"What Snowdrop are you talking about?"
"*Ha!* Do you truly believe I'm such an idiot that I'd tell you *everything*?"
Graham laughed raucously, gloating at his younger brother's expense.
Roy was the youngest in their family—he didn't yet know the secret history of their forest.
"In any case, one thing is certain—she will *never* become your companion—!"
***CRASH!***
With a sickening crunch, Graham's eyes rolled back in his skull. He then collapsed into unconsciousness.
"Oops…"
Only then did Roy realize his mistake. Without intending to, he had struck Graham so hard the blow knocked him out instantly.
"Pathetic weakling—can't even take a single punch."
Roy kicked his brother's limp body in irritation, cursing under his breath.
Regardless, what Graham had just revealed had piqued his curiosity considerably.
After briefly immersing himself in thought, Roy broke the silence.
"Elsa."
"A-ah…! Y-yes?"
Elsa, concealed among the trees some distance away, responded with a noticeable stutter.
Simultaneously, Nathan—who had been hiding alongside her—rolled his eyes and shook his head, as though he'd never witnessed a more absurd performance in his entire life.
*Oh no—I gave myself away!* Elsa belatedly realized her blunder, but the damage was already done.
"Come here."
She emerged reluctantly from her hiding place and approached Roy.
"Do you know anything about this?"
"Oh—no! It's like this—"
Elsa, who had been babbling incoherently, squeezed her eyes shut and then confessed:
"Juliet mentioned that Graham called her necklace a *Snowdrop*!"
"What sort of peculiar name for a necklace?"
But even after hearing this, Roy's reaction didn't shift significantly.
"It's the name of a flower, isn't it?"
But it wasn't Graham—unconscious and sprawled across the grass—who answered his question. Nor was it Elsa, who regarded him with a helpless expression.
"…It's an old story," Nathan replied reluctantly, emerging from his own hiding place after Elsa's exposure.
Since they'd been discovered, there was no further point in concealment.
"You've heard about it as well. Beyond the forest exist beautiful but malevolent objects—objects that seduce people, then deceive them utterly."
"Yes—I recall something like that. I believe Grandmother Sif told me the story long ago."
Elsa's grandmother was the oldest and wisest woman in the Silver Forest. Sometimes she would gather the children on the grass in forest clearings and relate ancient tales and legends.
"But this isn't merely a story from the distant past."
"What do you mean?"
"It is said that foolish human kings of ancient times created objects that served as conduits for summoning beings from beyond our dimension—and bestowed names upon them in order to subjugate these entities."
It felt remarkably absurd to hear such a fairy tale recounted by Nathan, who was more serious than anyone Roy knew, delivered with such an extraordinarily solemn expression.
"Conduits?"
"Yes. According to historical accounts, if a person possessing a certain degree of power acquires one of these objects, they become capable of summoning a being from another dimension."
"And what manner of creature can be summoned, exactly?" Roy asked in a harsh tone.
"An evil deity that exists beyond the boundaries of our world."
Roy felt an increasingly strong urge to laugh the longer he listened to Nathan's explanation.
"But what does this have to do with Juliet? I don't believe her key is remotely—"
Roy stopped mid-sentence, observing how deadly serious Nathan's expression had become—and how anxiously Elsa was studying the unconscious Graham.
"I don't know whether Miss Juliet's key is genuinely one of those items. We don't even know how many still exist in the world. All we know is that some have already been destroyed—and others are simply lost."
"But Graham *recognized* it! Juliet said he called her key *'Snowdrop'*!" Elsa interjected urgently.
Roy stared at Graham's prone form and asked Elsa again:
"What the hell is this 'Snowdrop'?"
"You know—the creature from the story my grandmother used to tell…"
"Though the names of such objects have been almost entirely forgotten, 'Snowdrop' is one of the few whose name and distinctive characteristics some still remember."
The instant Roy grasped how serious this truly was, his desire to laugh evaporated completely.
"So by 'evil creature'… you mean Juliet's butterflies?"
"Quite possibly."
Roy had recognized long ago that Juliet had summoned a demon far too powerful to be dismissed as a simple spirit.
The butterfly demon had reluctantly permitted him to live on the train. And in Lucerne, it had even managed to summon a goddess.
Everyone present during that incident had assumed the bishop summoned the goddess—but Roy had understood instinctively, even then, that it had nothing whatsoever to do with him.
A fraudulent bishop could never have accomplished such a feat.
The one who summoned the goddess had definitely been Juliet.
