By Zephyria 
Following the urging voice accompanied by a stomping foot, he let out a sigh and fastened his safety belt just as Bliss had done. Thinking that Ashley Miller must have done this too, he figured it wasn’t something he couldn’t do. As Cassian fastened his belt and let go, Bliss, excited, raised one arm.
“Okay, let’s set saaaail!”
At his signal, the waiting employee pressed the machine’s button. And the pirate ship began to move in a regular, small arc. Inside the pirate ship, rocking back and forth at a mere 15-degree angle, Cassian sank into thought.
What on earth is life?
And they went up and down on every single ride there without missing one. By the time the employee relayed the message, “His Grace the Duke says it’s time to return now,” Cassian was lost in contemplation about the birth of the universe.
Before he knew it, the sun was setting languidly in the distance.
\ \ *
“We’re back!”
It was roughly three or four hours later when Bliss opened the door to the drawing room where the adults were conversing and shouted loudly. Unlike Bliss, who ran to the drawing room and greeted them loudly without seeming tired despite having ridden all sorts of rides, Cassian walked down the corridor with a weary face, dark circles under his eyes. Meanwhile, Bliss was nestled in Daddy’s arms, chattering away excitedly.
“Cassian isn’t good at riding rides. He kept trying not to go because he was scared, so I even held his hand and cheered him on hard, saying it’s okay. After a few rides, he got better after that…!”
The adults smiled fondly at the sight of the excited child.
“It seems you had a lot of fun with Cassian.”
At the Duke’s words, Bliss nodded, saying yes.
“We could have played more, but we came back. Cassian just started getting used to the rides. We should have ridden them earlier. That’s a bit of a shame. But it’s okay, we can ride them again.”
The adults, still smiling, responded to the excited child’s words with “Yes, yes.” Just then, Cassian reached the drawing room and spotted the little monster surrounded by adults, beaming with a wide smile. Right then, the Duke asked.
“That’s amazing. Weren’t the rides scary?”
“Not at all!”
The little monster shouted excitedly.
“I’m a boy, you know. So I rode them bravely. I protected Cassian too!”
The Duke and Duchess turned their gaze towards their son who had just entered, as if asking if it was true. But Cassian, drenched in fatigue with hollow eyes, stared at them and muttered something entirely different.
“You said we were leaving….”
His appearance, dazedly murmuring as if his soul had left his body, flustered the Duke and Duchess, who exchanged glances but soon composed their expressions as if understanding. Playing with a child is no easy task. Feeling both proud and sorry for his tired son, the Duke then turned to Ashley and spoke.
“Well, we’ll take our leave for today. It was truly a delightful time.”
Following the Duke, the Duchess spoke.
“Thank you for inviting us. We had many good conversations. I hope we have another opportunity sometime.”
After politely expressing her thanks, the Duchess exchanged a glance with Ashley, then with Koi, and finally rested her gaze on Bliss. She added with a benevolent smile.
“I was truly happy to meet such a cute and lovely child.”
“Thank you.”
Koi blushed but smiled proudly. As they were about to wrap up the gathering with pleasant farewells.
“Cassian, are you going home?”
Bliss, who had belatedly grasped the situation, suddenly shouted towards him. Cassian, who had been waiting only for this tedious time to end until then, flinched, then turned back with a tired face and mumbled weakly.
“I have to, of course.”
At that answer, Bliss visibly panicked, his pupils shaking wildly. As if he had never imagined such a situation. Seeing his son like that, Koi gently admonished him.
“B, Cassian has to go back to his own home. This is B’s home.”
Bliss was left speechless. Daddy’s words were right. Bliss stays at Bliss’s home, and Cassian goes to Cassian’s home. He knows that well. But, but.
“I don’t want to say goodbye.”
Bliss mumbled with a deeply sullen face. It was absurd to send away his new friend he had become so attached to. No, absolutely not! Though understanding the child’s heart, shaking his head vehemently, they couldn’t just indulge him. Ashley scolded him rather sternly.
“Don’t throw a tantrum saying nonsense, Bliss. Now, say goodbye to the guests. Hurry.”
Under repeated urging, Bliss moved his head busily. Neither Papa nor Daddy seemed in a mood to listen to him. So what should he do? How can he stay with Cassian longer? How?
Ah.
At that moment, a genius idea flashed through Bliss’s mind. This is it!
A beaming smile appeared on his face, which had been deeply sullen just moments before. Bliss immediately turned his head and shouted loudly towards Cassian, who had been zoning out until then, just praying to leave this place.
“Cassian, marry me!”
The small, bustling sounds of people exchanging farewells vanished all at once, and silence descended. The Duke and Duchess, Ashley, and Koi all stared at Bliss with wide eyes, but the most shocked among them was Cassian himself.
…What is that crazy little brat saying.
He couldn’t even blink, frozen, barely managing to think. A cold sweat trickled down his back.
Tick, tock. The sound of the second hand on the wall clock echoed heavily. Though it was only a few seconds, the silence seemed to press down on Cassian’s shoulders more heavily than ever.
“…What did you say?”
The first to speak was Ashley. Thanks to that, the unbearably oppressive silence shattered, but instead, a chilling air spread eerily around. It was even worse.
“B, what did you just say? Do you know what you said?”
“Yes, of course!”
As Koi hurriedly stepped in and asked, Bliss declared confidently.
“I’m going to marry Cassian. I want to get married, let me get married!”
Seeing that, the Duke and Duchess lost their previous composure, visibly flustered and at a loss for words.
“Ah, no, this is….”
They looked at Cassian as if asking what was going on, but their son was equally clueless. Seeing Cassian’s face contorted as if wronged, mouthing ‘I’m innocent,’ Koi hurriedly asked Bliss.
“What are you saying all of a sudden, Bliss. That you want to marry Cassian.”
“What big meaning could a child’s words have? He’s just saying things randomly….”
Before Cassian, hastily speaking up, could even finish his sentence, Bliss shouted first.
“Marriage is something you do with someone you like!”
Silence fell again, but it was subtly different from before. Among the people, bewildered and unable to utter a word as no one could comprehend the situation, Bliss continued in an exuberant voice.
“I like Cassian. If you get married, you don’t part and live together, right? Then we can be together today, tomorrow, every day, so we can play together forever! So I want to marry Cassian!”