Just imagining a man over two meters tall folding himself into that tiny ride to play with his son was enough to make him dizzy.
Ashley Miller.
The man who headed “the most influential family in America” was apparently living an unexpectedly grueling life. The realization suddenly drained him of all will.
Right. Even Ashley Miller lives like that. Who am I to complain.
With a self-mocking sigh, Cassian silently climbed onto the pirate ship. He struggled to ignore the rational voice in his head shouting, The peanut in front of him is his child, of course it’s different. This situation and mine are nothing alike. In front of “Ashley Miller,” he himself was nothing more than a mere heir of a ducal house. As the counterweight naturally tipped toward Cassian’s side, the ship leaned in his direction, and Bliss, who had scampered up, burst into laughter.
“This is fun! Cassian, hurry and buckle up. Hurry! It’s dangerous!”
Urged on by the voice stamping its feet impatiently, he let out a sigh and fastened the safety belt the same way Bliss had. Once he thought that even Ashley Miller must have worn this, it did not seem so impossible. As soon as Cassian buckled in and let go, Bliss excitedly threw one arm into the air.
“Then we’re setting offf!”
At his signal, the attendant waiting nearby pressed the machine’s button. The pirate ship began moving in a small arc with steady rhythm. Inside the vessel that tilted up and down at a mere fifteen degrees, Cassian sank into thought.
What, exactly, is life?
And they proceeded to ride every single attraction there without missing one. By the time the attendant relayed, “The Duke says it is time to return now,” Cassian had just begun contemplating the birth of the universe.
Before he knew it, the sun was dipping low in the distance.
“We’re back!”
Roughly three or four hours had passed when Bliss flung open the drawing room door, where the adults were conversing, and shouted loudly. Unlike Bliss, who had run all the way there and cheerfully greeted them despite riding every attraction without tiring, Cassian trudged down the corridor with dark circles under his eyes and a thoroughly exhausted expression. Meanwhile, Bliss was already in Daddy’s arms, chattering away.
“Cassian isn’t very good at rides. He kept trying not to get on because he was scared, so I held his hand tight and cheered him on, telling him it was okay. After a few times he got better at riding them…!”
At the sight of the delighted child, the four adults smiled fondly.
“It seems you had a great time with Cassian.”
At the Duke’s words, Bliss nodded vigorously.
“We could’ve played more, but we came back. Cassian was just getting used to the rides. We should’ve ridden them earlier. That’s a bit of a shame. But it’s okay, we can ride them again.”
The adults continued smiling and responding with indulgent agreement. Just then, Cassian reached the drawing room and spotted the little monster grinning brightly while surrounded by the adults. At that moment, the Duke asked:
“That’s impressive. Weren’t the rides frightening?”
“Not at all!”
The little monster shouted excitedly.
“I’m a man. So I rode them bravely. I protected Cassian too!”
The Duke and Duchess turned their gaze toward their son, who had just entered, as if to confirm it. But Cassian, soaked in fatigue, stared at them with hollow eyes and muttered something entirely different.
“You said we were going back….”
At his vacant murmur, as though his soul had left him entirely, the Duke and Duchess exchanged flustered glances before composing themselves in understanding. Playing with a child was not an easy task. Feeling both proud of and sorry for their exhausted son, the Duke soon turned to Ashley and spoke.
“Then we shall take our leave for today. It was truly an enjoyable time.”
Following him, the Duchess added,
“Thank you for inviting us. We had many good conversations. I hope there will be another opportunity next time.”
After offering her courteous thanks, she exchanged nods first with Ashley, then with Koi, and finally let her gaze rest on Bliss. With a benevolent smile, she added,
“I was truly happy to meet such a cute and lovely child.”
“Thank you.”
Though his cheeks flushed, Koi smiled proudly. They were just about to conclude the visit with pleasant farewells when—
“Cassian, you’re going home?”
Bliss, belatedly grasping the atmosphere, suddenly shouted at him. Cassian, who until then had been waiting for this tedious time to end, paused before turning back with a tired face and replying weakly,
“I have to, obviously.”
At that answer, Bliss visibly panicked, his eyes shaking wildly. As if he had never imagined such a situation. Seeing his son like that, Koi gently tried to soothe him.
“Bee, Cassian has to go back to his own home. This is Bee’s home.”
Bliss found himself speechless. Daddy was right. Bliss stays in Bliss’s home, and Cassian goes to Cassian’s home. He knew that well. But, but.
“I don’t want to say goodbye.”
Bliss muttered with a deeply distressed face. It made no sense to let his brand-new friend, whom he had completely fallen for, leave just like this. No. Absolutely not. Though they understood the violently shaking child’s heart, they could not simply indulge him. Ashley reprimanded him in a noticeably stern tone.
“Don’t throw a tantrum saying ridiculous things, Bliss. Now greet our guests. Hurry.”
At the repeated urging, Bliss’s head moved busily. Neither Papa nor Daddy looked inclined to grant his request. Then what should he do? How could he stay with Cassian longer? How?
Ah.
In that moment, a genius idea flashed through Bliss’s mind. This is it!
The tearful expression from just seconds ago vanished, replaced with a radiant grin. Bliss immediately turned his head and shouted loudly at Cassian, who had been pretending not to listen and praying to leave as soon as possible.
“Cassian, marry me!”
The murmurs of farewell ceased at once, and a heavy silence descended. The Duke and Duchess, Ashley, and Koi all stared at Bliss with wide eyes, but the most horrified person among them was Cassian himself.
…What is that crazy brat saying?
Frozen without even blinking, he barely managed the thought. A line of cold sweat slid down his back.
Tick, tock. The second hand of the wall clock echoed heavily. Though only a few seconds had passed, the silence pressed down on Cassian’s shoulders heavier than ever.
“…What?”
The first to speak was Ashley. The suffocating stillness shattered at once, only to be replaced by a chilling air spreading through the room. It was worse.
“Bee, what did you just say? Do you know what you’re saying?”
“Of course I do!”
As Koi hurriedly stepped in to ask, Bliss answered loudly and proudly.
“I’m going to marry Cassian. I want to marry him. Let me marry him!”
At that, the Duke and Duchess lost their composure entirely, visibly flustered as they stumbled over their words.
“N-no, this is….”
They looked at Cassian as if to ask what on earth was going on, but their son was just as clueless. With a wronged expression twisting his face, Cassian silently mouthed, I’m innocent. Seeing that, Koi hurriedly asked Bliss,
“What are you saying all of a sudden, Bliss? Marry Cassian?”
“What significance could there possibly be in what a child says? It’s just something said without thought—”
Cassian rushed to speak, but before he could finish, Bliss shouted first.
“Marriage is something you do with someone you like!”
Silence fell again, subtly different from before. No one could make sense of the situation; all were too bewildered to speak. In that confusion, Bliss continued in an excited voice.
“I like Cassian. When you get married, you don’t separate and you live together, right? Then today, tomorrow, every single day we’ll be together! We can play together forever and ever! So I want to marry Cassian!”