Forgotten Juliet

* * *

As soon as the day broke, Juliet went to the Duke’s residence in the capital.

However, she couldn’t meet Lennox.

“… He went back?”

“Yes, Miss.”

To be precise, the Duke’s residence was completely empty, and no one could be met.

Juliet blinked, at a loss for words.

The manager of the Duke’s residence responded to Juliet with an apologetic expression.

“He left for his territory last evening.”

In the end, Juliet had no choice but to leave a short note asking for the Soulstone to be sent to the Duke’s mansion since it was urgent.

It was an incredibly swift and quiet return, considering the number of people.

He must have used a gate, as it didn’t take long.

Initially, if everything had gone as usual, the Duke and his retinue would have returned to the North immediately after the New Year’s ball, but due to various circumstances, he stayed in the capital until February.

And yet, what does this sudden departure mean? It looks like…

‘Looks like you ran away when you were caught red-handed.’

Juliet still couldn’t forget the expression on Lennox’s face the moment she revealed the secret he was hiding.

“When given the chance, you should’ve just pretended not to know.”

The pride of this man was so great that it probably reached the very sky.

‘You’ve never asked anyone for anything or asked for advice in your life because you thought you were the best…’

This man didn’t learn to rule, he was a born ruler.

One could understand why he wouldn’t want to show a weak side. However, the more Juliet thought about it, the more annoyed she became.

‘How could he just leave for the North without saying anything? Leaving me in such distress, then what am I to him?’

Sitting in the greenhouse, tending to roses from the Katia mountains, Juliet coldly spat out:

“Idiot.”

“Peep?”

Onyx, who had been lying beside her and diligently separating the flower buds from the stem, raised his head when he heard Juliet’s voice.

The entire floor around the young dragon was strewn with beautiful rosebuds that looked like severed heads.

“Haa…”

Juliet sighed heavily and tossed a few more thornless roses to Onyx before picking up her pruning shears again.

February was a quiet season.

Social gatherings in the salons were active, and it was the height of fox hunting.

But Juliet, who had no interest in either salons or hunting, was mostly staying at her mansion.

Of course, she was never bored. Visitors came and went frequently, making her mansion more bustling than any other winter.

“Juliet, Juliet!”

A tall beauty holding a pile of flowers popped her head in.

“Look! I did all of this.”

Elsa neatly arranged the trimmed pile of flowers in front of Juliet and urged:

“See? Look.”

“Yes, well done.”

Then Elsa, with twinkling eyes full of anticipation, asked,

“So, can I have pie now?”

“Yes, ask Yvette for it.”

“Hooray!”

Elsa shouted joyfully and ran out of the greenhouse.

She’s not even a child.

Juliet chuckled while watching Elsa’s retreating figure and then sneaked a glance to the side.

Another Lycanthrope was sitting there. It was Nathan, a colleague of Roy. He looked awkward holding small gardening scissors with his huge physique, but it surprisingly suited him well.

In fact, he was delicately trimming unnecessary leaves and thorns from rose stems.

Even from a distance, his speed was impressive.

But in front of Nathan, there were still many flowers that had not been trimmed. A little earlier, Elsa, whining about wanting pie, had passed her pile of flowers to Nathan.

Watching his skillful handwork, Juliet said:

“Nathan, you can stop now. Go have tea with Elsa.”

“It’s okay.”

“Alright, then.”

“…”

Juliet didn’t insist and returned her focus to the roses.

The Count Monad’s residence was bustling with guests after many years, and Juliet didn’t let them idle.

Among the seedlings Roy brought from the forest was a mysterious species that bloomed in just three days.

When one day Juliet caught a magician who was doing some experiments on them in an empty greenhouse, she decided that it was time to finish with idle rest, and found work for everyone. She put the guests from the forest, close to nature from birth, in charge of growing flowers, and distributed the remaining workforce around the garden to care for the flowers.

Only the young dragon lazed around.

The remaining people were enlisted to trim the flowers.

A considerable number of nobles didn’t even know that roses had thorns. Typically, the roses used in noble households for decoration didn’t have thorns.

So, where did those roses come from?

‘It’s all about money and labor.’

Juliet realized this truth at a young age.

In fact, selling trimmed flowers was a winter hobby for households with greenhouses. It was relatively an ‘elegant hobby’ and also a source of income.

The staff Juliet hired grumbled, but they were well-paid.

And Juliet needed this simple labor to keep her distracted.

Knock, knock.

“Juliet.”

Someone peeked out from the entrance of the glass greenhouse.

“Roy…”

“Lord Roy!”

Nathan stood up abruptly to greet him as if he was really pleased to see him.

In fact, unlike the other two, Nathan seemed to have not come here out of desire.

‘It would be boring to be stuck in a greenhouse for three hours doing pruning.’

Roy smiled awkwardly and then spoke to Juliet.

“Can you come out for a moment?”

“Pardon?”

“I found something strange outside.”

As Juliet stood up from her chair, she thought maybe Roy had found a squirrel shivering in the cold.

“What is it? Oh…”

But what awaited her at the entrance was a middle-aged man wrapped heavily in a blanket.

“W-what… How did you get here?”

It was an uninvited guest.

It seemed he had probably walked up to the Count’s house because the snow on the driveway had made it impossible for the carriage to move. People had been finding the Count’s house despite the piled-up snow, forgetting to clear the path.

“Come in.”

Juliet invited the middle-aged man inside.

After a while, when the man had warmed up, he looked Juliet up and down and then spoke arrogantly.

“Are you Miss Juliet Monad?”

Juliet wondered why he was asking when he already knew.

“Yes, Chamberlain Melvin.”

He was Melvin, the Chamberlain of the palace. Juliet had known him since a party in Bluebell seven years ago.

The chamberlain cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Ahem, Lady Monad…!”

“Countess Monad.”

“Yes, of course… Countess Monad, Her Majesty the Empress has a message for you!”

“I think I have said that I would decline all invitations.”

Juliet said coldly as she took off her gardening gloves.

“No! This is not just an invitation!”

However, Viscount Melvin unwaveringly presented the scroll he had brought. Curious, Juliet and Roy looked at it. The scroll was sealed with an impressive golden emblem.

“This is His Majesty’s order to enter the palace immediately!”

* * *

The Duke’s castle in the North was in the midst of a cold wave.

The snow piled up around the Duke’s residence glittered brilliantly as if made of glass in the sunlight. However, the actual castle was eerily silent.

The physician looked around the dark bedroom with apprehensive eyes.

“Do you feel any other discomfort?”

“…”

The physician hesitated.

Such prolonged silence from the Duke usually wasn’t a good sign.

He remembered a conversation from a few days ago.

“Can that divine power be injected directly into the body for effect?”

“In theory, yes.”

The physician, who had answered thoughtlessly, paled when he realized the Duke’s intention.

“It’s not possible, Your Highness! There are side effects…!”

“I don’t care.”

The solution proposed by Duke Carlyle was clear but not simple.

The physician couldn’t accept this dreadful treatment method whose outcome couldn’t be guaranteed.

It would be effective, but it would also surely have side effects.

“Do you have dreams when you go blind?”

“What?”

Taken aback by the unexpected question, the physician was puzzled.

“Do you have trouble sleeping? If so, I can prescribe a sleep inducer…”

“No, that’s fine.”

The man, who had been quietly closing his eyes, dismissed the physician as if annoyed.

“Leave.”

“…Yes.”

After the physician left, the man left alone in the dark room quietly opened his eyes.

In the dim space, his red eyes glowed eerily.