FJ 27

Chapter: 27

The Count Monad estate, located on the outskirts of the capital, looked as though it had been swallowed by the forest.

The stone manor, lush with greenery and gleaming in the sunlight, could be called antique if one were being kind—old, if one were being honest.

Visitors were exceedingly rare at a mansion long forgotten in people’s memories.

Seven years earlier, after the count and countess had died in an unfortunate accident, all footsteps to the estate had ceased. And when their only daughter, left behind without parents, departed for the North, there was no one left to claim ownership of Castle Monad.

That was why, after several years—and on the very morning of New Year’s Day, no less—the servants of the count’s household were struck dumb when a guest of the highest rank arrived.

“…Pardon me. Who did you say you were?”

The man spoke the name of a grand noble no imperial citizen could fail to recognize.

For some reason, his black hair was still damp, and instead of the lavish attire befitting his status, he wore a simple outfit with only a cloak draped over his shoulders. Even so, the tall young man had no need to prove his identity.

The dazed servants belatedly realized that he was the lover of their young lady—spoken of only in rumors.

“Th-this way, please.”

Seven years had passed since the master family last resided here. There was no way the servants could still remember how to properly entertain a distinguished guest.

The servant who took the reins of the black thoroughbred the man had ridden in was visibly flustered.

Before entering the manor, Duke Carlisle briefly cast his gaze over the overgrown garden.

The garden where the family’s only daughter must once have run about playing hide-and-seek was pitiful beyond words.

The hedge maze stood gaunt and lifeless, and the fountain had long since dried up.

After surveying the garden with evident displeasure, the man frowned.

“Is there no gardener?”

“We are terribly short-handed, sir…”

The elderly butler offered the excuse reflexively—then immediately regretted it.

Such an answer was grossly improper before a guest of such exalted status.

Worse still, this was the infamous grand duke of the North. It was enough to make one’s blood run cold.

As the butler hesitated, wondering whether he should bow in apology, the young Duke Carlisle strode past him and headed straight for the main building.

The old butler hurried after him.

Strictly speaking, the duke was a guest, and entering the estate without permission like this was a serious breach of etiquette.

Even if he were a grand noble—and the young lady’s lover—rules were rules.

But there was no master of the house left at the count’s estate…

‘…Even so, isn’t this still improper?’

The butler wavered, but it was a pointless concern from the start.

No one— not even the emperor—could dare lecture Lenox Carlisle on etiquette.

“Which way is Juliette’s room?”

“Pardon? Ah—on the third floor, west wing.”

As if he were the owner of the house, Duke Carlisle calmly ascended the stairs.

The butler, struggling to keep up with the duke’s long strides, suddenly came to his senses. It was a question he should have asked from the beginning.

“E-excuse me, Your Grace. May I ask something?”

“Speak.”

The duke answered without even slowing his climb.

“Thank you. Have you come to see Lady Juliette, by any chance?”

He stopped short.

At the question, Duke Carlisle suddenly halted and turned around.

The moment the butler saw the infamous red eyes of House Carlisle in person, a chill ran down his spine—but the words had already been spoken.

Gathering what little courage he had left, the old butler continued.

“Forgive me, Your Grace, but Lady Juliette is not currently in residence.”

He had half-expected the duke to explode in anger for not being told sooner, yet the duke merely stood there in silence.

As the butler waited with bated breath, he belatedly realized that despite his fearsome reputation, the Duke of Carlisle was strikingly handsome.

A straight, high nose; black hair falling loosely over a clean, well-shaped forehead. Beneath pronounced brows lay cool, sharp features, perfectly balanced with elegant facial lines.

It was easy to see why young ladies would lose their heads over such an appearance.

At the same time, the butler wondered why rumors of the duke’s looks were not as widespread as his notoriety.

Only then did it occur to him that perhaps the duke had not come here to see the young lady at all.

“Juliette—”

“Yes?”

“Did she use this room the whole time?”

“Ah… yes!”

They had arrived at Juliette’s bedroom door without realizing it.

“She’s used this room since she first learned to walk.”

Forgetting even the presence of the duke, the butler smiled fondly.

Most of the servants who remained at the Monad estate had served the family for many years.

Among them were those who had watched little Juliette take her first steps and grow up before their eyes.

“…I see.”

Lenox Carlisle placed a hand against the pillar beside the door.

At a glance it was hard to notice, but the pillar bore faint marks—recordings of Juliette’s height, measured every year on her birthday as she grew.

From the moment she took her first steps, to the age of five when she lost her baby teeth and cried her heart out; nine, when she learned to ride; sixteen, after her debutante ball. The marks ended at eighteen—the winter birthday when she came of age.

