The detachment under the Duke of Carlisle's command, having advanced from the south, arrived in the capital far earlier than expected.
"Where is that smoke coming from?"
Before they even reached the main gate, they noticed the chaos engulfing the city.
A massive plume of smoke darkened the sky, and panic ruled the streets—people screamed and fled in terror, pushing past one another in their desperation to escape.
"What's happening?!"
They entered the city immediately.
"Your Grace!"
Elliot, who had been waiting with visible anxiety etched across his face, rushed forward the moment he spotted them.
"Lady Juliet hasn't returned yet! We'll handle things on this side—you must—"
He never finished.
Lennox wrenched his horse around and galloped toward the city center without a word.
---
The arena had collapsed. The beasts that had been released transformed the square into utter chaos.
They stampeded through the city, destroying everything in their path, but thanks to the rapid evacuation of citizens, catastrophic casualties had been avoided.
"Help us!"
Some—the elderly, the children—struggled to escape on their own.
*Bolt.*
One of the beasts, charging directly toward two small children frozen in terror, suddenly stumbled and crashed to the ground.
The guards who rushed to help immediately recognized their savior.
"The Duke of Carlisle!"
The momentary joy at seeing him alive quickly gave way to the grim understanding that now was not the time for sentiment.
The Duke turned sharply to the captain of the guard:
"Have you seen Countess Moned?"
"Who?" the guard asked, the name unfamiliar.
Barely restraining his impatience, Lennox clarified:
"Where is Juliet Moned?"
"She... she was near the square!" Fortunately, someone in the crowd recognized her.
Without wasting another second, Lennox spurred his horse toward the scene.
But what he found there defied all explanation.
"What is this?"
The beasts that had been attacking humans with savage fury only moments before had suddenly... stopped.
They seemed oblivious to the guards still attempting to subdue them. Every single creature stared in the same direction—toward the destroyed temporary arena.
One of the larger beasts, its massive horns casting long shadows in the firelight, approached the rubble slowly... and *knelt*.
The others began to descend after it, one by one.
"What in the..."
No one could explain what was happening. Everyone froze, uncertain what to do.
Only one creature understood.
*Yes. The woman you seek is over there,* the black panther whispered, materializing from shadow.
*You may be too late, but...*
Half-conscious, as though moving through a dream, Lennox walked toward the ruins.
"Your Grace! It's too dangerous! You must retreat!" his men called out desperately.
But the beasts didn't even turn their heads.
Beneath the rubble, he found her.
"Juliet..."
She sat motionless, staring at her open palm, her hair hanging in tangled, ash-covered strands.
"Juliet," he called again.
She raised her head slowly.
"Your Grace..."
Lennox rushed to her side, his hands moving urgently as he checked for injuries. Juliet was covered in dust and debris, but at first glance, she appeared unharmed.
The relief that flooded through him was immediately consumed by fury. He wanted to say so many things, but only one emerged:
"I told you to stay safe."
But when their eyes met, his expression transformed completely.
"You... why are you crying?"
Juliet's blue eyes glistened with tears.
Her pale face showed not merely confusion—it was *fear*. Raw and unguarded.
"The butterflies..." she whispered.
He followed her gaze.
There, resting on her palm, sat her butterflies.
At first, he didn't even recognize them as hers. They resembled tiny pebbles now, their glow reduced to the faintest flicker.
*Danger... is still nearby.*
*Run...*
*It hasn't arrived yet.*
The butterflies, shrunken to the size of fingernails, seemed to have lost their voices entirely.
"Will it come back again?" Juliet asked them.
There was no immediate response.
*Contractor... he has it.*
*Then it can be opened.*
"What?"
*Oh.*
Remembering something, Juliet began searching through her clothes with frantic urgency.
She pulled out everything she had.
In one hand—the Fisherman's Ring. In the other—a silver key.
She studied them both, thinking rapidly.
*It seems the Fisherman's Ring was what stopped that creature. When the thing wearing Dolores's face tried to seize me, flames erupted between us.*
"It must be because of the holy relic..."
But the key might be connected to what the butterflies meant by "it can be opened."
"If I have this key... is it possible to restore everything?"
