Chapter 90: Why He Likes the Current Bliss

“You don’t know when she disappeared?”

At Caelan’s monotone question, Count Bonita pulled at his collar. Though there wasn’t a hint of urgency in that man’s voice, his throat felt strangely constricted.

“From the traces of meals, it seems recent, but I’m not sure since when.”

“Weren’t you checking every day?”

“Well…”

Count Bonita avoided his gaze.

“At first, I checked frequently by looking in…”

Having grown complacent because she was always there, he had let his guard down at some point. The situation was crystal clear to Caelan, who rose from his seat without hesitation.

“Marquis, no, Duke! Please give me time, I’ll find her somehow.”

Count Bonita hastily grabbed Caelan as he turned to leave, spitting out words quickly. After asking about the situation, there had been no other words. Without showing any anger, Caelan’s silence only increased Count Bonita’s anxiety endlessly.

“I’m not saying this because I can’t find her, but rather as a warning to prepare in case, just in case, she might come looking for you.”

Actually, he had only told Bliss and had been secretly searching for the woman. Then Marquis Adrian had burst in. Before he could lament that Bliss had told everything, Count Bonita tried to salvage the situation by clinging to Caelan.

“So please continue maintaining the marriage with Bliss.”

The final words were practically a plea. Being a marriage built on a deal, its foundation was weak. It would be good if Caelan loved Bliss, but he knew himself. That Bliss had nothing going for her except a pretty face.

“I’ll tell Bliss separately to live quietly and behave herself.”

Count Bonita’s voice rang out desperately toward his son-in-law, who had now become a duke and was absolutely someone he couldn’t afford to lose.

Tell Bliss to live like she’s dead while he searches for the woman in the meantime. That was Count Bonita’s current plan.

“Count Bonita.”

Caelan’s voice calling Count Bonita was casual. That it didn’t match the currently urgent atmosphere made Count Bonita flinch.

Caelan turned around slowly. And when their eyes met, the strength left Count Bonita’s hands. There was nothing in Caelan’s eyes as he looked at him. Facing those literally empty eyes, his thoughts of persuading him and his greed to not let him go felt like futile struggling.

“There’s no need to look for her anymore.”

The content delivered in that blunt voice was no different from cutting ties with Count Bonita.

“I can find her. I’m the only one who knows her face…”

“Can you find her?”

Caelan calmly cut off Count Bonita’s words.

“Can you find her quietly? Or are you planning to reveal that our deal involved marriage?”

“As your father-in-law, I can move under the pretense of helping you.”

“You should have taken better care of her so she wouldn’t run away. That was what I originally asked of you. So don’t unnecessarily involve yourself.”

Though his voice seemed emotionless and dry, the content was not. Caelan glanced at his grabbed clothes before moving away from Count Bonita.

“Don’t say anything to Bliss.”

Having no further business with Count Bonita, Caelan opened the door and left without hesitation.

***

After meeting Count Bonita, Caelan headed to the tower where she had stayed. The knight who recognized who he was stepped aside, and Caelan strode inside.

Narrow and tall. Climbing the stairs, he found a half-open door midway. Without anyone telling him, he could tell this was where she had lived.

Opening the door and entering, Caelan quietly looked around the room.

“Olivia.”

He called the name of his stepmother. The woman who had coveted the rose garden, coveted his mother’s position, and eventually coveted everything in the marquessate.

The narrow room contained only a bed and a few living necessities. The window was too narrow to let in sufficient light.

On the surface, there wasn’t much to see. It seemed she had left through the door rather than the window, but he wasn’t sure how. That wasn’t important to begin with. What mattered was where she might have gone after leaving.

As Caelan turned to leave the room, something caught his eye. He approached the bed. The flat bed appeared normal except for disturbed bedding, but…

Caelan drew his sword and sliced the pillow. The fabric split open revealing its contents, and when he poked through with his sword, something peeked out among the scattered feathers.

Pulling it out, it was paper. The paper, filled with all sorts of curses directed at Caelan, contained the woman’s anger in its entirety.

“No need to go looking for her.”

Confirming that Olivia would come on her own, Caelan left the tower.

