Chapter 6 (Part 1)

“The Masterpiece cannot be used.”

The answer, anticipated to some extent, came back much more firmly than expected.

“The fact that Romeo loves Juliet is the grand premise of the entire play. If you change that arbitrarily, problems will surely arise.”

It seemed there was no easy way out. Writing “Romeo does not like Juliet” in the Masterpiece was the best way to break the marriage, but it was also a path she didn’t expect to succeed greatly.

“If I tell Father that I don’t want to marry, he wouldn’t force me… But the reconciliation between the Capulets and Montagues that was finally achieved would go back to square one.”

If the woman his son loved enough to take his own life lightly rejected him, even she wouldn’t view it kindly. Especially if it was someone as hot-tempered as the Montague lord. She stirred the milk tea in front of her vigorously.

“Is there really no other way but to just get married?”

William stopped all movement at her words, which slipped out like a complaint.

“Anyway, I’m no longer in danger of dying, and marrying is simpler than having the entire territory split in half and fight. If I think of it as an ordinary arranged marriage, it’s nothing unusual.”

“That’s… true.”

William frowned, as if trying hard to accept it. But soon, he relaxed his face and looked into her eyes. It was a determined gaze, as if he had made up his mind.

“But I hope you don’t.”

Whenever William looked at her directly like this, she always felt inexplicably embarrassed. This time was no exception. Even though countless things like “Isn’t there no other choice?” or “Then do you have another way?” came to mind, she just turned her head away.

“I don’t want to marry Romeo either, so I’ll at least try.”

She eventually gave an ambiguous answer to William, who waited silently for her reply. William seemed satisfied with that, smiling softly. And that beautiful smile made her feel somewhat satisfied too.

* * *

It was an outing after a long time. Having been freed from being the family’s worry due to Romeo’s revival, she finally regained complete freedom. The nanny no longer looked at her with worried eyes, and no one asked about her destination every time she went out.

She wandered aimlessly, enjoying the hustle and bustle of the street. Listening to lively voices that had nothing to do with her made her tangled thoughts feel a bit lighter.

“Buy dinner ingredients cheaply. We’re selling them cheap to commemorate the reconciliation between the Montagues and Capulets. I’m selling at a loss, really.”

“These days, the street atmosphere is really good. It’s so peaceful without people fighting loudly.”

Amidst the chatter of street vendors, pleasant words could be heard. Through people’s conversations, she could clearly feel what she had achieved. She approached the street vendor, trying to suppress the corners of her mouth that were involuntarily rising.

“Miss Capulet?”

Just as she was about to blend into the crowd, someone called her name.

“Friar Lawrence…”

He was someone she never expected to see here. Well, no matter how far the church was, it wasn’t like the priest never came to town.

“It’s nice to see you here.”

Friar Lawrence spoke to her in his usual gentle tone but didn’t hide the complex emotions on his face. She bowed her head deeply, feeling like a sinner.

“I heard from Romeo.”

“I’m sorry, Friar.”

She had no intention of marrying Romeo from the start, but to Friar Lawrence, she might have seemed like a lunatic. She had acted as if she would die without marrying Romeo and then betrayed him after all the problems were solved.

“What on earth happened?”

But instead, he looked at her with concern. Perhaps he couldn’t imagine that she had rejected Romeo of her own will. Her conscience pricked at her. Deceiving such a kind person.

“My feelings just changed. I’m sorry.”

She apologized once more. She could have made up excuses, but she didn’t want to lie without reason. It was the least courtesy to someone who had been deceived by her all this time.

Friar Lawrence looked at her silently for a moment. Then, in a kind voice, he spoke to her, who had her head bowed.

“Do you have a moment to spare?”

She nodded. If she had gladly listened to the praise for what she had achieved, she should also listen to the reproach for what she had done.

Friar Lawrence took her to the church. He might have thought she would give an honest answer there. But there was nothing more to be honest about. She didn’t like Romeo. That was the truth, with nothing more or less.

