Chapter 16: Sometimes Unwanted Help is Necessary

She personally met with the butler and instructed him to reassign the maids to different tasks. The maids, who were not just verbally threatened but actually displaced, came to Bliss in tears apologizing, but nothing changed.

When Bliss indicated she would only accept service from Jackie for the time being, the butler agreed without any visible reaction.

Rather than responding to that, he asked if she would like to join him in greeting Caelan who had arrived. She declined, reasoning they would meet in the room anyway.

“I should change my clothes first.”

Upon returning to her room, Bliss turned her back to Jackie. The dress required the laces at the back to be undone. Jackie, who had followed her in, handled the laces with delicate fingers and spoke in a timid voice.

“Um… my lady.”

When Bliss turned around, Jackie stepped back, clutching the now-loosened laces. Still gripping them tightly, Jackie barely lifted her gaze. The more she hesitated, appearing to struggle with difficult words, the more intently Bliss watched her.

“I’m not qualified enough to serve you by myself, my lady.”

Jackie’s voice trailed off, betraying her lack of confidence. Her slumped shoulders and restless hands that couldn’t stop fidgeting with the laces revealed her deep intimidation.

Jackie was clearly overwhelmed by the prospect of serving alone.

“I’m not well-versed in fashion, and I’m not particularly perceptive. I’m afraid of what might go wrong while serving you alone with my shortcomings.”

Understanding Jackie’s concerns, Bliss gave a slight nod.

So this was what troubled her.

‘But what can we do.’

Jackie wasn’t nearly as incompetent as she claimed.

If she truly lacked awareness, she would have spoken up earlier in front of the other maids about her inability to serve. Instead, Jackie had remained silent, only now expressing her concerns.

Furthermore, Bliss had never found fault with Jackie’s service. Despite being afraid of her, Jackie had always understood and followed instructions perfectly.

Bliss turned to face Jackie directly.

“What exactly are you worried might happen?”

Caught off guard by Bliss’s detailed inquiry, Jackie stammered through her response.

“You might become a laughingstock if you go out wearing a dress I selected. I’m not knowledgeable about these matters, which is why I always relied on the senior maids’ choices.”

“That is a problem.”

Instead of offering reassurance, this response made Jackie’s head drop even lower. Her demeanor reminded Bliss of Jay, who had stepped on her skirt earlier that day. When she had faced Jay, Jackie had come to mind, and now the opposite was happening. Their similarities were striking – both in age and in their newcomer’s awkwardness as maids.

Perhaps this was why Bliss felt drawn to Jackie. It must have been challenging to serve someone while being so young and constantly conscious of others’ judgment. Even now, as Bliss’s silence stretched on, Jackie’s face grew increasingly flushed. Fearing Jackie might faint if she let her become any redder, Bliss intervened.

“But who would dare laugh at me?”

“Pardon?”

Jackie echoed, before realization seemed to dawn on her, leaving her mouth wordlessly agape.

‘I never thought I’d say something like this but…’

“Laughing at me is equivalent to laughing at House Adrian.”

She invoked the family’s authority.

“I was short-sighted. I apologize, my lady.”

Jackie bowed her head submissively. Though intended to comfort Jackie, Bliss’s statement held truth.

Looking at Jackie’s bowed head, Bliss found her hand moving of its own accord. As she placed it on Jackie’s head, she felt the trembling beneath her touch.

Sensing Jackie’s surprise, Bliss allowed herself a playful smile before quickly concealing it. Rather than withdrawing her hand from Jackie’s head, she continued to pat it gently.

“Still, you shouldn’t bring anything too unfashionable, so study up. I’ll have to study with you too.”

“My lady, you’re already more than knowledgeable.”

“Well… fashion flows like water, after all.”

Bliss quickly added. The original Bliss had always been quite interested in such matters and had intended to study them separately, but now she had inadvertently revealed that fact.

“Will it really be alright with just me?”

Jackie raised her anxious eyes. Understanding her need for reassurance, Bliss responded with a smile instead of words.

‘If anything, I’m the one who’s not sure if I’ll be alright.’

After deciding to adapt to this world, the first thing she did was reduce the number of maids—how ironic. However, unlike Jackie, she wasn’t anxious; she was too focused on following through with her decisions.

“Let’s do our best.”

Though Jackie still couldn’t shake off her uneasiness, things were already set in motion.