*No.*
But the moment she revealed the silver key, the butterflies grew even smaller. Their voices faded to almost nothing.
*This... then...*
*For the sake of conciseness only...*
*Only she can open...*
*Behind the door...*
*Open... and run...*
*If you see a snake... open it...*
For the first time, Juliet felt genuine warmth toward the butterflies—creatures that had always seemed distant and incomprehensible to her.
Now, even though their words emerged fragmented and barely audible, they had suddenly become precious.
For reasons she couldn't explain, these strange, translucent beings displayed fierce hostility toward the snake wearing Dolores's mask. They had rushed to Juliet's defense without hesitation, and it had undoubtedly cost them everything.
*You, who came from beyond the boundaries of this world... they called you great and terrible entities...*
That was why they had returned again and again, even when forced back by powers greater than themselves.
But now... now Juliet understood with terrible clarity: if the butterflies disappeared this time, they would not return.
They wouldn't burn in blue flame. They wouldn't dissolve into thin air only to reform later.
They would simply be *gone*.
*The yellow snake... is dangerous...*
*She took from us...*
As if making one final, desperate effort, the butterflies tried to convey something essential.
Chaos swirled around them, but Juliet remained frozen, not even considering taking cover.
*Contractor...*
*We're sorry...*
She wanted nothing more than to weep.
The voice that had always echoed in her mind was now so faint she could barely distinguish words. She had to concentrate intensely just to grasp fragments of meaning.
Juliet felt it in her bones—this was a sign. A harbinger of ending.
"Why is all this happening?" Lennox asked, his voice grave, his eyes searching her face.
But she couldn't explain. Not yet.
Though Juliet had never spoken it aloud, an uneasy feeling had haunted her since her return to this life.
*As if I might die again when autumn comes.*
*As if I'm destined to lose everyone close to me.*
*Lennox...*
Instead of answering his question, Juliet spoke the words that had been churning inside her for days:
"I don't want to run anymore."
"Run from what?"
She looked at him with clouded eyes.
A man stood before her, anxiety written plainly across his features.
*But will he understand? Hasn't it always been this way?*
*The seasons will change. Dahlia will appear. And Juliet Moned will be left with nothing again. She will lose everything.*
*Just like before.*
*If I'm destined to lose everything regardless...*
*Then it's better to speak now. Better to lay everything bare than to flee from fear and anxiety once more.*
*I want to tell him... before he meets Dahlia, before everything changes.*
Lennox approached her with concern softening his harsh features. Gently, he ran his hand across her tear-stained cheek.
"Don't ask why you're crying."
Only then did Juliet realize she had been weeping the entire time.
Her cheeks were wet, tears tracing pale lines through the dust and ash.
"Your Grace... I must tell you something."
"Alright. But first, let's get you out of here."
*It's now or never.*
As he extended his hand to help her rise, Juliet seized his wrist.
"I want to speak *now*."
A quiet smile touched her lips—only her lips, nothing more.
She tightened her grip on his hand, as though terrified he would pull away.
But to her surprise, Lennox obediently dropped to one knee, bringing himself to her level.
"Speak."
"I've always wondered..."
Carefully, as though afraid to shatter the fragile moment, Juliet extended her other hand toward his face.
"What does it feel like to make the Grand Duke of Carlisle kneel before you and receive all his love?"
As her fingers brushed his cheek, something unreadable flickered in his eyes.
He exhaled heavily and covered her palm with his own, offering no resistance whatsoever.
But Juliet's next words made him visibly flinch.
"And when another woman appears... how will you leave me?"
"Juliet..."
"No woman asks that question without already knowing the answer," she said with a soft, brittle laugh.
*Their relationship had begun almost at her initiative—a deal, a desperate gamble.*
*That was why she had always been afraid. Always waiting for Dahlia to appear and claim what had never truly been hers.*
*And now—Dahlia was here.*
*Not quite the same as in her memories. But still a threat. And this time, the target was unmistakably Juliet.*
*She had survived today. But what if next time she didn't have the chance to say anything?*
*Now... while there was still time... while she still had a voice... she had to speak.*
*At the very least, she wouldn't die with regrets.*