Forgotten Juliet

[Do you want to save that woman?] 

On the cold marble floor, ominous shadows loomed.

In the middle of the completely empty banquet hall that had turned into a battleground, a man with black hair knelt as if turned into a statue.

The red liquid soaking his knees.

He didn’t know whether it was blood or wine.

Juliet.

There was only one thing he knew.

The woman lying on his knee, sleeping more peacefully than anything in the world, would never open her eyes again.

She would never smile at him again, and there would be no chance for forgiveness.

[Do you want to save that wench?]

With bloodshot eyes, the man raised his head. In front of him, a snake with a disgustingly sleek face was sneering at him.

With bloodshot eyes, the man glared at the evil spirit.

[Get lost.]

He knew.

This snake didn’t have the power to bring his lover back to life.

[Yeah, that’s right, I can’t save that woman.]

The snake’s shadow menacingly circled around him.

Except for the skirt stained red, the peacefully sleeping woman looked like a pure bride.

[Instead, I know how you can save her.]

The deceitful snake whispered in his ear.

[You can set everything right, can’t you?]

“Your Highness.”

Lennox Carlyle opened his eyes.

‘Is it a dream?’

His head was throbbing and his body felt oddly heavy, so he momentarily held his forehead.

What was more annoying than the headache was that he had been tormented by a disturbing nightmare, which he couldn’t remember since last night.

“We have arrived.”

Stepping down from the carriage, Lennox headed towards the imperial palace hall.

The atmosphere of the imperial palace, with black flags hanging here and there, was chaotic.

The Second Prince died before the trial.

The Emperor had deliberately held a grand funeral. The funeral mass held for three days was no different from any other banquet.

“Oh dear, it’s so shameless.”

“In the end, isn’t it just a voluntary confession because he is afraid the guilt will be revealed?”

Apart from loud music and dancing, it was the same as nobles gathering and gossiping.

“Shh, it’s Duke Carlyle.”

The nobles who had been fervently criticizing the Second Prince momentarily closed their mouths and muttered among themselves as they spotted the Duke crossing the hall.

“The truth is, the Duke…”

The deceased Second Prince had openly antagonized Duke Carlyle and it was a public secret that he had framed him from behind and done terrible things.

“Thank you for coming so quickly, Duke. The ceremony was all ruined…”

The Emperor greeted Duke Carlyle with a stern face.

“It’s alright.”

With a not alright face, Lennox replied insincerely.

In fact, he was genuinely annoyed.

Because of this kind of situation, he had to temporarily halt his plans in Velot.

“Then see you in the conference room.”

Officials from the Duke of Carlyle’s estate rushed into the conference room inside the palace.

In fact, the grand funeral was just a pretense.

“Let’s start with the leasing of the Elpasa mine and the issue of Noto’s silver mine rights.”

Thud.

Placing a pile of documents on the table, Elliot, the chief secretary of the Ducal house, elegantly declared.

With the death of the Second Prince as the starting point, the Ducal house and the imperial family had been intensely wrangling over compensation issues.

While Elliot was handling the palace officials with his flamboyant rhetoric, Lennox’s nerves were all directed outside the window.

There was only one reason for his poor condition.

Since arriving in the capital, due to a busy schedule, he hadn’t been able to go near Juliet for the last three days.

The day before yesterday, they had a brief kiss in the palace courtyard as they brushed past each other, that was all.

Moreover, since the day before yesterday, even his dreams had become wild.

‘Something…’

It was a bad dream, but he couldn’t remember it at all.

It’s all because Juliet wasn’t there.

That’s what Lennox thought.

Fortunately, today was the third day of the funeral, and soon this tedious procedure would end and he could take Juliet and go back.

He didn’t plan on returning to the capital for a few years once he left today.

‘But that was worth seeing.’

With a grim expression, Lennox who was sitting rigidly suddenly smiled.

During the three-day funeral banquet, the one who undeniably attracted everyone’s attention was Juliet Monad, who appeared in the palace on the second day of the funeral.

-You must be heartbroken, Your Majesty the Empress.

Wearing an elegant dove-colored dress, and appearing lightly in the hall, Juliet consoled the Empress with an impeccable attitude.

Of course, what was most worth seeing was the gaze of other people looking at her.

The people who had been spreading rumors that Juliet Monad had died or something until then were all at a loss for words, and then seeing Lionel Lebatan who accompanied her, they were astounded.

Certainly, even after that, Juliet was busy visiting the County of Monad in the capital and taking care of the nanny and servants.

Lennox didn’t notice that his expression had softened unknowingly.

But that ended today.

Thanks to the well-prepared Elliot, the meeting ended quicker than expected.

“Hello, Lennox.”

Seeing Juliet after three days, she looked very lively.

“It seems like someone had a very enjoyable time.”

“Yes, it was enjoyable.”

While someone was almost dying of boredom. Lennox smiled slightly as he opened the carriage door for her.

It was all good. However, as Juliet, holding his hand, was climbing into the carriage, she hesitated.

“Lennox.”

“What?”

Juliet, with a serious expression, suddenly jumped down and grabbed his cheek.

“…Since when has this been happening?”

“What?”

“Your fever is boiling?”

* * *

“It’s Scarlet Fever.”

The Duke’s doctor diagnosed sternly.

Lennox frowned.

Despite forcefully opening the gate and returning to the Duke’s estate in the North as quickly as possible, for three days he had been suffering from a terrible headache.

“What fever?”

“No, isn’t that a fever that only children catch?”

Elliot intervened as if it were ridiculous.

Indeed, as Elliot said, Scarlet Fever was a mild fever usually caught during childhood before the age of ten.

