Chapter 3 (Part 2)

“Finally, I get to view the gallery with you.”

William said as he extended his hand to her as she was about to get off the carriage. He had a peculiar expression, as if recalling the previous nerve battle with Romeo. In fact, she was the one who should have used the word “finally.” Unlike William, who had lost his memory for a few days, she remembered every single day.

“Right. I trust you’ve prepared well. Art is your specialty, William.”

Feigning ignorance, she took William’s hand. There was nothing to gain by arguing about whose mental strain was greater now. William’s hand, which she held, stiffened.

“Of course! I’ll, I’ll do my best.”

He answered confidently but quickly lowered his tail again. It was amazing how such a large adult man expressed everything without hiding.

Thinking of the time he had a nerve battle with Romeo, he didn’t seem to be just an innocent person. That gap somehow tickled her.

“I heard there’s a Masterpiece over there. Shall we go see it?”

“No, I already viewed that last time I was here.”

The direction William ambitiously pointed was where ‘Friendship’ was located. Seeing her refusal, it seemed like she could see William’s tail drooping. But she was sick of the Masterpieces in this gallery.

“How about over there?”

To appease William, she pointed in any direction.

“Over there is…”

Feeling puzzled by William’s trailing words, she checked where she was pointing.

“You like something intense.”

It seemed like things wouldn’t go well today. Out of the dozens of exhibition rooms in the gallery, she had pointed to the war room.

“Some things are brutal but shouldn’t be forgotten.”

She made a rough excuse and had no choice but to reluctantly move her steps.

The paintings were far more explicit than she had expected. Seeing the torn flesh and flowing blood, she flinched and had to turn her head. Even when she turned her head, she could only see similar paintings.

She never thought of herself as having such a weak personality, but she was particularly sensitive to blood and brutality. Just seeing it made her body ache all over, and she couldn’t stop flinching. She felt like she was making eye contact with the corpses in the paintings, causing her to shiver again.

At that moment, something warm wrapped around her shoulder.

“Are you alright?”

It was William’s hand. She felt embarrassed to have worried him after she was the one who suggested coming. Her face flushed with embarrassment.

“I’m fine. I just felt a bit cold.”

It was a ridiculous excuse. The gallery was always kept at a comfortable temperature to prevent damage to the artworks. But William quietly took off his coat. His coat was laid over her shoulders. It was warm. She had no choice but to honestly confess, abandoning unnecessary bravado.

“No, actually, I’m not good with brutal things. I’m sorry for suggesting we come here.”

“No, I’m sorry for not noticing. I just thought of them as paintings and didn’t consider that they might be difficult for you.”

William, who had said that, hesitated as if he had more to say. She quietly waited for him to speak. He always hesitated shyly before speaking, but he never failed to say what he wanted.

“Then, shall we hold hands?”

“What?”

She asked back in surprise at the unexpected suggestion. Her reaction seemed to surprise him as well, causing him to blush.

“Wouldn’t it be a little less scary if we held hands? I don’t mean it in a strange way.”

Actually, it wasn’t that she was scared of blood. It was just painful to see, as if she was hurting along with it. But she quietly extended her hand to him. He took her hand. It was different from when he lightly placed his hand on hers during an escort. Her fingers intertwined with his one by one, and she couldn’t help but roll her eyes. William’s fingertips were warm.

“It’s funny to tremble knowing they’re just paintings, isn’t it?”

In the awkward atmosphere, she lightly threw a remark.

“I think it shows you have good empathy. If someone feels along with the play I wrote, I would be happy.”

“But when I see art, I want to laugh with a good feeling rather than being scared or crying.”

When she grumbled honestly, William chuckled softly. She finally got to talk about art with William. She decided to use this opportunity to brainwash William once more.

“Even when looking at paintings, there are many times when I feel bad after watching.”

“When is that?”

She could feel William’s ears perk up at the mention of plays. He was such a transparent man.

“Bad endings generally make me feel bad after watching.”

“Come to think of it, you mentioned that last time too.”

William smiled wryly. Again, there was no particular reaction. But she needed to stir William a bit more. According to the original, the first death would soon occur. That had to be prevented.

