Chapter 5 (Part 2)

After sending her mother away, she quietly returned to her room. Even if it was inevitable, the progression of the engagement wasn’t a pleasant thing. Watching the situation unfold according to the original was always unsettling and bitter. Moreover, Count Paris was ten years older than her. It wasn’t uncommon in arranged marriages, but she disliked it nonetheless.

She opened the balcony door to get some fresh air. Though she had bad memories of the balcony, even Romeo wouldn’t be able to find her for a while. Not only because of the Lord’s orders but also because of the original.

In the original, Romeo met Juliet after she met Count Paris. Although Romeo hadn’t been banished, now that the story had returned to the original track, she was sure he wouldn’t be able to find her.

“Oh?”

While admiring the outside view, she inadvertently voiced her surprise. She spotted a familiar person who shouldn’t be there. William. She stood up abruptly. She planned to visit him tomorrow, but it wouldn’t hurt to plant a seed today.

“Young Lady, where are you going?”

The nanny stopped her as she was about to change clothes.

“I was just going to get some fresh air outside.”

“The master said you should stay at home today. If you go out, you’ll be in trouble.”

The nanny, while stopping her, couldn’t even meet her eyes, perhaps out of guilt. Having raised Juliet since she was young, it seemed difficult for the nanny to stand in her way. Not wanting to trouble the nanny further, she obediently returned to her room.

Seeing William tomorrow would be fine. That was the plan all along. But a sense of discomfort welled up from below. Nothing was going her way.

The gloomy time eventually passed, and it was evening. Dressed up extravagantly against her will, she could no longer even pretend to smile. Her mother looked at her with a stern face as she openly displayed her displeasure.

“Juliet, relax your face. Your fiancé will be here soon. It’s not polite for a first meeting.”

She was right. After all, Count Paris wasn’t at fault. She should at least show basic courtesy. She forced her lips into a smile. But as soon as she relaxed, they returned to their original position. She couldn’t muster a smile. Her mother no longer scolded her. Instead, she held her hand in comfort.

Eventually, the dining room door opened. She looked up to see her father and the man following him.

“What?”

A voice of surprise escaped her unconsciously. She didn’t even have the presence of mind to apologize for the rudeness. The man following her father wasn’t Count Paris, whom she had never seen.

“Your fiancé will be William Shakespeare.”

Her father introduced him in a low voice. She regretted not asking about her fiancé earlier.

The dinner passed quickly. Neither her father’s introduction of William nor William’s greeting to her left anything clear in her mind. After the meal, her parents suggested they take a walk in the garden. She found herself in the garden with William, not fully collected.

“I didn’t expect to see you like this.”

A sharp tone escaped her unconsciously. The engagement wasn’t something to blame him for. Her father had already decided to engage her, and if not William, she would have been engaged to someone else. She had already prepared herself to be engaged to someone else. Blaming him now was unreasonable.

But if he knew he was to be engaged to me, couldn’t he have mentioned it during my last visit? 

What she felt now was closer to betrayal and disappointment than annoyance. He had claimed to be on her side, yet he had conspired with her father behind her back.

“I didn’t know until someone from the Capulet family came this week. If I had known, I would have told you earlier.”

William, perhaps sensing her disappointment, spoke as if explaining, as if consoling.

“This week?”

“Yes. Someone from the Capulet family came the day after your visit.”

She was at a loss for words. It seemed not only she but William had known about the engagement for less than a week. It was laughable. Only now could she focus on the suspiciousness of this engagement.

Why was I engaged to William Shakespeare?

Just as she was about to delve into her thoughts, William spoke.

“Juliet, you know something, don’t you?”

“What do you mean?”

She asked back. She hadn’t even grasped the situation. She couldn’t understand the meaning of William’s sudden question.

“This is the second time.”

“What is?”

She tried hard not to snap at his persistent, cryptic questions. 

What happened to Count Paris? Why was William my fiancé? Had my father found a fiancé before he wrote the next part?

The thoughts spinning in her head were not yet sorted out. She wasn’t in a good state to listen to his cryptic words.

