Forgotten Juliet

* * *

Sshhhhh!

They didn’t know what was going on, but they were certain they had angered the sleeping monster.

Juliet was barely clinging onto the side of a cliff.

As the serpent monster writhed, the terrain changed so much that it was hard to even call it a cliff anymore.

“!”

“Quickly, come this way!”

Magda urgently called out to Juliet.

The fortunate thing was that Magda and the children. Eshelrid had timely taken refuge in a crevice near the cliff.

‘Of course, it’s difficult to climb up with that snake holding on like that…’

If they could divert the snake’s attention for a moment, they seemed to be able to climb up the cliff.

“Juliet!”

Hanging at the edge of the cliff, Juliet thought calmly.

‘Can I do it?’

As she thought this, Juliet’s body moved on its own without her knowing.

“Jul-”

Eshel’s eyes widened.

With an unknowing look on her face, Juliet stepped onto the cliff’s edge and stood up. The butterflies began to gather around her.

But the truly strange thing happened next.

Shhh…

The writhing, angered snake suddenly became quiet.

…An illusion?

Eshel instinctively realized what was going on.

“Magda, take the children and quickly climb up!”

* * *

Snap.

The connection broke and the moment consciousness returned to normal, Juliet felt a headache and swayed slightly on the spot.

Shh!

Unfortunately, at the same time the connection broke, the snake monster began to writhe in pain as well.

“Juliet!”

From above, Eshel reached out urgently.

But Juliet already knew that her hand was absurdly far away.

By the time Eshel called her name, Juliet was already losing her balance and falling below.

Ah, this is not good.

Juliet regretted it, feeling faint.

She shouldn’t have meddled in what wasn’t her business.

She felt as if she were falling slowly.

‘Is this what a slow-motion fall feels like?’

Juliet closed her eyes in resignation.

But there was no flash of past memories all at once.

During the slow fall, the only thing Juliet thought of was one thing.

‘If I die, will you cry for me?’

Inappropriately enough, she couldn’t think of anything but him. But Juliet knew the answer.

It was a story that had already ended.

The chances were high that he would never know who died in the collapsed dungeon.

Suddenly, butterflies with bright blue wings fluttered around her in a swarm.

From afar, it looked as if she was enveloped in blue petals.

As Juliet was about to hit the ground, she tightly closed her eyes, bracing for the impact.

Thud.

‘…Huh?’

However, she didn’t feel the expected pain.

Juliet slowly opened her eyes, sensing something odd. She was about to do so. But before she could fully see…

“!”

Suddenly, she felt a jerk.

The drastic change in direction, compared to the slow fall just moments ago, made Juliet dizzy.

Before she could even grasp what was happening, Juliet realized that it was because someone had caught her waist in midair.

“Lord!”

When she heard a strange voice shouting loudly, she was on someone’s shoulder.

When she strained to open her eyes, what appeared before her was a giant wolf with red fur.

The wolf leaped over the gaping serpent monster.

“Nathan!”

“I told you to take her out!”

Juliet heard a familiar voice.

Bam!

Kieee!

In the brief moment when she looked away, the snake monster was screaming, but she didn’t know what had happened.

And the very next moment.

Boom!

For a moment, there was a flash of light, and the body of the snake monster was slammed against one side of the cliff.

“Juliet!”

She was pulled up onto the cliff.

Juliet, who was completely dazed, only then realized that she was standing on solid ground for the first time in three days.

“Hello, Juliet.”

A pair of pumpkin-colored eyes seemed to be happily smiling at her.

* * *

When Juliet  was on the surface, she wasn’t in her right mind.

Maybe it was due to the poison emitted by the dying, writhing giant snake monster, her head felt foggy and dizzy.

‘Is this what it feels like to use drugs?’

The fact that she was even thinking this way proved that she wasn’t in her right mind.

She didn’t feel like vomiting, but after falling off the cliff and being carried around like a piece of luggage, her body ached as if it would shatter.

Therefore, it wasn’t until the poison wore off a little that Juliet realized she was sitting in the middle of a peaceful forest.

The group that brought her here were all strikingly attractive.

They were all significantly taller and healthier-looking than ordinary people.

One by one, they glanced at Juliet with inexplicable eyes, and then disappeared somewhere.

“You’re Juliet?”

So, only two remained by Juliet’s side, looking down at her.

When the woman started to speak, the man abruptly cut her off.

“Don’t act so cocky, Elsa.”

The woman referred to as ‘Elsa’ was a woman with a head full of voluminous, golden curls. She was an extraordinarily beautiful woman with long, slender limbs and height to match.

“It’s so boring. Nathan, this is why you’re not popular.”

Nathan, the man Elsa referred to, raised his eyebrow.

Nathan was a muscular man with short brown hair.

He gave off an ascetic vibe, like a monk. He was quite handsome when he was quiet, but the tattoo on his shoulder was striking.

Elsa grumbled, but she kept her eyes on Juliet.

With her arms crossed, Elsa squatted down next to Juliet and looked down at her.

It seemed as if she didn’t cross her arms, she might have reached out to touch Juliet at any moment.

“Wow.”

However, not touching Juliet didn’t mean Elsa wouldn’t do anything strange.

Sniff sniff.

“Really? You seem to have a nice smell.”

Elsa was excited, her eyes sparkling.

“Nathan, look at her! She smells like wild strawberries!”

…What smell?

Juliet, who knew she was covered in dirt and blood, doubted her own ears. She had no choice but to be flustered.

“There’s no way, you idiot.”

Nathan retorted, but Elsa still seemed pleased.

She kept hanging around Juliet, looking like a child with a new toy.

She wriggled around as if she were impatient to play with a puppy or kitten.

Her hands were busy folding and unfolding, as if she wanted to touch Juliet who was sitting still with all her strength drained from her body.

“Hands off Juliet, Elsa.”

His voice was icy.

“Eek.”

Unlike the arguing with Nathan earlier, Elsa hastily retreated from Juliet.

“I really didn’t do anything!”

“Get lost.”

The person who spoke was a young man with silver-colored hair. After setting down his load, he retorted coldly.

“Go and call the humans.”

Nathan, who had been watching the man, quickly grabbed Elsa’s arm and dragged her away.

“Let’s go.”

“Hmph.”

Even as Elsa was dragged away by her collar, she couldn’t take her eyes off Juliet.

Juliet sat quietly in the middle of this scene, observing it all like a spectator.

Whether it was because she was intoxicated by the monster’s poison, she was confused.

“Are you okay?”

After chasing the two away, the man sat down in front of Juliet and met her eyes cautiously.

His demeanor was entirely different from how he had dealt with the other two.

Silver-gray hair, pale skin, and clear golden eyes.

In her dazed state, Juliet thought.

So, this man’s name is…

“….Romeo.”

Romeo. Roy. He was the one who saved Juliet.