“Who is this woman?”
“She’s the widow of the late Marquis of Guinness. They say she was his eighth wife.”
Though she was called his wife, she was no different from a slave.
In her past life, Baron Gaspar sold her countless times, and her fifth marriage was nothing short of a living hell.
The Marquis of Guinness, her fifth husband, confined her in a tiny room where she could hardly move.
Chained, all she could do was pray for a swift death in this hell.
Then one day, the hell ended.
The Marquis of Guinness was defeated and killed in a political rivalry with the Duke of the North.
Juliet would never forget the moment when the castle fell and the once tightly shut doors opened.
Truly, it was the first time she saw someone so radiant.
Even the distinctive red eyes of the Carlyle Ducal family, which many found eerie, were a symbol of salvation to her.
“Your Grace, she’s ominous. It would be best to keep your distance.”
The Duke’s confidants viewed her with discomfort.
It was understandable. After being imprisoned and abused for so long, Juliet’s appearance was far from beautiful, rather, it was pitiable.
However, the Duke looked down at her with an inscrutable gaze and ordered:
“Take her to the castle.”
With that one command, she was sent to the Duke’s northern castle. There, she stayed as a guest under the Duke’s patronage.
No one mistreated her at the Duke’s castle. She was treated as a human being.
Perhaps her affection for him was similar to imprinting.
She was like that baby dragon hatching from its egg, unconditionally adoring and following Juliet, the first thing it sees.
Whether she was enamored by his looks in this life because of the imprint from her previous one, or if it was engraved in her soul, she didn’t know.
In both her first and second lives, Juliet loved watching this man sleep.
While he may seem cold as a winter wind when he speaks, at least the sleeping man never uttered sharp words or acted cruelly.
The early dawn when everyone else was asleep was Juliet’s favorite time. The man of those hours was wholly hers.
During the short dawn, Juliet dreamt even without falling asleep.
A dream she could have with her eyes open.
‘Maybe, since he hasn’t cast me aside yet, he might have some fondness for me.’
The maids who brushed her hair said so.
‘Despite the changing seasons, it’s the first time the Duke has kept someone by his side this long.’
Such words thrilled Juliet.
They gave her a glimmer of hope. She tried her best to never fall out of his favor.
She believed that, over time, he would eventually show her a fragment of his true feelings.
She didn’t mind if he never smiled at her or if he wasn’t kind. After all, he was inherently indifferent, known to be cold to others.
But dawn was brief, and so were Juliet’s dreams. It didn’t take her long to realize.
He wasn’t indifferent to everyone. His affection and attention were reserved for only one special person.
The way he looked at Dahlia was starkly different from how he looked at her, who was no better than an extra.
* * *
“…”
As she pondered this, Juliet snapped out of her brief reverie.
The man with a straight forehead and a rather arrogant nose was still a sight to behold.
His muscular chest and abdomen, partially visible due to his open robe, seemed like a masterpiece sculpted by an artisan.
When Lennox closed his eyes, he looked his age.
Juliet cautiously reached out her hand.
‘He’s not even thirty yet. And he’s always furrowing his brow…’
She wanted to smooth out his furrows with her fingertips.
“…!”
But before she could properly reach out, she was stopped. Her wrist was suddenly grasped by the man, who hadn’t even opened his eyes.
In his usual tone, as if he hadn’t been asleep at all, he leisurely asked:
“Enjoyed the view?”
“…Lennox.”
With a light sigh, the man sat up, not looking at her, and pulled Juliet to sit on the bed opposite him.
As she was being led to the bed, Juliet quickly checked if there was any discomfort in the man’s movement.
But contrary to rumors, his steps were as smooth as a nimble carnivorous beast.
Feeling a bit suspicious, she hesitantly sat on one side of the bed.
“I heard you were quite unwell…”
“So? Did you think I was bedridden just because of that?”
Sitting on the chair opposite, Lennox crossed his arms and smirked.
His slightly droopy eyes, as if waking from sleep, seemed lazy.
He was the same as always.
Juliet looked at him suspiciously, but couldn’t find any difference from his usual self.
