FJ 14

Chapter: 14

Let’s think of something else. Something else.

Wiping her damp cheeks, Juliet consciously tried to imagine pleasant things.

Sparkling, beautiful, dazzling things.

Juliet thought of her glass slippers—no, more precisely, the dresses and jewelry she had left behind at the mansion and the ducal castle.

She had left everything the duke had given her exactly as it was.

I wanted to burn all the dresses and be done with them…

Juliet let out a bitter smile.

They weren’t worth just a few coins; realistically, she couldn’t bring herself to destroy them. For all she knew, each piece was worth as much as several townhouses in the capital.

That necklace was beautiful.

A small smile curved her lips.

If she were the kind-hearted heroine of a fairy tale, she would be shedding tears over the lover she had left behind. Yet what occupied her thoughts were the expensive jewels she had abandoned at the estate.

I really am shallow, aren’t I.

As she smiled quietly, a question suddenly crossed her mind.

How quickly would the empty seat beside him be filled?

How quickly would that cold man forget her this time?

Just as Juliet had easily replaced the women who came before her, she believed Lennox would forget her just as quickly. And then a new lover would take the place beside him that had once been hers.

There was only one thing.

Juliet hated the thought that the gifts he had given her might end up adorning some faceless new woman.

Of course, that man wouldn’t care.

Even if Duke Carlisle truly gave away the jewelry Juliet had left behind to someone else, she had no right to object.

So Juliet made one last wish.

That necklace—she hoped it would never grace the neck of a woman she did not know.

That was all.

Maybe I should have left a letter.

Something like, Don’t give my necklace to someone else—just sell it instead. Juliet let out a small laugh.

But she truly hadn’t had the time. No time to slowly collect herself, to smile calmly and choose proper farewell words.

I should have prepared in advance.

She had known from the beginning this was how it would end. She had known she would eventually flee like this.

Juliet smiled bitterly.

If she had allowed herself a little time and brought it up gradually, perhaps he would have accepted her decision to leave without much reaction.

Or perhaps he would have been the one to say goodbye first, without regret.

After all, he was a man who was always prepared to discard her the moment he grew bored.

How foolish.

She had spent far too long lying to herself.

Clinging to the illusion that she could stay just a little longer, nurturing fleeting hopes.

But the man Juliet loved until the very end was Lennox Carlisle.

Juliet had a secret—an unrealistic secret she could never tell anyone.

He might not have known, but for all seven years she had stayed by his side, she had been preparing for their separation. Yesterday, a little more. Today, a little more.

This time, too, he had not changed. And Juliet, who had sworn she would not be hurt, was the one who grew exhausted first.

If this had been Carlisle territory, she would never have escaped so easily.

But she had been planning this departure for a very long time.

Juliet absentmindedly lifted her head.

Wondering whether the train was coming, she glanced around the dark surroundings once more—then suddenly realized something was wrong.

“……”

When did it get this quiet?

The silence was unnerving.

She was sure there had been other passengers waiting for the train inside the station.

So why was it so quiet?

Something was wrong.

Just as that realization struck her and she tried to stand, familiar footsteps echoed from beyond the darkness, making Juliet freeze.

Moments later, the silhouette of a tall, broad-shouldered man emerged from the shadows.

Juliet forgot how to breathe as she stared at him.

His clothes were disheveled—unlike his usual immaculate appearance—and the front of his shirt was undone carelessly. His tie was nowhere to be seen.

As if he had ridden hard in haste, black hair lay in disarray across his neatly shaped forehead.

Even through his clothes, she could see his solid chest rising and falling as he struggled to catch his breath.

Yet the man who walked calmly up to her smiled leisurely, as though nothing were wrong.

“Hello, Juliet.”

Faced with such an unreal sight, Juliet blinked slowly.

“…Lennox?”

“Should I say it’s been a while?”

There was only one man in the world who smiled like that—Lennox Carlisle.

“I didn’t realize you hated me enough to attempt a midnight escape.”

“How did you… find me…?”

It was impossible. Had he really found her this quickly? Unless he had used magic…

Staring at him in a daze, her face pale, Juliet suddenly noticed that his left hand was wrapped in bandages.

As if he’d been in a terrible hurry, red blood was seeping through the hastily wound cloth.

Ah.

Juliet suddenly understood how he had found her.

