Chapter 28

- Really?

- Yes, Duke.

What the hell is she talking about?

He visited Countess Montagu's mansion for the first time in seven years, and only now realized what distress Juliet was in all this time.

For Lennox, the status of his mistress - "Counte of Montagu", was just a useless title and nothing more.

All he knew about it was that his mistress had an old mansion somewhere in the capital.

And although whenever Juliet came to the capital with him, she went to this house, Lennox never came here with her.

He was the person who did not care at all for what purpose his mistress went to her house and with whom she met there, not to mention taking care of domestic servants.

It's just ridiculous. There could be no question of even having him do something like that.

But the old lady continued calmly:

- Yesterday you sent Miss Juliet with gold coins, didn't you?

No, I... didn't send it.

- Yesterday our hostess told us exactly like this: - "This year the gentleman was very busy, so he could not come, but he made sure that you were doing well in the New Year."

Lennox's eyes faded.

- Everyone in the mansion is very grateful to you for that. And it is a great honor for me to meet you and welcome you personally, Duke.

The blind old woman politely bowed her head again.

Lennox wondered for a moment what was going on.

But neither Juliet's nanny nor the young maid standing next to her seemed to have lied.

If so, then there was only one logical conclusion.

All this must have been invented by Juliet.

- Is that what Juliet said?

The blind woman answered softly, as if not noticing the cold in his voice.

- Yes, that's what our dear Miss Juliet said. She tells us about you all the time, Duke. Yesterday she talked for a long time about how His Serene Highness is caring for her and very attentive, contrary to all rumors.

Lennox didn't find anything to answer.

And it wasn't that he couldn't understand why Juliet decided to make such a lie. On the contrary, it was difficult for him to understand why she had to do it. Because, as far as he knows, Juliet Montagu was not the person who would do something like that.

- Your Serene Highness, please take care of our dear hostess.

The blind old woman bowed low again and spoke politely.

- She's so shy and silent, but very sensitive. She had to endure a lot of grief, so she had healing wounds deep in her heart. And although she never shows how much she hurts, it's not really true. So please take care of her.

Lennox didn't answer. He looked intently at the blind woman.

This nanny must have recognized Juliet's lies from the very beginning.

Which was not surprising, since he never visited these people in all seven years that she remained his mistress.

Nevertheless, Juliet continued to desperately defend him, resorting even to lies, only to calm them down.

And despite the fact that such disregard on his part hurt her pride, she probably did not want to bother these people who remembered her childhood.

Lennox never worried about the bad reputation that surrounded him, but he knew about what rumors spread about his mistress.

And even if these were just rumors in society, his attitude towards it was obvious to everyone.

Therefore, the servants, including the nanny, could not help but guess how their mistress really was doing.

Their mistress's lover is a man known for all his indifference and ruthlessness.

For this reason, they were most likely worried about how she would be treated in the North, where she would be in a rather precarious position of his mistress. And every year they pretended to be deceived by the clumsy lies of their mistress, who tried to calm her old servants and nanny.

However, neither Juliet, who lied, nor her servants, pretending to be deceived by her lies, seemed bad to him.

Lennox thought for a moment.

During her stay in the North, Juliet had only the status of his mistress, not a duchess, so she did not have money that she could dispose of personally.

Of course, she did not lack beautiful dresses and expensive jewelry, and, of course, did not starve, but only.

The problem now was that she left all the gifts she received from him.

So where did Juliet then get gold to save the remnants of her pride, while she was in such a sad financial situation?

After a long silence, Lennox still turned to the old woman and said:

- .... There's too much work for you in the mansion. I'll send you someone to help.

*****

- You said you were going to see your husband, right? - The guide girl who brought her tea asked Juliet with her eyes burning with curiosity.

Her name was Angie.

Juliet only smiled at Angie standing next to her instead of answering.

There was a simple gold ring on Juliet's ring finger of her left hand.

It was an ordinary ring without any precious stones and jewelry, but she liked it and was also perfect for supporting lies about her personality. Because now Juliet pretended to be a young lady who went to visit her husband.

- Do you think your husband works at the east gate? I heard there are a lot of beautiful places there. - Angie continued to chirping amicably, apparently interpreting the silence as a positive answer.

"It's good that I thought about creating a fake personality." Juliet thought to herself.

A train ride driven by magic mana stones was quite expensive.

And a young woman who rented a single room and traveled alone without a maid will naturally stand out in such circumstances.

Angie looked very young and apparently only recently began working as a guide, so now she was so encouraged by the meeting with Juliet. She had no idea that a married young lady in front of her was actually a noble aristocrat.

Another important fact why Juliet chose a train was that few nobility went by train.

So the main passengers of the train were mostly rich commoners and merchants who had to quickly travel long distances.

High-ranking aristocrats and senior clergy preferred to travel through the magical gates with mana stones.

