The Abandoned Lady Lives in a Dollhouse - Chapter 41

Juno raised one corner of her mouth. “Of course, I told you that since promises were made, you must keep them.” She pointed to the papers in front of Argos.

“Some are easier to do than others.”

“Yes, but the emperor won’t look the other way.”

Juno did what she wanted, but the process was too cumbersome. “Isn’t it tiring to coax him? He’s hard to please.” Now that they roughly knew each other’s perspectives, it was time to make sure. “Your Highness, will you be my ally?”

“Yes.”

His answer made Juno feel better. “Good. I’ll get back—”

Argos raised his hand. “There’s something I would like to let you know.”

Does he want to put more conditions? Juno responded with a fake smile on her face. “What is it?”

“The child.”

Juno nodded. “Do you mean Lily?”

“Yes. I’d like to use her only as a last resort if possible.”

“…Why?” Juno wasn’t expecting that. It was hard to understand him. Lily was the best card for Argos to use against the crown prince. I can’t believe you won’t use her.

“She’s innocent, is she not?”

“As you wish, Your Highness…”

Argos was strange, and it was strange for Juno to agree with him.

“I’m a man who can beat my brother without taking advantage of his children. Please leave her alone.”

“I understand, Your Highness. Shall we discuss how we can communicate in the future?”

She tried to stop herself from thinking about Lily.

***

Juno returned to the mansion after meeting with Argos. She sighed as she entered the workshop. She was so concerned about a child she just met. Don’t be. Juno thought she became an adult who knew when to be distant; however, she was still unable to escape her past. What did I say?

“My lady.”

She noticed John give her a worried look. Juno shook her head and hugged herself. The little girl came to mind. She was tired of how her past overlapped with that girl. I thought I was over it.

“Did it not work out with the prince?”

As soon as Juno heard Peter’s voice, she regained focus. Juno wasn’t a child who wanted to be loved anymore; she had a family. I also wasn’t alone in the past. There was Nereus and Jupiter.

Juno gave a small smile. “No, everything went well.”

“But?”

“It was a little too much.” She didn’t want to tell Peter everything. She smiled to show she was fine.

Peter scoffed. “It’s nice to see you’re in a good mood.”

“What happened?” She approached him. For him to say such words meant something good was about to happen.

Indifferently, Peter said, “I was able to awaken Jupiter’s consciousness in his brain.”

Juno stared at him. After taking a deep breath, she said, “Are there any side effects?”

“Of course, but I was successful.”

There would be problems, but it was finally done.

“Really? If…”

“Who do you think I am?” Peter said proudly. He had that confident, arrogant look of someone who looks down on the world. The expression of Peter Sergien, Juno’s teacher and one of the best alchemists in the world. Even if he couldn’t use alchemy anymore, his cognitive skills were outstanding.

“It’s unsurprising my teacher didn’t fail.”

“You helped make it successful. I designed it, but you used alchemy.” Peter smiled. “Let’s get on with it.”

Juno grabbed his arm as he walked past her. “Right now?”

“The sooner the better. Don’t we already have a doll ready? It’s time to ask him.”

As Peter said, there was a doll prepared for Jupiter. Yet all of this still felt too sudden.

“But…”

“Come on.”

Juno put the finished product onto the tray and glanced at John who was following Peter.

“Teacher, can you use it?”

Someone had to enter a sea of unconsciousness to awaken Jupiter’s brain. It was only possible in the human brain because it could be used as a tool to connect two minds, but the whole concept seemed impossible.

“Of course. Look at my perfect brain.”

Listening to Peter praising himself, Juno said, “I’ll do it.”

Peter snorted and began to operate the device to open the door to Jupiter’s consciousness. John helped him. Juno’s hands were shaking. After Peter placed a metal plate near Jupiter’s head, he handed a crown-like object to Juno.

“Put it on your head.”

Juno placed the crown on her head while touching the cold, metal plate.

“I’m going to activate it now,” Peter said.

“All right.” Juno looked at Jupiter and held his hand. She was going to see him again. Jupiter.

***

The moment she felt a stinging sensation in her head, a different world appeared before Juno.

“I’m here.” She looked around. Everything was black and white. Is this a funeral hall?

Juno noticed some familiar faces. A young Jupiter and Juno were standing a slight distance away from her. They were holding hands. Juno walked toward them.

“Leave.”

“I don’t want to.”

Juno began to overhear their conversation.

“Why are you crying?” the young Jupiter asked.

“No one else is. That’s why I’m crying for you.”

“I’m not crying. You didn’t even know her.”

It was exactly as Jupiter told her back then.

“She always gave me candy because I said she was pretty when we met.” The young Juno pouted as she looked around. “Everyone’s weird. If you’re sad, just say you’re sad. You’re pretending not to be sad like everyone else.” She pointed to Jupiter’s mother who lay motionless in the casket before continuing to speak.

“My mother said I should stay here. She told me that it’s better to have someone hold your hand when you’re sad and want to cry.” The young Juno pointed again at a woman. Her mother. To Juno, it was almost like seeing herself in the mirror. Did she look the same as the current Juno?

“I’m going to cry now. No one will notice because it’s me.” The young Juno began to weep loudly without waiting for the young Jupiter to respond. Her cries reverberated throughout the funeral hall.

Juno couldn’t see anyone else besides Juno, Jupiter, and their mothers, but she heard whispers. It was because this place was based on Jupiter’s memory. The young Juno cried, ignoring how everyone else looked at her. Juno saw the young Jupiter silently shed tears.

I think it helped to some extent. Juno was proud of her younger self. She fixed her younger self’s hair before kneeling in front of the young Jupiter. He had a chubby face, something Juno didn’t remember him having. She caressed his cheek. She didn’t think he could see her, but she wanted to console him.

“What can I do to wake you up?” she whispered.

When Juno caressed his cheek with her hand, Jupiter would nuzzle her palm. Juno turned her attention to her younger self.

“I’m quite cute at this age. I understand why you liked me so much then.” She glanced at the young Jupiter who still stared at the casket. “Thank you for keeping your promise.”

She didn’t think it would work.

“While you were asleep, I realized I loved you a lot.” She wanted to say what she couldn’t say earlier. “You’re very important to me.”

Like her younger self, she wanted to like him with an honest heart.

“Do you know how long I’ve been waiting?” Juno waited for so long that it was hard to tell the difference between love and obsession; however, she saw him today. It was clear. She really wanted to see him again.

“It hurts. It hurts a lot.” Sometimes she had to doubt her own feelings to alleviate this unbearable longing. “Please come back. Please. You were always by my side whenever things were tough.”

She lowered her head. The tears dripping onto the floor were ugly. Juno tried to wipe away her tears by taking back her hand that was on the young Jupiter’s face, but then someone grabbed her hand and nuzzled her palm.

“Juno.”

“…”

Juno slowly stood up. She raised her head and burst into tears again. A beautiful man greeted her.

“Hello.”

She was overwhelmed. Seeing the affection in his blue eyes, Juno said, “…Hello, Jupiter.”

When was the last time she heard that voice? Juno hugged the man as he was.