It was something she hadn’t considered—no, something she had deliberately avoided thinking about—but considering the relationship between the ducal house and the temple, she had once heard that the Grand Temple in the capital possessed a powerful holy relic imbued with tracking magic.

So he used it.

Her heart dropped, yet strangely, she accepted it.

“Fine.”

Noticing her gaze, he tucked his bandaged left hand into his coat.

“If you hate me that much, there’s no need for me to force you.”

The smile vanished instantly from Lennox’s face.

Stepping right up to her, the man asked coldly,

“Then what about my child?”

“…Your child?”

“The one in your belly—aren’t they mine?”

Lennox was barely holding back his rage.

“How did you… find me…?”

The moment Juliet jumped to her feet and turned deathly pale upon seeing him, a hollow laugh escaped his lips.

So you really did run away.

He hadn’t intended to believe it until he saw it with his own eyes.

But the instant he spotted Juliet standing alone on the deserted, pitch-dark platform, he knew.

Her carefully chosen clothes. The startled expression when she saw him. The way she clutched her skirt as if she might bolt at any moment.

Even though he knew she had fled from him, part of him had hoped it wasn’t true.

There must have been some other reason—an unavoidable kidnapping, a threat, anything. He had tried to understand Juliet Monad somehow.

But the sight of her face draining of color the moment she saw him made him swallow a curse.

Fuck. What misunderstanding?

Everything about Juliet Monad, trembling as if terrified, fueled his anger.

“I hate things like this,” she had once said, smiling at him like a summer flower, as if she knew him so well.

Affection, attachment—he should have cut it off long before it became a nuisance.

Looking back, that alone had been a warning sign.

Every time she smiled foolishly, his thoughts grew noisy for the rest of the day.

Warning signals had been flashing all around him, yet he had ignored them, boasting that he could end things whenever he wanted. This—this was the result of that arrogance.

The woman carrying his child had run away, and he had lost his mind and chased after her without a second thought.

He clenched his teeth. Even while half-mad with rage and betrayal, he found himself feeling sorry for the pale woman before him—and that disgusted him.

If the woman who had deceived him and fled truly carried his child, then from this moment on, he would have to do something far more cruel.

He had chased her with that intention from the start—yet here he was, hesitating like a fool.

Who’s worrying about whom right now?

Lennox scoffed at himself.

Juliet Monad, gazing up at him with a pale face, had no idea—but at this very moment, he wanted nothing more than to drop to his knees and beg.

Instead, he forced a calm tone and asked,

“Fine. But what about my child?”

“…Your child?”

Startled and dazed, Juliet thought unconsciously,

A child? Out of nowhere? Did this man find silphium tea leaves in my room or something?

“The one in your belly—aren’t they mine?”

“What are you—”

My child?

Juliet froze mid-question.

No way.

“No!”

Realizing what was happening, Juliet flushed bright red.

Only then did she understand that Lennox was harboring a completely absurd misunderstanding.

Good heavens. He thought she had run away while pregnant.

How was she supposed to explain this?

Faced with such an enormous misunderstanding, Juliet was struck dumb and could only stare at him. In response, the man’s expression grew even colder.

It seemed her desperate denial only deepened his suspicion.

“The apothecary brought the order form. Said you’d ordered a drug to get rid of a child.”

Ah—that order form.

At last, Juliet understood where this ridiculous misunderstanding had begun.

But it wasn’t true.

From the start, knowing she would eventually leave, how could she possibly allow herself to conceive an innocent child?

Lennox Carlisle was a man who gave expensive gifts without ever making promises. Their relationship had no future.

And Juliet already knew how sensitive he was about the subject of children.

It was true that she had regularly drunk silphium tea. But the mistletoe and silphium she had ordered months ago were not for herself.

A few months earlier, one of the maids who attended Juliet at the northern ducal castle had come to her in tears, begging for help.

“I think I might be pregnant, miss.”

The maid explained that her fiancé, a merchant, had gone out to sea and gone missing.

While worrying over his safety, she had discovered she was with child—and had come seeking help.

Juliet had promised to help her. That was why she had secretly ordered silphium flowers and mistletoe together.

In the end, however, the herbs were never used. The maid’s fiancé returned safely, and the two married and left the ducal castle.

…But where do I even begin explaining this?

Overwhelmed, Juliet let out a hollow laugh.

But whatever meaning the man took from that laughter, his expression darkened dangerously.