Chapter 46: Caelan’s Secret

The training ground was indoors. This was to prevent the family’s swordsmanship from being carelessly leaked, which made it difficult for just anyone to enter.

‘Well, there’s no need to sneak in anyway.’

Though Bliss didn’t make a grand entrance, she didn’t muffle her footsteps either. When she entered, Caelan was swinging his sword in the middle of the training ground.

Just as it seemed he was slashing downward, suddenly he cut sideways. An ominous sound rang out as if cutting through the air.

Watching him move freely while holding the long sword, she could understand anew what swords meant in this world.

“But how much training would it take to move like that?”

【For an ordinary person, it would take decades.】

Echo answered Bliss’s muttered question.

【This one is better than others because he added training to his talent.】

Though Echo spoke as if it wasn’t that impressive, just the acknowledgment was enough to glimpse Caelan’s skill. Without taking her eyes off him, Bliss asked.

“Is there nothing you can teach Caelan?”

【My knowledge would be useless to him.】

“Is he that perfect?”

Originally, Caelan was described as a protagonist who lacked nothing. With his handsome looks, extraordinary intelligence, genius talent plus effort, there was no one more accomplished than him. That’s why many envied him, but Caelan was someone everyone acknowledged.

【No matter how perfect, how can a mere human who lived a short life compare to me? However…】

When Bliss met eyes with Caelan as he turned around, Echo spoke.

【He has a clear will to learn what he wants to learn and doesn’t look at anything else. There’s no need to teach anything to such a person.】

‘It sounds like he used his short time very efficiently.’

【Correct.】

So that’s why there was no need to teach Caelan anything. As Bliss nodded in understanding, she suddenly recalled her own situation.

‘Echo usually passes on just one piece of knowledge and doesn’t share any knowledge with people like Caelan, so why are you trying to teach me so much?’

When she asked almost accusingly, wondering about receiving teachings beyond an appropriate level, she thought she could hear Echo’s sneer in her head.

【Because it seems interesting.】

At this different answer from before, Bliss’s eyes narrowed. Though it was a reaction meant for Echo who only spoke in her mind, she happened to show it to Caelan.

“What’s bothering you?”

“…At least it’s not because of you.”

It was awkward to say she was talking with Echo.

Seeing Bliss avoid the conversation, Caelan didn’t ask further.

“How’s the sword?”

When she asked, wanting to hear his assessment, Caelan looked at the sword.

“The hardness increased but the weight decreased. Thanks to that, the swing speed is faster and the blade is sharper.”

As Caelan’s evaluation grew longer, Bliss’s smile grew deeper. There wasn’t a single negative word, which meant it was that good. While still looking at the sword, Caelan revealed what he felt.

“When I use our family’s swordsmanship with this, it feels different. I’ll need to try it a few more times, but I think I can display a different kind of swordsmanship than before.”

“That’s good news.”

As Caelan sheathed the sword, he looked at Bliss.

“I’m very pleased with it.”

“If you were to put a price on it?”

Bliss’s voice lowered at this conversation that was incomparably more important than their earlier talk.

She could set a standard based on the price he named, and if the amount felt disappointing, she planned to negotiate.

Bliss stared intently at Caelan’s lips with tension. The piece was 50 reni earlier, so would 500 reni, ten times that, be enough? Though it wasn’t enough to buy even one dress, that sword was obtained from the princess. Though she used it to clear her debt because her situation was urgent, since it was an experimental item, she probably couldn’t get more.

“I’ll clear one month’s worth of debt.”

“…”

“Is that not enough?”

“No.”

One month’s worth. She was surprised by the unexpected answer. Since he hadn’t stated an exact amount, the sum could vary. But it didn’t matter. Whichever month he chose, it would clear the money spent on hundreds of dresses.

A bright smile spread across Bliss’s face after finishing her calculations.

“May I lead the way back?”

“By all means.”

Bliss happily turned away from Caelan. And feeling him approach behind her, Bliss opened the door. When coming to the training ground, they had walked through lit corridors. However, for the return journey, she chose a different direction.

Though Caelan knew Bliss was taking the long way around, he followed silently. When they came outside, it became hard to take even one step in the dark night, and that’s when Bliss took out what she had brought.

