Juliet raised her head calmly, pretending to wipe her hands with a napkin.
Thanks to her familiarity with hiding her expression, Julietâs disturbance didnât reveal itself at all.
Mrs. Riley, who was inside the store, peeked at her through the glass window, and when she caught Julietâs eye, she waved her hand brightly with a smile.
Juliet also waved back with a broad smile, then swallowed a groan inwardly.
âWhy didnât I notice sooner?â
Everything had been going too smoothly, and she had forgotten. Her life had never been smooth.
A thriller scenario unfolded in Julietâs head.
Even this quiet, pastoral town could be the setting for a crime scenario.
In such small towns, people tend to band together. In Lobell, where tourists werenât common, gossip spread quickly enough that the whole town would know if you visited alone within an hour.
âThey catch a foolish traveler and sell them as a slave without anyone knowingâ
Juliet imagined the worst-case scenario. However, there was one point she didnât understand.
She was, after all, an opponent that could be subdued from the outside.
To kidnap her unknowingly instead of taking such a complicated approach, there must have been a reason for it.
âWhat could it be?â
She didnât know what their goal was, but the people of this town wanted to keep her in the village.
What did they want? Human trafficking? Human sacrifice? Or perhapsâŠ
âCould it be the Dukeâs doing?â
Juliet fiddled with the round edge of the teacup with her fingertips.
But why would they do such a thing? She hadnât done anything to warrant resentment, had she?
Oh my God.
Recalling her actions over the past few days, Juliet bit her tongue. Surprisingly, the points of contentionâŠ
Were quite many.
She thought she hadnât done anything noticeable, but it seems she had built quite a complicated relationship in just a week since she left the capital.
The group trying to sell that wolf on the train?
Or maybe, the werewolves who mistakenly thought she was an ally of the guild behind this, and not the one who saved Roy.
But it was too meticulous.
If it was a deed by the guild who kidnapped Roy, it would have made more sense to kidnap her in Roadel, right when she got off the train in a fluster.
Juliet thought coolly.
No matter how she thought about it, it seemed the most plausible.
Those who would place the highest value on her.
âThe enemies of the Duke.â
Lennox Carlyle had many enemies, and very little was known about Duke Carlyle himself compared to his fame.
Not only because of the Carlyle familyâs characteristic of not enjoying socializing with other families, but focusing solely on the Northern Territory.
For the enemies advancing to the North, it wasnât a good thing. After all, you have to know your opponent well to find their weaknesses.
Juliet could name more than ten families that would pay a fortune to get information about the Duke.
Having reached a tentative, semi-conclusion, Juliet was listing the names of the nobles who could afford to buy an entire village and do this kind of thing.
If they had this level of action, they must be a big shot.
She wished she could tell them that even if they kidnapped her, Lennox wouldnât bat an eye. But no one would believe that.
In fact, she had been almost kidnapped several times. All turned out to be failures though.
But for such a woman to have left the Dukeâs side, how easy of a prey would she be?
Yet, she didnât expect they would come this far.
By now, Juliet guessed that rumors of Juliet Monad being abandoned must have started to spread in the capital.
She didnât know who was behind it, but they must be powerful and fast with information. Juliet made that judgement.
As Juliet slowly savored her salad, she contemplated how to get out of here.
The fresh salad was crispy.
She didnât have an appetite, but strength was most important if she wanted to escape.
âHmm?â
Crunch.
While chomping on her salad in a battle-like manner, Juliet noticed one more suspicious scene.
The scenery behind her was reflected perfectly in the dishes polished like a mirror.
And Juliet clearly saw some men who were trying to hide their bodies in the alley as soon as she turned around.
Believing that it would be dangerous to delay any longer, Juliet quietly tidied up her spot and stood up.
* * *
Ding.
About an hour later.
âOh, Mrs. Seneca!â
After stopping by her accommodation and packing all her minimal luggage into her travel bag, Juliet went to Zacharyâs office.
âHello, Mr. Zachary.â
âGood afternoon. The weather is lovely, isnât it?â
Zachary looked slightly puzzled when Juliet entered leaving the door open, but politely refrained from pointing it out.
Even if he had pointed it out, Juliet wouldnât have closed the door. Itâs important to secure a retreat route.
Zachary cheerfully greeted and sat at the visitorâs table.
âWhat brings you here today?â
Instead of exchanging courteous conversation about the weather, Juliet, sitting opposite him, placed the house key she had brought on the table.
âIâve come to return the key.â
At the same time, Zacharyâs face turned pale as a sheet.
âWhy⊠why are you doing this? Was there something uncomfortable about your stayâŠ?â
âNo, the house is great.â
âBut, then why?â
Before answering, Juliet stared at Zachary, who had turned pale.
âYou can refund half of the deposit. But I would like to get it in cash immediately.â
âWhat!â
Zachary, who had raised his voice without realizing it, cleared his throat and spoke politely again.
âIf you could tell me what was uncomfortable, I can solve itâŠâ
âSolve it for me? Do you know what my problem is?â
âAh, no, I mean, that is⊠I meant to say that Iâll do my best to help resolve itâŠâ
Julietâs eyes narrowed.
Before coming here, she was half sure and half doubtful.
But now she knew.
Zachary was also a part of this suspicious town. And the goal of the townspeople was clearly to keep her from leaving.
She didnât know why they wanted to keep her, but he was certainly in league with the others in town.
âIâm broke.â
âExcuse me?â
Juliet deliberately spoke roughly.
âIf money is your goal, then youâre wasting your time.â
It was true.
Juliet didnât have much money on hand.
She had her motherâs heirlooms and the keys to the Monad county, but they werenât particularly valuable items.
They were old-fashioned valuables that might be interesting to manic collectors, but not so expensive that the whole town would move in unison.
Juliet judged it that way.
If these people were prepared to stage a play of this scale, they must be expecting something enormous.
Whether it was money, or something else.
However, Juliet wanted to tell them they were mistaken.
Even if they knew about Duke Carlyle and were thinking of using her to threaten him and take a cut, that was even more of a mistake.
Lenox Carlyle wasnât a generous person who would pay for a woman who deceived him and ran away.
But Zacharyâs expression, which had certainly been flustered, became awkward. After a long silence, Zachary cautiously asked.
âUm⊠Miss Seneca, do you perhaps want to work? Are you in such a desperate need of a job? If thatâs the caseâŠâ
ââŠâ
âRight, right! How about being a private tutor? Weâve been looking for a good one because of our LisbellâŠâ
âLook at this?â
Juliet hadnât said a word about a job, but Zachary seemed to already know she was going to refuse.
âMy daughterâs name is Lisbell. Sheâs a good kid, so it wonât be too hard to teach her. Itâs much safer than working in the library or the upper areaâŠâ
Juliet, who had been silently watching Zachary flustered and babbling, interrupted him with a calm voice.
âMr. Zachary.â
âYes?â
âStop it and tell them to come out.â
ââŠWho are you talking about?â
Juliet smiled and nodded her head.
âThe people inside.â
âWhat, what are you talking aboutâŠâ
Juliet had been carefully observing the wall of the shop from earlier.
Specifically, a camouflage bookshelf packed with books that were clearly hollow inside.
Squeak.
Sure enough, shortly afterwards, the thick door disguised as a bookshelf opened with a creaking sound.
As she had anticipated, Juliet wasnât surprised by the development.
Thump.
But seeing the face of the person who came out of there, Juliet couldnât help but be a little taken aback.
ââŠ?â
âOh, SirâŠâ
It was the kind old man who had passed by briefly on the day she arrived in Lobell.