28
"Who?"
"Yes, the Duke."
That couldn't be.
It was the first time in seven years that he'd even known the Monad County was in such dire straits.
To Lennox, Monad County was an abstract space.
Since his lover was the daughter of the Monad County, he simply assumed there was a house somewhere in the capital.
Juliet visited the County residence whenever she came to the capital with him, but Lennox never even bothered to pick her up.
For a man who wouldn't bat an eye even if his lover was having an affair, to be concerned about her family affairs?
It was absurd. He wouldn't do anything so bothersome.
But the old woman continued calmly.
"Didn't you send gold yesterday with Juliet?"
He didn't...
"The young lady said so. She said that you were too busy to come together this year, but that the Duke had taken care to ensure we had a prosperous new year."
Lennox's eyes narrowed.
"Everyone in the mansion is deeply grateful. It's an honor to meet you in person and greet you, Duke."
The blind old woman bowed her head once more.
Lennox wondered what was going on.
But neither the old woman, who was supposedly Juliet's nanny, nor the young maid supporting her seemed to be lying.
Then there was only one possibility left.
Juliet must have made it all up.
"Juliet said that?"
As if unaware of the coldness in his voice, the blind woman said gently.
"Of course. Our Juliet is always talking about the Duke. Just yesterday, she was telling me how considerate you are, and how kind you are, contrary to the rumors."
Lennox couldn't find the words to reply.
It wasn't that he couldn't guess why Juliet had lied.
But on the other hand, it was hard to understand why she had to go so far.
Because the Juliet Monad he knew wasn't like that.
"Duke, please take good care of our young lady."
The blind old woman bowed deeply and politely.
"She's very shy and doesn't say much, but she's very tender-hearted. She's thoughtful and gets hurt easily. So please cherish her."
Lennox didn't answer. He stared silently at the blind woman.
This woman, the nanny, must have known about Juliet's lies from the beginning.
How could a man who had never shown his face in seven years of being lovers be a caring lover?
Yet Juliet had desperately defended him, even to the point of lying, not for his sake, but to reassure them.
Her pride was already wounded, but she didn't want to worry the precious people who remembered her childhood.
Lennox didn't care about the notoriety surrounding him, but he knew roughly what people were saying about his lover.
Even without the rumors of high society, such things were obvious.
The Monad County servants, including the nanny, must have suspected it. The young lady's lover was a man notorious for being heartless and ruthless.
They must have worried about how the young lady was being treated as his lover in the desolate North.
Yet they pretended to be fooled every year by their mistress's clumsy and awkward lies to reassure the old nanny.
Neither Juliet, who lied, nor the Monad County servants, who pretended to be fooled, were bad people.
Lennox thought for a moment.
Even when she was staying in the North, Juliet wasn't the Duchess, so she couldn't have had any private funds to use.
Of course, she never went hungry or lacked dresses and jewelry, but that was it.
The problem was that Juliet had left behind all the things she had received from him.
Given the state of the County residence, where on earth had Juliet gotten the gold to maintain her last bit of pride?
It was only after a long silence that Lennox was finally able to turn away.
"The mansion is very dilapidated. I'll send some help."
"You said you were going to see your husband?"
The stewardess girl who brought the black tea asked Juliet, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. Her name was Angie.
Juliet simply gave Angie a faint smile.
On the ring finger of Juliet's left hand was a thin gold ring. It was a common band with no decorations or jewels, but that was better for concealing her identity.
Right now, Juliet was pretending to be a young wife going to see her husband.
"I guess your husband works at the Eastern Gate. I've heard there are a lot of good jobs there."
The friendly Angie chattered cheerfully, interpreting Juliet's silence as agreement.
It was a good thing she had created a fake identity.
Juliet thought to herself.
A train powered by Magic Stone was quite an expensive mode of transportation.
And a young woman traveling alone in a private room, without a maid? It was bound to attract attention.
The young stewardess seemed quite fascinated by Juliet. At the same time, she didn't seem to imagine that Juliet was a noble.
After all, very few nobles used trains.
So the main users of the train were wealthy commoners, especially merchants who needed to travel long distances quickly.
Great nobles and high-ranking clergy preferred to travel through the Gate, which consumed enormous costs and Magic Stone.
Of course, that was the fastest means of transportation, but it was prohibitively expensive.
Moreover, you couldn't even use the Gate without a valid permit.