Lord Hilbery shrugged his shoulders.

“Yes. But as far as I know, Your Highness has never had Scarlet Fever before.”

“Have you never had a fever when you were young?”

“No.”

“Not even once?”

“Is that so strange?”

From one side, Jude mumbled, ‘They say even a dog doesn’t catch a summer cold…’ and hastily shut his mouth.

“Ah!”

Suddenly, Juliet blinked her eyes.

“I met Emma and Charlotte… I must have caught it then.”

Juliet looked at him with a very apologetic expression.

‘Wasn’t it when we kissed at that time…?’ 

She thought amidst her words.

“Hmm, anyway, just think of Scarlet Fever as similar to chickenpox.”

If you don’t catch it when you’re young, there are cases where you catch it as an adult.

“Usually, the fever arises when the magic in the body clashes.”

In the Duke’s case, it would be an Auror.

The symptoms are similar to a cold, so fortunately, it should only be a fever and chills, the doctor explained.

“Nevertheless, even as an adult, you must rest absolutely for a week.”

Lennox’s eyes narrowed.

“A week?”

“Well, at least for the next three days you must rest …”

The physician gradually trailed off and stealthily hid behind Juliet, then made a quick exit.

“So it’s fine to return to Velot.”

While dressing back into his clothes, Lennox insisted as they were alone in the room.

Anyway, recuperating there or in the castle is the same.

But Juliet resolutely refused.

“No.”

“Why?”

“It’s just a fever, but if you don’t lie down and rest properly, there might be abnormalities in the aura.”

It sounded absurd to him. He had never heard of cases where the body was damaged due to Scarlet Fever.

Such an annoying physician.

‘Should I fire him?’

Lennox sighed while fiddling with a small box in his pocket.

He had planned this and that, but nothing went as planned.

‘A week.’

Lennox estimated with a disgruntled face how long he had to be bedridden when he suddenly realized that the point he caught the cold coincided with the time he started having unpleasant dreams.

“Lie down quickly.”

Juliet pointed to the bed with a stern face.

Lennox took a gentle look at such Juliet and said:

“It might be contagious. Stay out.”

“Lord Hilbery said it’s fine. Unlike someone, I had Scarlet Fever when I was young. He told me to monitor you well.”

…What a unique physician.

Lennox thought it wouldn’t be bad to raise the doctor’s salary.

He grinned and closed his eyes.

* * *

The man crossing the snow-covered backyard of the castle stopped in his tracks.

[…Why aren’t you eating? Huh?]

Kkiang?

The soft conversation of a woman and the whining of an animal were heard.

It was a hectic afternoon with people from the Duke’s estate welcoming the knight squad that had just returned to the castle.

In a corner of the yard with no people, a woman was diligently taking care of two animals with white fur.

[…]

Lennox furrowed his brows for a moment.

Thin hazelnut-colored hair strands.

The winters in the North were harsh, and it was common for orphaned fox cubs who had lost their mother to come down to the castle in search of food.

The woman was sitting crouched, unaware of someone approaching.

[Is it tasteless? Is that why?]

The woman asked worriedly, but the fox cubs whimpered, rubbing their heads against her hand, rolling around playfully.

They had gained a good amount of weight, probably due to her feeding them with utter devotion.

Though cute, wild cubs are usually temperamental, yet these seemed tamed somehow.

He approached a bit closer without much thought.

Kiang!

The fox cubs who were acting playfully got startled.

Right. That’s normal.

The fox cubs scampered away quickly, and the woman too, startled, got up from her spot.

[Ah…]

The woman, whose eyes widened in surprise, spotted him and smiled brightly upon seeing him.

The woman, with a younger face than he had anticipated, looked familiar.

Unexpectedly, there was a welcoming warmth in her blue eyes.

The woman’s bright smile was so endearing that anyone would reciprocate with a smile.

However, he felt an indescribable emotion.

Lennox looked down at her with a stern expression.

‘What was her name?’

He had just returned from leading the knights on an expedition.

Until encountering her, Lennox had completely forgotten that such a woman was residing within his castle.

She was a prisoner he had impulsively brought from the South a few months ago.

Since she had no relation to the artifact he was searching for, he lost interest quickly and forgot about her.

Yet, she seemed to still be residing in the Duchy.

[…Your Highness.]

She greeted him with impeccable courtesy.

‘I can’t tell if she’s naive or sly.’

His eyes narrowed.

What did I do for her to greet me like that? It was both pitiful and amusing.

The way she welcomed him somehow overlapped with the scene of the fox cub rolling around playfully under her hand a moment ago.

He took a step closer.

[Master.]

But that lasted only for a moment.

As there was a sound from behind him, the woman got startled.

[The rearguard has returned. Would you like to see them right away?]

The person who came close was a vassal of the Duke, but the woman seemed suddenly scared for some reason.

Only then he remembered.

The woman’s name was Juliet, and in the past, she was said to be the daughter of a fairly reputable Count.

And she seemed to be afraid of the unfamiliar adult man for some reason.

[Well, then…]

As if trying to say something in parting, Juliet bowed her head and quickly retreated to the annex.

[Huh, who was that?]

I haven’t seen that face before, is she a maid?

The adjutant asked with both admiration and curiosity.

Instead of answering immediately, Lennox smirked, then loosened the tight collar of his uniform.

His expression was genuinely joyful, rare for him, almost childlike as if he had gotten a new toy.

[A new hobby.]

[Excuse me?]

Lennox didn’t elaborate further. He patted his adjutant’s shoulder and moved on.

Contrary to his light steps, his red eyes gleamed cruelly.