“They’re quite expensive. She especially likes ones with a warm scent, and keeps several dedicated cutters on hand. I manage them… what are you doing?”

Romeo took the cigar without permission. Not satisfied with that, he shook it up and down with it in his mouth, then held it between his index and middle fingers, turning it around as if observing it for the first time.

“I want to smoke it—did you bring a cutter and fire?”

“What are you… give it back!”

When Rosaline reached out to grab it, he avoided her by leaning his waist back. As she got closer to him, the scent she had simply thought was from the forest grew thicker. It was a dense, refreshing smell like flowers growing abundantly along a riverbank. Different from the metallic smell reminiscent of blood from before.

Feeling like she’d be completely buried in the scent if she approached further, Rosaline kept her distance and straightened her thoroughly wrinkled clothes.

“Rosaline, before I desired to have your heart, I certainly craved to know it.”

Her busily moving hands stopped abruptly. When she raised her head to glare at him, his lips curved smoothly upward. However, his black eyes weren’t smiling.

“Telling you to do to me what you did with Juliet was ultimately to know you. But you just prattle on about how pretty and wonderful Juliet is and don’t talk about yourself at all.”

“…I thought if I talked about Miss, you would come to know my heart too. She is……”

“Because your Miss is wonderful and perfect?”

He rolled his eyes and sighed.

“I don’t want to hear about how beautiful a flower is. I want to know how much you’ve cherished and cultivated that flower because you love it.”

As Romeo said, Rosaline hadn’t spoken a single word about her own feelings toward Juliet. Belatedly realizing this fact, Rosaline too became puzzled. The feelings of respect and admiration for her clearly existed, and there was no reason she couldn’t speak of them.

“Rosaline.”

As she pondered, Romeo asked in a quite gentle tone.

“Is it difficult to talk about yourself?”

She flinched like someone who’d been hit repeatedly. However, she couldn’t easily deny his words either. Talk about myself. No one’s ever been curious, so I’ve never spoken of it.

But she didn’t want to readily admit it. If she admitted it, it would be like treating his gaze and questions as special.

The fact that Juliet doesn’t even ask her trivial questions is because Rosaline and Juliet’s relationship is already close. Unless a white cup you always see suddenly turns black one day, there’s 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 she’d compared herself to a cup, Rosaline gripped her skirt. It was an unfamiliar situation in any case. She decided to ask back instead of answering honestly.

“What exactly should I do? What you’re demanding is too abstract.”

“Is that so. It seems easy to me.”

He knew she was avoiding the answer but didn’t bother pointing it out. Rather, Romeo, who had been tapping his chin as if pondering, spoke lightly.

“Rosaline, I l*st after you.”

It was a talent of sorts to say such a vulgar sentence as plainly as saying he was hungry. But he didn’t even give the shocked Rosaline a glance and continued in an indifferent tone.

“When I listen to you talk about your Miss so gently, I feel pathetic, but when I look at your lips, I go into heat like a dog. I imagine you pinned down and bursting into tears right now. Sometimes I want you so much I’m confused whether I want to kill you or just hold you.”

A dog would be better, he muttered self-deprecatingly. Rosaline opened and closed her mouth like a fool. Who on earth says they l*st after someone so crudely? She had thought he might want her. But Romeo had been well-behaved enough not to touch her at all during their recent meetings.

“You’re… teasing… no, my body and such……”

“It’s cheap. Infuriatingly so.”

He spun the cigar between his fingers. Rosaline was ‘infuriatingly’ composed.

“…You said you didn’t need it……”

“I said I didn’t need it, I don’t think I said I didn’t want it.”

Romeo smirked, then fixed his gaze on Rosaline again.

“See, because I don’t act on it, you don’t know what I’m thinking either. When you don’t even speak, how would I know?”

“…Then……”

“If you’re just going to uselessly talk about Miss, do to me what you did to Miss, as I said at first.”

Only then did Rosaline regret everything she’d blabbed about. Since she’d said all sorts of things like kissing Juliet’s cheek before bed and occasionally singing for her, it was wrong to back out now.

He spoke leisurely like a lion that had already caught its prey by the nape.

“At the very least, while I smoke the cigar, you should bring an ashtray, cut the end, or pour me a drink.”

