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Chapter 125




A few days later, the evening banquet was a pre-wedding celebration. Accordingly, the attending guests were dazzlingly glamorous.
“Countess!”
For the past few days, Dolores had been acting more familiar with Juliet.
“Because I’m a commoner, the other noblewomen shun me.”
With such words, she tried to gain Juliet’s sympathy…
“Even if it’s a woman, she can be a countess?”
“Your necklace is beautiful.”
“I heard that Countess Monad is a spirit-tamer.”
And with such words, she showed her interest in Juliet.
While Duke Carlyle accompanying them was called by the Emperor, Dolores approached Juliet and offered her a glass of champagne.
“You look tired, Juliet.”
“Yes, I’m feeling a bit sluggish.”
Juliet yawned softly.
Seeing this, Dolores’s eyes sparkled.
“Do you feel unwell?”
“No, I’m just a bit sleepy.”
“Do you want to go to the lounge with Dolores?”
Dolores kindly suggested.
A few noblewomen were already seated in the lounge. After a quick glance at them, Juliet casually asked:
“Have you ever been there, Dolores?”
“Pardon?”
“I’m talking about the magic stone mine owned by Marquis Guinness. I’ve heard it’s quite large…”
Juliet smirked.
“Oh, Dolores has…”
Dolores, about to say she had never been there unintentionally, was lost for words.
When the conversation turned to the mine in the south, a recent hot topic, unexpectedly, all the noblewomen in the lounge focused their attention.
In such a situation, Juliet calmly inquired:
“Wasn’t it strange for you, someone like Dolores, not to have been there?”
“Of, of course.”
Dolores forced a smile.
But Juliet’s questions didn’t stop.
“How was it seeing the mine firsthand?”
“I don’t know much about that. Business talks are too hard for me.”
“But that’s not a difficult question. Was the Marquis’s mine sparkling with magic stones?”
“Yes, yes. It was very pretty.”
Juliet’s eyes narrowed.
“That’s fascinating. The magic stones in the mines look like plain rocks before they’re processed.”
“Pardon?”
Only then did Dolores realize her mistake.
“Well, the definition of ‘sparkling’ differs from person to person.”
Fortunately, Juliet just smirked. The other noblewomen who had been eavesdropping gave doubtful glances but soon left.
“Rest well, Countess.”
As Juliet seemed tired and leaned on a couch to close her eyes, Dolores too left.
But she didn’t return to the banquet. A few minutes later, after waiting for the surroundings to quiet down, Dolores discreetly returned to the lounge.
In the silent lounge, there were only Juliet and Dolores.
Juliet had fallen asleep within minutes, but Dolores wasn’t surprised.
Earlier, the champagne Dolores handed to Juliet contained a sleeping pill.
Dolores carefully began to rummage through Juliet’s handbag.
Having stuck close to Juliet in an almost obsessive manner over the past few days, Dolores had sneakily noticed that Juliet stored her necklace with a silver key pendant here.
‘Found it.’
Upon discovering what she was looking for, Dolores brightened up.
Then-
“What are you looking for?”
Cling.
The silver key made a sharp noise as it hit the marble floor.
In her surprise, Dolores had dropped the key.
“Dolores, you shouldn’t throw someone else’s necklace.”
With a sigh, Juliet picked up the silver key at her feet.
“Ju, Juliet.”
Dolores staggered back, looking frightened.
“I just… I just wanted to return this to you!”
“If you’re going to lie, do it properly. Even a child wouldn’t fall for that.”
Juliet responded sweetly.
Dolores wasn’t just a little bit clumsy.
Contrary to pretending to fear the Marquis to gain Juliet’s sympathy, Dolores wasn’t afraid of Marquis Guiness at all.
In their previous lives, Marquis Guiness would often whip Juliet until she fainted, but Dolores’s arm was unbruised and clean.
They had left the mysterious point about the Marquis’s magical stone alone until now.
“So, after you stole the key from me, what were you planning to do?”
Her question was valid.
“What does Marquis Guiness intend to do with this? Even if you steal it, anyway…”
“Dolores is also a spirit summoner.”
The reply came from behind.
“Marquis Guiness.”
Juliet didn’t look frightened at all, but Marquis Guiness couldn’t hide his sense of triumph.
“A spirit summoner?”
“Dolores is the spirit summoner I found after many years.”
Hearing the unexpectedly honest answer, Juliet finally understood why the Marquis chose the terrible actor, Dolores.
Spirit summoners with unique wavelengths were rare.
And that meant that the Marquis also knew the power of the Count Monad’s treasure.
Juliet smirked.
It seemed her deduction that the Marquis was the one who stole Snowdrop in their previous life was correct.
“You’re quite confident, Marquis. If I scream, people outside will rush in.”
“Will they really?”
Juliet found Marquis Guiness’ attitude strange. However, the Marquis snapped his fingers with a meaningful expression.
Snap.
“Who is the master of the full moon?”
Marquis Guiness said the command he learned from Solon. At the same time, a surprised Juliet blinked her eyes in confusion.
“You must obey me.”
Then Juliet’s face became blank. Seeing Juliet’s hazy eyes, Marquis Guiness smiled with satisfaction.
“That’s right. You seem to remember now.”
Clang.
The champagne glass Juliet was holding fell and shattered. But Juliet remained blank-faced, seemingly unaware of the danger.
“The first command: Give me that key.”
Juliet, as if entranced, handed over the pendant she was wearing around her neck, which was the silver key.
“At last!”
Marquis Guiness, holding the key, was gleaming.
“If only that fool Baron Gaspar hadn’t made a mistake 7 years ago, I would have had it much sooner.”
Juliet, under hypnosis, stood still like a puppet.
“Here, Dolores.”
Marquis Guiness handed Juliet’s silver key to Dolores.
Upon receiving the key, Dolores happily wore it around her neck.
“So, now Juliet’s spirit becomes mine, Marquis? Right?”
“Don’t be so eager, Dolores. I will teach you how to handle the spirit, step by step.”
Having calmed Dolores, Marquis Guiness turned back to Juliet.
“That’s right.”
Remembering Baron Gaspar’s incident, a great idea occurred to him.
“Listen carefully, Juliet Monad.”
“Yes.”
“7 years ago, the one who murdered your parents was Baron Gaspar. You know that, right?”
“Yes, I know.”
“The reason Baron Gaspar killed your parents was because he coveted this key. Someone promised Gaspar a villa on the south coast and a lifetime’s worth of money if he stole the Count family’s treasure.”
For a moment, a cold light flashed in Juliet’s eyes, but Marquis Guiness, engrossed in the moment, didn’t notice.
“…Yes.”
“And the mastermind who had Gaspar bring the key was….”
Marquis Guiness decided to shift his guilt onto someone else.
“It was Duke Carlyle.”
“…”
“The Duke killed your parents and deceived you, exploiting you for years. Understand?”
“Yes.”
“So, tonight you must seek revenge.”
The sky was illuminated by the bright full moon.
“Tonight, lure the Duke out by any means. Confess your love or seduce him. Then catch him off guard.”
Marquis Guiness handed Juliet a sharp dagger.
“And then, stab this into that man’s heart. That will be your revenge.
Do you understand?”
Holding the dagger, Juliet replied with a quiet, intense gaze.
“Yes, Marquis.”