By Zephyria 
What on earth is happening?
Bliss sat blankly, blinking his eyes. The captain’s announcements continued to flow into his ears.
Just a few hours ago.
“Bliss, where are you? Come here, right now!”
Unfortunately, unable to even pop a freshly baked cookie into his mouth, Bliss had rushed out, only to be hurriedly changed into different clothes by Penelope and handed his passport.
“W-what is going on all of a sudden?”
A flustered Bliss asked, but Penelope grabbed his arm and pulled him busily toward the front door.
“There’s no time to explain, hurry up!”
Unable to make any sense of the situation, he stepped outside to find a familiar car waiting. Penelope, who had shoved Bliss into the car without a word, beamed a wide smile at him while he was still reeling.
“Have a safe trip, Bliss! Good luck!”
Luck? Why? He opened his mouth to ask, but she simply gave him a thumbs-up without any further explanation and closed the car door. The car departed immediately, and only then did Bliss have the leisure to look around… but the situation only grew worse.
Gasp.
Discovering Cassian sitting right next to him, Bliss was so startled he nearly screamed. He hurriedly turned his head to pretend to look out the window, but his heart began to throb anxiously. Why the hell is that bastard here? Finding the reason wasn’t that difficult.
It’s Cassian’s car, so of course he is.
Hmm, he nodded, but another question immediately followed. But why am I here?
He couldn’t fathom the reason, nor did he have the courage to ask. While he spent his time rolling his eyes back and forth and staring intently out the window, the sun began to set, and they arrived at an unexpected location.
Huh? The airport?
While he was still completely unable to grasp the situation, the driver stopped the car, and the same scene repeated itself. Pushed along by Cassian, his secretary, and his bodyguards, Bliss had walked here and there in a daze, and now, he was sitting inside an airplane.
And once again, Cassian was in the seat opposite him. The plane was preparing for takeoff, and after the flight attendant placed drinks and snacks on the table and delivered the safety instructions, she disappeared. Bliss, who had been blinking in bewilderment until then, finally managed to recall the question he had been chewing on.
What on earth is happening?
The only person who could provide an answer was the arrogant man sitting across from him. Though he wasn’t welcome, Bliss had no other choice. Eventually, after clenching and unclenching his fists a few times and taking a deep breath, he was finally able to open his mouth.
“Where exactly are we going right now?”
That was all the question he could manage with all his courage. He’s not kidnapping me, is he? Just as a terrifying thought flashed through his mind, Cassian, who had remained silent the entire time, spoke for the first time.
“Austria.”
“What? To Australia?”
When Bliss shouted in surprise, Cassian paused with his mouth slightly open. He continued exactly two seconds later.
“No, that’s where the kangaroos are. We are going to Austria.”
“I-I know. Australia. I know.”
In truth, he didn’t. Bliss had no idea what the difference was between the Austria Cassian mentioned and the Australia he had spoken of. However, it would be a blow to his pride to let that be discovered. So, he chose to keep pretending he knew.
I’ll ask Grayson later.
Bliss shut his mouth with that thought, but Cassian had noticed, of course. It was because Bliss was still pronouncing ‘Austria’ as ‘Australia.’
However, Cassian had no intention of explaining further. The reason was simple.
“Why are you suddenly taking me along?”
Because he first had to deal with the disgruntled capybara.
Staring expressionlessly at the sulking face, Cassian slowly uncrossed his legs and crossed them the other way. He was putting in an absurd amount of effort to follow the date course Bliss wanted, but he had absolutely no intention of telling him the truth: ‘I’m giving you the date you wanted.’
“I just need a handyman to accompany me on my schedule.”
“A handyman?”
At the usual indifferent tone, Bliss furrowed his brows and narrowed his eyes into slits. As if asking what on earth he was talking about. But Cassian had already expected this. Thus, he responded nonchalantly.
“Yes, it’s nothing major. My secretary will handle the important things, so you just stay by my side and do what you’re told.”
“Like what?”
Look at him, asking every little thing. Even if I tell him, he probably won’t remember it for long.
Without placing much expectation on Bliss’s brain cells, Cassian answered.
“I don’t know, things like giving me water to drink or holding an umbrella for me.”
On the surface, it sounded like no big deal. But a question still remained.
“If it’s just giving water and holding an umbrella, why did I need my passport?”
This time, a longer silence than before was required. Cassian spoke after about five seconds had passed.
“Because we’re going to another country.”
“Ah.”
Only then did Bliss let out a short exclamation, but Cassian didn’t think he had actually figured anything out. This was because his cheeks soon puffed out, and his expression became full of pique.
“What’s with that face? Do you have a complaint?”
Just then, the plane leveled off, and an announcement came that it was okay to fasten seatbelts. Bliss answered with his lips pouting prominently.
“Yes. Because I didn’t even get to eat dinner.”
He’s cranky because he’s hungry.
Truly a child, Cassian thought, lightly raising one hand. As a flight attendant approached with a smile, he spoke while staring at Bliss.
“Bring the meals. This one can’t handle spicy food well, so bring the pepper on the side.”
“Yes, understood. Which wine would you like?”
Once Cassian selected one from the wine list, she stepped away. Having obtained information from Penelope beforehand, he knew what foods Bliss liked and that he had no special allergies, so he had ordered the meals to be prepared accordingly. Bliss was surely used to such situations. Wherever he went, the Miller family would prepare everything to suit Bliss’s circumstances and tastes.
Sure enough, he put the food brought by the flight attendant into his mouth without any suspicion. Perhaps because something had finally entered his stomach, his mood improved, and he even began to beam repeatedly.
“This is really delicious. The doneness is just right, it’s wonderful!”
“Thank you. The grapefruit is very fresh today; would you like some grapefruit juice?”
“I’d love some, thank you. Give me a lot, a whole lot.”
When he showered the flight attendant with praise, she responded with a smile. Filling his stomach with food that suited his taste in a friendly atmosphere, he became a happy capybara, looking as if he might actually start purring. All while not giving a single thought to why he was here or what the true hidden purpose was.
After about three staff members busily moved back and forth to serve them, a full Bliss soon fell asleep, snoring. Despite it being a completely predictable sequence of events, Cassian’s mind became complicated. This was because he was currently as wide awake as if it were midday.
With Bliss lying comfortably asleep under a blanket in front of him, he once again took out the piece of paper from the inner pocket of his suit to check the list. The more he looked at it, the more absurd the schedule seemed, but it had already begun. It was unthinkable to back out now.
They should have finished all the preparations by now.
To visit a cemetery that would have been closed by the time they arrived, Cassian had gone as far as asking the local government through his secretary. Fortunately, he received permission, but since he had incurred a debt, a time would come when he would have to pay it back. The problem was that the next item on the schedule was not much different. No, it was even more troublesome.
“Sigh.”
Unable to help the deep sigh that escaped him, he downed the remaining half of his wine in one gulp. Why do I have to go this far? Even as self-loathing washed over him, he couldn’t stop now. He would see this through to the end. This schedule, which would be a date for that brat but a nightmare for him, until the very end.
Meanwhile, the plane continued to slice through the sky at high speed.