By Zephyria 
“Hmph, jerk.”
With a face swollen to the limit, Bliss scrubbed the bathtub vigorously. It was something he had never done in his entire life, but he had no choice. Cassian had ordered it.
‘Scrub the bathroom until it sparkles like a mirror.’
This was the command Cassian had issued via a sudden phone call just as lunchtime had passed. The only reason given was that he wanted to wash in a clean bathroom upon his return….
The problem was that he told Bliss to do it ‘alone.’ While delivering the news, Penelope had said, “Don’t worry, I’ll help you!” but Bliss had politely declined.
‘No, Penelope! This is my job. I can do it!’
He had spoken with confidence, but….
“Evil human, snail-antenna-looking bastard.”
While scrubbing the bathroom with all his might, he incessantly hurled insults at Cassian. Who knew cleaning a bathroom was this hard? His back ached, and his arms hurt. His entire body was so stiff that he felt like crying after only a short while.
“If you like me, you should treat me better. What is this? You jerk.”
You’ll regret making me do this, Bliss vowed, scrubbing the sponge furiously with a heart full of resentment. The more mean things you do, the more it’ll come back to you twofold. That’s the law of revenge.
One day, he would use this sponge to scrub that handsome face until it—
“Bliss, Bliss.”
Just as he was scrubbing the tub while imagining it was Cassian’s face, Penelope suddenly called him. Turning around, he saw her standing there holding a tray with a refreshing drink floating with ice and some pudding.
“Have a little snack and take a break.”
“Wow! Thank you, Penelope!”
As expected of my angel…! Bliss’s eyes sparkled as he quickly tossed the sponge aside. As he stepped out of the bathroom, Penelope sensibly gestured toward the tea table on the balcony where she had set out the snacks. Walking over with light, airy steps, Bliss took a sip of the drink and his eyes flew open.
“Wow! This is delicious!”
“Right? Try this too.”
Following Penelope’s suggestion as she slid the pudding toward him, he took a spoonful with anticipation, and his eyes sparkled once more.
“Mmm, this is delicious too!”
“I knew it, right?”
As if she had expected this reaction, Penelope continued with a smile.
“See? Everyone badmouths British food, but if you look for it, there are plenty of edible things here. Don’t you think it wouldn’t be so bad to live here?”
“Uh, no.”
In that moment, Bliss’s expression turned serious as he denied her words.
“It’s not quite that good, I’m sorry.”
At the unexpectedly firm rejection, Penelope inwardly clicked her tongue. Tsk. This isn’t as easy as I thought. I thought tempting him with delicious food would work, but I guess this wasn’t enough. Thinking she should push the chef to make something even tastier next time, Penelope quickly changed the subject.
“How is the work? It’s very hard, isn’t it? You’ve probably never done something like this before.”
Changing the topic with a worried tone, Penelope comforted him by patting Bliss’s hand on the table.
“It’s because the Count is too stubborn. It would be nice if he just lived moderately, but he always acts like this. Love isn’t easy.”
At that, Bliss nodded vigorously. Penelope was right. It was all that bastard’s fault. Hmph, even though he’s fallen for me. Even if he tries to resist my charm, it won’t be easy. While Bliss was thinking this to himself, Penelope continued her words of encouragement.
“Don’t worry, Bliss. Think about the endings of the many dramas we’ve watched; everyone finds love and becomes happy, right? We can do it too!”
“Let’s hang in there!” Penelope shouted energetically, and Bliss followed suit, shouting, “Yes!” After gulping down the drink in front of him in one go, Penelope asked.
“How was it? Do you want more?”
“Yes, please!”
Bliss had completely fallen in love with the drink he had tasted for the first time. As he drained the glass once again in a single gulp, Penelope said with a smile.
“It’s refreshing to have a glass while you work. I’ll go make another one; take your time and drink as you go.”
“Thank you, Penelope!”