“Then why…”
Outside the door were Hadin on guard duty and the nervous staff of the Duke’s house. What’s the rumor that he’s dying?
He grinned.
“I wanted to test something.”
“What?”
“Who would rush over if someone was hurt.”
“…?”
Suddenly, Lennox, who was sitting up, approached her quickly.
He grabbed Juliet’s shoulders and pushed her onto the soft bed.
The hairstyle held up by a hairpin came loose from the shock. The pearl-decorated hairpin fell somewhere on the bed.
All of this happened in an instant.
He climbed on top of the fallen Juliet and whispered:
“You did well playing hospital with the wolf cub.”
Juliet, whose eyes were half-open and red, was taken aback for a moment.
Playing hospital?
Seeing the bewildered Juliet in front of him, Lennox held her hand, kissed her fingertips, and said:
“Where should we start? Oh, should I injure my eyes first?”
It was then that Juliet realized what he meant by ‘playing hospital’. He was talking about the incident at Lucerne’s ball where Roy was injured.
“Your Highness.”
Exhaling a sigh, Juliet pushed him off and got up.
“Now that I’ve confirmed you’re alright, I want to leave.”
“Weren’t you here to take care of me because I was hurt? Is it okay to leave a patient like this?”
“I’d say that’s for when you’re truly hurt.”
Juliet coldly walked past him.
Step, step, step.
After that, the sound of Juliet walking down the corridor and out of the bedroom echoed through the mansion.
Until the sound of carriage wheels from outside faded, he lay in the dark room with his eyes closed.
“Hadin.”
“Yes.”
A loyal servant, who had been waiting outside the door, answered.
“I told you not to let her in.”
“…I’m sorry.”
It was then that Lennox brushed his hair back with a long sigh.
In that short moment, his forehead was covered in cold sweat.
“Do you think Juliet noticed?”
“No.”
Hearing the response, Lennox finally sank deeply into his armchair.
“…Damn.”
Hadin watched as the Duke’s fingers, holding a glass on the small table, trembled slightly.
“It’s not something to do twice, is it?”
To the naked eye, Lennox looked perfectly fine, but most of his organs were not.
Like when Juliet suddenly vomited blood and collapsed in Lucerne at his feet.
Perhaps it was inevitable. When breaking a sacred barrier, a reflective curse followed.
Not to mention, he broke all ninety-seven barriers. In other words, he had ninety-seven reflective curses.
The holy magic inflicted fatal injuries on his internal organs. The fact that the injuries weren’t visible was even more malicious.
He could bear the pain though.
‘This much is nothing.’
At around the age of thirteen on the battlefield, he survived even after being shot in the stomach.
However, it was hard to cope with suddenly losing his vision.
The ninety-seven curses varied in duration and type, so he didn’t know how long he would be blind.
In that short moment, cold sweat dripped down his chin.
Being under a curse like Juliet, uncon
“Dahlia….”
Lennox Carlyle quietly repeated that name.
‘How does Juliet know Dahlia?’
“Your Highness, I don’t want to die.”
The image of Juliet clinging desperately to him, coughing up blood, flashed through his mind.
It was hard to dismiss it as just something said in panic, as there were many points that weighed on his mind.
“Lennox, I’m sorry.”
Playvolume00:00/00:00TruvidfullScreen
Watching her die in front of him was a nightmarish scene he never wanted to witness again.
With eyes that briefly closed and then opened sharply, Lennox looked fierce.
“Hadin.”
“Yes.”
“Send someone to Lucerne. There’s something to look into.”
* * *
Juliet hurriedly left Carlyle’s mansion on a carriage.
In fact, she was a bit upset.
‘After all the trouble of being worried and visiting, what the…’
Moreover, she had quite a bit to tell, including what she did in Lucerne and the disappearance of the butterflies.
Very upset, Juliet realized only upon reaching the reception room of the Count’s mansion that she had left something at the Carlyle mansion.
“…My hairpin.”
She remembered carefully tying up her hair before leaving, but now her hairpin was nowhere to be found and her long hair trailed down her back.
‘It was my favorite.’
She must’ve dropped it somewhere in the bedroom when she fell onto the bed.
