You Are Gentle, But You Don’t Love Me - Chapter 56

A sudden shower fell just before the banquet.

“Lady Escalus, the Duchess, is greeted by Melissa from Rogudoro.”

“Lady Escalus, the Duchess, is greeted by Hikado from Rogudoro. How long it has been since we last met!”

The Rogudoro family arrived at Escalus despite the rainstorm. Lady Rogudoro, Count Rogudoro—whom they hadn’t had the chance to greet last time—and their eldest and second sons with their wives.

Juliet personally went out to meet them.

“I apologize for not greeting you last time. I was suddenly unwell…”

They laughed heartily at Juliet’s apology and reassured her, saying it was actually they who should apologize, as their son had been under her care for over a month.

“So, where is our useless son? I’ll just…”

“Please, don’t be too harsh. Thanks to Elijah, Lord Escalus was able to enjoy his time.”

Juliet quickly intervened, preventing the Rogudoro family from scolding Elijah, and led them to the annex. However, just as she was about to enter the annex, she ran into Elijah, and her efforts to shield him were in vain.

“Oh, oh, mother!”

“Be quiet and follow me.”

As always, Lady Rogudoro grabbed her youngest son by the ear, tugging him away with a firm hand. Juliet silently hoped Elijah wasn’t hurt too badly.

The next day, the ground dried quickly, as if the rain had never come, and new guests arrived in the afternoon.

“Lord Marquis, Lady Marquis.”

“Marquis? Oh, no, I’m now Baron Tirso.”

“Ah, that’s right… Baron, Baroness.”

The former Marquis of Arborea and his wife, who had passed the marquisate to their son several years ago and became Baron Tirso, arrived with their retainers. They had always treated the two sisters, Kallia and Juliet, like daughters when they were young.

“Yes, truly.”

Juliet awkwardly smiled at them. There were so many people that she couldn’t personally escort them to the annex, but at least it was her duty to greet them in person and exchange pleasantries.

“Lady Duchess, I’ve received word that the guests from Gallura have left.”

“Really? They should arrive tomorrow morning. Have you informed the Duke?”

“Yes, since they may arrive early, the Duke plans to go out and greet them. The distant relatives from Arborea have not arrived yet.”

“You don’t need to greet the distant relatives… just let them know I said so.”

The remaining guests were personally welcomed by Cassio. It might seem a little odd for someone of his rank to be out greeting guests, but there was no harm in it.

‘It’s not like he’s the kind of person who would be scrutinized…’

Despite his illegitimate birth, Cassio was the queen’s nephew and the princess’s son. While he had once lived with a reputation as the debauched son of the Aragonese royal family, he had since become a hero in the Aragonese Navy. No one in Sardinia would dare to find fault with him.

Even if there were some, it wouldn’t matter to Cassio. His silver tongue always got him out of tricky situations. The Sardinian nobility did not possess such smooth charm.

Because of this, Juliet was able to leave the guests in Cassio’s care without worry. She was far too busy to do it herself.

“By the way, ask the guests in the annex if they need a brazier to dry their wet belongings from the rain. If so, I’ll have it brought to them. The head maid knows where it is.”

“Yes, Lady.”

“And the preparations for the second day’s dinner…”

She thought everything had been prepared, but once the work piled up, she realized how much remained. She had to take down the tents soaked by the rain and set them up again, wipe the tables, and tend to the garden, all of which consumed time.

And just like that, morning arrived on the first day of the banquet at Escalus Castle, with everything already in full swing.

“Lady, wake up.”

“…Did I doze off?”

“Yes, my apologies. You must be exhausted…”

“You have nothing to apologize for. It’s fine.”

When Juliet opened her eyes after a brief nap, her makeup had already been done. With the help of her maids, she sluggishly sat up. It was time to change her clothes.

However, even after waking up and standing, Juliet had to pause for a moment, wondering if she were still dreaming.

“Is this… was it always this extravagant?”

“Yes, of course. You picked this outfit yourself for the afternoon tea party, remember?”

Before her hung a luxurious robe, mostly light green with vertical golden stripes. Beside the maid, a velvet cushion held an orange topaz bracelet and headpiece.

“I don’t remember choosing this…”

“Well, you saw all those grand clothes yesterday, after all…”

Last evening, Juliet had received yet another surprise gift from Cassio while she was having tea with Rosaline, Lady Rogudoro, and her eldest daughter-in-law, Lady Algera.