“At first, I didn’t really understand Her Highness’s hobby.”

She had just thought, oh, she has that kind of hobby.

“But while being with Her Highness, my thoughts changed.”

Bliss placed a palm-sized sphere on her hand and half-turned her body so Caelan could see. Caelan, who had come close, showed interested eyes.

Though the sphere Bliss was holding was completely different from a candle, it was lighting up the surroundings. Seeing the light coming from the sphere itself, he looked at it as if fascinated, and Bliss smiled as if she had expected this reaction.

“As I examined things one by one, I became curious and the experimental process was fun.”

“That’s good.”

“I’m glad I became Her Highness’s maid. I’m curious what items she’ll bring out next.”

Once Bliss felt she had shown enough of the Kling, she closed her hand. As it became dark when she hid the light, Caelan asked.

“You won’t give that to me?”

Instead of answering, Bliss pushed the Kling into her pocket.

***

When Caelan entered the room, he realized Bliss was asleep from her even breathing and reduced his footsteps. He knew she wouldn’t be able to wait for him to finish bathing.

‘She must be tired.’

It would be a lie if she wasn’t tired with her body after being up and about since morning. Caelan approached the bed and looked down at Bliss’s sleeping face. As moonlight came in and illuminated her, it created an illusion of light playing on her white skin.

“Now I’ll acknowledge that you’ve changed. And I’ll try not to doubt anymore.”

At first, he couldn’t let go of that doubt and opened the rose garden, and though he acknowledged it afterward, that was it. And today, Caelan settled his thoughts that he would no longer doubt Bliss.

“But when will you tell me that you’ve become the owner of the dagger?”

He already knew that Bliss had formed some connection with the dagger. Though she was using it for various purposes, he had clearly seen it at the dress shop. Beyond just carrying the dagger, Bliss was paying attention to it.

Studying in her room every dawn was proof of that.

Caelan removed the hair stuck to Bliss’s forehead and cheeks.

“If I pretend not to know, will you hide it until the end?”

Then should he not ask until the end? After pondering briefly, Caelan got up. For now, he would just create an environment where she could focus on learning. As Caelan went around the bed to his spot, he stopped when something caught his foot.

Caelan picked up the small unknown pouch that had fallen on the floor. Though he wondered why it was lying in the room and who had dropped it, the one he could ask was sleeping.

After briefly glancing at Bliss’s face, Caelan opened the pouch. The moment he checked inside by opening the mouth, Caelan dropped the pouch and stepped back. There was a black powder emitting a foul smell. Upon realizing it was poison, Caelan pressed his forehead with trembling hands. Soon she would come.

―You killed him.

The scream echoing as if it was hitting his head stabbed him like thousands of needles.

―You killed him. You killed my husband with poison.

“No.”

As he staggered, he shook his head at the nightmare from the past filling his mind. However, far from disappearing, the woman screamed even more viciously.

―I knew it. I knew you were such a cruel person!

The woman who was once gentle and mild glared at him with contemptuous eyes.

―You’re a coward just like your mother.

“That’s not it! I didn’t do such a thing!”

Though Caelan shouted in irritation, the woman occupying his mind sneered and mocked.

―You think you’ll be fine after taking my husband away like that?

“No…”

―Trying to get away with another lie saying it wasn’t you? That won’t do. You must suffer for life.

The woman, as if not wanting Caelan to stabilize, screamed and screamed again. Caelan, who had tried to tell her it wasn’t him, weakly dropped the hand that had been pressing his forehead. From his experience over the past decade and more, he knew that even if he told her to stop, she would never stop.

The more it happened, her sneering grew louder, making his head ring noisily. It was always like this. The woman who appeared the moment he discovered poison would always mock, curse, and rage until she was satisfied.

Though his head felt like it would burst from enduring it, he had no choice. Because no method could make her disappear.

But then something strange happened.

“…lan?”

Just as warm warmth seemed to envelop his ears and cheeks, the woman’s screams disappeared like a lie.

“Caelan.”

The pain that had been hurting his head vanished and peace arrived. Finding it so strange that he couldn’t easily accept it, Caelan slowly opened his eyes, and before him was Bliss looking at him with a worried expression.