You Are Gentle, But You Don’t Love Me - Chapter 40
“Romeo isn’t coming.”
“Why?”
Juliet reached out and stopped Rosaline’s hand as she tore apart the piece of bread she hadn’t finished.
But Rosaline only reached for a ginger cookie and began breaking it apart instead.
“Eat properly.”
“I can’t eat anymore…”
“Then don’t break it.”
“You’re so cold, Julie…”
When Rosaline pouted, Juliet reluctantly pushed the teacup toward her.
The cold lemon tea, sweetened with honey, was the only thing Rosaline could manage to consume in any decent amount.
“Hehe. My sister is still kind, after all.”
Juliet buried herself in work all day, but when evening came, she always made her way to Rosaline’s room.
Even now, Rosaline could barely eat.
Even when she managed a few bites of bread or sweets, she quickly lost her appetite.
At least when Juliet sat across from her, watching like a warden, she made an effort to eat.
And sometimes, she actually ate a little more.
That was why Juliet always sat across from her at dinner.
To make sure she ate at least a little more.
…That was the excuse she gave.
To Cassio.
To herself.
“How pathetic.”
In truth, she was running away.
It seemed she had a real talent for it.
She had spent so long running from Rosaline, hiding in Cassio’s presence.
And now, she was running from Cassio, hiding with Rosaline instead.
“Hah…”
Juliet sighed and lifted her teacup.
Since Rosaline gagged at the mere smell of food, Juliet’s own meals had grown simpler.
Plain bread and ginger cookies.
The only difference was that her tea was hot.
She exhaled gently over the rising steam before taking a sip, then spoke again.
“Anyway, why?”
“Hm?”
“Why isn’t Romeo coming?”
She had expected him to come immediately after receiving her letter.
But so far, he had yet to arrive in Escalus.
Instead, she had only received a polite reply from Arborea, apologizing for the sudden inconvenience.
Juliet thought that was… odd.
“Hehe.”
But Rosaline only giggled playfully and buried her nose in her teacup.
She said she was fine, but maybe even the scent of Juliet’s tea was making her feel queasy.
Juliet rose from her seat, taking her cup with her.
“Rosie.”
“Hm?”
She asked in a calm voice as she walked toward the half-open window.
Rosaline, who had been watching her with a curious expression, suddenly froze.
“No one in Arborea knows, do they?”
With her face still half-hidden behind her cup, Rosaline stiffened.
“You ran away because you didn’t want them to find out about the baby?”
“…….”
“I had a feeling, but… really?”
“…….”
“Haah.”
Juliet let out an exaggerated sigh, making sure Rosaline could hear it.
How many sighs was that now?
She poured the rest of her tea out the window, then shut it completely.
Returning to the table with quick, firm steps, she set down her empty cup.
Then she snatched Rosaline’s teacup from her hands.
With her shield gone, Rosaline blinked at her in stunned silence.
“Julie, you’ve changed.”
“I’ve always been this way.”
“You actually took my teacup away. That’s never happened before…”
“Well, I own this house now. Surprising, isn’t it?”
“Where did you even learn to be this sarcastic?”
“Hmm, I wonder…”
As Juliet poured more cold lemon tea into Rosaline’s cup, she nearly spilled it.
It was probably Cassio’s influence.
He always spoke with that sharp edge whenever he talked about Elijah.
And yet, he was always so gentle with her.
“You even threw out your tea. My sweet, well-mannered Juliet would never have done that before.”
She had picked that up from Cassio, too.
Perhaps the image of him casually tossing out his cooled tea had stuck in her mind.
“…Drink.”
Luckily, she hadn’t spilled it.
Though she had poured a little too much.
Handing Rosaline the overfilled cup, Juliet changed the subject.
“More importantly, Rosie. Are you really okay with this?”
“Hm? With what?”
“You’re the heir to Arborea. If you hide this—”
Clatter.
Rosaline had spilled her tea.
“…….”
“…Hehe.”
“Let’s clean up first.”
Juliet called the maids, who quickly cleared the mess.
Meanwhile, Rosaline hunched her shoulders and lowered her head as if she were a guilty child.
By the time the maids replaced the tea set and left the room, Rosaline—
“…Rosie?”
“Hic… Julie…”
She had started crying.
“Why… what’s wrong?”
“It’s just… hic…”
Maybe it was because she had already cried in front of Juliet once before.
This time, she didn’t even try to hide it.
She had said Juliet had changed.
But Juliet thought Rosaline had changed, too.
“I’m scared…”
It was the first time she had ever admitted fear to Juliet.