The leaf-shaped hairpin adorned with pearls was one of Juliet’s treasured items. But she didn’t want to go back for it.
Sighing lightly, Juliet sat at a desk in front of a large window. Gazing out at the garden, she noticed something odd.
The garden looked professionally maintained. The once neglected circular fountain was now clean, and new rose vines were in the maze garden.
‘Did grandfather take care of it?’
But then Juliet remembered she had only been back to the County for about a week.
‘It would’ve been difficult to complete the repairs in just a week…’
Furthermore, Lionel had left abruptly just yesterday.
“Miss.”
Hearing a voice from behind, Juliet looked up to see her nursemaid, Yvette, standing at the entrance of the reception room with a tea set.
“Why are you carrying that alone? It’s dangerous.”
Juliet rose from her seat to take the teacup from Yvette.
“Miss, I know this mansion’s layout by heart.”
Yvette said with a gentle smile.
“Even if I can’t see, this much isn’t a problem.”
Juliet nodded, looking into Yvette’s silvery-grey eyes.
But as she sipped her tea and looked around the house, she noticed not only the garden but various parts of the mansion had been repaired.
‘…There wasn’t enough money to hire a gardener.’
Confused, Juliet tilted her head.
“Do you like it?”
Before Juliet could ask what had happened, Yvette said with a bright smile.
“While you were away, a gentleman visited the mansion.”
“…Who?”
“The one you always talk about.”
Startled, Juliet nearly dropped the lid of her teacup.
“Duke Carlyle?”
“Yes.”
Hearing the unexpected name, Juliet pressed her lips tight.
Her face grew hot.
Ever since she followed Duke Carlyle to the North, Juliet’s return to the Count’s mansion was once a year, around the time of the New Year’s ball.
The servants of Count Monad were like family, and Juliet didn’t want to worry them.
So, even if it wasn’t true, she wanted them to know she was doing well in the North.
After all, she thought it wouldn’t matter. Lennox Carlyle wouldn’t care what Juliet did.
Thus, the lie began…
“He seemed very kind, as you always said.”
That’s not possible.
Juliet blinked in surprise.
“Although I didn’t see him, I knew from his voice. And when he said the mansion was in bad condition, he provided a gardener and repairmen.”
Juliet swirled the empty teacup in her hand. Then, with a bitter smile, she replied:
“…Yes, you’re right. He’s a very kind person.”
There was still warmth in the teacup, but it felt somewhat empty.
“Kind and… always considering me.”
I see.
Juliet realized that her insignificant lie had been caught by Yvette.
In fact, everyone in the mansion probably knew about it long before.
Everyone was aware that Juliet Monad was the Duke’s temporary lover, and that she could be discarded at any time.
Still…
For some reason, this situation seemed comically tragic to her.
She thought she had abandoned her pride the moment she chose to stay by the side of a man who would never truly love her.
“Excuse me, Miss. I have something to tell you.”
An elderly butler entered the reception room and called out to her.
“Yes?”
When Juliet went out, she saw a maid and two servants standing near the entrance.
“What’s going on?”
“Actually, the food delivery hasn’t arrived today, Miss.”
This meant that preparing dinner for the evening would be difficult.
“Why didn’t the delivery come?”
Juliet tilted her head in confusion.
She thought the dinner issue could be easily resolved by just serving potatoes to the clueless guests.
“I’m sorry, Miss. The thing is…”
Upon hearing the servants’ explanation, Juliet was flabbergasted.
In essence, servants from other families had been causing minor and major disruptions for some time, making it difficult for them.
From major tasks like repairing carriages and stables to minor tasks like buying groceries or necessities. It wasn’t just one specific family’s servant causing problems; they took turns causing disruptions.
And the astonishing reason they were doing this…
“Because I refused their invitation?”
“Yes…”
Juliet’s expression turned icy.
It was a childish threat.
Juliet finally realized the pettiness of it all and let out a soft sigh. So that’s what it was all about.
“They probably want to make a spectacle out of the woman scorned. They want me to be the center of attention as the rejected one.”
“There’s no need for that, Miss. I’ll find another route to get the groceries.”
The elderly butler tried to reassure her.
But Juliet had a gut feeling that this wasn’t going to be resolved easily.
