Forgotten Juliet

“Who?”

“Yes, the Duke.”

That can’t be right.

It had been seven long years since Lennox first learned about the situation of the Monad family.

To Lennox, the Monad family was an abstract concept.

He simply brushed it off, thinking that since his lover was Lady Monad, there must be a house somewhere in the capital.

Whenever Juliet had business in the capital, she would visit the Monad mansion, but Lennox had never accompanied her on such occasions.

Was he a man who wouldn’t even bat an eye if his lover made eye contact with someone else, let alone take care of household matters?

It was absurd. He wouldn’t do such a bothersome thing.

However, the old woman spoke casually.

“Didn’t you send gold to Lady Juliet yesterday too?”

Such an occasion… never happened.

“Lady Juliet said so herself. Although she couldn’t come with us this year due to her busy schedule, she wanted me to let you know that you would have a prosperous new year.”

Lennox’s expression narrowed.

“Everyone in the mansion is grateful. It is an honor to meet you in person like this, Your Highness.”

The blind old woman bowed her head once again.

Lennox briefly pondered what this situation could be.

However, neither the blind nanny nor the young maid standing beside her seemed to be lying.

So, there was only one possibility remaining.

It must be words fabricated by Juliet.

“Did Juliet really say that?”

As Lennox’s voice carried a chilling indifference, the blind woman spoke gently as if she hadn’t noticed.

“Yes, of course. Our Lady Juliet always speaks of you. Just yesterday, she held onto me and talked about how caring you are, despite the rumors, and how affectionate you are.”

Lennox couldn’t find words to respond.

He couldn’t completely dismiss the possibility that Juliet had told such lies, but at the same time, he couldn’t easily understand why she would go to such lengths.

Because the Juliet Monad he knows wasn’t that kind of person.

“Your Highness, please take care of our young lady.”

The blind old woman bowed deeply and politely greeted Lennox.

“Although she is shy and doesn’t say much, she’s a very sensitive person. She thinks deeply and has been hurt a lot. So please treat her kindly.”

Lennox didn’t reply. He silently stared at the blind woman.

This nanny, from the beginning, must have known about Juliet’s lies.

After seven years of being lovers, it was impossible for him not to have seen her face even once. She couldn’t have been a kind lover.

And yet, Juliet had gone to the extent of telling lies and desperately defending him, not for his sake, but to reassure them.

Her wounded pride had already suffered enough, but she didn’t want to worry the precious people who she remembered from her childhood.

Lennox didn’t care about the notorious rumors surrounding him, but he had a general idea of what people were gossiping about regarding his lover.

Even the Monad household staff, including the nanny, must have suspected. The lover of their young lady was known to be indifferent and ruthless.

It was obvious that they would worry about the treatment she received as his lover in the North, where she had no support.

Yet, they pretended to believe the clumsy and feeble lies of their mistress, who wanted to reassure the old nanny.

Neither Juliet, who told lies, nor the servants of the Monad household who pretended to be deceived were bad people.

Lennox pondered for a moment.

Even when he stayed in the North, Juliet wasn’t a Duchess, so she couldn’t privately access the resources.

Of course, she didn’t lack things like boiling water or dresses and accessories, but that was all.

The problem was that Juliet had left behind all the gifts she had received from him.

Given the situation of the Monad mansion, where did Juliet manage to obtain that gold to protect her last shred of pride?

After a long silence, Lennox could finally turn away.

“The mansion is quite old. I’ll send some helping hands.”

* * *

“You said you were going to meet your husband, right?”

The young stewardess named Angie asked Juliet with a twinkle in her eyes as she brought the tea. That was her name, Angie.

Juliet simply gave her a faint smile.

On the ring finger of Juliet’s left hand, there was a thin gold band. It was a plain ring without any decorations or gemstones, but it was actually better to deceive her status.

Right now, Juliet was playing the role of a young wife going to meet her husband.

“I heard your husband works at the Eastern Gate. Well, I heard there are good job opportunities there.”

Angie, who had a friendly demeanor, interpreted Juliet’s silence as affirmation and chatted cheerfully.

Indeed, she had done well in creating a fake identity.

Juliet thought to herself.

The magical stone-powered train was quite an expensive means of transportation.

But to rent a single-person compartment and travel alone without any maidservants, it was natural to attract attention.

The young stewardess was quite amazed by Juliet’s appearance. At the same time, she couldn’t imagine the possibility of the girl in front of her being a noble.

After all, there were hardly any nobles who used the train.

Therefore, the primary users of the train were the wealthy middle class, especially merchants who needed to cover long distances quickly.

