By Zephyria 
After committing such an atrocity against Bliss, Cassian was drinking beer and chatting with the others. Bad, bad bastard. A truly terrible bastard.
Bliss couldn’t believe that he could drink and laugh so brazenly after doing such a thing just moments ago. As Bliss’s clenched fists trembled violently, Cassian suddenly looked back at him and gestured.
“What are you doing, Bliss? Come here.”
That shameless…!
Bliss wondered if he should just charge at him, regardless of whether he’d be thrown into the sky or not. It was at that exact moment that delicious-looking roasted marshmallows entered Bliss’s field of vision. Looking back and forth between Cassian’s smiling face and the smoking marshmallows, Bliss huffed and puffed as he dashed toward them.
“Uh, wait. Bliss! What are you doing?”
A flustered Jeffrey shouted. But Bliss had already grabbed the skewer holding the marshmallows and begun stuffing them into his mouth frantically.
“Ow, hot, hot!”
“Bliss!”
A panicked Cassian hurriedly stood up, but Bliss ignored him and continued to shove the marshmallows into his mouth. Bad guy, bad bastard. I’m going to eat them all. I’ll make sure you never eat marshmallows again. Serves you right, not being able to eat something this delicious for the rest of your life. Someone like you doesn’t deserve marshmallows. These are all mine, mine!
“Wait, Bliss! No!”
Cassian shouted, his face turning pale. He desperately reached out to stop Bliss, but it was already too late. Bliss had popped a brilliantly colored spotted mushroom into his mouth.
Gulp.
The moment the mushroom slid down his small esophagus, everyone present froze. One second, two seconds, three seconds.
In the heavy silence, they stared only at Bliss. No one spoke. In a moment where it felt as if time had stopped, unable to even breathe.
“Hic.”
Bliss let out a small burp. As he shrugged his shoulders and exhaled a breath.
“Uuu…”
Suddenly, his face contorted, and he let out a groan of pain. In Cassian’s startled gaze, he saw Bliss’s face beginning to swell.
“It hurts. It hurts…”
“Bliss!”
Turning deathly pale, Cassian shouted loudly and urgently scooped the child up in his arms. However, Bliss’s entire body was already flushing red, and a fever was rising.
“Waaaaah… it hurts… it hurts…”
“Bliss, oh my god! Why on earth did you do such a thing all of a sudden!”
Cassian shouted in frustration, but it was of no help. He looked around urgently, but everyone else was dead drunk, rolling around on the ground. Since he had been drinking as well, he couldn’t drive.
“It hurts, it hurts.”
Even amidst the chaos, Bliss continued to cry in agony. There was no more time to waste. If he kept hesitating and wasting time, Bliss’s life would truly be in danger.
Damn it, this is an emergency.
Recalling that he was the one who had drunk the least, he hurriedly climbed into the car with Bliss.
“Cassian, no! You’ve been drinking!”
Eina shouted, her face pale, but Cassian snapped back harshly.
“Then you want me to just wait and see when the rescue team arrives? Forget it, move!”
Starting the engine immediately, he didn’t waste another second and raced madly down the mountain road. The others left behind, including Eina, could only watch the retreating car in bewilderment. Even as they sped along, Bliss, sitting in the passenger seat, continued to cry in pain. And finally, when they reached the nearest hospital, Cassian let out a scream.
Because Bliss was struggling even to breathe due to his severely swollen airway.
17.
Bliss Miller fell unconscious after eating a poisonous mushroom.
When the news reached the Ducal residence, the Duke was enraged, and the Duchess was so shocked that she collapsed on the spot.
The son of the Miller family had eaten a poisonous mushroom.
In the car heading to the hospital, the Duke felt as if his heart were burning with anxiety. If Ashley Miller found out about this…
The mere thought made him feel nauseous. There must be nothing seriously wrong with Bliss. Please. For the first time in his life, he offered a sincere prayer. He prayed desperately that nothing would happen to that small child.
“What on earth is wrong with you!”
The Duke, who had gone to the hospital personally, slapped his son’s cheek and screamed the moment he saw him waiting in the lounge. With a loud smack, Cassian staggered violently and almost fell, but barely managed to stay upright.
“…I’m sorry.”
He muttered with his head bowed, but this time he was struck on the other cheek.
“You useless brat!”
Following the Duke’s shout, another loud sound echoed. This time, he couldn’t withstand it and slammed against the wall. Seeing his son wipe the blood from his split lip with the back of his hand, the Duchess finally stepped in to stop her husband.
“Dear, stop it. People are watching. It’s not too late to talk about this later. The most important thing right now is Bliss. Let’s hear the details first, alright?”
At his wife’s urging, the Duke had no choice but to withdraw his hand. Still unable to contain his anger, his shoulders heaving, he glared at his son, who had barely regained his balance, and spat out:
“What is there to hear from this brat? We should call the doctor. Where is the attending physician? Is the treatment not finished yet?”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
The secretary, stepping forward hurriedly, spoke quickly.
“They say the detoxification was completed successfully. They are currently performing post-treatment, so you should receive a report on his progress shortly.”
“I see. I’ll wait.”
The Duke nodded and stood with his back straight. Consequently, everyone gathered there had no choice but to stand and wait for the next instruction. Seeing this, the Duchess spoke in a quiet voice.
“Is there nowhere the Duke can sit? We can’t just stand here and wait forever, can we?”
“Ah, yes. Your Grace, Duchess. I will guide you this way.”
As the hospital director, who had been standing anxiously, hurriedly led the way, the Duke began to walk. The Duchess, about to follow, paused for a moment, looked back at her son, and spoke.
“You stay here. When Bliss comes out, you should be the first one to see his face.”
It was a cold tone, entirely different from her usual self. Through that, Cassian could tell very clearly how angry she was.
“Yes, Mother.”
After a short reply, Cassian only sat back down on the folding chair once they had disappeared from sight. Even if his mother hadn’t told him to, he had intended to stay. The alcohol had long since worn off. Now, his mind was filled only with the last image of Bliss’s face, and it wouldn’t fade.
That tiny child, in such agony.
Recalling Bliss groaning with a swollen face and a high fever, his chest felt as if it would burst with guilt. It’s okay, they said the detoxification went well. He’ll get better soon. He will. He has to.
Bliss…!
Just as he clutched his head with both hands and swallowed a tormented groan, the sound of loud footsteps echoed in the hallway and quickly approached him.
“Cassian! He’s over there!”
“What happened? Is Bliss okay?”
“Hey, what’s going on? What happened?”
At the sound of the alternating shouts, he finally looked up to see Eina, Jeffrey, and one other person running toward him in a rush. Seeing the last person stumble and collapse onto the floor, Cassian shifted his gaze, and Eina and Jeffrey, who had stopped in front of him, competed to ask their questions.
“How is he? What happened? Is Bliss okay?”
“Nothing’s wrong, right? Right? He’ll be fine, since we got here quickly.”
“Tell us already, why aren’t you answering? Tell us he’s okay!”
Under the barrage of questions, Cassian let out a short breath and spoke slowly.
“For now, I heard the detoxification was successful.”
“Right? Thank goodness!”
“Oh my god, thank you. Thank you so much…”
Upon hearing this, Eina and Jeffrey breathed sighs of relief and offered prayers. Jeffrey, having caught his breath at the good news, belatedly noticed his friend sprawled out and fast asleep in the hallway, clicked his tongue, and walked toward him.