Forgotten Juliet

1. The reason for the breakup

Lennox Carlyle was born into a very famous family with a rich historical past and was the only heir.

Duke Carlyle, who ruled the North, boasted great wealth and power, but his family history was stained with blood.

And the boy born in this family was no exception.

He was nine years old when he first killed a person.

When his father, a former duke, died, his greedy relatives sent the young heir to the battlefield.

The opposing army quickly fled from the battlefield, and the 9-year-old boy disappeared with them. Since no one else saw him after that, everyone decided that he was dead.

Everyone thought so.

Until 10 years later, the red-eyed man returned with an undefeated army.

The boy who left the Dukedom returned as a war hero.

It was a return after 10 years.

His troops knew no mercy and easily recaptured the northern duchy.

But no one dared to doubt Lennox Carlyle’s legitimacy or qualifications.

It wasn’t just because of the Duke’s distinctive black hair and red eyes. All of his relatives who dared to question him had been decapitated by his hand.

After that day, no one wanted to offend the young Duke Carlyle. So it had been a long time since Lennox Carlyle felt so irritated.

“What did you say?”

“I asked you to break up with me.”

Lennox stared blankly at the woman in front of him.

Wavy light brown hair and bright blue eyes. Even in a thin negligee with no decorations, her posture was as straight as a queen.

After a brief silence, Carlyle smiled softly at her.

“Juliet Monad.”

She was the official mistress of Duke Carlyle.

“Are you kidding me?”

Even though she was scared of the sudden force, but Juliet tilted her head instead of being frightened. She innocently blinked her eyes as if she didn’t understand his question.

“It can’t be, Your Highness.”

“Then drop the fables and say it again.. Something more plausible.”

“But I’ve already told you. That’s all I want.”

Juliet’s expression was as calm as usual when she answered casually. Like a peaceful sleep.

On the contrary, Lennox’s eyes grew ferocious. It was only three days ago that they left the Northern Duchy and arrived at the capital’s mansion.

Like every year, they had to attend the New Year’s banquet at the Imperial Palace.

It was a journey through two gates, but it was a procession of considerable size, including the Duke’s vassals and knights.

Juliet, known as Duke Carlyle’s lover, also visited the capital with him.

“I won’t bother you, Your Highness.”

As she said seven years ago, Juliet had never bothered him.

She didn’t beg for affection or attention, and she didn’t cling to him while scattering tears.

It was the Juliet Monad he knew.

Not once did Juliet ask for what he couldn’t give.

It was like that until today.

However, it was dangerous to leave the North at this timing…

“Please break up with me.”

You dare to leave?

Lennox was offended, though he didn’t know exactly what caused it.

Like a man indifferent to others and his own feelings, he wasn’t interested in why he was angry.

But he thought he needed to know why Juliet had suddenly changed and acted like a child.

“And why is that?”

“Do I have to explain?”

“Juliet.”

“You promised. You said you would listen to anything.”

“Now answer me.”

Lennox couldn’t stand it any longer and grabbed Juliet’s arm. But then.

Knock, knock.

“Your Highness, this is Elliot.”

A light knock interrupted the two.

“Excuse me, but a guest is waiting for you downstairs.”

It was Elliot, the Duke’s secretary, who knocked on the bedroom door. And Juliet, catching Lennox’s distraction quickly escaped his grip.

When Lennox turned his head again, she was standing away from him.

Like a mischievous child, Juliet stepped back and smiled at him with her hands behind her back.

“You.”

“You have to go. The guest is waiting for you.”

Lennox glared at her coldly, but only for a moment.

It’s been a long time since he left the northern territory and visited the capital, so there was a mountain of work to deal with. He was going to be busy all day.

Finally, Lennox spoke reluctantly.

“…In the afternoon, we’ll talk again.”

“Yes, later.”

Juliet saw off the Duke with a smile on her face until the end.

Click.

But the very moment after the Duke left the bedroom and the door closed with a sound, the smile disappeared without a trace and Juliet sat down on the spot as if collapsing.

“…It’s okay, it’s all okay. You did well.”

Left alone, Juliet buried her pale face in her hands and whispered to herself.

Her fingertips were trembling slightly from being so nervous. Tears welled up at the tips of her eyelashes and glistened dangerously. But she now hadn’t the luxury of even indulging in her sentiments.

