Chapter 33: Words Crossed

Bliss was with Princess Jasmin when they arrived at the Imperial Palace.

“When you’re determined to do something properly, the ideas just keep coming endlessly, don’t they?”

…Though physically present, Bliss was completely lost in thoughts about Caelan.

Princess Jasmin, who had been chattering excitedly, suddenly fell silent and stared at Bliss. The silence and direct gaze pulled Bliss from her thoughts. After briefly glancing around, Bliss bowed her head to Princess Jasmin.

“I’m sorry.”

“What were you thinking about so intently?”

Bliss looked away awkwardly before turning back to Princess Jasmin with an uncomfortable smile.

“What were you saying just now?”

“I asked what you were thinking about.”

“No, before that…”

“I’m more curious about what’s on your mind.”

Princess Jasmin narrowed her eyes. The atmosphere suggested she wouldn’t move until Bliss spoke.

“Um… ah, we were on our way to see the recreation area, weren’t we? Shall we go?”

“I won’t move an inch from here until you tell me.”

“It’s nothing important. You really don’t need to hear it.”

“That makes me want to hear it even more.”

Princess Jasmin crossed her arms and stared. Just when Bliss could no longer maintain her smile in this standoff, she sighed.

“It’s not really anything important. Just…”

Bliss fell silent again. She struggled with how to respond, then her eyes met Princess Jasmin’s.

“Is it something you can’t tell me? Did I ask too much?”

Princess Jasmin turned away, indicating she hadn’t meant to pressure Bliss. She was about to walk toward the recreation area.

“Your Highness.”

At the call, Princess Jasmin turned her head toward Bliss. Though she had summoned the courage to call out to the princess, when their eyes met, Bliss hesitated to speak.

“What could be so…”

“Caelan said he has something to tell me.”

“You mean Marquis Adrian?”

“Yes.”

Bliss nodded. She hesitated again, but this time Princess Jasmin neither urged her on nor said she didn’t have to speak. Having mentioned Caelan, she had already greatly piqued the princess’s curiosity.

“What could he want to say that he needs to wait until night?”

Bliss smiled weakly, feeling completely resigned.

“Will I be able to keep my sanity today?”

“Not at all.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. Look at me, getting all worked up over someone else’s concerns.”

“Your Highness?”

Bliss called out in confusion as Princess Jasmin paced and muttered to herself. Princess Jasmin not only stopped in her tracks but grabbed Bliss’s hand.

“Come with me.”

“Your Highness, where are we going?”

Bliss asked repeatedly even as she was willingly led along.

Princess Jasmin took them to a nearby room. As the princess entered, a knight closed the door, and a maid hurriedly tidied the space. Yet all their swift movements weren’t faster than Princess Jasmin’s. The moment she sat on the sofa, she pulled Bliss down beside her.

“What else could Marquis Adrian want to discuss? I can guess, so why are you worrying about it?”

“Your Highness… you know?”

“Of course.”

Princess Jasmin took Bliss’s other hand as well. Bliss, who had never held hands like this before, stared at Princess Jasmin with wide eyes.

“He wants to have a baby, doesn’t he?”

“A, a baby? A baby?”

Bliss repeated Princess Jasmin’s words as if checking whether she had heard correctly.

“Obviously. Why else would he want to talk at night? Of course, I’m sure you two haven’t been completely inactive, but discussing having a baby seriously would require a different mindset.”

“That can’t be it.”

“Then what else could it be?”

When Princess Jasmin looked at her as if challenging her to suggest another possibility, Bliss’s lips moved but no words came out.

“See? You can’t think of anything else, can you?”

“Still, I think it’s something else. A baby… that’s just ridiculous…”

Bliss pulled her hands from Princess Jasmin’s grip and waved them dismissively. Though she herself was adamantly denying it, Princess Jasmin showed no sign of accepting her denial.

“You said you came with Marquis Adrian today, right?”

“…Yes.”

“But he didn’t tell you in the carriage. If it has to be at night, what else could it be?”

Bliss’s gaze became increasingly unstable.

“He didn’t say it had to be at night. Maybe it’s just because that’s the only time we meet. And it would be awkward to discuss something serious in a carriage.”