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

Seeing Rosaline’s face turn pale, he chuckled.

“You say you’re close friends or affectionate sisters, yet you’re fretting over losing one cigar?”

His words seemed to ask—what kind of friend or sister follows to the bedroom to attend to them, always speaks formally, and just looks up at them? The stories she’d carefully shared returned with humiliation. Welling up, Rosaline quickly leaned forward to snatch the cigar.

“Where do you think you’re going.”

He sneered as he dodged. Thoroughly provoked, Rosaline didn’t hesitate to move between his legs. The closer she got, the more she felt submerged in a deep valley resembling his scent.

“Give it here!”

“I don’t want to.”

Rosaline clung to the end, and for a moment forgot they were sitting on a rock with some height. The fall was instantaneous.

“…Wait!”

Rosaline fell below the rock with a death cry. She squeezed her eyes shut anticipating quite painful impact, but what she felt was a warm embrace and a steady beating sound. Thump, thump. The sound of a heart neither slow nor fast.

He had caught her just before she fell. There was no pain from impact, but with each breath, his entire body was felt through her skin. The shape and texture of muscles felt through clothing were vivid.

She tried to get up, startled on her own, but her tense body wouldn’t obey and she flailed for a while. As a result, after squirming in his embrace for some time, all she managed was to prop herself up with both hands on the ground beside his face and straighten her waist.

At the end of her disheveled breathing, their eyes met. Romeo’s face was so close that Rosaline was reflected in his black irises where even his pupils weren’t visible.

“……”

“……”

Without moving a finger, he looked up at her with an indifferent expression in the blue shade created by her long hair.

At a glance he seemed heartless, but Rosaline knew his expression was a well-arranged shield to hide what was inside. Just as he read her, when she tried to read passion in him—

“As expected, sisters on bad terms.”

Rosaline’s cheeks, which hadn’t cooled down, heated up again. Succeeding in hastily straightening her waist, she picked up the fallen cigars and put them in the box.

Meanwhile, Romeo sat leisurely and brushed dry leaves tangled in his hair.

Watching his composed face, Rosaline’s heart pounded as if it would burst, feeling completely toyed with. L*st, what l*st—he must have just been teasing. With intense anger, she also neatly finished her judgment of Romeo Montague.

Like someone who must collect a debt owed to them, he’s someone who never forgets an insult. That’s why he torments me so terribly.

“I’ll do what you want.”

Rosaline barely swallowed her anger. If she shows him how close she and Juliet are as he wants, it will be over.

“However, I’ll show you what Juliet did for me.”

Rosaline thought showing the opposite would be more effective than showing what she did for Juliet. In truth, the defiance of not wanting to obediently follow his demands was even greater.

“Next time we’ll go to the old town, so come in inconspicuous clothing.”

The old town was originally a place with a temple and garden for the moon god Tibr, and after the sun god Kata took the position of sole deity, it transformed into a black market and taverns. The place formed under the silence of the merchant guild and administrators was never safe, but manageable if you were familiar with it. Above all, it was a place with memories of Juliet.

As she packed up to leave, he asked sharply.

“The old town?”

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

“You go to such places with Miss?”

“Don’t you dare!”

Rosaline shook off his arm and shouted.

“Don’t grab me carelessly. Understand?”

She was startled by her own loud, angry voice and widened her eyes. Yet far from being reluctant, her heart pounded fiercely with a sharp satisfaction as blood spread through her bloodstream. Satisfaction—why?

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

“I’ll see you in two days.”

He didn’t follow anymore. However, his eyes, thoroughly angered by the mention of the old town, wouldn’t leave her mind. Didn’t it seem like he was worried?

Doubt, anger, and irritation mixed together. She was originally someone dull to emotions, to the extent that she had properly grieved for the first time after Juliet died. But to think she’d be this angry because of Romeo.

Juliet aside, what even is he to tear me apart like this……

No, I don’t need to know. If I know, I can’t hate him. Of course there’s no reason to hate him, but it was better than liking him. Rosaline made the sign of the cross and muttered.

“O Kata, if this is a trial you’ve given me, I will gladly accept it.”

The clear late summer sky resembled Juliet’s eyes. She felt sad somehow, but also gained strength.