“I especially hate when characters in a story die.”

“Why is that?”

William asked, seemingly a bit flustered. It was clear he was thinking of killing the protagonists in ‘Romeo and Juliet.’

“Writers often say all their characters are like their children, but there are few who can write stories where their own children die, right? If they’re truly cherished and precious characters, I think they’d want them to be treated with care and value rather than sacrificed for the story.”

“If they’re cherished characters, they should be treated with care… I see.”

William murmured as if pondering something. There was a definite reaction compared to earlier.

“As you said, I think I empathize too much. So when I see a death scene, I feel distressed and empty.”

“That makes sense.”

He nodded in agreement with her words. But his gaze was still vacant, as if he was thinking about something. Today, it seemed she had successfully shaken him. In that case, it wouldn’t be bad to let him ponder a bit more. She decided to end the topic here.

“Did I say something rude? I don’t know much about art, so please don’t mind me.”

There wasn’t a single grain of sincerity in her words. William should mind her words. He should think about them and let them influence his script. He should be so precious to her that he couldn’t even think of killing ‘Juliet’ in the script.

She finished viewing the gallery with a slightly dazed William. Pretending to want to visit any restaurant, she also had dinner with him. William got on the carriage with her, saying he would see her home. The scenery outside the window was already getting dark. It seemed she had achieved her goal of sticking with William all day.

“Juliet.”

“Yes?”

In the quietly moving carriage, William called her name. When she looked up at him, he was quietly gazing at her.

“Juliet, you truly are my muse.”

Surprised by the sudden remark, her eyes widened. William wasn’t blushing or stuttering. He was just smiling brightly. He had a pure, childlike face while saying something that could make someone embarrassed. It seemed he was saying it more in the sense of ‘a woman who inspires’ rather than with any romantic meaning. As the model for his work, it wasn’t wrong.

“Thank you.”

She hid her shyness and smiled back. Somehow, his childlike smile tickled her heart.

* * *

[On the days I meet Juliet, my writing flows well. I light a lamp in the darkened studio, sit down, and pick up a pen.]

* * *

She went on another date with William yesterday. It flowed similarly to the time at the gallery. She tried to preach the drawbacks of bad endings and the importance of life. William, who spent the whole day listening to her chatter about similar topics, looked at her as if in ecstasy. It was a peculiar taste.

And today was finally D-Day.

“Young Lady, I received a letter from Romeo.”

Early in the morning, the nanny knocked on her door. After the nanny left, she immediately opened the delivered letter.

[Today at 5 PM. Come to the church on the outskirts of town. Friar Lawrence will be the witness to our love. I await the moment when you become mine and I become yours. ―Romeo]

Another familiar name. She had already seen the name in William’s script, but the discomfort of seeing a character from the original appear in reality never became familiar.

Finally, the day had come. She sighed deeply as she looked down at the letter. She had known and prepared for it, but that didn’t mean she was happy about it.

“He could have chosen a closer location; going all the way to the outskirts just to get engaged to Romeo.”

She grumbled, glaring at the letter. He had no sense.

She got up and began to prepare to go out. It was now ten o’clock. It would take quite some time to reach the outskirts. If she finished preparing and picked up William, it would be around lunchtime. If they had lunch together and then departed, the timing would roughly match.

She hurriedly changed her clothes. As if sensing her intention to go out, the nanny came over to help with her hair. She tidied her outfit and opened the jewelry box.

She needed to look as beautiful as possible for today’s engagement ceremony.

It wasn’t for Romeo. In fact, she could have gone in her pajamas for an engagement with Romeo.

But the witness to today’s engagement ceremony was William. She needed to be so beautiful that William’s heart would ache as he watched her engagement.

She took out the aquamarine necklace from the jewelry box. The necklace with blue gemstones and gold trim would suit Romeo, who had blonde hair and blue eyes.

Blonde hair and blue eyes. That was also a characteristic of William. Among the people here, blonde hair and blue eyes weren’t rare, but the two of them had particularly similar shades and colors. Well, it was a good thing for her. It made choosing accessories much easier.

She put the aquamarine necklace around her neck. It was time to leave.