Forgotten Juliet

* * *

“Miss Juliet!”

“You were here.”

Juliet, holding Nix, looked around as she asked:

“Where’s Roy?”

“Oh, that wolf.”

The Duke’s knights exchanged embarrassed expressions amongst themselves, and after exchanging glances, spoke.

“For now, the imperial guards escorted him to the capital.”

“They protested strongly, so it might be difficult to charge him immediately.”

The knights were careful of Juliet’s reaction.

But Juliet was quiet, indicating she would listen to their opinions without any particular comments.

“Anyway, what do we do? The snake escaped, as did the Second Prince.”

“And the whereabouts of that maid Ronda are unknown.”

The Hauser siblings could have been decisive witnesses.

The Second Prince’s aide and brother Ansel Hauser was found dead not far away, and Ronda, who had sneaked into the duchy disguised as a maid, had vanished without a trace.

However, Ronda too must have either run far away or hidden.

“The Second Prince and the snake will probably deny any connection.”

“The Emperor has already changed his stance, acting ignorant.”

From the Emperor’s standpoint, with the witness and the snake gone, there was no reason to acknowledge the Second Prince’s crimes.

The cunning old Emperor changed his attitude as soon as he learned that the Second Prince had escaped.

“It’s clear that the Second Prince and his soldiers eliminated all the witnesses while fleeing. Thanks to that, the Emperor found a way out.”

Then, Juliet spoke the words that everyone was thinking but didn’t say out loud.

“…That old fox.”

“Yes?”

“If the Emperor doesn’t intend to keep his promise, he should pay the price.”

Juliet’s blue eyes sparkled menacingly.

“But… Miss, what do you mean?”

“As I said, all the witnesses and evidence have disappeared…”

“There is.”

“Yes?”

“There’s still a witness who can testify to the relationship between the Second Prince and the snake.”

* * *

At dawn, the officials at the Alkalon harbor were deep in thought.

A mysterious ship, unseen the day before, had suddenly appeared in the harbor.

“What ship is that?”

Alkalon was the closest harbor to the capital, and ships from various countries came and went. Therefore, it wasn’t a big deal that a large pirate ship had anchored.

“Upon inquiry, it’s a ship from Lucerne.”

“Lucerne?”

Ruled by a Pope, Lucerne was a neutral city-state.

So, was this ship here to pick up the Archbishop?

Flap.

As the officials tilted their heads, a black flag fluttered.

“That is…?”

* * *

At that moment, not far away at the palace.

“Your Majesty, Duke Carlyle has arrived.”

“Come in, Duke.”

The Emperor asked politely:

“So, have you figured out a way to catch that monster again?”

Everyone had seen the giant snake escape the barrier and fly north through the night sky.

The Emperor’s question was almost deceptive, but Duke Carlyle answered calmly.

“Not yet.”

“Huh.”

The Emperor sighed, feigning sorrow.

“That’s a big problem. You must be worried about your northern territory.”

Meanwhile, the Emperor was thinking hard.

‘Did this guy definitely come to ask for help in chasing that monster?’

The evidence presented by Duke Carlyle the night before proved that the ominous snake was behind the various strange disasters that had occurred in the Empire over the past few months.

But now that the snake had escaped, any verbal agreement was meaningless.

The Emperor was determined to avoid responsibility as much as possible, and to feign ignorance about the crimes committed by the Second Prince.

The sins of a child are the sins of the parents.

If it was revealed and acknowledged that the Second Prince Cloff had colluded with the snake monster to ruin the country, the Emperor and the imperial family wouldn’t be safe.

“But what to do? I’ll help as much as I can, but even the imperial guards are short-staffed…”

“I didn’t come to ask for help.”

“Hmm?”

You didn’t come to beg for help?

At this point, the Emperor was slightly annoyed. He expected to see this young man begging.

“?”

“So what?”

Lennox Carlyle was still in the disheveled attire from yesterday’s banquet.

It was natural as he probably spent the night here. However, a chilly foreboding seemed to emanate from the young Duke.

“Come with me for a moment, Your Majesty.”

* * *

The overwhelmed Emperor hurriedly followed Duke Carlyle.

“Alkalon port?”