Taking a deep breath, Juliet ran straight to the dressing room without waiting for the maid.

* * *

Elliott, the Duke’s secretary, was returning from seeing off a guest and bumped into Juliet coming out of the main building of the mansion.

Dressed in a neat dress for a walk, Juliet was about to get into the Duke’s carriage.

‘At this early hour?’

“Are you going out, Miss?”

“Yes, I’m going to the temple. I’ll also wish Elliott good luck in the new year.”

“Thank you. Have a good trip.”

Although he never told anyone, Elliot had a pretty high opinion of the calm young lady.

Juliet Monad was clever and quick-witted, but of a reserved nature.

In fact, she was respectable for the fact that she had been Duke Carlyle’s lover for several years.

She was the only exception to the rule of the Duke, who usually changed his partners every single day.

Juliet asked, pointing to the flower pot Elliott was holding as she climbed into the carriage.

“What is this?”

“Oh, this? It’s a gift from a guest.”

Marquis Roman, who visited the mansion at dawn, presented the pot as a gift, stating that it was impolite of him to intrude here so early in the morning.

It was a simple gift, but Marquis Roman was known for his love of gardening.

But for some reason, Juliet stared at the purple flower Elliot was holding.

Elliot, who suddenly looked down at the pot for some reason, realized his mistake.

‘…Oops.’

Juliet Monad was not a fussy character. On the contrary, she was kind and quiet.

But just one thing.

For some reason she hated purple dahlias.

Dahlias, with their strong vitality, were common flowers in the North.

However, purple dahlias were taboo in the northern dukedom because Juliet hated them.

Elliot immediately apologized.

“I’m sorry, miss. I will get rid of it immediately.”

“No, leave it as it is.”

“Yes…”

“It will look good in His Highness office.”

“Yes…?”

Elliot couldn’t believe his ears.

But after saying that, Juliet smiled and got into the carriage and left.

Elliott stared blankly at the moving carriage, then suddenly came to his senses.

‘Miss Monad is a little strange today.’

But Elliot didn’t know yet. That not only Juliet was strange today.

Knock, knock.

“Your Highness, this is Elliot.”

“Come in.”

In addition to the Duke, there were two other knights in the office.

For some reason, the two knights, who were standing with serious expressions, only exchanged glances at Elliott.

‘What’s going on?’

In addition, documents were scattered on the table, and on one side was a flat box that looked exactly like a jewelry box.

Sensing an unusual atmosphere for some reason, Elliot quietly put the flower pot he had brought on the bedside table.

Just as expected, Duke Carlyle didn’t even pay attention to the potted plant that Elliott had brought.

The gaze of the Duke, who was slumped in the chair, was looking out the window of the office.

When Elliot glanced out of the window, he saw the Duke’s carriage leaving out of the mansion.

It was the same carriage in which Juliet rode out.

“Elliot.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Elliot replied politely and quickly organized today’s schedule in his head.

Because he thought there would be a question about today’s schedule.

Thanks to his visit to the capital after a long absence, he had a lot of things to do. However, the Duke asked a completely unexpected question.

“Who is Juliet’s escort now?”

“Hmm… Cain.”

“Then call Cain.”

“Yes.”

Elliott responded reflexively, but he was a little surprised.

Why did he suddenly ask about Miss’s escort? Was there something wrong with the escort?

“And summarize Juliet’s whereabouts for the past three months and report it by noon.”

“Yes?”

“Where did she go, who did she meet. All about correspondence sent and received. Understand?”

“But Your Highness, that is…”

Elliott raised his head.

This was a really strange order.

Investigate Miss Monad’s whereabouts? Why don’t you ask directly?

However, when the red eyes turned coldly at him, Elliot quickly lowered his head.

“Do I have to say it twice?”

“Oh, no.”

“I give you three hours. Get out.”

Bam.

In an instant, Elliot was kicked out of the office.

Elliott looked at the closed door with a bewildered look on his face, then came to his senses.

The Duke who hates wasting time will never give meaningless orders. But to investigate the Miss’s whereabouts first. Could Miss Monad have done something terribly wrong?

‘If I had known this would happen, I would have told her not to go out when I ran into Miss Monad earlier.’

Clicking his tongue internally, Elliot quickened his pace.

It seemed that a happy New Year’s Eve was gone.