It did not leave him in a particularly good mood, but it was not wrong either. In any case, he had achieved the result he wanted, hadn’t he? Children that age forgot everything from the day before after just one night’s sleep. To them, how long would one year feel?
Long enough to forget about today entirely. Long enough to forget about me too.
On top of that, their homeland was England. Once their schedule here ended, they would leave the country immediately. That meant there would be even less chance of ever running into that brat again. Thinking so, he closed his eyes in satisfaction. Soon, Cassian would become an adult and gain independence. A free university life awaited him. Was this really the time to be dealing with some snot-nosed child?
Imagining the London flat he would soon be living in, the corners of his lips lifted pleasantly.
Goodbye, peanut. Let’s never meet again.
“Yaaawn.”
The moment Bliss laid his head on the pillow, he let out a huge yawn. He had nearly dozed off several times even while bathing. Ashley gently brushed the child’s forehead back with his large hand.
“You must have had a lot of fun today. Was Cassian that good to you?”
“Yeah.”
Bliss nodded firmly, but his drooping eyelids would not obey him. Another wide yawn escaped him as he spoke in a drowsy voice.
“Papa, I’m definitely going to go see Cassiaaan….”
“Alright, I know.”
Ashley answered easily and stroked his cheek.
“I’ll make sure you see him in a year. Now go to sleep.”
“Promiseee….”
“Promise.”
By the time he reassured him again, Bliss’s eyes were already closed. Watching the child fall asleep almost instantly with soft breathing, Ashley leaned down and lightly kissed his forehead before leaving the room.
“Bliss already asleep?”
Koi, freshly showered, asked as Ashley stepped out. Ashley nodded.
“He’s completely out. He was talking about the Strickland Duke’s eldest son until right before he fell asleep.”
“Really?”
Koi looked surprised. Ashley gave a short nod and spoke lightly.
“He’ll forget after he sleeps. Children lose interest quickly.”
After giving Koi a light kiss on the lips and heading into the bathroom, Ashley left Koi murmuring to himself.
“I hope so….”
Surely he wouldn’t insist on going to England without forgetting.
The thought startled him, and he quickly shook his head.
No, that’s ridiculous. Ash is right. Bliss is still young. He’ll forget soon enough. One year is a long time….
“I’m going to marry Cassian!”
Bliss’s declaration suddenly resurfaced in his mind. A small, incredulous laugh slipped out. What could a six-year-old possibly know? Shaking his head with a faint smile, he climbed into bed and picked up the book he had been reading. It was a peaceful night, like any other.
And then one year passed.
“Papa, Papaa!”
Early in the morning, while Ashley was still preparing for work, he widened his eyes in surprise at his youngest son bursting into the bedroom, calling him urgently.
“Bee, what is it? This early?”
Bending down and lifting the child into his arms, Ashley asked. Bliss looked up at him with flushed cheeks and shouted excitedly,
“I want to go to England!”
“England?”
“England?”
Both Ashley and Koi, who stood behind him, repeated the word in shock. Looking between their confused faces, Bliss declared confidently,
“Tomorrow. The one year Cassian talked about is tomorrow!”
“What?”
“Ah.”
Koi, reacting after Ashley again, added an explanation.
“When the Duke’s son visited and went back….”
“Ah, right.”
Only then did Ashley recall the incident. Bliss immediately shouted,
“We promised, so I have to see Cassian. I want to go to England!”
“Wait, Bliss. It’s not that simple—”
Ashley tried to calm him, but Bliss was not listening. Of course not. He had waited an entire year for this day.
“I want to go see Cassiaaan!”
Bliss began thrashing as he shouted. Here it was—Bliss’s ultimate move. Koi could only watch helplessly. In the end, they did not even last five minutes before surrendering.
“Alright, Bliss. Alright.”
With a long sigh of defeat, Ashley lifted the now-calmer child and continued,
“But we can’t just leave on our own. We need to check their circumstances first. Do you understand?”
“No. What’s that?”
Bliss tilted his head. Koi explained gently from the side.
“It means we have to ask permission to see if it’s okay to go, Bee.”
Bliss tilted his head the other way.
“But Cassian said I could come.”
“Even so, we still need permission.”
As Bliss continued to look unconvinced, Koi glanced up at Ashley.
“Should I contact the Duchess?”
“I’ll handle it. Just wait.”
Ashley spoke briefly, handed the child to Koi, and began tying his tie himself.
“I’m leaving. Don’t come out. Koi, leave Bliss with the butler. Don’t stay alone with him.”
He finished preparing quickly, kissed Koi and Bliss in turn, and left the room. Normally Koi would follow him out to watch him get into the car, but today he did not. As instructed, he stayed in the room. Once they were alone, Koi finally turned his full attention to Bliss. Normally he should not spend too long alone with the child, but today there was something he had to ask.
I’ll just have to be careful.
“Bliss, why did you suddenly decide you have to go to England?”
After sitting him down on the sofa in the adjoining sitting area, Koi asked. Bliss answered without hesitation.
“It’s not sudden. I’ve been waiting for one year.”
“You kept remembering that….”
It felt strange that this little child had held onto something even he himself had forgotten. But that was not all. Bliss continued in an excited voice.
“Cassian said he lives in England, right? It rains a lot there. So I packed a raincoat. I’m all ready!”
Seeing the gleam on his face, Koi could not bring himself to say no. Instead, he asked something else.
“Ready? What do you mean? Did you pack something?”
Bliss nodded eagerly.
“Wait here, Daddy.”
He jumped off the sofa and ran out. Presumably to his room. After a short wait, he returned with a large bag slung over his shoulders. With a grunt, he set the backpack down in front of Koi and unzipped it, pulling items out one by one.
First came the yellow raincoat he had mentioned. Then a crumpled baseball cap.
“When you greet someone, you’re supposed to take off your hat and put it on your chest like this. So you need a hat, right? That’s why I packed my favorite one.”
You could just not wear a hat, Bee.
Koi thought so, but kept silent. Next, Bliss pulled out butter cookies as a gift for the Duke and Duchess, then a board game to play with Cassian, then a handkerchief in case someone caught a cold and had a runny nose, and even a small desk clock with his favorite character on it so he could tell the time if anyone asked.
“…Is that everything?”
Koi asked, looking down at the pile of miscellaneous items spread across the floor. Bliss shook his head.
“I couldn’t pack my rain boots and umbrella. And I have to bring Sanchez too. And then….”
Bliss kept listing things enthusiastically. To Koi, more than half of them were useless. But thinking that his son had quietly prepared for England all by himself for an entire year made him feel proud. He stroked the child’s head and said,