You Are Gentle, But You Don’t Love Me - Chapter 30

He was standing by the window.

With his back to the bedroom door, he appeared to be looking outside.

But the window was dark.

The thick glass reflected not the scenery beyond, but the room within.

Their eyes met in the black mirror of the glass.

“Good evening, Juliet.”

Only then did Cassio turn to face her.

“My apologies. A guest shouldn’t arrive before the owner of the room. Were you surprised?”

His voice drifted past Juliet’s shoulder, spilling out into the hallway behind her.

“…!”

She had frozen in place by the door, and the maids standing behind her, caught off guard, flinched.

But these were not the young, excitable maids who giggled over their mistress’s romantic affairs.

The seasoned ones swiftly composed themselves.

Without a word, they silently withdrew, like the ebbing tide.

Click.

The door shut behind her.

And just like that, she was alone with Cassio.

“The layout is identical to my room, but the atmosphere feels entirely different.”

“…”

“How curious.”

Unlike Juliet, who stood stiff with tension, Cassio was at ease.

His attire wasn’t much different from usual—a light linen shirt and trousers.

The only distinction was that, instead of his usual vest, he wore a robe similar to hers.

…It didn’t feel real.

“Juliet.”

“…”

“Juliet?”

“Y-Yes?”

She had been staring at him absentmindedly and only managed to respond belatedly.

Perhaps her voice trembled—Cassio, who had been idly surveying her room, turned his full attention back to her.

Seeing her still frozen by the door, shoulders tense, he quirked a brow.

“Nervous?”

“No…”

“Afraid I’ll devour you?”

That was precisely the reason.

Juliet dropped her head.

“Hm.”

His exhale came out slightly crooked, just as it had earlier that afternoon when she had refused tea with him.

Now that I think about it…

Since Elijah had started staying at the castle, Cassio had occasionally shown such hints of dissatisfaction.

That was why Juliet couldn’t bring herself to lift her head now.

Something about him felt unfamiliar tonight.

Unfamiliar, and perhaps—just a little—

Frightening.

“Juliet?”

…Juliet?

A distant voice surfaced from her memories, dissipating like mist.

Cassio Bellanea’s voice—light yet affectionate, indifferent yet kind.

The golden glow of candlelight flickering beyond a drawn curtain.

The faint hum of revelry in the distance.

A spring night long ago, when nineteen-year-old Juliet, who had accepted her sudden engagement to royalty with detached composure, had finally realized what marriage truly meant.

Their wedding night.

Juliet was trembling.

The bridal chamber in a secluded corner of Escalus Castle was filled with familiar furniture, yet under the flickering candlelight, everything seemed unbearably foreign.

Perhaps it was because of what she was wearing.

The delicate muslin nightgown left little to the imagination.

For the first time in her life, she sat curled up on the bed, shrouded by heavy curtains, wearing such a garment.

And she was afraid.

“It may hurt, but you must endure it… Even if your husband is rough, don’t be too frightened.”

The old nursemaid’s whispered words from a few days prior only filled her with more dread.

“Men tend to become rougher the more impatient they are. But if you soothe him well, it’ll be fine.”

“Soothe him? A man that big?”

Juliet’s husband, Cassio Bellanea, was over a head taller than her, with broad shoulders and strong limbs.

And it wasn’t just his size—he was a natural marksman, an avid horseman.

Strength far beyond what his stature suggested.

How was she supposed to endure his strength if he hurt her?

How was she supposed to not be afraid if he was rough?

She was already trembling before he had even stepped into the room.

“How am I supposed to soothe him? How…?”

Her body, already exhausted from being dragged through endless ceremonies all day with little food, had no energy left.

She couldn’t even think of running away.

And she mustn’t.

If the marriage wasn’t consummated, the union would be deemed void.

This was the final, crucial step that would seal the marriage as legitimate.

She couldn’t allow that to happen.

She didn’t want to leave.

She had already lost a home once.

“Juliet.”

At last, the curtain shifted, and the man called her name.

She flinched and lifted her head, startled.

“…Juliet?”

With the candlelight at his back, his face was shadowed, unreadable.

But his voice—his voice was so gentle it felt unfamiliar.

It made Juliet want to cry.

Or perhaps, she already had.

A quiet sigh escaped the lips of the man gazing down at her.

“Mm…”

At the sound, her heart plummeted.

