Forgotten Juliet - Chapter 224: Epilogue 14

* * *

It was said that every night at the northern palace, the ghost of a crying woman appears.

Such eerie rumors began circulating about a month after a horrifying horseback riding accident occurred.

Rustle. On the moonless nights, a silhouette of a woman aimlessly wandered around the palace, murmuring to herself.

[Where did it go… What to do…]

With her long hair trailing, the woman who was lost without a lamp seemed to be on the verge of tears.

She roamed around the corridors barefoot, and upon crossing the stairway to the garden, she looked anxious as she mumbled and looked around, as if desperately searching for something.

A man who had been watching her from a distance quietly approached her.

[Juliet.]

The man who cautiously approached called out to the sobbing woman.

[Lennox…?]

The woman, who was peering into the thorny bushes while sitting down on the grass, looked up startled.

It was Juliet, dressed as if she had just gotten out of bed. Her bare feet were covered in cuts, her hair was a mess and her nightgown was disheveled.

[What should I do, Your Highness…]

Juliet clung onto him, shedding tears incessantly like a child who doesn’t know how to cry properly.

Just a few hours ago, she was quite the opposite, sternly pushing him away and digging into his heart with her soft-spoken words.

[It’s all my fault. I, foolishly desired…]

Her blue eyes, hazy from sleep, and Juliet’s pale face distorted by tears looked fragile and pitiful.

But even fragile and out of her senses, she was Juliet.

[…I think I lost our baby.]

[…]

Lennox gritted his teeth quietly. His arms tightened around her frail shoulders.

Juliet was the only being who could hurt him with a mere phrase.

From one day, every night.

Juliet started looking for a child who didn’t exist, crying.

[It’s a type of somnambulism.]

Doctors unanimously advised that it’s a temporary shock from losing a child and suggested to let her do as she wishes for a while.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Juliet, who woke up from sleep, couldn’t remember roaming around.

And meeting him either.

[What to do, because of me… if we don’t find it…]

[It’s okay.]

Lennox calmly comforted the sobbing Juliet and held her tight. Wondering what could remain in the charred place where emotions burned out.

[It’s not your fault.]

The one who committed the mistake and should seek forgiveness was him.

[You just had a bad dream.]

[Dream…?]

Juliet, blinking her dazed eyes, asked him.

[So, will you find it?]

[Yes.]

Only then did Juliet feel relieved.

Lennox patiently consoled Juliet and brought her back to the bedroom.

She wouldn’t remember anyway, but he silently took care of Juliet.

He applied ointment to the scratches from branches, wrapped new bandages, changed her nightgown, and finally laid Juliet down to bed.

By the time he finished, the dawn was quietly breaking. He kissed the forehead of the exhausted sleeping woman and whispered:

[…It’s okay.]

It was also a reassurance to himself.

By the next morning, Juliet didn’t remember anything, and returned with a gloomy and cold expression, but it was okay for him.

This was the only time when Juliet didn’t push him away and showed resentment and hostility.

[…It’s okay if you don’t like me anymore.]

He hugged the sleeping woman’s frail body and whispered fervently.

He couldn’t remember when was the last time he saw Juliet smiling brightly, or the last time she cuddled warmly against him.

But the light brown hair, now dry of moisture, still carried the same sandalwood scent as his.

[It smells like the forest after rain.]

He recalled the woman who said so with a soft smile. That alone was reassuring for him.

Juliet loved him after all.

Being emotionally weak, unable to hide her affection, so it was okay.

[We can start all over again.]

He never imagined that he’d choke on longing for someone.

Feeling a deathly ache in their absence, becoming intolerable to not see her, Juliet was… just starved for affection and needed a shoulder to lean on.

He was willing to wait no matter how long. Just like Juliet sat quietly in an empty room for days waiting hopelessly for him to return.

In the beginning, the way she clung to him with blind affection and trust.

[It’s okay as long as I love you this much.]

