If you’re that sorry, wouldn’t it be fine to go see it together? A twisted feeling rose but she quickly crushed it, leaving no trace. Rosaline kissed her cheek.

“Send me a letter. So I can imagine you seeing the sea.”

When Juliet returned, not long after, Rosaline would leave. The time remaining between them wasn’t much. Yet rather than becoming anxious, emptiness grew larger.

Though she’d only seen the sea in pictures, loneliness rushed in as if she’d already fallen into a deep, deep sea.

As Paris’s excited voice and Juliet’s cheerful black hair disappeared outside the door, it became an unbearable feeling.

“Hey, where are you going? Without even cleaning up!”

Familiarly ignoring her mother’s shrill voice, Rosaline hurriedly moved her steps. She’d never been so grateful that her room was in a corner of the annex as today.

Not Juliet who remained distant despite living together long, but Romeo, broken miserably like herself—she wanted to see him right now. Even if it was deception, it was fine. If there was even one person who wanted her.

Her quick walk became a run in an instant. The room at the very end of the corridor, the late afternoon sunlight waiting for night dyed the mansion interior crimson. Just like Romeo’s hair.

No, like the light inside him.

“Romeo!”

She flung the door open. But her room held only the silence that was her lifelong companion. Her fingertips went cold with disappointment.

Acting like a man utterly smitten with her, appearing and tormenting her at all hours, yet absent when she actually wanted him. Childish resentment welled up. This was all his fault for needlessly ruining her habits. Appearing as if he’d be there wherever she went, how could she not suddenly expect it?

Because of you, my habits have become like a dog’s—she’d have to tell him not to come. As she turned toward the door with that resolve—

“Rosaline?”

When had he arrived? Beyond the open door stood Romeo. Seeing Rosaline’s complexion, he scrunched his face and strode toward her.

“What is it, you’ve been crying again? What on earth……”

Had he washed up again in the meantime? His slicked-back hair was wet and his face was clean. His attire was also his usual cloak, as if ready to leave for somewhere at any moment.

But unlike his usual self, a subtle fragrance wafted strongly. In his hands he held lilianshers wrapped in white packaging. Flowers resembling white roses, their tips dyed violet. Though they shouldn’t suit his large hands, he looked quite good holding flowers.

As Rosaline’s gaze touched the flowers and wouldn’t leave, Romeo hid them behind his back as if noticing the bouquet he’d forgotten.

“Ah, that.”

He had to hide the flowers, and Rosaline was crying. Romeo seemed frustrated by this situation. When her tear-filled gaze rose blankly, he became even more flustered. Romeo rolled his eyes then soon gave up, stroking his reddened chin.

“The flowers in the vase were all wilted, so I threw them away.”

He gestured toward the shabby glass bottle on the side table. She’d stuck violets and trumpet flowers from the garden entrance or forest, and attractively grown long weeds, but whether he’d tidied them, only an empty glass bottle remained.

“I brought these to refill it.”

Rosaline silently cast her gaze at the glass bottle, then looked at Romeo again. When there was no response, he blinked like a dog awaiting punishment.

“……Do you hate it? Not your taste?”

“……”

“D*mn it, that b*stard William……”

William was the prince’s name. Though she didn’t know why he was suddenly cursing him, Rosaline grabbed his wrist before the bouquet was ruined in Romeo’s grip.

“They’ll get damaged……”

She slowly took the flowers from his loosened hand. She breathed in the flowers’ scent deeply and smiled.

“It’s my first time receiving flowers, so I was flustered. They’re so pretty, thank you.”

This time Romeo fell silent. As if he’d been struck by an arrow to the head, he just looked down at Rosaline with unfocused eyes.

“Romeo?”

He slowly raised his hand and pressed his thumb firmly against her eyes. Clumsy touch with only force, far from gentle, as if to wipe away all her tears.

“Do you cry like this because I’m terrible?”

“Why would you say such a thing?”

Rosaline truly couldn’t understand why such an accomplished person acted so humble. Did he know his own personality was dirty?

“It’s not because of you.”

She leaned her cheek against his palm and grasped the back of his hand.

“You told me to be honest. That’s why I’m crying.”

“Nothing else happened?”

“……I was upset that Miss left.”

Strength entered his hand, but she kissed his long thumb and continued.

“I was angry that you weren’t in my room.”

