I'd Give Up The World For You

Juliet still hadn't managed to catch the man's name and at this point she was afraid to ask. She really hoped it came up in casual conversation or she was never going to figure it out.

"So what brings you to the capital, Juliet? Veronica mentioned you haven't been here long," Veronica's husband said.

"I have a job to do and need money to do it," she improvised, sure he wouldn't believe the truth…unless he was the transmigrator. "I don't plan on staying here permanently. As soon as I can afford to get to my destination, I'll go."

Veronica looked at her curiously. "I didn't know that. Where do you plan to go?"

"Southwest. Some friends of mine are out that way and I plan to meet up with them when I can."

Juliet had only recently found out what general direction Ripore Academy was from here because one of scullery maids' military boyfriends was from the town it was in and she recognized the name from accidentally eavesdropping on them. That had been rather helpful.

"I see. I'll miss you whenever you go. Be sure to say goodbye before you do…and maybe write me if you get the chance," Veronica said a bit shyly.

She would do that gladly provided she had the time and money to pay for postage. Of all the people she had met here she liked Veronica best. She had to make sure her friend and her husband were able to peacefully live on in this world!

"Absolutely! It probably won't be until late summer at the earliest though," Juliet reassured her. "I have a lot more socks to sell before I can make that happen."

"If you're interested I can try and teach you how to knit more than only socks. I'll be teaching Elaine anyway," Veronica offered.

"I'll probably take you up on that. Thanks!"

"Of course!"

"Not to interrupt but I think everyone else is wrapping up and we need to go get the cake," her husband pointed out.

Veronica glanced over to the group of people making their way out of the church and sighed. "Sorry, Juliet, but we need to go. We'll see you over at the Conrads' house."

"Sure thing," Juliet replied with a nod.

The two of them left holding hands discussing various types of cake. She tried not to be jealous of the sweetness. There was so much love in the air today it was painful. This was why she had never been a big fan of weddings.

She had to be a good friend though. She had spent a lot of time with Elaine so not going to her reception of sorts would be rude. And she would get free cake out of it so that was something to look forward to.

Everyone else made it to the newly put together Conrad household before the cake did. They all stood around talking for a solid fifteen minutes before Veronica and her husband breezed in each holding a cake that they set down on the kitchen counter.

"I learned my lesson from last time and made two," she announced, making most of the soldiers present laugh.

"What's so funny?" Juliet asked the nearest one with a raised eyebrow.

"There was only one cake at their wedding and even though there were less people at it we all barely got a few bites," he informed her. "I guess she didn't want the same thing to happen again."

"Were there significantly less people? Because if there wasn't we might run into the same issue."

"There were all of the soldiers you see here and Mrs. May's coworkers at the flower shop but that was it. Captain and Mrs. Conrad don't have too many family members who were able to come so we should be a little better off than last time."

Juliet momentarily stopped breathing. May? Veronica's last name was May?! How did she not know this? That was the name Rukelion Blaze used as an alias in her prequel because it was the name of the family of farmers that had recently died in the place he hid out to recover in.

This might be a coincidence…but her husband did wear an eyepatch. She had to ask. "Do you happen to know Lieutenant Colonel May's first name?"

"I only know because of the wedding ceremony. We were all kind of surprised because he didn't look like a Leo to us at all. Seems too whimsical for a serious guy like that," the soldier said with a shrug.

Leo May. The exact alias she had given Rukelion Blaze. She couldn't dismiss this as a coincidence anymore. It was him! He had been under her nose the entire time! What was she supposed to do with this information?!

He didn't act anything like him though! He had friends rather than pawns and was deeply in love with his wife, who he had apparently grown up with.

Oh. Oh no. The memory hit her like a ton of bricks.

The first day Juliet saw Veronica she thought the name seemed familiar somehow but couldn't put her finger on it. It was because that name was mentioned in the changed draft of her novel that made her computer go on the fritz. That was how she got here!

But what difference would meeting someone who helped him once make when he was consumed by revenge? Her character had cared about nothing and no one after losing everything he loved.

He used people and cast them aside when they weren't useful anymore. He never would have done something as common and sentimental as falling in love when it would only distract him from his goal to destroy Mirea.

Several things didn't sit right with her. She didn't know how exactly Veronica factored into this but Rukelion Blaze was supposed to be a mercenary not a member of the Mirean Royal Army. Let alone one so highly ranked as a war hero! Although…with how bloodthirsty he was he might have made a name for himself in the war.

No, that didn't make sense either. The men here wouldn't respect him as much as they clearly did if they knew he was a monster. And he acted far too much like a sheep around his wife.

Nothing Juliet had seen or heard about Lieutenant Colonel May pointed to him being anything like the Rukelion Blaze she wrote. Was he a transmigrator then as she had previously suspected? A different soul winding up in his body would certainly explain the discrepancies.

She needed to find out whether or not that was the case. But carefully. Very carefully. Because if Leo May truly was Rukelion Blaze he was a crafty, coldblooded man who would kill anyone who got in his way.

If he hadn't been taken over by someone who didn't hold a grudge against the whole world, she knew with every fiber of her being that he was cooking up some sort of nefarious plan right now. Even as he laughed and smiled at his best friend's wedding.

If he was who Juliet suspected he was, how was he able to be so composed? He should have already begun his slow and purposeful descent into madness by now.

Veronica had to have had something to do with it. The way he smiled at her was impossible to fake. He loved her deeply. You would have to be blind not to see that! How had that even happened?!

This was bad. Very bad. If he truly was Rukelion Blaze she might be in terrible danger!

His revenge mattered to him more than anything. Even if he did meet someone it wouldn't change that fundamental character trait. If she ever got in his way or somehow displeased him…

Poor Veronica! She was such a kind, cheerful person and she had no idea her husband might be a madman.

Juliet couldn't say anything to her. Not until she was absolutely sure. This Leo May might be a completely different, normal person who happened to end up inside Rukelion Blaze's body in the world of her novels. The end of the world might not be eminent after all.

But if he wasn't they were all doomed. Especially Veronica since she was closest to the line of fire if things went south. She would never even see it coming since she trusted him. How horrible.

How was Juliet supposed to figure out which scenario was right? She couldn't go and ask him who he was point blank. If she guessed wrong he would kill her!

She needed more information about Leo May and the best way to get it would be his wife. She had to take Veronica up on her offer to learn more about knitting and question her as much as possible without coming off as suspicious.

Finding out if he was Rukelion Blaze was paramount. Once she knew that for sure she would be able to put some semblance of a plan to stop him into motion. Knowing his identity and keeping it to herself until she met up with her protagonists would be a major advantage.

He would never expect someone with so much foreknowledge of his actions trying to stop him preemptively. That was the one thing she had going for her right now.

Juliet narrowed her eyes at the man currently standing next to his wife serving up cake looking both serene and harmless. She was going to figure out his secret if it killed her. She owed the inhabitants of the world she had created that much!