You Are Gentle, But You Don’t Love Me - Chapter 47

However, she couldn’t just leave her seat when she finally had a guest sitting across from her after such a long time.

“Did you go horseback riding yesterday?”

“Oh, yes. I felt a little stiff after resting for so long… But how did you know?”

“I overheard the maids talking. It seems that some children saw you galloping by.”

As Juliet idly conversed with Elijah, she slowly chewed her food. However, she had no appetite for the array of delicious dishes before her. The only things she managed to eat were a few bites of bread and some salad.

“The maids wouldn’t stop talking about how dashing you looked on horseback.”

“Ahem, hmm. I-Is that so?”

“Of course.”

Even as she spoke, Juliet’s mind was entirely elsewhere. She was straining to hear if footsteps approached from beyond the door. If a knock would sound. Or perhaps, even the echo of a familiar voice imitating a knock.

Because whenever she and Elijah were left alone, Cassio always had a way of finding them—like a ghost, slipping in to interrupt.

But even as dessert was served, Cassio did not appear.

‘How annoying…’

By then, Juliet’s mood had plummeted.

Tonight’s dessert was sugar-roasted peaches with a cool sherbet. The summer-ripe peaches glistened under the caramelized sugar, half-melted and slightly burnt. Juliet found herself glaring at the unusually beautiful dessert.

‘…He would have liked this.’

She knew it would suit his taste perfectly. The moment he bit into it, the sweet peach fragrance would burst forth, followed by the delightful crunch of sugar dissolving on his tongue. And then, as always, he would smile—softly, as if melting.

Her mind was filled with nothing but thoughts of him, yet he was nowhere to be seen.

Was Cassio avoiding her? Had he figured it out? Had he realized that she loved him?

And if he had… was he avoiding her because he couldn’t return her feelings? Because he didn’t want to?

‘…Then he shouldn’t have been so kind. He shouldn’t have called me his Juliet or said I was always beautiful.’

Those affectionate words. That fleeting touch. A glance. A single look.

He had no right to stir up her heart like this.

‘When he doesn’t even love me.’

A sudden urge to cry welled up in Juliet’s chest. With a gloomy expression, she lifted her fork and stabbed at the sherbet, breaking it apart.

＊ ＊ ＊

In the end, Juliet barely finished half of her meal before rising from her seat.

“I should get going now. Have a pleasant evening.”

“Ah… You too, Duchess.”

Perhaps sensing her low spirits, Elijah had been fidgeting uncomfortably ever since the dessert arrived. Feeling a bit guilty, Juliet offered him a faint smile before quickly slipping out of the dining hall.

Yet, once she was outside, she found herself reluctant to return to her room.

Her maids would be waiting for her—to remove her makeup and help her change. If she followed their lead, she would soon find herself in a pristine nightgown, curled up in bed.

But she didn’t want that.

‘If I do that, I’ll definitely cry.’

She knew herself too well. She would toss and turn, unable to sleep, and eventually, she would break down in tears. And even after crying herself to exhaustion, Cassio would still occupy her thoughts.

The way his hand waved lightly in the air when he stood by the doorway earlier. How the pale pink brooch on his collar had shimmered. How quick his steps had been as he turned away.

Or maybe, she would recall his worried expression when he had rushed into her chambers the moment he heard a commotion.

Or the way his voice had murmured to her when she was feverish and bedridden.

If not those, then perhaps she would go back even further—to the memory of him sleeping beside her in her bed.

“I need to go somewhere… anywhere else.”

If she wanted to stop thinking about him. If she didn’t want to cry.

The garden was not an option. It was the place where she and Cassio had spent the most time together. Walking through it would do nothing to calm her down.

‘If anything, I’ll just end up crying.’

And she probably would. Whether at the gazebo, where the sound of the waves reached her ears, or even before she got that far.

The sour scent of lemons from the tree-lined path they had walked together so many times. The memory of their first late-night stroll. The way his sleeve had gotten soaked when he wiped her hand dry after she fell into the fountain.

And, ultimately, the sight of him at dusk, his gaze wandering somewhere distant as the sun painted the sky in brilliant colors.

‘Was it all just a dream?’

For the same reason, the lavender and cypress-filled courtyard was also out of the question. No matter how soothing those fresh, green scents were, they would only lead her back to thoughts of that indistinct, dreamlike night.

Yes, she would cry if she went there. Juliet knew herself well enough.

‘It’s fine. I look quite good in roses, too.’

The rose garden was out. Anything with the scent of roses was out.

