Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Vengeance at the Graveyard
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Damn it.
Things had gotten complicated.
Baron Gaspal grumbled under his breath as he hurried toward the graveyard where the funeral was being held.
'Those idiots. They couldn't even steal that one key...!'
He never should have trusted those rootless bandits.
If those bandits had done their job properly, he would have sold the key by now and been living a life of luxury at his villa in the southern seas.
But instead, he was being hounded by creditors and subjected to investigations by the capital guard.
Right after leaving the scene, Gaspal had realized he couldn't leave Juliet alive while she still drew breath, so he had hurriedly returned.
Yet for some inexplicable reason, nothing was left there.
Only dried bloodstains remained.
The bandits he had hired with his money had vanished without a trace, and so had the corpses of Count Monad and his wife, along with Juliet.
He hadn't heard any news until a full four days after the incident.
That was when he learned Juliet had returned alive, having lost her memories. Along with her parents' bodies.
'I knew that girl had nine lives.'
Just like the fall from her horse three years ago, she had come back to life again.
Rumors swirled that she remembered nothing due to the shock, but Gaspal trembled with unease.
If Juliet opened her mouth, it was obvious she would point to him as the culprit.
And sure enough, the very next day after her return, the capital guard summoned him.
Whispers had even begun to spread that Gaspal was connected to the count couple's deaths.
Leaving her alive had truly been the root of all his problems.
'Good thing I prepared an alibi in advance.'
Cunning Gaspal had lined up witnesses to vouch for him right after hiring the bandits.
He professed his innocence loudly, claiming he was wronged.
Fortunately, the bandits who had been there that day had evaporated completely.
The only one claiming they existed was Juliet's testimony.
As expected, the capital guard released him, saying it wasn't enough to bring him to trial.
If even one of them had survived and testified that Gaspal was the mastermind...
Gaspal shuddered.
But questions still lingered. Where on earth had the bandits gone, and how had that girl returned in one piece?
It was inexplicable. The bandits Gaspal had hired were notorious scoundrels.
Had they suddenly repented their crimes and shown mercy, gently letting Juliet go?
"You're late, Uncle Gaspal."
Gaspal halted and froze in place.
"You, you..."
In the dim heart of the graveyard stood Juliet alone, dressed in black.
He had heard she was alive, but seeing her with his own eyes hit harder.
He assumed something must be wrong with her somewhere. Yet Juliet, clad in mourning clothes, seemed excessively fine aside from her slight pallor.
"The funeral is over. The mourners have all left."
Dong-grong, dong-grong.
Just then, the bells from the temple rang out for the deceased.
Yes. Today was the funeral for the late Count Monad and his wife, exactly one week since their tragic deaths.
As the stunned Gaspal struggled to speak, Juliet tilted her head mockingly.
"Why are you so surprised? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Wh-who's surprised?!"
"Is it that strange that I'm alive?"
"...What are you talking about? Don't tell me."
Baron Gaspal glanced around.
It was broad daylight, but the sky was overcast with heavy clouds. No thunder rumbled, but lightning flashed occasionally.
As Juliet said, no mourners were in sight.
Aside from Juliet and Baron Gaspal, the only living soul in the graveyard was an old groundskeeper dozing off at a distance.
"Do you really think I'm involved in your parents' deaths?"
Confirming no eyes were on them, Baron Gaspal bellowed instead.
"Perfect timing! Do you have any idea what I've been through because you accused me of being the killer?"
As he spoke, his confidence grew.
He didn't know how the girl had survived, but in Baron Gaspal's memory, Juliet was a naive child.
An easy-to-manipulate fool who hadn't even noticed the nail under the saddle of the foal given to her as a fifteenth birthday present.
Things had gotten messy, but it was still fine.
With his brother and sister-in-law conveniently dead, if he became Juliet's guardian, he could control the count's household as he pleased.
She was only eighteen. A little intimidation would make her easy to manipulate.
Having finished his calculations, Gaspal regained his full confidence.
"Got any proof? Accusing someone without evidence, you brat!
There's such a thing as false accusation..."
"Ah, proof."
Suddenly, Juliet burst into laughter.
"You're badly mistaken about something, Uncle."
Gaspal flinched at her icy sneer.
"You think I dragged you here just for something like that."
"Wh-what are you..."
Gaspal wondered what she meant.
