Deflower 119
“Now, hurry. Drink. Please, just drink this.”
Cassian waited anxiously. Bliss seemed to lift his head slightly, as if looking toward the cup. Just as Cassian thought, Finally, Bliss dropped his head once more.
“I’m… okay.”
Ah, Cassian almost let out a loud groan of lament. The first voice he had heard was heavily sunken and terribly hoarse. Just how hard had he cried for his voice to fail him like this?
He felt guilty for even asking him to come to the breakfast table. To think he had assumed Bliss would be feeling better by now—just how insensitive could he be?
He had heard the words from the mouth of the person who firmly believed he loved him—that it was all a lie and that he had never loved him once. How could he have believed that Bliss would be alright?
“Bli, Bla…”
Cassian paused, habitually about to call Bliss by his alias. Was it absolutely necessary to maintain the current worldview right now? Couldn’t they go back to that after Bliss’s condition improved? Bliss came first; he was in such a terrible state.
Having thought that far, Cassian steadied his heart and opened his mouth again. Now that he was actually about to say the name, the words didn’t come easily, but he had to do it. The moment he finally made a sound after hardening his resolve—
“Bli—”
“I’ll be going now.”
Speaking almost simultaneously, Bliss suddenly stood up from his seat. A beat too late, Cassian blinked in bewilderment before hurriedly standing up after him.
“Wait, you’re just leaving? You haven’t had a single sip of water!”
Cassian shouted urgently, but Bliss remained standing in place and answered in a small voice.
“It’s okay, I don’t want to eat. Then, I’ll be…”
After giving a modest bow, Bliss turned and headed toward the entrance. Cassian tried to chase after him, but he was too late again. Penelope, returning with a wet towel, bumped right into Bliss.
“Oh my, Bli, Blair. Where are you going? What about your meal?”
“It’s okay, I’m going back to my room.”
Bliss repeated the same words as before and walked away with a stagger. As Penelope looked back as if seeking permission, Cassian gestured for her to follow him, signaling that it was fine. Once Penelope hurriedly supported Bliss and led him out, Cassian, left alone, called for a servant.
“Whiskey. With ice.”
“Understood.”
The servant was flustered by the master’s command to bring alcohol first thing in the morning, but withdrew without a word. By the time Penelope returned, Cassian was already emptying his second glass of whiskey.
“Drinking since the morning, Count?”
Penelope spoke with concern, but there was something else more important to Cassian right now.
“How is Bliss?”
At the immediate question, Penelope let out a worried sigh and cupped her cheek with one hand.
“Of course he’s not doing well. I managed to get him into bed before coming out, unauthorized [Read on Read BL Novels]wm: Read on Read BL Novels -->copybut he has no energy at all. I asked if there was anything he needed, but he just kept saying he was fine.”
As she sighed deeply enough to make the ground sink, Cassian, who had been silent for a moment, spoke.
“Yesterday… how was Bliss?”
Penelope answered as if she had been waiting for the question.
“I couldn’t even see his face. He just locked the door and kept crying.”
Cassian felt his chest tighten and lowered his head. He tried to drink again, but seeing that the glass was empty, he set it down lifelessly and sank into thought.
“…I guess he couldn’t even have any snacks?”
When he muttered this to himself, Penelope looked at him as if he were absurd.
“Do you think someone crying that hard would eat snacks? Though I couldn’t even see his face because he wouldn’t open the door.”
Cassian shut his mouth with a bitter expression. He didn’t feel [unauthorized copy]great, but looking at it differently, stolen contentthis was like a gateway he had to pass through. The time to reveal the truth was bound to come eventually.
It just happened to be now.
Cassian coldly organized his thoughts. It was taking longer than expected, but he wouldn’t let it slide past today. By tomorrow morning, Bliss would surely be back to his old self. Yes, this is just a transitional period.
Nodding as if making a promise to himself, he poured another glass of liquor and downed it in one go. Meanwhile, the plate Bliss hadn’t touched was growing cold.
What kind of idiot thought that feeding him some cookie crumbs would make things better?
The next morning, looking at Bliss’s empty chair, Cassian thought to himself, his complexion turning a shade of grey. Seeing the master sitting alone at the empty table, the butler asked worriedly, not knowing what to do.
“He won’t even get out of bed today. What should we do?”
Penelope looked at Cassian with anxious, flickering eyes.
“He’s not going to collapse, is he? Um, Count, if you were to go yourself and comfort Bliss…”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
Despite Penelope’s restlessness and anxious gaze, Cassian coldly ignored her concerns.
“He’s just pouting a bit. He’ll get over it.”
“……”
“What’s with that look?”
Cassian asked irritably at the bleak face of the butler who was staring at him in silence. Then, Penelope spoke with an unprecedentedly serious expression.
“Count, do you really see Bliss as nothing more than a six-year-old child?”
“…What?”
Cassian was momentarily flustered by the sudden remark. Looking at her master’s face, Penelope continued in a thorny voice.
“Bliss is an adult now. He’s fully grown. Do you still not realize that he’s not a child who Read on Read BL Novelscan be settled just by giving him some cookies and coaxing him?”
“What nonsense are you…”
Cassian almost let out a hollow laugh of disbelief. That brat is a kid; he’s just immature. Penelope is being fooled, but Bliss is actually still a minor. Once she finds out, she’ll realize what an absurd lecture she’s giving. Not a child? Ridiculous. That brat is a kid, a completely clueless brat…!
However, despite thinking this, he couldn’t say a word. Because he knew better than anyone who the person was that had almost kissed such a ‘child’ several times.
‘Cassian.’
As the lovely face of Bliss calling his name came to mind, Cassian hurriedly covered his face with one hand. Hiding his inexplicably flushing cheeks with his palm, he spat out harshly:
“Just leave him alone. He’ll come out on his own when he’s hungry. I’m not so idle that I can play along with a child’s whims. Stop it now and just do your job.”
At the heartless words, Penelope felt a surge of anger and resentment toward her master for the first time.
“Yes, I was wrong. You are right, Count. Bliss is young; he is still a child. But as a fully grown adult, do you really intend to hold out like this against a child?”
Cassian paused for a moment at the words [visit our site]visit our site -->of the butler, who had expressed her anger by raising her voice, unlike before. Penelope didn’t stop there and continued.
“Why are you being so stubborn? It’s not even a big deal. Bliss will be leaving soon anyway. Couldn’t you just be kind to him until then? Then why are you hurting Bliss’s heart so much? Why?”
“That’s…”
Cassian started to say something but stopped. Penelope waited triumphantly for his next words, as if daring him to speak, but he only gaped, unable to make a sound. Finally, after an awkward silence, Cassian rubbed his forehead with one hand and muttered in a stifled voice.
“I can’t… no, there’s no need.”
“Yes, I’m sure you’re right.”
Penelope snorted as if she had expected as much, then placed both hands on her hips and glared at him with sharp eyes.
“Just be honest, Count. Holding out like this will only pile up your karma.”
“What on earth are you talking about now?”
As Cassian muttered with his eyes closed as if annoyed, Penelope dropped the bomb.
“You like Bliss! Stop denying it and just admit your feelings!”
In that instant, Cassian’s eyes snapped open. His gaze slowly shifted and locked onto the butler. And they simply stared at each other in silence.
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