Romeo and Juliet -2-: A Love Betrayed
This is a tale of two lovers.
This is a tale of one woman.
This is a tale of love.
This is a tale of love betrayed.
This is a beautiful tale.
This is a tale that should have been beautiful.
The Roman Empire dominated nearly all of the western continent of Loropa. Between the empire's Daradul Great Swamp—also known simply as the swamp or wetlands—and the emperor's direct territories lay the domain of the Capulet Barony, a noble house that had carved out a modestly prosperous fief for itself.
The Daradul Great Swamp wasn't far from the Forest of Beginnings, serving as a waypoint for adventurers who'd leveled up enough there to venture onward. It also lay along one of the key routes toward the Arakasia Mountains, where paths led to the dwarven kingdoms, the emperor's domains, and even the eastern Jin Empire. Merchants and adventurers alike passed through, fueling booming inns and markets.
Beyond that, the Capulets were a martial house through and through. Generations of lords and family members had been renowned knights, serving the emperor with distinction. Even with imperial laws capping private armies, they maintained an elite force of knights and soldiers right up to the limit.
And it was to this Capulet Barony that a daughter was born. The second child after the firstborn son—and the family's youngest—she was named Juliet Capulet.
"Aaaah... Aaaaah...!!!"
Somewhere, a woman was plummeting through the air, her wails a raw mix of despair, betrayal, and regret.
Why... why did it come to this...?
She looked back on her past.
Juliet had been frail from birth. And unlike everyone else in this world, she lacked the Status, Job, and Skills that defined power. Her Job was something unheard of: Master Gunner. Worse, its Skills were useless oddities like Gunnery (A), Gun Combat (S), Bullet Acceleration (A), Mana Rounds (A), and Gun Master (S). Who even needed such things?
Jobs and Skills could change with effort or training, but for a sickly girl like her, that was impossible. She knew stories of people cursed with bizarre Jobs like hers—mocked as the "Goddess's Prank," sometimes treated like cripples depending on the region.
In a martial house like the Capulets, where everyone awakened as warriors or knights, a weak girl should have been shunned. But they prized chivalry above all, and the current lord—her father—and her eldest brother were men of justice and righteousness. Juliet grew up showered in the family's love and attention.
The baron, her father and the current head, doted on her endlessly. He sheltered her so fiercely that she'd scarcely left the estate her whole life, never even making her debutante ball—a rite for every noble girl.
But Juliet had no complaints. She'd always been frail, and she knew her family adored her. Even neighboring nobles only vaguely knew the Capulets had a daughter; no one knew her face or name.
Was the goddess fair, though? She'd stolen Juliet's health and given her a nonsensical Job and Skills... but in exchange, she'd granted one extraordinary gift: beauty.
Long legs, a slender waist—not the voluptuous sensuality of a seductress, but a perfectly balanced figure like an ancient statue. A straight nose, slightly downturned eyes with a serene yet gentle gaze, and sapphire-blue irises that were poised and tranquil. No flashiness, but a subtle, captivating softness that drew the eye. That was Juliet.
The household staff who saw her often praised her looks, calling her the "Capulet Jewel," rivaling the "Roses of the Two Empires." It didn't quite land for Juliet, who rarely met outsiders, but she lived a quiet life in the barony—unchanging for years.
Until one event shattered it all.
Every grown noble had to undertake the Hunt of Honor. In a world graced by the System, where slaying monsters absorbed their power to grow stronger—and monsters made might essential—nobles sent their heirs on these hunts periodically to toughen them safely. It was tradition.
Juliet, frail as she was, had delayed until adulthood. Leveling Stats would build her body naturally; for her, it was no choice but a necessity.
And on that hunt...
Ah... so beautiful...
Aah...
She discovered love for the first time.
In a hunting ground near the Daradul Swamp, teeming with moderately strong monsters, she met a handsome young noble—seemingly younger than her, also on his Hunt of Honor. They fell for each other at first sight.
"My name is Romeo, my lady."
"I'm Juliet. Such a fine gentleman."
From then on, she met Romeo often. Under the pretext of her overdue Hunt of Honor, she ventured out repeatedly—not to hunt, but to see him. Their time together was short, but each meeting deepened their bond.
"I love you..."
"Me too..."
