Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Convenient
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The tea house owner watched Juliet from afar and thought she looked like a painting.
But under the tea table, her legs were shaking without a care.
Juliet thought the rustling sound of her petticoat brushing her ankles felt nice.
Suddenly, the sound of carriage wheels rolling could be heard, and soon one stopped in front of the tea house.
The person who stepped down and approached was exactly who Juliet had expected.
"I've come to escort you, Lady."
The man with a large scar on his face looked like his entire body was a weapon.
But instead of rising from her seat, Juliet stared straight at him and said,
"Sir Kane."
"Yes, Lady."
"Why did you leave your seat earlier?"
"....."
The direct question left Kane speechless.
In the meantime, Juliet flashed a bright smile.
"Sir Jude told me earlier.
He said you had sudden business and that's why he came instead. Why did you leave?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you."
Dodging was the usual response.
But Juliet Monad was far from usual.
Far from accepting it at face value, she propped her chin on her hand and asked in earnest.
Her eyes sparkled playfully, as if she already knew everything and was just testing him.
"Did His Highness summon you?"
"…… No."
It wasn't an interrogating tone, but Kane hoped Juliet would drop it now.
His naturally gruff features showed nothing, but he was terribly embarrassed at the moment.
Kane Hall knew he wasn't good at lying.
He was more skilled with weapons in battle than with words.
Originally a gladiator slave who roamed the battlefields as a top-tier mercenary captain,
he was one of the rare mercenaries who had reached the level of Swordmaster.
The one who hired him was Duke Carlisle of the North.
Duke Carlisle hired anyone talented, regardless of background.
By sheer luck, he caught the duke's eye and now taught practical swordsmanship to the duke's knights, and after coming to the capital, he was assigned to guard Juliet.
But strictly speaking, Kane wasn't even an official knight.
Not just a commoner—he was a slave who had escaped the gladiatorial arena.
And Juliet Monad was the only one who called such a man "Sir."
A few hours earlier, Duke Carlisle had suddenly summoned Kane and asked about Juliet Monad.
Where she had gone recently, whom she had met, with whom she had exchanged messages.
"Anything different from usual?"
Kane didn't know why the duke was asking, but he could tell the duke's nerves were sharper than ever.
So Kane defended Juliet Monad as best he could within what he knew.
The lady was doing well without any issues, nothing suspicious.
But he couldn't just spill that to Juliet outright.
Of course not. His lord was Duke Carlisle, not Juliet Monad.
Yet Kane felt a twinge of conscience.
"Did His Highness ask anything?
Did he mention me too?"
"I can't tell you. I'm sorry."
Kane gave up beating around the bush and refused honestly.
"I see."
Kane inwardly worried what if she pressed further, but surprisingly, she accepted it right away.
Fortunately, Juliet didn't ask more.
She didn't look disappointed either.
Kane glanced cautiously at Juliet.
"Hmm."
For some reason, Juliet seemed to have lost interest in him. She didn't look offended.
Quiet for a moment, lost in thought, she suddenly smiled brightly as if nothing had happened and pushed a glass of beverage toward him.
"Sit down and have some. It's cool and sweet."
"Yes."
Kane sat in the seat across from her as invited and took the glass.
Just then, the tea house owner, who had glanced out the window absentmindedly, gasped in shock.
The former mercenary captain who could crush wild boars barehanded and the duke's lover lady were sitting across from each other at the tea table, amicably sipping their drinks.
It was a highly bizarre sight.
It was a fact known to only a handful of people, but Kane Hall didn't particularly enjoy strong liquor.
Instead, he liked sweet, cool beverages. A taste at odds with his appearance.
Juliet was one of the few who had noticed this. She often included him in her solitary tea times.
Just like now.
Kane quite liked these moments.
Juliet Monad was a lady of few words but had a knack for creating a comfortable atmosphere.
So sometimes Kane wondered if that was why his lord, Duke Carlisle, kept her by his side for so long.
Before he knew it, Kane had emptied his glass and subtly checked Juliet's expression.
She seemed completely disinterested in him now, not touching her drink as she watched the street outside.
Then she looked at Kane and smiled nonchalantly.
"More beverage?"
"Yes."
It was sweet and cool as she said, but for some reason, Kane couldn't taste it.
**
Evening.
Lennox Carlisle arrived at the palace banquet hall a little earlier than scheduled.
But instead of descending to the floor and showing himself, he was looking down from a sparsely populated balcony above.
"Found him."
The knight in black armor who approached him reported quietly.
They were the duke's house's "Wolves," elite knights who moved secretly at the family head's command.
Hardin was their leader.
"A man living in the 8th District, name's Donovan."
Just hours after ordering them to find the suspicious man who had visited the count's residence, the duke's Wolves had secured the culprit without even knowing his name or face.
"Yes."
Even after the man in black armor withdrew quietly, Lennox didn't leave the balcony.
In the meantime, the ball began downstairs.
Among the people dressed splendidly, dancing and filling the floor, one woman caught his eye.
In a deep blue dress, she stood alone quietly against the wall.
Her light brown hair sparkling silver under the lights, her elegant neckline and rounded shoulders fully exposed. Even her alluring figure.
The woman playing wallflower so unbecomingly was the very one who had been grating on his nerves all day.
'If she made excuses and didn't show up at the banquet hall either, I was planning to go to the count's residence and drag her here myself.'
Juliet had commendably appeared at the palace banquet as promised.
Honestly, Lennox was a little impressed with her today.
His lover, who usually rolled off his tongue like a nuisance, apparently could rile his nerves whenever she wanted.
Juliet Monad was a low-maintenance lover. More bluntly, she was convenient that way.
She didn't beg for this or that purchase, didn't whine for affection or attention.
Most importantly, Juliet had never once forced one-sided emotions on him.
She demanded no emotional reciprocation from him.
In truth, Lennox Carlisle's standards for a lover weren't all that high.
A bit of lacking refinement or status didn't matter. He just preferred someone he could cleanly cut ties with anytime.
She could spend money like water or indulge in jaw-dropping luxury for all he cared—the most important part was the end of the relationship.
Ending it neatly at the time he wanted.
Lennox Carlisle was no starry-eyed fifteen-year-old boy in the throes of first love.
He had zero patience for wasting time on childish romantic nonsense.
He kept women by his side as needed, but never prolonged a relationship with one for that reason.
And yet.
Lennox Carlisle smiled faintly.
With her delicate eyes, stubborn brows, small nose, rounded forehead, and elegant neckline, Juliet was quiet and quick on the uptake.
She was a bit different from the past women who loved chattering away at his side.
Truth be told, Juliet wasn't entirely his type.
He liked flashy things, but Juliet Monad was an elegant beauty straight out of a temple mural that drove nobles mad.
In the first place, taking Juliet Monad as his lover had been a rather impulsive whim.
But Juliet Monad didn't chirp sweetly like a cuckoo bird, nor did she often demand anything annoyingly first.
So Lennox sometimes found her intriguing.
"'Convenient,' huh……."