Love Amidst Wars

thirty

Jay spent his time wiping his hunting gun clean with a cloth, humming alone in his room. The doors suddenly opened, revealing Clarissa who barged in with an unhappy expression.

"And what do you want?" He asked bluntly, his gaze fixed on his weapon. She sighed and sneered before sitting at the edge of his bed. "It has been a week since Viscount William was arrested. You're not planning to release him, huh?"

"The plan was to get Juliette to depend on me."

"And what happened?" She raised a brow, finally earning his attention. He placed his gun on the table before turning his chair to face her.

"She went to Jake instead."

Her eyes widened in surprise as irritation became visible on her face. She crossed her arms and looked away, earning a sarcastic laugh from the Prince. Jay stood up and stepped closer towards her before caressing her cheek, "You can't seem to tame the Duke, can you?"

"Make your plan successful immediately, Jay. I am not fond of that wench being so close to Jake. And–" she slapped his hand away before glaring at him, "It was just a one-time thing. Refrain yourself from touching me."

Their attention instantly changed to the doors that were suddenly opened again. Two butlers walked in, carrying a gift box before placing it on the table.

"This is for you, Your Highness."

"Who is it from?" Jay asked and approached the box, scanning it thoroughly. Clarissa followed after, tilting her head curiously.

"His Grace, the Duke."

"You may leave now," he dismissed the two men before opening the present. Clarissa screamed in horror upon seeing a man's head being presented in front of her and the Prince. The eyes were still open and there was a note placed next to the head.

"I see he declared war with me," he laughed mockingly as he read the letter.

"Who is this man?"

"The person I hired to kill General George."

"Are you crazy? Like have you lost your fucking mind? What the hell is wrong with you? Do you really have to go to this extent?" She yelled and held her chest to calm her shocked heart.

"Stop shouting. You're giving me a headache," Jay rolled his eyes before plopping himself on the bed.

Clarissa watched his demeanour in disbelief before leaving his room. He arched an eyebrow at the head, amazed at Jake for having the time to even find the real culprit.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Juliette walked along the promenade silently, earning unpleasant looks from the people around her. Some were calling her the daughter of a murderer and some were accusing her of continuing her father's 'doings'. She was already the infamous unlikeable wallflower. Now she was the most hated person in society.

She did what she was good at, putting on a blank face and minded her own business. She came across a bench where an old lady and her daughter were sitting. She had seen them at a ball once and flashed them a small smile, only to be earned with a cautious glare as the two left.

Her heart broke a little as she made her way to the bench to sit. She took off her hat and stared blankly to the lake, imagining her father would sit next to her and talk about random facts or his stories when he was young.

A tear escaped her eye and she took off her gloves to wipe it. A couple passed by her and whispered to each other before the man spat at her, "We don't need a family of murderers here!"

Juliette lowered her head and widened her eyes, feeling speechless at the sudden interaction. She glanced at the saliva spot on her dress and glowered, "Excuse me?"

"Who knows, she would try to kill us next."

"Let's go, honey. We don't want to absorb her bad energy," the woman said before leading her partner away from her.

She bit her bottom lip to suppress her tears, wondering what she had done in her previous life to deserve all the hate from the people. Suddenly, a hand took her hat and placed it on her head.

"There. Cry as much as you want. I'll make sure no one sees you."

She slowly lifted her head to see who it was. Her heart felt relieved for once after a long time, seeing Jake standing and towering over her with a concerned expression.

Her body trembled as all the waterworks began to finally reveal themselves. "Shall we leave?" He extended his hand to take hers.

She hesitantly took his hand and let him lead her away from the promenade.

Jake and Juliette both sat near the lake in the forest. He had led her there, knowing she would be a lot calmer surrounded by nature. He watched her as she washed the saliva spot on her dress with the lake water.

"Why would you let the people insult and assault you?"

"There's no use of fighting back when I'm all alone. It's one against the whole society," she scowled before turning to face him.

"That's not true. You have me."

"Why would you help me?"

He stayed silent before crossing his arms and looking away, "Never mind. I actually came to see you to talk about your father."

"What about him? Did you find anything?"

"I found the real culprit who murdered General George. I already sent him to the palace. We'll see what they'll do and hope they'll free your father."

"Will they free him? Everyone kinda hates me and my family now. The Queen didn't even invite my mother to her tea party. And we were excluded from the Grand Ball as well. They all refer to us as the family of murderers."

"That's not true."

"You can't convince them anymore," Juliette smiled in defeat as she stared at her reflection on the water. 

"I will. I will try my best to clear out your name, and your family's name as well. And I will slash the throat of people who assault you again."

"No need. There's no use. People are stubborn and they will believe whatever they want to believe."

"Enough, Juliette," he approached her before holding both of her shoulders, "If you're not going to try, they won't change. Do you trust me?"

"You don't have to–"

"Do you trust me? I am the only one who believed you and I even promised to help you. I will help you until the end."

She lowered her head, hiding her teary eyes as she felt him tighten his grip on her shoulders. He sighed and pulled her into his embrace, patting her back in a comforting manner.