Forgotten Juliet

* * *

Duke Carlyle returned to his residence, leaving all the commotion behind.

Blood streamed down the back of his left hand. Startled servants rushed towards him, carrying towels and bandages.

“No… Your Highness! You’re bleeding!”

“Get out.”

His suppressed voice sounded unusually serious.

Experienced servants withdrew quietly and swiftly, not wanting to go against their master’s wishes.

Lennox aggressively yanked off his tie as if tearing it apart and then headed straight for the bathtub filled with hot water.

Clatter!

A crystal bottle filled with an amber liquid, which had been placed near the bathtub, shattered loudly.

Although his black shirt hid the wound, his left arm was cut deeper than it appeared. It was going to be uncomfortable for a while.

“That wolf bastard-“

When their blades clashed for the third and last time, Roy’s sword dug into his unprotected left side.

However, that wasn’t the issue. As Lennox aimed for the neck instinctively, Roy didn’t dodge despite knowing.

In fact, Roy deliberately jumped right into the trajectory of Lennox’s blade.

He didn’t change the angle reflexively.

If not for a slight miscalculation, he would have precisely sliced the throat of that wolf. But even that seemed to have been part of the wolf’s initial plan.

Trusting the horrifying regenerative ability of Lycanthropes, he dragged Juliet onto the stage as if to show off in front of him.

“How dare you, insignificant thing…”

Lennox gritted his teeth.

How dare you touch her?

That wolf’s target wasn’t him but Juliet from the very beginning.

To make Juliet run to him in shock using a childish play.

Even if his throat had been slashed instead of the eye, Lennox was confident that due to his monstrous regeneration, he would be perfectly fine.

* * *

“Ouch.”

The temporary treatment room was quiet after everyone left, except for the whimpering Roy.

“You find this funny?”

Juliet scolded him with an angry expression.

Only after the priests finished treating him did Roy show the cut on the back of his hand. It was a shallow wound, but Juliet was very upset.

‘Why didn’t you show it when there were healers earlier?’

Juliet visibly angered, doused the wound with disinfectant. Annoyingly, Roy didn’t even flinch from the sting.

“If you ever do something like this again.”

“Then?”

“We’re done.”

“…What?”

“You don’t know what that means? It means we’re no longer friends.”

“Okay…”

Roy slouched his shoulders, looking downcast.

“Why on earth would you do that?”

Juliet still seemed very angry. However, seeing her like this, Roy chuckled silently.

“I didn’t know either.”

Roy said with a soft smile.

Confused by his vague words, Juliet furrowed her brows.

“Give me your hand.”

“Okay.”

Roy obediently handed his hand over, allowing Juliet to inspect the wound.

It was a scratch that would disappear without a trace by half a day.

Juliet sometimes underestimated their clan’s recovery abilities. But Roy never pointed it out.

Instead, he just stared at her intently, observing her every move, even the way her nose twitched when she was focused.

‘I never thought I’d be this fond of her.’

His golden eyes deepened in intensity.

Lycanthropes, unlike humans, are known to be devoted to one mate for life through a mark.

But this marking was rarer than one would think.

Most of their kind only sought partners during their infrequent mating seasons, and the concept of forming a family was rather thin. Markings were just as rare.

And he was no different.

Or so he thought…

“Juliet.”

“Yes?”

Roy gently pulled Juliet’s wrist towards him and pressed his lips to the back of her hand.

Humans were so soft and fragile. If he used even a slight force, he could easily injure her.

Originally, Roy despised weakness. Like other Lycanthropes, he loathed humans who seemed weak, cunning, and quick-witted.

But now, even that vulnerability felt incredibly endearing.

That such a fragile being could pulse with life and express vitality was nothing short of amazing to him. So fragile, yet so lively.

But to Roy, it didn’t matter.

Juliet wasn’t just fragile. And even if she grew old and weak faster than him because she was human, all he had to do was become stronger for the both of them.

Juliet pulled her hand away from Roy’s lips.

“Roy, do you like me?”

“…If I said yes, would you run away?”

Juliet silently stared at him.

Roy understood her better than she realized.

“It’s natural to want to be good to someone you like. Even if you don’t like me, I don’t think it’s a bad thing.”

But Juliet wasn’t moved by his gentle words.

‘Maybe something in me is broken.’

That’s what Juliet thought.

Duke Carlyle’s affection had its twisted aspects, and she had been tamed by his methods for too long.

