Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Snowdrop
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“Ha! You think I’d tell you?!”
Graham snickered.
Roy, being the youngest of the brothers, still didn’t know the secret tales whispered in the forest.
“Anyway, one thing’s clear—that woman will never be your mate...
...!”
Crack.
With the sound of something breaking, Graham passed out.
“Ah.”
Only then did Roy realize his mistake. Without realizing it, he had knocked Graham unconscious.
“Oops.”
Roy opened his mouth in a tone that wasn’t particularly regretful.
But he was interested in what Graham had been blabbering about just moments ago.
After thinking for a moment, Roy spoke up.
“Elza.”
“Yeah... uh, yes?”
Elza, who had been hiding between some trees a short distance away watching the scene, responded without thinking.
Nathan, hiding beside her, glared at her in disbelief.
‘Oh no.’
Elza made a face full of deep regret, but it was too late.
“Come out.”
With no choice, she shuffled out reluctantly.
“Do you know something?”
“Yeah, no! I mean, yes, well...”
Elza stammered incoherently before squeezing her eyes shut and spilling the beans.
“Juliet said Graham called her necklace ‘Snowdrop’!”
“What’s that weird name?”
But even hearing that, Roy’s reaction was utterly indifferent.
“Isn’t that a flower name?”
Answering his question wasn’t Graham, who lay unconscious on the forest floor, nor Elza, who looked lost.
“It’s an old tale.”
Nathan, who had followed her out with a resigned air, finally spoke up reluctantly.
“I’m sure you’ve heard it too, my lord. That beyond the forest, there are beautiful yet wicked things that beguile humans.”
“I know. It’s one of Granny Schiff’s old stories.”
Elza’s grandmother was the oldest and wisest in Katia Forest.
She used to gather the children and tell them tales from the past.
“It’s not just some old story.”
“Then what is it?”
“They say foolish human kings of ancient times created objects that could serve as gateways to summon beings from beyond dimensions, and gave them names to control them.”
It was pretty amusing to see Nathan, of all people, speaking so gravely and seriously.
“Gateways?”
“Yes. If someone worthy possesses the object, they can summon them, or so the tales go.”
Roy asked indifferently.
“Summon what?”
“Wicked divinities from beyond dimensions.”
Roy felt like he might burst out laughing.
“But what does that have to do with Juliet? No way that key of hers is—”
Elza glanced anxiously at Graham on the ground, and Nathan’s expression was deadly serious.
“I don’t know if the key Miss Juliet has is truly one of those objects. We don’t even know how many there are. Some were destroyed, others lost forever, they say.”
“But Graham said it! He said what Juliet has is Snowdrop.”
Elza chimed in.
Roy glared at Graham on the ground before turning back to Elza.
“So what the hell is Snowdrop?”
“You know too, Roy. It’s from what our grandma told us...”
“Known names are exceedingly rare, but Snowdrop is one of the few whose name and nature are revealed.”
Roy stopped laughing.
“So that wicked being... you mean Juliet’s butterflies?”
“Maybe.”
Roy was well aware that Juliet commanded far too powerful a spirit beast for her to be just a spirit summoner.
The butterfly beast had reluctantly released him on the train and summoned a goddess statue in Lucerne.
Everyone there thought their pontiff had summoned the divine form, but Roy knew instinctively.
The false pontiff didn’t have that power.
It was Juliet who had called it forth.
Or perhaps the soulstone she carried clashed with the power of her butterfly beasts.
He had never told Juliet this, but he had guessed as much.
He had always found those beasts unsettling, so when Juliet was disappointed that the butterflies had vanished, he had secretly felt relieved.
“You said its name and nature are known.
So what are those butterflies?”
“Monsters that traverse space and time, devouring human emotions.”
Roy finally burst out laughing at the absurd claim.
But Nathan advised him with a stern face.
“My lord Roy, you’d best keep your distance from Miss Juliet from now on.”
**
“This is my first time seeing something like this.”
Juliet couldn’t stop marveling at the sight before her. Red and white plum blossoms bloomed profusely around the serene lake.
“It’s a view you can only see in this season.”
The southern administrator guiding them smiled as he chimed in.
“It would’ve been even more picturesque with some snow.”
But Juliet thought it was romantic enough as it was.
A winter lake blooming with flowers in this season. The North was still deep in winter, with all lakes frozen over.
It felt like early spring had come only to this place.
Unlike Juliet, who was lost in admiring the plum blossoms, Lennox paid attention to something else.
“Is it safe?”
“Of course, Your Highness.”
Lennox eyed the small boat suspiciously, but contrary to Juliet’s hopeful expectations, he didn’t refuse.
Juliet took the basket of light snacks handed to her and turned around, a bit flustered.
“Why?”
“Will you row it yourself?”
“...”
Contrary to her slightly mischievous expectations, the boat carrying just the two of them glided smoothly forward.
He rowed with impressive skill, barely getting turned around.
In fact, after a short while, the oars weren’t even needed. The boat, equipped with a magic stone, began moving on its own.
She folded up the parasol that wasn’t needed to block the sunlight and sneaked a glance at Lennox.
Over the past few days, Lennox had been acting strangely.
He wouldn’t stop asking what she wanted to do, and no matter what she suggested to test him, he nodded along without a single refusal.
At this point, his excessive compliance was making her anxious instead.
And now they were even on a flower-viewing outing.
The Duke of Carlisle on a flower-viewing trip.
His secretaries had been horrified.
What would he do next?
“Aren’t you busy?”
“Not really.”
Liar.
Juliet’s eyes narrowed.
She had seen the estate administrators rushing about packing luggage, so there was clearly urgent business.
Winter brought more monster sightings to the territory, but it couldn’t be just that. Even if she asked, they wouldn’t tell her since she wasn’t from the duke’s household.
Thinking that far, Juliet smirked.
“Why?”
“Oh...”
Juliet blinked for a moment.
Then she spoke.
“Lady Ilena said it’s fine for me to go out without an escort.”
It was Lady Ilena Lindberg who had suddenly called Juliet out that morning for a flower-viewing trip.
“So?”
“Meaning you don’t have to come with me next time.”
“Who asked for that?”
“Pardon?”
Instead of answering, Lennox grinned.
At the same time, he glanced across the river where they were heading.
An opulent tea party was in full swing. Skimming the attendees, Lennox realized Lady Ilena’s plan to find Juliet a suitable match was still underway.
No wonder she had summoned Juliet early in the morning. The old lady never gave up.