Forgotten Juliet

* * *

“Then, this magical tool is…!”

Merat stopped introducing the auction item when he saw a woman entering and taking a seat from the entrance.

‘Hmm?’

It was the same woman from earlier. The sucker who half-heartedly gave him a silver coin upon entry.

‘It seemed like she left earlier, but she’s back?’

Although Merat was slightly annoyed, he continued with the auction without hesitation.

After all, she hadn’t won any bids before. She looked young and probably didn’t have enough money. She must’ve just come to watch.

“Now, the bidding for this sacred relic will start at 70 gold…”

“Here!”

As soon as the auction began, the woman eagerly raised her hand and shouted.

“I’ll buy that!”

…Is she really an idiot?

Merat sneered inwardly.

“Pardon me, lady, this item starts from 70 gold…”

However, the woman genuinely paid the price.

Swoosh.

“Is this enough?”

She instantly revealed a handful of gold coins from her bag.

“Huh, of course, lady!”

The item the woman won was a colorful glass cup decorated with gem-like crystals. It looked beautiful, but wasn’t very practical.

If it wasn’t a sacred relic, it wasn’t worth the price she paid.

“Wow, it’s beautiful…”

‘So naive. Doesn’t she realize it’s a fake?’

Of course, it was actually a counterfeit, not a genuine sacred relic. However, she didn’t seem to notice the cup was fake and admired it innocently.

“Now, the next item is a sacred relic from 3 centuries ago.”

Crash!

Just as he was about to proceed with the auction, the sound of something breaking was heard.

“Are you alright, miss? You should have been careful.”

“Uh…”

The same woman from before had broken the glass.

‘She wouldn’t ask for a refund just because she broke it, would she?’

Merat quickly approached, pretending to console her, but muttered under his breath.

“Heh, fools are always the easiest to deceive.”

“Hmm?”

“Oh, nothing. Did you hurt yourself?”

“Uh.”

Fortunately, she wasn’t that naïve. She didn’t ask for a refund.

Juliet won several sacred relics. Merat began to think that this ‘sucker’ was a god-sent angel.

‘I had such a good dream last night!’

“If I may present this ivory porcelain”

“I’ll buy that too!”

“Sold!”

Merat, who was in high spirits, was momentarily taken aback.

Unlike before, Juliet didn’t wait at her seat for the item to be delivered but directly came onto the stage.

“Wa-wait a minute!”

“Hmm?”

Crash!

“…!”

Predictably, the carefree Juliet, who had climbed up to the stage, had accidentally dropped the porcelain. The ivory porcelain shattered upon hitting the floor.

Merat was livid.

“What the hell! Do you know how much that costs? Such an insane woman…!”

“Why?”

“What?”

“It’s my item since I paid for it. Why are you fussing about its price?”

A flustered Merat couldn’t immediately grasp the situation.

Seeing him like this, Juliet coldly whispered:

“Why? Is it because this one’s real?”

“Wha…?”

“You didn’t fuss when I broke the glass cup earlier. Why is your attitude different now?”

The face of the naïve young girl from a while ago was nowhere to be seen.

“Aha, I get it.”

With a cold and rational expression, the girl smirked.

“So, the gem cup and sacred relic you gave me earlier were fake replicas, and this one was the real deal before being swapped?”

“What… are you talking about?”

This isn’t good.

Merat felt cold sweat dripping down his back.

“What? They’re replicas?”

“Fakes? He swapped the items?”

A stir began among the crowded audience in the auction hall.

“No, that’s not true! Fake? Such baseless accusations…!”

In a hurry, Merat decided to stubbornly insist without reason.

“Really?”

Juliet smiled slyly and called someone from the entrance.

“Teo!”

The one who fidgeted and entered was the youngest grandson of the Lebatan family, known for his mischief.

“These people are trying to corner me…! I am innocent!”

Merat, terrified, shouted out, but following Teo was a person of small stature. He was a priest wearing an all-white robe.

“It’s a priest?”

“Why is a priest here…?”

Murmurs echoed.

Juliet, with a playful smile, spoke to the priest.

“Sir, would you please authenticate the relics on this stage and the ones I’ve won?”

“Yes, of course.”

The priest answered with a melodious voice.

“Wait a minute!”

Merat’s jaw trembled.

He barely understood the situation. However, he couldn’t refute Juliet’s words.

“What are you waiting for? Why not authenticate the relics as the lady said?”

“No, no! Everyone, there’s been a misunderstanding…”

With a loud crash, something from the wagon began to be lifted onto the stage.

“What is that?”

“Is it a relic?”

“Why are there two of the same kind?”

Merat clenched his eyes shut.

His chin trembled. If they revealed that too, it was game over.

Merat quickly ran to Juliet’s feet, kneeled, and whispered.

“Miss, you are right… I’ll refund everything you’ve paid until now…”

“That’s not the point.”

“Excuse me?”

Juliet suddenly stretched out her hand.

“You took the entrance fee from me earlier, didn’t you? Give it back.”

What in the world…?

While flustered, Merat hurriedly placed the silver coins he had taken earlier onto her palm.

“Yes, yes! I’ll refund everything. Just please, don’t reveal those items.”

“Why?”

“Excuse me?”

Juliet spoke with a bright smile.

“You said earlier, ‘Fools are always the easiest to deceive”, right?”

Merat’s eyes rolled back.

“This, this…!”

Such a wicked woman!

* * *

In fact, Juliet’s plan was quite simple.

Pay for a fake, steal the real item before the other side gets suspicious, then expose them, get the money back, and secure the real relic.

“You, let go! Don’t you know who’s behind me? Hey!”

Merat was taken away red-handed.

Perhaps it was for the best.

If he hadn’t been dragged out, he might have been beaten to death by the angry people inside the auction hall.

“These reckless scoundrels!”

But as he was dragged away, Merat shouted something strange.

“I am trusted by Marquis Guinness! I won’t let this go!”

Marquis Guinness?

“Who’s that?”

The name was unfamiliar to Teo.

However, Juliet’s face turned pale.

Marquis Guinness was a noble from the south. His son, Marquise Casper, was engaged to Princess Priscilla, the Emperor’s niece, and was also a leading figure in an old noble alliance that opposed Duke Carlyle.

And-

In her previous life, he was Juliet’s fifth husband.

It was because her uncle, Baron Gaspal, had sold Juliet to him.

“What happened? Why did you go pale? Who’s this Guinness?”

Teo asked, but Juliet couldn’t find the words to reply.

“No, it’s nothing.”

Of course, the situations from then and now were different. In this life, Juliet had nothing to do with him.

However, every time she saw Marquis Guinness acting decently in public, she often felt disgusted, remembering how he had abused her up until her death in her previous life.

But Marquis Guinness was a noble of the south. Carcassonne was in the east, the territory of the Aquitas family, so why did a southern noble have influence in the east?

As Juliet was recalling how it had been in her previous life, Teo whispered:

“Hey, about that last porcelain you broke.”

“The ivory porcelain?”

“Yeah. Isn’t that a bit wasteful? It’s one of the more expensive relics…”

Suddenly, Juliet pulled out a white porcelain from a box stacked behind and hugged it close to Teo, smiling playfully.

“The one I broke was fake.”