“Ha… haha….”
The Duke let out a laugh as if utterly dumbfounded. The Duchess gave a bitter smile. Ashley said nothing, lips pressed shut. Koi released a deep sigh.
But the most bewildered person there was, of course, Cassian. That damn brat. If he could, he would have liked to knock that little head hard, but unfortunately the child was safely nestled in Daddy’s arms. After glaring at the smug little devil for a moment, Cassian finally let out a weary sigh.
He was sick of everything now. The only thought left in his mind was that he wanted to go back and collapse onto his bed. But to do that, he first had to deal with the devil. Even now, Bliss was thrashing about and shouting, “Let me marry Cassian!”
“Bliss.”
Until then silent, Cassian stepped forward and called his name. Bliss, who had been wriggling wildly in Koi’s arms, paused and looked at him. Cassian forced the most tolerant smile he could manage and spoke.
“I’m really sad that I have to go back like this too. But how about we stop playing here for today, and next time you come over to my house?”
At the calm tone, Bliss tilted his head.
“Next time? I come to your house?”
“Yeah.”
As Bliss repeated his words exactly, Cassian continued.
“Our house looks completely different from yours. Don’t be surprised. It’s a castle that’s over one thousand years old.”
“One thousand?”
Bliss widened his eyes and shouted, then tilted his head the other way.
“What’s one thousand?”
Cassian froze for a moment. Koi, embarrassed, leaned in and whispered,
“Bliss can only count up to one hundred for now.”
…Is this kid stupid?
Cassian was dumbfounded, but he suppressed his irritation and forced a smile.
“It means very, very old. It was built much earlier than the very old times you know.”
At that, Bliss’s eyes lit up.
“What? Then did dinosaurs build it?”
No, that’s too old.
Cassian faltered, then quickly changed his thinking. What does it matter? I’ll never see this brat again anyway.
“That’s right. A Tyrannosaurus built it.”
He threw out a random name, but Bliss frowned.
What now? Cassian felt uneasy as Bliss opened his mouth.
“That’s weird. Tyrannosaurus has small hands like me. How did it stack the bricks?”
…Why did he suddenly get smart?
Momentarily speechless, Cassian forced another smile and hurriedly changed the subject.
“You can come and see for yourself. Anyway, Bliss, I came to your house this time, so next time it’s only fair that you come to ours, right? That’s fair, isn’t it? So let’s part ways for today and you can visit our house next time. We’ll have fun again there, okay? Right? Good, let’s do that.”
Before Bliss could develop another question, Cassian unilaterally concluded the matter. Everyone, including Cassian, waited nervously for Bliss’s reaction.
If he still insists, I’ll have to drag him away by force.
…Koi was thinking just that when—
“Okay!”
Bliss suddenly said. As everyone stared at him, he continued, looking at Cassian.
“Got it. Next time I’ll go to your house. Fair and square!”
Seeing the adults’ reactions, Cassian let out a silent sigh of relief. So that hurdle is cleared, he thought—
“Then since we’re getting married, I can just go to your house now, right?”
“No, no no, absolutely not.”
At Bliss’s excited question, the color drained from Cassian’s face again. Faced with this new, unexpected crisis, he shook his head frantically in denial, then pressed his hand to his forehead with a deep sigh. Bliss looked puzzled.
“Why not? You told me to come to your house.”
He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
“Don’t tell me… you lied to me.”
“As if.”
Cassian quickly resumed smiling.
“Of course I meant it, Bliss. But inviting someone over so suddenly is a bit difficult. When you welcome a guest, you have to prepare on our side too… like the room you’ll use and things like that.”
As he spoke, Cassian urgently signaled to his father with his eyes. Do something! Fortunately, the Duke caught his son’s distress signal and stepped forward.
“That’s right. The castle is old, so there are many places that need repairs. So please give us some time.”
Bliss looked between the Duke and Cassian with lingering suspicion before slowly speaking.
“How long? Maybe five nights…”
“One year.”
Cassian cut him off swiftly. Seeing distrust spread across Bliss’s face as he held up five fingers wide, Cassian continued as if nothing were wrong.
“I’ll be graduating soon, Bliss. I’m going to university. Then I’ll be busy and won’t have time to play like this. So wait until vacation, okay? You can do that, right?”
Bliss grew serious and fell into thought. Cassian waited anxiously. What if this brat doesn’t fall for it? If he says something ridiculous again, then—
“Okay. I guess I can’t help it.”
“You made a good choice! I knew Bliss would understand.”
The moment Bliss finished speaking, Cassian exaggeratedly expressed relief with a bright smile. Bliss proudly lifted his chin.
“If a friend has circumstances like that, of course I should yield. That’s what a man does.”
“That’s right. Bliss is a real man among men.”
Cassian smiled and gave two thumbs up, continuing to praise him. When Bliss’s pride had swelled enough to pierce the ceiling, the Duke and Duchess took the opportunity to finish their farewells.
“Then we’ll take our leave for today. Goodbye….”
“Thank you for coming. Please travel safely.”
“Take care, Koi. Thank you for today.”
“I’m the one who should be grateful, Duchess. I hope we meet again.”
“Bye, Cassian. I’ll come visit during vacation.”
“Sure, I’ll look forward to it. Take care until then.”
Only after each person had said their part did the ducal family finally board the car. The Duchess first, then the Duke, and as Cassian was about to get in last, Ashley Miller approached as if to hold the door and whispered in a low voice.
“You have talent as a politician.”
Cassian looked up instinctively. The platinum-haired man gave a faint smile and added,
“It’s a compliment.”
With that, he stepped back. After a brief hesitation, Cassian got into the car, and a security guard immediately shut the door. The vehicles left the garden in a line just as they had arrived.
“Phew.”
Certain that everything was finally over, Cassian leaned his head back against the seat and let out a long sigh. Seeing that, the Duchess smiled sympathetically.
“You worked hard today, Cassian.”
“Don’t even mention it.”
He ground out the words, then added in a tired voice,
“Anyway, it was resolved well, so it’s fine.”
“Who would have imagined you’d receive a proposal?”
The Duke burst into hearty laughter. The Duchess laughed as well, but Cassian found none of it amusing.
“By the way.”
Looking at his sullen son, the Duke spoke casually.
“What did Ashley Miller say to you earlier?”
Cassian stared at his curious parents with an expressionless face before answering.
“He said we should meet again next time.”
“Well, we are future in-laws.”
The Duke laughed again, and the Duchess joined in. Cassian pretended to laugh along before turning to look out the window.
In that brief moment, he had come up with a fairly decent excuse. Perhaps Ashley Miller’s words had meant something similar.
A compliment, perhaps, for slipping away so neatly.