“This is our youngest, Bliss. B, you should say hello.”
Despite the emergency cleaning, faint traces of dark chocolate still lingered in places on his face. Bliss greeted them cheerfully.
“Hello. I’m Bliss Miller.”
“Oh my, how adorable.”
The duchess responded immediately. Smiling brightly, she looked closely at his face.
“Hello. I’m Elizabeth Strickland. It’s nice to meet you.”
Then she examined Bliss’s still swollen eye and asked with concern,
“Is your eye all right? That bruise looks severe. It must have hurt a lot.”
At her gentle words, Bliss puffed out his chest proudly and answered,
“It’s okay. I’m a man!”
The duchess blinked in surprise, then smiled and nodded.
“How splendid. Then of course this is nothing at all. Because you’re a man.”
At that, both the duke and Ashley laughed aloud. In the harmonious atmosphere, however, Koi was thinking something entirely different. Once the guests left, he would scold Bliss thoroughly. Ashley, of course, was thinking the same.
Completely unaware of their thoughts, Bliss beamed at Cassian. Cassian returned the smile without much thought, unable to imagine the fate that awaited him.
“Um, Duchess.”
Bliss spoke in an excited voice. Keeping his eyes fixed on Cassian, he dropped a bomb.
“Can I play with Cassian a little more? I want to ride the rides together!”
At the sudden statement, everyone’s eyes widened. The most startled and flustered of all was, of course, Cassian himself.
What is this peanut saying?
“Play with Cassian? What do you mean?”
Since Cassian was too stunned to speak, the duke asked instead. Bliss looked at him and answered matter of factly,
“Cassian and I became friends. So I want to ride my rides with him. Is that okay?”
“Ha….”
An incredulous sigh slipped from Cassian’s mouth. What is this? Only then did he realize why Bliss had diligently followed him here. In short, he had come to ask his parents for permission to play with his new friend.
As if the fact that Cassian was nearly an adult meant absolutely nothing.
Even after seeing through the bold little schemer’s intentions, it was too late. Watching the duke and duchess laugh heartily, completely charmed by the child’s adorable face, Cassian became certain of his bleak future.
“Really? I’m glad you became friends with my son. You have rides?”
“Yes, in the garden. They’re mine.”
At the duke’s kind question, Bliss nodded and added proudly,
“Cassian is my friend, so I’ll let him ride them specially. Please let us play together.”
This is bad. At the repeated request, Cassian hurriedly tried to intervene.
“Just a moment. I was told you were looking for me. Didn’t you have something to discuss?”
He asked politely with a composed smile, while inwardly shouting at the duke.
Say you have something to discuss. Right now!
Playing with the child had merely been a momentary whim. If he had known he would end up assigned as a babysitter, he would have ignored the child even if the jar had smashed over his head.
No, he would have prevented the accident.
Cassian corrected himself, but the conclusion was the same. He absolutely did not want this situation.
But unaware of his desperate feelings, it was the duchess who answered this time.
“No, we called you because we were worried you might be wandering around the house. Go on and have fun.”
I am not a child.
Cassian was about to politely decline, but before he could speak, the duke burst into laughter and nodded.
“Yes, do that. Cassian, you heard her. Go on.”
“I would rather rest here.”
Cassian attempted resistance with a smile. He expressed his refusal indirectly, but the duke did not accept it.
“You’re bored anyway. You have nothing to do and must be tired of it, so go and play with your new friend.”
I am not fine with this.
Cassian protested inwardly and tried again.
“I’m not particularly fond of rides—”
“It’s okay, Cassian. Once you ride them, you’ll like them!”
The peanut beside him cut in without reading the room. Just as Cassian felt the urge to grab him and shake him, the duchess spoke.
“Yes, Cassian. Go on. We can wait as long as needed, so don’t worry.”
“I—”
He was about to say never mind again, but it was no longer possible. Seeing four pairs of eyes fixed on him, Cassian could only open and close his mouth before finally answering, “Yes.” In the end, with a pale face, he was practically chased out into the corridor alongside the unruly little brat.
“Come on, Cassian!”
Bliss stretched out his hand excitedly. No matter how hard he extended his arm, Cassian’s hand hung far too high above him, making it rather pointless. Even so, the child beamed and tried his best to reach up and grab his hand. At the sight, Cassian finally snapped.
“How old are you?”
Through clenched teeth, he asked. Bliss answered calmly,
“Six. You?”
“I’m almost eighteen, Bliss.”
Careful that the adults in the room would not hear him, Cassian lowered his voice as much as possible and added,
“That means I’m becoming an adult. I’m grown up.”
He meant that he was not of an age to ride children’s rides, but of course that did not work on Bliss.
“It’s okay. Even if you’re a little old, I don’t mind.”
No, I mind. Very much.
Watching Bliss grin brightly and pat his leg encouragingly, Cassian thought that. But regardless of his twisted expression, Bliss kept chattering.
“My rides? Papa and Daddy ride them too. You can ride them.”
As if that were not enough, he added,
“I got permission from your Papa and Mama, so it’s fine. Let’s go!”
I passed the age of needing parental permission to ride something a long time ago.
Cassian wanted to shout, but that was impossible. When he still did not take his hand, Bliss finally jumped up and grabbed it. The sudden pull made Cassian lurch forward, and as Bliss landed with a thud, he said,
“Trust me. It’ll be really fun!”
Then he began running on his own. In the end, Cassian had no choice but to be dragged awkwardly down the corridor, one hand caught in the grip of someone who might as well have been a quarter of his size.
The rides installed behind the estate were nothing short of astonishing. Starting with a roller coaster, there was a flume ride, a carousel, a pirate ship, a drop tower, and more. It seemed to contain every kind of ride imaginable.
The problem was that they were all designed for children.
“Come on, Cassian. Get on.”
Before he could even find an answer to the fundamental question of why such things had been built on private property, Bliss had already climbed onto a pirate ship that did not even reach Cassian’s waist. Pointing enthusiastically to the opposite end, he gestured for him to sit. Seeing him fasten the safety belt meticulously on a pirate ship so ridiculously small and unimpressive made Cassian feel even more absurd.
“I’ll pass.”
“No need to be shy! Sit down, hurry.”
Though he waved his hand, Bliss kept shouting and pointing to the seat across from him. Cassian, however, stood his ground.
“Bliss, look. I’m this big. How could I possibly ride something this small?”
It was a reason that most people, including Cassian, would consider perfectly reasonable. Unfortunately, Bliss did not belong to that majority.
“It’s fine! Papa’s bigger than you and he sits there just fine!”
Looking down at the seat reserved for him, Cassian’s face turned completely pale.