Chapter 14: Not All Choices Are Pleasant

The gentle music that had filled the hall faded away, and the crowd fell silent, their attention fixed solely on Bliss. Her words, though harsh, had rung true. The maid was indeed at fault and had to face the consequences.

While everyone had observed Latte’s kindness in defending the maid and Jerian’s prickly demeanor, there was a deeper issue at hand. As Bliss addressed this core matter, the audience grew even more attentive to her next words.

“But do we really need to go that far?”

Bliss’s languid voice carried through the hall. Though measured in volume, her words reached everyone’s ears, including the maid who stood nearest to her. Clutching her skirt tightly, the maid questioned hesitantly, unsure if she had heard correctly.

“…Pardon?”

Bliss’s gaze drifted slowly from the maid’s hands to her face.

‘She fidgets with her skirt just like Jackie.’

The gesture reminded her of Jackie, who had the same nervous habit. She had noticed earlier that the girl appeared to be around Jackie’s age, and up close, her youth was even more apparent.

“You haven’t been a maid for even a year, have you?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The maid’s eyes darted about, puzzled by Bliss’s insight.

‘It’s not hard to tell. Jackie’s the youngest too, so she tends to my needs the most.’

Maids could begin working at age fifteen, and this girl couldn’t be more than sixteen. Even if she had been working for some time, it wouldn’t exceed a year.

“Then your wages must be low, and working at such a young age suggests your family isn’t well-off…”

As Bliss clicked her tongue, fresh tears welled up in the maid’s eyes. Though the crowd’s gazes grew more critical of Bliss, no one stepped forward as Latte had done. They waited for Bliss to finish.

“When would I ever get money from you? I have plenty of money, and coveting what little you have would just be troublesome.”

Bliss lifted her skirt before letting it fall dismissively.

“Managing you for life over just one dress… the thought alone makes me sigh.”

She heaved an exaggerated sigh. Though her words dismissed the maid, she wasn’t demanding compensation. The maid, uncertain how to react, spoke carefully with a confused expression.

“Then will I be beaten…”

“Of course not. Just how serious do you think your offense was?”

“What?”

“What crime did you commit that I should be bound to you? Who’s going to compensate me for the time I’d waste beating you?”

Bliss shook her head before turning away from Jay, the maid. Jerian grabbed her before she could leave.

“Bliss, are you really leaving like this? Without doing anything?”

Jerian’s voice rang with disbelief. Having deferred to Bliss, she felt betrayed by this outcome. Bliss’s current behavior made Jerian appear as the sole villain. Unable to accept this, Jerian rose abruptly.

“Stop right there, Bliss.”

Bliss halted at Jerian’s command.

“If you’re going to leave like that, then I’ll…”

Jerian scanned the room, clearly searching for something to strike the maid with.

“Ah, right. Yes. It would be a shame to leave just like this.”

Jerian’s face brightened as Bliss spoke, remembering something. Surely Bliss wouldn’t just walk away—after all, rumors said she still resorted to physical punishment even after marriage when displeased.

“You’re right, leaving like this feels unsatisfying.”

Bliss approached Jerian unhurriedly, drawing even more curious stares from the onlookers. Throughout Bliss’s approach, Jerian attempted to mask her anxiety by lifting her chin higher.

Standing before Jerian, Bliss crossed her arms and lowered her gaze, as if appraising the other woman’s dress.

“I’ll pay for your dress. How much is it? Probably not much, right? Should I buy you two, no, ten dresses? Is that not enough?”

“Bliss!”

“As you can see, I stole someone else’s fiancé and got married. So I have quite a bit of money.”

Seeing Jerian’s face flush, Bliss lifted one corner of her mouth in a smirk.

“You were envious of my marriage, weren’t you? I’m sorry for forgetting about you since I’m so absorbed in my husband after getting married.”

She threw Jerian’s earlier words back at her.

“I’ll also get you that necklace I promised to buy after marriage. We can match it perfectly with the dress.”

“Bliss… you.”

“After marrying someone handsome, rich, and capable, I have everything in the world now, so these trivial matters don’t concern me anymore.”

She had wanted to repeat Jerian’s words exactly but couldn’t remember them perfectly. Though she improvised something similar, Jerian’s hardened expression told her the message had hit its mark.

“May I leave now?”

Bliss turned around gracefully. Having made it clear to Jerian not to stop her, she knew no one would dare block her path.

‘This is all your fault.’

Jerian’s comment about Latte stealing her fiancé had made it easier for her to step in. Returning the favor exactly as she had received it felt satisfying.

She could barely contain her smile. As she was about to leave with light steps, Bliss suddenly remembered Caelan.

After deliberately staying back to let Latte shine, she had completely forgotten about him.

‘I really acted foolishly.’

This wasn’t how things should have gone… Instead of concerning herself with the maid’s fate, she should have worried about her own life and considered leaving the Marquis’s household, but she had ruined everything.

Bliss left the hall without glancing back at where Caelan had been standing.

‘Let’s pretend not to know until the end.’

Caelan, who had witnessed everything, let out an amused laugh. He had been curious to see how Bliss would behave after receiving the invitation. Given how willful she had been before marriage, he had wanted to observe how she would interact with her former acquaintances…

“How entertaining.”

Having watched the entire scene, Caelan couldn’t hide his pleasure. Bliss’s handling of the situation had exceeded his expectations.

“Aren’t you going to your wife?”

“I don’t think I should go right now.”

Caelan lightly touched his smiling lips with his index finger. He had rarely smiled genuinely at his wife, but today seemed destined to be one of those rare occasions.

“But won’t your wife be waiting?”

“She was pretending not to see me, so what’s the point in approaching her?”

If she was going to pretend, she could have at least been more convincing. Her awkward attempt was almost comical.

His once-boring wife had transformed. When the butler had suggested giving her a chance, claiming she had changed, he had dismissed the idea. Now, he wasn’t so sure he could continue doing so.

***

Someone emerged from the darkness and blocked Caelan’s path as he was heading toward his carriage.

“Marquis.”

“Step back.”

Caelan’s guard knight raised his sword to prevent the other person from coming any closer.

“I have something to say.”

Leonard briefly glanced at the scabbard held horizontally against his chest before addressing Caelan. When Caelan gestured to his guard knight, the man lowered his scabbard and stepped aside. Then, creating some distance between them, he left, leaving only Caelan and Leonard.

Leonard was the first to speak.

“I didn’t expect you to come to the banquet.”

“Bliss showed me the invitation.”

Caelan responded indifferently.

“But it seems you’re not greeting your wife separately… Well, I suppose greetings aren’t important. Your wife is enjoying herself anyway.”

Leonard spoke, recalling his conversation with Bliss.

“She doesn’t hesitate to act as she pleases and put others down. Seeing how she acts on her whims, I realized people don’t really change. Perhaps that’s why it didn’t feel awkward at all seeing her after so long.”

“What do you want to say?”

“Can you spend the rest of your life with someone like her?”

Caelan’s eyebrow twitched at Leonard’s main point.

“I mean, can you stand by and watch as she continues to act selfishly for the rest of her life?”

“If I’d known we’d have this conversation, I should have just ignored you.”

Caelan muttered under his breath.