Forgotten Juliet

* * *

A moment later.

“Hey, Juliet!”

The door to the reception room swung open without a knock.

Walking briskly into the empty reception room was Teo Lebatan, one of the visitors.

Teo had chanced upon Juliet from a distance a while ago and had followed her.

He wasn’t sure why she was dressed in the robes of a priest, but it was unmistakably Juliet. Teo, with his distinct red hair, looked around the room suspiciously and furrowed his brow.

“What the? Where is she?”

Where did she go?

“You shouldn’t just barge in like that, brother!”

The guardian priest, who had been guarding the entrance, hurriedly followed with a shout.

“I told you! This area is off-limits– ugh!”

True to his notorious reputation, the youngest son of the Lebatan family grabbed the pursuing priest by the collar and pushed him.

“So, are you saying I was seeing illusions?”

“No, no… His Holiness said that no one should disturb this place…”

The grabbed priest sweated profusely.

Theo suspiciously looked at the empty room again. However, he couldn’t see any other exit.

Strange. He was sure he saw her go in here.

“The sister might be elsewhere–”

“How do you know whether she’s my sister or not?”

“Pardon?”

“How do you know if she’s my sister or not?”

“I… I thought you said so…”

The priest evaded his eyes, embarrassed.

Hmm. Something seemed off, but Teo eventually left the reception room without finding anyone.

* * *

Nix appeared in Juliet’s dream.

“Peep!”

Nix seemed to be hinting that he was hungry as he chirped at Juliet.

‘I need to feed him.’

Right. Nix!

Surprisingly, Juliet’s eyes fluttered open.

‘Huh…?’

She felt slightly dazed as she woke up.

‘Am I still dreaming?’

When she opened her eyes, she saw a canopy attached to the bed’s ceiling.

‘…A princess’ room?’

If Juliet was ten, or perhaps fifteen years younger, she might have been thrilled. But even as a child, she never liked such childish, flowery pink lace.

Where is this?

Juliet tried to assess the situation.

For some reason, her entire body felt sore, as if she had exerted muscles she hadn’t used in years and was feeling the aftermath.

She struggled and managed to sit up.

Looking around, it confirmed her first impression.

It wasn’t a dream. The room was filled with dolls and furniture arranged neatly around the bed where she had been lying.

The bedroom wasn’t particularly large, but it certainly looked like a place that had been meticulously decorated.

“What is this…”

The last thing she remembered was returning to her room after a bath…

Juliet tried to stand but stumbled.

Or she would have.

Clink.

“…!”

‘What’s this?’ 

If it wasn’t for the metal binding her ankle, she’d say she was chained.

This item seemed utterly out of place in a room filled with girly things.

Lifting the bedsheet, she saw a chain connecting her left ankle to one of the bedposts.

If this was a joke, it was a cruel one.

‘Have I been kidnapped?’

Was it about ransom?

Or… some kind of revenge?

Considering the recent events at the auction, it could be the doing of the Marquis Guinness’ family.

‘But I was definitely in Lucerne, wasn’t I?’

Lucerne’s sacred city might be a small city-state, but it was a neutral territory that even monarchs of other nations couldn’t violate easily.

Even if someone was an Emperor or king of another nation, in Lucerne, they had to obey the will of the Papal Court as servants of the goddess.

But who would kidnap someone from the Papal Court?

The answer to Juliet’s question came the next moment.

Creak.

Step, step, step.

Surprised by the sound, Juliet looked up.

‘What’s that?’

There was a spiral staircase hidden in what she thought was an empty wall. Someone was descending from it.

“Via?”

The face that emerged along with the footsteps was a familiar one to Juliet.

“But it was not anyone she had expected.

Rarely, Juliet just blinked in confusion, not quickly grasping the situation.

“…?”

“You woke up earlier than I thought, Via.”

The man who greeted her with the world’s sweetest voice was Pope Sebastian.

Click.

Without any explanation, Sebastian unlocked the restraint tied around Juliet’s ankle.

Juliet felt the ankle that had been bound.

Although they sat side by side, she didn’t forget to look at him with a wary eye.

“Eat before it gets cold.”

Sebastian pointed to the food on the table with a smile.

She was hungry, but… she was a little hesitant to eat food she didn’t know the contents of.

“…It seems there was a misunderstanding.”

Juliet said cautiously while touching her throat. She wasn’t sure what was put in the food, but it felt like a paralyzing poison.

Her voice was barely audible.

“You’ve mistaken the person.”

I’m not the ‘Via’ you’re talking about. I don’t know who that is.

Juliet behaved calmly, as she had been taught in the case of being kidnapped. She refrained from provoking the kidnapper and stayed calm.

“Why do you say that?”

However, a smile spread across Sebastian’s face.

“Via. It’s impossible for me to mistake you.”

“…Who is that?”

Sebastian’s expression became ambiguous. Juliet had a bad feeling. She felt like she had gotten involved with something wrong.

This weird room and…

‘But why?’

Why?

“Don’t you like it? Should I bring something else?”

Sebastian offered the steaming soup again.

Juliet thought it might be better to eat something for the time being. The situation didn’t seem like it would resolve quickly, so she needed to regain some strength.

But the moment she reflexively reached for the bowl.

Thud.

A syringe was injected into her wrist.

The liquid inside was violet. It seemed to be of the same kind as what had been injected into the neck of a giant wolf on the train.

“Don’t worry. From now on, we’ll always be together.”

Sebastian looked down at Juliet with a disgusting face.

…This crazy guy.

Juliet sensed it.

She had definitely been hit with an instant paralyzing poison.

Though Juliet cursed in her mind, it was of no use.

She couldn’t speak or even move a finger. The only thing she could move was her eyes.

Juliet fell to her side and looked down at her attire.

A corset tightly wrapping her below the chest, the rustling fabric, lace added to the sleeves, and black Mary Jane shoes that looked well-preserved but had slightly worn tips.

“Did I give you too much?”

Sebastian, who had cruelly injected her, laid her down with a worried face.

“Sleep well, Via.”

Then he lightly kissed her forehead.

‘Alright, this just got even more creepy.’

Juliet thought and lost consciousness.

* * *

When she opened her eyes again, fortunately, that crazy guy was not beside her.

Her arms and legs were no longer bound. How much time had passed?

“I’m hungry…”

It was a relief that the madman was gone, but in reality, the situation she was in was not fortunate at all.

The space she was confined in was a sealed room with no visible exit.

Juliet searched the room, but the only edible thing on the table was an apple.

Crunch.

As she took a big bite, she suddenly remembered.

“…Right, Nix.”

What will Onyx do without me? He’s still a baby and wouldn’t even know how to open a door.

Only Juliet and Helen, who had come in the same carriage, knew that Nix had sneaked in with her luggage.

And the night before the disaster, Helen had returned to Carcassonne.

Esherlid’s place was in a completely different building from Juliet’s room.

Before Helen left, she might have given a hint to Grey or Teo, but the chances weren’t high.

‘I need to get out quickly.’

After satiating her hunger with the apple, Juliet decided to look for an exit once more.

However, shortly after, Juliet came to a temporary conclusion.

“This is… a doll’s house.”

Juliet murmured.