Forgotten Juliet

Juliet finally realized that she too was awkward at expressing her feelings, no less than her lover.

“So, you’re saying that because you didn’t get angry at those women, I shouldn’t get angry if you play around with that wolf?”

“…I never played around.”

It felt like she had been dragged into something, but Juliet sighed.

“I’m sorry.”

“What?”

For a moment, Juliet doubted her ears.

Lennox spoke again.

“I’m sorry for saying that when you’ve never played around. I apologize.”

Strangely enough, he seemed to be in a good mood. She couldn’t figure out why.

“So, your promise still stands?”

His voice was as gentle as a bead.

“What promise?”

“You promised to be by my side.”

Lennox was stubbornly silent.

“…Yes. I will be by your side.”

Juliet added, watching his eyes narrow.

“As long as you don’t act as childish as you are now.”

She felt like she’d been dragged into something different from her original intention, but Juliet decided to believe that she had at least conveyed a bit of her point.

Just as Juliet was about to get up…

Rustle.

The two of them, on high alert, didn’t miss the sound coming from outside the wide-open window.

Juliet naturally turned toward the window.

“Peep!”

With a weak bird-like sound, something familiar popped its head out from the bushes.

* * *

The capital was gradually stabilizing. The wild magic beasts that had been rampaging had completely disappeared!

There were no more disturbances from beasts.

The nobles were relieved, and the Emperor decided to hold the postponed Lent ceremony to ease the tense atmosphere.

It wasn’t a grand scale, but nobles were arriving one after another at the main hall to receive the blessings of the Pope.

While the entrance of the main hall was crowded with carriages, a secret meeting was taking place in one corner.

“My uncle.”

“Ah, Your Highness the Prince.”

It was the Second Prince, Cloff.

Latrell, the Marquis who had been anxiously waiting for the Second Prince, was the younger brother of the Empress, and thus, Cloff’s uncle by marriage.

He was also the Emperor’s brother-in-law and a trusted friend.

“What did you call me for?” The Marquis asked cautiously.

Although they were uncle and nephew, Marquis Latrell and his ambitious nephew weren’t on good terms.

“I have something to discuss with you beforehand.”

Cloff answered with a somewhat arrogant expression.

“You know I’m investigating the beast incident on the Emperor’s orders, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

The Second Prince lowered his voice with a meaningful tone.

“And my men have found out who caused the recent incident.”

“…Really?”

“Yes, we have conclusive evidence.”

Cloff confidently pulled out something from his pocket.

“No, this is…”

Marquis Latrell’s eyes widened in shock.

What the Second Prince presented was a smoke bomb. And engraved on it was the emblem of a very famous family.

‘So, Duke Carlyle is the culprit?’

Marquis Latrell quickly realized what was going on.

“…Excuse me, but where did you obtain this?”

Cloff’s expression twisted as if he was displeased.

“Are you doubting me, uncle?”

“No, how could I ever doubt you, Prince?”

Marquis Latrell quickly denied it.

‘I need to be sure…’

Marquis Latrell, well-versed in the affairs of the imperial family, knew how ambitious the Second Prince, Cloff, was and how much he despised Duke Carlyle.

He had volunteered to investigate the beast incident. Now it was clear what his ulterior motive was.

Latrell, experienced in central politics, had an inkling from the start that this was Cloff’s doing.

“You don’t need to worry about the source.”

When Cloff said this confidently, Marquis Latrell realized.

No matter how much the prince hated Duke Carlyle, he wouldn’t have attacked without being fully prepared.

“So, when I bring this up, you should support me. Understand?”

It was a threat, implying he had everything set up, and now Marquis Latrell should join him.

If Marquis Latrell, the Emperor’s friend, sided with Cloff, then Duke Carlyle would be in danger.

“…Yes, I understand.”

Marquis Latrell reluctantly nodded.

He had no sympathy for Duke Carlyle, but if he ignored the prince’s threat here, he might be the one under attack.

“Good, uncle. Shall we go?”

Seeming satisfied with the answer, the Second Prince took the lead and started walking.

When they reached the entrance of the hall, Marquis Latrell ran into a couple alighting from a carriage.

“Duke Carlyle has arrived!”

Although Duke Carlyle didn’t even make eye contact with Marquis Latrell, his companion paused for a moment to give him a glance.

It was Juliet Monad, dressed in a silvery-gray dress.

Juliet’s light brown hair shimmered silver under the soft lighting.

Juliet, who had been staring, quickly glanced at the retreating figure of the Second Prince, Cloff, then gave the man a broad smile.