‘Lady, the Duchess!’

‘Alma, we have guests, you know?’

The maid who rushed into the parlor interrupted the conversation, and for a brief moment, Juliet frowned. But as more dresses and jewelry followed her in, she was momentarily stunned.

‘These are gifts prepared by the Duke.’

There were nearly ten dresses and about ten matching sets of jewelry. The parlor was filled with clothes and jewels.

‘My goodness, I’ve never seen such boldly adorned dresses with jewels before! Is this from the Aragon mainland?’

“This is a masterpiece. It’s like capturing the sunset over the sea and preserving it,” one of them said, admiring the emerald.

“Look at this emerald, it’s so large and transparent, I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

Even the noblewomen, who were no strangers to luxury, couldn’t help but enjoy themselves like young girls as they admired the dresses and jewels. Juliet, on the other hand, was so stunned that she didn’t have the chance to feel joyful herself.

It was only after hearing that Cassio had personally ordered the making of these items and had chosen both the fabric and jewels himself that she managed to smile, albeit faintly. The women’s faces also bloomed with smiles as they watched her.

“Now that I see it, the jewels and dresses match perfectly. This blue dress would look amazing with those diamond earrings…”

“Oh, my! It’s true! That cream-colored robe would go perfectly with rubies!”

“Lord Escalus must be such a meticulous person. Ah, compared to our husbands…”

“Shh, there’s no end to talking about our useless husbands. We should be enjoying the jewels instead!”

“Exactly!”

They fussed over pairing the jewels with the dresses, occasionally trying them on Juliet, who had no choice but to accept their excitement. In the midst of it all, they praised Cassio, criticized their husbands, and laughed joyfully.

“Lady Escalus, come here! This would look so good on you.”

“Yes, Juliet, come over. This one is definitely for you.”

Amidst all this, there wasn’t much Juliet could do. She had no choice but to accept the gifts with a somewhat dreamy expression. She even ended up picking out what she would wear the next day, along with the excited noblewomen.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have…”

She thought she had chosen the most modest gown for the tea party, but among all the extravagant pieces, even the simplest one she chose still looked incredibly lavish.

“For a mere tea party… this feels a bit too extravagant…”

“Oh, don’t worry! Everyone will be dressed just as extravagantly. It’s the last summer banquet, after all!”

“Mm…”

The maids, unusually persistent, urged Juliet on as she mumbled to herself. As soon as she nodded in resignation, they began dressing her.

As if anticipating that Juliet might want to change her mind, the maids quickly adjusted the gown, leading her in front of a large mirror.

“Now, take a look.”

“Oh my…”

Once on, it looked even more splendid.

The pale green fabric, almost white under the light, had vertical patterns embroidered with golden thread. The light yellow silk ribbon that tightened around her chest was also adorned with golden embroidery.

The finishing touch was the shoes. The low-heeled shoes, perfect for walking in the garden, had large rubies decorating the toes.

“The shoes… the rubies, but why on shoes…”

“Jewelry on shoes is incredibly important! It looks so elegant when you take a step, just the slightest hint of the gem showing!”

“What if they get damaged…”

“That’s what makes them even more beautiful! Please wait a moment.”

A maid, as if suddenly remembering, rushed over and inserted a topaz accessory into Juliet’s hair, which was half-braided and half-loose.

The stone, similar in color to Juliet’s hair, hid just enough to sparkle subtly with every movement.

“It looks perfect on you.”

“Today, you’ll definitely be the most beautiful at the tea party!”

The maids, thrilled after dressing their once modest mistress in such a dazzling outfit, praised her endlessly, nearly bursting into applause with excitement.

“That can’t be true…”

“Oh, it really is.”

“It’s just a compliment.”

Muttering to herself with a sigh as she examined her reflection in the mirror, Juliet was suddenly startled.

When had he appeared? Cassio was standing just beyond the open door, watching her. His light green eyes, reflected in the mirror, blinked as if he hadn’t noticed that Juliet had seen him.

‘Perhaps…’

He looked like he had lost himself in thought.

‘Maybe I look a little pretty.’

Juliet took a deep breath, turned around quickly, and faced Cassio. Before he could smile, just as he had the first time they met, she greeted him softly.

“Hello, Your Grace.”

Her voice trembled slightly as she spoke.

“…Hello.”

Cassio smiled, just like before.

“Juliet.”