You Are Gentle, But You Don’t Love Me - Chapter 25

Thanks to the large ice basket prepared in advance, the sitting room was pleasantly cool.

The moment Elijah saw the ice chunks placed inside the room, his expression lit up as if he had just met an angel. And when he gulped down the chilled fruit tea, his face took on an almost reverent look, as if he had grasped that angel’s hand and stepped through the gates of heaven.

“Ha… Oh, um…”

Then, as if embarrassed by his reaction, he hunched his broad shoulders. Juliet suppressed a laugh and offered him another cup of tea.

“Have another. Don’t hold back.”

“Thank you.”

Only after downing the second cup did he seem to regain his senses.

‘It’s understandable. He rode here in this heat.’

“But… where is the Commander?”

As soon as his overheated mind began functioning again, the first thing Elijah asked about was Cassio. Juliet pressed her lips together to stifle another smile.

‘They really do act like younger and older brothers.’

“He’s napping.”

“The Commander… is taking a nap?”

“Yes… Why do you look so surprised?”

Juliet paused, raising her cup of hot tea. Elijah’s reaction was more than startled—he looked outright shocked, as if she had just told him a dog was chirping like a bird or that a tree had started walking.

“Wow… Life here must be good.”

“Pardon?”

“The Escalus Commander is taking a nap… Wow.”

He repeated the phrase to himself a few more times, muttering in disbelief, before letting out a few low chuckles, which soon turned into outright laughter.

“…Is it really that funny that he’s napping?”

“Ahem! No, no, of course not.”

As Elijah struggled to suppress his laughter, Juliet studied his face—his cheeks, which had cooled down slightly, were once again growing red.

Perhaps feeling the weight of her gaze, Elijah’s face only flushed deeper.

“It’s just… I can already imagine what the men back in the navy would say if they heard this.”

“And what would they say?”

“Ahem. Something along the lines of, ‘So, he really is human after all.’”

While Elijah turned red like a ripe tomato, Juliet remained completely composed, sipping her tea with a serene expression.

Without making a single clinking noise, she set her teacup down and subtly pushed a plate of pastries toward him.

“Of course, he’s human.”

She spoke calmly, picking up her teacup again. But her words had the exact opposite effect on Elijah, who nearly choked in disbelief.

“In the Aragonese navy, he’s practically considered a god!”

“…”

“There was even a rumor that carrying a portrait of him would make you invincible! Though, of course, it was just a joke…”

Elijah, now flushed from excitement, seemed embarrassed by his own outburst and hastily stuffed a piece of pastry into his mouth.

Juliet, momentarily caught off guard by his words, hadn’t even thought to stop him.

“Oh, that one.”

Elijah’s expression instantly crumpled.

“The Duke’s favorite pastry.”

“Ah… yes, I can tell. It’s unbearably sweet.”

Gulping down his tea in a hurry, he finally managed to ease the overwhelming sweetness from his mouth. Juliet, recalling the single bite she had taken earlier in the day, took a sip of her own tea.

‘It really was incredibly sweet.’

Sweet enough to make her jaw ache.

And yet, Cassio had eaten them with such delight, smiling as if he were melting into them.

It was strange.

That the same man who smiled so blissfully over a few pieces of candy-like pastries was revered as a god on the battlefield.

‘He wasn’t exaggerating.’

The part about sailors carrying their commander’s portrait as a talisman was unexpected. She had heard of soldiers keeping pictures or letters from loved ones tucked away in their uniforms—but Cassio’s portrait?

Juliet briefly imagined large, battle-hardened soldiers pulling out tiny images of Cassio and glancing at them for reassurance.

She quickly swallowed another sip of tea.

‘Strangely enough… I can understand it.’

After all, he did have the kind of face one would want to look at again and again.

“So, you even know about his love for sweets?”

She brushed aside the odd thought and refocused the conversation.

Finding sweets on a ship must have been difficult, she thought idly, but before she could say it aloud, Elijah’s immediate response caught her off guard.

“Of course! He’d steal— I mean, he’d procure sugar every chance he got—”

Unintentionally, she had just learned that her husband was a sugar thief.

“…Is that so?”

“Ahem. Yes. Whenever the supply ships arrived, the first thing he’d look for was sugar. He never even glanced at the tobacco or alcohol the others wanted.”

