Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Romeo
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Kirrurur!
She had no idea what was happening, but it was clear they had thoroughly enraged the sleeping monster.
Juliet was barely clinging to one side of the cliff wall.
Every time the snake monster thrashed, the terrain shifted, making it hard to even call it a cliff anymore.
“!”
“Come this way, quickly!”
Magda shouted urgently toward Juliet.
The silver lining was Magda and the children. Eselrid had taken shelter in a crevice near the cliff just in time.
“Of course, with that snake holding out like that, climbing up will be tough…”
If they could just divert the snake’s attention for a moment, they might be able to use the crevice to climb back up to the top.
“Juliet!”
Juliet, dangling from the cliff edge, thought calmly.
“Can I do it?”
As she pondered that, her body moved on its own before she knew it.
“Jule—”
Eselrid’s eyes widened.
With an unreadable expression, Juliet stepped up onto a protrusion at the cliff’s edge. Butterflies began to gather around her.
But what happened next was truly bizarre.
Kirrurur…
The snake, which had been thrashing in fury, suddenly went still.
…An illusion?
Eselrid instinctively realized what was going on.
“Magda, take the children and climb up quickly!”
**
Pop.
The connection severed, and as her consciousness returned to normal, Juliet felt a headache and staggered slightly in place.
Kirrurur!
Unfortunately, the moment the connection broke, the snake monster felt the pain and began rampaging again.
“Juliet!”
Eselrid reached down desperately from above.
But Juliet already knew that hand was impossibly far away.
By the time Eselrid called her name, Juliet had already lost her balance and was falling.
Ah, damn it.
As her vision blurred, Juliet felt regret.
She shouldn’t have stuck her nose where it didn’t belong.
Juliet felt herself falling slowly.
“Is this what a life flashing before your eyes feels like?”
Juliet closed her eyes in resignation.
But no flood of past memories came rushing by.
In that slow descent, only one thought crossed her mind.
“If I die, will you cry for me?”
Inappropriately for the moment, she could only think of Dog. But Juliet knew the answer.
It was already over.
There was a high chance that man would never know someone had died in the collapsed dungeon.
Fluttering wings filled the air as blue butterflies swarmed around her.
From a distance, it looked like she was wrapped in blue petals.
Juliet squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the impact as she hit the ground.
Thud.
“…Thud?”
But the expected pain didn’t come.
Sensing something odd, Juliet slowly opened her eyes. Or tried to. Before she could even focus properly.
“!”
Whoosh—suddenly, her body lurched sideways.
The abrupt change in direction, far sharper than her slow fall, left her dizzy.
Before she could figure out what was happening, Juliet realized someone had snatched her waist out of the air.
“Lord!”
She heard an unfamiliar voice shout loudly, and then she was perched on someone’s shoulder.
Struggling to open her eyes, she saw a massive wolf with reddish fur right in front of her.
The wolf leaped up, crushing the snake monster that had been gaping its jaws leisurely.
“Nathan!”
“I told you to take her and go!”
Juliet heard a familiar voice.
Boom!
Kieee!
In the blink of an eye, something had happened—the snake monster was screeching in agony.
And in the next instant.
Thud!
A flash of light erupted, and the snake’s body slammed into one wall of the cliff.
“Juliet!”
She was pulled up to the top of the cliff.
Completely dazed, Juliet finally realized she was back on solid ground for the first time in three days.
“Hello, Juliet.”
A pair of amber eyes looked at her, smiling happily.
*
When she emerged outside, Juliet was out of it.
Her head felt foggy and dizzy, probably from the toxic fumes spewed by the giant snake monster as it writhed in death throes.
“Is this what being high feels like?”
The fact that such a thought even crossed her mind confirmed she wasn’t normal.
She didn’t feel like vomiting, but after falling from the cliff and being tossed around like luggage while everything leaped about, her whole body ached like it was shattered.
It wasn’t until the toxicity had somewhat faded that Juliet realized she was sitting in the middle of a peaceful forest.
The group that had brought her here all had striking appearances.
They were much taller than average people, with healthy, robust builds.
They glanced at Juliet with unreadable looks before vanishing one by one somewhere.
“So you’re Juliet?”
Only two remained by her side, looking down at her.
As the woman spoke, the man cut her off curtly.
“Don’t be rude, Elza.”
The woman called Elza had thick, wavy golden-brown hair cascading like a mane.
She was a stunning beauty with long limbs and great height.
“You’re so boring. That’s why you’re unpopular, Nathan.”
Nathan’s eyebrow twitched.
Nathan was a muscular man with short grayish-brown hair.
He had an ascetic, monk-like air, and he looked quite handsome when quiet, but the tattoo on his shoulder stood out.
Elza grumbled but didn’t take her eyes off Juliet.
She crossed her arms and squatted right next to Juliet, peering down at her.
It seemed like she’d crossed her arms deliberately to stop herself from reaching out to touch Juliet.
“Wow.”
But not touching didn’t mean she wouldn’t do anything weird.
Sniff sniff.
“It’s true? She really smells amazing.”
Elza’s eyes sparkled with delight.
“Nathan, look at her! She smells like wild strawberries!”
……What smell?
Juliet, knowing full well her disheveled state, doubted her ears.
Covered in dirt and blood, Juliet couldn’t help but feel flustered.
“As if, idiot.”
Nathan snapped, but Elza still looked thrilled.
Hovering near Juliet, she was like a kid with a shiny new toy.
Like a child dying to play with a puppy or kitten, she fidgeted restlessly.
With her body limp and sitting still, Juliet seemed tempting to touch—Elza kept clenching and unclenching her hands, unable to stay put.
“Hands off Juliet, Elza.”
It was an icy voice.
“Eek.”
Unlike her bickering with Nathan moments ago, Elza scurried away from Juliet.
“I didn’t do anything!”
“Scram.”
The one who spat it out was a young man with ashen hair. After setting down what he’d been carrying on his back, he snapped coldly.
“Go call the humans or whatever.”
Catching the man’s eye, Nathan quickly grabbed Elza’s arm.
“Let’s go.”
“Hng.”
Even as she was dragged away by the scruff, Elza couldn’t tear her gaze from Juliet.
Juliet sat quietly in the middle of it all, watching the scene unfold like a spectator.
Dazed from the monster’s poison, she felt confused.
“Are you okay?”
After chasing the two away, the man sat in front of Juliet and carefully met her eyes.
His tone was worlds apart from how he’d treated them moments ago.
Silvery-gray hair, pale skin, and clear golden eyes.
Juliet thought hazily.
So, this man’s name was…
“……Romeo.”
Romeo. Roy. The one who had saved Juliet.