Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: Awakening in Silence
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*
“Juliet!”
“Hey! Are you okay?”
Roy, Theo, Esherlid, and the others came rushing to Juliet. For some reason, Theo even had what looked like iron bars clamped around one arm.
……They must have come in a huge rush.
Supported from both sides, Juliet slowly walked to the opposite side of the terrarium.
The goddess’s body had vanished without a trace the moment Lennox began breaking the ninety-eight barriers.
The sky was clear without a single cloud, as if nothing had happened just moments ago.
But Juliet could see the devastating scene beneath the drawbridge.
'What a mess I've made.'
Absurdly, that was her first thought.
Something was seriously wrong.
Dahlia still hadn’t appeared, and so much was different from her first life.
Juliet slowly closed her eyes, then opened them.
In her past life memories, the prophetic girl Dahlia had the temple’s full support.
Dahlia had mended the terrible relations between the North and the temple. By falling in love with the Duke of the North, the temple’s treasure, the prophetic girl.
But now, relations between the North and the temple seemed to be steadily worsening.
“....…Ugh!"
Suddenly, Juliet felt a pain like her insides were being twisted.
“Be careful!”
The unbearable pain made her legs give out, and Roy, following behind, caught her as she collapsed.
“Juliet, are you all right?”
Roy asked, looking worried.
But Juliet wasn’t in any state to answer.
'It hurts..'
Her body kept pitching forward.
“Juliet?”
“Cough.”
Something hot and lumpy surged up from inside her. Her mouth filled with the metallic taste of blood. She tried to cover it with her hand, but it wasn’t enough.
“Lennox, Your Highness.”
“Juliet!”
“We can’t antagonize the temple.”
She didn’t know why those words suddenly came out.
Juliet gasped for breath as if it might give out at any moment, clutching at Lennox’s collar and hanging on.
'It hurts..'
Juliet was no longer in her right mind.
“Because….”
“Stay still.”
“We’ll need their power.”
“Don’t talk.”
“So there’s something I need to tell you.”
Chills wracked her body, making her tremble, and her vision kept blurring.
“It might sound crazy, but please hear me out.”
“Damn it, shut your mouth!”
“Lennox, I…”
Opening her mouth felt like her heart might leap out. She could feel her pulse pounding wildly.
“I’m sorry.”
“Look at me properly. Don’t close your eyes—snap out of it!”
Ah.
For the first time, Juliet thought she might actually die like this.
“You mustn’t take barriers lightly, milady.”
Of all times, why did Hildegaard’s words come to mind now.
“Overstepping your bounds will bring punishment.”
'Am I being punished?'
She’d said a human who didn’t know how to handle holy power would be cursed for overstepping.
It seemed that wasn’t just a metaphor.
“Juliet?”
Her consciousness kept fading.
The last thing Juliet remembered was the voices shouting, trying desperately to rouse her.
“Juliet!”
*
For the first time in a while, Juliet had a pleasant dream. It wasn’t the recurring nightmares or horrific past memories.
With the sound of gently flowing water and rustling wind, Juliet sat in a small rowboat.
She didn’t know who was rowing or who sat behind her. But she didn’t even think to turn around, just sat at the bow with her hand dipped in the water.
She wanted to touch the two white fish swimming leisurely beneath the surface.
Juliet stretched her hand a little farther. The moment her fingertips brushed the fish, she slowly opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw upon waking was…
A familiar ceiling.
“…My room.”
Juliet looked around.
This wasn’t the Levatan estate in the East or the ducal castle in the North. It was the count’s estate where she’d been born and raised—the Monad count’s home.
The bed she’d used since childhood and her old dolls were all just as she remembered. White curtains fluttered through the open window. The breeze on her skin felt incredibly refreshing. Her body felt light.
'Something’s off.'
Juliet examined the back of her hand and her palm closely, alternating between them. Something felt strange, but she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what.
What had changed?
The sound of birds, the wind, and…
“.....…Juliet?”
“Ah, Roy.”
