Forgotten Juliet

At that moment, as always, a crack appeared in the perfect expression of Pope Sebastian, who wore a mask-like smile.

The statue of the Sorrowful Saintess was perfect.

She wore a crown of thorns, holding a sword in one hand and scales in the other.

The sculptor Magda from Canabel Village hesitated for a long time as she neared the completion of the statue of the Sorrowful Saintess.

“What expression should the Sorrowful Saintess have?”

The Sorrowful Saintess, known as the last sword of the goddess Ifrit, descends to the earth spreading her thirteen wings.

She only revealed herself to humans once.

When the end times prophesied in the apocalypse approach, she will descend for judgment.

For centuries, the Sorrowful Saintess has provoked the ambition of artists.

Artists tried every way to express the beauty steeped in sorrow.

However, Magda boldly chose a neutral expression.

And her choice was right.

The statue was beautiful.

But the reason it caught attention wasn’t just its beauty.

Although steeped in sorrow, the Saintess didn’t shed tears. She was resolute and solemn, more overwhelming than any other statue they had seen.

“This is…”

Even Archbishop Solon, who was about to mock the statue, was left speechless.

It truly possessed the dignity fitting for the sword of judgment.

Seeing the shocked expression on Archbishop Solon’s face, Gilliam smiled inwardly.

He felt that the effort of transporting the flawless statue from the remote mountain village had paid off.

Lost in admiring the statue, Solon suddenly came to his senses.

Reluctantly, he had to admit that the statue of the Sorrowful Saintess Gilliam brought was excellent.

Archbishop Solon coughed needlessly.

“Well, it’s… better than I thought. Acceptable, I suppose…”

“Your Holiness?”

But it wasn’t the time for Gilliam to laugh at Archbishop Solon’s bruised pride.

Archbishop Gilliam looked at the Pope in surprise.

Then he realized that Pope Sebastian had been silent since he was led to the statue.

Curious, Archbishop Solon also looked at the Pope in surprise.

“Your Holiness…!”

Tears flowed from the Pope’s eyes.

While gazing at the statue, Sebastian stood still, crying.

It was a very strange sight.

It was a sight Gilliam had never seen, even though he had served three popes in Lucerne.

In fact, Gilliam realized for the first time that Sebastian, a man often surrounded by dubious rumors, could cry.

The Inquisitor, known to be without blood or tears, crying at the sight of the statue?

Both Gilliam and Solon found the situation hard to believe.

Solon sneaked another glance at the statue.

It was indeed a magnificent piece, but not to the extent of overwhelming someone to tears. Was His Holiness always this emotional?

The two archbishops, who were at odds, stood side by side with their mouths agape, when the Pope quietly called them.

“Archbishop Gilliam.”

“Yes?”

“Who made this, and where are they from?”

“It’s from a devout sculptor from a small village in the east called Canabel… Her name is Magda.”

“I need to see her immediately.”

“?!.”

“Yes? Your Holiness! But…”

“No, it would be faster if I went myself.”

Without waiting for the reactions of the two senior archbishops, Pope Sebastian stood up and left.

The two archbishops, left behind, blinked their eyes in unison for a while.

5. The Feast of Sorrow

Juliet quietly looked out of the moving carriage.

The shapes of marble buildings rising like jagged rocks seemed more strange than beautiful.

Maybe it’s because of the shining gold covering them.

“Is this your first festival, Juliet?”

At Helen’s question, Juliet finally looked up.

“Yes. It’s also my first time in Lucerne.”

“Oh my goodness.”

Surprised by the unexpected answer, Helen clapped her hands.

“Lucky! Then you can enjoy many fun things this time.”

Juliet gave a faint smile at her enthusiasm.

Juliet was now visiting the festival of Lucerne with her aunt Helen.

Lucerne was a small city-state governed by the Pope and the Papal Office, and only 48 families could participate in the feast.

‘The 48 Seats of Lucerne,’ they called it.

It referred to the 48 families who were treated as VIPs by the Papal Office.

“It means they made a huge donation.”

From behind, Teo whispered to Juliet in a voice only she could hear.

Juliet chuckled softly.

True to the devout eastern people, it was unexpected, but Lionel Lebatan was a devout believer. He consistently donated, and every year the Lebatan family was invited to the festival.

