Forgotten Juliet

“How… Why is Roy here?”

As she asked, she heard another presence from behind.

“Have you seen the handmaid of the Crown Princess?”

“Yes, she was around here…”

What to do.

Upon seeing Juliet’s perplexed expression, Roy glanced behind her.

“You seem busy.”

Roy, with a calm expression, didn’t even ask Juliet what she was doing.

“This way.”

Quick-witted Roy swiftly led Juliet away.

“!”

The direction they headed to ended in a dead-end corridor, with a large window in front being the problem.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Before Juliet could scream or refuse, Roy lifted her and jumped lightly.

We’re on the second floor! Juliet couldn’t shout out loud and bit her lip tightly.

Thud.

However, contrary to Juliet’s worries, when she opened her eyes, they had landed in the backyard of Amber Palace.

It was a soft and stable landing.

“…Thank you.”

She indeed overcame the crisis because of him.

Gratefully and nervously, Juliet smiled.

“Alright now, let me down.”

But even after setting Juliet down, Roy did not let go of her waist. Juliet’s forehead creased.

“Roy?”

“Juliet.”

Roy looked somewhat gloomy.

“…Are you mad at me? Right?”

Roy asked cautiously.

Was I mad at Roy?

After some thought, Juliet remembered the last time they met.

It was at the wedding banquet of the Second Prince and princess.

That day, Roy exposed the secret of Duke Carlyle to her, suggesting they go to Katia’s forest together.

“I’m not mad.”

“…Really?”

“Yes.”

In reality, Juliet was mad at Roy. He acted as if he could swing her around just because he had revealed that secret.

However, Juliet was more upset with Lennox, who hid such an important fact from her.

“But why are you here, Roy?”

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Juliet changed the subject.

“The Emperor sent people to the forest for help.”

“What for?”

“To interpret the prophecy.”

“Oh, the prophecy.”

Juliet had heard about it recently, forgetting who told her. They had unearthed a prophecy in the temple.

And the Lycanthropes was the clan that could interpret ancient texts.

‘That’s too obvious.’

Juliet thought to herself.

It felt like the Emperor was very interested in the prophecy, with even the archbishop and the Pope attending the Lent event.

“I’ll take you.”

Roy, who looked a bit downcast, silently took Juliet’s wrist and started walking.

Although Juliet didn’t explain anything, Roy acted as if he knew they shouldn’t be seen by others.

He skillfully guided her through a secluded path in the Amber Palace.

Entering through the back door, they would arrive undetected at the first-floor reception room where Fatima was waiting.

“…Did you fall into the lake on purpose?”

Roy, who had been leading silently, suddenly asked.

“Excuse me?”

“Rumors have spread all over the palace. They say Juliet lost her precious necklace and fell into the lake after arguing with the princess.”

Juliet felt a bit embarrassed realizing how big the accident had become.

‘Lennox would be in the palace by now.’

Of course, Lennox would be attending to the Emperor, so even though they were in the same palace, they would be far apart. Juliet wondered if Lennox had heard about her causing a commotion.

“About that necklace, Juliet.”

“Yes.”

“…Did that human man give it to you?”

“Excuse me?”

Roy, who had been leading the way, stopped and looked at Juliet.

Although Juliet was confused, the necklace thrown into the lake was a gift from Duke Carlyle. But why would he be curious about it?

However, Roy’s next words were even more baffling.

“Would you like me to buy you another necklace like that?”

While asking, Roy’s gaze wasn’t on Juliet, but over her shoulder, looking at something behind.

What’s he looking at?

Juliet followed his gaze, but all she could see was the lakeside scenery. Maybe the vision of this other race saw something else.

“No, that’s not necessary.”

Juliet wasn’t too worried.

“It was one of a kind.”

The diamond necklace thrown into the lake was valuable, but the information obtained was worth the loss.

And the Duke wouldn’t remember each necklace he gifted to his lover.

Lennox probably wouldn’t even know it was the necklace he gave her. Even if he did, he wouldn’t care. Juliet shrugged it off.

“Thank you for helping.”

Thanks to Roy, Juliet safely reached the side door without being detected.

“Be careful, Juliet.”

Roy, for longer than usual, delicately kissed the back of Juliet’s hand. He also smirked while glancing over her shoulder.

“This should be enough for a while.”

Juliet didn’t understand the cryptic smile and words of Roy.

She also didn’t know if Roy’s words and actions were targeting someone standing far away by the lakeside.

Juliet safely returned to the reception room where Fatima was waiting. She feigned unconsciousness once again until the palace guard ran up.

“I’m sorry, Countess Monad. We couldn’t find the necklace.”

“It can’t be helped. It seems I dropped it in the lake.”

Juliet replied somewhat sullenly, as if she had had a quarrel with Fatima.

“We’ve got people looking for it, so we should find it soon…”

“No, it’s fine. It’s just a necklace.”

