Chapter 13

- The Eye of Argus. Give it to me.

When the priest heard his words, he opened his mouth so wide that an egg would fit there quietly. Although he had already been determined to meet his demands before.

The eye of Argus.

It was the most precious thing in the current possession in the main temple of the capital.

As the name implies, it was a powerful relic that could find what you want within a radius of several thousand kilometers. It was used only in exceptional cases by the highest-ranking government officials.

- Even if you deprive me of your head, you can't get it! No matter how many shrines you rob the Duke of the North, you can't find him...

- Did I say I'd rob you? I'll just lend him for a while.

- Huh?

The priest was belated to realize that he gave up too early and mentioned his neck. Only now did he realize that everything now came down to the fact that he could lose his head.

However, when Duke Carlisle spoke calmly again, the priest's face became thoughtful.

- However, I'm also a professional in murder and robbery. And I'm not very patient.

- Hee-ik!!

The young priest, silently standing next to the head of the temple, cried out frightened.

- So what are you going to do?

- No, I still can't lend you a relic of the temple...

- In return, I'll return the temples to the North.

- .... If I lend you the Eye of Argus, will you return the temples in the North?

It was a very unusual offer.

The priest quickly began to build different options in his head.

Maybe it was a very good opportunity for him.

The fact that Duke Carlisle wanted to get the Eye of Argus meant he was looking for something. However, he didn't know whether it was a person or a thing.

The priest wondered who the Duke of Carlisle wanted to find in such a hurry, while thinking in a new direction.

Anyway, he thought that since the Duke of Carlisle was so in a hurry, then he could raise the stakes.

He hoped he could get more money out of the Duke. In this scenario, it could even be promoted to a higher rank.

After the calculations were made in his head, the head of the temple solemnly looked at him.

- But Duke, you can't use sacred relics to your advantage...

- Looks like you're deeply mistaken, priest.

However, the Duke of Carlyle destroyed the priest's ambitious plan in one fell swoop.

The man slightly tilted his head aside and swept his hand over his hair, as if he were bored with this conversation.

- Did I say we'd be negotiating?

His arrogant red eyes sparkled furiously in the dark.

*****

The station on the outskirts of the capital was deserted.

I was still able to do it.

It was already far beyond midnight.

People excited about the festive turmoil were now busy eating, drinking and other entertainment. And that's how it will last all night.

Juliet watched fireworks rise into the sky some time ago, in the direction where the palace was located.

The dark sky from them became so bright that they were even clearly visible outside the capital.

Watching the fireworks flowers bloom in the air, Juliet raised her collar higher.

Today it was so cold that even the exhaled air came out of the mouth with small clouds of steam.

Awe.

Suddenly, a few butterflies with bluish wings appeared from somewhere and swirled around it.

Juliet frowned a little.

Butterflies with glowing wings were too visible in the dark.

Her control seems to have been significantly weakened, given that she did not even cause them.

Well, that was expected because Juliet used too much mana today.

The butterflies seemed to protest against the part of themselves that recently died at the hands of the Duke.

Although at first glance these butterflies seem to be separate individuals, in fact they were part of one consciousness, currently divided into a group.

One of them sat on the back of Juliet's palm and now told her about what happened after her successful escape.

This allowed Juliet to hear and see everything as if she had seen herself what happened in the mansion after her escape.

Looks like he was able to dispel her illusion.

- Yes, I hear you.

The butterfly-shaped demon made dissatisfied sound waves that only she heard.

He was acting like a little offended child now.

She thought he would be angry with her for making him work too hard, but that wasn't what he was complaining about now.

He told his mistress how ruthless the man who destroyed part of him was.

< You have no idea how painful it hurt me when he pierced my body with a dagger!!! > - He complained.

- Could you learn something about him?

Of course, his complaints were bluff.

The body of this demon was a giant and powerful deity that existed outside this dimension. He couldn't feel the pain in any way.

< It hurts a lot. >

< This daring man is very strong. >

However, Juliet listened silently to him, as she was already well acquainted with all his screams and complaints.

Soon this vicious, cunning little demon must have been satisfied with the fact that he could complain to her, and disappeared. Although he may just be tired of talking to her in an underdeveloped human language, in his opinion, so he left.

Juliet was left alone again.

She wasn't too worried about being chased by this man warned by the butterfly demon.

