By Zephyria 
If things had escalated to that extent, everyone would have known immediately. The fact that Penelope was unaware meant that it hadn’t gone that far.
‘I don’t think this is something that should be kept a secret. It would be better to let it be known that the Count’s insomnia is severe and for him to receive active treatment.’
‘Of course, I have mentioned it to the Count several times. But he refuses.’
The butler’s agonized expression seemed to show all his past hardships at a glance. Penelope patted his hand with a sympathetic, “Oh, Joseph.”
‘Right, there’s no way you wouldn’t know that. I’m sorry.’
‘No, it is fine. It is because I am lacking.’
Penelope looked pityingly at the butler, who was shaking his head in self-reproach, and asked with a sigh.
‘Exactly when did the Count’s insomnia become so severe?’
‘I do not know.’
The butler bowed his head deeply with a bleak expression.
‘All I know is that it simply became that way starting from a certain day.’
With a sigh, Penelope finished her reminiscence and prepared the wine before heading to the Count’s bedroom. After knocking twice and pausing for a moment, she opened the door to find the Count, as expected, sitting deep in the sofa reading a book. It looked quite thick, but the night is long. Since the Count only slept for two or three hours in fragments a day, he would eventually read that entire volume. And then he would face the morning again.
Penelope silently placed the ice bucket containing the wine on the table and finished the rest of the setting.
“Then please, I hope you have sweet dreams.”
After popping the cork and pouring the wine into the glass, she offered the meaningless greeting. The Count cast a glance at her, as if he had never heard such a foolish phrase before.
It didn’t matter. Penelope was just paying him a lip-service compliment anyway. The Count would empty that entire bottle of wine, but as expected, it wouldn’t help at all. It was merely a habit.
“Haaaaa.”
Stepping out into the hallway, Penelope let out a deep sigh and looked back at the closed door with eyes full of compassion. If the insomnia continued like this, even the Count would eventually reach his limit.
In fact, she had heard from the secretary recently that he seemed tired or would occasionally stagger as if experiencing a brief bout of dizziness. Now, when neither medicine nor any other method could be used, there was only one solution.
Naturally, it was love.
Penelope clasped her hands as if in prayer and whispered toward the closed door.
“Please wait just a little longer, Count. Soon, your own angel who loves you passionately will cure your insomnia.”
Closing her eyes and whispering “Amen,” she soon straightened her posture. I should go rest too. My grand plan starts tomorrow, so I need to get plenty of sleep today.
The operation was titled ‘The Count and the Servant.’
9.
“Hmm-hmm-hmm, hmm-hmm-hmm.”
From the moment he opened his eyes in the morning, Bliss felt as if he could fly. Finally, it starts today. With a reliable helper by his side, the road ahead would be smooth sailing.
“Hehehe.”
A smile naturally escaped him at the thought of Penelope. In truth, the greatest gain from this plan was the fact that he had met Penelope. His soulmate, his other half.
It would be great if she could go to America with me after this is over.
Bliss imagined it for a moment. A future where he and Penelope sat side-by-side in rocking chairs in front of a fireplace, watching romance dramas and raising a cat together.
“Wonderful!”
He hopped up with a “Kya!” and clenched his fists, his cheeks flushing. To make that happen, the revenge must be a success. Once he sees that guy utterly ruined, Penelope will lose all feelings for him, right? Then she will readily accept the idea of going to America with him.
Achieving revenge and taking Penelope with him—could there be a better ending than this?
“Hahaha, hahahahat!”
Laughing loudly like a villain, he entered the bathroom and began scrubbing his entire body. To meet Penelope, he sprayed three times more of his favorite perfume than usual. When he stood before the mirror, Bliss was more excited than ever, his face flushed bright red.
He arrived at the Herringer estate about ten minutes earlier than the appointed time. Before stepping out of the car driven by the security team leader, Bliss gave one last reminder.
“Then I’ll leave things to you for the time being. If anything happens, please call me immediately.”
He had already heard the same words several times. The team leader nodded with a tired face, as if he were exhausted.
“Don’t worry. I’ve understood perfectly. You’re planning to stay at the Herringer estate, and it’s a secret, right? The only ones who know this fact are Bliss, myself, and Larien.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Bliss emphasized once more before getting out of the car.
“You must keep the secret. That’s the only way you’ll receive a reward from Larien.”
At the mention of ‘Larien,’ the team leader’s face, which had looked bored to death until then, brightened and glowed.
“Don’t worry, I know well. Just make sure to give my regards to Larien.”
As it was the expected reaction, Bliss gave a half-hearted “Yes, yes” and stepped out of the car. The security team leader pretended to turn the car around, and only after confirming that Bliss had entered the buggy and driven away did he finally leave. And just like the day before, Bliss headed toward the mansion while listening to all sorts of complaints from the man sitting in the passenger seat.
Now, finally.
As the bleak old castle appeared in the distance, Bliss took a deep breath and steeled his resolve.
“Bliss! Welcome!”
Penelope, who had been waiting anxiously in front of the castle, beamed and waved her arms when she saw the buggy he was in. Until that moment, a part of Bliss’s mind still felt surreal, as if he were dreaming, but seeing Penelope welcome him so warmly finally made it feel real.
I’ve finally made it here.
“Hello, Penelope.”
Stepping out of the buggy, Bliss resisted the urge to grab Penelope and spin her around, instead modestly removing his hat to show his manners. Penelope greeted him with a face as flushed as his, speaking busily.
“Come inside quickly, it must have been hard getting here, right? Here, this way. First, I’ll introduce you to the house and the people…”
Penelope first pointed to the man getting out of the buggy’s driver’s seat.
“Now, you saw this person yesterday, right? Since you’ve already exchanged greetings, let’s move on.”
He couldn’t bring himself to say, ‘That middle-aged man did nothing but curse the whole way here!’ He simply nodded “Yes,” and she turned toward the people lined up behind her.
“Let me introduce you. This is my distant relative from America, Bli—Blair Carlton.”
Penelope stumbled over her words for a moment and hurriedly corrected herself. At the same time, Bliss was startled, but he soon calmed himself and straightened his posture. Hmm, so that’s the setup. While he was inwardly nodding, Penelope continued.
“He is studying to become a butler and has come to learn by my side and help with the workload. I hope everyone helps him out a lot. Now, Bl—Blair. This is Kenneth, who is in charge of the kitchen. This is Dorothy, who handles the cleaning and laundry. And this is…”
After overcoming the slight crisis and exchanging greetings with a few people, Bliss felt something was missing. He wondered for a moment and then realized. Compared to the scale of the castle, the number of employees was far too small.
“Yes, it is a bit difficult because of that.”
At Bliss’s question, Penelope gave a bitter smile, making no effort to hide it, and walked ahead. While guiding Bliss around the castle, she let slip various trivial stories about the Count’s household.
“The Count dislikes having many people around. Since the household is run with the minimum number of staff, we are actually very short-handed. Oh, don’t worry. I’ll hire more people to work.”
Then, she added in a slight whisper.
“Because we have our own separate work to do.”
“Ha, haha…”
Bliss managed a strained laugh to brush it off.
“Now, this is the Count’s study. If you find that the Count hasn’t gone out but is nowhere to be seen, look for him here or in the prayer room.”
“The prayer room?”
When Bliss asked about the unfamiliar term, Penelope nodded and replied, “Yes.”