Aristocratic servants have their own solid networks. Going against them would impact all the relationships they had built over the years.
Right now, it might be just about food supplies, but there’s no telling what might come next.
‘Unless I move to a remote mountain, this will continue.’
“I’ll handle it.”
Juliet had no intention of giving up the family and mansion left by her parents.
* * *
Juliet gathered all the mail she had received. She dumped it all in the middle of the living room.
Clatter.
“Wow, what’s all this?”
Envelopes spilled onto the floor. Eshel and Teo, who were passing by, each commented.
“Looks like you’re popular?”
Teo sat down and marveled at the number of invitations.
“I thought you didn’t have friends… or maybe not?”
Instead of answering, Juliet let out a light sigh.
“They’re not friends.”
All were invitations to tea parties or salon gatherings.
In a way, it was a kind of tradition.
People in the social circle, keenly interested in every move of Lennox Carlyle, always wanted to know what happened to his ex-lovers after their breakup.
“Some grew too arrogant and went bankrupt.”
“One actress, thinking too highly of herself, was even fired from a minor role.”
“They act as if they’re something special…”
And so on.
They just wouldn’t give up their long-standing source of amusement. They wanted to make fun of Juliet now.
“They probably want to see me in ruins.”
There are always those who enjoy gossiping about others’ misfortunes.
Juliet sighed heavily.
“If that’s what they want, I’ll give them what they’re looking for.”
She couldn’t avoid it forever.
“Let’s show them exactly what being rejected looks like.”
Despite her cold determination, Juliet mumbled:
“If I knew it would come to this, maybe I should’ve lived a more virtuous life.”
Contrary to her words, Juliet wasn’t really regretful. She had no intention of passively falling apart or becoming the tragic heroine of a sad tale.
“Let’s go with this one.”
After much contemplation, Juliet picked up an invitation.
scious for a week and then waking up, was relatively fortunate.
“You know what will happen if Juliet finds out, right?”
“Yes.”
She would surely blame herself.
“Make sure she doesn’t hear about it.”
“…Understood.”
“Who is this woman?”
“She’s the widow of the late Marquis of Guinness. They say she was his eighth wife.”
Though she was called his wife, she was no different from a slave.
In her past life, Baron Gaspar sold her countless times, and her fifth marriage was nothing short of a living hell.
The Marquis of Guinness, her fifth husband, confined her in a tiny room where she could hardly move.
Chained, all she could do was pray for a swift death in this hell.
Then one day, the hell ended.
The Marquis of Guinness was defeated and killed in a political rivalry with the Duke of the North.
Juliet would never forget the moment when the castle fell and the once tightly shut doors opened.
Truly, it was the first time she saw someone so radiant.
Even the distinctive red eyes of the Carlyle Ducal family, which many found eerie, were a symbol of salvation to her.
“Your Grace, she’s ominous. It would be best to keep your distance.”
The Duke’s confidants viewed her with discomfort.
It was understandable. After being imprisoned and abused for so long, Juliet’s appearance was far from beautiful, rather, it was pitiable.
However, the Duke looked down at her with an inscrutable gaze and ordered:
“Take her to the castle.”
With that one command, she was sent to the Duke’s northern castle. There, she stayed as a guest under the Duke’s patronage.
No one mistreated her at the Duke’s castle. She was treated as a human being.
Perhaps her affection for him was similar to imprinting.
She was like that baby dragon hatching from its egg, unconditionally adoring and following Juliet, the first thing it sees.
Whether she was enamored by his looks in this life because of the imprint from her previous one, or if it was engraved in her soul, she didn’t know.
In both her first and second lives, Juliet loved watching this man sleep.
While he may seem cold as a winter wind when he speaks, at least the sleeping man never uttered sharp words or acted cruelly.
The early dawn when everyone else was asleep was Juliet’s favorite time. The man of those hours was wholly hers.
During the short dawn, Juliet dreamt even without falling asleep.
A dream she could have with her eyes open.
‘Maybe, since he hasn’t cast me aside yet, he might have some fondness for me.’
The maids who brushed her hair said so.