They confessed at last, planning to betroth with marriage in mind. Both nobles, neither heirs, it seemed no issue. Their future glowed pink with hope.
But...
"Aah... Capulet... Why..."
"Romeo... Montague... Aah..."
When they learned each other's houses, hope turned to despair.
The Capulet Barony and Romeo's Montague Barony were neighboring fiefs—bitter enemies since some ancient feud long forgotten. They hated each other to the bone; without imperial mediation, it might have sparked a domain war.
No way would they accept the pair's romance.
"Aah..."
"Aaaah..."
Devastated, they kept meeting anyway, driven by love.
"Oh, Romeo, Romeo! Why must you be Romeo...?"
"That my one true love springs from our houses' sole hatred! Aah!! Juliet!!"
The more impossible their love seemed, the deeper and more fervent it grew.
Or maybe... only I grew more desperate?
In the end, to claim their love, they planned to elope.
"Next time... here at our spot... and then..."
"Yes... I swear..."
They parted at their secret rendezvous to prepare. For Juliet, eloping meant becoming commoners. Posing as inspections, she toured villages, diligently learning plebeian life. Her hunts built her stamina to that of an average Earth girl her age.
Timing favored her: her father and brother had marched north on imperial orders to halt the Demon King's forces. Fewer eyes in the household.
She left a letter for her worried parents and brother, slipping from the estate.
"Aah... Romeo."
"Sorry I'm late, Juliet."
"It's fine..."
She arrived first and waited. At last, they reunited.
"Let's go. We'll live in love."
"Yes, Romeo."
Thus began their elopement.
And they lived happily ever after... would have been nice.
But the world wasn't a gentle children's fairy tale.
The Demon King had revived; monsters rampaged everywhere. Even in human lands—save the northern Great Demonic Realm—beasts stirred more fiercely than usual.
Thanks to Emperor Marcus Caesar's wise rule and policies, bandits and thieves were rare on roads. Small mercy.
Instead...
"Buhiit!!"
"Buhiheet...!!"
...packs of monsters ambushed travelers. Far deadlier than ragtag bandits with useless Jobs and Stats.
Disaster struck a week into their flight, near the emperor's border territories: an orc horde.
"W-what do we do?"
"I-I don't know..."
Neither had real combat prowess—Juliet was frail, Romeo even younger.
Surviving unplanned travel in this chaos was sheer luck. Now it ran out.
They fled desperately, but exhaustion closed in.
Eventually...
"Buhiit!!"
-Thud!!
"Aaaack...!!"
Fleeing up a mountain, Juliet trailing Romeo, an orc's fist sent her tumbling down the slope. They separated.
"Ro-Romeo!!"
Juliet reached out desperately, but...
"Buhiit! Buhiit!"
"H-heek!! S-sorry!!"
Cowardly Romeo abandoned her and fled.
"Aaaah...!!"
"Buhiit! Buhiit!!"
"Hic..."
Despairing, tears streaming, Juliet staggered up and ran—but cornered at a cliff's edge.
"Aah... Romeo..."
With those words, she hurled herself into the river below rather than face the orcs.
-Splash!!!
She fell. Fell endlessly into the dark abyss.
Not just her body. Her shattered heart plummeted too—perhaps even deeper.
"Aaaah... Romeo... Why...!!! I loved you!! I would've given you everything!! Aaaah!!!"
Even in freefall, the dark lump from her torn heart spewed forth.
Negative thoughts dominated her mind. Something vast and pure at her core had been hollowed out, leaving only this clot.
Nothing else remained.
"I can't forgive you! Romeo!!"
Perhaps that hatred would birth yin energy, twisting her into something wretched in this cold, wet void.
But it didn't.
"Oh... such a sad tale. And abandoned..."
"Aah..."
A warm, pale blue light gently enveloped the remnants she'd left behind. A tender, heavenly voice—like from paradise—made the clot in her heart begin to melt away.
"It's okay now. I'll take you in."
"Aah..."
Why was I wasting emotions on a wretch like Romeo...?
Suddenly, she felt foolish. Hatred, betrayal, even her faded love for Romeo—all paled to nothing against what this gentle light offered.
"Come, let's go together."
"Yes... gladly..."
She'd met the one worthy of her all.
And Juliet...
"Rise, slut."
"Daou~"
...was utterly reborn.