The onlookers, who’d merely been looking forward to Juliet’s humiliation, froze in unison.
It was Priscilla’s shout that broke the silence.
“……Juliet Montagu!” Princess Priscilla shouted sharply, her face flushed red with embarrassment.
“T, To speak so arrogantly, you really trust in the love of the Duke of Carlisle?”
“Yes.”
“W….. What?”
“Yes, that’s right. I believe in the Duke, so I’ll act how I like.”
Juliet just smiled beautifully.
Priscilla was stunned. It was the first time Priscilla, who’d lived the coddled life of a princess, had ever been so insulted.
“Juliet Montagu! Even if you don’t care for someone’s favour, there are still lines you shouldn’t cross………!”
Priscilla seemed to have forgotten what Juliet had done and simply wept. Juliet’s response hadn’t been what Priscilla was expecting, who enjoyed humiliating the lovers of the Duke of Carlisle.
But, Juliet responded calmly, without changing so much as the colour of her face.
“I don’t know what you mean. I merely returned the courtesy of the Princess.”
TN: third person ref to the princess as a polite form of address (mocking in this sense).
“That……!”
Priscilla stared at Juliet, speechless. Having her own tricks turned on her, she seemed unable to accept the same disrespect.
“……That can’t be true!”
After a while, Priscilla realised she didn’t have a choice. She decided to run from the situation.
“P, Princess!”
Some of the ladies, who had no idea how to react, rushed after Priscilla. Juliet watched their retreating backs, completely relaxed.
The reason for Priscilla’s easy defeat was a simple one.
That is, because in the past, all of Lennox Carlisle’s lovers were low in status and relatively left in the dark regarding social codes. Frightened by Priscilla’s status, they would have no choice but to run back to the Duke and cry. Or, being too scared to lose his affection, they might have stayed silent.
Neither of those cases were applicable to Juliet.
‘I thought she’d grab me by the hair.’
I was planning to do the same… but it ended unexpectedly blandly.
Juliet glanced around. The onlookers were startled and looked away whenever her eyes met theirs.
“Ahem!” She coughed a little and they soon scattered.
Juliet smiled broadly at their retreating figures.
Truthfully, people were able to mock and laugh at the Duke’s lovers because Lennox Carlisle was completely indifferent towards them. In other words, however, it meant that Juliet could act however she liked in society, and he wouldn’t so much as bat an eye.
You wouldn’t want to turn the Duke into your enemy unless you were pretty stupid.
But there was a person that tactless.
It happened the moment Juliet left the Temple. Someone waiting just outside in the hallway violently grabbed Juliet’s wrist.
“I heard that the Duke of Carlisle’s taste is vulgar. I can understand it now.”
At his sarcastic comment, Juliet tried to snatch her arm back and levelled him with a cold look.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Count Kaspera.”
It was Count Kaspera, the fiancee of Princess Priscilla.
“Ha! Are you thinking of making an excuse?”
Kaspera came closer as he began to lay into her.
“I heard everything.”
So… what?
There weren’t as many spectators in the hallway as in the Temple itself. But, Count Kaspera, seeing that there were a few eyes around him, lowered his voice and whispered.
“Listen to me, what secret magical trick are you using?”
Juliet was dumbfounded and laughed aloud. She’d heard something vague about heretics before.
‘It’s not a secret,’ Juliet sighed quietly. She could already guess what the rumours were.
“Did you lure the Duke with that? Huh?”
Wicked black magic.
Suddenly, Juliet frowned. The feeling of his finger stroking her wrist was disgusting.
“Or is it…. Your skills with another part?”
Juliet could easily read the low desire in Count Kaspera’s murky eyes.
She didn’t even blush. It had happened several times to her in the North. Though it was a long time ago, it was more serious than this. There were also guys who would stare more blatantly in a lecherous manner.
‘But what happened to those men?’
Juliet, suddenly thinking of the question, looked at the dog in front of her. Come to think of it, she didn’t remember seeing the men who approached her ever again.
‘How can that be? The Northern social circle is much smaller than the Capital’s.’