He hadn't come to the funeral because Juliet called him. He feared the capital guard would suspect him again if he skipped his brother and sister-in-law's funeral.
Juliet smiled faintly with her red lips.
"I'll make you a promise. I will never drag you into a courtroom."
"Th-that's... appreciated."
Even as he replied, Gaspal backed away hesitantly.
Something felt off.
The girl in black mourning clothes smiling brightly sent chills down his spine. Her skirt fluttered without a breeze.
And with the clouds overhead, why had that flashing light persisted since earlier...
Thinking the sky had darkened more than before, Baron Gaspal looked up absentmindedly.
Then he realized. It wasn't the clouds darkening his view.
Filling the baron's vision was a swarm of butterflies emitting iridescent light.
"Because that trial will never happen."
As her calm voice ended, the butterflies rushed toward him.
"U, uwaaaack!"
In the horrified eyes of Baron Gaspal, they were no longer beautiful butterflies.
They were enormous monsters with gaping maws, unlike anything from his nightmares.
And that became the last sight Baron Gaspal ever witnessed alive.
Juliet never took her eyes off the swarm of Tantalos Butterflies engulfing and devouring him.
Clang.
Hearing a sound behind her, Juliet glanced back.
The old groundskeeper, who had been dozing against his staff, had dropped it.
Juliet blinked for a moment, then lightly pressed her index finger to her lips.
The old man clamped his mouth with both trembling hands and nodded frantically.
Juliet began walking lightly across the graveyard.
Having completed what could be called revenge, she felt no sense of accomplishment or relief.
'In the end, it came to this.'
Juliet thought calmly.
'I couldn't change it.'
Despite her efforts, thinking she had almost succeeded, her parents had still died.
Now, all that remained to her was herself. She had nothing left to protect or possess.
Soon, Juliet stopped. She had reached the graveyard entrance.
There stood a blackwood carriage quietly waiting.
No crest adorned it, but as she arrived, the servant opened the door as if on cue.
Juliet boarded without a word.
The man already inside showed no surprise as she sat across from him.
She asked leisurely.
"Are you returning to the North?"
"Yes. Are the terms still the same?"
Before answering, Juliet blinked.
If she couldn't stop things from flowing as in the past no matter how she struggled, then staying by his side should suffice.
She could simply leave before Dahlia appeared.
Juliet was exhausted. She wanted to rest quietly without thinking.
Protecting her heart would be nothing compared to what she had endured so far, she thought.
She had confidence.
Unlike before, she wouldn't lose herself to the man before her.
"I've thought about it."
Six days ago, the terms of the deal Juliet had proposed to him were simple.
"I can be useful to you, Your Highness.
Right?"
She wouldn't interfere with whom he met or what he did, wouldn't crave affection, and would provide the power of her familiar—a 'convenient lover.'
In exchange, Juliet demanded two things.
One was handing over Baron Gaspal to her, and the other was allowing her to stay by his side for at least three years.
"That's not usually called a deal."
Lennox had said that upon hearing her demands.
The conditions weren't balanced, so he had offered her time to think more.
"So, have you decided?"
"Yes. Write up a contract."
"A contract?"
"Yes. One where either you or I can leave anytime we want."
Lennox's eyes narrowed.
Seeing that, Juliet tilted her head.
"Is that not acceptable as a deal?"
"There's no reason it wouldn't be."
Juliet Monad was strangely ethereal, with an air beyond her years.
Oddly, she seemed far more eerily beautiful standing in the graveyard in a black dress than in a pastel gown at a banquet hall.
Staring at her, Lennox suddenly asked.
"Let me ask one thing. Why do you need a contract like this?"
Her bloodless pale skin, neatly pinned-up long hair—even that was a light shade. Except for her red lips, she gave the precarious impression of vanishing any moment.
Yet she was frighteningly beautiful. Like a flower exuding poison.
"Because I..."
Juliet answered with dry eyes devoid of any warmth.
"...fell in love at first sight."
They were eyes utterly devoid of love. Undoubtedly, the most insincere confession he had ever heard.
But it didn't matter. He liked that answer.
"Elliot."
"Yes, Your Highness."
A polite reply came immediately from outside the carriage.
"Pen and—"
"Bring pen and paper."
Still not averting his gaze from Juliet sitting across, he continued.
"And tell them to clear out the bedroom. The one in the east wing."
Moments later, the carriage departed for the North.
Forgotten Juliet