Chapter 41: An Ordinary Day

Drowsy with sleep, Caelan frowned at the brightness. He wanted to raise his arm to block the sunlight, but perhaps due to working late, his body felt as heavy as if it had been submerged in water. Unable to even muster the strength to turn his head, he remained still when suddenly the blinding light disappeared.

As he smiled, feeling more comfortable, Caelan suddenly wondered who might be beside him. Then his thoughts turned to the butler who assisted him. Tsk, he had told him to retire out of concern for his advanced age, but stubbornly…

“Go rest now.”

Caelan forced out his voice, hoarse from sleep. Only after speaking did he realize how thirsty he was, but he didn’t even have the strength to ask for water. He just wanted to keep sleeping.

But…

It seemed like today was supposed to be some special day.

Caelan’s heavy eyelids trembled before slowly opening. Through his vision, still not fully awake, he could see someone moving around. Too slender to be the butler. As Caelan blinked several times, the unidentifiable figure drew closer.

“Are you awake?”

When Caelan just silently stared, the person waved their hand in front of their eyes.

“You can’t be sleeping with your eyes open.”

Along with a soft laugh and the feeling of warmth enveloping his body, Caelan looked down. Small hands were pulling up the blanket that had slipped down. Following those hands up with his gaze, Caelan looked at the person before him.

He knew it wasn’t the butler, but as he wondered who it was, her loose hair tickled his face.

“Ah… sorry. Jackie tied it up earlier, but it came undone.”

Bliss quickly moved her hair away.

“Go back to sleep.”

Caelan slightly furrowed his brow. From the moment he recognized Bliss, he remembered promising to spend today with her. He had definitely been thinking about it until just before falling asleep.

As Caelan tried to force himself awake, the hand that had pulled up his blanket patted his chest.

“No need to force yourself up. I heard you worked late.”

“But…”

“Shall we talk after you’ve slept?”

As if Bliss’s laughter was a signal, Caelan’s body went limp like a lie. He needed to get up… but he had become helplessly slack.

Only after his eyes closed did he remember what day it was.

Etienne’s Day.

***

When Caelan woke up, he opened his eyes with a clear mind. Though dim, he could tell from the faint silhouettes that this was his office. The work had finished too late to go to his room, so he had caught some sleep here. He felt like he had met someone while half-asleep…

‘Bliss.’

She had come. She seemed to have blocked the sunlight for him when it was too bright, but he was confused whether that was a dream or reality.

‘I overdid it.’

The problem was trying to cram in work to free up an entire day. Caelan sighed heavily while pressing his heavy eyelids. Though he couldn’t see outside, it seemed quite some time had passed.

What should he say first to Bliss, who must have been waiting for today? As Caelan raised his upper body, he discovered something. The blanket sliding down from his chest – catching it just before it fell to the floor, Caelan couldn’t hide his confused expression.

“Was it… not a dream?”

Then really…

While Caelan was trying to sort out what had happened, he heard the door opening. The person, so quiet he might have missed them, caught his attention.

“You’re awake.”

Bliss, carrying a tray, spoke as she met Caelan’s eyes. She set the tray down beside him and drew the curtains. With each of her movements, the red sunset gradually grew more prominent in the office.

“Hah. I’m sorry.”

Realizing it was sunset, Caelan let out a low sigh.

“What are you sorry for?”

“I couldn’t keep our promise.”

Caelan brushed away the hair tickling his forehead. Even small things were irritating him now. Though his body felt light thanks to sleeping well, his mood was starting to sink. That’s when it happened.

“Caelan.”

Having finished drawing the curtains, Bliss approached and placed her hand on Caelan’s arm. Though light as a feather, that touch stopped all of Caelan’s movements.

“There’s no need to be sorry.”

Meeting Caelan’s eyes, Bliss showed no sign of being upset. Rather, after confirming he had slept well, she smiled with satisfaction.

“Your face looks better.”

Bliss noticed the blanket in Caelan’s hand and took it with a smile. While neatly folding it, she spoke.

“Originally, I had made some really nice plans for how to spend the day. I even made reservations. But when I learned that the Marquis had worked without sleeping, I got worried. Would it be okay to wake you when you’re tired? Or should I go out alone?”

