Chapter 118
Chapter 118
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: The Deception Unveiled
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"You, you... how...?"
Solon stammered, at a complete loss for words. Even the iron chains that had bound her ankles were now undone.
"I had my suspicions. There was no way you could've developed a magic stone mine in such a short time."
Juliet calmly examined the fake magic stone in her hand, paying him no mind.
"Esselrid did mention you had black magic to create fake magic stones."
Juliet spoke nonchalantly.
Her tone made it sound less like she was locked in an underground dungeon and more like she was lounging in her own drawing room.
"So these were artificially made. Right?"
Flutter.
A butterfly quietly flew in from behind her.
"You, you! How did you break the hypnosis...!"
Hypnosis.
Juliet smiled sweetly as she recalled the events from a few days ago.
A few days earlier.
"Peeep!"
Onyx let out a sharp cry, as if annoyed at being surrounded by the unfamiliar mages.
But since he was nestled in Juliet's arms, all he could do was squirm a little.
In the end, Juliet agreed to meet the suspicious mages who had come with Esselrid.
She couldn't just let it slide after seeing Onyx pick up and eat strange things multiple times.
"Ooh, so this is the one we've only heard about...!"
"Those wings! Perfect symmetry!"
"Qu-quick, sketch it! Sketch!"
While Juliet held Onyx, the mages buzzed around excitedly, observing him closely.
"Nix has been eating something strange."
"Something strange?"
Esselrid looked at her colleagues pitifully before asking Juliet in puzzlement.
"It seems like he's hunting something every night. I don't know what it is."
Juliet listed her concerns one by one.
"I've closed all the windows, but every morning I find him smacking his lips like he ate something... Is he okay?"
"...Miss Juliet, I'm not a veterinarian."
Juliet snorted.
"If a mage doesn't know about dragons, who does?"
"Quite right!"
"Thank you."
Esselrid gave her sycophantic colleague a dirty look before explaining in a resigned tone.
"But there are no poisons or curses that can kill a dragon, so rest assured."
Juliet still looked down at Onyx worriedly.
"But I'm still concerned. It'd be one thing if he were catching mice or rabbits. But every morning I wake up to him eating something black and transparent."
"Something black and transparent...?"
"Yes, it looks just like shadows."
Not only Esselrid, but all the other excited mages froze in place.
"Why? What is it?"
Juliet grew serious along with them.
"Um, that sounds like... a thought entity."
After exchanging glances, the mages finally spoke up.
"It's a forbidden curse."
"A holy power curse from hundreds of years ago."
"Used by corrupt ancient priests to manipulate people at will..."
"Wait, these thought entities are appearing in your room every night?"
At that point, Esselrid jumped up in disbelief.
"Someone's targeting you, Miss Juliet!"
'...That's how it happened.'
Juliet smiled sweetly.
The moment Esselrid said that, the only ones who came to mind were Marquis Guiness and Dolores.
'And sure enough, I was right.'
Right after hearing that story, she ran into Marquis Guiness and heard the full tale from him babbling away.
So Juliet had never actually fallen under any hypnosis from the start.
She had only played along a bit because Marquis Guiness and Dolores's smug attitudes were so ridiculous...
"I never imagined I'd uncover something like this."
It had seemed suspicious. There was no way Marquis Guiness could've acquired a magic stone mine overnight.
The mine's existence was pure fiction—they were kidnapping people with mana and turning them into magic stones. That was the method Esselrid had described for artificially creating them.
But there was no need to kindly explain all that to them.
"Alright then, I'll be taking this fake magic stone as evidence."
Juliet picked up the crimson fake magic stone and said calmly.
"Ha...!"
Only then did Cardinal Solon snap out of it and step forward.
"You foolish woman. Do you even know where you are?"
At that, the marquis's subordinates regained their composure and smirked triumphantly.
They had no idea how this woman had broken free of the hypnosis, but this was the Guiness marquisate's underground dungeon. Escaping with her frail body was impossible.
"You don't seriously think we'll let you leave nicely, do you?"
