Chapter 51: The Identity of the Shadow

“Remember when I said I got that written pledge because I was afraid you’d kill me?”

“How could I forget when it wasn’t that long ago?”

“Right. If I had known how you felt about poison when I told my story then, our conversation would have been different.”

Before Caelan revealed his secret, he first asked Bliss. When asked why she had changed so much, Bliss vaguely ended the conversation by saying she did it to avoid death.

“Originally, I die wearing a necklace tainted with poison.”

“A necklace… with poison?”

“Yes, and you’re the one who prepares it and puts it on me.”

Bliss tried to ease her frustration by running her hand through her hair. She had gotten used to wearing her hair down today, but now it felt cumbersome. Even after pushing her hair back, she couldn’t keep her hands still. Bliss pressed her fingertips with her nails.

“That’s what I read. That you would kill me and marry someone else.”

“I don’t know how to take this. Where did you read this? Don’t tell me someone sent you a warning letter?”

“Something similar. Not a letter but a book, and rather than a warning, I found out by chance.”

Bliss thought she would need to reveal that she had possessed this body for Caelan to fully understand her explanation.

“It’s a long story and you might not believe it. It might sound absurd, but if you listen…”

“I won’t ask how you got such a book.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s all wrong.”

Caelan came closer and brushed back Bliss’s hair. It was as if he had seen her pushing back her hair and wanted to help arrange it himself.

“I don’t use poison. I don’t even know how a poisoned necklace would work… Most importantly, you’re alive right now. That book was wrong.”

While he was systematically refuting each point, Bliss, who had made such strange claims, listened to Caelan’s words without showing any sign of wavering.

Caelan only saw the book as the beginning of a misunderstanding and didn’t take deeper interest in it. Though she needed to persist about the book to reveal her possession, Caelan told her not to worry about it.

‘This isn’t right…’

Her confusion at the misaligned conversation was brief as Bliss looked up at the touch of hands in her hair. Then she placed her hand on Caelan’s chest and pushed him away.

“Aren’t you curious where that book came from? It’s not all lies. Everything it said about you was true.”

“So that’s why you trusted the book.”

“Yes. At the ball when you suddenly appeared, and when you showed me the necklace saying it was a gift, how do you think I felt?”

Though Bliss didn’t specifically say when, Caelan seemed to recall that day as he closed his mouth and looked at her.

“You, who had never been kind before, suddenly apologized and gave me a gift… I thought you were trying to take my life.”

“And you didn’t die.”

“Right. While wondering why I hadn’t died, I still couldn’t lower my guard against you.”

Caelan, who had been continuously stroking Bliss’s hair, slowly withdrew his hand. Just as Bliss thought Caelan was moving away and let her guard down, her eyes suddenly widened. He had grabbed the back of her head and pulled her closer. At this clearly shortened distance, Caelan looked into Bliss’s surprised widened eyes.

After reading the emotion in her eyes, Caelan let out a sneer.

“You must have been very scared.”

Bliss frowned.

“I should commend you for still saying you’d return to Count Bonita’s territory despite all that.”

Though they had agreed to reveal everything, something about Caelan’s response felt unpleasant.

“Don’t say it like that. It’s natural to be tense when faced with death.”

“I’m not mocking you. Rather, I feel pathetic for having different thoughts without knowing any of this.”

Still holding Bliss, Caelan looked to the side. Following his gaze, Bliss also turned her head. Why was he looking at the vanity?

“Instead of thinking about opening a rose garden to unmask you, I should have just asked directly.”

Then things wouldn’t have gone this way. As Caelan gathered her hair, Bliss’s eyes darted around. So that’s why he had looked at the vanity.

“It’s not that simple. We didn’t trust each other. Even when we were together, we only had different thoughts, so maybe it would have made things worse.”

Before they tried to understand each other, they might have just accused each other of having ulterior motives. While Bliss was lost in thought, his hand traced her waist.

“I won’t kill you. I can promise that with everything I have.”

