Chapter 43

Juliet opened her eyes wide.

- Oh, elder!

Zachary was so excited that he didn't know what to do now. Juliet was also taken aback by such an unexpected turn for a moment.

"I helped you!"

She couldn't believe that he would also be in the enemy camp.

Looking at this unnamed old man, Juliet for some reason felt betrayed.

- Please give it back.

- Huh?

The old man with a complex expression on his face, carefully gave something to Zachary, as if he were handing over his weapons while in a demilitarized zone.

Zachary looked puzzled, but gave this subject to Juliet as he was told.

Juliet's eyes opened in surprise, and she involuntarily exclaimed.

- My gloves!

Another object that the old man was holding in his hand also belonged to her.

"And this is my hairpin, isn't it?"

The things she lost exactly two days ago were with him.

"I turned everything upside down in the house twice to find them, and he had them!"

For a moment, she experienced the joy that her things, which she thought were lost, were found again.

But...

Juliet squinted suspiciously and stared at the old man dissatisfiedly.

- Hmm, well, now I'm already running goosebumps, from your terrible behavior.

Juliet got angry.

Probably anyone, if in such circumstances, would be grateful for finding lost things, but not her.

Initially, she thought it was a safe, friendly small town, but it turned out that it was a very suspicious place.

The villagers tried to prevent her from leaving the city, and they even conspired with each other to prevent her from working.

And that's not all...

... She didn't know why the old man took her things and what he was going to do with them, but in any case he even sneaked into her house to steal them and use them in his game.

And when Juliet was about to ask about his intentions, the red-haired old man staring at her was suddenly the first to strike.

- My name is Lionel Lebatan.

- ...

It doesn't matter what Juliet used to think about, but she didn't expect to hear that, so she almost jokingly said: "Oh, yes, I see. And I'm Juliet Montagu. Countess of Montagu."

But looking at her elderly interlocutor, she didn't feel like he was joking at all.

If that's true, she met the most famous person in the last half century.

- ... So what? - Juliet asked, trying not to show how much impression his words made on her, as far as possible.

The old man, who called Lionel Lebatan, looked silently at Juliet for a while before talking.

- "Lebatan" means the star of Venus.

- I know.

Juliet carelessly folded her hands on her chest.

Venus was also drawn on the symbolic flag of the mercenaries of the Volges Guild, which Lionel led in his youth.

Juliet saw a flag embroidered with yellow gold thread on a dark blue fabric close in color to black.

- And "Seneca" means "Venus" in ancient language.

After these words, Juliet's eyes opened wide, and her eyebrows crawled up.

"... No, it can't be!"

Since Juliet was still looking infidulously, Lionel took out a thick dark blue cloth and showed her.

Juliet looked like her baby blanket.

Lilies, roses and gold stars were embroidered on it, and at the bottom the name...

Lillian Rose Seneca-Lebatan.

- ....

When Juliet raised her eyes, with a somewhat obsessed look, Lionel Lebatan, meeting her with his eyes, sighed quietly and said:

- Yes. So, you're Lily's daughter.

*****

About half a century ago, Lionel Lebatan, known by the loud name Red King, settled in the criminal city of Carcassonne.

People wondered why he disappeared overnight, leaving behind only his glory.

Some said that he was killed, others said that he was scared and hid because he was sentenced to death at an imperial trial.

And there was another third option, which said that one day he turned his back on the world because he was tired of all this fuss.

But they were all wrong.

Lionel Lebatan's decision to stay in Carcassonne was dictated by the will of his late son.

Then next to the grieving Lionel there were three of his sons and a huge void in his heart, which even the Moon could not fill.

But then...

At the moment when he took a little girl in his arms, born when he was already at a solid age, Lionel decided to give his daughter all the most valuable things in the world he could.

Lillian Rose Seneca - Lebatan.

Lionel thought for a long time before giving his youngest daughter the most suitable name for her, so that it would be beautiful and at the same time, did not indicate her belonging to their family.

After much deliberation, he called his daughter a blessed ancient God name, instead of the rude name Lebatan.

Lillian Rose Seneca - Lebatan.

Lillian, who grew up as a bright and strong child, under the careful supervision of her relatives, was very similar to her mother.

She grew up into a sweet and kind girl.

And, of course, when Lillian fell in love with a young officer, he didn't dare to stand in her way.

But the officer she loved was not a simple private, but a noble imperial aristocrat.

So, it was inevitable that a young officer from a prestigious family and Lillian would eventually want to get married.

Because of this, Lionel was in painful agony, but he knew that this day would come someday, so he made a decision quite quickly.

Lionel preferred to quietly die of his only daughter.

Even many years after he decided to hide, he still remained only a suicide bomber who would have been arrested and handed over to death row as soon as he had set foot in the imperial capital.

Therefore, Lionel persuaded his daughter to forget her name forever and live under a new name.

Thus, he decided to do the last thing he could for his only daughter.

"Please live a normal and happy life in a wider and safer world."

These were his last farewell words to his beloved daughter.

****

There was a fire burning in the fireplace.

Until the very end of this long story, Juliet sat on a soft carpet in front of the fireplace and looked at the flaming fire.

- I'm sorry I took you by surprise.

Lionel sat quietly in the chair next to her.

Juliet blinked slowly. This story was an area she had no idea about.

There were no such memories in her past life. And if she had not decided on this trip, Juliet Montagu would have lived her life and died without learning anything.

But for some reason she wasn't surprised or shocked. Since she left the house with her mother's pearl necklace in her hand, she has been somewhat prepared.

Nevertheless, it took her time to gather her thoughts, so Juliet asked incoherent questions in the order in which she thought.

- What about the residents of the town? Was it you, grandpa, who made them do it?

Grandpa. Lionel felt a strange feeling when she called him that, but it wasn't pleasant, so he replied with a slight smile on his face:

- No, when I said you might be my only granddaughter, everyone volunteered to help me.

That means it was.

Juliet finally realized why the attitude of the residents of the town was so friendly.

- So, the glove and hair clip were stolen to confirm the relationship.

With these words of Juliet, some embarrassment was reflected on Lionel's face.

- Yes.

Although he didn't want her to know about it this way, he thought he should be frank with her.

It was he who told Mrs. Ronda that he needed things that touched Juliet's body.

There were many different magical tools in the East, and among them there were some objects that could confirm related genes through human personal belongings.

However, Juliet, instead of condemnation, just nodded carelessly.

- I understand. After all, you had no other choice.

An apologetic expression appeared on Lionel's face.

- I wanted to tell you about it at a more appropriate time.

- It's all right.

- And by the way, immediately after I heard your story in Zachary's office, all Lebatans arrived in Lobell.

Lionel suddenly got up, and, coming to the door, smiled broadly, and then opened it abruptly.

Bams!

- What the hell!

- Oh!

- Hey, old man, what are you doing?!

Hearing a loud noise, Juliet looked at the door in amazement.

A ball of three people was lying on the floor.

Apparently, they stood close to the door to overhear the conversation in the room, and suddenly everyone got when it opened without warning.

The corridors of the mansion were quite spacious, but for three men aged who had a large physique, like experienced sailors, they seemed to be cramped.

- Oh... Hi, Juliet!

- Hello, Juliet!

- Nice to meet you, Juliet. And welcome to our big family, we are your uncles!

In the end, Juliet couldn't stand it and laughed loudly.