"Who knows. Will you?"
Juliet smiled sweetly and took a step toward them.
Eek!
Feeling an inexplicable fear, the marquis's men unwittingly backed away before shouting.
"G-guards!"
"Y-yes! Coming right now!"
Clatter crash.
The guards came rushing in with surprisingly frivolous voices. But the color of the knights' cloaks who arrived...
"......Black?"
Cardinal Solon and the marquis's subordinates were baffled. Family knight orders usually wore cloaks of a specific color.
For example, black was for the northern...
"Sir Jude!"
Juliet pretended to be shocked and scolded him.
"You should've changed your cloak too."
"Oh no!"
The young knight with orange hair was in the middle of unlocking the dungeon door when he exaggeratedly startled.
"I'll fix it right away, my lady!"
Grinning broadly, Jude entered the cell and approached the nearest of the marquis's men.
Thwack!
"Ugh!"
He punched him outright, then snatched the red cloak from the fallen man and asked innocently.
"How about now, my lady?"
"J-Jude Hayon?"
Only then did the marquis's subordinates grasp the situation. These were knights from the Carlyle ducal house.
Jude laughed gleefully.
"Correct!"
At his signal, the ducal knights poured in.
A brawl broke out.
"Y-you bastards! Over here!"
The quick-witted Cardinal Solon swiftly pressed himself against the dungeon wall, trying to grab Juliet as a hostage.
Flutter.
"Huh?!"
But when the blue butterflies appeared threateningly, Solon backed away first.
For Solon, who remembered what those butterflies had done in Lucerne, the terror was still fresh.
Cardinal Solon wore an incredulous expression.
"B-but the marquis said Dolores clearly took your power...!"
"Ah, about that."
Juliet tilted her head awkwardly.
"It's a bit embarrassing to say this."
Flutter.
A single blue butterfly rose from her fingertip and adorably folded and unfolded its wings.
"That was fake."
"What?"
"I never handed over ownership of the butterflies just by giving the silver key..."
Marquis Guiness had seemed to believe possessing the key was enough.
If it were possible, Juliet would've given them away long ago back when the butterflies were a nuisance.
Juliet pulled out the real silver key from inside her collar. The one she'd pretended Dolores took was an exquisite fake.
Murmur murmur.
A ripple of whispers spread through the gathered crowd in the imperial banquet hall.
"......?"
Marquis Guiness was momentarily flustered by the unexpected reaction.
Just moments ago, he had confidently declared.
"My adopted daughter, Dolores, is actually a brilliant spiritist!"
But then.
"What is the meaning of this, marquis?"
The emperor scowled unpleasantly.
"Pardon?"
"Are you mocking us right now?"
Standing in the center of the banquet hall, Marquis Guiness was taken aback.
"Look at what your adopted daughter is doing!"
Dolores was flailing her hands wildly at empty air.
Staring blankly at her, Marquis Guiness wondered what was going on. Until just moments ago, he had clearly seen it.
Dozens of beautiful butterflies emerging from Dolores's hand, flaunting their sparkling wings...
"Pfft."
The snickers and mocking laughter from the packed banquet hall snapped Marquis Guiness out of his thoughts.
Dolores still wore an ecstatic expression, as if the butterflies were truly in her hands.
Just like someone under an illusion spell.
'Wait, an illusion?'
No way. Marquis Guiness felt a chill down his spine.
That wench, Juliet Monad, had cast an illusion? Impossible.
He desperately denied it.
Last night, Juliet Monad had fallen under his hypnosis. So it was absurd that she could've cast an illusion on Dolores and him.
Besides, hadn't Juliet Monad, under his hypnosis, even tried to assassinate Duke Carlyle?
It was then.
The people on the outskirts began murmuring.
"Hm? What's going on?"
As the banquet hall doors opened, the emperor forgot all decorum and shot to his feet.
"D-Duke!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Marquis Guiness was equally stunned.
The man striding in unharmed was none other than the ever-annoying-faced Lennox Carlyle.
Forgotten Juliet