Chapter 153:

Chapter 153:

Lennox Carlyle pondered for a moment about the family secret.

The heirloom passed down in the ducal family was a dangerous object that shouldnt come out into the world. It messed with a persons mind, distorted memories, and eventually drove them mad.

Lennox took Juliets hand and met her lips at the end.

But even if Dahlia has confused your memories, the things youve experienced wont be as if they never happened.

It feels like Ive come back from so far away.

It was just as Juliet had said.

By the time they reflected on it, everything was already tangled in a mess.

Even if it turns out that due to Dahlia, the memories were distorted, and Lennox didnt actually kill Juliet, what good would that do?

He couldnt forgive his past self for making Juliet drink poison.

Messing with ones mind.

On the other hand, Juliet blinked with a puzzled expression.

She didnt know what to say.

It would have been much better if that woman was the real destined partner of Duke Carlyle and held a grudge against Juliet for coveting her position.

Suddenly, Juliet remembered Elizabeth Tillman flaunting her family members to her.

It was a clear threat.

If its an entity that can confuse human memories, its even more dangerous.

But why?

If Dahlia is the name of this tiara, then who is that woman?

And why are they tormenting her so persistently?

Juliet raised her head and asked her lover.

Lennox was faintly smiling.

As if he had been waiting for Juliet to ask that question.

Youll see for yourself.

* * *

For several days after that, Juliet didnt know what Lennox meant by Youll see for yourself.

But she guessed he had some plan.

The council has been convened.

The council was an imperial meeting convened for noble families like the ducal, marquis, and count families, especially those with a long heritage.

After the rampaging magical beasts had wreaked havoc in the capital, emergency meetings continued at the palace.

Countess Monad, please attend the council.

The Emperors messenger came to see Juliet the next morning.

She was commanded to come to the imperial palace and report on the extent of the damage suffered by each family.

The Monad County had been weakened for a long time, and all they had was a small piece of land.

They had no damages to report.

But they still had to show their face.

Its good not to have anything to lose in situations like this.

Juliet chose a calm blue formal dress, neatly tied her hair in a bun, and finished her preparations to go out with a hat with a veil.

Even as Juliet was leaving, Lennox just provided a knight from the Duchy as an escort and said nothing else.

As the carriage crossed the town, Juliet looked out the window.

The festive atmosphere from just the day before was nowhere to be seen. It looked like it would take a while to restore the damaged buildings.

The situation was said to be spreading, not settling. That is, magical beasts were rampaging all over the continent.

How could that happen?

They found a suspicious smoke bomb.

Sir Milan, the knight escorting Juliet, whispered to her.

A smoke bomb?

Yes.

Juliet recalled the scenes she saw in the square.

Certainly, after an unidentified gray smoke spread, the magical beasts started to rampage wildly.

What on earth is it?

Ah, Prince Cloff has set up an agency to come up with countermeasures and is investigating the situation.

And the black panther had said that names are a significant weakness for spirits.

Is it such a big deal to have ones name known?

Miss Juliet.

Who Eshelrid?

When someone suddenly called from behind, Juliet, lost in thought, turned around in surprise.

The magician from the guild, Eshelrid, was hiding behind a pillar. He was holding a noticeably large basket in his hand.

What are you doing here?

As she asked, Juliet realized that Eshel was wearing a knights uniform that didnt suit him.

And whats with the absurdly large basket? She was certain it contained something enormous.

I had no choice. I wanted to meet you urgently.

Eshel grumbled, but Juliet was flabbergasted.

Then why not come to the Dukes house directly?

Why dress up in disguise if youre going to bring such a conspicuous basket?

She wanted to point out a number of things, but in the end, she accepted the basket he handed over.

!

The weight, much heavier than she expected, made Juliet stagger.

And as she staggered, a familiar chirping sound came out.

Peep!

?

And just as she thought something was moving suspiciously inside

Without checking what was inside the big basket, Juliet already knew.

Why did you bring Nix?

Juliet murmured with reproach.

Eshel shrugged.

I just did as I was told. They said you were in danger.

Eshelid spoke as if the baby dragon was some sort of living amulet.

Told? By whom?

Who else? Duke Carlyle.

Lennox?

Since when did they know each other?

Juliet became more puzzled, but Eshelrid let out a sigh of relief.

Im glad youre safe anyway. You were at the square, right?

Hearing that, Juliet remembered something she wanted to discuss with him.

Eshel.

Yes?

I saw a snake.

A snake?

Juliet recounted her recent experience.

She met a strange being in the square wearing the mask of Dolores.

I think it was a snake.

Why do you think so?

Because I recently heard a similar story.

Juliet, who had been troubled the night before, remembered where she had heard the snake story. It was a tale told by a knight she encountered during a brief trip to the South.

Was his name Jerome?

According to the knight, his colleague was consumed by a yellow demon snake.

But others said they saw a man named Julio in the desert.

Eshel listened to her story seriously.

So youre saying this snake demon consumes people and then mimics their appearance? Is that what youre saying?

Yes. And I think the snake I encountered in the square might be the same being.

This time, it seemed to have consumed Dolores and wore her skin.