Forgotten Juliet

* * *

Juliet returned to the clearing in the forest, covered in dirt.

Small torches were lit here and there in the modest clearing, and members wearing the symbol of the Marigold Guild bustled about.

They were looking down at the place where the entrance to the dungeon used to be, beneath a cliff that had completely collapsed.

Juliet watched this scene from the opposite direction, as she walked out of the forest.

“Juliet!”

The first to spot her was Helen.

Helen called out Juliet’s name like a scream. The people who ran to her quickly wrapped her messy body in a blanket.

“You’ll be alright.”

Roy put her down among the people.

Juliet, whose legs had given out, stood up on her own, dripping wet.

She wanted to faint on the spot, but Juliet had something to do before she lost consciousness.

As she looked at the people who were rushing toward her with her fading eyes, the person Juliet had been looking for broke through the crowd and ran toward her.

“Hey! You.”

It was Teo, his face pale with fear.

Juliet, as if she had been waiting, pushed away the people who were rushing toward her to support her and walked unsteadily toward Teo.

Theo also unconsciously stretched out his arms toward Juliet who was approaching him.

Anybody would have done the same, seeing Juliet walking like a newborn giraffe.

“Juliet! Can you, can you walk…?”

But Teo’s words were not finished.

Thump.

“Ugh!”

“…?”

The people who were prepared to shed tears of joy and emotion, expecting a moving reunion between the cousins, were a bit confused.

Juliet had suddenly punched Teo in the solar plexus.

“Hey!”

As Teo was doubling over with difficulty in breathing, Gray and Isaac rushed over from the other side.

“Juliet!”

“What the hell happened!”

Teo clenched his eyes shut and stepped forward. It was time to atone for his sin.

“Well…”

“We got lost.”

Thump.

The one who cut off his words was Juliet.

Ouch!

His solar plexus was still numb, and someone in the darkness stepped on his foot. Of course, it was Juliet again.

Teo, guilty of a great sin, couldn’t say a word and shut his mouth.

“I’m sorry, uncle. It’s all my fault. Don’t be angry with the magician.”

Juliet began to tear up.

Why me?

Eshel, who was singled out for no reason, made a puzzled expression as he stopped receiving treatment by the fire, but he had no time to protest.

“It’s my fault. I thought it would be okay. I insisted…”

Juliet summarized what happened, pretending to wipe her tears.

She explained how Magda saw the Guild’s procession and came for help, how she forgot to take off her communication bracelet and followed her, how she found the entrance to the dungeon where the children who had disappeared in the collapsed ground were.

“No matter what, to go without fear~!”

Isaac showed a rare angry expression.

However, he couldn’t stay angry for long when he saw Juliet, who looked like she could faint at any moment.

Isaac, trying to maintain as stern a face as possible toward his staggering niece, said firmly.

“We’ll deal with this later. Let’s get inside and get treatment first.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Gray and the people of the Guild took Juliet towards the carriage.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Isaac turned around.

“I don’t know how to thank you.”

There stood a group of people, silently watching the scene with interest.

They were roughly ten men and women, all with imposing builds and striking appearances.

Not just their looks, but their unique atmosphere made them stand out clearly.

They were wearing loose robes as ancient priests would, and the white garments with gold threads were definitely not of human weaving.

They seemed like priests from somewhere at a glance, but Isaac, who had been a hefty mercenary, instinctively knew.

Isaac bowed his head respectfully to show his gratitude.

“Thank you for saving my niece.”

They were clearly from the forest tribe.

Isaac was quite tense. Although he had experienced all sorts of things over the years as the head of Marigold and as a mercenary, this was his first time talking so closely with the Lycans.

The Werewolves, known as the tribe of the forest, were known to be very closed off and contemptuous of humans.

Especially, the kings of Katia, the rulers of the Silver Forest, had such an extreme hatred for humans that they even avoided speaking with them.

However, the young man who received Isaac’s thanks seemed to smile quite kindly.

He was the youngest in the group, but it wasn’t hard to guess that he was their representative.

“It was not something to be thanked for.”

The young man with silver-colored hair showed a rare friendly attitude towards Isaac’s courteousness.

Isaac felt a bit of hope.

Come to think of it, not long ago, there was a rumor that the Lord of the forest had changed. Since then, the Silver Forest had been excessively quiet… it was a story that was being passed over because of the calm atmosphere…

If the Lord had changed, and the nature of this new lord was friendly towards humans? This young man might also be part of the new Lord’s faction.

With a bit of expectation, Isaac introduced himself politely.

“My name is Isaac Lebatan of the Marigold Guild.”

The young man looked at the hand extended to him for a moment, and soon shook Isaac’s hand lightly.

“I’m Romeo Pascal. You can call me Roy.”

“Thank you for saving my niece. I don’t know how to repay this kindness.”

“No, I just returned the favor.”

“A favor?”

This time, Isaac looked completely confused.

Roy smiled broadly.

* * *

“I’m sorry, because of me…”

Juliet, who had popped her head out of the blanket, apologized to Helen.

It was her first time being sick outside of her home.

Helen had brought an incredibly fancy carriage from somewhere.

Actually, the fancy part wasn’t that important. The most important thing was that the inside of the carriage of that size was filled with soft things, making it almost like a moving bed.

She didn’t know how Helen could bring such a thing even in the middle of a mountain in just a few hours, but it seemed like she used the power of the Marigold Guild.

“Don’t be silly.”

Helen saw that Juliet was looking quite upset.

“Don’t say such things and just sleep and rest. That’s how you’ll get better fast, okay?”

“Yes.”

Juliet felt a bit embarrassed as she felt like she had become a child.

The urgent luggage was sent ahead to Carcassonne by the people of the Guild while they were looking for Eshel and Juliet.

Thanks to that, the only ones moving with the slow carriage were Juliet, Roy’s group, and uncle’s family.

Juliet, who was tossing and turning, looked at the glass on the small side table.

What was in it was iced tea with ice, and water droplets were forming all over the surface of the glass.

‘Ice in a mountain valley.’

Even if the Marigold Guild was big, it must have been quite hard to get here. But guessing who had brought it wasn’t that hard.

“Huh? What are you doing here?”

“Ah… just. Don’t bother me and go away.”

“What? You’re funny, this guy. What are you doing?”

“Ah, just! Mind your own business and leave…!”

She heard the familiar voices of the brothers bickering right outside the carriage.

Teo desperately trying to keep his voice down was being relentlessly teased by Gray. His voice was full of mischief.

Juliet smiled broadly.

She had been bothered by the rustling outside the carriage for a while now, and it seemed to be Teo.

Juliet narrowed her eyes.

‘Heh. He must have felt guilty.’

But Juliet wasn’t ready to forgive him yet, so she buried her head in the soft pillow.

Due to the fever, she fell asleep in no time.