Forgotten Juliet

* * *

Juliet was upset, even the next morning.

“There was a bit of an incident yesterday.”

“I heard.”

Juliet sneakily glanced over the partition.

By habit, Duke Carlyle had woken up early and was changing his clothes. His outfit for the day was suitable for hunting.

“Aren’t you worried?”

“…”

Stopping mid-change, Lennox returned to the bed and met Juliet’s gaze.

“The only thing I’m worried about is my wife getting tired of me and running away.”

“…It’s hard to tell if you’re joking when you say it so seriously.”

Juliet chuckled lightly.

“Won’t you say, ‘Stop playing the generous hostess’?”

“No, I won’t.”

Lennox smirked.

“But if you ever decide to give up on moderation, you’re welcome to.”

That way, they could chase away the bothersome guests and enjoy the holidays just among themselves.

In fact, that was what Lennox truly wished for.

“If it ever gets too bothersome and you don’t want to think about it-“

He kissed the back of her hand and whispered seductively:

“Use me.”

“…What?”

“Utilize me.”

“…? I don’t understand.”

As Juliet tilted her head, Lennox explained further,

“Tell them your husband is a jealous maniac who can’t stand you talking to others. Then I’ll handle everything.”

“How?”

“Pretend to be crazy, draw my sword and chase away all the people outside. It’s not like my reputation can fall any further.”

After a moment of surprise, Juliet laughed out loud.

“Why are you laughing?”

“It feels like this is what means to have someone on my side.”

Seeing Juliet laugh, he too smiled faintly.

Juliet, feeling a lot more relaxed, suddenly remembered he had stayed up all night. It was about the gold coin forgery incident.

“…It would be nice to know who’s circulating the counterfeit coins.”

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

Lennox smirked meaningfully.

“It’ll be resolved soon.”

From his confident reply, Juliet felt she understood a bit more about how he became the way he is.

After acquiring the chatelaine, Juliet could review the Duke’s accounting books. She was astounded by the year’s budget.

She thought she was good with numbers, but had to count several times to determine how many digits there were. The amount made her hands tremble.

Because they were the richest family, they had enemies everywhere.

“You said you put up the magical tool sent from the tower as a prize for the hunting contest?”

“Right.”

Lennox admitted without hesitation.

While Juliet was hosting guests at the castle today, he was to preside over a hunting contest. It was said to be a custom for the northern Star Birth Festival.

But Lennox didn’t seem pleased.

“I don’t see the fun in hunting herbivores.”

Considering hunting beasts was his only hobby, it seemed mingling with the aristocrats was quite unappealing.

After seeing Lennox off to the hunting grounds, Juliet looked outside as dawn was just breaking.

‘Nix… are you still angry?’

* * *

“…W-what do I do?”

Panicking, Nix pulled the blanket over him and closed his eyes tightly.

Perhaps if he went back to sleep and woke up, everything would return to normal.

But when he opened his eyes again, he was still human.

“If Juliet finds out…”

Suddenly he was walking on two legs and his tail was gone.

The scarier thing was that he could now speak human language.

‘Human language…?’

Nix, on the verge of tears, suddenly remembered the previous night.

-The Guardian Star grants the wishes of good children.

-If you’re a good child, I’ll grant your wish for a day.

He remembered Juliet’s words and a strange dream.

‘Did I wish to become a human?’

Suddenly, Nix lifted his head.

Had he turned into a human because of that?

“I’m… a human?”

Nix eagerly looked into the mirror.

He hadn’t noticed before due to his shock, but he now looked exactly like the boy from the portrait he saw the night before, except for his pumpkin-colored eyes. Even his clothes resembled those Anton wore, which Nix had admired.

Initially scared, Nix realized what he could do.

‘I can speak!’

He didn’t need to ask the pumpkin head; he could tell Juliet himself how wronged he felt!

“Ju…”

And he had many other things he wanted to say.

Excited, Nix dashed out.

“Juliet!”

In high spirits, he hopped down to the ground floor in no time.

However, the first being he encountered was not Juliet.

“Bring it properly! If it’s ruined, I’ll tell father!”

“Yes, young master!”

Across the hall, a young boy who was briskly walking with a servant caught his eye.

From his distinctive walk, Nix recognized the boy from afar.

‘That guy!’

The boy who had ruined Nix’s flower, thrown stones, and falsely accused him.

The youngest son of Count Gruber, Anton.

But to Nix, he was just a target for revenge.

This was a good opportunity. He would scold him!

“Hey, you!”

