Deflower 115

“What on earth is this?!”

Bliss belatedly exploded in anger, pounding his pillow repeatedly. He thought the time had finally come, yet that cowardly bastard had run away.

Just how long did he intend to keep playing dumb?

“And after saying he likes me!”

Bliss, who had instinctively picked up a pillow and bitten its corner, huffed as a thought occurred to him. Was it that? Was this an extension of the idea that the man liked him, but not enough to introduce him to his parents?

In other words, maybe it didn’t matter whether he was Bliss or not.

At the sudden thought, Bliss let go of the pillow he had been gripping tightly and stared at the wall with a blank expression.

Was it perhaps easier to toy with me if he continued to treat me as an employee?

In that instant, blood rushed to Bliss’s head, and he hurled the pillow away in a fit of rage.

“You jerk!”

With a thud, the pillow hit the wall and fell to the floor. Bliss panted, his shoulders heaving, but for some reason, his energy suddenly drained away. With a long sigh, he flopped onto the bed and blinked up at the ceiling. The towering anger vanished, replaced by a feeling of emptiness.

It means he doesn’t love me that much…

Bliss fumbled across the bed, grabbed the remaining pillow, and hugged it tight. He didn’t know why his chest felt so hollow, as if something were missing. Bliss curled his body into a ball and held his breath.

‘I like you, Bliblair.’

He recalled Cassian’s confession, but his heart didn’t flutter like it had before. Instead, a cold ache pierced his heart, and he squeezed his eyes shut.

About ten minutes passed.

“You bastard, how dare you mock me right in front of my face?!”

Bliss bolted upright and shouted. He couldn’t stand it. When insulted, one must always pay it back.

Fine, if that’s how you want to play it, I won’t just stand by and watch anymore.

“I’ll make you admit it yourself!”

He clenched his fists and gnashed his teeth, glaring fiercely in the direction where Cassian’s room likely was.

---

Whew.

After returning to his room and closing the door, Cassian finally let out a sigh of relief.

That was a close call.

“Damn it.”

Running a hand roughly through his hair, he walked slowly and loosened his tie. A sudden wave of fatigue washed over him. He used the phone in the room to order a servant to bring some alcohol, then sank into the sofa.

I handled it well, right?

Cassian chewed over the previous events with a serious expression. Recalling Bliss blinking with wide eyes, the answer seemed clear.

You’re screwed, Cassian Strickland.

His reason was pointing a finger at him, but Cassian didn’t want to accept it. visit our siteIt’s okay; I played it off well as if Read on Read BL Novelsnothing happened. That guy is a fool, so he obviously wouldn’t know…

Having thought that far, Cassian soon frowned.

Bliss isn’t a fool.

He just had an eccentric side; he was by no means stupid. Sometimes he came up with surprisingly brilliant ideas and caught people off guard.

As he recalled those sparkling blue eyes looking up at him, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. He cleared his throat for no reason and scolded himself. A fool? You said something harsh, Cassian Strickland. And something that isn’t even true.

The one who acted like a fool was you, Cassian Strickland.

After reprimanding himself, he returned to his original train of thought. Bliss isn’t a fool, absolutely not. If so, he might have figured everything out earlier…

Just as an ominous thought crossed his mind, another opinion flashed.

But he’s clueless.

“Yes, that’s right.”

Cassian spoke aloud, as if he had found hope.

“Yes, Bliss is smart, but he’s clueless. So he probably didn’t realize a thing about what happened earlier.”

Right, why didn’t I think of that? Bliss probably has no idea what I said. Yes, that must be it.

Just then, there was a knock, and a servant brought the alcohol. Once the servant left and he was alone, Cassian repeated the same words to encourage himself.

“Yes, Bliss won’t know at all. The worldview hasn’t collapsed. So it’s fine. The worldview is intact.”

He just had to be careful to maintain it from now on. The mistake earlier had been critical, but Bliss wouldn’t know. He just had to be cautious. If he made a mistake like that again, he would truly be caught—that he knew the boy’s true identity.

…Wait.

As he thought that far, he suddenly realized.

Didn’t I intend to reveal everything once we returned to the castle?

At the lightning-fast realization, he froze the glass he was about to bring to his lips in mid-air. Simultaneously, his mind ground to a halt. One second, two seconds—time continued to flow, but Cassian sat there without even blinking.

…There’s no need to rush.

Only after a considerable amount of time did he finally bring the glass to his lips. There was no hurry, so he could take his time to think. Was there really anything to worry about when dealing with a capybara?