‘Despite the changing seasons, it’s the first time the Duke has kept someone by his side this long.’
Such words thrilled Juliet.
They gave her a glimmer of hope. She tried her best to never fall out of his favor.
She believed that, over time, he would eventually show her a fragment of his true feelings.
She didn’t mind if he never smiled at her or if he wasn’t kind. After all, he was inherently indifferent, known to be cold to others.
But dawn was brief, and so were Juliet’s dreams. It didn’t take her long to realize.
He wasn’t indifferent to everyone. His affection and attention were reserved for only one special person.
The way he looked at Dahlia was starkly different from how he looked at her, who was no better than an extra.
* * *
“…”
As she pondered this, Juliet snapped out of her brief reverie.
The man with a straight forehead and a rather arrogant nose was still a sight to behold.
His muscular chest and abdomen, partially visible due to his open robe, seemed like a masterpiece sculpted by an artisan.
When Lennox closed his eyes, he looked his age.
Juliet cautiously reached out her hand.
‘He’s not even thirty yet. And he’s always furrowing his brow…’
She wanted to smooth out his furrows with her fingertips.
“…!”
But before she could properly reach out, she was stopped. Her wrist was suddenly grasped by the man, who hadn’t even opened his eyes.
In his usual tone, as if he hadn’t been asleep at all, he leisurely asked:
“Enjoyed the view?”
“…Lennox.”
With a light sigh, the man sat up, not looking at her, and pulled Juliet to sit on the bed opposite him.
As she was being led to the bed, Juliet quickly checked if there was any discomfort in the man’s movement.
But contrary to rumors, his steps were as smooth as a nimble carnivorous beast.
Feeling a bit suspicious, she hesitantly sat on one side of the bed.
“I heard you were quite unwell…”
“So? Did you think I was bedridden just because of that?”
Sitting on the chair opposite, Lennox crossed his arms and smirked.
His slightly droopy eyes, as if waking from sleep, seemed lazy.
He was the same as always.
Juliet looked at him suspiciously, but couldn’t find any difference from his usual self.
“Then why…”
Outside the door were Hadin on guard duty and the nervous staff of the Duke’s house. What’s the rumor that he’s dying?
He grinned.
“I wanted to test something.”
“What?”
“Who would rush over if someone was hurt.”
“…?”
Suddenly, Lennox, who was sitting up, approached her quickly.
He grabbed Juliet’s shoulders and pushed her onto the soft bed.
The hairstyle held up by a hairpin came loose from the shock. The pearl-decorated hairpin fell somewhere on the bed.
All of this happened in an instant.
He climbed on top of the fallen Juliet and whispered:
“You did well playing hospital with the wolf cub.”
Juliet, whose eyes were half-open and red, was taken aback for a moment.
Playing hospital?
Seeing the bewildered Juliet in front of him, Lennox held her hand, kissed her fingertips, and said:
“Where should we start? Oh, should I injure my eyes first?”
It was then that Juliet realized what he meant by ‘playing hospital’. He was talking about the incident at Lucerne’s ball where Roy was injured.
“Your Highness.”
Exhaling a sigh, Juliet pushed him off and got up.
“Now that I’ve confirmed you’re alright, I want to leave.”
“Weren’t you here to take care of me because I was hurt? Is it okay to leave a patient like this?”
“I’d say that’s for when you’re truly hurt.”
Juliet coldly walked past him.
Step, step, step.
After that, the sound of Juliet walking down the corridor and out of the bedroom echoed through the mansion.
Until the sound of carriage wheels from outside faded, he lay in the dark room with his eyes closed.
“Hadin.”
“Yes.”
A loyal servant, who had been waiting outside the door, answered.
“I told you not to let her in.”
“…I’m sorry.”
It was then that Lennox brushed his hair back with a long sigh.
In that short moment, his forehead was covered in cold sweat.
“Do you think Juliet noticed?”
“No.”
Hearing the response, Lennox finally sank deeply into his armchair.
“…Damn.”
Hadin watched as the Duke’s fingers, holding a glass on the small table, trembled slightly.
“It’s not something to do twice, is it?”
To the naked eye, Lennox looked perfectly fine, but most of his organs were not.
