Chapter 7
The hostess thought Juliet looked like a painting from afar, but beneath the tea table, her legs were shaking restlessly.
Juliet found the rustling sound of her petticoat against her ankles pleasant.
Suddenly, she heard the sound of carriage wheels, and soon a carriage stopped in front of the tea house.
The person who stepped out of the carriage was the one Juliet had expected.
"I've come to escort you, Miss."
The man with a large scar on his face looked like a weapon himself.
However, instead of getting up, Juliet stared at him and said,
"Sir Caine."
"Yes, Miss."
"Why were you away earlier?"
"....."
Caine was speechless at the direct question.
Juliet smiled brightly.
"Sir Jude said earlier that Sir Caine had something urgent to attend to and came in his place. Why were you away?"
"I'm sorry, but I cannot say."
Avoiding the question was the norm.
But Juliet Monad was far from ordinary.
Instead of settling for a vague answer, Juliet rested her chin on her hand and asked seriously.
The playful glint in her eyes made it seem like she already knew everything and was just testing him.
"Did Your Highness call for you?"
"... No."
It wasn't exactly an interrogation, but Caine wished Juliet would stop asking.
Although his expression didn't show it due to his naturally stern face, he was very embarrassed.
Caine Hall knew he was bad at lying.
He was more skilled at fighting with weapons than talking. He was originally a top-tier mercenary leader from a gladiatorial arena, wandering the battlefields.
Duke Carlisle of the North hired him, a rare Swordmaster among mercenaries.
Duke Carlisle hired anyone who was competent, regardless of their background.
He was fortunate enough to catch the Duke Carlisle's eye and now teaches practical swordsmanship to the Duke's knights. Since coming to the capital, he has been Juliet's escort, but strictly speaking, Caine was not even a formal knight.
He was a slave who escaped from the gladiatorial arena, not even a commoner.
And Juliet Monad was the only person who called Caine 'Sir'.
A few hours earlier, Duke Carlisle had suddenly summoned Caine and asked about Juliet Monad.
He asked where she had been recently, who she had met, and who she had been in contact with.
"Is there anything different from usual?"
Caine didn't know why the Duke was asking such things, but he could tell that the Duke was more on edge than usual.
So Caine defended Juliet Monad as much as he could within his knowledge.
He said that the Miss was doing well without any problems and that there was nothing suspicious.
However, he couldn't tell Juliet that directly.
Of course. His master was Duke Carlisle, not Juliet Monad.
But Caine felt a pang of conscience.
"What did Your Highness ask?
Did he mention me?"
"I cannot say. I'm sorry."
Caine gave up trying to evade the question and refused honestly.
"I see."
Caine was worried that Juliet would press him further, but surprisingly, she accepted it right away.
Juliet fortunately didn't ask any more questions.
She didn't seem disappointed either.
Caine cautiously glanced at Juliet.
"Hmm."
Juliet seemed to have lost interest in him. She didn't seem upset either.
After being quiet for a moment, as if deep in thought, Juliet smiled brightly and pushed a glass of drink towards him.
"Sit down and have a drink. It's cool and sweet."
"Yes."
Caine sat down in the seat opposite her and took the glass.
Just then, the hostess of the tea house, who had absentmindedly looked out the window, was horrified.
The former mercenary leader who could take down a bull with his bare hands and the Duke's lover were sitting face to face at the tea table, enjoying tea together.
It was quite a bizarre sight.
It was a fact known only to a very few people, but Caine Hall didn't really enjoy strong alcohol.
Instead, he liked sweet and cool drinks. It was a taste that contrasted with his appearance.
Juliet was one of the few people who had noticed that. She often included Caine in her solo tea times.
Just like now.
Caine quite liked this time.
Juliet Monad was a Miss who didn't talk much but had a strange talent for making the atmosphere comfortable.
So Caine sometimes thought that was why his master, Duke Carlisle, kept her by his side for so long.
Before he knew it, Caine had emptied his glass and subtly glanced at Juliet.
Juliet seemed to have completely lost interest in him and was looking at the street without even touching her drink.
Then she looked at Caine and smiled casually.
"Would you like more to drink?"
"Yes."
As she said, the drink was sweet and cool, but Caine somehow couldn't taste it.
**
Evening.
Lennox Carlisle arrived at the Imperial Palace banquet hall a little earlier than scheduled.
However, instead of going down to the floor and showing himself, he was looking down from a secluded balcony on the upper floor.
"I found him."
Hadan, a knight in black armor who approached him, reported quietly.
The Duke's 'Wolves' were elite knights who moved secretly according to the head of the family's orders.
Hadan was the leader of those Wolves.
"He is a man living in District 8, named Donovan."
Within hours of ordering them to find a suspicious man who had visited the Count's residence, the Duke's Wolves had secured a man whose name and face they didn't even know.
"Yes."
Even after the man in black armor quietly retreated, Lennox did not leave the balcony.
Meanwhile, the ball began downstairs.
Among the people dressed in gorgeous attire, dancing and moving across the floor, one woman caught his eye.
She was standing quietly against the wall, wearing a deep blue dress.
Silver-brown hair shimmering under the lights, her elegant neckline and round shoulders fully exposed. Even her captivating figure.
The woman who was unsuitably playing the role of a flower on the wall was the very woman who had been bothering him all day.
'If she didn't show up at the banquet hall with various excuses, I was going to go to the Count's residence and drag her here myself.'
Juliet had commendably shown up at the Imperial Palace banquet hall as promised.
Frankly, Lennox was a little impressed with her today.
His lover, who usually acted like the tongue in his mouth, seemed to be able to annoy him as much as she wanted if she put her mind to it.
Juliet Monad was a lover who didn't require much attention. To put it more bluntly, she was convenient.
She didn't ask him to buy her this or that, and she didn't whine, demanding affection and attention.
Most importantly, Juliet had never forced unilateral feelings on him.
Juliet did not demand any emotional reciprocation from him.
In fact, Lennox Carlisle's standards for a lover were not that high.
Somewhat lacking education or status didn't matter. However, he preferred someone with whom he could end the relationship cleanly at any time.
It was okay to spend money like water or indulge in extravagant luxuries, but the most important thing was the end of the relationship.
To end the relationship cleanly when he wanted to.
Lennox Carlisle was not a fifteen-year-old boy excited about his first love.
He hated wasting time on childish love songs.
He kept women by his side as needed, but that was also why he didn't maintain relationships with one person for long.
But.
Lennox Carlisle smiled.
Juliet, with her delicate eyes, stubborn eyebrows, small nose, round forehead, and elegant neckline, was quiet and quick-witted.
She was a little different from the women of the past who liked to sit by his side and chatter.
In fact, Juliet was somewhat different from his taste.
He liked flashy things, but Juliet Monad was an elegant beauty as if she had stepped straight out of a temple mural that nobles were crazy about.
In the first place, his decision to make Juliet Monad his lover was a rather spontaneous whim.
But Juliet Monad rarely chattered in a sweet voice like a nightingale, nor did she bother him by demanding anything first.
So Lennox sometimes thought she was amazing.
"'Convenient.' Is that so……….”
Forgotten Juliet