“Roy, I…”

Roy, being a kind soul, didn’t want to be cruel like Carlyle.

“I’m too exhausted to be like me before…”

“…”

“Liking someone is too much.”

The statement was not just confined to Roy.

Juliet thought that even if she ever came to like Lennox again, it wouldn’t be as much as before.

She was exhausted from an unrequited love. It had been too long.

“It’s okay.”

“Roy.”

“I don’t expect you to like me right now. I won’t pressure you.”

Roy, being considerate, subtly took Juliet’s hand and rested it on his cheek.

“Do you hate me?”

She must’ve given away some expression on her face.

Juliet couldn’t pull her hand away.

“Well, that’s enough.”

Roy smiled brightly.

Lycanthropes live three times the lifespan of humans. And notably, Romeo Baskal was a very patient predator.

* * *

Juliet was completely drained, both mentally and physically.

It had been such a long day that she felt her limbs sagging. She wanted to go to her room and rest immediately. But her hands and skirt were all stained with blood.

“Lady.”

While she was slowly climbing the stairs, a priest gently called out to her from behind.

“Yes?”

The face looked familiar. It was one of the healing priests who had treated Roy’s injury a few hours ago.

The priest approached Juliet and whispered something surprising.

“There’s a special bathroom in the east wing basement.”

A special bathroom?

Juliet was intrigued.

“Normally, only female priests use it… but at this hour, it’s likely to be empty.”

She even offered to lend Juliet a change of clothes.

Out of gratitude, Juliet almost kissed the priest. The priest advised her not to get caught by the supervising priest.

Juliet wanted to know the name of the healing priest, but she just handed over a plain priestess robe and disappeared.

“She’s gone.”

Nevertheless, Juliet found the special bathroom in the east wing as directed.

It was a much larger bathroom than the small ones attached to the rooms.

For Juliet, who loved hot baths, nothing could be better.

It was late, so the spacious and airy bathroom was empty.

After washing off the blood and changing into the clean clothes, Juliet left the bathroom.

On her way back to her room, she happened to run into priests carrying ingredients.

‘Oh, right, Nix.’

She suddenly remembered the young dragon waiting for her.

The young dragon’s name was Onyx – but Juliet usually called him Nix.

She had spent more on feeding and raising him than planned.

As a result, she had to sell several of the jewels she had kept as emergency funds.

Among them was a flawless black onyx brooch, a relic of Juliet’s deceased mother, the Countess Monad.

Hence, the black young dragon was named Onyx (Nix).

While Juliet wasn’t great at naming, she thought it suited him.

She told the priests that she hadn’t eaten anything. The kind-hearted novice priests, feeling pity for her, gave her two apples.

Red apples were Nix’s favorite snack.

The robe worn by the female priests had apron-like pockets. Juliet comfortably put one apple in each pocket and was about to head out.

“Excuse me, sister?”

‘Oh no.’

Hearing the cold voice from behind, Juliet felt caught.

However, she turned around as naturally as possible.

“Yes, priest?”

There was an unfamiliar priest.

She appeared to be of a high rank, wearing slightly different attire than other priests Juliet had seen.

Juliet was a bit tense.

‘Could it be because of the apples? Or did she see me coming out of the special bathroom?’

“May I have a word with you?”

“Now?”

“It won’t take long.”

What’s this about?

Without waiting for Juliet’s answer, the priestess turned and began walking, as if signaling Juliet to follow.

‘This isn’t good.’

Juliet thought honestly while following the unfamiliar priestess.

But the priestess walked briskly without saying a word.

Creak. Creak. Creak.

Following her up an old staircase, Juliet grew anxious.

It was late, and there were hardly any people around. Where was she taking her?

‘Hopefully she hasn’t seen Nix.’

Originally, Juliet hadn’t intended to bring Nix, but he had secretly hidden in her luggage and followed her.

In a place filled with many people, the existence of a dragon, believed to be extinct, would be problematic. Just the thought of it was terrifying.

She’ll just say she accidentally discovered and used the bathroom. And the apples…

he should probably just admit any wrongdoings.

But if the priestess knows about Nix, that’s a different matter.

‘If it’s about Nix, I’ll have to flee under the cover of night.’

Just as Juliet was making this resolution, the priestess stopped in front of a reception room.

Thud.

“Wait here for a moment.”

It looked like the priestess was about to push Juliet inside when she closed the door.

“Yes? Priestess?”

As Juliet approached the door…

Flash!

A geometric circular summoning circle hidden on the floor lit up.