Forgotten Juliete Chapter 78
Onyx quickly climbed up to an inconspicuous railing and went up to the upper floor with haste.
Surprisingly, the baby dragon was aware that I was the king of magical creatures.
“Peep!”
Having ascended to a high place to search for Juliet, the baby dragon easily found what it had been looking for.
The red hair was easily noticeable from a distance.
It was unmistakably her subordinate. And in front of him stood a woman with a silhouette similar to Juliet.
Onyx, who was about to happily jump towards them, tilted his head slightly when he got somewhat closer.
“Hey! Do you have any idea how long I’ve been looking for you since yesterday?”
The angry red-haired man was definitely the person Onyx had in mind.
However, from the woman he mistook as Juliet from afar, he didn’t feel the familiar energy.
“Peep?”
The baby dragon just tilted its head, not thinking too deeply about it.
However, it was a bit sullen over not finding Juliet.
Afterward, Onyx roamed the building for a while.
Peeping here and there, he picked up a small flower crown as mentioned by the priest apprentices and went all around the big terrarium, but in the end, he couldn’t find Juliet.
Onyx wasn’t tired, but as he walked around, he felt hungry.
Looking around, he was in a secluded place. He casually lied down next to a random pillar when suddenly something gripped his neck, lifting him up.
“Hmm?”
The startled baby dragon flailed its legs, but soon locked eyes with the person who had grabbed him.
It was a human man with red eyes.
“Peep…”
Gently assessing the situation, Onyx laid limp.
Being hung by the neck was humiliating, but showing his belly and playing dead was the natural instinct of a young magical creature when faced with a much stronger opponent.
However, the man who rudely grabbed the dragon seemed to have no interest in whether Onyx showed his belly or not.
“Where is your owner?”
“…Peep?”
Onyx, who had been trying to avoid the gaze, slowly opened his eyes.
Do you know Juliet?
He sniffed.
It was the same scent that was on Juliet’s clothes.
Onyx tilted his head, recalling that he had seen this man a few days ago.
“?”
He was scary, but somehow felt alright.
* * *
In the end, after causing a commotion, Teo was confined to a temporary facility.
“We are currently searching for the people from the Marigold Merchant Guild. We’ve also contacted the elders.”
In place of Teo, Eshelrid went out to search for Juliet.
Eshel confirmed that Juliet was not inside the terrarium, just as Teo claimed.
He contacted Lionel Lebaton while also sending people out to investigate if anyone had seen Juliet in Lucerne city.
Meanwhile, Teo was quietly sitting in jail.
After running around all night, Eshel barely had a moment to breathe.
Only after visiting the confined Teo could he finally catch his breath.
Leaning against the bars, Eshel exclaimed.
“Indeed, this place has a proper jail just like a temple should.”
Fitting for a religious group that was notorious as inquisitors half a century ago.
However, Teo was surprisingly calm.
Eshel found it odd.
“What are you doing?”
Before entering, he was causing all sorts of ruckus, demanding to find Juliet.
Normally, one would need to calm him down…
Yet, once inside the jail, he just quietly looked out of the window.
“Hey, Eshel.”
“Yes?”
“Look over there.”
Teo pointed towards something, asking,
“Do you think it looks like Juliet, or is it just me?”
Eshelrid squinted and looked in the direction Teo pointed.
There were monuments, a chapel, and statues of angels typical of a temple.
What looked like her?
As Eshel was pondering, he was taken aback when he spotted one of the angel statues.
“Ah?”
Among the thirteen angel statues, one was particularly striking.
* * *
Thud.
Juliet looked down at Sebastian, who had collapsed on the floor.
In her hand was a syringe filled with a deep red liquid.
It was the same liquid she had seen on the train.
“How does it feel to experience it firsthand?”
Juliet asked kindly.
“That’s bound to be dirty.”
Sebastian’s horrified expression alone was answer enough.
“Genovia… Why are you…?”
“Listen carefully, Pope.”
Juliet sighed.
“I’m not Genovia. Just open this door and let me out.”
In fact, that was the fastest and safest way to resolve the situation.
Sebastian willingly releasing Juliet.
“If you do, I’ll pretend it never happened. How about it?”
But instead of answering, Sebastian stared blankly at Juliet with a shocked expression.
He should have been able to reply immediately.
Juliet frowned.
“Let’s see.”
After a deep sigh, Juliet began to search Sebastian’s clothes.
All the clues were in Hildegard’s words.
Genovia, who was said to be a genius because she was naturally born with divine power.
“She died in a fire, and the body was burned.”
And Sebastian, who despite being siblings, had no divine power as a child.
“Instead, he was trained as a carpenter because he was good with his hands.”
However, after his sister’s death, Sebastian began to manifest divine power.
Now, he has become the youngest pope, receiving praise for his genius.
Although he unfairly took the position of the Pope through illicit means, the divine powers exhibited by Sebastian were genuine.
He could relieve droughts, heal people, but Hildegard’s story was slightly different.
“Not all children are born with the same talent.”
So, what was Sebastian’s talent?
“This is it.”
After searching through the stiff clothes of Sebastian, Juliet found a round orb in his front pocket.
Sebastian wore it like a necklace.
Genovia’s Soulstone was a deep purple.
“It doesn’t look as jewel-like as a mana stone.”
Juliet marveled as she rolled the stone in her hand.
It looked just like the shiny marbles children play with.
Soulstone.
An all-purpose item that allows even those who aren’t born with divine power to use it.
Just as a mana stone allows someone without magic to use spells.
The only downside is that it’s incredibly rare and expensive.
While you can simply mine mana stones like ordinary gems, creating a soul stone isn’t that simple.
A soul stone is made by cremating the body of a high-priest with powerful divine energy.
In other words, you have to burn a human body to produce one.
Due to the nature of its creation, it was a very expensive and rare item.
In fact, it was only the second time Juliet had seen a real one.
‘I’ve seen many fake Soulstones…’
The first time she saw a Soulstone was in her previous life.
‘Dahlia had a Soulstone.’
An adoring child who followed Dahlia died of an incurable disease, and it was said to be a memento left for her.
It also had a beautiful violet color like Genovia’s…
‘Huh?’
Speaking of which, Dahlia, known for her unique divine power.
Why did Dahlia need a Soulstone? Wasn’t a Soulstone something only those without or lacking divine power used?
Like Juliet or Sebastian.
Anyway, Genovia’s Soulstone was smooth like a marble, and its size and color were perfect.
‘The size of a Soulstone is said to be proportional to the divine power one had in their lifetime…’
Thinking about how much divine power Genovia must have had in her lifetime felt strange.
On the other hand.
“That… Ge, no…”
“Do you want to ask, ‘What are you going to do with that, Genovia?'”
Juliet coldly stared at the fallen Sebastian.
If, as Hildegard said, Sebastian also had a talent, Juliet thought it might be thievery.
After all, he stole the position of Pope using a Soulstone containing his deceased sister’s divine power.
“I’m not sure if this really works…”
Juliet fretted as she fiddled with the Soulstone.
She had never used divine power before.
She hoped that touching the Soulstone would give her some sensation, but it just felt warm. It didn’t seem like something dramatic would happen just by holding the Soulstone.
Why make things complicated?
Juliet sighed.
Nothing was ever easy.
Although there was a peaceful and easy way, she had to resort to cumbersome and violent methods because of one crazy person.
It was infuriating.
Juliet gripped the Soulstone and took a deep breath, glancing upwards.
‘First of all…’
I need to break the barrier. Even one out of the ninety-eight barriers. Then I can use magic to summon the butterfly. Please!