Since very few people could afford to use the train, there were only about ten people sitting in the dining car where Juliet was sitting.
Speaking of the dining car.
She didn't know which car the kitchen was attached to, but the fact that cooking was possible inside the train was also thanks to the Magic Stone.
The breakfast was quite delicious, even though there weren't many options.
Juliet was quite surprised when she tasted the freshly baked, warm croissant.
After Juliet finished breakfast, Angie brought her a freshly brewed black tea.
"It's Lyunne Tea."
Juliet smiled, admiring the subtle aroma of the tea. The late Mona de Count also liked this tea.
Charmed by the aroma, Juliet emptied her cup and asked cautiously.
"Can I have more?"
"Of course!"
Angie seemed pleased and brought a new teapot.
Angie, who returned from the kitchen with the teapot, faintly carried a sweet scent that was somewhat unusual.
Juliet tilted her head at the savory butter scent that stimulated her sense of smell.
"We're baking scones in the kitchen."
At the word "scones," the other passengers sitting in the dining car craned their necks like meerkats.
"I'll bring them to you in a little while."
It was worth the expensive price. Juliet admired inwardly.
'It was a good thing I took the train instead of a ship, even if it was expensive.'
She was willing to pay for this level of luxury.
She even liked the fact that there weren't many passengers.
Drip. Drip.
"Ah."
Somehow, the weather had been cloudy since morning, and sure enough, as soon as the train crossed the mountain ridge, it started to rain little by little.
"Is a typhoon coming?"
"What typhoon would come in this season?
It's just passing rain."
Juliet, who had been momentarily nervous and unconsciously gripped her teacup tightly, sighed at the conversation coming from the back seat.
As they said, it was passing rain.
Relieved, Juliet watched the raindrops tapping on the train window without worry.
Sitting on a train with black tea on a rainy day, watching the lush green mountains.
And soon, freshly baked scones would be served, ah, perfect.
A sweet sigh flowed out of her naturally at the peace she was enjoying after a long time.
There weren't many passengers on the train, especially in the dining car.
"......?"
Yet, suddenly feeling a gaze, Juliet raised her head.
The unexpected culprit was sitting right in front of Juliet.
A baby sitting in the seat two rows in front of Juliet was staring at Juliet with curious eyes.
'Cute……!'
Especially those soft, squishy cheeks were so cute.
Juliet bit her lip, but she couldn't help but smile.
When Juliet smiled brightly at the baby, the baby also smiled and waved at Juliet.
"Pa!"
"Oh my. Who are you smiling at, huh?"
When the baby's mother sitting in the front seat said that, Juliet quickly pretended to look at her teacup as if she had never smiled and lowered her head.
A baby.
That was something Juliet had never had in either of her two lives.
"......"
The smile disappeared from Juliet's face reflected in the tea.
Actually, just once.
There was a time when she almost had one.
Almost right before she died in her first life.
Now as well as then, Juliet in her first life was truly insignificant, with nothing special about her.
But when the doctor told her that she was pregnant, Juliet felt like she had become someone special. She was filled with hope that she could do anything.
It didn't last long, though.
"You can have a baby even if you don't get married, right? Lennox, if we have a baby -"
"There is no 'if,' Juliet."
But all that came back was a cold rejection.
"Can't you understand? Even if you get pregnant, I won't let you give birth."
Even if it wasn't because of those words, Juliet never held a baby in her arms.
Even while living her second life, Juliet would occasionally ruminate on those cold words alone.
Juliet fiddled with the coldly cooled teacup.
Thump.
Then suddenly, the train stopped.
Realizing that, she looked out the window.
This train that Juliet was on passed through several stations on its way to the Eastern Gate.
Just as it had picked up Juliet in the capital, passengers would get off at intermediate stations, and new passengers and luggage would be loaded before departing for the destination again.
It seemed like they were picking up new passengers at this station as well.
Juliet, who was looking out the window, was suddenly startled by a loud noise from the back car.
Thump.
"Loaded!"
Juliet glanced sideways at the back.
Come to think of it, the three tail cars at the very back of the train were spaces for loading luggage.
They must have loaded something incredibly huge, whatever it was.
Just as Juliet was thinking that, suspicious men dressed all in black swarmed onto the train.
'……Huh?'
Juliet narrowed her eyes for a moment.
Forgotten Juliet