The duke’s large, well-shaped hand slowly traced the shallow grooves in the wood.

Watching in a daze, the butler felt as though he were witnessing something he should not see.

“Ahem. Well then, if you need anything, please call for me.”

The butler hurriedly excused himself.

Left alone, Lenox Carlisle slowly surveyed the bedroom.

Beyond the door lay a small sitting room and a dressing room.

A delicate mirror, neatly arranged combs, clothes folded and organized in careful order, well-worn books bearing the marks of frequent use.

And a four-poster bed draped with a canopy, clearly one she had slept in since childhood.

Suddenly, the room felt unfamiliar to him.

The bedroom Juliette had used in the northern ducal castle was neat and orderly, carrying the faint scent of lilies.

This room, however, smelled of sunlight—soft, fragile, and fluffy.

Juliette must have been the sort of child who could never quite bring herself to throw away the toys she loved.

In a large box tucked into one corner of the room lay toys she must have played with as a child.

After circling the room, Lenox returned to the cozy bedroom bathed in sunlight and picked up the large cloth doll resting by the head of the bed.

“……”

Once a soft pink, the rabbit doll had faded with age, its fabric worn and patched in places. Its ears drooped limply, and the stuffing inside had long since lost its life.

It was not hard to imagine a small child clutching a doll nearly her own size as she slept.

The sensation was oddly unsettling.

It was as though time itself had stopped in this manor.

Juliette’s time—unknown to him—remained preserved intact within these walls.

After staring at the small desk and bed for a long while, he quietly set the doll back down and left the bedroom.

‘What am I even doing?’

Striding through the corridors, Lenox let out a bitter laugh.

The servants of the count’s estate seemed unaware that Juliette had even left the capital.

They looked genuinely puzzled as to why the young lady’s lover—who had not shown his face in seven years—had suddenly appeared.

Then what exactly had he come here for?

When he had galloped to this estate with murderous intent, his plan had been simple: to find anything—anything at all—that could bind Juliette and drag her back.

If Juliette Monad had been hiding some secret from him, surely there would be a clue here.

A reason she had abandoned him.

Proof of infidelity.

If there truly was another man who had caught her eye, surely there would be at least a letter exchanged between them.

The servants must know something—and even if there were no evidence, it could always be fabricated.

Knowing how deeply attached Juliette was to her parents’ estate, he had even intended to use the manor itself as leverage if necessary.

But the moment he saw the lovingly preserved knickknacks, the furniture, the box of childhood toys, his resolve to tear the place apart in search of proof evaporated.

The sight of the estate itself was enough to dull the murderous edge with which he had arrived.

The manor was so old and shabby it made one sigh.

“…Pathetic.”

To think he had seriously considered ransacking Juliette’s room.

Lenox mocked himself coldly.

It would be far better to investigate the ducal castle in the North, where Juliette had spent the past seven years.

Having reached that conclusion, he turned to leave—

“Pleased to meet you, Your Grace.”

At the far end of the corridor stood an elderly woman with graying hair, accompanied by a young maid.

“My name is Yvette. I was Lady Juliette’s wet nurse.”

The woman bowed respectfully in the direction where she believed the duke to be standing.

Lenox briefly met her unfocused gaze, then asked bluntly,

“You’re blind?”

“Yes.”

The woman, Juliette’s nursemaid, offered an explanation he had not asked for.

“I had poor eyesight due to a chronic illness, and five years ago I nearly lost my sight entirely. Even so, Lady Juliette was kind enough to allow me to remain here.”

Lenox raised an eyebrow slightly.

He could guess the rest without being told.

A blind old nursemaid. An aging butler. Servants either too old or too young.

A ruined garden. A manor left neglected for years.

The household was made up entirely of people no other noble family would likely take in.

Fewer than ten people, living together quietly.

He had known the family was in decline—but he hadn’t realized it was this bad.

Of course not. He hadn’t cared, and Juliette had never said a word.

Lenox slipped his hands into his pockets, his expression indifferent.

It seemed the estate was barely being maintained on the income from what little land remained to House Monad.

Barely maintained—nothing more.

The older the manor, the more astronomical the cost to keep it standing. At present, the Monad estate could do little more than nail planks over the gaps to keep out wind and rain.

Compared to the ducal castle of Carlisle in the North, this place was closer to a shack than a mansion.

“It looks like times are hard.”

“Thanks to Your Grace’s generous concern, we have been living without want.”

At the casual reply, Lenox’s eyes narrowed sharply.

He doubted his ears.

‘…Me?’