Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: The Village's Secret
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Juliet pretended to wipe her hands with the napkin as she calmly lifted her head.
Thanks to her exhausting familiarity with hiding her expressions, not a hint of her agitation showed on her face.
Mrs. Riley, who had been inside the shop peeking at her through the glass window, caught Juliet's eye and waved with a bright smile.
Juliet waved back with a wide smile as well. And inwardly, she swallowed a groan.
*Why didn't I notice sooner?*
Everything had been going too smoothly, making her forget. That her life had never once been smooth sailing.
A thriller scenario unspooled in Juliet's mind.
Even against the backdrop of this peaceful, pastoral village, a crime scenario was entirely plausible.
In small villages like this, people banded together easily. Robel rarely saw tourists, so a lone visitor would become village gossip within an hour—known to everyone.
*Kidnap a dumb traveler and sell them off where no one will notice...*
Juliet imagined the worst-case scenario. But there was one thing she couldn't understand.
She appeared to be an easy target, at least on the surface.
For them to go with this elaborate method instead of a quick abduction meant there had to be a good reason.
*What could it be?*
Whatever their goal, the villagers wanted to keep her in the village.
What did they want? Human trafficking? Human sacrifice? Or...
*Maybe the ducal house after all.*
Juliet traced the rounded rim of her teacup with her fingertip.
But why would they do this? She hadn't done anything to earn their grudge, had she?
Good lord.
As she retraced the past few days, Juliet bit her tongue. Shockingly, there were... quite a few possibilities.
She hadn't thought she'd done anything noteworthy, but in just a week since leaving the capital, she'd apparently racked up plenty of grudges.
The group trying to sell that wolf on the train?
Or maybe the werewolves, mistaking her for part of the guild that kidnapped Roy since she'd rescued him.
But it was too meticulous.
If it was the guild of the man who'd kidnapped Roy, it would have made far more sense to abduct her in Rosen. Right after getting off the train, when things were chaotic.
Juliet thought coolly.
No matter how she looked at it, that seemed the most likely.
The people who would pay the highest price for her value.
*The enemies of the Carlyle ducal house.*
Lennox Carlyle had many enemies, and compared to his fame, shockingly little was known about the Carlyle family.
It was partly due to their nature—they didn't mingle with other houses and focused solely on their northern territories.
That was bad news for their northern adversaries. After all, you need to know your enemy to find their weaknesses.
Juliet could name more than ten families who would pay a fortune for intel on the ducal house.
Having tentatively reached half a conclusion, Juliet was in the middle of listing noble houses capable of buying an entire village to pull off something like this.
With this level of initiative, their opponent had to be a major player.
Part of her wanted to tell them that even if they kidnapped her, Lennox wouldn't bat an eye. But no one would believe her.
She'd nearly been kidnapped a few times herself. They always failed, of course.
But for a woman like that to slip away from the duke's side? How easy a target could she be?
Even so, she hadn't expected them to track her here so quickly.
Juliet had assumed rumors of Juliet Monad being abandoned would just be starting to spread in the capital by now.
Whoever was behind this had to be powerful and well-informed. That was her judgment.
Juliet slowly savored her salad while pondering how to escape.
The fresh salad crunched delightfully.
She had no appetite, but stamina was key if she wanted to flee.
*Hm?*
Crunch crunch.
As she aggressively chewed her salad, Juliet spotted another suspicious sight.
The gleaming, mirror-polished cutlery perfectly reflected the scene behind her.
And she had clearly seen men who ducked hastily into the alley when she started to turn around just moments ago.
Feeling it would be dangerous to linger, Juliet quietly gathered her things and stood.
* * *
Ding-a-ling.
About an hour later.
"Oh, Mrs. Seneca!"
After stopping by her lodging to pack her meager belongings into her travel bag, the place Juliet headed to was Zachary's office.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Zachary."
"A fine afternoon, isn't it? Lovely weather."
Zachary looked puzzled for a moment when Juliet entered with the door left open, but politely didn't comment on it.
Even if he had, Juliet wouldn't have closed it. Securing an escape route was crucial.
He greeted her cheerfully and sat at the reception table.
"What brings you here today?"
Instead of sitting across from him and politely chatting about the weather, Juliet placed the house key she'd brought on the table.
"I'm here to return the key."
At the same time, Zachary's face went pale as a sheet.
"Wh-why? Is something wrong with the house...?"
"No, the house is wonderful."
"Th-then?"
Before answering, Juliet stared piercingly at the ashen-faced Zachary.
"You can refund half the advance. But in cash, right now."
"Wh-what!"
Having raised his voice without thinking, Zachary cleared his throat and spoke politely again.
"Please tell me what's inconvenient, and I'll resolve it..."
"You'll resolve it? Do you even know what my problem is?"
"Ah, no. I mean, that is..."
"I'll do my utmost to help you resolve it..."
Juliet's eyes narrowed.
Until coming here, she'd been half certain, half doubtful.
But now she knew.
Zachary was part of this suspicious village too. And the villagers' goal was clearly to keep her from leaving.
She didn't know why they wanted her stuck here, but he was undoubtedly in league with the rest.
"I don't have any money."
"Pardon?"
Juliet said it gruffly on purpose.
"If it's money you're after, you're wasting your time."
It was the truth.
Juliet had little cash on hand.
She had her mother's keepsakes and the Monad countess's keys, but they weren't that valuable.
They were antique treasures that might excite eccentric collectors, but not worth an entire village conspiring.
That was her assessment.
To stage a charade on this scale, they had to be expecting something huge.
Money or whatever.
But Juliet wanted to tell them they were mistaken.
Even if they knew about the Carlyle ducal house and planned to use her to blackmail him for a payout, that was a gross miscalculation.
Lennox Carlyle wasn't generous enough to pay ransom for a woman who'd deceived and fled from him.
But Zachary's clearly panicked expression turned somehow awkward. After a long silence, he asked cautiously.
"Um... Miss Seneca, are you perhaps looking for work? Is your situation that desperate for a job? If so..."
"Yes, exactly! How about a governess position? We've been looking for a good one for our Lizbel... Ah, Lizbel is our daughter. Very bright girl."
*Look at that?* Juliet hadn't mentioned jobs at all, yet Zachary spoke as if he already knew she'd been rejected.
"Our daughter's name is Lizbel.
She's a good girl, so she won't be hard to teach. Much safer than working at a library or trading company..."
Juliet calmly cut off the flustered, rambling Zachary.
"Mr. Zachary."
"Yes?"
"Stop it and tell them to come out."
"...Who do you mean?"
Juliet tilted her head with a grin.
"The people inside there."
"Wh-what are you talking about...?"
Juliet had been closely observing one wall of the shop since earlier.
More precisely, the disguised bookshelf stuffed with fake books that was surely hollow inside.
Creak.
Sure enough, moments later, the thick door camouflaged as a bookshelf swung open with a thud.
It unfolded exactly as she'd anticipated, so Juliet wasn't surprised.
Tap.
But when she saw the face of the person who stepped out, even Juliet couldn't help being a little startled.
"......?"
"E-Elder..."
It was the kind old man she'd briefly passed on her first day in Robel.