Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: The Duke's Wedding News
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“……Ah.”
Gray looked puzzled at her reaction, which was completely different from what he’d expected.
“Don’t you know? The ducal house of Kalon in the North. They’re famous even in the capital.”
Juliet smiled without a word.
Lionel had said that all her cousins knew about her was that she’d lived in the capital.
“No, you’re right. They are famous.”
“But why the reaction?”
“Just… a bit surprised.”
Juliet forced a smile.
“Yeah. We were surprised too.”
Gray rubbed his chin, lost in thought for a moment.
“It’s definitely a marriage for a ducal house, so the partner must be from some great family, but there’s still no word on which house the bride is from.”
“……”
Of course.
The woman Lennox Carlisle was taking as his wife would be someone whose family and status were completely unknown.
And Duke Carlisle would forbid even her name from passing people’s lips.
Unlike someone else he’d ignored despite the slander and banishment.
“Juliet?”
When Juliet kept her head down without responding for a long time, Gray cautiously called out to her.
“Juliet, did I say something wrong?”
Gray tilted his head with a worried expression.
“……No. I, uh, just a moment.
I forgot something.”
Juliet made some excuse and hurriedly left the spot.
She wandered aimlessly for a bit and ended up in front of the luggage wagon where her things were loaded.
Without thinking, Juliet flung open the wagon door and rummaged for her bag.
Unconsciously, she reached out and messed through her luggage without realizing what she was doing.
The neatly packed bags quickly became a mess, but it was nothing compared to the chaos in Juliet’s mind.
‘A wedding.’
There was only one person in the Carlisle family old enough to hold a wedding.
How many days had it been since she left the capital? A week? Ten days?
With whom? Dahlia?
Tap, tap.
It was then.
Someone knocked on the wagon door from outside.
“Juliet? Are you in there?”
“Yes!”
Juliet hastily wiped her cheeks, took a deep breath, and opened the door.
Helene stood there with a worried look.
Peeking anxiously from behind Helene was Gray.
It seemed Gray had run off to tattle to Helene out of concern.
“Juliet, are you okay?”
“Yes. I have a headache, so I was looking for some medicine.”
Juliet smiled casually as if nothing was wrong and shook the small medicine bottle in her hand. The pills rattled inside.
“I see.”
Helene finally smiled in relief and hugged Juliet.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise.
But come back soon so we can have lots of fun together, okay?”
Helene patted Juliet’s back.
“Yes, don’t worry about here and go on.”
**
Isaac and Helene, and even Gray, had left.
As planned, the group should have set off toward Carcason. But the rain that had started earlier grew heavier, stranding them.
“It’s just passing rain, so we’ll depart as soon as it lets up.”
The head steward leading the caravan came to explain to Juliet.
Steward Walter handled almost all the practical affairs of the caravan in place of its actual owner, Helene.
Even though there was no need, it seemed Helene had asked him before leaving, because Walter reported every delay to Juliet.
Juliet said it was fine since she was busy and didn’t need updates, but Walter wouldn’t budge.
While waiting for the rain to ease, Juliet killed time under the tent.
In truth, the caravan’s mood had sunk considerably since Helene and Isaac left.
It was strange.
Only a handful—three or four people—had left, and the group heading to Carcason was still a large procession of wagons, yet everyone seemed quieter.
“…What are you doing?”
The one most sensitive to the changed atmosphere was unexpectedly Theo.
Juliet blinked and said,
“Sitting.”
Theo scowled, clearly displeased with her answer.
“Want to spar? Double the wishes this time.”
In this rain?
Juliet didn’t say it.
“No.”
“……Scared you’ll lose?”
Juliet gave Theo an incredulous look for a moment before saying,
“I’ll concede the win to you.”
“What? That doesn’t count!”
Theo jumped up, looking offended. Even when she offered him the win, he threw a fit.
“Keep that up, and I might sell Apple!”
“Take her. She’s not mine anyway.”
Theo was at a loss for words again.
True enough. Apple belonged to the Marigold Caravan.
“Hmph. You’re no fun.”
Theo fidgeted awkwardly, but when Juliet showed no reaction, he looked flustered.
In the end, he hovered around her before trudging off somewhere, muttering to himself.
Juliet sat blankly, knees neatly together, chin resting on them.
She wasn’t really thinking about anything in particular.
Theo seemed to think she was depressed because Helene and Isaac had left.
But the reason for Juliet’s low mood wasn’t her aunt and uncle, or the weather.
Juliet gently closed her eyes.
‘I want to go home.’
She’d fled to the opposite side of the continent just to avoid hearing about that man, yet even here she heard news of him.
