You Are Gentle, But You Don’t Love Me - Chapter 31

“…!”

Juliet gasped as she was suddenly lifted into the air.

Her legs kicked in panic, but the arms supporting her—one under her knees, the other behind her back—didn’t waver in the slightest.

Instinctively, she clung to his neck, her face betraying her shock.

But the next moment, her alarm took on a different reason altogether.

“Your shoulder—!”

“It’s fine. This much is nothing.”

His reply came from below her.

Not from above, as usual.

It was because of the way she was positioned, practically seated atop his arms.

From her heightened vantage point, she could clearly see the top of his straight, smooth forehead.

Juliet hastily averted her gaze over his shoulder.

“…Put me down.”

No matter how much he insisted he was fine, she wasn’t.

She had no desire to see him collapse again, feverish and unsteady.

Even if Juan had stood idly by earlier as Cassio lifted a gun—

I must be much heavier than that damn rifle.

“You’re lighter than a squirrel, my Juliet.”

“Ah—!”

Cassio, as expected, ignored her protest entirely.

If anything, he only lifted her a little higher, as if to prove just how fine he was.

Juliet, startled, clung even tighter to his neck.

She could feel his quiet laughter vibrate through his skin where they touched.

“…”

Eventually, she gave up on trying to get back to the ground.

Instead, she narrowed her light brown eyes at him, fixing him with a look of reproach.

Cassio, meanwhile, had already been gazing up at her, his eyes slightly narrowed in amusement.

“Finally.”

The moment their eyes met, his lips curved into a bright smile.

“Finally, you’re looking at me.”

“…”

As always, he was smiling.

But unlike always—

She was looking down at him.

It felt strange.

Her eyes caught on the way his lashes, longer than she had realized, cast shadows over his cheeks.

Perhaps because of the dim light, his features looked deeper, more defined than usual.

His straight eyebrows seemed to sit lower, his eyes curving downward at the corners just a bit more.

His lashes cast long shadows beneath his eyes, almost like tear stains.

Maybe that was why—

Looking down at Cassio’s face like this, she couldn’t shake the feeling.

He looks… forlorn.

Unfair.

Saying such things, while wearing such an expression—

It was cheating.

“Don’t be so wary. I’ll put you down soon.”

He started walking.

The slippers on Juliet’s feet dangled precariously with each step.

As he had said, her bedroom’s layout was identical to his.

A single, large, open space, with curtains drawn to divide different areas.

Thanks to that, Cassio carried her across the room without pause.

It felt as if he had only taken a few steps, yet suddenly, they were at the bedside.

“…”

Gently, he set her down.

And just like that, their heights returned to normal—Cassio above, Juliet below.

Strange.

She had thought Cassio only seemed sorrowful earlier because she had been looking down at him.

But now, even looking up at him, she still thought the same thing.

He looks like he’s crying.

Even though he was still smiling.

“Did you smoke?”

“Ah, caught me.”

She had spoken without thinking.

Though she had been so tense, barely able to look at him, the words had slipped out naturally.

“Do you hate it?”

“No… It just feels unfamiliar.”

“Oh, Juliet. Is that why you ran away?”

“No, that’s not…”

“Do you know how worried I was?”

He was always like this.

With just a few simple words, a casual gesture, or a shift in expression—

Cassio had a way of effortlessly dismantling all the walls she tried to build.

“I thought… maybe you had finally grown to dislike me.”

Like this.

“Strange, isn’t it? Not long ago, I had convinced myself it wouldn’t matter even if you did dislike me.”

“…”

Juliet lost her words.

She had been about to reassure him—It’s not like that, I never disliked you.

But then she saw him smile.

That soft, crumpling smile—so beautiful, so unbearably beautiful.

So much so that it made her heart ache.

“Now, I’m afraid. Afraid that you really will come to hate me.”

His lower lip trembled slightly, as if he were pressing down emotions that threatened to rise.

Yes.

He looked as if he were crying.

Though not a single tear had fallen.

But why?

“So, what I mean is…”

Was it really just because he feared she might dislike him?

That doesn’t make sense.

No one—Juliet or anyone else—could possibly hate someone as beautiful, as kind as him.

Then why, over something so small—

Why did he look so desperate?

“I never do anything you don’t want. No matter what it is.”

“…”

“So, don’t run away from me.”

His voice, hoarse and ragged, sounded as if something inside him had broken.

It wasn’t just his words that spilled out—it felt like a piece of his heart had fallen with them.

A heart that had been torn and frayed at the edges.

A restless, wounded heart.