‘No, we can’t go back to how things were.’

From the moment she became Bliss, moving forward in her own way was the best option. Bliss smoothed down her fallen dress and gathered her thoughts several times.

***

Last night, she had attended Leonard’s party, and Bliss had returned home before Caelan. Although it might seem strange to others for a married couple to return separately, she had wanted to avoid an uncomfortable journey.

That wasn’t the only outcome. She now understood why Jackie was the only maid who approached her.

She had suspected it all along, but to think they would put everything on Jackie, the youngest.

She had dismissed the other maids, preferring to tidy things up rather than maintain uncomfortable relationships. While she didn’t regret that decision, she had been troubled since last night about not being able to see Caelan.

‘Is he avoiding me because of what I did?’

Had her dismissal of the maids and the pride battle with Jerian made him uncomfortable?

Or had he suddenly realized who she was and grown to dislike her?

If so, he wouldn’t be as affectionate as before. The thought of him returning to being a cold husband left a bitter taste in her mouth.

‘No, that’s not bad, so why am I acting like this?’

Even when she told Latte that the Marquis was kind, it hadn’t come from genuine emotion. She had only meant to sway Latte’s heart—since she planned to leave the Marquis’s household anyway, it shouldn’t matter how Caelan behaved.

‘I should just meet him quickly.’

Her head was starting to ache from constantly wondering about his behavior.

Bliss asked Jackie, who was doing her hair in front of the mirror.

“Where is he?”

“The Marquis is in the reception room.”

“At this hour?”

It was early morning, just as the sun was rising.

“Yes, there’s a visitor.”

“Who is it?”

“Duke Silas Blast.”

Bliss turned her head, causing the hair Jackie had carefully gathered to fall loose. Jackie looked on with disappointed eyes as she held the ribbon, but Bliss asked again without minding.

“Did Duke Blast come to see Caelan?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

As Jackie gently gathered and lifted her hair again, Bliss sank into thought.

‘The Duke Blast…’

Bliss was well acquainted with him. In the original story, he had been someone who envied Caelan and attempted every possible scheme to bring him down. Being the one who persisted in attacking Caelan until the very end, much had been revealed about his character. The original Bliss and the Duke shared one particular trait.

‘They’re both villains.’

While Bliss had been the villain who drove a wedge between Caelan and Latte before vanishing after her selfish acts, Duke Blast had been the final antagonist who disappeared at the story’s conclusion.

‘Why did he come?’

Bliss settled back in front of the mirror, contemplating Duke Blast. What had brought him here?

‘What was his reason for seeking out Caelan in the original story?’

When Bliss bit her lower lip, Jackie, who had been about to apply lipstick, hesitated. Just as she considered asking Bliss to keep still during the makeup application, Bliss abruptly rose from her seat.

The original story had deviated from its course. Bliss hadn’t died, which had created complications in Caelan and Latte’s meeting. Though Bliss had managed to draw Latte in, events weren’t unfolding as they had in the original narrative.

So while the Duke might not remain the final villain…

“I need to see him.”

“The Marquis?”

“Yes.”

As Bliss turned, Jackie quickly stepped aside.

“You stay here.”

Bliss gently pushed Jackie back by her shoulders.

“He said no one should enter. The knights are even standing guard outside the reception room to prevent any interruptions.”

Jackie protested, shaking her head, but Bliss remained resolute.

“I have to go.”

As Bliss gathered her skirts and walked away, Jackie followed but halted at the door. Having been ordered to stay put, she could only shift anxiously from foot to foot, unable to follow further.

Bliss cast a brief glance at Jackie before leaving the room.

Walking alone down the corridor, Bliss murmured to herself.

“I don’t want to get involved, but…”

She couldn’t remain idle when she suspected the Duke’s true purpose for visiting Caelan.

“I never thought knowing the original story would be helpful in this way.”

She had been consumed by fear and tension, fixated on the possibility of dying while wearing Caelan’s necklace, but her knowledge had proven useful in unexpected ways.

She knew precisely how Duke Blast had attacked Caelan and the perils he had faced as a result.

“That’s why I have to go.”

Even though she inhabited a body that might meet its end by Caelan’s hands, she couldn’t simply turn a blind eye. Despite her reluctance to help…

“Sometimes you have to help even when you don’t want to.”

Especially if the Duke had come for the reason she suspected.