Forgotten Juliet

“You’ll find out someday when you undergo blooming.”

The idiots who used to cower in front of him, claiming superiority just because they were born ahead of him, came to his mind.

“It means becoming an alpha and qualifying for the throne.”

That’s why Roy wiped the smug expression off their face. His father became furious.

Roy thought about his less competent siblings and their bonded partners. It seemed they had chosen partners who were perfectly suited to their nature.

But…

“Juliet. She said her name is Juliet.”

His cheeks welled up at the corner of his mouth as he chanted her name.

She suited him more than anyone else.

Blooming, what an exquisite word.

There would be no better expression for a woman who smiled, causing flower buds to bloom.

Kitan, who had been watching Roy with some concern, spoke up.

“It would be best for you to head to the southern forest for now. Hide yourself there, and I’ll…”

But Roy shook his head.

“No, I have to go back and see my father.”

“What? But…”

A glimmer of hope flickered on Kitan’s face.

He was Roy’s mother’s younger brother, or you could say his uncle in human terms.

Kitan was an esteemed member of the forest, entrusted by the elders and the lord. Whenever Roy clashed with the clan or trampled over his siblings, Kitan always tried to defend him somehow.

But last time, when he left his older brother half-dead, Kitan couldn’t protect him anymore. His actions had gone too far, and even Kitan couldn’t shield him.

The regenerative power of the great forest clan was formidable. Even with broken limbs, they could be completely healed within an hour. To reduce a creature with such monstrous regenerative ability, a direct descendant of the lord, to a barely breathing corpse…

Kitan shuddered.

The sight of his older brother’s body being toyed with as if it were a plaything, with a head larger than Roy’s.

In the end, Lord’s anger reached its peak, and he issued an exile order for his youngest son. It happened a month ago.

Throughout his search for Roy, Kitan had tried to persuade the leader.

And when Lord’s rage subsided slightly, he managed to find his nephew.

“Then… will you come with me?”

Kitan, who rarely showed emotions, couldn’t hide his excitement.

It was his exceptional nephew with outstanding qualities.

Considering that he hadn’t undergone transformation and was still emotionally immature and inexperienced, Kitan believed that there would be no better match for the king than Roy when he met his mate and matured.

Kitan swelled with hope that this time he might be able to reconcile the estranged family.

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

Roy nodded with a bright smile. Kitan’s face also lit up.

“Then I’ll inform others.”

“Yeah.”

Blinded by his expectations, Kitan didn’t notice how unusually happy his nephew seemed.

Before leaving the corridor with Kitan leading the way, Roy glanced once more at the empty room.

“If you want something, you should take it.”

Roy smiled mischievously.

A wolf never shows impatience when chasing its prey.

He instinctively knew that as long as Juliet was within his territory, they would meet again without haste.

* * *

As dawn approached and the first light of day seeped through the bedroom window, Lennox Carlyle briefly inspected the object placed on the table without looking at the documents. It was a round ivory plate that emitted a brilliant golden light.

Although it resembled a compass, unlike an ordinary compass, it had no needle. Instead, beams of light continuously emanated from it, always pointing in one direction.

After some time, the beams of light dimmed slightly.

“My lord.”

Before Hadin, who had been monitoring his reactions, could say anything, Duke Carlyle swiftly picked up the dagger placed beside him. Then, without a moment’s hesitation, he brought down his left palm, which had not yet healed.

Squish.

Following a chilling sound, a stream of bright red blood splattered onto the pristine ivory plate.

However, instead of being stained with red, the object quickly absorbed the blood and emitted a bright beam of light again.

It was as if it was grotesquely sucking in the blood.

Hadin, who had been watching the scene right beside him, inwardly bit his tongue. Even he, who was accustomed to all sorts of dangerous situations, couldn’t help but frown.

‘I’m tired of this.’

The ivory plate was a relic that Lennox Carlyle had forcefully plundered from the temple.

The Hundred Eyes of Argos that he had acquired was such an ignorant object.

They called it a sacred relic, but what nonsense.

It would have been more fitting for it to be a relic of the demons.