‘Wow, this is frustrating.’

Anywhere within sight of the annex was also out.

“Do you know how to ride a horse?”

Anywhere near the stables—out.

By the time she had eliminated every possible place in her mind, she realized there was nowhere left to go.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake…”

It was infuriating.

They hadn’t even spent that much time together, yet why did it feel like there were so many memories? Why was there so much to dwell on?

The estate was vast, yet there wasn’t a single corner where she could escape thoughts of Cassio.

“…I’ll just start walking.”

With a sigh, Juliet began wandering aimlessly, hoping to find somewhere—anywhere—she could go.

She consciously avoided the paths she usually took. If she heard the laughter of maids or sensed the presence of others, she deliberately turned away, choosing a different route.

‘I want to go somewhere I can be alone. Somewhere I won’t think about him.’

That thought consumed her mind, and at some point, she lifted her head—only to find herself standing before the chapel.

“…Wow.”

A soft exclamation escaped Juliet’s lips. The chapel, bathed in moonlight, was breathtakingly beautiful.

The chapel attached to Escalus Castle was quite small. It lacked elaborate carvings or towering spires; it was simple, unadorned.

Yet, its pristine white walls glowed under the soft moonlight, and the ivy climbing its surface trembled gently with every whisper of the evening breeze.

In front of it stood an enormous olive tree, the kind that seemed as though it had been plucked straight from the pages of scripture. Amid the luminous glow of the moonlit chapel, only the deep shadows cast by the tree remained dark and heavy.

It was a scene that belonged in an old painting.

“How could I not have noticed how beautiful this place is…?”

She murmured to herself, and almost instantly, she found her answer.

As a child, Juliet had been afraid of the dark. And once she had outgrown that fear, she had little reason to visit the chapel at all.

Back then, she had wished every day to disappear. How could she dare step into the house of God when she carried such thoughts in her heart?

So instead, she had always summoned the priest to the castle for small private masses. Even after Cassio returned, that never changed.

In other words, she had never once come here with him.

‘We held our wedding mass here, but that was so long ago…’

That day had been such a blur that she barely remembered anything at all. Except for one thing—how breathtakingly beautiful Cassio had looked.

The pale spring sunlight spilling over his red hair. The flawless, smooth smile gracing his exquisite face. Aside from that… nothing.

“No, no. I don’t remember anything.”

Muttering to herself for no reason, Juliet stepped into the chapel courtyard. There was nowhere else left to go.

The unpaved earth was dotted with clusters of tiny violet wildflowers. The delicate blossoms had spread from the base of the olive tree, much like those that took root in the barren fields of Sardinia, blooming endlessly from spring to autumn.

Juliet walked carefully, taking care not to trample the small flowers. The hem of her pale gold gown skimmed over the grass, making a soft rustling sound under the moonlight.

And then, suddenly—she froze in place.

‘Someone’s here.’

The chapel courtyard was bathed in moonlight, except for one place: the deep shadows cast by the olive tree. There, within the darkness, stood a solitary figure.

‘It can’t be…’

For a moment, she thought it was Cassio.

Even in the dim light, his golden hair gleamed. His silhouette was so familiar.

Or maybe… she simply wanted it to be him.

She had wandered in search of a place where she wouldn’t think of Cassio—only to find herself hoping that he would be standing right there.

‘But why…?’

The illusion didn’t last long. Juliet soon recognized the figure’s back.

Even in the sweltering summer, he was impeccably dressed. His golden hair, darker than Cassio’s, was neatly tied at the nape of his neck. A deep blue satin ribbon secured it in place.

‘Why is he here?’

She couldn’t comprehend it.

She had assumed he would be with Rosalyn at this hour. It never even occurred to her that she might run into him here.

Perhaps she had instinctively taken a step back.

Crunch.

The soft sound of a crushed petal echoed through the silence.

At that, the man standing in the shadows turned around.

“…Juliet?”

Ah.

Even in the darkness, his silhouette was unmistakable. The way his face flickered with brief surprise before softening into a faint, familiar smile.

“Juliet Calliari.”

The deliberate way he spoke her name.

Even after all these years, everything about him remained vivid in her memory.

The man she had resented for so long—and missed just as much.

Romeo Arborea.

“…It’s been a while.”

Juliet hesitated for just a moment—just a little.

Then, at last, she smiled weakly.

“…Roro.”

“I told you not to call me that.”

His response to the teasing nickname was the same as ever.

And somehow, that made Juliet feel just a little bit relieved.