Unexpectedly, the palace steward promised to search the lake for the necklace, but Juliet was no longer interested in such things.

Having safely left the palace and returned to the Duke’s mansion, Juliet immediately sought Lennox, but he had not yet returned.

“Where is he?”

“It seems he will be late.”

“Miss, what happened at the imperial palace?”

It seemed the incident Juliet caused was now known at the Duke’s mansion as well.

After a moment of thought, Juliet looked at the attendants of the Duke’s house.

“More importantly, Sir Milan, Elliot. I have something to discuss.”

Juliet requested a conversation with the Duke’s two most trusted aides.

The two looked puzzled for a moment but responded to her call. Juliet closed and locked the door and shared everything she had seen and heard at the palace.

“…The Second Prince is plotting against the Duke’s house.”

“Ha.”

From the secret meetings to the smoke bombs engraved with the Duke’s crest.

The expressions on the faces of Milan and Elliot, who had been listening quietly to her story, became grave.

“That’s typical of the Second Prince.”

“But it makes sense.”

They knew very well how long prince Cloff, who was the same age as Duke Carlyle, had harbored feelings of inferiority towards him.

“I’ve also heard that the Second Prince is coveting the Crown Prince’s position.”

“I didn’t know he’d resort to such measures, though.”

“A cornered rat will even bite a cat.”

Elliot grunted.

Their tactics were crude, but both men sensed they could be damaging to the Duke’s house.

“In this situation, if the Second Prince presents the smoke bomb with the Duke’s crest as evidence, it will cause a commotion.”

The Second Prince’s intentions were clear.

“He will surely accuse the Duke’s house of being behind this incident in a public setting.”

Perhaps he would point fingers at the Duke’s house in front of the Emperor and the nobles.

“The other nobles will also join in.”

“But our master doesn’t care about such things… What should we do?”

Milan sighed.

The Duke Carlyle they knew wouldn’t bat an eyelid even if he knew about this trap.

Carlyle Duke was a legendary figure, known for his many achievements, and wouldn’t shy away from military conflict.

Lennox’s way was straightforward. Though it would involve huge sacrifices.

“But why complicate things?”

Juliet tilted her head, and Elliot proposed an idea.

“We could avoid the conflict.”

“Avoiding conflict?”

“We don’t show up on the stage set by the Second Prince. For example, we return to the North now and plan for the future.”

“That’s like running away.”

“But it would buy us time to prepare our defense.”

Elliot shrugged.

“And then, gathering evidence that the Second Prince is the real culprit…”

“Yes, but our master will never allow it.”

Milan coldly retorted.

Juliet chuckled softly.

“I don’t like running away either.”

When Juliet spoke, both men focused on her.

“Do you have a plan?”

“Kind of.”

Juliet hesitated for a moment.

“Right now, the truth isn’t that important. It will be hard to prove that this is the Second Prince’s doing.”

In the power struggles of the central region, it wasn’t about physical battles, but they were just as fierce.

In the battle of public opinion, the first strike is crucial, and the Second Prince currently had the upper hand.

“So, we do it the master’s way…”

Milan murmured darkly.

If they went with the northern army’s reputation, there would be casualties.

Milan, the vice-captain of the Knights, had a heavy responsibility.

But Juliet shook her head again.

“No, we’ll avoid a full-on confrontation.”

“How?”

Juliet smiled thinly.

“We’ll exploit the Second Prince’s arrogance.”

“Arrogance?”

“He won’t know we’re onto his game.”

The Second Prince believed he could topple Duke Carlyle’s house at any time.

But now that Juliet had uncovered his cards, she could devise a strategy against him.

“It’s not a big deal. It’s just a bit complicated.”

“What do you mean?”

Juliet shared her simple yet effective plan with them.

The strategy wasn’t sophisticated.

“It’s a simple idea anyone could think of.”

The two attendants of the Duke’s house nodded slowly after listening to Juliet’s words.

“That… makes sense.”

“If done right, not only can we neutralize the Second Prince, but we could potentially end the factions backing him!”

Elliot, the Duke’s secretary, was enthusiastic.

“But the execution is the problem…”

The remaining issue was when and how to approach the prince.

“The most important thing is that we need to infiltrate the residence of the Second Prince.”

Juliet hadn’t figured out how to do that either. Sneaking in like she did at Amber Palace today, making all sorts of excuses, was impossible. Instead of eavesdropping, she needed to specifically access the evidence prepared by the Second Prince.

In the northern Duke’s estate, there were black knights who blindly served the Duke and moved in secret.

However, they wouldn’t obey Juliet’s orders.

Even if they were skilled, it was uncertain if they could sneak into the place where the Second Prince had hidden the smoke bombs.

Even highly trained assassins might find it easier to assassinate the Second Prince openly.

“Don’t worry. I will find a way somehow.”

Milan reassured her with a determined expression.

“At least it will be easier than a war.”

“Yes, I believe in you.”

Juliet chuckled and nodded her head.