Supplies…

Now that she thought about it, Escalus had sent provisions to the fleet a few times.

She vaguely remembered signing off on reports the steward had prepared.

For a moment, she tried to recall the specific lists of goods.

But she doubted she had paid enough attention at the time to remember them now.

Her memories of the supply lists were vague at best—just a general impression that they had been filled with things men typically favored.

‘If I had known, I would’ve just sent sacks of sugar instead of everything else.’

Back then, she hadn’t realized just how much Cassio loved sweets. It was too late now.

“Also, since the Commander is such a legendary sharpshooter, some of the men thought eating sugar might make them better shots, too.”

“Really?”

“Yes, though, of course, just stuffing your mouth with sugar won’t suddenly turn you into a marksman like him.”

By this point, Juliet was starting to find her conversation with Elijah Logudoro rather entertaining.

Before anything else, he was someone who had spent nearly three years with Cassio—not just as his subordinate but as his aide.

And judging by their familiarity, it seemed their relationship wasn’t purely professional.

Elijah Logudoro knew far more about Cassio than she did. After all, she had only been with him for a few weeks.

“To be honest, I don’t really know much.”

“Pardon?”

“I’ve heard he was famous for his marksmanship, but… was he really that remarkable?”

“Oh, absolutely!”

It didn’t take much to prod Elijah into an outpouring of admiration for his commander.

“At first, everyone in the navy was… well, let’s just say they were a bit wary of him. I mean, he was raised in the royal court. No one had heard of him serving in the military before.”

“That makes sense.”

“But then, about a month after deployment, we ran into some Frikian pirates. And the way the Commander handled that battle—there was no choice but to respect him after that.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, after that, little by little, people started to warm up to him…”

Elijah’s face, now flushed for an entirely different reason, lit up as he eagerly recounted stories.

How Cassio had given flawless commands during his first naval battle.
How his shooting skills were unparalleled.
How his reflexes were so sharp that some even joked he could dodge bullets.

These weren’t exactly the stories Juliet had been hoping to hear, but she listened attentively nonetheless.

‘So people doubted him at first. That must have been difficult.’

‘Even as a commanding officer, he fought on the front lines? No wonder he was injured.’

Or even small details like—

‘He doesn’t drink much, but he smoked sometimes? I’ve never seen him reach for one…’

‘The navy called him the “Princess of Aragon”? Well… I suppose he does look as beautiful as one…’

Juliet quietly tucked away all the bits of information between Elijah’s words as his stories grew more animated.

“…That was the last major battle. Though, honestly, calling it a ‘battle’ feels like an overstatement. The moment the pirate captain stepped onto the deck, the Commander just shot his head clean off.”

His excitement, reminiscent of reliving the battlefield, led to some rather colorful language—hardly appropriate in front of a noblewoman.

Juliet politely pretended not to notice. She was used to rough words, and more than anything, she wanted to hear more about Cassio.

“That idiot didn’t even have time to—”

Knock, knock.

A voice imitating the sound of knocking suddenly interrupted Elijah.

As if they had been caught in the middle of some secret conversation, both Juliet and Elijah jolted in surprise and turned toward the door.

“Elijah Logudoro, Naval Lieutenant… Oh, right, you were recently promoted to Captain.”

“….”

“Either way, you’re still under my command. Isn’t that right?”

The very man whose exploits had just been lavishly detailed had now appeared in person.

“Hello, Juliet.”

Cassio stood lazily leaning against the half-opened door, flashing a bright smile as he waved.

“Duke.”

“There’s no need to listen to that fool. Just forget everything he said.”

“Commander…”

“What exactly were you talking about?”

As Cassio strode into the room, a servant followed, carrying an additional chair along with a fresh teapot and an extra teacup.

However, the new guest—or rather, the true host—seemed dissatisfied. Instead of sitting, he merely stared at the chair placed across from them.

“Hmm.”

He tapped the chair leg lightly with his foot and nudged it closer—right beside Juliet.

Only then did he finally settle down, casually leaning toward her.

“Leaving your sleeping husband to meet another man? My dear Juliet, how heartless.”

His voice, murmured teasingly near her ear, still carried traces of drowsiness.

Was he still half-asleep?

His absurd joke made Juliet chuckle despite herself.