“Perhaps… he doesn’t find me pleasing.”

Though various circumstances had led them here, he was known to be immensely popular in mainland Aragon.

A man so sought after, he hardly needed to marry someone as stiff and uninteresting as Juliet.

If he were to leave the bridal chamber in frustration…

Juliet reached out.

Her fingers were thin and frail from having little appetite as of late.

That slender hand grasped the sleeve of his robe.

Now that she noticed, he too was dressed lightly for bed.

His robe, made of impossibly thin fabric, seemed on the verge of slipping open.

“…”

Fear surged within her again.

Even after grabbing onto him, Juliet found herself unable to say a single word.

Her lower lip, raw from being bitten all evening, ached.

“You don’t have to force yourself into something you don’t want.”

His voice was gentle.

Low, quiet—spoken as if to soothe a frightened child.

Cassio Bellanea.

The man who, as of today, had become her husband.

“But…”

Without realizing it, Juliet murmured a response.

Perhaps sensing that she had relaxed just a little, Cassio sat down on the edge of the bed where she was curled up.

Even then, he didn’t pry her fingers from his sleeve.

Finally, the dim candlelight illuminated his face.

Cassio was smiling.

“I know I’m not the most trustworthy man.”

“That’s… not…”

“No, it’s only natural. We only met today.”

He had arrived in Sardinia just the day before.

And due to the outdated notion that a bride must not see her groom before the wedding, Juliet hadn’t even been allowed to greet him.

Thus, it wasn’t until this morning, at the wedding mass, that she had laid eyes on the man she was marrying.

In the small yet beautiful chapel nestled in a remote corner of Cagliari Castle.

From that moment until now, he had been smiling like this.

A picture-perfect expression, unmarred by even the slightest furrow.

It was oddly precise, as if carefully drawn to keep anything hidden beneath it from showing.

“It’s alright.”

Yet, beneath the long lashes casting delicate shadows over his face, his pale green eyes glimmered with warmth.

Like someone comforting a small, shivering animal drenched in the rain.

“I don’t want to hurt you either.”

Juliet let go of his sleeve.

Cassio, whose shoulder had been unbothered up until then, merely shrugged and spoke in a lighthearted tone.

“There won’t be any problem. I promise. So don’t push yourself.”

“…”

“But… I might look a little ridiculous, so…”

He gave a small laugh.

“Close your eyes for a moment?”

Juliet complied.

Because his voice was gentle.

Or perhaps because his eyes were.

Or maybe because, in those pale green depths, there was none of what she had feared—none of the burning, impatient desire she had been warned about.

“Good. Just for a moment… ugh.”

A low groan.

Then, the sound of thin fabric tearing.

Beneath her closed eyelids, Juliet’s soft brown eyes flickered with confusion.

She had no idea what he was doing.

“You can open them now.”

His calm voice reassured her just as her unease was about to build.

Juliet quickly opened her eyes.

And—

“Ah…!”

On the pristine white sheets, a crimson stain spread.

She gasped and turned to him in shock.

Cassio was still smiling.

The hem of his robe had been torn.

A strip of its fine fabric had been crudely wrapped around his hand, where fresh bl00d seeped through, darkening the pale cloth.

She stared at the sight in stunned silence before realization struck her.

That bl00d…

It was supposed to be hers.

Three years and a little more had passed since then.

And on a summer night—not a spring one—

“Come here.”

Cassio extended his hand toward Juliet.

The same hand that had once bled in her place.

“…”

She knew she couldn’t ignore him.

She knew.

And yet, she couldn’t open her mouth to respond.

Let alone move toward him—she couldn’t even twitch a single finger.

“If you don’t come, then I will.”

His footsteps approached with purpose.

Her lips, swollen and sore from being bitten all day, throbbed with pain.

But she had no mind to dwell on that now.

He was coming closer.

Cassio Bellanea.

Her husband.

The flickering candlelight cast a broad shadow over her, swallowing her whole.

Juliet clenched her eyes shut, then opened them again just as she tried to lift her head.

And then—

A familiar scent washed over her.

Like a forest after the rain.

Dew-kissed grass and a field of lavender in full bloom.

But beneath it—

A faint, smoky scent, like fallen leaves set aflame.

The same scent she had noticed on him that morning.

Cigarettes.

“Up we go.”

And with that, Cassio lifted Juliet into his arms.