***

Returning to the mansion, evening was already approaching. Thinking that Bliss might be waiting, an anxiety he hadn’t had before arose.

This wasn’t the original plan. The knight tournament was over, and his injuries had almost healed.

He was supposed to enjoy his time with Bliss that he had been putting off, but the situation had gone awry in the middle.

This wasn’t how it should have been.

Caelan let out a long sigh as he dismounted. Then he asked the butler who had stuck close to his side.

“Where’s Bliss?”

“She should be back soon.”

Caelan, who had been looking around while walking in, stopped.

“You mean she went out?”

“She went to the palace.”

Only then did it occur to him that Bliss must have gone to meet Princess Jasmin. Caelan turned back around. Since they said Bliss was coming back, he planned to wait.

Just as she had come looking for him yesterday, today he wanted to go to Bliss.

As Caelan went outside, the sound of horses neighing could be heard. The sound of hooves striking the ground and carriage wheels rolling was quite loud. Seeing the marquessate’s emblem embedded in the carriage anew, Caelan smirked. He remembered in sequence that his wife was riding inside and that she had embroidered a wolf and given it to him.

What had Count Bonita said again?

‘I’ll tell Bliss separately to live quietly and behave herself.’

The current Bliss was indeed busy running around. However, she wasn’t living the kind of life Count Bonita had in mind. She was very busy meeting Princess Jasmin, experimenting, and making things. She looked through account books and studied quite diligently, saying she wanted to contribute to the household. And… she worried about him, followed him around, and comforted him.

Stopping her from doing all that? Caelan didn’t like that. He was the one who wanted Bliss to live as she was now more than anyone else.

The loud noise had subsided by now, and when he raised his head, the door was right in front of him. As the coachman got down and opened the door, his eyes met with Bliss’s as she was about to step down while holding her skirt.

Her round eyes of surprise soon curved gently into a smile. He thought he saw a hint of mischief in her eyes just before they disappeared into the smile.

“I don’t need the step.”

Bliss said this to the coachman and stretched both hands toward Caelan. At her gaze urging him to come quickly, Caelan approached with a smile.

Bliss’s hands wrapped around Caelan’s neck, holding tight and refusing to let go.

It was just about getting down from the carriage, but when she hugged him like this…

Caelan smiled and embraced Bliss’s back.

Indeed, he likes the current Bliss.

“I just wanted help getting down…”

As Caelan just kept stroking her back, Bliss’s laughter floated through the air.

After helping Bliss down, Caelan stepped back one step. Then he noticed a fox jumping down behind Bliss. So they went together.

“I’m on my way back from meeting Princess Jasmin.”

Though she was supposedly the princess’s lady-in-waiting, when you heard what they actually did, they were no different from friends. They drank tea together, talked, experimented, and when it was time they ate, and when the weather was nice they went for walks too. In the process, Bliss didn’t seem to do things like fixing Princess Jasmin’s dress or carrying her things.

“I made a request to Her Highness.”

“A request?”

“Yes, to arrange a meeting with Duke and Duchess Blast.”

After throwing out these puzzling words, Bliss grinned broadly at whatever pleased her.

“I know they don’t have good feelings toward you. I know they’re probably wondering how to deal with us from now on, but that doesn’t seem enough.”

What could she be thinking?

“We’ll start with them.”

“What kind of start?”

“We need to sort things out.”

Bliss took Caelan’s hand.

“We can’t just watch people who try to use and corner you and me, can we?”

He could tell that their conversation in the rose garden yesterday had led to her decision. Even so, he hadn’t expected Duke Blast to be her first target.

“What are you planning to do?”

“As for what I’m planning…”

Bliss chattered away with a smile, and Caelan listened intently. He had completely forgotten about Olivia who had disappeared from the tower and the deal with Count Bonita. Caelan wore a natural smile as he shared conversation with Bliss.

Three days later, two families gathered around Princess Jasmin.

The House of Duke Blast and the House of Marquis Adrian, soon to become a duchy. Caught between them, Karhen, though feeling pressured by the atmosphere from both sides, was secretly looking forward to watching what promised to be an interesting spectacle.