Like when Juliet suddenly vomited blood and collapsed in Lucerne at his feet.
Perhaps it was inevitable. When breaking a sacred barrier, a reflective curse followed.
Not to mention, he broke all ninety-seven barriers. In other words, he had ninety-seven reflective curses.
The holy magic inflicted fatal injuries on his internal organs. The fact that the injuries weren’t visible was even more malicious.
He could bear the pain though.
‘This much is nothing.’
At around the age of thirteen on the battlefield, he survived even after being shot in the stomach.
However, it was hard to cope with suddenly losing his vision.
The ninety-seven curses varied in duration and type, so he didn’t know how long he would be blind.
In that short moment, cold sweat dripped down his chin.
Being under a curse like Juliet, uncon
“Dahlia….”
Lennox Carlyle quietly repeated that name.
‘How does Juliet know Dahlia?’
“Your Highness, I don’t want to die.”
The image of Juliet clinging desperately to him, coughing up blood, flashed through his mind.
It was hard to dismiss it as just something said in panic, as there were many points that weighed on his mind.
“Lennox, I’m sorry.”
Playvolume00:00/00:00TruvidfullScreen
Watching her die in front of him was a nightmarish scene he never wanted to witness again.
With eyes that briefly closed and then opened sharply, Lennox looked fierce.
“Hadin.”
“Yes.”
“Send someone to Lucerne. There’s something to look into.”
* * *
Juliet hurriedly left Carlyle’s mansion on a carriage.
In fact, she was a bit upset.
‘After all the trouble of being worried and visiting, what the…’
Moreover, she had quite a bit to tell, including what she did in Lucerne and the disappearance of the butterflies.
Very upset, Juliet realized only upon reaching the reception room of the Count’s mansion that she had left something at the Carlyle mansion.
“…My hairpin.”
She remembered carefully tying up her hair before leaving, but now her hairpin was nowhere to be found and her long hair trailed down her back.
‘It was my favorite.’
She must’ve dropped it somewhere in the bedroom when she fell onto the bed.
The leaf-shaped hairpin adorned with pearls was one of Juliet’s treasured items. But she didn’t want to go back for it.
Sighing lightly, Juliet sat at a desk in front of a large window. Gazing out at the garden, she noticed something odd.
The garden looked professionally maintained. The once neglected circular fountain was now clean, and new rose vines were in the maze garden.
‘Did grandfather take care of it?’
But then Juliet remembered she had only been back to the County for about a week.
‘It would’ve been difficult to complete the repairs in just a week…’
Furthermore, Lionel had left abruptly just yesterday.
“Miss.”
Hearing a voice from behind, Juliet looked up to see her nursemaid, Yvette, standing at the entrance of the reception room with a tea set.
“Why are you carrying that alone? It’s dangerous.”
Juliet rose from her seat to take the teacup from Yvette.
“Miss, I know this mansion’s layout by heart.”
Yvette said with a gentle smile.
“Even if I can’t see, this much isn’t a problem.”
Juliet nodded, looking into Yvette’s silvery-grey eyes.
But as she sipped her tea and looked around the house, she noticed not only the garden but various parts of the mansion had been repaired.
‘…There wasn’t enough money to hire a gardener.’
Confused, Juliet tilted her head.
“Do you like it?”
Before Juliet could ask what had happened, Yvette said with a bright smile.
“While you were away, a gentleman visited the mansion.”
“…Who?”
“The one you always talk about.”
Startled, Juliet nearly dropped the lid of her teacup.
“Duke Carlyle?”
“Yes.”
Hearing the unexpected name, Juliet pressed her lips tight.
Her face grew hot.
Ever since she followed Duke Carlyle to the North, Juliet’s return to the Count’s mansion was once a year, around the time of the New Year’s ball.
The servants of Count Monad were like family, and Juliet didn’t want to worry them.
So, even if it wasn’t true, she wanted them to know she was doing well in the North.
After all, she thought it wouldn’t matter. Lennox Carlyle wouldn’t care what Juliet did.
Thus, the lie began…
“He seemed very kind, as you always said.”
That’s not possible.
Juliet blinked in surprise.