Even sympathy was fine.

It didn’t matter if it took a lifetime for Juliet’s wounds to heal, and for a sliver of emotion to sprout. Juliet still remained by his side, and that was enough for him.

If the lost child could be had again, that was all.

Unfortunately, it was clear they were a perfectly matching pair. So, including the child they lost once, he could do anything Juliet wanted.

Then, they would finally be happy. Just like how Juliet once excitedly prattled, they might have a child or two resembling her.

And they might have a picture-perfect family.

[So, it’s okay.]

You don’t have to worry about anything.

Burying his head in the nape of the sleeping Juliet, he repeated several times.

Everything will be alright.

[What did you say?]

But it didn’t take long for his pathetic hope to shatter into pieces.

The somber expression of the doctor, who opened his mouth with difficulty, came a few days later.

[…It’s difficult for Miss to have a child again.]

Suddenly, it was Juliet who burst into laughter. She laughed heartily as if she heard a delightful joke after a long time.

Lennox stared at her blankly.

The first thought was how good it was to see her laughing like this. He was surely gone mad.

[What’s funny?]

[There’s nothing to see like that.]

…How am I seeing you.

Juliet smiled broadly.

[It’s like you’re forcing sympathy. There’s no need to pity.]

[…]

[So, don’t come anymore.]

And then he finally realized.

What he had lost forever.

For Juliet, Lennox Carlyle was just like the untouched gift boxes scattered around the room.

He begged to do anything, but Juliet didn’t need him at all.

Just by imagining that Juliet may never smile at him again, his heart sank.

* * *

The summer in the north was very refreshing that year, but the castle remained quiet all summer long.

Juliet spent more and more time sleeping, and he made up reasons to leave the castle. Otherwise, the guilt strangling his throat made it hard to breathe.

[Master!]

The adjutant who came to greet him received the report with a smile.

[I’m glad you returned without delay.]

[…]

Lennox looked around the busy castle with a listless gaze for the first time in a while.

Lights were turned on in the large banquet hall.

But, while heading to the office listening to the piled-up reports with hurried steps, his nerves were entirely directed towards the bedroom where the woman stayed.

The whole castle was bustling with banquet preparations, but only the south wing where Juliet stayed was dead silent.

Even while away from the castle, Lennox was attentive to every action of hers.

It was a monotonous routine, spending most of the time locked in the bedroom.

Lennox didn’t want Juliet to wander around the castle at night and encounter unfamiliar faces. Therefore, only a controlled few were allowed in the south wing.

Moreover, he removed the thorny vines, cleared away any sharp glass or pieces that could cause injury, and had soft rugs laid all over the floor.

The entire space surrounding Juliet was like an isolated toy castle. But throughout this, the times he met with the awake Juliet could be counted on one hand.

He stood in front of the closed door several times, but the woman who had shut her heart never looked back at him.

[…So, there are no plans for a while after today’s banquet.]

Looking at the carriages climbing the hill in succession, he rubbed his tired eyes.

Today’s banquet was one of the few annual events of late summer, and a gathering of northern nobles on the occasion of his birthday. But for him, it was a pathetic and annoying day.

[Like a bug.]

[You should never have been born.]

Only after Juliet lost the child did Lennox understand his father who despised him all his life.

How many people could love the child born after killing their companion?

[Juliet?]

[…Still the same.]

It meant she still stayed locked up in the room.

Lennox fiddled with the small bundle in his hand. Inside was a bracelet made of pink diamonds known for their healing effects.

But he knew too. The mental illness Juliet was suffering from couldn’t be cured by such shining pebbles.

As he stared out the window for a while, the quick-witted adjutant discreetly asked.

[Shall we go?]

[…]

Lennox was silent for a moment.

His hesitation was brief. He eventually put down the box.

[It’s alright.]

After the banquet is over, it won’t be too late to sneak and visit her after Juliet falls asleep as always.