“The story from my script happened in reality.”

At that moment, all thoughts stopped. She looked up at him blankly. His serious eyes felt unreal.

“You kept wanting to check my writing. You asked me several times to write a happy ending. Did you, by any chance, know something?”

He continued speaking to her, who remained silent. His eyes were filled with confusion. Her eyes must have been shaking just like his.

“Juliet, if you know something, please tell me.”

She slowly opened her mouth. Even her lips seemed to tremble. She wasn’t sure if she could speak even as she was opening her mouth.

“Because your writing is a Masterpiece.”

The words she had always wanted to say but could never say flowed smoothly from her lips. She unconsciously covered her mouth. She couldn’t believe the words that had come out of her mouth. She felt like she might burst into tears.

“Master…piece?”

William asked dumbly. It wasn’t because he didn’t know the meaning of a Masterpiece. He just hadn’t considered that his writing could become a Masterpiece. Despite the rumors about him throughout Vernerk, he was insensitive like this. She almost forgot the situation and stifled a laugh.

“I don’t love Romeo. Not once have I loved him. But my heart races when I see him. William, that’s because you wrote it that way.”

William’s eyes, which had been confused, widened in shock. She thought she saw a fleeting hope in his eyes.

“There are so many things I wanted to tell you. I can finally say them.”

She slowly confessed everything. How her body suddenly wouldn’t listen to her. How she had tried to escape. Of course, she didn’t mention that she had tried to seduce him.

“Another…world?”

William murmured, seemingly in shock. In truth, she hadn’t intended to tell anyone that she was from another world. Long ago, she had decided to live in Vernerk. She had no intention of going back and didn’t want to be treated like a lunatic by talking about it unnecessarily. But to explain everything, she had to reveal that she came from another world.

“I understand it might be hard to believe. But I know everything about the story you were trying to write. I was the only one among all the characters who realized my body wasn’t moving as I wanted. Isn’t that enough evidence?”

“It’s not that I doubt you, Juliet. It’s just… I’m bewildered. The story I intended to write is already completed somewhere. And…”

You were such a distant person. 

William murmured the last words like a sigh.

“I don’t doubt you, no matter what you say. I once asked to be allowed to help you. I’m glad you finally told me.”

His voice was gentle, just like when he comforted her on the day of the trial. She could only bow her head in gratitude for his kind trust.

“So those were the two times you were surprised by writing something different from the original plot.”

William murmured. In his casually thrown words, she found something unsettling.

“Two times? Come to think of it, you mentioned that earlier too.”

As far as she knew, William had written a story different from the original only once. He saved Tybalt and Mercutio. But William said it was twice. A certain premonition crept up her spine.

“William, did you become engaged to me because of the Masterpiece?”

He stiffened as if startled. Then his face turned red. It looked more like ‘shame’ than embarrassment. Of course, writing a dream story with the girl next door and getting caught was indeed a shameful matter. However, she couldn’t understand the guilt hidden in his flushed face.

“Yes, it’s because I wrote it that way.”

“Why on earth…”

She stopped the reflexive question. It was a question she shouldn’t ask. She already knew the reason and couldn’t give a good answer to it. She bowed her head in embarrassment, hoping he wouldn’t answer the unfinished question.

“Because I’m a selfish person.”

The unexpected answer made her look up at his face. And she was at a loss for words. His face was miserably distorted with guilt, pain, and a hint of hope that he couldn’t hide.

“Because I’m shamelessly someone who doesn’t know how to give up.”

William continued, catching his breath as if he was out of air. His voice trembled as if holding back something. She almost reached out to hold his hand without realizing it. But she came to her senses and clasped her hands together. She wished he would stop. But she couldn’t even tell him to stop.

“Because I’m such a despicable person who desires you even after witnessing your engagement ceremony with Romeo.”

She couldn’t open her mouth, overwhelmed by his anguish evident in each syllable. She never anticipated such an answer. She couldn’t even imagine such pain, such remorse. William spoke once more.

“Because I love you.”