her.

Sitting atop the high saddle, Juliet was able to observe Lennox Carlyle from a unique angle as she looked down at him.

His black hair, prominent forehead, and even his winter coat draped over his shoulders. Every aspect of him seemed to belong to a monochrome palette, but his brilliant appearance was eye-catching enough for anyone to take a second look.

However, Juliet thought the barren snowfield suited him more as a background than the glitzy ballrooms of the capital.

‘Ah, right.’

Caught staring at him, Juliet suddenly reached into the pocket of her cloak.

“Here, it’s not a boutonniere, but…”

It was a decorative string she bought just before leaving the capital.

Though not expensive, it was commonly sold as a souvenir of the Yuno Purification Festival.

“It’s said to ward off bad luck.”

Lennox held the decorative string in his hand for a while, just looking at it.

It wasn’t something to be overwhelmed by. Juliet candidly added:

“I didn’t make it, I bought it.”

With a slight chuckle, he stayed silent for a moment.

“Lennox.”

He lifted his head.

“…What are you thinking?”

Then, Lennox looked at Juliet and smiled faintly.

“How about kidnapping you and running away like this?”

Juliet blinked her eyes for a moment.

“Run away?”

“Yes.”

For a moment, her mind was filled with question marks. However, Lennox remained expressionless as ever.

‘Run away? Why?’

He didn’t show it, but perhaps he was heartbroken about catching the snake but losing it at the last moment?

Or was he tired of leading a large group of people back to the North?

Did the pressure from the many people around him get to him?

While Juliet was immersed in all sorts of thoughts, Lennox briefly rubbed his eyes as if tired. Only then did Juliet realize that it was the first time he had rested since leaving the capital.

Although he rarely showed signs of fatigue, she doubted whether he had gotten proper sleep over the past few days.

Lennox sneakily glanced towards where the carriages were.

Perhaps checking if it was time for them to depart again, but having just heard his ‘shall we run away?’ proposition, to Juliet, it seemed like he was genuinely timing a potential escape.

As Juliet was lost in her thoughts, staring blankly at him, Lennox turned to her, smiling slyly.

“How about it, shall we run away?”

His smile appeared somewhat boyish.

His hand tightened around the reins.

“Somewhere where nobody knows you, and nobody can find us.”

“…”

“Shall we, Juliet?”

Juliet thought she knew Lennox Carlyle well.

But it was the first time she saw his handsome face look tired.

She had thought of him as a born ruler since day one, but now, the young man of twenty-nine, appeared his age for the first time.

“…Why?”

Unknowingly, Juliet touched his hand holding the reins, fearing he might suddenly vanish.

“Why do you want to run away?”

Juliet was worried about him.

However, the answer from Lennox was entirely unexpected.

“When the snake’s main body awakened, it brought winter back with it, didn’t it?”

His cool red eyes stared straight at her.

“If the seasons never change, I could keep you by my side forever on that pretext.”

Did he think about that?

Juliet thought she heard her heart drop.

That was a promise Lennox had made to her in the south.

To stay by his side for six months-

“Lennox.”

“I can do better this time.”

Before Juliet could say anything, he overlapped his hand on hers.

Still staring far away,

“This time, I won’t leave you alone, nor make you cry.”

“It’s not easy to run away.”

For a moment, Juliet wanted to hug the man who was a head taller than her.

“It’s a joke.”

He added with a plain smile.

He wasn’t only lacking in consoling, but also at easing the mood.

As Juliet couldn’t find what to say, he returned to the procession with Juliet once again.

“Let’s depart.”

And hastily covering the short distance left, they arrived at the Lord’s residence of Elpasa.

Elpasa, as part of the Duchy, was overseen by a Lord elected from among the members of the Carlyle family.

The Lord’s residence of Elpasa was a stone building as old as the stone walls, and they could sleep in a room with a roof after a long time.

But Juliet had a hard time falling asleep that night.

Not just because the light in his bedroom across the corridor was on until late.

-Shall we run away?

The sincerity mixed in the joke was painful.

* * *

“…You bastard.”

And the next morning, Juliet cursed at the man she had dearly cared for just the day before.

Upon opening her eyes, Lennox Carlyle had already left the Lord’s residence. Without leaving a single letter and while Juliet was sleeping, he had taken his knights and gone after the snake.

-Shall we run away together?

‘He said that!’ Juliet trembled with a feeling of betrayal.

That expression, that conversation from yesterday.

It was suspicious if he was acting weak to gain sympathy on purpose.

Considering the usual infamy of Duke Carla, it was a plausible assumption.

The tenderness turned into anger and resentment in a moment.

“The Duke was just concerned for Miss Juliet’s safety…”

The remaining people tried somehow to calm Juliet down, but it was of no use.

“Not once but twice!”

In fact, this wasn’t the first time. Juliet had fallen for his scheme before and had been ‘safely left behind.’

‘What? Can you do better this time?’

It was infuriating!

It was quietly infuriating to be fooled by the same trick for the second time.

Juliet’s gaze filled with suppressed rage naturally turned towards the remaining people.

“I… I didn’t know about this.”

When their eyes met, Jude, the youngest knight of the Ducal household, flinched.

“He just woke me up from my sleep and asked me to take care of Miss Monad! I swear!”

“That’s fine. Go to the others and tell them to pack up! We’re departing right away.”

As Juliet hastily tied up her hair, she urged him.

But Jude had no thought of packing up and stayed where he was.

“Wow.”

Seeing Jude exclaim with shining eyes, Juliet felt annoyed.

“What’s ‘wow’?”

“Ah, actually, the Duke said something.”

Jude timidly pulled something out.

“What is that?”

“He said you might chase after him saying exactly that, and gave me this.”

Jude unfolded a small folded note with somewhat excited expression.

“There’s no way we can catch up to him with a carriage now, and since we’re late anyway, it’s better to head straight to the Duke’s estate, see?”

“Not my opinion, but that’s what is written.”

Juliet’s dissatisfaction didn’t ease, and Jude sneakily pulled out another folded note.

“If you still don’t understand, he said to deliver this… He said you lost the butterfly too, so following him would be a hindrance.”

“…Ha”

Juliet was so stunned that her anger subsided, then suddenly became curious.

“How many of those notes do you have?”

“Three. This is the last one.”

Juliet burst into laughter seeing Jude cautiously pull out the third note.

Although it hurt, Lennox’s words made sense.

“I get it. I said I get it.”

Someone had wisely led the remaining companions to the Duke’s estate.

And without the butterflies, Juliet wasn’t sure she could protect herself.

Having regained her composure, Juliet reluctantly accepted it.

Annoying.

Juliet thought she knew Lennox well, but he seemed to see right through Juliet as well.

Losing the urge to chase after reading ‘you’d be a hindrance if you follow’ in the second note, Juliet plunked down on the comfortable chair in the Lord’s residence and flicked her hand towards Jude.

“Yes?”

“Give me the last note.”

“Oh, yes.”

Jude quickly handed over the last third note.

Isn’t ‘you’d be useless if you follow’ a bit harsh?

With a sour expression, Juliet unfolded the last note and lost her words for a moment.

“What does it say?”

Seeing Juliet look at the note with a bemused expression for a long time, Jude curiously peeked in.

[Pack minimally for escape.]

“What does that mean?”

“Just, there’s something like that.”

Jude tilted his head, but Juliet folded the note back and put it away.