"Hey—there she is!"
"Juliet! Are you alright?!"
Soon, Juliet spotted Roy, Theo, Ethelid, and several other men rushing toward her. Her gaze lingered slightly longer on Theo—because he was clutching something resembling an iron grate in his hands.
...It appeared he'd been fleeing from somewhere in considerable haste.
Juliet walked slowly toward the opposite side of the Terrarium to meet them, releasing Lennox's supportive hand.
The goddess had vanished without a trace the moment Lennox began dismantling the priests' barriers.
The sky above Lucerne was once again clear and bright—not a single cloud marred it.
Looking at it now, an outside observer would scarcely believe something catastrophic had occurred here recently.
Glancing beneath the improvised bridge, Juliet's eyes met a horrifying sight.
*Did I mess this up so badly?*
Incredibly, this was the first thought that materialized.
At some point, everything had spiraled beyond control.
Dahlia still hadn't appeared—but beyond that, countless things had changed from the events of her first life.
Juliet slowly closed her eyes, then opened them again.
In the timeline of her previous existence, Dahlia—the prophesied girl—had received the temple's full support, then repaired the catastrophic relationship between the church and the North.
And this prophesied girl, the temple's treasure, had fallen in love with the monstrous Duke from the North.
But now, the relationship between North and temple seemed utterly destroyed.
Suddenly, Juliet felt intense pain—as though all her internal organs were being twisted inside out.
"......!"
"Careful!"
When her legs buckled beneath unbearable agony, Roy—who had reached her first—caught her.
"Juliet, are you alright?" Roy asked in panic.
But she couldn't respond.
*It hurts so much...*
Her body continued sinking slowly toward the floor.
"Juliet?"
"Ummmm..."
She felt such excruciating burning in her chest—gradually rising toward her throat—that she wanted simply to curl into a ball and scream from unbearable pain. Her joints ached as though being twisted from within, torn apart. Soon, a strong metallic taste flooded her mouth. Juliet covered her lips with one hand, trying to contain the blood threatening to gush forth—but it wasn't enough. A thin stream ran down her chin from the corner of her mouth.
"Your Grace... No—Lennox..."
"Juliet, be quiet. You can't speak now," Lennox said in a low voice, taking her hand.
"You must not be at odds with the temple."
She didn't understand why she'd suddenly voiced those words. It simply felt like the right thing to say in that moment.
*It hurts.*
Juliet was losing coherence.
Her breathing became labored—as though she were dying. With the last of her strength, clinging to Lennox, she spoke again.
"Because..."
"Shut up. We'll talk later." His tone was harsh, brooking no argument.
"You will need their strength."
"......"
"And one more thing... there's someone else I need to tell you about."
Feeling the chill creeping through her, her body erupted in goosebumps and trembled violently. Her vision blurred—she could no longer clearly see Lennox's face. But she continued speaking anyway.
"This may sound insane, but... I want you to do as I say."
"Shut up already, damn it!" Lennox growled with barely contained rage.
"Lennox, I..."
When she parted her lips again, she felt as though her heart would leap from her chest. She sensed her heartbeat more vividly than ever before.
"I'm truly sorry."
"Look at me. *Damn it*—don't you dare close your eyes! Don't even think about dying! Stay awake!"
For the first time, Juliet thought she might actually die.
*[Miss Juliet, you must not take the idea of using divine power lightly.]*
At that moment, Hildegard's warning echoed through her mind.
*[You will be punished if you wield it unwisely.]*
*This must be my punishment.*
Long ago, she'd heard an ancient legend stating that if someone failed to master divine power properly, a terrible curse awaited them.
It seemed that legend was true.
"...Juliet?"
Her strength finally abandoned her. Consciousness began slipping away.
The last thing Juliet heard before her eyelids closed were loud voices desperately trying to bring her back to awareness.
"Juliet!"
---
## — The Boat on Still Water —
For the first time in ages, oblivion granted Juliet pleasant sleep. Neither recurring nightmares nor terrible memories from the past troubled her mind.
She sat in a small boat, listening to the whisper of wind and the quiet splash of water.
She didn't know who sat behind her—could only hear oars dipping rhythmically into the water. But Juliet, seated at the boat's prow with her hand trailing in cool water, had no desire to turn and see who it was.
Right now, she was more interested in two white fish swimming beneath the surface. For reasons she couldn't explain, she desperately wanted to touch them.
Juliet extended her hand deeper into the water, trying to reach them. But the instant her fingertips brushed the back of one fish, she suddenly woke.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw... a white ceiling.
*...This is my room.*
Juliet looked around.
The place where she'd awakened was neither the Lebatan family mansion in the East nor the Duke of Carlisle's castle in the North. Somehow, she'd arrived at her family's Montague estate—where she'd been born and raised.
The bed and remaining furniture she'd used since childhood appeared unchanged. Even the dolls remained exactly where they'd always been.
White curtains fluttered in the gentle breeze drifting through the open window. This cool air, touching her skin, felt pleasant and refreshing upon waking. Surrendering completely to these sensations, she felt lighter in body and invigorated in spirit.
*How strange...*
Juliet examined both sides of her hand alternately. Something felt different—but she couldn't quite identify what.
