Chapter 5 (Part 4)

For the time being, they decided not to write anything. It was the obvious choice considering the risk. Even if ‘Romeo and Juliet’ was still a Masterpiece, nothing would happen if William didn’t write. It was a permanent farewell to the days of fearing for her life.

And she was thoroughly enjoying the peace she had longed for. Peace where she didn’t have to think about how to disrupt William today. Peace where she didn’t have to worry about what would happen as soon as she woke up. Peace where she didn’t have to rack her brain trying to recall the detailed plot of ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ which was now a faint memory.

She was half-dozing in the warm bathwater the nanny had brought to her room. It was already close to eleven o’clock. Freed from the Masterpiece, she fully enjoyed the life of a recluse under the guise of being grounded.

“Young Lady, it’s time to get ready for lunch.”

The nanny urged her, who had completely relaxed. Spending an hour getting ready for a simple lunch at home was something she had already gotten used to. She slowly got up.

“William seems to be very fond of you.”

Her mother, sitting across the table, seemed somewhat excited. She couldn’t have missed the news that William had visited her yesterday. She suppressed a sigh and only nodded.

“I’m glad you don’t seem to dislike him either.”

But the following words surprised her, making her look at her mother. Her mother, seemingly unaware of her puzzled expression, spoke again.

“You’re not the type to quietly endure things you dislike, are you? When you were very young, you used to hang out with Romeo Montague. But then, for some reason, you cut ties with him. No matter how many times he visited, you ignored him. Well, I still think you did the right thing.”

While half-listening to her mother’s complaints about the Montagues, she fell into thought. Certainly, she didn’t dislike William. If she had to choose between liking or disliking him, she would lean towards liking. He was a decent person. Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind. 

If William never wrote anything again, would I end up marrying him?

Just as she was about to seriously ponder the sudden thought, she heard a commotion outside the dining room. The murmuring among the servants didn’t subside and grew louder, as if something had happened.

It was rare for the servants to make a fuss loud enough for the household to hear. She excused herself from her mother and got up to open the dining room door.

“What’s going on?”

Her sudden appearance seemed to startle them, momentarily halting the commotion. She slowly surveyed the surroundings. Several maids managing the mansion, a few knights, and a couple standing in the middle like criminals with their heads bowed.

It was an incomprehensible situation. The man was even a knight of her family. 

Why was someone of his rank standing like a criminal? 

The woman standing with him was in plain clothes but had a familiar face. 

Was she also a servant of my family?

“This woman is a maid of the Montague family!”

One of the knights surrounding the couple broke the silence and spoke. Only then did she realize where she had seen the woman. It was when she had infiltrated the Montague mansion. The woman who had called out the name of a knight from her house after seeing her dispersing the lovely person. She finally understood the situation. She had sneaked into the Capulet household to see her lover and got caught.

“And this knight was colluding with a maid from the Montague family.”

She suppressed a laugh at the explanation that followed. Colluding, as if they were at war. Her mother had approached from behind her without her noticing.

“It’s strictly forbidden by the Lord’s order for anyone from the Montague family to enter Capulet territory.”

Her mother had erased the warm smile she had earlier, wearing a stern expression that was almost frightening. She subconsciously stepped aside to make way for her mother.

“Take them to the Lord and make them pay for violating the order.”

Juliet’s mother finished speaking and left the room. Juliet, left behind, blankly watched the situation unfold. The woman, who was to be taken away as per her mother’s orders, wept as she looked only at her lover. Her mother’s command was entirely reasonable, so Juliet couldn’t stop her. The Montague maid, seemingly aware of this, silently complied with the knights’ restraints while shedding tears. And Juliet realized something.

She had regained peace. However, none of the problems caused by ‘Romeo and Juliet’ had been resolved.

Not long after the situation calmed down, William visited the Capulet mansion.

“William. What brings you here?”

Juliet asked with a puzzled expression at his unexpected visit. Even though it had happened several times, it still felt strange for him to come to her house.

“I wanted to see you.”

William said with a gentle smile. His straightforward answer left Juliet flustered. He seemed to be thoroughly enjoying his status as her fiancé.

“I find myself wanting to see you more often lately. When I think about it, before, you always came to see me before I even had the chance to miss you.”

His words made her feel embarrassed in many ways. The fact that he wanted to see her, her frequent visits to him, and then abruptly cutting off contact as soon as the Masterpiece issue was resolved—none of it wasn’t embarrassing.

“So now, I plan to come to see you first.”

Just as she was contemplating whether to apologize, William continued speaking. His face was filled with the usual warmth. And Juliet, who had become endlessly soft upon regaining peace, found herself charmed. William was a man, a kind man, and a very handsome man. Only now did she notice these things.

As they sat facing each other in the parlor, a maid soon brought tea. Juliet took a sip of tea and recounted the events of the day to William.

The story of the Montague maid who was taken to the Lord. The tragedy of the Montague maid and the Capulet knight was clearly due to the Masterpiece. She knew too much to just dismiss it as someone else’s problem.

“I thought it would be enough to prevent the tragedy between Romeo and me, but it wasn’t as simple as I thought.”

William looked at her as she spoke with a sigh. He had a face like a child who had faced an unpleasant truth.

“You want to solve that problem.”

Juliet nodded quietly at William’s words. If William had completed the story, the Capulets and Montagues would have eventually reconciled. While she couldn’t easily die, she didn’t feel entirely without responsibility. If there was a way to resolve it without dying, she wanted to find it.

“Writing a story that doesn’t match the original may cause problems with the Masterpiece, but the issue is coherence, isn’t it? Maybe I can find a reason for reconciliation that even the Masterpiece would acknowledge.”

But William still wore a reluctant face. He spoke with a sigh.

“Juliet, if you insist on writing a new story, I will follow your words. I will do my best to achieve what you want.”

His tone was clearly reluctant, no matter how kindly he phrased it. Putting her doubts aside, William continued.

“But if you ask what I want, I don’t want to write anything.”

“May I ask why?”

“It’s too dangerous.”

His answer followed her question as if he had been waiting for it. Juliet looked at William as if she couldn’t understand.

“Juliet, there is no precedent for a Masterpiece being destroyed. The lack of precedent means no one knows what might happen. You don’t have to take such a risk. Maybe nothing will happen. But something terrible could occur. We might find a reasonable reason for reconciliation between Montague and Capulet. But no one knows if that reason would be valid from the perspective of the Masterpiece.”

William spoke earnestly to her. Juliet couldn’t respond. He was right. She wasn’t prepared to face any terrible consequences.

Even after William left, she couldn’t calm her mind. She had no intention of sacrificing her life for anything. But if the Masterpiece broke, it might take her life with it. 

Was giving up the only option?

Her mind was a tangled mess.

Though she lay down, sleep didn’t come easily. After waking from shallow sleep several times, she gave up and waited for the sun to rise. When the sun finally began to peek out, she rang the bell to call the nanny. The nanny’s face, hastily dressed, was filled with surprise and concern.

“Young Lady, what’s the matter?”

The nanny asked, puzzled, after confirming Juliet was fine. Juliet calmly stated her request.

“Please prepare for me to go out.”

“This early in the morning?”

The nanny’s eyes widened in surprise, soon filled with suspicion. Juliet could guess what she was thinking.

“I’m not going to the Montagues. I’m going to see William.”