Chapter 42: Both of Us Are Strange

Bliss, who only came out in the evening, took a deep breath.

“The night air is better than I expected.”

She turned to look at Caelan, who wasn’t responding, and burst into laughter at his expression.

“I told you not to feel sorry! As you can see, Etienne’s day isn’t over yet. At least for us, it’s just beginning.”

Caelan’s eyes narrowed as Bliss’s words were full of laughter. Thanks to her, he had slept well, but he felt uncomfortable. Perhaps noticing this, Bliss, who had been walking, suddenly turned toward Caelan.

“It’s strange to see someone who’s usually so confident being so cautious.”

Bliss threw his own words right back at him. Not content with just that, she moved to stand beside Caelan, who had been walking one step behind her. Standing next to him, Bliss turned her head to meet Caelan’s eyes.

“The Marquis Caelan Adrian I know says everything he wants to say, while somehow managing to hide what he wants to conceal. And he always led the atmosphere in the way he wanted…”

Bliss deliberately let her words trail off.

“But you’re not doing that today. It’s strange, but not in a bad way.”

“That’s a relief then.”

“Is it? I thought today would be an ordinary day, but we’re both acting strange.”

“That’s also a relief.”

“What?”

“It’s better than just one person being strange.”

At Caelan’s look that seemed to ask why she wasn’t moving along, Bliss started walking automatically, only belatedly understanding his words. She had thought it odd how calm he was despite calling things strange. So that’s how he planned to respond.

Bliss gave Caelan a sidelong glance before quickly showing a smiling face. For just this one day, she had put everything else aside.

The place Bliss changed her mind and decided to go to was a street full of festival celebrations. She brought Caelan out, suggesting they could go into any restaurant that caught their eye while walking around.

Despite the late hour, the streets were lively with people who had come out. Thanks to the lights lit everywhere, it wasn’t difficult to look around and take in the sights.

“It was good to come out, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. It was good that we increased the number of guards.”

While Caelan looked around with satisfaction, Bliss shook her head as if he was hopeless. As expected of the captain leading the Imperial Knights, his perspective on the festival was different from others.

“I suppose you need to pay more attention to security on days like this?”

“It can’t be the same as usual. We’ve increased security and kept everyone alert.”

“Since you’ve taken care of that, what about the festival?”

“…”

Judging by his lack of response, he didn’t seem to understand her question.

“I’m asking if you enjoyed the festival.”

Bliss acted as if it wasn’t such a difficult question to understand. But Caelan didn’t easily open his mouth.

“You don’t have to answer if it’s difficult. Instead, shall we look at that?”

Bliss pointed to her side. A merchant had been shouting loudly for a while now. She was curious about what they were selling to make such a commotion. As Bliss moved toward it first, Caelan followed her. Just as he was about to put his hand on her shoulder, a passerby blocked his way.

Caelan’s eyebrow slightly raised.

“Look at this.”

Bliss turned to Caelan and pointed at what she held in her hand. At her call, Caelan hid the strange feeling he had just experienced.

“They say it’s a carving modeled after Etienne and his husband.”

It was a figure of a man and woman embracing each other. It was quite a delicate piece that preserved the unique rough texture and grain of the wood while adding appropriate colors.

“Don’t you think it shows their love for each other well?”

Bliss examined the carving carefully. Her fingertips were gently caressing the carving, clearly showing how much she liked it.

“How much?”

“50 reni, sir.”

When Caelan took out his wallet, the merchant quickly named the price. And just as they were preparing to receive payment with both hands outstretched, Bliss unexpectedly interfered.

“Are you trying to buy it for me? You don’t have to.”

“You liked it, didn’t you?”

“I don’t want to add this to my ledger too.”

Bliss put down the piece she had been examining intently without any regret. Her ledger was about to burst right now. She didn’t want to add anything more to it, regardless of the amount. But Caelan went ahead and paid the merchant for the item anyway.

Seeing this, Bliss didn’t hide her sigh. She had clearly mentioned the ledger, but he still bought it. It seemed the festival was making him increasingly relaxed. Bliss helplessly held out both hands. Deep down, she had wanted to keep it.

“If you want to buy it for me that badly, I won’t stop you.”

“If you won’t take it, I’ll keep it myself.”

