Forgotten Juliet

* * *

Juliet was on her way from Lobell to Carcassonne. More precisely, she was atop a mountain range.

She had bid a regretful goodbye to her grandfather Lionel Lebatan. Lionel had suggested that Juliet could stay, but she refused.

She left Lobell for Carcassonne with her cousins, Isaac, Teo and Gray.

She planned to spend a few days in Carcassonne, where the headquarters of the Marigold Merchants’ Guild was located, to meet her aunt Helen before saying goodbye.

Thanks to the message Isaac had sent to Helen via a communication device, they were able to plan a meeting at a midpoint between Lobell and Carcassonne.

But then-

“That’s amazing.”

Juliet muttered her sincere admiration.

Looking at the endless procession of wagons and carts spread out in front of her, she could not help but express her admiration.

Upon hearing her words, Gray and Isaac laughed.

‘I thought I wouldn’t be surprised since you often come across people from the Lobell Ash Merchants’ Guild.’

She had forgotten. The Marigold Merchants’ Guild was a well-known organization long before she came to the East.

“Juliet!”

While observing the large procession, someone called out Juliet’s name.

Before she could confirm who it was, someone had already embraced her in a hug.

She was surprised. It was as if they were greeting someone they had parted with yesterday.

“I’m so happy to finally meet you, Juliet.”

The person who greeted her warmly with a bright smile was a woman with striking short blonde hair.

When she first heard about Helen, she had imagined a charismatic beauty or a female warrior. But the real Helen was petite but had a strong presence.

“Is this your first time in Carcassonne?”

Helen, her eyes sparkling, confidently asked.

“We’re going to have so much fun!”

Her voice sounded cheerful.

She shared plenty of fun plans to spend their time together. Juliet already liked her a lot.

* * *

Helen, with her striking short blonde hair and affectionate hazel eyes, was a lively woman. Despite being the mother of two grown sons, Gray and Teo, she was vibrant, almost unrecognizable as their mother.

Walking briskly among the guild caravans, the petite Helen, with her short golden hair, could be mistaken for a boy from afar.

But she was the rightful head of the Marigold Merchants’ Guild.

The Marigold Merchants’ Guild was one of the top three in the East in terms of size.

Juliet suddenly remembered the members of the Ash Merchants’ Guild from Lobell who had been unusually kind to her.

“What about the Silverthorn Guild?”

The Silverthorn Guild, along with Marigold, was a large guild that dominated the eastern market, and it was rumored that the Ash Guild was in fact a brother guild to the Silverthorn Guild.

She felt uneasy about the Ash Guild having a branch in Lobell.

“Ah, well….”

When Juliet asked, Helen pretended to be in deep thought and then winked at her.

‘Aha..’

Juliet quickly understood the hidden meaning behind the gesture.

It meant that two of the five major guilds that dominated the continent were owned by Lionel.

‘Isn’t that really amazing?’

She hadn’t expected that rumor to be true.

There had been many speculations about the whereabouts of Lionel Lebatan, who had disappeared one day, but in reality, he was still ruling half of the continent.

Although he was not as infamous as before, he had a quicker and more prosperous approach,

‘Ah..’

As far as Juliet was thinking, she suddenly had a revelation.

‘The treasure of the Red King.’

The countless rumors about that treasure that excited people were obviously false.

The Red King had undoubtedly found the most efficient and safe way to preserve his treasure.

Juliet smiled broadly.

Certainly, creating the guild was a good choice.

“The guild can’t operate without a mother.”

Gray had said so just before they met Helen, with a sigh that had no clear meaning.

Juliet thought that was an expression of respect from a son who had a competent mother. But after meeting Helen herself, she understood.

It was neither flattery nor a polite phrase.

“Madam!”

Just by looking at the guild members who were calling out to Helen from all around, it was evident.

Helen, with Juliet in tow, strolled lightly through the crowd of guild members.

“Did those fools bother you?”

Juliet smiled broadly.

“I wasn’t bothered.”

“I told them not to.”

Helen sighed.

“I’ve warned Isaac. Please, don’t do that.”

