Romeo and Rosaline - 6

In order to reconcile with Montague, the dinner meeting became akin to a grand ball, inviting even the nobles. The preparation process was not easy. Amidst the busy staff of Capulet, Rosaline was able to spend her afternoon with the excuse of working at the temple.

Naturally, her business was not at the temple but with Romeo.

Rosaline and Romeo met twice a week at the secluded garden or cottage at the same time. It was perfect for being misunderstood as a secret rendezvous, but all they did was Rosaline incessantly talk about Juliet, with Romeo as the listener.

Throughout the conversation, Romeo kept a suitable distance, never approaching too closely or accidentally brushing against her. Since their encounter on the balcony, he seemed reluctant to come near, as if he didn’t want any physical contact. But his behavior wasn’t all well-mannered.

Romeo mostly listened silently, but occasionally he would make a bored expression and sarcastically say, “That must have been nice.” Rosaline felt anxious that his interest might wane, yet she hoped he wouldn’t show any interest in Juliet.

Their somewhat uneasy encounters continued for over two weeks.

Rosaline and Romeo sat side by side in the secluded forest, with Rosaline offering him a cigar from her lady’s pipe. She liked the way Juliet smiled as she puffed on the cigar, so she teased him gleefully.

“It’s quite expensive. She particularly likes the warm scent, so she must have several exclusive scissors for it. I take care of them… What are you doing?”

Romeo took the cigar without permission. Then, he held it between his index and middle fingers, rotating it as if observing it for the first time.

“I want to light it, did you bring scissors and fire?”

“What… Just give it to me!”

Rosaline reached out to grab it, but he dodged backwards. As he got closer, the scent, which she had assumed was simply the smell of the forest, became stronger. It was a rich and refreshing scent, like the abundance of flowers by the riverside. It was different from the metallic smell she had associated with blood.

Afraid of being completely enveloped by the fragrance if she got any closer, Rosaline kept her distance and tidied her crumpled clothes in disarray.

“Rosaline, before I even had your heart, I desired to know you.”

Her busy hands abruptly stopped. As she raised her head to glare at him, his lips smoothly curved upward. But his dark eyes didn’t smile.

“Even asking you to do what you did with Juliet was ultimately to get to know you. You talk so much about how beautiful and splendid Juliet is, yet you hardly mention yourself.”

“…I thought that by talking about the lady, you would also reveal my heart to you. She is…”

“Is your lady so splendid and perfect?”

He rolled his eyes and let out a sigh.

“I don’t want to hear about how beautiful the flower is. I want to know how much you loved and cherished that flower.”

Amidst Romeo’s words, Rosaline didn’t utter a single word about her own feelings for Juliet. Even Rosaline herself became puzzled by this belated realization. She clearly had feelings of admiration and longing for Juliet, and there was no reason for her to remain silent.

“Rosaline.”

After a moment of hesitation, Romeo gently asked,

“Is it difficult to talk about yourself?”

She twitched her lips like she had just received a series of blows. But she couldn’t easily deny his words. Talking about herself. No one has ever been curious enough to ask, and she had never spoken about it before.

But she didn’t want to admit it so readily. If she admitted it, she would appear especially susceptible to his gaze and questions.

The reason Juliet doesn’t even ask her trivial questions is because Rosaline and Juliet’s relationship is already close-knit. Unless the familiar white cup suddenly turned black one day, there would be no reason to be curious about the cup’s condition or color. But not being curious doesn’t mean you don’t use the cup.

Without realizing that she was comparing herself to a cup, Rosaline clutched at her collar. It was partly because it was an unfamiliar situation. Instead of answering honestly, she decided to counter with a question.

“What exactly am I supposed to do? What you’re asking for is too superficial.”

“Is that so? It seems easy to me.”

He knew she was avoiding the answer, but he didn’t bother pointing it out. Instead, Romeo, who had been absentmindedly stroking his chin, spoke casually.

“Rosaline, I lust after you.”

If speaking the vulgar sentence as casually as saying he was hungry was a talent, then it was indeed a talent. But without even glancing at the astonished Rosaline, he continued speaking in an indifferent tone.

“When I hear you speak about your lady in a monotonous tone, I find it pathetic. But when I look at your lips, I imagine you whimpering like a dog in heat. Sometimes I wonder if I want to kill you or simply hold you, to the point where it confuses me.”

“It would be better if you were a dog,” he muttered to himself. Rosaline’s lips trembled like an infant. Who could have uttered such a vulgar desire? She had thought that perhaps he desired her. But during their recent encounters, Romeo had been so well-behaved that he barely even touched her.

“Ha-harassment… No, something like my body…”

“It’s a waste. To the point of making me angry.”

He spun the cigarette in his fingers. Rosaline seemed nonchalant about being ‘angry.’

“…I thought you said you didn’t need it…….”

“I said I didn’t need it, not that I didn’t want it.”

Romeo chuckled softly and fixed his gaze on Rosaline again.

“You see, since I’m not taking any action, you must not know my true intentions either. How could you, especially when you don’t even talk.”

