Chapter 38: A Safety Measure

Instead of accepting the box Leonard held out, Bliss offered hers. In this amusing situation where they were both holding out boxes to each other, Leonard tried to hide his anxious expression as he spoke.

“Don’t you like it?”

“It’s beautiful. But I don’t think I should accept it.”

Bliss’s answer was a rejection.

“But I didn’t purchase it…”

“Still, I have no reason to accept it.”

Bliss cut off his words with an even firmer voice than before. Though she knew Leonard was flustered, Bliss didn’t withdraw her outstretched hand holding the box. Leonard looked at the box and smiled slightly.

“Don’t feel burdened. It’s just something made to test the craftsman’s skill…”

“Then why did you only give them before I was married?”

“What?”

“You said this is the first time you’re giving me something since I got married. Perhaps you couldn’t make anything because there was nothing to give? Because there was no need to test the craftsman’s skill?”

“That’s…”

His inability to continue speaking easily revealed there was another reason. Bliss spoke with a smile that said she knew it all along.

“That’s why I can’t accept it. I’m married now, and we’ve become people who can’t speak informally even when it’s just the two of us.”

It was different from when she met Leonard at parties. Then, she had shown they were close, but not at the Imperial Palace. Even though no one could hear, she maintained formality and showed proper respect.

“Are you afraid rumors might spread?”

“Viscount Jimilta, as I just said, I have no reason to accept it. That’s why I’m returning it. This…”

Bliss stood up and took Leonard’s hand, turning his palm upward. Seeing his fingers spread ever so slightly, Bliss smiled and placed the box in his hand.

“Give it to the person who will become your wife.”

She thought the person who should receive such gifts from Leonard should be someone who would receive his love in the future.

“By the way, I’m not worried about rumors spreading about how close we were.”

Bliss stepped back with a satisfied expression while looking at the box she had placed in Leonard’s hand.

“And about the sword… I’m sorry. I have someone to give it to.”

Though Leonard didn’t ask, he couldn’t hide his deeply disappointed look.

***

Bliss met Caelan long after the sun had set. As the butler had said he would be late, Caelan hadn’t come even when night fell and only appeared at dawn. Caelan paused as he entered the room and saw Bliss sitting in a chair.

“I didn’t expect you to wait for me.”

At Caelan’s voice, Bliss, who had been lost in thought, raised her head.

“You’re back?”

When Bliss got up and approached him, Caelan hesitated. It seemed strange that Bliss, who usually kept her distance from him, was approaching first.

“You must be tired, but please sit down for a moment. I have something to say.”

Not only did Bliss welcome him, but she also grabbed his arm and pulled him along, causing a strange light to appear in Caelan’s eyes. Perhaps because she kept showing unexpected behavior, Caelan let himself be led along as Bliss pulled him. After seating him in the chair, Bliss turned around.

Caelan’s gaze followed her constantly. Watching Bliss walk towards the box placed at one side of the room, Caelan’s eyes showed interest.

The box she had received from Imperial Princess Jasmin during the day, he’d heard. Even without opening it, it surely contained a sword that she meant to give him…

Caelan’s thoughts were cut off as Bliss passed by the box.

“It’s because of this.”

“What… is this?”

Caelan looked with puzzled eyes at the paper Bliss placed on the table.

“I’ve been thinking about how to repay the money I’ve spent. I hoped you might forgive me if I said I would fulfill my duties as a Marchioness now, but that seemed selfish so I gave up on that idea.”

Bliss gently scratched the edge of the paper with her index finger while watching Caelan’s reaction.

“And it’s not like I could earn a large sum of money either.”

“I thought you would contact Count Bonita, but I’m impressed you’re being honest.”

“Contact him? I never even thought of that.”

Bliss flatly rejected the idea. Count Bonita – just thinking about it made her shudder. He might use that as an excuse to somehow make Caelan participate in that business from before. She didn’t want to create an even more awkward situation just to borrow some money temporarily.

“So I thought of my own way…”

While Bliss trailed off briefly, Caelan read part of what was written on the paper.

“This isn’t writing about that method though.”

“I wanted to make something clear first.”

Bliss pushed the paper slightly closer so Caelan could see it better. The page full of writing was what Bliss had diligently written before Caelan arrived. Just as she had sent to Count Bonita before, she filled it with meaningless phrases. The real message she wanted to convey was added very briefly at the very end.