He, who’d been scrunching his face fiercely, laughed weakly as if deflated. Rosaline stepped forward, embraced his firm waist, and leaned her cheek against him. She heard the sound of petals brushing behind his back. Romeo naturally gripped her shoulder. Though his grasping touch was full of strength, it didn’t hurt.

“Do you like your miss that much? Enough to keep shedding precious tears.”

“Yes, to the point it feels like a curse.”

Juliet Capulet was another family member, the first person to hold onto her when she was alone. They’d grown up together their whole lives in the same house, so she’d thought she’d always be by her side.

So lingering attachment remained coiled in her chest, causing impulses from time to time. Though she knew it was a dry well, she kept trying to draw up emotions, asking to be seen.

But she didn’t need to do that with Romeo. He wasn’t family she couldn’t choose, nor was it a relationship of being unilaterally abandoned and clinging. Even without the deal between them, Rosaline could feel even Romeo’s modest affection.

They were vivid feelings she couldn’t ignore even if she tried.

Rosaline raised her face and smiled faintly.

“The scent from you, I actually like it. It must be perfume mixed with your body scent.”

“……”

“The flowers and perfume all seem to be things the prince suggested to you, he seems to know how to seduce people.”

He kept his mouth firmly shut, embraced her waist, leaned his forehead on her shoulder, and muttered.

“Praise me. The one who wore… perfume wasn’t that b*stard, it was me.”

As Rosaline wrapped her arms around his grumbling neck and laughed loudly, he bent down and embraced her. She carelessly stroked his hair with the hand holding the bouquet.

“I’ll praise you. You did well, Romeo.”

Rosaline whispered, kissing his cheek. Just a while ago they’d been shouting and exchanging nonsense, yet this situation felt unfamiliar yet ticklish. Not bad.

“……When did you stop crying and start laughing?”

He didn’t bother waiting for an answer and tried to kiss her. But as Rosaline pulled her head back, his lips touched near her chin. He looked up, raising his thick eyebrows. Rosaline pretended to glare at his lips.

“You smile too.”

She’d decided not to pry, guessing he had his reasons for not talking about himself. That didn’t mean she didn’t want to see his various expressions.

“You only smile when you’re angry or being sarcastic, or… when doing that. I want to see you just smile.”

She’d briefly seen Romeo smile when drinking before, but it was fleeting, leaving only long dimples as an afterimage. So she’d consider it unseen.

“……That’s not something you can do just by……”

“I want to see it.”

Romeo scrunched his brow as if displeased and buried his forehead in her shoulder again. His sharp nose bridge pressed against her skin and warm breath settled down.

“Hurry.”

He still didn’t show his face, embracing Rosaline suffocatingly. It was fascinating that the person called Kata on the battlefield was being stubborn over just one word asking him to smile. So this is why Miss Juliet teases people—her lips itched.

As she prodded his ear insistently, Romeo slowly raised his head.

“……Is this enough?”

Rosaline learned for the first time today that a handsome face could be ruined this much. He pulled up his mouth corners as far as possible, drawing a smile showing all the hollows inside his mouth, but his eyes weren’t smiling, like a third-rate sculptor’s poor work.

“Pfft!”

Rosaline laughed brightly, showing her white teeth. It was so funny she bounced and even shed tears.

“Ah, ah. You’re really ugly. What should I do?”

“I’ve never heard that before.”

“But, really.”

“But, really. I’ve never heard it.”

Romeo lifted Rosaline, who couldn’t stop laughing and kept hitting his shoulder. Then he glared at her with his chin and ears reddened.

“You’re really toying with me.”

He was also dumbfounded and chuckled, eventually bursting into laughter. A long dimple hollowed in his left cheek. She pressed her lips to his dimple and muttered.

“Did this always exist?”

She’d thought so when first seeing him, but Romeo before regression didn’t have such dimples. Perhaps she hadn’t known because she hadn’t looked with interest. Romeo raised his eyebrows.

“It’s always been there, from the very beginning.”

“……Mm, I guess I thought it was just a wrinkle.”

He laughed absurdly as if it was ridiculous and kissed her. Wave-like feelings surged up, filling the hole in Rosaline’s heart. She responded fervently, holding the vain hope that he could fill her heart completely.

The lingering scent of lilianshers didn’t leave the small room. That intense and beautiful fragrance resembling Romeo’s body scent.

『Romeo and Rosaline』 Continues in Volume 2