* * *
Just because the Duke of Carlyle was accompanying her, Juliet felt a change in people’s attitudes towards her.
Especially from the men who tried to pretend they knew something.
From the moment the young Duke appeared, Grinvud, Charlotte’s husband, was busy bragging about his business.
Juliet glanced over occasionally, concerned about Lennox’s harsh expression and worried about what he would do to the Viscount.
Viscount Grinvud, perhaps misunderstanding Juliet’s expression, forced a friendly smile.
“Ha-ha, my apologies. Business matters might have been hard for the Lady to understand and perhaps boring.”
Juliet responded with a faint smile.
“It’s okay. It wasn’t much of a story to begin with.”
“Oh… is that so?”
“Yes. You have a knack for complicating simple matters.”
It was just a long-winded version of the story that the recently Marquis Guiness had made a fortune with a magic stone.
Juliet knew much more about the magic stone mine and Marquis Guiness than the Viscount did.
Leaving Lennox amidst such men, Juliet had quite a pleasant time with the Charlotte.
The tea party under the blooming flower trees was romantic.
Near the end of the tea party, Emma, with a book in hand, offered to read the tea leaves.
It was a popular game among the younger social circles.
The game involved interpreting the patterns of the tea leaves left at the bottom of the teacup.
With a serious look, Emma flipped through the fortune-telling book and interpreted Charlotte’s cup.
“It looks like a dove, so Charlotte’s baby will be a girl!”
“But Emma, this looks more like a puppy than a bird? A puppy means a boy…”
“But I want a niece!”
It was all playful and subjective, fitting the patterns to what they wanted.
“I’ll read yours too, Juliet!”
Cheerfully, Emma looked into Juliet’s cup.
“This is a crescent moon! And on the right, a fish?”
Looking into her own cup, Juliet did indeed see tea leaves shaped like a crescent moon.
“The crescent moon signifies a first love, and the little fish… Ah, I get it!”
After rummaging through the interpretation book, Emma delivered the result.
“Juliet will reunite with her first love and have a child in a happy family!”
With sparkling eyes, Emma asked:
“Who was Juliet’s first love?”
Juliet wasn’t easily trapped.
“There’s no chance of that, Emma.”
Juliet laughed a little at the rough interpretation.
“My first love was a man who said he didn’t need children.”
“Why?”
“I’m not sure. But he said there was no need to have them…”
Juliet inadvertently looked up to see Emma glancing surreptitiously at the gathering, seemingly connecting her story to the Duke of Carlyle.
Regretting her loose talk, Juliet quickly added:
“No, that man is someone I will never meet again.”
Meaning, it wasn’t the Duke.
Juliet firmly denied it.
“…Oh my god.”
Seeing Emma’s shocked reaction, Juliet felt that she got her point across. However, Emma’s face turned serious.
“Did he… pass away?”
It was then that Juliet realized Emma interpreted her words differently.
But what did it matter? Maybe this was a better way to cover her slip of the tongue.
“He’s not in this world anymore.”
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a lie. The comment about not needing children was from her past life.
Emma, looking sad, whispered an apology.
“I’m sorry, Juliet. I didn’t know. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“It’s okay. But Emma, can you keep this story a secret?”
It wasn’t a pleasant story for others to know.
“Of course… Oh!”
Emma suddenly stood up in alarm.
Turning to see what alarmed her, Juliet locked eyes with a man who had been staring at her.
“Then, I’ll be…”
Emma hastily retreated, and Lennox casually approached.
His sudden appearance startled Juliet.
Did he hear?
If he did, she would deal with it.
But contrary to her concerns, Lennox, who had been staring intently at Juliet, suddenly said:
“Give me your hand.”
Juliet, looking puzzled, extended her hand. She flinched slightly when Lennox, who had removed his glove, touched her.
“You have a fever.”
“…It seems so.”
She felt a bit hot, but in reality, it was because the aftereffects from when the butterflies were summoned back were still lingering.
‘So, that’s why I wasn’t feeling well.’
As a cool magical energy flowed in, the heat slowly dissipated. Juliet, who had passively extended her hand, sneaked a glance at him.
In theory, stabilizing the flow of magical power is possible by physically touching each other. The more intimate the touch, the faster the effect. But now, it’s not like they’re a couple or anything.
Suddenly holding hands like this made her wonder.
“…”
If it was like before, a single kiss would have sufficed. How long would this take now?
Juliet hesitated on whether to laugh.
They can’t be like this all day.
As if reading Juliet’s mind, Lennox gently caressed the inside of her wrist.
Feeling the curious glances from those around them, Juliet felt embarrassed.
“The amount of magical power isn’t abundant, so it easily becomes unstable.”
“Who said that?”
The top mage, Eselrid, had mentioned it. Although not abundant in magical power, she’s always in a peculiarly full state.
“Just… someone said it before.”
But for some reason, she felt like she shouldn’t tell the truth. It felt like a rather secretive matter.
“It’s not that bad.”
“Hmph.”
Juliet laughed at his rather generous assessment, and Lennox’s eyes narrowed.
“Juliet!”
Then, a lady wearing a bonnet waved from afar.
“See you later!”
“It’s Charlotte.”
Juliet smiled and waved back briefly, explaining,
“She’s the Madam’s granddaughter.”
Though the explanation was short, Lennox understood. Juliet had mentioned Charlotte a few times in the past few days.
He was somewhat surprised that Juliet, who typically isn’t quick to befriend others, got close to someone in just a few days.
He saw Charlotte, supported by her husband, cautiously getting into a carriage.
Only then did Lennox realize Charlotte wasn’t alone.
“The eldest granddaughter who came to give birth?”
“Yes. She’s expecting a baby in the spring.”
Juliet added with a smile:
“It must be adorable.”
Watching Juliet’s profile, Lennox impulsively asked:
“Do you want a child?”
Juliet, momentarily taken aback, soon burst into laughter.
“No, not really.”
Despite getting the answer he hoped for, Lennox felt somewhat deflated.
He found himself gauging Juliet’s reaction.
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“You like those things.”
Young, fragile, and soft.
To his knowledge, Juliet couldn’t pass by a baby animal.
Especially if it seemed pitiable.
He remembered how Juliet would secretly care for motherless baby foxes every winter.
By her standards, a baby would be the perfect fit.
Yet Juliet laughed as if she found the comment absurd.
She found it humorous that Lennox referred to cute baby animals as ‘those things’ and the fact that she caught his hidden meaning so quickly.
“You can’t have everything you like.”
Realizing that she needed to elaborate further.
“I mean, just because I like something doesn’t mean I want to have it.”
She then frowned slightly.
“Let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s go.”
“…Sure.”
Even after getting the answer he was seeking, a part of Lennox felt uncomfortable.
He understood why he had been so eager to win Juliet’s favor these past few days.
He was afraid Juliet might desire something he couldn’t provide.
Juliet’s butterflies didn’t work for him, but he knew what he would see if they showed him his worst nightmare right now.
It would undoubtedly be Juliet saying, ‘I want a child, so this won’t work. Goodbye.’
So when Juliet said she didn’t want a child, he should’ve felt relieved.
– My first love was a man who said he didn’t need children.
– He’s someone I will never meet again.
But hearing that, Lennox didn’t know how to react.