Juliet smiled self-mockingly.
At this point, she wondered if she could ever escape unless she went to another continent entirely.
She wanted to go home, but it didn’t have to be the Monad mansion in the capital.
If there was somewhere safe where no one would find her, she wanted to disappear there forever.
Anywhere she wouldn’t hear about that man would do.
‘Wait. Does that mean I can go home now?’
She didn’t know when Duke Carlisle’s wedding was, but one thing was certain: it wouldn’t be in the capital.
If so, Juliet wanted to return to the count’s estate immediately.
Juliet shook her head at the thought. All she knew for sure was that he was marrying someone; nothing else was confirmed.
Resolving to think of something else, Juliet fetched a book from the wagon and returned to the tent.
“Ah.”
Cold.
Suddenly, Juliet flinched at a water droplet on her nape.
Lifting her eyes from the book, she realized quite some time had passed.
“Juliet… Lady?”
Someone called her awkwardly from the tent entrance.
It was Eselrid, the caravan’s mage.
He held a cup with an awkward expression.
“?”
“May I come in?”
Juliet nodded.
The tent was set up for the caravan members’ rest anyway; it wasn’t her personal space.
Clink.
Esel set the cup he’d brought on the table.
“Drink up. It’s instead of breakfast.”
“Thank you.”
It looked like a cold milky drink. Thirsty at just the right moment, Juliet picked it up and drank without a second thought.
The moment it touched her lips, a sweet, fragrant aroma filled her mouth.
“It’s delicious. Where’d you get it?”
Curious, Juliet looked up at Esel. It would be hard to find cold milk like this in the mountains.
“Oh, that wasn’t me—it was over there—”
Esel started pointing toward the tent about twenty paces away but raised an eyebrow.
Huh? What’s that guy doing now?
Eselrid stared pitifully for a moment at someone hiding behind the wagon.
They weren’t even properly hidden. Red hair stuck out because they’d craned their neck curiously.
Still, their effort to hide was admirable, so he decided to let it slide.
Esel clicked his tongue once and turned to Juliet.
“…I made it. To your taste?”
“It was delicious. Thank you.”
Juliet nodded in thanks without looking up.
Esel took the empty cup from her hand, set it on the table, and subtly sat down beside her.
“One more day, and we’ll reach Carcason.”
“Yes, seems so.”
“Meaning a bed without wheels at last. Nice, right?”
Juliet chuckled.
It was amusing to see Eselrid, of all people, trying to flirt and keep the conversation going.
In fact, she’d been wary of him at first just because he was a mage, but her initial impression of Eselrid hadn’t been bad.
Fortunately, Juliet didn’t chase him away. She glanced at him briefly before turning back to her book.
Eselrid knew the page she’d folded hadn’t turned in quite a while.
In fact, it had been stuck on the same spot for hours.
‘Do I really have to go this far?’
Eselrid felt a twinge of doubt.
He quite liked the Levatan family, but it was strictly from the perspective of employer and employee.
And the same went for Juliet, who’d appeared out of nowhere.
His attitude toward Juliet was polite courtesy mixed with appropriate social graces. There was no need to get chummy just because she was the employer’s niece.
But Eselrid pulled out a bunch of items and spread them on the table.
“What’s this?”
He hadn’t expected it to work, but it did. Juliet showed interest in what he’d brought.
It was an ordinary leather bracelet.
Aside from a cheap-looking green gem or whatever in the center, it was no different from any other bracelet.
“A tracking spell.”
“Ah.”
Juliet, wondering how something like this bracelet had a tracking spell, soon understood.
“A magic stone. Got it.”
A mage casts a spell on the magic stone, allowing tracking of the bracelet for a limited time.
“The forest is dangerous.”
“Impressive.”
Juliet was genuinely impressed.
This could be useful in the North or the capital in many ways.
Of course, it required a mage’s labor to infuse the mana each time, but it was definitely innovative.
Was it developed by the Mage Tower?
‘The Mage Tower…’
Juliet glanced up to gauge Eselrid’s reaction.
“I have a question.”
“Yes, ask away.”
“Were you at the Mage Tower too, Esel?”
“Of course.”
“Then why’d you leave?”
Eselrid grinned, picked up the tracking devices he’d infused with mana, and stood.
“I’ll take these to Theo.”
Suddenly?
“You said I could ask!”
“I said you could ask, not that I’d answer.”
What kind of wordplay is this?
Juliet made a face like she was done talking, and Eselrid smiled slyly.
It was then.
“Help!”
What?
The outside suddenly grew noisy.