Forgotten Juliet

“Is this the reason why you so suddenly asked me to break up with you?”

Before Juliet could say anything in response, the man’s lips twisted cruelly as he grabbed her shoulders.

“But if you wanted to run away with my child, you shouldn’t have gotten caught.”

“…So, is that why you chased me all the way here?”

Juliet’s face turned pale at his cruel words.

Of course. So that’s it. Well, of course, you shouldn’t have expected anything else from him.

She felt like a fool for even briefly holding onto a fragile hope. nd expected completely different words from him, which she so wanted to hear all the time that she was with him.

What was she expecting, after all?

She laughed at herself.

“Did you think I stole the noble bloodline and ran away?”

She knew very well what the bloodline meant to a man like Lennox Carlyle.

It was none other than greedy relatives who sent a nine-year-old boy to the battlefield.

Even his own mother, who was the daughter of a noble, deceived his father and bore him.

Juliet suddenly became curious.

If she were to admit here that she had his child under her heart, how would he react?

Would she be taken somewhere, just like the woman who came with his child someday and was ‘dealt with’?

In the first place, Lennox Carlyle had no interest in making the successor of the noble family.

And that is why he preferred easy, short relationships, instead of entering into a legal marriage.

However, it was a well-known fact that there were quite a few people who claimed to have Carlyle’s children and came looking for the noble title.

The birth of a child with red eyes and black hair from the noble family was a famous tale. But no one knew what happened to the children and women who came looking for the Duke.

Some people gossiped that the cunning Juliet Monad must have done something to them.

But Juliet herself was one of the most curious people about what had happened to them.

“No, I didn’t steal anything.”

Juliet calmly replied, dropping her head listlessly.

However, his following words filled her with even more despair.

Lennox Carlyle smirked with a mischievous smile on his face.

“What kind of bastard is he, then?”

“Lennox!”

Juliet’s face flushed with embarrassment.

She bit her lip to prevent the tears from welling up momentarily.

But it was insufficient to suppress the overwhelming emotions.

“…Juliet?”

“Just let me go.”

It looks like her lover got angrier than she expected because she ran away without saying a word. He was a man who never let go of something once he had it in his hands.

‘But I have the discernment not to mistake it for affection.’

Is it a similar metaphor if a pet dog breaks free from its leash and runs away?

That’s more akin to resentment or a desire for revenge rather than affection.

But Juliet couldn’t find a justifiable reason for her to receive such treatment.

More than ever, Juliet felt deep despair. She hadn’t stayed by his side for seven years just to be treated like this.

Lennox Carlyle would never know or understand, but…

“Okay, I believe you.”

However, the man who was looking at her barely holding back her tears suddenly spoke with a strange gaze fixed upon her.

“But in return, let’s go back together. Whether it’s marriage or anything else, I’ll do as you wish.”

Juliet’s expression suddenly turned blank.

“What… What did you just say?”

“Damn it, I said I’ll do whatever you want, whether it’s marriage or child’s play.”

His expression remained calm as he repeated his words. However, internally, Lennox was uneasily dealing with it.

“So let’s go back.”

Please.

The man reached out his hand. It was an unusually gentle gesture.

Caught up in his own thoughts, Lennox failed to realize that, for the first time in his life, he was clinging to a woman.

He was excommunicated from the temple. If they were to have a wedding ceremony, it would cause a commotion.

But does it matter now?

If war is necessary, he will do it without hesitation.

He was the Duke of the North. The undefeated military and the land of black gold. Even an emperor cannot conquer the North, so what can a temple oppose to him?

He didn’t believe in gods. Let alone the old fools who claimed to be the gods’ servants and spouted nonsense.

Juliet wouldn’t run away again.

Nothing mattered anymore.

Once he said it out loud, everything became clear.

“Marriage… you say.”

“Yes.”

However, Juliet didn’t smile with joy or shed tears of emotion. Even though he offered her the position of the unwanted ruler of the North, she looked up at Lennox with empty eyes.

“And what about the child?”

“Do as you wish.”

Lennox nervously swept his hair back.

He didn’t feel inclined to pass on that cursed lineage to his own flesh and blood. Moreover, children were annoying and irritating. But he thought he might tolerate it if the child resembled her.

Lennox looked down at Juliet, who still stood there dazed as if in shock.

If there was a child, she wouldn’t be able to escape as easily as this time. Juliet was like a fragile little animal.

She was weak.

It was just an impulsive remark, but he felt better when he thought it through.

“Really, until the very end…”

Juliet’s petal-like red lips parted.

“You’re cruel.”

“…Who?”

“Exactly how far do you have to make someone miserable to satisfy yourself?”

Cruel?

Lennox Carlyle doubted his ears.

Just a day ago, she had tenderly embraced him like a spring breeze, but within half a day, she deceived him and ran away. It was Juliet Monad who let go of his hand first, who abandoned him.

Who is crying out about cruelty now?

Lennox wanted to retort like that, but he couldn’t.

“Juliet?”

Juliet started shedding tears without any warning.

Like a person reaching their breaking point. Like a drop of water overflowing from a glass.

Juliet cried silently.

He knew that those tears weren’t tears of joy that a woman receiving a proposal would show.

The startled man belatedly grabbed her wrist.

Juliet murmured in a hollow voice.

“If I go back?”

“What?”

“What will change if I go back with you now?”

‘What will change?’ Lennox’s expression narrowed at the unexpected question.

Juliet had never asked such a thing before.

The future is uncertain and ambiguous.

But nothing will change. He didn’t want it to change.

Lennox knew Juliet Monad well. The soft skin where hot blood flows, the sweet sighs, the fluttering eyelashes, and the dimples on her cheeks.

That was enough for Lennox.

Juliet didn’t beg for affection. She never restrained him or held him back.

“Nothing.”

Their relationship won’t change.

And that’s what he desired.

Juliet Monad will still remain his lover, and they will return together to the Duke’s residence in the North.

Whether it’s marriage or children, they would need to prepare a stronger cage so that Juliet wouldn’t be able to escape like this again, but in any case, all problems will be resolved.

Right now, if she just nodded her head-

“Lennox.”

However, Juliet didn’t nod as him.

“I want to stop now.”

“…Juliet?”

“I don’t love you anymore.”

Always wondering when she would be discarded.

“I’m sick of it now.”

Beep, beep!

Right at that moment, with a loud noise the train entered the platform.

“Your Highness.”

Juliet pushed away the man’s chest, who had been holding her as if supporting her, while shaking her head.

“I know. Somewhere in the world, there must be a woman who will kneel a man like you and teach humility.”

Flutter.

Before he instinctively reached out his hand towards Juliet, suddenly butterflies with wings shining so brightly that it made his eyes hurt appeared.

The fluttering of the blue butterfly flock brushed against the edge of her skirt, shaking it entirely.

It seemed as if it wasn’t allowing anything or anyone to come close to her, filling Lennox’s vision.

In the meantime, the woman distanced herself from him, took a few hesitant steps back towards the stationary train.

“But that won’t be me.”

As Juliet looked into the eyes of the man who stood frozen in place, her lips formed a perfect smile.

“I told you before, I didn’t steal anything. That wasn’t a lie.”

Juliet instinctively realized that she was the one holding the sheath of the knife.

The only chance she had to leave an indelible mark on a man who would not be hurt by anything and would not be swayed by anything was right in her hands at this moment.

Juliet casually brought her hand to her empty belly.

“Because this, it’s not your child.”

Juliet laughed softly as she lied for the last time.