“I’m scared, Julie. In Arborea, the heir… hic… but now, sniff… what if something happens to the baby…?”
“…….”
“But… hic… I’m scared…”
“In Arborea, everyone will celebrate. They’ll be happy. But I’m scared. I’m not happy at all.”
Maybe Rosaline had always been this way.
Maybe she, too, had things she feared, things that terrified her, things that made her want to cry.
Juliet stared at her sister, who was sobbing in front of her, then—belatedly—reached out.
She patted Rosaline’s shoulder.
It was awkward. Stiff. Unnatural.
Maybe it was the first time Rosaline had ever been comforted this way, because even as she sniffled, she blinked in surprise, as if caught off guard.
“Sniff… This is… strange.”
“Yeah.”
“We look kind of ridiculous.”
“Yeah…”
“…Pfft.”
Rosaline, who had seemed moments away from bursting into tears, suddenly let out a laugh instead.
“Ahaha!”
She laughed just as freely and brightly as she always had.
The sound of it filled the room, the same laughter Juliet had always admired—had always loved.
Watching her, Juliet found herself smiling back, faintly but genuinely.
“Ah, finally…”
For the first time, it truly felt real.
That this was Rosaline.
Her one and only sister.
Only now, as she watched her laugh.
It felt like the world had fallen back into place.
“Alright, listen.”
“W-what?”
“The final summer banquet is coming up. Here, in Escalus.”
“Okay…?”
Even after laughing, traces of her tears remained.
Rosaline still sniffled from time to time, her shoulders trembling faintly.
Juliet sighed.
Again.
She had lost count of how many sighs she had let out today.
“Stay here until then. I’ll tell Arborea that you’re helping with the banquet preparations.”
“…….”
“That’s all I’ll say. For now.”
Her former fiancé.
Her sister, who had married him.
Juliet had never been able to truly wish them happiness.
Because she had wanted that love for herself.
Because she had coveted what they shared.
That selfish desire had kept her from genuinely celebrating their happiness.
But now—now she remembered what she had truly wanted all along.
“When Romeo comes to Escalus, tell him yourself.”
“Tell him first. Understand? He may be Arborea’s heir, but before that, he’s your child’s father.”
When Rosaline had been scared—when she had wanted to run—she had come to Juliet first.
Even while crying, she had confided in her.
She had admitted her fears.
And somehow, that fact made Juliet… just a little happy.
Maybe that was just proof that she was still selfish.
But even so…
“You have to be happy from now on.”
The words she had whispered on the day Rosaline married Romeo—those words had been the truth.
And even now, they remained true.
“And don’t forget—no matter what Romeo says, no matter what Arborea thinks…”
It was impossible not to wish she had realized this sooner.
But the past was the past.
The pain, the loneliness, the sorrow—she had already lived through all of it.
Now, Juliet could finally say it again.
“I’ll always be on your side.”
“…….”
And so, rather than regret, she spoke each word firmly, deliberately.
“Never forget that I’ve always wanted nothing but your happiness.”
Ah.
How grateful she was to finally be able to say those words again.
Rosaline didn’t cry this time.
Instead, she suddenly leapt forward and threw her arms around Juliet.
Juliet instinctively caught her, startled by the sudden embrace.
“Julie. Juliet. My beloved sister.”
“…Yeah.”
Careful not to press against her sister’s belly, Juliet wrapped her arms around her just as gently.
Words tumbled from above her head.
“I’m sorry. I really am.”
“If I had known how much you were hurting, I… I’m sorry, Juliet.”
She had been thinking about this for so long.
Yet even now, Rosaline still struggled to find the right words.
Her apologies came out scattered, disorganized.
“And then, after everything, I had the nerve to come to you for help. I should have said this first. I should have apologized first. But I keep crying, and I still haven’t even said it properly.”
“Mm.”
“I’m sorry…”
Listening to her rambling, messy apologies, Juliet suddenly felt like crying, too.
Everything had finally returned to the way it was supposed to be.
Her world had been restored.
“And him, too…”
He had never been hers to begin with.
So there was nothing left to want.
Nothing left to wish for.
And yet, why did she feel like she was about to cry?
But Juliet didn’t cry.
Instead, she held Rosaline close and whispered:
“It’s okay.”
I’m okay.
So don’t apologize.
Everything’s okay now.
She had lived through the pain.
The loneliness.
The sorrow.
And now—now she could say it.
Now she could truly wish for someone else’s happiness.
So it was okay.
Even this dull ache in her chest.
Even the strange, stinging feeling that made her want to cry.
“It’ll be okay.”