As Bliss continued speaking, Caelan’s expression grew increasingly troubled.

“But when I saw you sleeping, it made me rethink what kind of day this is. Etienne spent an ordinary day with her husband, but I was trying hard to make it a special day. Maybe that would have been more unnatural.”

Bliss placed a cup of warm tea in Caelan’s empty hands.

“So you should sleep well, and eat something delicious.”

“Bliss.”

“And there’s no need to be sorry. The day isn’t over yet.”

As soon as Bliss confirmed Caelan was drinking the tea, she pulled the tray closer. When she lifted the dome plate cover, there was a steaming stew.

“Let’s eat and go out.”

As Caelan looked at the stew, hesitating to start even with a spoon in hand, Bliss couldn’t help but speak.

“Did you notice I made it?”

Caelan looked at the stew again before turning to Bliss.

“Only minimal staff remained at the mansion today, everyone else left. Since there was no chef, I tried making it myself. Um, it might not taste good.”

“This is really strange.”

“You haven’t even tasted it yet…”

“You keep acting unlike yourself.”

For the first time, Bliss’s smile disappeared. She looked at the stew, avoiding Caelan’s eyes.

“You’re not buying dresses or looking at accessories. You were someone who would be consumed with jealousy if someone from another family acquired even a precious jewel, but you’ve changed in an instant.”

Caelan had originally planned to wait until she revealed her true face. But her actions of blocking the sunlight so he could sleep better and covering him with a blanket had shaken him.

“And it’s too strange how you approach me like this after being so wary of me.”

Now Bliss didn’t even force a smile. Rather, her expression grew increasingly rigid as she listened to Caelan’s words.

“That’s good. Actually, I had something to say today too, but before that, Caelan, I’ve learned what’s in your heart.”

Actually, it wasn’t easy for Bliss to speak to him either. Acting like a very close couple was even more difficult. However, she had tried to be quite affectionate for today.

“But you still need to eat.”

Bliss took the spoon from Caelan’s hand and stirred the stew. Then she lifted it and brought it close to Caelan’s lips.

Caelan looked at it before slightly opening his mouth, and Bliss moved the spoon with a recovered smile. While watching intently as Caelan tasted it, Bliss asked.

“How is it, though my skills are inferior to the chef’s?”

“Very lacking… but edible.”

“Eat it all. We’ll be walking a lot.”

Bliss warned with firmly sulking eyes. As if to say she wouldn’t let him off if he didn’t finish it…

Though she wasn’t smiling, somehow this moment felt comfortable. Yes, everything was strange right now.

***

“What’s going on? Why aren’t things moving according to your words?”

“That… I’m sorry. But I only conveyed what Madam said. I don’t know why she did that either.”

Jackie spoke to the end in a wet voice while clutching her skirt. Her real master disliked trailing off at the end of sentences, so she was being careful.

“So where is Bliss now?”

“I don’t know where she is. Madam sent most of the employees away this morning, so we’d have to go in and check to find out.”

“Then you should have gone in and checked.”

Jackie shrank at the shadow’s shout. She held back her tears desperately, afraid her pronunciation might be slurred from sobbing when her master asked questions. So she tried to force down a swallow, but even that wouldn’t go down and she nearly coughed.

“I’m sorry.”

“Useless thing, I should have placed a different child from the start.”

If that had happened, Jackie would have lived in fear of being hit at any moment, working until her hands were calloused.

“Remember this. The only reason you could serve that woman was because of me. If you hesitate to answer my questions next time, you won’t keep that position.”

Unable to hold back her tears at the shadow’s warning, Jackie hung her head low. Her tears fell to the floor, leaving marks.

“What will you do about that?”

As another voice was heard, Jackie’s shoulders flinched. Not only that, but her trembling fingers wrung her skirt, yet the shaking wouldn’t stop. While her real master would beat her if displeased, she didn’t know what punishment that person would give.

“What do you mean?”

“We planted the poison in advance.”

They had set a trap based on the information Jackie had gathered.

“It’s too late to retrieve it. Someone might die, but that’s better than our identities being revealed.”

Listening to their conversation, Jackie painfully gripped her skirt hem. She couldn’t move, paralyzed by the fear that she might die by their hands if she failed to perform properly next time.