Forgotten Juliet

“How could this happen….”

Lennox flinched at the whisper that flowed out like a sigh.

A trembling hand gently grasped his cheek.

Suppressing the urge to immediately stop the hand from moving, he held his breath.

It was a strange feeling to have someone else’s hand touch his face when he was on edge.

Lennox Carlyle disliked anyone touching his body. This had been a habit he developed from the days he roamed the battlefield long ago.

There are thirty-nine vital points on a person’s head, and even an untrained person can easily take another’s life by accurately hitting just sixteen of them.

Pushing away someone touching him was easier than breaking a child’s wrist.

But then…

The touch on him was so enchantingly miserable, he couldn’t push it away.

“Juliet.”

He pleaded in a dangerously low voice.

“Please.”

“…”

“Please… stop crying.”

Without even looking, he could tell the expression of the woman before him.

Juliet rarely cried in front of him.

That’s why he didn’t know how to comfort a crying woman.

He felt he could do anything to make her stop right now.

The being he desperately wanted back over the past month was in his arms, yet… she kept crying.

Out of pity for him.

That fact brought him down.

‘You’re pathetic, Lennox Carlyle.’

This was the woman who abandoned him without a second thought, even when he could see.

Now knowing he was blind, Juliet must be feeling guilty.

Then she would pity him, and then….

He clenched his teeth in silence.

What’s next?

“Damn it. Did someone die?”

“I’m not crying.”

She replied weakly after he spat out his words.

It was an obvious lie, one even a child wouldn’t believe.

* * *

Juliet knew how much he hated crying women.

Their relationship had always been conditional on not annoying him, so she just shed tears silently.

“Juliet.”

But it seemed she was mistaken.

“I told you not to cry.”

It was unclear whether he was threatening or pleading.

Normally, she would have just walked away, but now she couldn’t.

Quickly, Juliet wiped her cheeks.

There was more to say.

“Lennox…”

If it hadn’t been for the noise outside the door.

Bang!

The next moment, Juliet pushed him away and got up.

She went straight across the bedroom and swung open the door leading to the parlor.

Tap tap.

“You’ve been well, miss? It’s been a while since we’ve seen you.”

Not only the family doctor but also Elliot and familiar secretaries from the Duke’s house were gathered by the parlor door.

* * *

“I’m leaving.”

After listening to the doctor’s brief account, Juliet, who came with the same tidy attitude as when she arrived at the mansion, got up.

“Ah, I… I will escort you out.”

Without even saying she would return, Juliet left, and Lennox didn’t stop her. Elliot, noticing the tension, quickly stood up.

Soon after, the sound of a carriage wheel was heard outside the window. Elliot then reported:

“Miss Monad has gone home.”

“Okay, go check.”

“…Yes.”

Lennox thought it wasn’t surprising.

She might not come back.

Perhaps if he was blind forever, he could keep her by his side.

He has thought of it before. She was a woman who was hard to pin down.

Perhaps if he poked at her thin sympathy and guilt, he could have her even if just superficially.

In the end, even if she’s exhausted, Juliet won’t leave him.

If I cleverly stimulate guilt, would that work?

‘No way.’

Lennox laughed at himself.

From the beginning, he knew he couldn’t trap Juliet with cheap sympathy.

It wasn’t a matter of pride or the fact that she couldn’t bear to pity him.

Juliet might not have known, or perhaps she wasn’t interested, but he tried to bring only good things to her in some way.

But now, isn’t it wrong to hold onto her with the broken mess that he has become?

He habitually fiddled with the dove-shaped silver dove in his hand and suddenly thought.

‘Such cheap stuff.’

He felt as if he himself had become a cheap figurine. Then he recalled an event from a long time ago that he had almost forgotten.

* * *

Juliet often checked the gifts that came to Lennox and sent them back.

Juliet had a keen eye and chose colors and shapes that suited Lennox well, and Lennox trusted her.

But why couldn’t he overlook it that day?

He accidentally found her seriously examining some documents that seemed interesting.

They were marriage proposals sent to him.

“I just… was organizing the desk…”

“Yeah.”

He happened to see it.

There were no documents that she shouldn’t see in the first place.

She had carefully read and even categorized the proposal letters that he hadn’t even glanced at.

“I’m sorry if I overstepped.”

Watching her apologize with a calm face, he felt a bit taken aback.

Is that the face one makes after seeing the proposal letters intended for their lover?

He couldn’t even tell what he himself wanted, but Lennox was extremely bothered by her expression.

There was no hint of betrayal or sadness on Juliet’s face.

Without knowing what specific emotion to detect from her calm face, he just felt strangely irritated. Until then.

He realized the essence of that emotion the next day when he saw her conversing cheerfully with someone at the palace’s ballroom.

It wasn’t a big deal.

The northern nobles were mostly arrogant and unfriendly.

Juliet attended the parties on his behalf, and like him, she didn’t enjoy such gatherings.

However, some of them showed a particular kind of interest.

You can tell when something genuine and good doesn’t need to show off. It’s evident when someone comes from a good family and receives a good education.

Juliet Monad was no exception.

She sparkled even in his eyes that saw her daily, so how dazzling she must have been in others’.

All Juliet did was chat briefly about a painting with a man, a secretary from another noble family who was also a graduate from the institution.

It was just light chatter about a subject he had no interest in.

Yet, he recognized in himself the emotion he had desperately wanted to detect on Juliet’s face the day before.

After that, he did what he usually did.

He threw away things that bothered him without understanding their value.

It seemed Lennox wanted to comfort Juliet, who lost her conversation partner.

But Juliet, without glancing at the luxurious items, looked a bit disappointed for not seeing her conversation partner again.

And then there was the day he found her in the palace’s backyard, happily holding a mere piece of silver.

“Do you like this cheap stuff?”

“It’s not cheap. Give it back.”

Lennox got angry whenever Juliet defied his expectations.

She didn’t care about valuable items, yet showed interest in a cheap piece of silver.

* * *

Fiddling with the thickened wingtip of the dove in his hand, Lennox closed his eyes.

Now he felt like he had become that cheap item.

“Velocita.”

He opened his mouth toward the void.

With a whoosh.

The sword leaning against the wall seemed to be engulfed in flames, and the next moment, a beast with smooth black fur appeared.

(So, you finally want to talk to me?)

“Shut up.”

(Typical of you.)

Contrary to his words, the big black leopard stretched lazily.

(So, what’s the deal?)