Romeo and Rosaline - 21

Since Juliet left with Count Paris, Romeo has become even more audacious.

He would take her out for walks on the streets, persuading her to venture outside during the day and even at night. There were times when he took her on horseback without saying a word, and they arrived at a lake where the end was barely visible.

“The sea is not much different from this. It’s even more beautiful when it rains.”

Romeo said, as he remembered the passing comment when Rosaline and the sea were mentioned.

As soon as she saw the lake, she understood why Paris wanted to take Juliet to the sea. The shimmering reflections on the surface and the deep colors of the lake were incredibly beautiful. But more than the place itself, Romeo, who brought her here to show it, was even more willing. Her heart felt like it would burst.

“Thank you. I will never forget this.”

“…Rosaline.”

As he stared at her blankly, those words escaped Romeo’s lips.

“Is there something else you want?”

“You seem eager to grant wishes.”

“If you wish, I can give you a light that will never fade.”

Rosaline responded playfully, but he was earnest. In the end, she mustered up the courage to express her shy request.

“To live an ordinary life. Truly, to live happily in an ordinary way…”

“…….”

“Just like now…”

Their encounter could never be called ordinary, but Rosaline always believed that the ordinary happiness she longed for would be similar to the present. When he, who was usually reserved and silent, looked at her with a strange gaze, she felt cautious. Romeo pushed her into the bushes, causing her to fall.

“I will fulfill it for you, Rosaline.”

Without hesitation, he quickly undressed, not caring who might see them in this secluded lakeside. Rosaline didn’t refuse the passionate affair they hurriedly engaged in. It seemed like his pulsating emotions were contagious to her. Raw and intense breaths, restrained desires, slow movements to match her, sweat forming at the edge of his chin. Excitement, slow and deliberate encounters.

“You’re beautiful, Rosaline.”

Although he was undoubtedly a mess himself, his caressing touch felt ecstatic, like cherishing a treasure. The volume of nameless emotions that filled her heart was even greater than the part of him occupying her body.

Since that day, Romeo not only slept in Rosaline’s room until morning but also acted as a servant, even accompanying her to the Capulet mansion.

No one ever noticed, and it was always astonishing. He wore the beret that servants used, lowered his hair down to his eyebrows, and imitated their gestures and postures perfectly when working with them. At those times, he was perfectly inconspicuous, and occasionally, Rosaline herself couldn’t recognize him.

She believed him when he said there was no chance of getting caught, but she couldn’t help feeling anxious when her mother’s discerning eyes fixed on her.

“Just think of it as a unique trait. I’m well-trained. Whether it’s a Tybalt or a Gibault, I’ll be able to do the same things they do.”

Rosaline seemed frustrated, and Romeo spoke as if he were vomiting. Wearing a brown beret of unknown origin and donning worn overalls like a young stable boy. Whether he had diligently worked was questionable, as there was a smudge of dirt on his cheek.

Rosaline, on the other hand, had just returned from the temple, was dressed as a servant, and she was dealing with him in the garden.

It was a comical sight, but the tension in the air around them grew taut, signaling an impending conflict.

“Moreover, your mother will never recognize me. She has never seen me before.”

“…She might have seen you at the ball.”

“Seeing me from afar, the size of a bug? She won’t even know what color my eyes are.”

He teased her.

“It doesn’t seem like she even wants to get close to you. Just ignore it.”

“…As much as I hate it, she’s still my mother. How can I completely ignore it?”

“Even though she treats you so poorly, you still call her Mother?”

How wonderful it would be if our hearts could follow our desires. Why do so many children cling to harsh parents? Why can’t numerous siblings let go of their bitter experiences? Rosaline, who used to smile bitterly, suddenly felt a sense of unease and stared at him intently.

“I have never spoken specifically about my mother, yet you speak like you know our relationship so well.”

Rosaline narrowed her eyes. But Romeo, instead of avoiding her gaze, brazenly met her eyes. He was always like that. There was no way to escape, and he never tried to leave, as though he was someone who would be abandoned soon. Feelings of pity and sympathy quickly welled up within her, but those emotions couldn’t be expressed right away.

“Have you been spying? Don’t tell me you’ve been here…before all this happened.”

Mother had said, “If you brazenly let someone inside and hope they won’t know, you’re a fool.” Although Rosaline’s mother didn’t pay attention to the separate cottage where Rosaline stayed, it’s possible she saw Romeo lurking nearby. He was human too, and humans make mistakes sometimes.

“…In that case, She must already know who I am, right?”

“Oh my goodness…!!!”

Rosaline’s face turned bright red. He knew she was a mess even with Juliet, but now that her relationship with her mother was exposed, she felt embarrassed once again.

“Have you ever thought about how I might feel?”

“Yes, I know very well.”

He furrowed his brow, like a man strangled.

“Your mother is no different from Juliet, so why are you clinging so stubbornly?”

“…Don’t speak so recklessly.”

“I am speaking the truth.”

“Oh, really?”

Rosaline snorted.

“If you’re someone who speaks the truth so well, then why do you insist that I won’t get pregnant? Saying it’s a unique trait or something.”

“…….”

“Why don’t you be honest first.”

