Chapter 39: Someone to Trust

In Duke Blast’s office sat the Duke, who had returned from the kingdom, and his aide. Duke Blast was showing signs of discomfort somewhere. He recalled the day he had spoken with Caelan.

“How dare a mere Marquis stand so straight and look at me…”

How arrogant that indifferent gaze had been, showing no sign of welcome despite the Duke’s arrival. It was as if he were more than just a trusted subject of the Emperor…

“Acting as if he were the Emperor himself.”

He hated that. No, he hated everything about it.

So he had planned to pressure Caelan while bringing the dagger. He had intended to make the Emperor lose trust in him by using the pretext that he frequented the palace of the Emperor’s most beloved Imperial Princess, but nothing went as he wanted. Duke Blast, who had been tapping the armrest with his fingers, asked his aide who was reflected in the mirror.

“You couldn’t find out?”

“That’s correct. No one knows if Imperial Princess Jasmin handed over that dagger. To investigate further, we would need to approach the maid and knight closest to the Imperial Princess.”

Duke Blast waved his hand at the aide’s report.

“That won’t be necessary.”

“Are you sure we shouldn’t look into it further?”

“That fellow Caelan would have obtained it somehow. That’s why he went to him in the first place.”

“But it was the Marchioness who said she would bring the dagger.”

“Yes, that’s the problem.”

Duke Blast clicked his tongue. The Marchioness who had intervened was quite irritating.

When the Duke struck the armrest, a dull sound rang out. The aide held his breath, worried the Duke’s discomfort might transfer to him.

“I tried to make Caelan move, but the Marchioness interfered.”

Not only did she suddenly appear, but she also sat down and took up space quite shamelessly. And he didn’t like Caelan either for allowing her to act as she pleased.

“Will you continue to wait?”

After being lost in thought for a moment, Duke Blast made his decision. After all, just waiting made it impossible to gauge when Caelan would contact him.

“I’ll go to the Marquis’s residence.”

“I’ll prepare everything.”

After the aide left first, Duke Blast stood up.

***

“Madam hasn’t woken up yet. It seems she went to bed late.”

At the butler’s words, Caelan stopped flipping through the report.

“Should I send Jackie in to wake her?”

After thinking for a moment, Caelan shook his head.

“Leave her be. It’s not time to enter the palace yet, so it’s better to let her sleep a little more.”

The butler stepped back, acknowledging the order. And as he was leaving the room, intending not to disturb until Caelan called, a servant was waiting outside. After receiving some information from the servant, the butler returned.

“Duke Blast has come to visit.”

Caelan responded without showing any surprise.

“Tell him to come in. And wake up Bliss. Prepare her to go straight to the palace.”

The instruction not to wake her had changed.

“The palace? But if Madam knows the Duke has come, she’ll want to greet him…”

“That’s precisely why you should send her away. It won’t be good for Bliss to be here now.”

“Understood.”

As Caelan stood up, Duke Blast entered. He briefly scrutinized Caelan with sharp eyes but soon greeted him with a smiling face.

“Have you been well?”

“It’s been a while.”

“Yes, my business in the kingdom took quite some time.”

When Duke Blast sat down, Caelan took a seat opposite him. As a maid brought in tea, Duke Blast briefly looked around. He wondered if the Marchioness might appear like last time.

However, when no one appeared even after waiting a while, Duke Blast cleared his throat and carefully broached the subject.

“Well, let me ask directly. Did you get the dagger?”

Duke Blast was expecting a certain answer from Caelan. Surely he would say he had obtained it…

“Not yet.”

At this unexpected answer, cracks appeared on the Duke’s face. He looked at Caelan with suspicious eyes, wondering if he might be lying.

“Is that true?”

“It is.”

However, with the calm answer and Caelan’s expressionless face, Duke Blast gritted his teeth. He was originally someone whose thoughts were hard to read.

“I’m merely curious why you haven’t obtained it.”

“Why did you assume I would definitely obtain it?”

“Well…”

Duke Blast briefly took his eyes off Caelan before looking back.

“You’re Marquis Adrian. I had high expectations because I value your abilities.”