“…You?”

“You said you wouldn’t put it in the ledger.”

Bliss, who had expected him to say he wouldn’t record it in the ledger and give it to her, froze with her hands awkwardly extended. Meanwhile, Caelan, who had been walking while holding the carving, turned around.

“Are you going to keep standing there?”

“I’m coming.”

Her empty hands ended up grabbing her skirt instead. Even though she was wearing a dress with few accessories today that didn’t drag on the ground, making it unnecessary to hold up the skirt. If she had known this would happen, she should have worn her usual clothes. She regretted saying it was fine when Jackie had protested in horror.

“I didn’t expect you to be interested in such carvings. It’s surprising.”

“I thought it might be nice to have one.”

“I see.”

Bliss muttered resignedly and unconsciously looked up. Through the many passing people, she spotted a mural that kept appearing and disappearing. While she couldn’t buy the carving just now, she could look at the mural as much as she wanted. Bliss quickly lifted her spirits.

“Shall we go over there?”

Bliss walked straight toward it, wanting to see the mural up close. Because there were so many people out on the street, the mural was hidden from view at a distance.

“Jackie told me she was painting a mural, I guess it was for today. Caelan?”

Bliss, who had been chattering excitedly, turned around at the strange feeling. When she couldn’t see the person who should have been beside her, she looked around completely, searching for Caelan. When had they gotten separated while walking together? Just not being able to see Caelan filled her with anxiety.

He was clearly the person she should be most wary of, yet here she was searching for him because he wasn’t visible. Even while knowing how strange this was, she couldn’t stop looking for Caelan.

“Caelan?”

She called out for Caelan while retracing her steps to where she had been heading to see the mural. There wasn’t even time to calm her rapidly beating heart from anxiety.

“Caelan. Ugh.”

Bliss flinched in surprise at the large hand that grabbed her shoulder without warning. Closing her eyes in fear, she tensed up, waiting to see what would happen. If someone was trying to harm her, she would stay quiet until…

“Bliss.”

“…Caelan?”

At the familiar voice, Bliss reflexively opened her eyes. There were still many people passing by in front, and soon someone stood before her.

“You noticed I was gone rather late.”

Only after looking up and meeting his eyes did she relax her body.

“You scared me.”

Bliss rubbed her ticklish face with the back of her hand. Only then did she realize she had been sweating.

“I was following you but lost you when the crowd got thick.”

“The crowd… there are more people than before.”

Bliss forced a smile to hide the anxiety she had just felt. With so many people around, it wouldn’t be strange to get separated at any time unless she held hands with Caelan.

While Bliss was catching her breath with her hand on her heart, Caelan, who had startled her, came very close.

“What is it?”

“You look troubled.”

When Bliss looked up at him, not understanding what he meant, Caelan opened his arms. Though he was in a position as if about to embrace her, he didn’t come any closer. She didn’t know why he wasn’t moving, but the space he created allowed Bliss to breathe more comfortably. After catching her breath and finding some composure, Bliss looked up at Caelan. So that’s why he had opened his arms.

“Thank you.”

“We can go back if you’re having a hard time.”

“I’m fine now. As a token of thanks, I’ll give you this.”

Bliss took Caelan’s hand, turned it over, and placed a silver object in it. What settled into Caelan’s hand with a light jingle was a key.

“Do you remember the long box that’s been in my room recently?”

Caelan silently looked at the key that had been placed in his hand.

“I put a lock on the box. This is the key to it. I want to give you that box.”

“What does this mean?”

Caelan silently listened to Bliss’s explanation.

“It’s a sword that Princess Jasmin and I put our heads together to create. Since it’s different from ordinary swords, I’d like you to see what you think of it. And I want to talk about how I can repay the money I’ve spent so far, so this is also meant as a gesture hoping you’ll think positively about it. If you like it, you can pay a fair price for it.”

Bliss listed the reasons for giving him the sword without pause. She had kept it in her room to give it to him on Etienne’s day. Caelan must have been aware of it too. So she revealed the sword’s origin and gave it to him while expressing what she wanted. While it would be good if he granted just one request, she hoped he would grant all three.

“Go on.”

“It will be helpful to you. Each time it is, please deduct an appropriate amount.”