“You think you’re a real Duchess?”
Whilst Juliet’s mind wandered, the Count seemed to grow bolder. He must have thought she was scared.
“You need to know the subject. Lennox Carlisle isn’t such a thing as a decent human being, so you’re over when the Duke changes his mind. Don’t you know?”
‘Oh, so you’ve finally shown your true intentions.’
Juliet raised her head.
‘Asking me if I thought I’d ever become the Duke’s wife.’
Thinking about it, it was strange. Rather, Princess Priscilla was easier to understand. Priscilla’s desires were transparent and simple.
In the first place, these people weren’t even close enough to her to possess a personal grudge. Well, regardless, they were afraid of Lennox Carlisle, so they resorted to mocking Juliet instead.
The Duke of Carlisle was scary, so it was easier to torment a powerless woman.
‘Cowards.’
Juliet laughed coldly. They lacked the courage to mock the Duke of Carlisle directly, so they projected their anger onto an easier target. It was doubtful that he was any more enthusiastic than everyone else about the Duke of Carlisle.
“What are you going to do? Are you going to run crying to the Duke? Huh?”
Count Kaspera remarked with a mocking tone, though he seemed to know that she wouldn’t do that.
Juliet glanced up at him and asked,
“Count, are you jealous?”
“What?”
“But what can you do? As far as I know, His Highness the Duke has no interest in indigo.”
TN: The Korean word for indigo also means sodomy (another word for a homosexual intercourse), hence why it seems a little confusing and he doesn’t immediately understand her comment. Opted for ‘indigo’ since she’s not saying it directly; it’s implied.
“What do you…….”
Count Kaspera didn’t immediately understand Juliet’s words and simply blinked dumbly.
“Well, if it’s like that then you’ll have to work hard,” Juliet glanced him up and down after speaking.
Only then did Kaspera’s face turn red.
“My God, you crazy bitch……!”
But Count Kaspera, who was raising his hand as if to slap Juliet’s cheek, suddenly fell to the ground with a choked scream.
“Keuk!”
The people who watched from a distance seemed to be bewildered at the events that unfolded. All they saw was the scene of Count Kaspera violently raising his hand against Juliet Montagu.
It was only for a moment.
A blue butterfly fluttered its wings nearby, but not many people noticed it.
And the next moment.
Kadangg.
With a loud noise, Count Kaspera fell to the floor.
People doubted their eyes.
The first to approach Count Kaspera was Juliet, the closest to him at the time.
“Oh, Count?”
With such a surprised look, Juliet looked like the most vulnerable and innocent creature in the world. Everyone could see that she hadn’t so much as touched the Count with a finger.
It was obvious that Count Kaspera had fallen on his own.
“Oh my God, are you alright?” Juliet kindly reached out hand to Count Kaspera.
To the eyes of the onlookers, it seemed like a helping hand, but…….
“Aeuuk!”
Wearing a terrified expression, Count Kaspera tried to step back. But he was merely crawling on the floor. Juliet, who approached him as if planning to help him up, grabbed the Count of Kaspera by the collar.
“Count Kaspera,” her red lips whispered into the ears of the Count, low enough as not to be heard by onlookers.
“Shut up and listen. If I were the Count, I’d watch my tongue.”
Although Juliet’s shoes were digging into Kaspera’s right hand, it seemed that the Count was far too terrified and shocked to even notice.
In fact, the Count didn’t really understand what had happened to him. He was just trying to teach the bitch a lesson in manners.
But suddenly, a blue butterfly had appeared and brushed his forehead.
And, and…….
Ckkkg.
The Count choked out a groan. She’d ordered him to shut his mouth a few moments ago, and his jaw was still shaking with bewildered fear.
As soon as the bizarre blue butterfly touched the Count’s forehead, an image of the most terrifying and enormous being he could imagine ‘flowed in’.
“This time, it’s over, but don’t you know? Next time, this ‘crazy bitch’-”
Juliet smiled with amusement as she pronounced the phrase.
“-is upset, you might find yourself jumping off the roof in the middle of the night like a real magic trick.”