Forgotten Juliet

* * *

“Who is this woman?”

“She’s the widow of the late Marquis of Guinness. They say she was his eighth wife.”

Though she was called his wife, she was no different from a slave.

In her past life, Baron Gaspar sold her countless times, and her fifth marriage was nothing short of a living hell.

The Marquis  of Guinness, her fifth husband, confined her in a tiny room where she could hardly move.

Chained, all she could do was pray for a swift death in this hell.

Then one day, the hell ended.

The Marquis of Guinness was defeated and killed in a political rivalry with the Duke of the North.

Juliet would never forget the moment when the castle fell and the once tightly shut doors opened.

Truly, it was the first time she saw someone so radiant.

Even the distinctive red eyes of the Carlyle Ducal family, which many found eerie, were a symbol of salvation to her.

“Your Grace, she’s ominous. It would be best to keep your distance.”

The Duke’s confidants viewed her with discomfort.

It was understandable. After being imprisoned and abused for so long, Juliet’s appearance was far from beautiful, rather, it was pitiable.

However, the Duke looked down at her with an inscrutable gaze and ordered:

“Take her to the castle.”

With that one command, she was sent to the Duke’s northern castle. There, she stayed as a guest under the Duke’s patronage.

No one mistreated her at the Duke’s castle. She was treated as a human being.

Perhaps her affection for him was similar to imprinting.

She was like that baby dragon hatching from its egg, unconditionally adoring and following Juliet, the first thing it sees.

Whether she was enamored by his looks in this life because of the imprint from her previous one, or if it was engraved in her soul, she didn’t know.

In both her first and second lives, Juliet loved watching this man sleep.

While he may seem cold as a winter wind when he speaks, at least the sleeping man never uttered sharp words or acted cruelly.

The early dawn when everyone else was asleep was Juliet’s favorite time. The man of those hours was wholly hers.

During the short dawn, Juliet dreamt even without falling asleep.

A dream she could have with her eyes open.

‘Maybe, since he hasn’t cast me aside yet, he might have some fondness for me.’

The maids who brushed her hair said so.

‘Despite the changing seasons, it’s the first time the Duke has kept someone by his side this long.’

Such words thrilled Juliet.

They gave her a glimmer of hope. She tried her best to never fall out of his favor.

She believed that, over time, he would eventually show her a fragment of his true feelings.

She didn’t mind if he never smiled at her or if he wasn’t kind. After all, he was inherently indifferent, known to be cold to others.

But dawn was brief, and so were Juliet’s dreams. It didn’t take her long to realize.

He wasn’t indifferent to everyone. His affection and attention were reserved for only one special person.

The way he looked at Dahlia was starkly different from how he looked at her, who was no better than an extra.

* * *

“…”

As she pondered this, Juliet snapped out of her brief reverie.

The man with a straight forehead and a rather arrogant nose was still a sight to behold.

His muscular chest and abdomen, partially visible due to his open robe, seemed like a masterpiece sculpted by an artisan.

When Lennox closed his eyes, he looked his age.

Juliet cautiously reached out her hand.

‘He’s not even thirty yet. And he’s always furrowing his brow…’

She wanted to smooth out his furrows with her fingertips.

“…!”

But before she could properly reach out, she was stopped. Her wrist was suddenly grasped by the man, who hadn’t even opened his eyes.

In his usual tone, as if he hadn’t been asleep at all, he leisurely asked:

“Enjoyed the view?”

“…Lennox.”

With a light sigh, the man sat up, not looking at her, and pulled Juliet to sit on the bed opposite him.

As she was being led to the bed, Juliet quickly checked if there was any discomfort in the man’s movement.

But contrary to rumors, his steps were as smooth as a nimble carnivorous beast.

Feeling a bit suspicious, she hesitantly sat on one side of the bed.

“I heard you were quite unwell…”

“So? Did you think I was bedridden just because of that?”

Sitting on the chair opposite, Lennox crossed his arms and smirked.

His slightly droopy eyes, as if waking from sleep, seemed lazy.

He was the same as always.

Juliet looked at him suspiciously, but couldn’t find any difference from his usual self.

“Then why…”

Outside the door were Hadin on guard duty and the nervous staff of the Duke’s house. What’s the rumor that he’s dying?

He grinned.

“I wanted to test something.”

“What?”

“Who would rush over if someone was hurt.”

“…?”

Suddenly, Lennox, who was sitting up, approached her quickly.

He grabbed Juliet’s shoulders and pushed her onto the soft bed.

The hairstyle held up by a hairpin came loose from the shock. The pearl-decorated hairpin fell somewhere on the bed.

All of this happened in an instant.

He climbed on top of the fallen Juliet and whispered:

“You did well playing hospital with the wolf cub.”

Juliet, whose eyes were half-open and red, was taken aback for a moment.

Playing hospital?

Seeing the bewildered Juliet in front of him, Lennox held her hand, kissed her fingertips, and said:

“Where should we start? Oh, should I injure my eyes first?”

It was then that Juliet realized what he meant by ‘playing hospital’. He was talking about the incident at Lucerne’s ball where Roy was injured.

“Your Highness.”

Exhaling a sigh, Juliet pushed him off and got up.

“Now that I’ve confirmed you’re alright, I want to leave.”

“Weren’t you here to take care of me because I was hurt? Is it okay to leave a patient like this?”

“I’d say that’s for when you’re truly hurt.”

Juliet coldly walked past him.

Step, step, step.

After that, the sound of Juliet walking down the corridor and out of the bedroom echoed through the mansion.

Until the sound of carriage wheels from outside faded, he lay in the dark room with his eyes closed.

“Hadin.”

“Yes.”

A loyal servant, who had been waiting outside the door, answered.

“I told you not to let her in.”

“…I’m sorry.”

It was then that Lennox brushed his hair back with a long sigh.

In that short moment, his forehead was covered in cold sweat.

“Do you think Juliet noticed?”

“No.”

Hearing the response, Lennox finally sank deeply into his armchair.

“…Damn.”

Hadin watched as the Duke’s fingers, holding a glass on the small table, trembled slightly.

“It’s not something to do twice, is it?”

To the naked eye, Lennox looked perfectly fine, but most of his organs were not.

Like when Juliet suddenly vomited blood and collapsed in Lucerne at his feet.

Perhaps it was inevitable. When breaking a sacred barrier, a reflective curse followed.

Not to mention, he broke all ninety-seven barriers. In other words, he had ninety-seven reflective curses.

The holy magic inflicted fatal injuries on his internal organs. The fact that the injuries weren’t visible was even more malicious.

He could bear the pain though.

‘This much is nothing.’

At around the age of thirteen on the battlefield, he survived even after being shot in the stomach.

However, it was hard to cope with suddenly losing his vision.

The ninety-seven curses varied in duration and type, so he didn’t know how long he would be blind.

In that short moment, cold sweat dripped down his chin.

Being under a curse like Juliet, unconscious for a week and then waking up, was relatively fortunate.

“You know what will happen if Juliet finds out, right?”

“Yes.”

She would surely blame herself.

“Make sure she doesn’t hear about it.”

“…Understood.”