With only a few attendants, they arrived at a port located a stone’s throw away from the Palace.

Due to the chaotic events of the night, there were few people in the harbor as the sun just began to rise.

The Emperor’s eyes widened.

A large sailing ship was docked at the spot guided by Duke Carlyle.

Even to the untrained eye, the ship looked quite splendid.

“Is this the Duke’s ship?”

“It’s not mine.”

Despite the Emperor’s subtle inquiry, Lennox Carlyle responded blandly and climbed onto the deck first.

“Come up.”

‘Somehow, I feel entangled in this guy’s scheme,’ the Emperor thought, but it wasn’t often to board such a magnificent ship.

The deck was spacious as befit a large ship.

There weren’t many sailors on the deck, but peculiarly, a large table and some empty chairs were placed in the middle of it.

A woman seated on an empty chair stood up as they approached.

“Countess Monad?”

“Hello, Your Majesty.”

It was Juliet Monad, still in the same dress as the night before.

The Emperor suspiciously surveyed the surroundings.

“Did the Countess call me here?”

“Yes, I asked Duke Carlyle to bring you here.”

Now a Duke’s lover was ordering an Emperor around.

The Emperor was rather irritated.

“Then who is that?”

The Emperor pointed at an elderly man with red hair sitting at the table, who had been bothering him since earlier.

Despite his age, the man was quite sturdy and strangely imposing.

Juliet glanced at the old man sitting next to her like a statue.

His true identity was her grandfather Lionel Lebatan, but Juliet kept it brief.

“He’s the captain of this ship.”

It wasn’t a lie. The ship belonged to Lionel Lebatan.

“So, Countess Monad called me to see you. Why?”

The Emperor sarcastically inquired as he sat down on a prepared chair.

[My dearest friend, Guardian Monad.]

The first Emperor of the Empire, Ernst the Great, personally bestowed honorable titles upon the Monad family.

Although now a fallen nobility, Juliet Monad was the last bloodline of a prestigious family.

The Emperor decided to exercise patience, if only for the sake of the late Count and Countess Monad’s memory.

Near the entrance to the deck, Duke Carlyle, who was leaning awkwardly, seemed to be catching his eye.

“The reason for calling you is, there is evidence to support the charges against the Second Prince.”

“Oh, is that so? I was a bit flustered yesterday and jumped to conclusions.”

The Emperor feigned magnanimity.

“In my haste, I made the mistake of believing that the Second Prince and that evil snake monster were connected, just by hearing Duke Carlyle’s one-sided claim. But look, there’s no witness or evidence, right?”

Juliet, seemingly having waited for this, smiled faintly.

“There’s a witness, Your Majesty.”

“What? Who is that?”

“Marquis Guinness.”

“What?”

A horrified expression appeared on the Emperor’s face.

“But that’s impossible! Marquis Guinness is dead!”

That was the moment.

An old man in shackles was dragged out from below the deck.

“…Marquis Guinness?”

He seemed to have aged at least a decade, but it was undoubtedly Marquis Guinness.

The Emperor swallowed hard.

“But even if he is Marquis Guinness, how does that prove the treason charges against the Second Prince!”

“Oh? Haven’t you realized yet, Your Majesty?”

“What?”

“The Second Prince and Marquis Guinness conspired together, and Marquis Guinness, as the servant of that snake, conspired to rebel long before yesterday’s incident occurred.”

“…”

“The Second Prince and Marquis Guinness are in cahoots, and of course, we can present the coded messages that they plotted the conspiracy with the evil snake as evidence.”

The charges could certainly be proven by the coded letters exchanged between the Second Prince and Marquis Guinness alone.

But whether the Emperor would accept it was a strictly different matter.

In that context, the appearance of Marquis Guinness, believed to be dead, had significantly affected the Emperor’s mentality.

“…What do you want, Countess Monad?”

“Publicly announce that the Second Prince was fooled by the snake monster, plunging the Empire into peril, and issue a warrant for their capture.”

“Why should I do that?”

“If not, suspicions will arise that the imperial family intentionally caused confusion to undermine the nobility, including the Duke’s house.”

Juliet smiled sweetly.

“As the parent to all the citizens of the Empire, Your Majesty, I believe you know well which choice is wise.”