“…Then…”

“If you’re just going to talk about the lady unnecessarily, as you did in the beginning, then do to me what you did to her.”

Rosaline suddenly regretted her rambling. It was too late to backpedal after telling him about her kissing Juliet on the cheek before bed and saying all sorts of things like occasionally singing for her.

He calmly spoke as if he had already caught the prey by the scruff of its neck.

“The least you can do is bring me tobacco, cut off the end, or pour me a drink while I smoke my cigar.”

“Do you know how… how expensive that is?”

He chuckled at Rosaline’s pale and disgusted cheek.

“You call yourself a close friend or a loving sister, yet you tremble and worry over a mere cigar?”

His words seemed to imply that any friend or sister would follow you to bed, hold your cigar, speak highly of you all the time, and just look up to you. The stories she had cautiously shared so far returned with a sense of contempt. Flustered, Rosaline quickly tilted her body to have the cigar taken away.

“Where.”

He evaded her and sneered. Rosaline, who had firmly resolved, didn’t even hesitate to slide between his legs. As she approached, it felt like she was submerging into a deep valley that resembled his scent.

“Give it to me!”

“I don’t want to.”

Rosaline clung persistently, momentarily forgetting that they were sitting on a high rock. The fall happened in an instant.

“Wait!”

Rosaline fell below the rock along with her final words. Anticipating considerable pain, she tightly closed her eyes, but all she felt was a warm embrace and a steady heartbeat. Thump, thump. The sound of a heart that was neither slow nor fast.

He had embraced her just before she fell. There was no pain from the impact, but with every breath, she could feel his entire body through her skin. The shape and texture of his muscles could be clearly felt beyond his clothes.

Startled, she tried to stand up, but her tense body didn’t obey, causing her to stagger for a while. In the end, she leaned against him for a while, clutching the ground beside his face with both hands and barely managing to straighten her waist.

After catching her breath, their eyes met. Romeo’s face was so close that Rosaline could see herself reflected in his dark eyes, where even the pupils were not visible.

“…….”

“…….”

Without flicking a single finger, he looked down at her with an indifferent expression from within the blue shade cast by her long hair.

At first glance, he seemed emotionless, but Rosaline knew that his expression was a well-crafted shield to hide his true feelings. Just as he could read her, it was the moment when she wanted to read the truth from him.

“You’re a bad sister after all.”

Rosaline’s flushed cheeks flared up again. She quickly straightened her posture and picked up the scattered cigars, placing them back into the box.

Meanwhile, Romeo leisurely sat down and combed through his hair entangled with dry leaves.

As Rosaline stared at his composed face, her heart raced as if it would burst. It wasn’t desire, but rather a mockery without a doubt. Along with intense anger, she cleanly concluded her judgment of Romeo Montague.

He was a person who never forgets an insult until it is repaid. That’s why he tormented me so horribly.

“I will do as you wish.”

Rosaline barely suppressed her anger. It would all end if she could show him how close the relationship between Juliet and herself truly was.

“But, I will show you what Juliet has done for me.”

Rosaline believed that showing what she had done to Juliet would be less effective than the opposite. In fact, her resistance to complying with his demands grew stronger.

“Next time, we’ll go to the old town, so come dressed inconspicuously.”

The old town was originally a place with temples and gardens dedicated to the moon god Tiber and later transformed into a market and tavern after the sun god Kata took the place of the sole deity. The place formed under the silence of merchant associations and administrators was never safe, but it was familiar enough to navigate. Above all, it held memories with Juliet.

As she was about to leave with her belongings, he sharply questioned.

“The old town?”

Rosaline had no reason to explain further, so she brushed off her skirt and stood up, leaving him behind as she walked away. But he immediately followed and grabbed Rosaline’s wrist.

“You, do you go to such places with a lady?”

“Don’t you dare!”

Rosaline shouted, shaking off his arm.

“Don’t grab me so casually. Got it?”

She was surprised at herself for raising her voice so loudly, her eyes widening in astonishment. And yet, instead of feeling reluctant, her heart pounded with a raw satisfaction that spread through her bloodstream. Satisfaction, why?

Feeling perplexed by the unfamiliar sensation, she didn’t show it and turned around.

“See you in two days.”

He didn’t follow her any further. But his angered gaze at the mention of the old town didn’t disappear from her mind. It seemed like he was worried, even if just a little.

Doubt, anger, and frustration mingled within her. She had always been someone indifferent to her emotions, to the point where she had never fully experienced sorrow even when Juliet died. But because of Romeo, she was now capable of feeling such intense anger.

Even if Juliet was involved, what on earth was he, for him to disturb me like this…

No, there’s no need to know. If I know, I won’t be able to avoid hating him. Of course, there’s no reason to hate him, but it was better than liking him. Rosaline murmured while drawing a star.

“Oh, Kata, if this is the trial you have bestowed upon me, I will willingly embrace it.”

The clear late summer sky resembled Juliet’s eyes. It was somehow sorrowful, yet it also gave her strength.