Or perhaps it had occurred because the power of the soul stone Juliet possessed at that time had clashed with the power of her butterfly demon.
Roy had never attempted to discuss it with Juliet—but he suspected this was the case.
Regardless, when Juliet had been distressed about the butterflies' disappearance, he had simultaneously felt *relieved*—because he didn't want such a dangerous creature near her.
"So if the name and abilities of this evil creature are known—what exactly are these butterflies capable of?"
"It's a monster that travels through time and space… and devours human emotions."
Hearing this preposterous explanation, Roy finally burst into laughter.
But Nathan—ignoring his derisive reaction entirely, his face frozen in grim solemnity—advised:
"…Master Roy, from this point forward, it would be wisest for you to distance yourself from Miss Juliet."
---
"How beautiful… I've never seen anything remotely like this before."
Juliet stood transfixed by the sight before her. The tranquil lake was surrounded by countless plum trees, their branches heavy with red and white blossoms.
"This magnificent view can only be witnessed at this particular time of year," the estate caretaker responsible for this southern property said with a warm smile. "It's a pity there wasn't fresh snowfall—otherwise this landscape would have utterly amazed you."
But Juliet thought the scene was already sufficiently romantic.
The winter lake, encircled by blossoming trees, was breathtaking—a landscape seen only in the warm South. In the North, winter was brutal at this season, and all the lakes remained frozen solid.
It seemed early spring had arrived exclusively in this place.
Unlike Juliet, who gazed only at the plum blossoms in admiration, Lennox noticed something else entirely.
"Is it safe?"
"…Of course, Your Grace."
Lennox regarded the small boat with visible suspicion—but contrary to Juliet's expectations, he didn't refuse to board it.
Juliet appeared mildly embarrassed and turned around after Lennox handed her a wicker basket filled with simple refreshments.
"Why did you give this to me?"
"Are you planning to row yourself?"
"……"
As they settled into the two-person vessel, the caretaker untied the mooring rope from the dock. The boat drifted smoothly across the water's surface.
Though this was Lennox's first experience rowing, he managed without apparent difficulty.
In truth, he didn't need to exert much effort—merely periodically adjusting the boat's direction. The vessel was equipped with mana stones that propelled it independently across the water.
Closing the parasol she'd thought might be necessary to shield herself from the bright sunlight, Juliet glanced at Lennox.
The Duke had been behaving extraordinarily strangely over the past several days.
He constantly asked what Juliet wished to do—and every time she answered, he simply agreed without further inquiry. Juliet grew curious to see how far he would accommodate her, so she gradually became bolder in her requests. But no matter what she suggested, he never refused.
He was so accommodating that at some point, she began to feel genuinely uneasy.
That was how they ended up together on this flower-covered lake.
When the Duke of Carlisle informed his vassals he intended to visit a lake to admire blossoms, they had been visibly horrified.
If the Duke—renowned for his ruthlessness and emotional coldness—suddenly announced he was going to *look at flowers*, what would he do next?
"Aren't you busy?"
"Not at all."
*Lie.*
Juliet narrowed her eyes, regarding him with open skepticism.
It was glaringly obvious that some emergency had arisen—since the entire Northern administration had hastily gathered their belongings and followed the Duke south.
In the northern territories, monsters frequently attacked various settlements during winter—but this was likely not a crisis the vassals couldn't handle independently. And even if she asked what had occurred, no one would tell her.
Juliet smiled faintly at the thought.
"What made you smile?" Lennox asked suddenly.
"Ah—well…"
Juliet blinked momentarily, then said:
"Madame Ilena mentioned that I may visit her next time without requiring an escort."
This morning, quite unexpectedly, Ilena had invited Juliet to join her at the lake for tea and to admire the plum blossoms.
"What's amusing about that?"
"Nothing significant—just that next time, you won't need to abandon your work to accompany me."
"And who benefits from that arrangement?"
"What? What are you talking about?"
Lennox chuckled rather than answering.
Simultaneously, he cast a swift glance toward the opposite shore of the lake they were approaching.
A lavish tea party was in progress there. And surveying those in attendance, Lennox discovered that the elderly socialite's scheme to secure Juliet a suitable husband remained very much underway.
So he wasn't remotely surprised when she had suddenly invited Juliet early this morning. He had immediately deduced the old woman's true purpose in summoning her.
*Well, elderly people can be remarkably stubborn—they don't recognize when it's time to concede defeat,* Lennox thought with private amusement.
---