Duke Blast laughed heartily as if his expression had never hardened. Though his smiling eyes keenly observed Caelan again, nothing changed.

“Thank you for thinking highly of me. Then I’ll contact you again later.”

At Caelan’s words promising a future meeting, the Duke couldn’t hide his unsettled feelings as he stood up. He should have pressed why it hadn’t been obtained yet, but one statement made him stand up.

Even as Duke Blast reluctantly stood, he couldn’t let go of his lingering thoughts. So it took quite some time for him to slowly turn around and take a step.

“That… I don’t see your wife today. Where is she?”

At Duke Blast’s question, emotion appeared on Caelan’s face for the first time. It was displeasure.

“She went to the palace…”

At Caelan’s sharp wariness, Duke Blast’s mouth twitched. He looked reproachfully at Caelan who was hostile towards him, then quickly turned around.

“Then I’ll wait.”

The Duke, who had come to receive the dagger but only gained a burning discomfort, walked out quickly.

***

“Good morning, Your Highness.”

“You seem to be in a good mood? And… you look tired.”

Imperial Princess Jasmin responded to Bliss’s greeting. She had greeted her happily, pleased to meet Bliss, but added the latter comment after seeing Bliss’s face. Bliss stroked her rough cheek and smiled broadly.

“Do I? Actually, I wanted to sleep more but had to force myself to get up.”

Bliss had a set time to enter the palace. She had studied all through dawn and fallen asleep watching the sunrise, but had to wake up after just a few hours of sleep.

Imperial Princess Jasmin sat on the couch. As she stretched out long, her loose red hair flowed like waves. As a maid approached to brush her red hair, Bliss also took her place beside the Imperial Princess. And like the maid, she gently brushed the hair she held. Bliss was also a lady-in-waiting serving Imperial Princess Jasmin.

“Have you tested that sword?”

Though Imperial Princess Jasmin asked with anticipation, Bliss forced a smile and shook her head.

“I haven’t even given it to him yet.”

At Bliss’s answer, Imperial Princess Jasmin tilted her head back to meet her eyes.

“Why not?”

“Well…”

Bliss stalled for a moment before answering.

“I want to give it at a better moment.”

The box was in her room. Though Caelan must have seen it, he wasn’t the type to open it without saying anything. So Bliss hadn’t bothered hiding the box separately. Rather, she had placed it openly, hoping it would spark curiosity about what it might be. Wouldn’t that prevent too much curiosity later when she gave him the box?

“It won’t take long. But, more than that…”

When Imperial Princess Jasmin looked at her with questioning eyes, Bliss held out a book. It was the book containing the paper Caelan had signed yesterday. While Imperial Princess Jasmin was scanning its title, Bliss gently pushed it towards her.

“Could you keep this here?”

“The book?”

“Yes. Right now, Your Highness is the only person I can trust.”

From the beginning, Bliss had Imperial Princess Jasmin in mind. Since she was someone Caelan couldn’t treat carelessly, he wouldn’t be able to take this book easily. Moreover, Imperial Princess Jasmin was someone Bliss hadn’t met before getting married. Those she had relationships with before were people who resembled Bliss’s bad nature. Though Leonard was uniquely kind, he wasn’t someone she could entrust this to.

“Could you do that?”

Imperial Princess Jasmin showed her slight bewilderment at the sudden request to keep the book without any explanation. However, after looking at the book, she soon reached out and took it.

“Alright.”

Bliss smiled gratefully at Imperial Princess Jasmin’s consideration in accepting without asking for reasons. Having entrusted the book, she felt relieved, and now it was time to prepare something else.

“How will Your Highness spend the festival day?”

“Probably similar to last year? I’ll choose a gift for Father and attend a grand luncheon. In the evening…”

While Imperial Princess Jasmin was thinking about what she would do, Bliss again gently stroked her hair. At first, it had been difficult to touch because of its overwhelmingly red presence, but lately, Bliss found herself smiling unconsciously while brushing the Imperial Princess’s soft hair.

“Come to think of it, I’m curious too. What are your plans to spend time with the Marquis?”

As Imperial Princess Jasmin’s eyes sparkled, the arrow naturally turned back to Bliss.