Before Nix could show his stuff to the boy, Anton briskly walked past him, crossing the hall directly. Where the fortunate Anton hurriedly ran, Juliet was talking to the maids.

Nix was taken aback by the thought of being overshadowed, while Anton ran towards Juliet.

“Young master Gruber?”

“I brought this for you!”

The servant following Anton placed a large bouquet of flowers down.

‘What’s that?’

Unintentionally, Nix hid himself behind a nearby statue.

“Your Highness! You’re here!”

Starting with young master Gruber, guests from the previous day poured out from their hiding spots.

In no time, Juliet was surrounded by guests offering greetings and gifts.

“Our child wants to express gratitude to Her Highness the Duchess.”

“Thank you for the invitation!”

Mainly ladies, presumably mothers, brought their children to greet, and the little ones handed Juliet small gifts or bells.

From a distance, Nix, who was hiding, saw Juliet smiling brightly.

“Oh, how beautiful.”

“Our child made it herself.”

“She wrote a card for the Duchess!”

“I heard Your Highness birthday is coming up, so we prepared it with care.”

The strange paper seemed to be called a ‘thank you card’.

Nix watched the scene quietly, hiding behind a statue.

“…”

Nix hesitated, unable to step forward amongst the crowd.

‘I had flowers too…’

He looked down at his empty hands.

He had plucked a tempting wild roses from the garden yesterday for Juliet. It had been ruined while fighting with that small, pesky human.

“Hmph.”

Changing his plan with a pout, Nix thought, I’ll give Juliet a gift too!

‘But I’ve never seen such big, red flowers before…’

In truth, they weren’t real flowers but paper-made ones. But Nix, seeing such flowers made of colored paper for the first time, was amazed.

There were many flowers blooming in the Duke’s garden, but Nix wanted to give something much better.

‘Right, that one!’

Nix suddenly remembered the rainbow-colored crystal flower he saw in the reception room yesterday.

The one that emitted a sweet magical scent. Juliet would surely appreciate that.

‘Huh?’

As he rushed to the secluded room from yesterday, Nix hesitated.

Sniff.

While the flower had been inside the castle yesterday, he now sensed the crystal flower’s presence far in the forest.

From beyond the window, a faint sweet scent wafted in from the distant forest.

“Did you hear? Today’s hunting prize is a precious magical artifact from the tower.”

“Ah, the flower made of magical crystal?”

A passing conversation of servants near the statue caught his attention.

‘It’s okay. I just have to follow the scent!’

While Nix didn’t understand words like ‘magical artifact’ or ‘hunting bet,’ he knew he had to head to the forest to find that crystal flower.

Rushing instinctively to the window, he realized something.

‘Oops.’

The window frame was high, and Nix had no wings at the moment.

‘Humans are so inconvenient…’

Mumbling, Nix ran towards the back door.

* * *

“Ugh…”

The forest was farther than he thought.

He met some kind humans along the way and got a carriage ride to the forest. But once in the forest, without the ability to fly, he had to walk.

As Nix trudged through the forest, he filled his stomach with winter strawberries and camellia honey.

His stomach grumbled with hunger, but Nix was burning with determination.

‘Something even better than that!’

The crystal flower was nearby. The dragon, with its innate ability to sense magic, was a natural tracker.

“It’s around here…”

How long had he delved deep into the forest?

“Hmm?”

He seemed to hear human activity from afar. Nix, with perked ears, moved in the direction of the noise.

“Gasp.”

Soon, a wide clearing appeared. Before he could survey the surroundings, Nix’s eyes were drawn to the crystal flower placed elegantly on a table.

‘I found it!’

It was undoubtedly the flower he saw yesterday.

Nix was convinced that it was a rare and genuine flower.

As Nix, mesmerized by the flower, approached, he didn’t notice someone approaching him from behind.

Rustle. 

As Nix, entranced, was about to reach for the flower, suddenly, a large hand grabbed him by the neck.

“Mmph?!”

Nix, suddenly yanked from the bushes, was startled.

Flailing about, Nix locked eyes with the brute who lifted him.

Black hair, a noble nose, and a somewhat flashy hunting cloak. The handsome human man emanated a cold aura, contrary to his good looks.

Cold, red eyes stared intently at Nix, a hint of surprise evident.

“You-“

“Hiccup.”

Perhaps he hiccupped from sheer surprise.

Only then did Nix realize why he usually played around the castle’s forest and never ventured this way.

“…What are you doing here?”

The handsome man’s forehead furrowed. This area was Duke Carlyle’s hunting ground.