Of course, it was the fastest way to travel, but it was ridiculously expensive.

In addition, without clear permission from the imperial palace, no one was allowed to use the gate.

When Juliet came to the dining car, there were no more than ten people sitting there.

She didn't know exactly which car the kitchen was attached to, but it was thanks to the magic mana stones that it was possible to cook food on the train.

The cafeteria was small but cozy, and the breakfast was very tasty.

Juliet was also very surprised when she tried the newly baked hot croissants served for breakfast.

After breakfast, Angie brought a new cup of tea and put it in front of Juliet.

- It's Queenn tea.

Juliet grinned mentally, catching the delicate aroma of tea. Her late father, Count Montagu, would really like this trip on the train where his favorite tea was served.

- Can I have another drink of tea? - Juliet asked cautiously, emptying her cup of fragrant tea.

- Yes! - Angie exclaimed joyfully and hurried to the kitchen.

Soon Angie returned from the kitchen with a whole kettle in her hands, and with her appearance, Juliet felt some pleasant sweet smell.

Juliet involuntarily smiled at this smell, which teased her sense of smell.

- I'm still baking buns in the kitchen.

With the word "buns," the rest of the passengers sitting in the cafeteria suddenly raised their heads like a flock of meerkats.

- If you wait for a while, I'll bring them.

Although the price of the trip was quite high, Juliet was deeply impressed by the service provided on the train.

"It's good that I decided to take a train, not a ship, although it's expensive."

She did not regret that she sat on it, as luxurious service and a trip in a comfortable compartment were worth it.

In addition, she liked that there were few passengers on the train.

Knock, Knock, Knock.

- Oh, it started raining.

Early in the morning it was overcast, and soon after the train passed the mountain range, it rained lightly.

- Is the typhoon coming?

- Could there be a typhoon this season? I think it's just a little rain that will end soon.

Juliet sighed, getting nervous for a moment and clutching a cup of tea tightly in her hand when she heard a conversation between two passengers behind her.

Judging by their words, it's just a little rain.

Juliet felt relieved watching tiny raindrops flow down the glass.

She still had a hard time believing that she was sitting alone on the train on a rainy day and drinking fragrant tea, enjoying the view of the snowy mountains seen in the window.

And a little later she was still going to eat a couple of freshly baked buns.

Oh, that means what it feels like. To be happy.

A sweet sigh broke out of her chest when she found the long-awaited peace for the first time in a long time.

The number of passengers on the train was not very large, especially in the dining car.

- .....?

But suddenly she felt someone's gaze, so Juliet raised her head to see who was spying on her.

Less than a moment later, Juliet found an unexpected "criminal" sitting right in front of her.

The baby sitting in the front seat two rows away from Juliet looked at her with curiosity.

"...Oh, what a cutie!"

Especially her cute rosy cheeks, which looked so soft and tender.

Juliet hastily bit her lip, trying to restrain her unsolved smile, but she failed.

When she smiled broadly, looking at the baby, she shyly smiled back at her and waved a small pen.

- Hee-hee!

- Oh my God, and who are you laughing at, huh?

When the baby's mother, sitting with her in the front seat, spoke, Juliet quickly turned away, pretending to be looking out the window.

Child.

It was something Juliet never had in her two lives.

- .....

Juliet's soft smile disappeared from her face.

No, to be honest, only once. She almost managed to get it.

Shortly before she died in her first life.

As now, Juliet was not someone special in her first life either, and never stood out. She was just a small creature that could lose its life at any time.

But when the doctor told her that she would have a child, Juliet thought she had become special. That day, she finally had hope, and she thought she could do anything.

However, it didn't last long.

"You don't even have to marry me, you could just recognize him as your own. Lennox, it will be our child..."

"I don't care, Juliet."

But all she got in response was indifference and coldness.

"Didn't you still understand? I don't want to have anything to do with what grows inside you."

If it weren't for this remark, Juliet could also hold her child in her arms.

Even during her second life, she sometimes remembered these cold words, left alone.

Juliet was spinning a cooled cup of tea in her hands.

Boom.

Suddenly, Juliet realized that the train had stopped and looked out the window.

The train in which she was traveling stopped at several stations, heading to the eastern gate.

Just as in the case of Juliet in the capital, some of the passengers traveling with her now disembarked, reaching the right city, and new passengers with their luggage boarded, after which the train again departed to the next destination.

Looking out the window, Juliet suddenly heard a loud noise from the back compartment and shuddered.

- Loaded!

Juliet turned around and looked back.

If you think about it, the last three cars of the train were intended for the luggage compartment.

She didn't know what was loaded there, but it seemed to be something very big.

And after a while, Juliet saw some suspicious people dressed in all black jumping into the train.

...Hmmm.

Juliet narrowed her eyes in an instant, and her eyes turned into two small slits.