Turning at the voice calling her, she saw Roy leaning against the door. The plain shirt and pants suited him perfectly.
Juliet peeked around the corner toward the parlor next to the doorway.
In the parlor, she spotted red hair belonging to someone slouched in a sloppy posture.
“Hello, Theo.”
“What? Who are you…… You!”
Eek!
Crash!
Theo, who’d habitually propped his feet on the table and leaned his chair back, toppled over backward.
Forgetting all dignity and his fall, he jumped up and pointed wildly at Juliet.
“Hey! You right now…… How can you just say hello like that?!”
Theo’s shout seemed to wake the entire household from their early morning sleep.
The once-quiet estate quickly bustled with activity.
People emerged from their rooms and passed by Juliet’s door one by one.
“Miss Juliet.”
Esherlid poked her head in and said,
“We’re glad you’re back.”
“Yes.”
Juliet replied, still a bit dazed from sleep.
“But you know, Theo.”
“What.”
“Theo, you have a pretty voice.”
Theo, frozen in shock for a moment, gaped and yelled,
“....…Doctor!”
“That kid definitely hit her head, right?”
Theo chattered on from the side but was eventually chased out.
“No, do you know what she said to me? My voice! Pretty……!”
After making a huge racket for a while, he finally left the room quietly at the insistence that Juliet needed rest.
“It’s been a while since the world felt this quiet.”
Juliet gazed down at her empty palm. The malicious whispers that had constantly buzzed in her ears were gone, as was the throbbing headache.
And……the butterflies were gone too.
It wasn’t just fainting and coming to.
Lionel Levatan, looking displeased, scolded Juliet.
“You’re fine, yet you sleep for a whole week straight?”
'Yeah, if it was just a brief faint, I wouldn’t have lost consciousness in Lucerne and woken up in the capital.'
The moment Juliet awoke, Lionel had lined up thirty of the continent’s most renowned doctors.
“The tinnitus……is gone, you say?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm, that’s……quite a rare case.”
They spoke sparingly, but the doctors were sweating profusely, glancing behind them.
The legendary underworld boss, Lionel Levatan, stood with arms crossed, staring daggers at their backs.
“Your granddaughter……er, Lady Granddaughter is in good health.”
“Good health, and she keeps collapsing? ?
Does that face look healthy to you right now?”
“B-but…….”
“W-well, she’s physically healthy, but there might be psychological issues…….”
“Psychological? You saying my girl’s mentally unstable?! Then find the cause!”
“P-please, sir! Spare us!”
“Twing!”
It was the usual pattern, and it didn’t help much.
'Tinnitus gone? Isn’t that a good thing?'
All ten doctors examining Juliet seemed eager to say just that.
Sure. Normally, it would be.
Juliet fiddled with the key pendant around her neck out of habit.
She’d worried it was lost, but fortunately, the mad fake pope was a tidy bad guy.
All her possessions he’d taken were returned intact.
On the surface, everything seemed back to normal. But with the voices, the butterflies had vanished completely.
'Can abilities just disappear like that?'
Where had the butterflies gone?
Juliet stared blankly out the open window.
Her chronic headaches were completely gone too. But she couldn’t yet tell if it was good or bad.
Juliet gazed at her maternal grandfather sitting by the bedside.
Lionel Levatan, the Red King.
Head of the underworld.
In other words, the empire’s enemy.
“Why are you staring like that?”
Juliet was confused by the meaningful smirk on Lionel Levatan’s face.
Was it 'The day I get caught is coming soon,' or 'That emperor’s nothing compared to me'?
“I’d prefer the latter……”
“What are you thinking so deeply about? Need anything?”
“Ah, just……nothing. Achoo!”
Maybe from the open window, she sneezed.
The benevolent grandfatherly smile vanished instantly from Lionel Levatan’s face, who’d been grinning like the kindest man in the world.
His face turning stern in a flash, Lionel Levatan shot to his feet and bellowed,
“Doctor!”
Forgotten Juliet