Although she had spoken those words, she believed that he also took precautions, just as she did with contraception. No matter how much they focused on each other, neither a pregnant prospective priest nor the one who impregnated her would ever escape punishment.

However, it was truly detestable and frustrating how he kept speaking without consideration, using the pretext of truth. He seemed to have no intention of apologizing, keeping his mouth shut and glaring at her as if he were about to attack.

“Just go, I don’t want to see your face.”

As Rosaline withdrew, he grabbed her wrist. It was a swift and powerful grip that made her body tremble.

“Don’t tell me to go.”

“Go.”

As soon as she broke free from his grasp, Romeo blocked her path. When she tried to avoid him and pass by, he immediately came from behind and embraced her.

“Not today… Romeo!”

He attempted to kiss her lips as if to tell her he didn’t want to hear it. When she resisted even that, he whispered against her lips, pressing them to her throat.

“The questions you have for me, I can’t easily answer. It would be better for me to cut my tongue than to speak them.”

His rough breath brushed against her skin. It couldn’t be true, but it felt as though he was crying.

“If I tear my own lips apart, would your anger subside?”

“…Romeo!”

The eerie sound finally made Rosaline turn around, and he didn’t miss his chance. Holding her in a suffocating embrace, he pressed his lips to her jaw and neck, pleading.

“If you’re not going to discard me away, don’t show your back.”

Ultimately, empathy and a similar sense of kinship prevailed. Romeo, no different from herself, was sensitive to the fear of being abandoned.

Rosaline leaned against his broad chest while gently patting his back. Unlike usual, she found it amusing that the familiar scent of the stable was alluring.

With a slightly relieved heart, Rosaline spoke.

“…Juliet, and my mother, they’re not people I can easily let go of. They’re the ones who have been with me my whole life.”

“…….”

“You understand that, too.”

“Yes, I understand.”

A faint sound of scraping metal came from his throat.

“As much as I fucking…….”

Suddenly, the question is, who is this being that has left him like this? To the extent where Romeo looks into Rosaline’s eyes and says, ‘nothing but unanswered devotion and longing.’ Just who was this person?

Regardless of who it was, she thought they were truly similar. And as she stared blankly, Romeo whispered and pressed his forehead against hers.

“Please kiss me, Rosaline.”

Believing that the generous and unique Kata would not be angry at their fleeting kiss, Rosaline pressed her lips against his. Their unrefined breaths intertwined. She had a premonition that tonight would be as intense as this breath, yet she did not avoid it.

The brief quarrel made him even more poignant. So much so, that Rosaline became afraid of the moment when she would part with him.

* * *

Until she received a message from the central diocese, Rosaline’s daily routine was rather simple. Unless something out of the ordinary occurred, she would wake up early in the morning and go to the temple, or she would pray at the altar in the mansion. In the morning, she would assist Juliet and, if there were no other paperwork tasks, she would return to the temple with Lawrence to prepare for the mass.

But since Juliet had left on a journey, Juliet’s father, Lord Capulet, summoned her to serve as his butler. And though she had been with him for some time, Rosaline hadn’t expected this. Lord Capulet was polite, but they had never been close with each other.

Furthermore, despite being called over, the tasks assigned to her were nothing more than following him and serving him tea. She even took on the responsibility of comparing the ledger and double-entry books for the ship transactions, which Juliet had originally entrusted to her.

Most of the work would be finished early, leaving her free in the afternoon, but being in the same space felt awkward and uncomfortable.

“Why are you so tense?”

Lord Capulet, who had been looking at documents for a while, spoke. Rosaline, who stood behind him like a tree, tightened her grip on the teapot she was holding to prevent it from slipping. It would be strange to say she wasn’t tense, but how should she respond? He is the owner of one of the top merchantry in the country, despite his compassionate appearance. Even though he seemed gentle, he controlled hundreds of people.

While she hesitated, he spoke again.

“To entrust such important records to you, who are already busy with temple affairs. Even if one day you are brought in to investigate the family, it’s not the proper thing for a priest to do.”

“…I apologize.”

“Oh, I see. I didn’t mean for you to apologize. It’s actually a burden for you.”

Lord Capulet, with a kind smile, looked up from the documents and gazed at Rosaline.

“I appreciate it. Juliet was almost going to grow up without a mother or any other siblings, but thanks to you and your mother, she received an abundance of love as she grew up.”

“Thank you.”

Rosaline, feeling flustered, waved her hands and turned her head in different directions.

“I, too, would have grown up without any siblings, but thanks to you, I didn’t feel lonely. Having someone like Lady Juliet in my life has been the greatest fortune.”

“I’m glad you think that way.”

Seeing his compassionate expression, Rosaline nodded her head with a sense of excitement.

“If there’s anything else you need, please let me know.”

She thought of numerous things she needed, but they were not clear enough to express in words, even though they were there. It was frustrating, like having a tangled ball of fur under her tongue.

“…It’s enough. Thank you for your consideration.”

Lord Capulet, who had been staring at Rosaline for a while, nodded his head and turned his attention back to the documents. With a faint rustling sound, he quietly muttered as if to himself.

“I apologize to you as well.”

“……”

“And to your mother, Sarah.”