“So you admit it’s something important.”

Princess Jasmin’s eyes sparkled as if she’d caught something significant.

“You think it’s important too, and you’ll be thinking about it all day, so why won’t you consider it might be about having a baby?”

“That, that’s…”

As Bliss couldn’t bring herself to deny it outright, Princess Jasmin’s meaningful smile deepened.

“If you say it’s not that, I won’t say anything more. But my intuition tells me so. What else could a husband and wife need to discuss at night?”

Princess Jasmin lifted the newly served tea and inhaled its aroma. She had completely forgotten about her new recreation area. She had found something far more entertaining.

“It’s going to be a long, long night.”

Princess Jasmin’s words flowed out with a hint of laughter.

***

‘Long, long… night.’

Bliss recalled her conversation with Princess Jasmin while running her fingers through her tangled hair.

“That’s impossible.”

She was saying that because she didn’t know the true nature of her relationship with Caelan. He didn’t like her at all, and there was no way he would mention having a baby with her.

“A baby with me… no way.”

Bliss shook her head repeatedly as she picked up a brush to comb her hair. Her hand gradually slowed as she brushed, eventually coming to a stop. Bliss looked at her reflection in the mirror.

“Come to think of it, it’s really strange.”

When she first became Bliss, her primary worry was that Caelan would kill her with a poisoned necklace. And before she could even feel relieved about not dying, she became concerned about being his wife. Every night, to the point where she couldn’t sleep properly.

“But nothing happened.”

She didn’t know what it was like before, but at least since she became Bliss, they hadn’t been intimate. She had never dared to ask directly why that was.

“Is that really right?”

Since they hadn’t shared a bed until now, maybe he wanted to address that seriously?

“Then it really would be about children.”

“What would be?”

At Caelan’s sudden voice, Bliss jumped to her feet. Forgetting she was holding a brush, she grabbed the dressing table, causing a loud noise. Startled, Bliss took several deep breaths before turning around.

“You’re here?”

“It’s late, why aren’t you asleep yet? Were you waiting for me?”

“You said you had something to tell me.”

Bliss started to approach the bed but hesitated and took a small step back. Looking around for somewhere to sit, she awkwardly lowered herself into the chair she had just been sitting in. To think this chair seemed like the appropriate place. But there was no time to find it absurd.

“Are you going to stay there?”

“I’m comfortable here.”

Bliss maintained her distance with an awkward smile.

“Should I come closer then?”

When Caelan moved to approach, Bliss quickly raised both hands.

“No? I can hear you perfectly well from there.”

Bliss secretly bit her lip. Though she tried not to show it, she couldn’t see her own face as her back was to the mirror.

Caelan’s eyes moved between the sofa and the bed before choosing one. Since he chose the bed, Bliss felt even more uncomfortable.

“I’ve been watching to avoid burdening you until now, but I think it’s time to talk.”

‘Burden.’

Bliss swallowed at the heavy topic Caelan laid out before getting to the main point. She had been forcefully denying it until now, but certainty was gradually building.

“You’re now the lady of the Marquis’s household, so you have responsibilities to fulfill.”

“Ah… responsibilities. Right.”

Bliss tugged at her collar with trembling hands. She struggled with what to say, but from the moment Caelan opened his mouth, her mind had been gradually emptying.

“That’s why I’m telling you now.”

Caelan stood up from the bed and approached Bliss. His sudden movement while speaking caused Bliss’s gaze to waver uncertainly. Just as she was hesitantly standing up, Caelan quickly closed the distance between them.

When Bliss fully stood, the chair fell backward. Though the thick rug muffled any sound, a silent chaos erupted inside Bliss.

Bliss stepped back slightly, wary of Caelan. She raised both hands, ready to push him away if he suddenly tried to embrace her. And when their distance became unnecessarily close, Bliss couldn’t hold back anymore and shouted.

“We can’t have a baby!”

“About the money you’ve been spending…”

“…”

“…”

Their words crossed paths.

—
T/N: Fell back from my seat hollering. LMAO BLISS STOP OVERTHINKING