Facing Bliss, Caelan tied her hair without looking, using a ribbon. Just as she wondered where the ribbon came from, the pressure around her waist disappeared. Exposing her neck by gathering her hair, brushing against her waist. Though Caelan’s hands moved across her body, she couldn’t do anything.

“Now you can wear the necklace I gave you without worry.”

After arranging all her hair, his hand brushed Bliss’s bare neck. She understood his meaning – if he had wanted to kill her, he could have done it directly rather than using poison.

“Even if the book was based on facts, the future isn’t set. Results can change depending on what choices we make.”

After he said that much, she lost the desire to tell him about her circumstances. She would live as Bliss anyway, and it was true that the book’s future had changed. And now that she was certain Caelan wouldn’t kill her, nothing else seemed to matter much.

“Can I ask one more thing?”

“Anything.”

“I’m curious why you married me instead of Latte.”

Perhaps that was the beginning of all these events. Though Bliss was inserted to add hardship to Latte and Caelan’s love, it wasn’t entirely forced. Living as Bliss, she had come to know this was another world in itself.

“It didn’t matter who I married. During the process, Count Bonita even offered conditions good enough to break off Latte’s engagement.”

“Father did?”

“Yes. I agreed to take care of one person.”

One person – at such a modest condition, Bliss showed her incomprehension. By that logic, wouldn’t Caelan’s House Adrian be better suited for taking care of people? Being a higher and more powerful family than House Bonita.

‘But Caelan knows that. If he accepted despite that, I should focus on who it is.’

“Who is it?”

“Mother.”

As Bliss didn’t have proper information about the previous Marchioness, it was difficult for her to say anything. She needed to know something to ask questions…

“You know what?”

While Bliss was wracking her brain about what questions to ask, Caelan’s voice cut in.

“Originally, I was planning to watch you for a while before entering. But you suddenly stood up, so that plan fell apart.”

She didn’t immediately understand his words.

“Back then, instead of being happy to see me, you were surprised and wary.”

Now she realized he was talking about what happened at the ball.

“So I tried being affectionate to surprise you more, but I guess I read it wrong.”

Caelan smiled as he said he had read it wrong. As a smile appeared on Caelan’s face, which had been expressionless throughout their conversation, Bliss’s heavy heart lightened a bit.

“Have we asked everything we wanted to know?”

Bliss had nothing more to ask. Unless something came up later, she was busy processing her conversation with Caelan.

“Now we need to find out who dropped that poison pouch in the room. We absolutely can’t let this slide, so let’s work together.”

“I haven’t asked my questions yet.”

Bliss, who had been trying to wrap up the conversation, turned her eyes away in embarrassment at Caelan’s complaint. Just because she had no questions didn’t mean Caelan didn’t have any.

“I didn’t answer right away, that’s why. Go ahead and ask. I won’t hide anything.”

Bliss cleared her throat and asked. Since she had truly revealed everything, she was willing to tell anything she knew.

Then Caelan reached out to Bliss again.

‘Maybe I should have asked why he keeps putting his hands on me.’

However, the atmosphere had already shifted to Caelan. He placed his hand on Bliss’s waist and moved it smoothly. As she followed where Caelan’s hand was going, it touched an object. The moment she realized it was the dagger she never parted with, she felt Caelan’s breath near her ear.

“What are you learning from the dagger?”

Caelan watched intently as Bliss failed to compose her surprised expression.

“That’s…”

As she pondered how to explain to Caelan, an urgent knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Before the knocking sound could fade, the door opened and the maid, Mint, appeared with an urgent expression.

“Jackie is missing.”

***

Jackie walked quickly through the back garden, holding her skirt. As she moved forward, hiding behind trees, Jackie stopped upon discovering someone wearing a coat. Facing the relaxed back of someone who seemed to be taking a stroll in the back garden, Jackie fell to her knees and collapsed.

“I’m sorry.”

As Jackie spoke while trembling, the person who had been standing with their hands behind their back slowly turned around. Jackie’s gaze slowly rose from their feet. Past the legs, waist, chest. And when her gaze reached higher, they removed their hat to reveal their face.