Very soon it will be far from the capital. No matter how competent his people were, it was simply impossible to find her in such a short period of time.

Juliet was sitting alone on a quiet platform and thinking when the train would arrive.

There were waiting places inside the station, but Juliet deliberately went to the platform and waited for the train.

She was dressed in inconspicuous simple clothes, thanks to which it would not have occurred to anyone that just a few hours ago she was present at the New Year's reception at the imperial palace.

Dark cloak, white blouse and long skirt to the very ankles. She also didn't forget to wear a hat with a black veil to hide her face.

Juliet looked at her feet, trying to figure out how long the train arrived.

Instead of the beautiful high-heeled shoes in which she walked around the ballroom, she now wore leather boots without any finishing and jewelry.

Boots that reached the ankles were much the best for travel.

It seemed to her that the time when she walked through the banquet hall of the imperial palace in elegant silver high-heeled shoes with her head proudly raised and easy gait, it was just a beautiful dream.

Although it's only been a few hours since then.

Suddenly, Juliet remembered an old fairy tale. She was about a beautiful girl who hurriedly ran away from the ball at midnight when the magic dispelled.

- Probably it wouldn't be very convenient to run in crystal shoes.

However, I've never been the main character of this story.

Everything Juliet had in the Duke's house looked more like the crystal shoes that the girl from the fairy tale had.

That's why she chose strong leather boots instead of beautiful high-heeled silver shoes.

But suddenly Juliet realized that she unwittingly continued to think about silver shoes.

That thought seemed so funny to her that she laughed a little to herself.

She would never have thought that at such a moment she would remember the beautiful pair of shoes she left in the mansion, not her heartless, indifferent to her lover.

Lennox Carlisle was a generous lover. He managed to give her luxurious gifts without even asking if she needed them. Whether it was beautiful dresses or luxury jewels, it never mattered. All she had to do was say what she wanted, and he bought it.

But in fact, he just didn't care about these things. None of this has ever aroused his interest.

And when you get used to such a life, you naturally feel tempted to win his heart with them, mistakenly taking such an attitude as a tender feeling towards you.

But Juliet didn't take it wrong from the beginning because she knew that one day she would be thrown away and forgotten as an unnecessary thing.

These luxurious extravagant gifts had nothing to do with his love.

Love.

Lennox Carlisle was far from such a tender feeling.

"I won't bother you."

In fact, these words weren't meant for him, she said them to herself.

It was an oath never to be wrong and not to want anything.

One day Juliet ran into a mysterious woman at a banquet. Juliet didn't know her and never met her before, but as soon as she saw her, she talked to her as if she had been waiting for her for a long time.

- You'd better enjoy it while you can.

The implication of this advice was obvious.

- It's very easy for the Duke to get bored.

If her tone sounded hostile, Juliet would easily ignore these words, considering it trivial jealousy, but she did not feel it.

But before Juliet had time to say anything, the woman hurriedly left the banquet.

She wanted to tell her that it was useless advice, because she knew best what kind of person Lennox Carlisle was.

However, Juliet for some reason continued to reflect on the woman's advice, even when the banquet was over and she was on her way back to the Duke's mansion.

"Oh, it's so shameless!"

"I don't think she knows the word - shame!"

"The name of the respected Earl of Montagu is disgraced forever!"

People despised her and mocked her by saying: "Even lower-status women are more worthy than this aristocrat, who stained her honor with such a dirty connection. So she can never rise above us."

All of them were unfamiliar with her, but after she became the Duke's mistress, this hostility became familiar to her.

Juliet laughed quietly.

Maybe they expected her to pretend not to hear them or cry.

"Yes, no way!"

Juliet wasn't as weak as they thought. Instead of sitting and wiping bitter tears with a handkerchief, Juliet always preferred to take an "thrown glove".

As a result, the Duke of Carlyle's reputation became even sadder than before.

But unlike these people who mocked her and considered her a calculating, conceited woman, Juliet didn't even think about anything more when she was next to him. She just didn't expect anything from the beginning.

Being Lennox Carlisle's mistress was quite easy.

But unfortunately, keeping your heart near him was no longer such an easy task.

For Duke Carlisle, it doesn't have to be her. No matter who it is, any woman will suit him. Someone who can warm his bed and not cry.

Cap.

Juliet tried not to pay attention to a tiny drop of water that fell on the back of her palm.