Bliss watched Caelan pick up the paper and kindly added an explanation.

“All this time I only thought about how wealthy the Adrian Marquis household was, without knowing how you earned it. Perhaps that’s why you seemed even more impressive to me. And I felt sorry for spending your money so recklessly. I’ve really realized the importance of money, so I wrote this to read anytime and remind myself.”

That was what the lengthy phrases filled at the front were about. However, Caelan didn’t respond at all while Bliss was speaking, and only raised his head after reading it to the end.

“If you die, I killed you?”

He cut straight to the brief core message at the end, ignoring all the lengthy content at the front. If she had known Caelan would catch on so quickly, she wouldn’t have written so much in front. Her hand just hurt from writing it all.

“That’s not how I wrote it. I just wrote that if something happens to me, look for the cause in you.”

“So if you die, I’m the culprit.”

“I wrote it to earn money safely. I could die from overwork, you know.”

Bliss made various excuses trying to hide her embarrassment. Of course, Caelan didn’t seem to believe her, and Bliss’s expression kept changing.

“Anyway, I felt I should write something like this before I start earning money. It’s my resolution to work hard in my own way.”

“That’s quite a grand resolution.”

Feeling Caelan’s breeze-like laughter as mockery, Bliss tapped the paper with her index finger.

“Please write your name here at the bottom.”

“This is really unexpected.”

Caelan’s gaze briefly flickered to the box placed behind before returning. He recalled the knight’s words about meeting Viscount Jimilta during the day and how he had shown interest in the box. However, hiding those thoughts quietly, Caelan picked up the pen.

“I’ll do as you wish.”

“Really? Why?”

Though she had written it herself, Bliss looked at him questioningly. Was he really going to sign it? But Caelan wrote his name at the bottom as if it required no thought. Then he handed it to Bliss.

“I’m curious about what comes next.”

“Thank you.”

As Bliss took the paper, she secretly sighed. Until now, her biggest worry had been being killed by her husband. But thinking this would protect her somewhat made her feel a little relieved.

“Thank you.”

When Bliss smiled genuinely, Caelan’s eyes narrowed.

“You didn’t smile like this earlier…”

“When?”

“Never mind.”

When Caelan shook his head, Bliss didn’t ask further. Instead, she folded the paper in half and inserted it between the pages of a book she had prepared.

“You’re putting it in a book? What if I get rid of it?”

“Of course I won’t keep it in this house. I’m going to give it to someone I trust.”

She had already decided who to give this paper to from the start. Since she had no intention of directly saying who it was, Bliss avoided eye contact with Caelan while handling the book. Because of this, Bliss didn’t notice. She didn’t notice how Caelan’s eyes had darkened.

“Are you going to give it to the person you met today?”

Caelan’s voice came out low. At his question, Bliss hesitated briefly before nodding.

“Maybe, maybe not.”

Bliss answered vaguely, worried that Caelan might go to that person later and ask for it back. However, however he interpreted that, Caelan’s eyes darkened even more.

“Then go to sleep first. I’ll sleep a little later.”

Bliss stood up first. After briefly glancing at Caelan, Bliss looked at the box for just a moment before leaving the room.

[What an unusual thing you’re doing. Why did you make him write that?]

“Because I can’t pay back the money right away.”

It was her own way of creating a safety measure.

Bliss spoke as she walked down the corridor.

“I wanted to leave this house as soon as possible. Whether through divorce or leaving quietly. But since I can’t do that now, I have no choice. All I can do is warn that if I die, everyone will know it was because of you.”

Bliss sat down in the chair in the room where she had accidentally fallen asleep before. Though she had only slept there once, she had quite liked it. So Bliss had claimed it for her use, telling others not to give this room to anyone else.

[So you’re saying it’s all because of me?]

“That’s not wrong either. That’s why I asked you to teach me skills to pay back quickly. Well, it’s in the past now so I’ll stop dwelling on it.”

Bliss laid out blank paper and a pen. The reason she specifically came to a different room was because there were things she couldn’t show Caelan. Since Echo said he would pass on knowledge to Bliss, dawn was the only suitable time.

“This is the only way if I want to study and pay back the money.”

Bliss yawned slightly. It was usually her sleeping time, so her whole body felt heavy and her head was heavy. However, after shaking her head twice to clear her mind, Bliss opened her eyes wide.

“Shall we begin?”