Chapter 2 (Part 3)

“Juliet, did you come to the gallery with Mr. Montague?”

William cautiously asked her. His eyes were somehow earnest.

“No, we just happened to meet. We were just about to say goodbye.”

At her response, William’s face lit up like a blooming flower. In contrast, Romeo’s face grew more distorted. He seemed to want to argue but, conscious of Mercutio beside him, kept his mouth shut.

“Would you like to tour the gallery with me then?”

William asked her. She noticed him swallowing nervously. The more she saw him, the more he reminded her of a puppy.

Going with William wasn’t a bad choice. Though her confidence in success had waned, she hadn’t given up on the plan to seduce William. If it meant survival, she had to try anything with even a slight chance. Moreover, William was naturally growing fond of her every time they met.

She hadn’t done anything special, yet. Considering the efficiency compared to the investment, it wasn’t a bad deal. Talking with him and endlessly listing the drawbacks of tragedies might not be a bad idea.

“Juliet is planning to tour the gallery with me.”

Just as she was about to nod, Romeo spoke first. She looked at him with a bewildered expression. He was glaring at William without blinking.

“Juliet said she was just about to leave.”

William retorted. His voice was unusually cold. It was fascinating to see the man who usually seemed like a puppy now sharpening his words without backing down.

“I was just about to ask her to join me after saying goodbye. Until you appeared, Mr. Shakespeare.”

To be precise, he had already asked, and she had refused.

The atmosphere was growing increasingly tense. She looked around for an escape route. Seduction was good and all, but she couldn’t stand this atmosphere where she felt she had to shout, ‘Stop fighting because of me!’ But no escape route was in sight.

Mercutio had already taken several steps back, pretending not to be part of the group. She slowly began to back away. The two men seemed to notice her attempt to escape and followed her.

“Juliet, where are you going?”

“Let’s continue exploring the museum together.”

As the two men approached, sweat trickled down her back. She continued to back away. Though her mind understood it wasn’t a situation to run from, her body wouldn’t cooperate. Her body was controlled by the desire to escape the situation.

“Ah!”

“Juliet!”

As she walked backward, she eventually tripped over something and fell. Pain shot from her b*ttocks to her waist as she hit the floor. It hurt a lot and was even more embarrassing. She decided not to set foot in this area for a while.

But the two men, who would have rushed to help her up, were silent. She looked up at them. They were staring at something as if entranced.

She turned her head to see what they were looking at. She saw nothing.

When she looked back at the two men, they were now looking at each other. It was a passionate gaze, but with a slightly different meaning than before.

She turned her head again to see what they had been looking at. Only then did she realize what they had seen. A painting was hanging right behind where she had been standing.

It was the Masterpiece ‘Friendship.’

* * *

William and Romeo, with their arms around each other’s shoulders, went off to a pub. The scene of them growling at each other just moments ago felt like a lie. William glanced at her with a lingering gaze but ultimately followed Romeo. She was left alone in the gallery. It felt like being bewitched by a fox.

As she trudged home alone, she pondered the situation. William and Romeo had both looked at ‘Friendship’ at the same time. And at that moment, the Masterpiece activated, and the two became the best of friends. At least, they thought of each other that way.

She drew the relationships in her mind. Tybalt, and she were cousins, Romeo and Mercutio were friends, and the person Romeo loved was her. Up to that point, it matched the original.

She didn’t like Romeo, William liked her, and William and Romeo became friends. It was a complete mess. Since William began to intervene, there was no trace of the original left.

No, deviating from the original was a good sign for her. Following the original would only leave death flags. A change meant a higher chance that the ending would change in some way. She calculated how the changed relationship between William and Romeo would work.

It wasn’t bad. William seemed to want to give the characters in the play a sense of realism by knowing the real people. If he discovered differences from the original, the story he wrote might also deviate from the original.

It would be nice if she could get closer to Romeo, and even Romeo’s friends like Mercutio, or the entire Montague family.