“Just… don’t avoid me.”

Even as he said those words, Cassio was smiling.

Eyebrows lowered, the bridge of his nose slightly wrinkled—

Smiling, with the saddest face Juliet had ever seen.

Since returning to Sardinia, he had always smiled like that.

Every time he faced Juliet.

Ah…

Suddenly, Juliet wanted to know why.

“I’ll sleep over there by the window.”

As if he had intended to from the beginning, Cassio gestured toward the armchair by the bedroom window.

No matter how large and plush it was, it would still be too small for him.

Yet, he smiled as if it were nothing and whispered,

“So don’t worry about me, Juliet. Just rest.”

“…”

“I hope you have good dreams tonight, too.”

He bid her goodnight and turned away, stepping toward the window—

Or rather, he tried to.

Mid-step, he hesitated and glanced back at her, smiling in clear perplexity.

“Juliet?”

“…”

“Do you have something to say?”

Juliet looked down at her own hand, clutching the hem of his robe, then back up at Cassio’s troubled expression.

Her mind was in turmoil.

It felt as if she understood why he was acting this way—

And yet, at the same time, she didn’t understand at all.

That’s why I want to know more.

Why he smiled so sweetly every time their eyes met.

Why he walked beside her, greeted her so gently, always reaching out first.

Why he showered her with such kindness.

Or rather—

Why Cassio Bellanea himself was the way he was.

So right now…

“Don’t go.”

Cassio’s eyes widened.

The pale green, usually half-lidded beneath heavy lashes, now fully revealed themselves.

She felt her cheeks flush with warmth.

“Stay with me.”

Still, Juliet mustered her courage.

“We’re husband and wife, after all.”

“…”

“Your Majesty… is my husband.”

A flicker of gold wavered in his eyes.

The room was dimly lit by only a few candles, and with the window securely shut, there was no breeze.

Was he surprised? Nervous?

Just as she was?

Or was it for some other reason?

She was curious—but she didn’t ask.

Instead, she tugged lightly at the fabric she still held, urging him.

“Hah…”

With a quiet sigh, Cassio finally relented.

Slowly, ever so slowly.

Right before her, where she sat on the edge of the bed, he sank down, folding one knee onto the mattress.

Like a knight pledging his allegiance.

The moment Juliet tugged on his robe, her hand was drawn forward.

“Juliet.”

The warmth pressing against the back of her hand was both soft and searing.

“How is it that…”

The sudden touch made Juliet shudder.

Cassio lifted his gaze to hers, lips still brushing against her skin.

“…You are always so kind to your husband?”

A strange sense of déjà vu washed over her.

A dimly lit room.

Juliet, startled and tense.

Cassio, looking down at her.

Lavender lingering thick in the air.

His lips grazing the back of her hand.

Those pale green eyes, which had never once seemed entirely loyal—

But now, his expression was different.

His eyes—

They looked as if he were drowning.

As if he had been swallowed by the tide, sinking too deep to escape.

As if he stood at the edge of an endless, uncharted sea.

“Ah…!”

Then, just as their eyes met, Cassio bit down on her finger.

“Does it hurt?”

Of course, it did.

So much so that tears welled up in her eyes.

She nodded, her vision blurred.

“It might hurt even more.”

His lips moved, brushing over the indented mark his teeth had left behind.

The sting of his bite pulsed sharply against her skin.

She didn’t need to look to know—

A vivid red imprint would remain.

“But… is that alright?”

“…”

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t afraid.

The memories of their wedding night were still fresh.

The nursemaid’s ominous whispers echoing in her ears.

The stark red droplets staining the white sheets.

Even so—

“I… It’s alright.”

Because you—

Perhaps, just maybe—

“Really?”

When he asked again, Juliet nodded.

The tears that had clung to her lashes finally slipped down her cheeks.

“Don’t go…”

Cassio let out a soft, humorless laugh.

Then, he surrendered.

“I’ll put out the lights.”

At last, he released her hand and rose to his feet.

Running a hand over his face, he slowly stepped beyond the curtain.

One by one, the candles flickered out.

With each extinguished flame, the room darkened, the shadows growing deeper.

When the final candle was snuffed, only a faint outline of his silhouette remained, illuminated by the moonlight filtering through the window.

Then, even that was gone.

As Cassio returned, he carefully drew the curtains closed, shutting out the last traces of light.

In the pitch-black darkness—

“Juliet.”

His voice, low and quiet, called her name.

A warm, steady hand cupped her cheek.

Juliet squeezed her eyes shut.