Cassian drained the glass in one gulp and refilled it. He had been suffering from insomnia since arriving at the Duke’s estate, but it was fine. He would be returning tomorrow, and he could make up for the lack of sleep as much as he wanted.

As long as that peanut was with him.

‘Count!’

A faint smile touched Cassian’s lips as he imagined Bliss’s lovely face looking up at him. Should he tell someone to make some delicious desserts for Bliss once they returned? Children love sweets. It wasn’t hard to imagine Bliss being happy while eating a sweet cake.

And while he was smiling and leisurely sipping his whiskey, in the room across the hall, a rage-filled Bliss was beating a pillow in Cassian’s stead.

---

The next morning, the sky was exceptionally cloudy, and dry lightning occasionally flashed between the black clouds. Typical British weather, Cassian thought indifferently, but Bliss felt differently. Hmph, even the heavens are raging with me.

He looked at Cassian with venomous eyes, but the man was brazenly turned away from Bliss, exchanging affectionate greetings with the Duke and Duchess.

“Leaving already? You’re too cruel. Why don’t you stay a bit longer?”

When the Duchess openly expressed her disappointment, Cassian responded calmly.

“I will try to make an opportunity next time. I have other schedules this time, so it’s difficult to stay longer.”

Watching his son politely ask for understanding, the Duke cleared his throat to get their attention. When Cassian looked at him, the Duke finally spoke.

“If you have a schedule, it can’t be helped. Instead, set a more generous date for your next visit.”

He then added, staring pointedly at Bliss, who was standing beside Cassian.

“And make sure Bliblair comes along too.”

At those words, Cassian reflexively looked down at Bliss. This kid isn’t about to drop a bombshell, is he? It felt as if he were facing the crisis he had tried so hard to ignore last night. Cold sweat ran down his back, and he hurriedly clenched and unclenched his fingers, ready to cover Bliss’s mouth if necessary.

“Thank you, Your Grace.”

Bliss greeted them demurely and kept his mouth shut. For a brief moment, Cassian was stunned, but he soon let out a sigh of relief. See, I told you he doesn’t know. Confident that his assumption was correct, he gave his parents a relaxed smile.

“Then I shall be going. Mother, happy birthday.”

“Yes, travel safely. Bliblair, we must see you again. I hope that day comes unauthorized [unauthorized copy]copydata-wm="Read on Read BL Novels" style="display:none;" aria-label="Read on Read BL Novels">Read on Read BL Novelsas soon as possible.”

At the Duchess’s affectionate words, Bliss replied modestly, “Yes.”

“I’ll look forward to that day too. Thank you.”

“Promise me.”

The Duchess reaffirmed her wish, gave him a gentle hug, and let him go. The Duke went through the same process, and then they boarded the carriage. The parents stood at the entrance, watching until the carriage carrying the two disappeared from sight.

I’m sorry, Your Grace, Duchess.

Bliss apologized to them in his heart. His chest was full of guilt for lying, but it was too late to reveal the truth now. In fact, he had thought about dropping the bombshell at the breakfast table, but he feared the Duchess might faint from the shock.

Besides, I was the one who deceived them in the first place.

He became gloomy at the thought of deceiving the kind-hearted Duke and Duchess, but he soon glared at Cassian out of the corner of his eye. This is all because of this bastard.

“Shall we have lunch as soon as we get back?”

At Cassian’s question, Bliss didn’t answer, keeping his eyes narrowed. Seeing Bliss’s reaction, [unauthorized copy]data-wm="unauthorized copy" style="display:none;" [Read on Read BL Novels]aria-label="unauthorized copy">unauthorized copyCassian instead let out a cheerful laugh and pinched his cheek gently.

“What’s with that arrogant look?”

Seeing the man still smiling even as he spoke, Bliss felt even worse, wondering what on earth this bastard thought of him.

“Hmph.”

Bliss snorted and turned his head away to look out the window, causing Cassian to look puzzled. However, seeing him lean back into the seat and close his eyes as if nothing had happened, Cassian clearly thought it was nothing serious.

Hmph, just you wait.

Bliss repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists, waiting impatiently for the castle to appear. After driving for several hours, the grand castle of the Count’s estate finally came into view.

---

“Welcome back, Count!”

Penelope, who had been waiting in front of the castle, greeted them with a bright smile. Cassian, who stepped out of the carriage first, stood tall and asked her.

“Has everything been alright?”

“Yes, of course. Everything is perfect. How are His Grace the Duke and the Duchess?”