Even putting all that aside, not many people would write a tragedy using their best friend as the subject. That’s why she was trying to seduce William.

Her steps became noticeably lighter. Although the initial plan, ‘Tybalt and Mercutio, Be Friends,’ had failed, she gained an unexpected benefit. She arrived at the mansion, dreaming of a brighter future.

* * *

It was a miscalculation. She had to correct her thoughts in just one day.

“Miss Capulet, as you know, Romeo likes you. I can’t be alone with the woman a friend likes.”

William refused her at the door of the Shakespeare residence. Even the way he addressed her had reverted to ‘Miss Capulet’. She looked at William’s face. Seeing his expression, she couldn’t understand the situation even more.

Despite being the one to refuse, he looked as if he was the one being rejected, with a sorrowful face. She could only stand there dumbfounded at the door.

“I’m sorry, Miss Capulet.”

He closed the door of the residence. Until the door was completely shut, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. No matter how she looked at it, he still liked her.

‘Romeo likes you.’

She recalled William’s words. So William was distancing himself because of Romeo. Things were going in an unexpected direction.

She thought that if the effect of the Masterpiece brought William and Romeo closer, it could work in her favor. But if William could only be close to either Romeo or her, it had to be her.

It was obvious. Romeo didn’t know they were under the influence of the Masterpiece or what ending awaited if left unchecked. If she left William to Romeo and stepped back, she would end up dead in no time.

She decided to visit William again tomorrow. The reason William decided to distance himself was that he chose friendship over love. In simple terms, she was pushed aside by Romeo. If his affection was so easily overshadowed by Romeo, he would never give up his writing for her.

There was only one answer left. Make him choose her over friendship and love by making him fall for her even more. Until now, William had grown fond of her just by seeing her face. But now, that wasn’t enough. 

First, she would overcome Romeo, and then make William like her enough to give up writing ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ For survival.

“Romeo is at my house now.”

She faced another refusal when she visited the Shakespeare residence again.

“Can’t you spare even a moment, William?”

“Please call me ‘Mr. Shakespeare’.”

She tried calling his name in a sweet voice, but William’s guard was stronger than expected.

“Was allowing me to call you by your name just a whim?”

She asked with a sorrowful expression. A tear drop would have been nice, but that was too much.

“It’s not that…”

Shakespeare seemed flustered and fumbled. But soon, he seemed to regain his composure and spoke again.

“Anyway, I would appreciate it if you called me ‘Mr. Shakespeare’. Then I’ll be going inside now.”

“Wait a moment.”

She grabbed his hand as he was about to leave. He quickly shook off her hand. His face turned bright red. His overly sensitive reaction made her feel like a molester.

“I apologize. But I can’t hold hands with the woman a friend likes.”

It was an excuse. An excuse to cover up his sensitive reaction. His flustered demeanor proved that. Despite showing how much he liked her, he claimed friendship was more important. 

Was that his original thought, or was it also the power of magic?

She decided to make a bold move.

“Is Romeo more important than me?”

His eyes, which had been wavering in confusion, stopped moving. Then his blue eyes slowly began to fill with tears.

“Why are you asking such a thing?”

He was shedding tears like chicken droppings. This time, it was her turn to be flustered. She froze, unable to say a word.

“I’ll be going inside now.”

He lowered his head as if to hide his tears. But the image of him crying was already imprinted in her mind. She couldn’t stop him from entering. She tried to say something, but the door of the residence closed.

The more she thought about it, the more bewildered she became. 

Why was he crying? What did I do? 

Even as she climbed the stairs of the residence, her mind was filled with thoughts of William.

The image of William’s face, delicately carved as if sculpted, contorted as if wounded. The tears that filled his blue eyes. The gesture of lowering his head to hide the dripping tears. Each of his actions triggered an inexplicable guilt. She felt as if she had done something terribly wrong.