Since it was a day without service, the church was empty. In the empty church, she and Friar Lawrence had a long conversation. At the end of the conversation, Friar Lawrence finally nodded as if he understood.

“Human relationships are something that can’t be helped.”

His face was still full of bitterness, but she tried to ignore it.

“Then I’ll be going now.”

Just as she was about to get up after finishing the conversation, the church door opened. She frowned at the sudden flood of light.

“I came to offer a prayer of thanks.”

Before she could fully open her squinting eyes, a familiar voice reached her ears. She sat back down in the chair, which she had half-raised her body from. Then she quickly turned her head so that her face couldn’t be seen from the door. Not hiding under the chair was the maximum courtesy she could show.

“I apologize. Miss Capulet was here first.”

Of course, merely turning her head wasn’t enough to prevent her from being recognized. At her polite greeting, she raised her body, which had been crumpled in the chair, and greeted back.

“Hello, Miss Rosaline.”

If she were to title today’s diary, would it be something like “Crushed to death by guilt”? Her face, forced into a smile, felt like it would twitch.

In fact, she hadn’t done anything wrong to Miss Rosaline. But emotions weren’t something that could be neatly arranged like cutting radishes.

Rosaline’s face, seen at the funeral, was still vividly etched in her mind. Moreover, Rosaline said she came to offer a prayer of thanks. It was obvious what she was thankful for at this point.

“I was just about to leave. Then, I’ll be going.”

At her words, Rosaline’s expression became noticeably more relaxed. It couldn’t have been easy for Rosaline to see her. She slowly left the church. Through the closing door, she saw Rosaline kneeling under the statue of the Virgin, praying.

Light reflected from the stained glass shone on her as she prayed with her hands clasped. It was a beautiful scene. And in that sight, she saw a possibility.

“I brought what you asked for, Juliet.”

William handed her a few sheets of paper, which she hastily accepted. Feeling embarrassed by her snatching-like movement, she awkwardly smiled at William.

“Thank you, William. I really needed this, but I couldn’t go ask myself.”

“It was nothing. I told you I would help with anything.”

“Even if you can’t use the Masterpiece.”

At her words, William immediately made an awkward face. He was a man worth teasing.

“It would have been better if you hadn’t used it from the start if you weren’t going to use it anymore.”

“Juliet. I’m really sorry.”

William now looked almost on the verge of tears. She suppressed the laughter that was bubbling up.

“How should I apologize?”

While she held back her laughter, William became more and more desperate. Seeing him look like a frightened puppy, she burst into laughter. It was time to stop teasing him. Otherwise, he might really burst into tears.

“I’m joking.”

“What?”

He asked back in a dazed voice, looking at her, who suddenly burst into laughter.

“I’m joking. If you hadn’t written the Masterpiece, I wouldn’t have known how my father felt about me, and I wouldn’t have been able to resolve the minor grudge between the Montagues and Capulets. Well, there’s a sense that I resolved it after blowing up a minor grudge too big, though.”

At her words, William, who was gradually regaining his spirit, drooped again. Really, she should stop teasing him.

“And we wouldn’t have met if it weren’t for the Masterpiece, would we?”

At her continued words, William looked at her. A faint smile was on his face.

“You might think I’m shameless, but I’m really grateful to the Masterpiece for that.”

It felt like she was suddenly counterattacked. She buried her head in the papers he handed over to hide her embarrassed feelings.

“Then I’ll read this for a moment.”

Even after finishing her words, the letters didn’t come into focus. In the end, she had to read the first line six times before she could concentrate on the papers. The few sheets were read quickly once she focused. She slowly smiled. The papers he gave contained the information she had predicted and wanted.

“It’s really amazing. 100 percent. He was so proud that it wasn’t even hard to find out. The results I found out were the same as what the friar told me.”

As she put down the papers, William spoke as if he had been waiting.

“Thank you so much. Now I can do what I intended to do.”

“What is it you’re planning to do?”

William asked, looking puzzled. Come to think of it, she hadn’t explained exactly what she was going to do to William. She smiled and answered.

“I’m going to meet Miss Rosaline.”