*What has changed?*
The chirping of birds, the quiet whisper of wind, and...
"...Juliet?"
"Oh—Roy? Good morning."
Turning toward the voice calling her name, she spotted Roy standing in the doorway, dressed in a simple shirt and trousers that suited him remarkably well.
Juliet climbed from bed and walked past him, heading into the sitting room adjacent to her bedroom.
There she found red-haired Theo lounging in a chair with characteristic casualness.
"Good morning, Theo."
"What? How... when you—OW!"
***Bang!***
Theo—who'd been sitting with his feet propped on the table as usual—lost his balance at the sight of her and toppled backward.
Instantly forgetting his shameful fall, he leaped to his feet and barked at Juliet:
"Hey, you! Don't you *dare* greet me until I've greeted you first!"
Theo's morning scream seemed to wake everyone in the house.
The previously quiet mansion became noisy and crowded almost immediately.
Nearly simultaneously, household members emerged from their rooms and converged on the sitting room where Juliet stood.
"Miss Juliet!" Ethelid exclaimed upon seeing her. "Return to your bedroom immediately! You must remain in bed!"
"Yes, alright."
Juliet answered somewhat absently—still not fully awake.
"Um, Theo—you know what?"
"What?"
"You have a very beautiful voice."
Theo stood momentarily stunned. Then he began screaming with his mouth wide open.
"...Doctor! Call a doctor urgently!"
"Why are you screaming? Did you hit your head?"
Ethelid's eyes widened when he heard the red-haired Lebatan's outcry. Then he quickly shoved him through the doorway while Theo muttered under his breath:
"No—did you *hear* what she said to me? Beautiful voice! What does she mean I have a beautiful voice...!"
After a while, the commotion subsided. Everyone quietly departed when Juliet mentioned wanting to rest.
*It's been so long since the world was this quiet.*
Juliet gazed down absently at her hands. She no longer heard the demon's childish voice constantly whispering to her. The throbbing headache had vanished.
And also... she didn't see any more butterflies.
They had simply disappeared.
---
## — One Week Lost —
She'd assumed she had merely lost consciousness briefly. That assumption proved incorrect.
Lionel Lebatan regarded Juliet with obvious disapproval.
"What do you mean you're fine? Do you even realize you've been unconscious for an entire week?"
Well—if she'd truly lost consciousness only momentarily, there would be no explanation for why she'd ended up in the capital instead of Lucerne.
The instant Juliet woke, Lionel had summoned ten of the empire's most eminent physicians.
"So you're claiming your tinnitus has disappeared...?"
"Yes."
"Oh, well... this occurs quite frequently."
Juliet hadn't stated directly what exactly had vanished—she'd taken a more circuitous route. But the doctors seemed more preoccupied with what loomed behind them, repeatedly glancing backward while drenched in cold sweat.
Behind them stood the legendary Red King of the East—Lionel Lebatan—arms crossed over his chest, glaring at their backs.
"Your granddaughter... ahem, she's healthy."
"How can my granddaughter be healthy when she was unconscious for so long? And looking at her face, you can still say that with certainty?"
"Well, you see..."
"We're saying her body is in good health, but her mind... It could be a psychological issue," one doctor quickly interrupted his colleague, offering a reasonable suggestion.
"Psychological? Are you claiming my granddaughter is mentally ill?! Then you're *obligated* to identify the cause!"
"Oh, sir! Please don't kill me!"
"Tsk! Once you've identified the cause and cured it, I'll release you."
The examinations continued repeatedly—but contributed little toward solving the problem.
*Isn't the disappearance of tinnitus good news?*
The doctors examining Juliet seemed inclined to attribute it to her fever subsiding.
Typically, that would be the case. But not this time.
When the physicians departed to confer privately, Juliet—left alone with her grandfather—began fidgeting habitually with the key pendant hanging around her neck.
She'd feared losing it. But fortunately, even though that deranged bishop had been thoroughly wicked, he'd preserved her belongings—which were later safely returned to her family.
At first glance, everything seemed restored to normalcy. However, along with the demon's voice, the butterflies had vanished.
*How could my powers disappear so suddenly?*
Where had the butterflies gone?
Juliet gazed thoughtfully through the open window.
Additionally, her chronic headache had disappeared entirely.
She still couldn't determine whether this development was fortunate or catastrophic.
Juliet studied her grandfather, seated beside her bed.
Lionel Lebatan. The Red King who ruled the East from shadow.
"Why are you staring at me like that?"
In other words—an enemy of the Empire.
"But Grandfather... will you be alright?"
"Pfft—of course." Lionel replied with a meaningful grin.
Watching him, Juliet wondered what that expression signified.
Did it mean "there isn't much time before they arrest us" or "the Emperor is nothing compared to me"?
*Knowing my grandfather, I suspect the latter...*
"What are you contemplating so deeply? Do you need something?"
"Oh, nothing particular. Just—*achoo*!"
Juliet couldn't complete her sentence before sneezing loudly. Perhaps because of the open window.
Simultaneously, the smile vanished from Lionel Lebatan's lips—which moments before had curved with grandfatherly warmth.
Then Lionel, who'd grown abruptly serious, rose and shouted loudly:
"Doctor!"