“Good evening, Marquis.”

“Ah, yes, Countess Monad.”

Even though they didn’t usually interact, the fact that Lady Monad initiated the conversation caught the Marquis off guard.

“Then.”

Watching her walk away with her light, butterfly-like steps, Marquis Latrell noticed something odd.

Juliet Monad was holding something red and small, like a tiny ball, in her ungloved right hand.

‘…An apple?’

However, before the Marquis could take a closer look, Juliet and the Duke disappeared into the hall.

“This…”

Marquis Latrell honestly didn’t want to make the Duke of Carlyle his enemy.

For a long time, the Marquis’s family had survived by maintaining a reasonable neutrality on any matter.

But there was no way around it.

“Ahem!”

From the grim expressions of some of the older nobles around him, Marquis Latrell had an intuition.

It wasn’t just him who had received threats of the same content from the Second Prince.

‘If the Second Prince goes this far to bring down the Carlyle family, if we don’t comply, could our family be next?’

Everyone must have had the same thought. Hence, they had no choice but to comply with the play prepared by the Second Prince.

Not long after the Duke took a seat near the Emperor, the Emperor and the Pope entered in succession.

After the formal greetings, a banquet awaited.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had such a grand event.”

“I am going to receive the Pope’s blessings today.”

Most of the excited nobles, being at a long-awaited event, were eagerly anticipating what would happen next.

“Let’s begin the banquet…”

“Your Majesty the Emperor!”

However, just as the Emperor finished his speech and was about to announce the start of the banquet, the Second Prince, Cloff, interrupted.

“…What is it, Cloff?”

“I have something important to say!”

The Emperor, annoyed by the interruption, signaled with his hand for Cloff to hurry up and get to the point.

“Yes, due to our efforts, my subordinates and I have finally uncovered the culprit behind the incident.”

The culprit?

The nobles started to whisper among themselves.

“Yes! And I would like to accuse that cunning mastermind here.”

“What, there’s a culprit here?”

Interest appeared on the faces of not just the nobles but also the quiet pope and the priests.

“Is this true?”

“Look at this, Your Majesty!”

As the Second Prince Cloff gestured dramatically, his attendants brought something from behind.

Inside a luxurious box, what he pulled out was a shiny metal ball.

“This is the evidence I managed to obtain!”

Cloff seemed completely intoxicated.

However, it took a while for everyone to understand what it was.

“What is that?”

“It looks like a smoke bomb… Wait, there’s a crest on it?”

“Isn’t that crest from the Carlyle family?”

“Then…”

The murmuring grew louder.

“Yes, Your Majesty! This is the emblem of the Duke! It’s evidence that they developed the wicked weapon that drives the beasts mad!”

With full confidence, Cloff furiously pointed at the Duke.

“What clearer evidence do you need? Duke Carlyle is the mastermind behind the incident that endangered the empire!”

Oh my.

The people in the hall were seized by shock and horror.

“Is this true, Duke?”

However, targeted Duke Carlyle didn’t change his expression.

In fact, he looked rather bored.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The Duke’s indifferent attitude fueled everyone’s suspicions.

The nobles began to whisper.

“I’ve heard the Duke suffered the least…”

“It’s suspicious whether it really wasn’t the north’s doing.”

“Look at that evidence! It’s undoubtedly the Duke’s crest!”

The Emperor, with a stern face, stepped down from the podium and examined the evidence himself.

The crest, a white raven and a black panther showing their teeth, was unmistakably that of the Duke’s family.

“Duke Carlyle!”

The Emperor’s face twisted with anger.

He then handed the metal ball to Marquis Latrell who was nearby.

“Marquis Latrell, do you think the same?”

“How does it look to you, Marquis?”

“I think…”

Just as the Second Prince had hoped, Marquis Latrell swallowed hard, and with a set mind, decided to give support to the Second Prince’s claims.

“Yes, to me, it undoubtedly looks like it belongs to the Carlyle family…”

At that moment-

Bang!

The sound of a metallic object striking the floor echoed throughout the hall.

Everyone, who had been intently listening to Marquis Latrell, looked in the direction of the sound, bewildered.

“What was that?”

Rolling across the red carpet, the object conveniently stopped right next to the Emperor’s foot.

“Hmm?”

The Emperor casually picked up the metal ball.

It looked exactly like the evidence that the Second Prince Cloff had just presented, even the engraved crest.

Another piece of evidence?

However, when the Emperor saw the crest, his face hardened.

“This is…!”