It claimed to reveal the location of a person thousands of kilometers away, which was quite astonishing, but in return, it had to be fed with human blood once every hour.

The usage was too barbaric. Moreover, it was inefficient.

What truly irritated Hadin was Duke Carlyle, who sat still and mechanically repeated the act of draining his blood every time the beams of light weakened.

“So, is this all you found out?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Lennox turned his gaze back to the documents as if nothing had happened.

Hadin’s concern gradually grew.

He would have preferred to see the master going alone into the forest of demons and staying trapped for hours, rather than this.

They were staying in an empty mansion in an area slightly away from the jurisdiction.

Hadin didn’t know much about how things were going.

As a retainer of the Duke, he was optimized for following orders without questioning the master.

However, all he knew was that Lennox, who went to the Emperor’s coronation yesterday, divided the Duke’s followers into two groups.

Lennox didn’t seem anxious or despondent. He simply maintained a calm attitude as if he was just doing what needed to be done.

It was a fact that Hadin had forgotten for quite some time, but Duke Carlyle had an unsettling aspect that made people uneasy.

‘The only thing that surprisingly softens that atmosphere is Juliet Monad.’

Hadin already missed the taciturn woman.

It had been four days since Juliet Monad escaped from the Duke’s residence.

Duke Carlyle’s anger upon realizing her disappearance was immense.

The members of the Duke’s household were worried that if Juliet was caught, there would be a big problem.

To their surprise, Lennox Carlyle, who had blocked the station and chased after the woman, returned empty-handed.

Upon seeing Duke Carlyle return alone, they were initially concerned about Juliet’s well-being.

However, according to the Eyes of Argos, it seemed like she had safely escaped the capital.

He was merely curious about what words had been exchanged between the two.

Hadin glanced at the table discreetly. The eerie relic was continuously revealing the location of Juliet Monad, who was steadily getting farther away.

“Go and check.”

“Yes.”

However, even after giving the response, Hadin didn’t immediately withdraw but stood there for a moment.

Seeing him like that, Lennox raised an eyebrow with a puzzled expression.

“Why, do you also have something to say about Juliet?”

“…No, I don’t. I will go and check.”

Click. As Hadin closed the door and left, Lennox stared at the closed door as if he couldn’t believe it.

It was unclear when the members of the Duke’s household had become so suspicious with him.

Moreover, Hadin hadn’t even met Juliet face to face a few times, if not less?

They could count on one hand the number of times they exchanged greetings.

Furthermore, he hadn’t done anything yet. And yet, they treated Lennox as if he would do something terrible to Juliet.

Contrary to Hadin’s concerns, Lennox Carlyle’s mind was incredibly clear.

He set down the documents he had been holding.

Since Juliet had gone into hiding, the past few days had been strange.

Lennox was realizing how low he could stoop each day.

What Hadin had brought earlier was Juliet’s past history, as Lennox had instructed.

When he first gave the order to find out about Juliet, even he couldn’t believe it. After living side by side for seven years, what else was there to know?

But now, there was no trace of hesitation or conscience.

Flick.

With a light touch of his fingertips, the documents on the desk scattered and fell in disarray.

The relic from the cathedral only revealed her location, but it didn’t provide any insight into what Juliet was thinking.

Perhaps, the reason she left without saying anything to him might be found in her past records.

Delving into someone’s past movements was an unfamiliar feeling.

It finally dawned on him. Juliet Monad was a simple Count’s daughter.

Even if she hadn’t lost both parents in an unfortunate accident, even if her family hadn’t fallen apart, if only she hadn’t caught his attention, her life would have been relatively smooth.

She would have married her ordinary fiancé and had children, just like she once mentioned, living in a fairy-tale-like village with a dog by her side.

“I want to live quietly, ordinarily, like everyone else.”

“…Ordinarily?”

And in that process, Lennox realized how much further he could fall as a human.

“Well, then you shouldn’t have caught my attention.”

His tone twisted cruelly.

Among Juliet’s unremarkable past records, there was one thing he had overlooked for a long time.

It was such a minor and insignificant detail that he hadn’t even thought about it.

Juliet had a fiancé. A former fiancé who currently worked in the East.