A short while later, just as she said, Penelope returned with a fairly large glass pot full of the drink. And Bliss, excited, drank a glass, then another, whenever he had a spare moment. By the time the sun began to set, he was completely intoxicated.
“Welcome back, Count.”
Glancing down at the butler who greeted him as usual, Cassian quickly scanned his surroundings. As expected, the peanut was nowhere to be seen.
Is he waiting for me in the room again?
The moment he recalled the eerie sight from the previous day, goosebumps broke out all over his body. It’s okay, it’s okay. Cassian comforted himself. He had already experienced it once. Therefore, he should be sufficiently immune. Although that damn pink was still disgusting.
Nevertheless, the reason he hadn’t told Penelope to change things back to normal was that he couldn’t even imagine what those two capybaras would pull if he did. There was no doubt that the best course of action was to simply not touch it. Once he figured out why his insomnia disappeared when that guy was beside him, he would kick him out immediately….
“Count, may I be excused to go rest now? I’m a bit tired today.”
Cassian was snapped out of his thoughts by Penelope’s sudden voice from behind. Stopping halfway up the stairs, he looked back to see Penelope standing in the hall below, looking up at him.
She didn’t even intend to follow me.
It was hard to know exactly what she was plotting, but one thing was certain: the remaining capybara would be waiting for him in the room. With a sigh escaping him naturally, Cassian gave a short nod.
“Do so.”
“Thank you, Count. Rest well~”
Speaking in a highly excited voice, Penelope turned around and vanished in an instant with steps that seemed to fly. Still standing on the stairs, Cassian clicked his tongue in disbelief.
“Tsk.”
After shaking his head and resuming his walk, his thoughts returned to the same point. He’s probably wearing those damn pajamas from yesterday again. I don’t even understand why I’m pink and that bastard is light blue, but it doesn’t matter. I’ll burn them both once he’s gone anyway. I’ll get rid of that pink-filled room too. I’ll tear down the walls. How refreshing that will be.
Imagining that terrible room disappearing from the world made him feel a bit better. Subsequently, he found the courage to enter the room. He paused for a moment with his hand on the doorknob, then made up his mind and opened the door.
…And.
Facing another unimaginable situation, Cassian felt a sudden wave of futility wash over him as a hollow question entered his mind.
Why does he always pull this kind of stunt?
And there, before his eyes, Bliss—wearing nothing but Cassian’s shirt—was humming a tune and spinning around the room.
“Hum hum hum, hum hum hum.”
Excited, Penelope hummed continuously as she walked down the hallway with steps lighter than ever, her toes practically dancing. By now, the Count and Bliss must be alone in the room, right? The second honeymoon night, following yesterday.
While checking the room one last time before Cassian arrived, Penelope had devised a new strategy. Today, the Count would surely have no choice but to give in.
The so-called ‘Boyfriend Shirt Look.’
“This is a guaranteed win, for sure.”
She nodded repeatedly and glanced upward. Have a sweet night, Count, Bliss.
This crazy capybara…!
Cassian clenched and unclenched his fists several times, gritting his teeth. What on earth was this sight? Why was that peanut wearing his shirt, and where had he thrown his pants?
That wasn’t all. What was the point of spinning around the room with a flushed face, singing aimlessly?
“Haaa.”
Feeling as though the migraine he thought had vanished was returning, Cassian covered his face with one hand. Let’s not think about it, let’s not think about it. Trying to understand this is only a loss for me. The best thing is to just pretend I don’t notice. Having made up his mind, he tried to enter the bathroom, ignoring Bliss. But at that very moment, Cassian’s slight movement caught Bliss’s eye.
“Uh, uh-oh.”
No, this ominous feeling…
Just as a chill ran down his spine again, Bliss shouted.
“Cassiaaaan!”
Gah.
The memories he had barely managed to bury came rushing back all at once, and as Cassian froze in place, Bliss charged at him with a flurry of steps.
“Cassiaaan, found youuu!”
And then, Bliss threw himself into a sudden, tight hug.