High-ranking nobles and senior clergy members preferred the costly gate travel that consumed substantial resources and magical stones.

Of course, it was the fastest means of transportation available, but it was outrageously expensive.

Moreover, without a valid permit, one couldn’t even use the gate for transportation.

The number of people who could use the train was also very limited, so there were only about ten people sitting in the dining car where Juliet was seated.

A dining car.

She wasn’t sure which car the kitchen is attached to, but the ability to cook within the train was also thanks to the magical stones.

The options were limited, but the breakfast was quite delicious.

When Juliet tasted the freshly baked, warm croissant, she was quite surprised.

After finishing breakfast, Angie brought a fresh cup of hot tea for Juliet.

“It’s Quinn tea.”

Juliet smiled warmly while admiring the subtle aroma of the tea. The late Count Monad also loved this tea.

Enchanted by the aroma, Juliet emptied her cup and asked cautiously.

“Can I have more?”

“Of course!”

Angie, seeming pleased, brought a whole teapot.

Returning with the teapot from the kitchen, Angie carried a faintly sweet scent that seemed suspicious.

Captivated by the tantalizing smell of butter, Juliet raised her eyebrows.

“I was baking scones in the kitchen.”

At the mention of scones, the other passengers in the dining car perked up like meerkats, all raising their heads.

“If you wait a bit, I’ll bring them to you.”

It must be worth the price. Juliet marveled inwardly.

‘It was a good decision to take the train instead of a boat, even though it’s expensive.’

With this level of comfort, she was more than willing to pay.

Even the fact that there weren’t many passengers pleased her.

Tap. Tap.

“Oh.”

No wonder the weather had been cloudy since morning. Just as the train crossed over the mountain ridge, rain started to fall lightly.

“Could it be a typhoon?”

“What typhoon at this time of year? It’s probably just passing rain.”

Juliet sighed as she heard the conversation coming from the back seat, unintentionally gripping her teacup tightly.

As they said, it was just passing rain.

Relieved, Juliet relaxed and enjoyed the sight of raindrops tapping lightly against the window.

On a rainy day, sitting on the train, sipping tea while admiring the lush mountains. Soon, there would be freshly baked scones to accompany it. Ah, it was perfect.

A sweet sigh escaped her lips naturally, as she savored the rare moment of tranquility.

There weren’t many passengers on the train, especially in the dining car.

“…?”

However, she suddenly felt someone’s gaze, so Juliet looked up.

The unexpected culprit was sitting right in front of her.

A baby, sitting two seats ahead of Juliet, was staring at her with curious eyes.

‘So adorable…!’

Especially those soft, chubby cheeks looked incredibly cute.

She tried biting her lip to suppress her laughter, but Juliet couldn’t help but smile.

When Juliet smiled at the baby, the baby also smiled back and waved her hand at Juliet.

“Ba!”

“Oh, my. Why do you keep laughing and looking at someone, huh?”

The baby’s mother, sitting in the front seat, spoke like that, and Juliet quickly pretended to examine her teacup, as if she hadn’t been smiling at all.

A baby.

It was a presence that Juliet had never experienced even once in her two lifetimes.

“…”

The gentle smile vanished from Juliet’s face reflected in the tea water.

In fact, it almost happened once before.

In her first life, just before she died.

Even now, but especially in her first life, Juliet was truly an unremarkable and insignificant existence.

But when the doctor told her that she was pregnant, Juliet felt like she had become someone special. She was filled with hope that she could do anything.

However, it didn’t last long.

“Even if we don’t get married, we can still have a child, right, Lennox? If we have a baby-“

“There’s no ‘if,’ Juliet.”

But the only response she received was a cold rejection.

“Don’t you understand? Even if you have a child, there’s no point in giving birth.”

Even without those words, Juliet couldn’t hold the baby in her arms.

During her second life, Juliet would occasionally dwell on those cold words by herself.

Juliet absentmindedly toyed with the cold teacup.

Thud.

Suddenly, the train came to a halt.

Realizing this, she looked out the window.

The train Juliet boarded made several stops on its way to the eastern gate.

Just as passengers got off at intermediate stations, new passengers and luggage were picked up before continuing toward the destination.

Juliet, who was looking out the window, was startled when she suddenly heard a loud sound coming from the rear compartment.

Thud.

“Loaded!”

Juliet turned and looked back.

If you think about it, the last three cars of the train were intended for the luggage compartment.

She didn’t know what was loaded there, but it seemed to be something incredibly huge.

Just as Juliet was thinking that, suspicious men dressed all in black piled up on the train.

‘…Huh?’

Juliet narrowed her eyes in an instant.