“Although I didn’t see him, I knew from his voice. And when he said the mansion was in bad condition, he provided a gardener and repairmen.”
Juliet swirled the empty teacup in her hand. Then, with a bitter smile, she replied:
“…Yes, you’re right. He’s a very kind person.”
There was still warmth in the teacup, but it felt somewhat empty.
“Kind and… always considering me.”
I see.
Juliet realized that her insignificant lie had been caught by Yvette.
In fact, everyone in the mansion probably knew about it long before.
Everyone was aware that Juliet Monad was the Duke’s temporary lover, and that she could be discarded at any time.
Still…
For some reason, this situation seemed comically tragic to her.
She thought she had abandoned her pride the moment she chose to stay by the side of a man who would never truly love her.
“Excuse me, Miss. I have something to tell you.”
An elderly butler entered the reception room and called out to her.
“Yes?”
When Juliet went out, she saw a maid and two servants standing near the entrance.
“What’s going on?”
“Actually, the food delivery hasn’t arrived today, Miss.”
This meant that preparing dinner for the evening would be difficult.
“Why didn’t the delivery come?”
Juliet tilted her head in confusion.
She thought the dinner issue could be easily resolved by just serving potatoes to the clueless guests.
“I’m sorry, Miss. The thing is…”
Upon hearing the servants’ explanation, Juliet was flabbergasted.
In essence, servants from other families had been causing minor and major disruptions for some time, making it difficult for them.
From major tasks like repairing carriages and stables to minor tasks like buying groceries or necessities. It wasn’t just one specific family’s servant causing problems; they took turns causing disruptions.
And the astonishing reason they were doing this…
“Because I refused their invitation?”
“Yes…”
Juliet’s expression turned icy.
It was a childish threat.
Juliet finally realized the pettiness of it all and let out a soft sigh. So that’s what it was all about.
“They probably want to make a spectacle out of the woman scorned. They want me to be the center of attention as the rejected one.”
“There’s no need for that, Miss. I’ll find another route to get the groceries.”
The elderly butler tried to reassure her.
But Juliet had a gut feeling that this wasn’t going to be resolved easily.
Aristocratic servants have their own solid networks. Going against them would impact all the relationships they had built over the years.
Right now, it might be just about food supplies, but there’s no telling what might come next.
‘Unless I move to a remote mountain, this will continue.’
“I’ll handle it.”
Juliet had no intention of giving up the family and mansion left by her parents.
* * *
Juliet gathered all the mail she had received. She dumped it all in the middle of the living room.
Clatter.
“Wow, what’s all this?”
Envelopes spilled onto the floor. Eshel and Teo, who were passing by, each commented.
“Looks like you’re popular?”
Teo sat down and marveled at the number of invitations.
“I thought you didn’t have friends… or maybe not?”
Instead of answering, Juliet let out a light sigh.
“They’re not friends.”
All were invitations to tea parties or salon gatherings.
In a way, it was a kind of tradition.
People in the social circle, keenly interested in every move of Lennox Carlyle, always wanted to know what happened to his ex-lovers after their breakup.
“Some grew too arrogant and went bankrupt.”
“One actress, thinking too highly of herself, was even fired from a minor role.”
“They act as if they’re something special…”
And so on.
They just wouldn’t give up their long-standing source of amusement. They wanted to make fun of Juliet now.
“They probably want to see me in ruins.”
There are always those who enjoy gossiping about others’ misfortunes.
Juliet sighed heavily.
“If that’s what they want, I’ll give them what they’re looking for.”
She couldn’t avoid it forever.
“Let’s show them exactly what being rejected looks like.”
Despite her cold determination, Juliet mumbled:
“If I knew it would come to this, maybe I should’ve lived a more virtuous life.”
Contrary to her words, Juliet wasn’t really regretful. She had no intention of passively falling apart or becoming the tragic heroine of a sad tale.
“Let’s go with this one.”
After much contemplation, Juliet picked up an invitation.
scious for a week and then waking up, was relatively fortunate.
“You know what will happen if Juliet finds out, right?”
“Yes.”
She would surely blame herself.
“Make sure she doesn’t hear about it.”
“…Understood.”
