Chapter 55: His Good Points

At the emperor’s question, Bliss couldn’t hide her bewilderment. She immediately understood what Caelan meant by the emperor’s impossible questions.

“Your Majesty, please stop.”

Caelan stepped in for the flustered Bliss.

“Have I made things uncomfortable?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“If I had known, I wouldn’t have invited you.”

“I would have come anyway.”

“Are you going to keep interrupting like this?”

“That’s why I came.”

During this unyielding exchange, Bliss looked at Princess Jasmin. She seemed to be enjoying this conversation, which meant Bliss was the only one who could stop it.

“Your Majesty… This is so sudden, I don’t know how to answer.”

As Bliss spoke up while holding Caelan’s hand, the emperor nodded in understanding.

“I know it’s a political marriage, but I asked because you’ve lived as husband and wife for some time now. Is it difficult to say what you like about Marquis Adrian?”

He first asked what she found appealing, but now he was asking what she liked about him. Bliss awkwardly raised her eyes to look at Caelan. He had been watching her for some time, and their gazes became intertwined. Caelan looked at Bliss with calm eyes, seemingly telling her nothing mattered.

She wasn’t sure why he was just quietly waiting there, as though he were ready to hear that she hadn’t discovered anything yet. Not knowing what was going through Bliss’s mind, Caelan kept staring steadily, making it unclear when she should look away.

‘There are plenty of appropriate compliments.’

From his appearance to his swordsmanship and ability to manage the family, these were Caelan’s strengths that everyone acknowledged. Mentioning these would have been enough to get past the emperor’s question. But when it came down to it, the words wouldn’t come out as planned.

It didn’t feel right in her heart. It bothered her to just state objectively known facts.

‘What about my honest feelings?’

What had Caelan been like in all their encounters so far?

As Bliss recalled her experiences with Caelan one by one, she organized her thoughts and opened her mouth.

“He was someone with strong vigilance.”

It was unclear if this could be considered a good point, but it was her honest answer. Despite the puzzled looks from the emperor and Princess Jasmin, Bliss didn’t change her words. She just gave an awkward smile while Caelan also stared at her intently.

“Vigilance? I’d like you to explain what you mean.”

“As Your Majesty said, we were joined in a political marriage. So we didn’t know each other well.”

Bliss had tried to understand Caelan’s inscrutable thoughts, but failed repeatedly. If it had been emotions described in the original work, she would have understood, but those were just a small part. Even those were experiences with Latte, so there was nothing to apply to her situation.

“So I kept my distance, and Caelan built walls. We couldn’t fully trust each other.”

By now, both the emperor and Princess Jasmin were focused on Bliss’s words.

“If someone had been watching our relationship, there would have been many days that seemed frustrating. They might have wondered why we didn’t just clear things up, to the point where they could say such things.”

That was why she hadn’t confronted him about why he tried to put the poisoned necklace on her from the start. She was careful and wary, wondering if he would kill her the moment she revealed anything. It was only recently that she opened up to him.

“Because we had that time, when we finally revealed everything, it felt liberating.”

There were many misunderstandings and regrets about things that could have been less tense if said earlier, but it wasn’t a bad time. It was all part of the process of building solid ground for strong trust with Caelan.

“That’s what I really liked.”

After saying everything she needed to say, Bliss picked up her water glass and looked at the others. No one was speaking.

“Was my answer strange?”

“It was unexpected, but not strange.”

Princess Jasmin shook her head and corrected her. Then she looked back and forth between Bliss and Caelan before finally fixing her gaze on the emperor.

“Political marriages aren’t always bad. They give you the pleasure of getting to know the other person.”

“It seems you’ve suddenly decided to get married. I should tell them to look for a match for you.”

“That’s not what I meant at all!”

When the arrow suddenly pointed at her, Princess Jasmin frantically tried to stop it. She even told the approaching chamberlain two or three times absolutely not to look for anyone.

“Marriage isn’t what’s important, it’s the person. It means someone might appear whom you can discover good things about.”

“Is that why you asked the Marchioness such a question?”

“I was merely curious. There’s absolutely no other reason.”

“Yes, I see. So there was no reason.”

As the conversation shifted to focus on the emperor and Princess Jasmin, Bliss could quietly catch her breath.

***

In the carriage returning to the marquis’s residence, Bliss pressed gently on her solar plexus. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t uncomfortable during lunch with the emperor. As a result, even though she ate only a small amount, she ended up feeling sick. While looking out the window trying to settle her queasy stomach, she didn’t notice Caelan’s gaze.