Helen wanted to make that point clear.

It seemed that the clumsy play in Lobell was Isaac’s idea, her big uncle.

“I said you might get suspicious and run away, but he insisted that it would never happen.”

Juliet lightly laughed at Helen’s words. She wasn’t scared and didn’t run away. But it was suspicious to that extent.

“He’s a bit immature, your uncle,” Helen sighed deeply and shook her head slowly.

But in her tone was an affection for her husband, and Juliet smiled slightly at that.

As befits the leader of the Marigold, Helen had a knack for naturally leading conversations.

Juliet hadn’t particularly noticed, but at some point, she was making eye contact and greeting people, led by Helen’s pacing.

“Mr. Zachary already knows, right?” Helen who was walking ahead cheerfully asked.

“Yes.”

Zachary, who was playing with his daughter Lisbell, spotted Juliet and Helen and greeted them with a smile.

“Sister!” Lisbell, who was cuddled in her father’s arms, waved her adorable hand at Juliet.

Zachary had accompanied the leadership on a business trip with his wife to the Carcassonne Trade Union.

Seeing that Lizbel didn’t mention her mother, Juliet, who had been imagining a sad story, felt like a mystery had been solved.

‘Some kind of a weekend couple, I guess.’

Juliet understood it roughly like that.

“Over there is our accountant, Shirley. And next to her is Lila and Kite.”

Helen introduced each member briefly as they passed with a brisk stride.

“This is Felix, a veteran hunter. Ah, Marvin! Marvin is my personal secretary.”

It was roughly like that.

Helen moved around between the carriages and briefly introduced Juliet to everyone’s role and name in the order they came into view.

There was never a moment of hesitation or blockage.

‘She remembers the names and faces of all these people.’ 

Juliet admired it internally.

That’s when it happened.

Rumble!

There was a loud noise somewhere, then a burst of screams.

“It’s collapsing!”

“Everyone, get out of the way!”

When they turned to where the sound was coming from, part of the pile of luggage on the carriage was collapsing.

“Darn it!”

The members who grasped the situation quickly dodged. But in the direction of the collapsing pile of luggage, there were still some people left panicking and unable to get out of the way.

“What are you doing not moving out of the way!”

“Catch the rope!”

But it seemed too late to avoid the accident.

Amidst everyone screaming in shock and rushing over…

Whack!

The broken rope tightened again.

People who were bracing for a horrific tragedy were momentarily bewildered.

“Don’t worry, Helen! I’ve got it!”

From a distance, they could see Isaac cheerfully waving his hand with the rope clenched in one hand.

She didn’t know how it was possible, but just before the pile of luggage collapsed, Isaac had swiftly ran to the opposite side and pulled the broken rope.

While Isaac was holding the rope and standing his ground, people who had nearly been crushed managed to escape safely.

The shocked members of the leadership all rushed to help Isaac.

“Ma-master!”

“Hmm?”

“Let go of that now! No, no…!”

“You have to let go slowly!”

“Ahhh!”

“I can’t live like this, really…”

Juliet, who was standing right next to her, clearly heard Helen muttering with her hand on her head.

“But it’s cute that he’s like that.”

Helen sighed deeply and shook her head slowly. Juliet, thinking that she understood what kind of relationship this couple had, smiled slightly.

“Eshel!”

The members who were moving the fallen boxes called someone, and a man suddenly appeared from a gap in the pile of luggage.

He was a tall and slim man, he listened to some explanation, then reached out towards the luggage.

Pop!

A momentary white light flashed from his fingertips. Seeing that, Juliet opened her eyes wide.

Now they called him from another side.

“Eshelrid! Take a look here too!”

“It would slow us down if I had to put an enhancement spell on everything, that was what the deputy said.”

“That was then!”

The somewhat nervous-looking Eshel seemed to be moving around the procession, casting enhancement magic here and there.

‘Ah.’

Juliet, even before she was introduced to him, retreated in tension.

‘A magician!’

The moment their eyes met, the sound of butterflies excitedly fluttering started to echo in her head.