To the curious Juliet, Teo grumbled that he had seen enough of it to be bored and was no longer curious or fun.

Juliet habitually fiddled with the silver key-shaped pendant hanging around her neck.

Juliet’s late mother, Lillian, was also deeply devout.

When Juliet was very young, she had been very sick. Lillian had requested them to send a high-ranking healing priest.

Juliet herself couldn’t remember any of this.

On the other hand, during her stay in the North with Lennox, Juliet had never visited a temple.

There were no temples in the North.

Starting with Lennox, the people of the North were indifferent to religion, and Juliet hesitated to visit temples because of her thoughts on Dahlia.

‘That’s a good thing, right?’

At least here, there would be no chance of running into Duke Lennox Carlyle.

It would be impossible for the Carlyle family to be among the 48 seats even in the afterlife.

Juliet liked that fact.

It had been two weeks since Juliet had accidentally met and parted with Lennox Carlyle.

During that time, Juliet relaxed thoughtlessly, traveling between Algiero and Carcassonne.

Since then, there was neither a visit from Lennox nor any news of him.

There was no further news about the secret progress of ‘Duke Carlyle’s Wedding,’ which had been whispered among some top-ranking nobles.

Juliet didn’t know how the ongoing deals with the nobles had turned out.

Juliet deliberately lost interest.

As Juliet was preparing to return to the capital as a Countess, Helen suggested going to Lucerne to enjoy a festival.

“What is the must-see in Lucerne?”

Helen, who jumped out of the carriage, asked as she walked ahead.

Should she answer?

While Juliet was puzzled, the expression of Helen’s son, Teo, and the hired magician, Eshelrid, looked like ‘Here she goes again.’

“Um, the temple ceremony?”

“Yes! Shopping!”

Helen cheerfully snapped her fingers.

Snap.

A cheerful sound rang out.

Then, Helen led Juliet to the shopping district of Lucerne.

Despite being a small city-state, its shopping district was on par with the boutique street ‘Birchwood Road’ in the Empire’s capital.

And Helen’s consumption was just like the owner of Marigold Guild, one of the five major nobles on the continent.

“That!”

“…”

“This too!”

“…”

“No, no, a different color!”

Helen swept up everything in sight.

At first, Juliet hesitated, wondering if this was okay, but it had been a long time since she went shopping with someone after her mother’s passing, so it was fun.

Moreover, after Juliet once refused an expensive gift saying ‘I can’t accept something so expensive, auntie…’, she was assigned the task of spending three hundred gold every day for a week, and after that, Juliet never hesitated with Helen.

Helen, who could be mistaken for a boy with her short, shimmering blonde hair, had an outstanding sense of style.

Helen took Juliet around every boutique in Lucerne.

For some reason, the boutique clerks treated Helen’s words as gospel.

Juliet tried on hats, gloves, and shoes as instructed by Helen.

“There’s a banquet tonight!”

But after circling all of Lucerne’s shopping streets, Juliet’s journey wasn’t over.

“Today is the first day, so it’s the most important, understand?”

Helen smiled broadly and handed Juliet over to the boutique clerks.

“Make sure it’s perfect!”

With a commanding tone.

A moment later, a clerk brought out a dress.

Juliet was slightly taken aback when handed a dress that seemed to have been in fashion a few hundred years ago.

It was a design that went straight over the shoulders and hid the body’s curves, fitting for a temple in some ways.

It was quite different from the attire she wore in the North or the capital. When she inquired, she was told Lucerne had its own dress code.

It might be Helen’s taste, but Juliet liked the dress.

“Miss, your waist.”

That was before the clerk started tightening an old-fashioned corset around her.

She almost screamed for them to stop, but the clerk, seeming to anticipate Juliet’s feelings, acted swiftly.

“Lady Helen instructed us to ensure it’s perfect!”

They tightly laced Juliet into the corset, then dressed her in a white negligee and a red dress.

Then, they brushed and styled her voluminous auburn hair, partly braiding it and pinning it up.

Lastly, they adorned her with a tiara decorated with rubies and pearls.

“Oh my.”

A few hours later, Helen, who briefly dropped by to see Juliet, exclaimed in admiration.

“You look unrecognizably beautiful, Juliet!”

Then Helen whispered as if telling a secret.

“Someone will come to escort you later. Just wait a little.”