Chapter 97
Chapter 97
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: 6. Poison
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Boom!
Juliet fired the lamp and leaped out the door at the same time.
"!"
She'd barely escaped the deafening explosion, but it had been close.
Her ears rang, soon followed by a piercing tinnitus.
"Ugh……"
Juliet staggered slightly as she tried to regain her balance and stand.
Her stomach churned.
It was simple common sense.
Don't play with fire in an enclosed space filled with flammable powder during the dry winter.
"Lucky for me he’s a wolf without any common sense……"
Then again, a lycanthrope living in the forest wouldn't know how dangerous a dust explosion could be.
Thank goodness the hunting groundskeeper had hung up the charcoal powder for snow clearing where it wouldn't get wet.
'I didn't think it would actually work.'
Her legs trembled.
Juliet collapsed back into the snow. That explosion would draw people running unless they were deaf.
They'd find the fallen Second Prince and his group, and her too……
But that was as far as Juliet's thoughts went.
Grrr!
"Argh! You bitch……!"
Juliet looked up with a slightly dismayed expression.
There stood the half-beast, bursting out of the warehouse with his back on fire.
Graham, seething with rage, looked ready to charge at Juliet any second.
Having witnessed the monstrous regenerative power of a lycanthrope she'd only heard about, Juliet was speechless.
With a pale face, she just blinked.
Exhausted to her core, she didn't even think about running.
Ah, looks like I'm really done for this time.
That was the only thought in her head. Her eyes kept drooping. In an instant, an unnatural weakness spread through her entire body.
Thud. Juliet collapsed into the snow.
That was when it happened.
Flutter.
Incongruously, a single bluish-glowing butterfly appeared in the middle of the snow-blanketed forest.
Graham, who had been about to lunge at the fallen human woman, froze for a moment.
"What? Wh-what the hell is this?"
The butterflies, which seemed not of the living world as they scattered bright light, were silently but rapidly multiplying in number.
"......?"
It was like a painting of a landscape, but Graham felt nothing but terror.
He didn't know the exact reason, but an instinctive dread made him glance around restlessly.
"Aaahhh!"
Moments later, a scream loud enough to shake the forest echoed through the trees.
The forest fell back into peaceful silence.
Juliet sat in an empty white space.
'I was just in the middle of a snow-covered forest.'
The last thing she remembered was the menacing wolf-man approaching her.
'If I passed out in the snowfield, won't I freeze to death?'
Even as she thought so calmly, Juliet didn't find it strange at all.
Creak.
Then, a massive door she hadn't even noticed in front of her cracked open just a sliver.
From the gap, a small blue butterfly leisurely emerged.
'Ah.'
As the adorable little butterfly fluttered around her, Juliet suddenly realized she'd seen this enormous door before.
She stared blankly at the door, and the butterfly alighted on the back of her hand.
Then it slowly folded and unfolded its wings.
Creak.
The scene suddenly changed.
Lifting her head, Juliet found herself sitting in a familiar setting.
It was her familiar bedroom. She sat atop a lavish four-poster bed.
Juliet hung her head and sobbed.
She didn't know why, but it was as if the world had ended.
'Ah, this is that day's memory.'
Juliet realized it immediately.
Is this the life-flashing-before-your-eyes thing? The one they say happens before death?
Juliet felt a pang of bitterness inside.
If it's a life flash, why of all things this day? This wasn't even her current life—it was from her first life.
"……Now you must feel relieved."
The line from the memory spilled from her lips.
She glared at something, but in the tear-streaked mess of the room, no one was visible.
"The troublemaker's gone, after all."
The man standing at the door was shrouded in shadow, his face obscured.
She couldn't remember what expression he'd worn.
**
"...You'll be fine."
"He's just asleep; he'll regain consciousness soon."
Murmur, murmur.
Amid the low voices, Juliet regained consciousness.
The moment she opened her eyes, a gloved hand cupped her cheek.
"Juliet."
It was rough, yet handled her like fragile glasswork, with utmost care.
And it was a familiar voice and gaze.
Yet even meeting the man's eyes, Juliet remained silently lost in thought.
The scene from her dream lingered.
She kept dwelling on the man's expression she ultimately hadn't been able to see that day.
It was a memory from two lifetimes that Juliet had never once forgotten.
And yet, it was as if that part alone had been forcibly cut out— she just couldn't recall it.
It wasn't all that important, but what expression had the quietly standing man at the door worn as he looked at her?
"……Lennox."
She was at the point of wanting to ask him directly, but that was impossible.
Even if she did, he couldn't answer.
Because it was something that had happened only in her previous life.
It was a memory solely hers. How could she expect him to comment on an event he'd never experienced?
As Juliet tried to rise from his embrace, she was stopped.
A sharp voice rang out immediately, and the arm holding her tightened.
"What are you doing."
"Ah."
Only then did Juliet realize how high up they were.
She wasn't just leaning against him—they were riding together on horseback.
And that wasn't all.
No wonder her body felt so uncomfortable; she was wrapped so tightly in layer upon layer of cloaks that she could barely move.
Moreover, Lennox glaring down at her from right above wore a murderous scowl.
The man who could kill with a look alone was staring her down fiercely.
'Whatever.'
Juliet wasn't particularly scared.
The recent memory had left her confused. A long-buried emotion had resurfaced.
Glancing around, she saw imperial palace knights holding torches here and there, watching him warily.
Juliet roughly pieced together the situation.
After she collapsed in the forest, the palace folks must have heard the commotion and come running, finding her in the process.
'No clue why Lennox is here, though.'
Cold and still groggy-headed, her thinking was sluggish. She didn't even think to ask if her eyesight was okay.
'Ah.'
The glowing things around weren't just the knights' torches.
Twinkle, twinkle.
Only then did she notice.
As if their disappearance had been a lie, the butterflies circled her perfectly fine.
"They're back."
On the other hand, the recent dream made it feel eerie.
"What about the wolf?"
"...What did that beastly pup do to you?"
"I don't like answering questions with questions."
The position was uncomfortable, so Juliet squirmed a little. She felt Lennox flinch.
"Nothing at all."
Looking up at the pitch-black sky snapped her to attention.
They were still in the forest. If her memory served, this was the imperial palace's hunting grounds.
No matter how long it'd been since she was found or where in the forest, they should've seen the palace buildings' lights by now after traveling this far.
But instead of the main palace, weren't they heading in the opposite direction, deeper into the woods?
'Where are we going?'
"Lennox."
Juliet grabbed his collar with a sigh.
"Let me down."
"Where to."
"Let me down. Now."
Lennox didn't dismount her, but he halted the horse. Like a staring contest, they stopped and exchanged sharp, silent glares.
Forgotten Juliet