When her stomach had somewhat settled, Bliss let out a long sigh.

“His Majesty is really someone you can’t let your guard down around.”

“I’m glad you understand.”

“Yes. I understand why you said those things now. To ask what I like about you…”

Belatedly realizing what she was saying, Bliss’s words trailed off. Of all people, she was talking about Caelan right in front of him. The returning queasiness in her stomach must be psychological.

As Bliss tried to turn her gaze back to the window, Caelan suddenly reached out. He not only took her hand but massaged it with just the right pressure. Bliss quietly looked at her hand. Her hand appeared particularly white whenever Caelan’s hand opened.

“I didn’t expect you to like that I doubted and tested you.”

“When did I say that?”

Looking at her hand, Bliss let out an incredulous laugh, wondering what she had just heard.

“I meant I liked that you’re calm and don’t make hasty judgments, so don’t say strange things.”

“That could be interpreted that way too. Thank you for that compliment as well.”

When Caelan calmly accepted it as his compliment, Bliss was at a loss for words.

“Were you always like this?”

“I just react differently depending on the situation. Since I thought it was a compliment, I accepted it.”

“Fine. Let’s both think of it in whatever way is comfortable.”

Bliss pulled her hand away from Caelan. Perhaps his massage had worked, as her stomach felt better too.

“Why aren’t you asking?”

“About what? Is it about Jackie?”

“Do you know who was behind her?”

“That… That’s the most important thing, but I didn’t ask about it.”

Bliss tried to hide her awkward expression with a smile, but it didn’t work well. In truth, she had been avoiding it.

‘Even though this is a chance to find out who wants to kill me…’

She didn’t want to know. Fearing that it might lead to irreversible consequences, she hadn’t asked even while keeping Jackie at the mansion. But…

“Who is it?”

Knowing that avoiding it wouldn’t end things, she gave up and asked.

“Leonard.”

“…Who?”

“Leonard Jimilta, the Viscount.”

Bliss couldn’t easily accept this.

“He brought in Jackie and gave the orders. I don’t know why he wants to kill you, but that doesn’t change anything.”

Even at Caelan’s cold words, Bliss couldn’t think of an immediate response.

She remained quiet under Caelan’s knowing gaze.

“We’re here.”

By then, the carriage had passed through the main gate and was slowing down. When the carriage stopped, Caelan got out first.

Having heard words she couldn’t just brush aside, Bliss stood up, unable to organize her increasingly tangled thoughts. As she was about to get out of the carriage, she saw the hand extended to her and looked up at Caelan.

“If it’s too hard to bear alone, lean on me.”

“Now that I think about it, you have something in common with His Majesty.”

While Caelan was at a loss for words at the sudden mention of the emperor, Bliss took his hand.

“You both say unexpected things.”

“Is that meant as a compliment?”

“Well, you took everything as praise earlier, so you can think of it that way too.”

As Bliss got out of the carriage and tried to pull her hand away from Caelan’s, he grabbed it again and pulled her towards him. Drawn close by his strength, Bliss blinked. She couldn’t see Caelan’s face. Instead, his ear, neck, and shoulders captured all of her attention.

Just as she was wondering why he had embraced her, Caelan’s whisper reached her ears.

“That praise moved me. You steadied what used to waver before.”

“What does that mean?”

“The justification I’ve been looking for all this time.”

While she was thinking about what that justification might be, Caelan let go of Bliss and turned around. Bliss blankly watched his back as he entered the mansion.

***

Bliss, now accompanied by Mint who had somehow appeared behind her, headed to where Jackie might be. Since she had sent her, the butler probably started her with laundry. Sure enough, the familiar girl was crouched in the expected place. Seeing her dress with wet hems and spots all over, Bliss sighed.

“Jackie.”

At Bliss’s soft voice, the small back flinched. Soon Jackie turned around and stood up, bowing to Bliss.

“My lady.”

“…Are you alright?”

“Yes.”

Having nothing else to say, Jackie hung her head low. Her swollen hands revealed that she had been working with water all day. She still hadn’t removed the bandage from her neck, and it was painful to see her working without even a moment’s rest. However, since this was all Jackie’s choice, there was nothing Bliss could do.

Then, remembering Caelan’s words about Leonard being the one who had made Jackie like this, Bliss pressed her solar plexus in frustration. It seemed the earlier indigestion hadn’t fully subsided.

‘Why would he do such a thing?’

She wondered what was going through Leonard’s mind.