Forgotten Juliet

Knock knock.

At that moment, someone appeared through the open door gap.

“Hmm, Countess Monad?”

“Yes.”

He was an administrator from Elpasa, dispatched from the duchy.

This place, Elpasa, was a fairly large fortress, with a territory the size of several villages combined, administered by the official appointed by the Duchy as the Lord.

“I, a representative from the village, request to meet you.”

A representative from the village?

After exchanging glances with Jude for a moment, Juliet shrugged her shoulders.

“Let them in.”

“Come in, Jacobo!”

The one who came in was an elderly man with a rugged appearance.

Contrary to his simple appearance, his physique, used to labor, slightly hunched posture.

Juliet seemed to guess the man’s occupation.

“A miner.”

“Yes, most villages here in Elpasa are mining towns.”

The administrator from Elpasa explained.

“Primarily, the salt mines and sapphire mines are the largest.”

‘Sapphire mines?’

Juliet tilted her head slightly, sensing a strange familiarity.

Why? It felt like she was on the verge of recalling something.

“Come closer, Jacobo.”

At the administrator’s words, a middle-aged man hesitated, then approached them.

A knight with a sheathed sword and a woman dressed simply for easy riding.

Alternating glances between the two, conflicted Jacobo bowed his head deeply.

“Please help, my lord!”

“The higher authority is over there.”

Jude politely pointed towards Juliet.

The man turned out to be a village chief who was quick to change his demeanor.

“Please save us, Countess!”

“…What happened?”

Juliet felt a bit pathetic, and heaved a sigh.

“Little children are dying while shedding blood!”

The rugged-looking man, who was already half bald, said he was the village chief.

“Please save the poor kids!”

Juliet, now understanding the situation roughly, felt awkward.

“Isn’t there a doctor in the village?”

“It’s been several months since we had one.”

According to the lord, as the village became poorer, the number of doctors decreased, and the few that remained were now unable to return from the larger villages due to the heavy snowfall that had been continuing for days.

‘I am not a doctor either…’

Juliet felt helpless, but seeing the desperate look in the man’s eyes, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse.

She had to at least pretend to do something.

“…Where are the children?”

Moreover, to distract herself, it was better to get moving.

* * *

Ping!

A large arrow accurately pierced through the throat of a beast as it cut through the air.

As the vice-captain of the Duke’s Knights, Sir Milan spoke respectfully as he skillfully wielded the longbow.

“Miss Juliet, she must be angry.”

“I know.”

Wiping off the blood droplets on the sword blade, Lennox responded curtly.

She would be angry. He had left a few words, anticipating her anger, but that wouldn’t be enough.

Lennox affirmed calmly.

But there was no other way.

Just a few days ago, it was the same when they encountered the snake pretending to be Count Jermang.

When he had dealt with the beasts and rushed back to the banquet hall, what he saw was Juliet, in a standoff with the snake, aiming her crossbow.

Fortunately, he managed to pull her out in time, but it was a sight he never wanted to see.

Juliet surprisingly lacked interest in taking care of herself.

Although he never expressed it, since Juliet returned, he had always been anxious.

A light sigh, a gesture.

Whenever she was deeply engrossed in thought, he wondered what she was thinking, fearing that she might regret coming back, and it made him anxious.

Contrary to Juliet’s suspicion, the impulsive confession from the day before wasn’t fabricated.

He wanted to flee to a place where no one could find them, right now.

‘But there’s no safe place…’

No matter where they were, that damn snake would chase him.

So the only thing left was to find and eliminate that snake as soon as possible.

Swish!

Another knight, Hadin, effortlessly sliced off the head of a monster.

They were currently tracking the traces left by the fleeing snake at a fast pace.

The snake that broke the barrier and fled left a trail as if it had scratched the sky. But the same trail could be found on the ground. Just like its trajectory, monsters roamed the earth.

“Master? Why are you doing this?”

Lennox paused and looked down at his hands.

It was a blandly designed decorative leather strap.

The leather strap, which was obviously new, was completely broken.

“She said it protects against bad luck.”

A childish superstition.

But Lennox suddenly felt uneasy and raised his head.

“When did it become so quiet?”

“Excuse me?”

The journey chasing the cunning snake’s trails had been excessively smooth so far.

It shouldn’t have been this simple.

“Why do you do this?”

Suspecting based on a single broken leather strap might be too much.

But that very instinct had saved his life several times in moments of life and death.

“We’re turning back.”

Once the decision was made, there was no hesitation in his actions.

Lennox immediately mounted his horse and turned its head.

“Yes?”

“Your Highness!”

“Where to?”

Stepping on the stirrup, he answered briefly.

“Elpasa.”

* * *

“It’s scurvy.”

Fortunately, Juliet knew the symptoms.

Jude frowned.

“Scurvy? But isn’t that a disease you get if you stay away from land for too long?”

Since scurvy was also known as the sailor’s disease, Jude’s words weren’t entirely wrong.

Then a man known as the village chief cautiously intervened.

“Well, that can’t be, ma’am. Everyone here has lived off the land for generations. Could it be dysentery?”

‘Ma’am’ then ‘Countess’, the titles were liberally used.

“It’s not contagious.”

But Juliet shook her head.

“Scurvy has nothing to do with land or sea. It’s from a lack of food. I am not a doctor but it’s not contagious.”

Juliet sighed.

“I heard that there was a similar case in Tremoil’s silver mine before. Village chief, what have the villagers been eating lately?”

“Ah, we’ve been running out of potatoes since a while ago, and the merchants are stranded due to the heavy snow…”

Relieved that it’s not contagious, Jacobo nervously explained the situation.

“With enough intake of vegetables and fruits, it’s a disease that can be easily cured. So you don’t have to worry too much…”

Accidentally saying that, Juliet, who was rubbing her eyes, met the desperate gazes of dozens of pairs of eyes looking at her.

‘…What did I just say?’

Realizing her mistake, Juliet bit her tongue.

If there was abundant food, they wouldn’t have gotten sick in the first place!

Besides, didn’t she just hear about the merchants being stranded due to heavy snowfall?

“Jude.”

“Yes, Miss.”

“There should be some sugar-preserved fruits in the carriage.”

Like sugar-lime preserves or dried fruits.

The well-prepared maids always packed plenty of snacks for long carriage trips.

“And anything similar you find, please bring it all.”

The people of the Duke’s house, along with the acting lord of Elpasa, went around the village distributing dried fruits and rations.

It’s fortunate that the journey to the Duke’s residence wasn’t far.

Actually, she didn’t plan to help this much, but Juliet had a reason to help them the next day.

The next morning, Juliet and the Duke’s people, rubbing their sleepy eyes, were treated to breakfast at the lord’s mansion.

Thanks to their efforts distributing supplies until late last night, except for the townspeople who had flocked to see the ‘noble visitors’ from the Duke’s residence, the breakfast table was almost the same as the dinner last night.

‘Hm? Why didn’t they bring this out yesterday?’

Though modest, dried ostrich dishes were served. Ostrich meat was a good ingredient for treating scurvy…

Amid the buzz, feeling somehow like a spectacle, the Duke’s people had their breakfast.

Listening vaguely to the conversation between the lord and the townspeople while sipping on the thin stew, Juliet almost choked.

“Cough.”

“Are you alright?”

Jude, who was next to her, patted her back.

“…Sapphire mines?”

“Yes, Countess.”

Jacobo, who was invited to the breakfast, was explaining about the village during the meal.

“A few months ago, when we started offering sapphires to the imperial family instead of the Duke’s house, the village’s conditions worsened significantly.”

Somehow, it was a story she had heard often.