“Ah…”
Juliet paused for a moment.
She remembered the first and last time she had attended the Bluebell Ball, seven years ago. At that year’s ball, she…
‘Received the Bluebell crown.’
“Is this not how it’s done?”
He was probably the most rude partner in history. That man.
“You are today’s Bluebell,” he had determined so recklessly.
Juliet found herself faintly smiling without realizing it. But then, the tradition that a pair made at the Bluebell Ball would be forever happy…
‘It’s a superstition.’
Juliet blinked slowly.
* * *
Upon arrival in Carcassonne, Juliet was instructed to stay indoors until she was completely healed.
The residence of the Red King, Lionel Lebatan, was an elegant mansion with a red gabled roof, but the atmosphere was always grim due to its occupants.
Unable to go outside and with nothing to do, Juliet stumbled upon something strange while tidying up.
Thump!
Roll.
It was a black, round object found amongst her clothes.
‘…What is this?’
“Ah.”
Then Juliet remembered.
“Canabel Village!”
She had completely forgotten due to her lack of clues.
She had abandoned all the mana stones scattered in the ravine at that time and only brought this one back. However…
“It seemed smaller then, didn’t it?”
It was definitely small enough to fit in her pocket at the time, but now it had grown to a slightly uncomfortable size to hold with one hand.
Juliet looked at the shiny sphere with suspicion. She couldn’t feel any special power like magic or divinity.
In other words, it was neither a magical tool nor a sacred relic.
‘So what is this?’
“Miss Juliet, where did this come from?”
As Juliet examined the round object, Eshel, who was passing by in the hallway, interjected as if interested.
“If you wish, I can sell it for a good price.”
At Eshel’s subtly persuasive tone, Juliet’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.
“Do you know what this is?”
“It’s the monster’s egg.”
Juliet was momentarily perplexed at his excessively clear answer.
‘This is a monster egg? So I threw away the mana stones and picked up a monster egg?’
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
“The more dangerous it is, the higher the price.”
Eshel spoke ominously.
“We need to get it appraised to see exactly what’s inside… But I think it would be more beneficial for you to just sell it.”
“Why?”
“Miss, do you not remember what was in that dungeon?”
It was a snake. A very large snake monster.
Recalling the memory briefly, Juliet shivered. Even if she kept it, it didn’t seem meaningful considering such a snake monster would come out.
‘But…’
But she had heard that monster eggs look the same regardless of the species when they are in the egg state.
In other words, you can’t tell what kind of beast is inside just by looking at the outside. Although it was taken from a snake den, what was in the egg could have been a different monster.
Juliet was curious about what would come out of the egg.
“Will you not sell it?”
“No.”
“It would still be good to get it appraised. Would you like to go to the auction house?”
“Is there a monster auction house here?”
Juliet showed curiosity.
“It’s not a monster auction house, but a black market. Sacred relics and magical tools are traded there, and monster eggs often appear.”
Then Eshel lowered his voice.
“The elder is having a lot of trouble because of the black market these days.”
By elder, he meant Juliet’s grandfather, Lionel Lebatan.
It was surprising that even someone with such influence had a difficult problem to solve.
“Why?”
“Recently, small fries have been infiltrating the black market, muddying the waters.”
“Small fries?”
“Scammers.”
“Ah.”
According to Eshelrid, they would come into the auction house, disguise low-quality items as high-quality ones, or sell fake sacred relics and magical tools as real ones.
Because of this, complaints from people who were deceived and bought goods were coming in, affecting the whole of Carcassonne negatively.
“We are trying to crack down… but it’s hard to tell at a glance whether something is a sacred relic or a magic artifact.”
Even a big shot in the underworld would have various worries. Until then, Juliet had only thought so.
YOU ARE READING
Forgotten Juliet / 잊혀진 줄리엣
Romance"Your Grace, there's something I'd really like for my birthday." "What is it?" "Will you promise to listen?" Then the man blatantly laughed. But who would point out his arrogance - a young Northern Duke who's not even afraid of the Emperor? He could...
Chapter 59
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