By Zephyria 
His head was spinning, but it was fine. At any rate, he had taken one of them down. He barely managed to keep his balance and turned toward the group that was still laughing and chatting away. With eyes burning with intensity, Bliss clenched his fists.
This is revenge.
16.
“Hey, is there more beer over there? This crate is empty.”
As one guy pointed to the empty crate, another began wandering around looking for more beer. One was so drunk he could barely hold himself up, and another was clearing away blackened, burnt marshmallows, replacing them with mushrooms he had picked up from somewhere. As he chuckled, the guy who saw it hesitated and shouted.
“Hey, what is that? Are those mushrooms okay?”
“Uh, I dunnooo.”
“What? You idiot, that’s dangerous.”
Startled, the guy tried to kick them away, but the friend who had just placed the mushrooms stopped him.
“Aw, come on, it’s funnn. Just leave ‘emmmm.”
“You little….”
The guy trying to stop him was also drunk. He stumbled, muttered something, and backed away. Just then, a man who had been dozing off lifted his head and began clumsily skewering marshmallows onto sticks. Behind them, the one who was relatively less drunk looked around and murmured.
“What, I think we’re missing a few people… Oh, there you are.”
Cassian, who had just returned to the group, clicked his tongue lightly upon seeing him.
“Idiots, all of you are wasted.”
Eina, who had arrived earlier, said with a smile,
“That was the goal, wasn’t it? Though it didn’t work for you.”
It was a true statement, which only made the situation more frustrating. Cassian let out an annoyed sigh and looked around. It was then that he realized something was wrong. What? Something that should be there was missing. It didn’t take long to realize what it was.
“…Where’s Bliss?”
At his question, Eina looked up. Most of the drunken guys didn’t react, and Cassian’s heart suddenly sank.
“Hey, have you seen Bliss? Where is Bliss? Huh?!”
He grabbed various people, shaking them violently and shouting, but they only mumbled nonsense. Cassian’s face quickly turned pale.
Bliss Miller was gone.
In that instant, the faces of Father, Mother, and Ashley Miller flashed before his eyes. Then, images of a ruined Bliss, along with the torrent of criticism and malicious articles pouring toward him, unfolded in his mind, leaving him frozen.
This is bad.
“Dammit… Hey, wake up! Hey!”
Cassian urgently grabbed a guy by the collar and slapped his cheek, shouting.
“Hey, wake up! Get it together! Bliss is gone, you idiot!”
“Cassian, instead of doing this, why don’t we look around first?”
As a flustered Eina stepped forward, Jeffrey, who was the least drunk, stumbled over and spoke.
“Y-yeah. Uh, if that doesn’t work, maybe the police—hic.”
“Call the police in this state? Dammit! What the hell were you all doing that you couldn’t keep an eye on one tiny brat?!”
As Cassian truly lost his temper, not only Eina but Jeffrey also flinched and backed away. Of course, Jeffrey had something to say as well.
“He’s the kid you brought, so obviously you should have been responsible for watching him. Fuck, why are you taking it out on us?”
The statement wasn’t wrong, but it was enough to fuel Cassian’s rage. He abruptly grabbed Jeffrey by the collar and shoved him roughly.
“It was for a moment! Just a moment! You couldn’t even handle that short time without losing the kid? Look at how many people are here!”
“Stop it, stop it! You guys, now is not the time to be fighting!”
Eina intervened urgently, raising her voice.
“Let’s find Bliss first and settle who’s right or wrong after that. The priority right now is finding Bliss!”
Only then did Cassian and Jeffrey pause. Eina looked between them and quickly continued.
“For now, let’s have the three of us—who are relatively sober—split up and search. Just in case, let’s contact the police too. Of course, the Duke will chew us out, but finding the child comes first. Right? No objections?”
“…Haa.”
Cassian wiped his face with one hand and let out a frustrated sigh. Eina nodded and said as she took out her phone,
“Let’s search the vicinity first. You go that way, you go that way. I’ll report it and then check this area. You have your phones, right? Contact each other if you find him….”
Having said that much, Eina looked back. The fire was beginning to die down.
“Hey, put more firewood in there. Bliss might look for the light to find his way back, so hurry!”
As she shouted and pointed to the fire, the guy skewering marshmallows paused and threw in some nearby wood. Immediately, the flames surged, brightening the surroundings.
It was then that a small child was seen standing tall behind the flames.
“…Eh?”
Jeffrey let out a small exclamation. Eina also stood still, her brow furrowed. The first to react was Cassian.
“Bliss?”
There was no mistake. That small, round face was definitely him. For a moment, Cassian almost collapsed in relief. He barely managed to keep his legs from giving out and covered his mouth with one hand, letting out a trembling sigh. Thank goodness. As the tension vanished instantly, it was replaced by a surge of irritation.
“You little brat, do you know how worried we were? Where do you think you’re wandering off to by yourself? It’s dangerous!”
Only then did Cassian shout at Bliss, waving a hand and gesturing for him to come over.
“Don’t just stand there, come here. And don’t ever wander off alone again, got it?”
He scolded the child in a softened voice, but Bliss showed no sign of moving from his spot. Suddenly, Eina felt something was strange. The small but firmly clenched fists, the face smudged with dust and soot, and those wide, glaring eyes. He looked quite menacing. Well, if he weren’t just a round-faced toddler with a five-head-tall proportion.
“Cassian, something’s weird….”
It was just as Eina whispered. In an instant, a flash of madness appeared in Bliss’s eyes across the fire. Just as Eina and Cassian were startled, Bliss suddenly charged at them, swinging his arms wildly.
“Ryaaaaaah!”
Cassian blinked in surprise, watching the tiny lump rushing toward him. Being less than half his size, the boy wasn’t a threat; he was simply cute. What is he doing? Does he want to play? Confused, Cassian smiled and leaned down.
“Oops.”
“Ah, aaah!”
Bliss intended to headbutt him, but reality was completely different from his imagination. Into the open arms of the crouching Cassian, he simply rolled right in.
Not this, this isn’t how it was supposed to go.
Bliss was flustered, but it didn’t end there. Cassian laughed out loud and tossed Bliss up into the air.
“Uwaaaah!”
A startled Bliss screamed. Just as he was losing his mind from the terror of falling, Cassian caught him mid-air.
“Hahaha, fun, right?”
Fun my foot, put me down!
He would have loved to say that, but Bliss was so terrified he could only tremble. Then, without giving him a chance to tell him to stop, Cassian tossed Bliss into the air again.
“Uwaaaaaah!”
Bliss flailed his arms and screamed once more. Papa, Daddy! I’m scared! Help me!
“Up we go.”
Again, Cassian caught him. Bliss could no longer remember what he had intended to do. Seeing him limp and dazed, Cassian said with a smile,
“You little guy, you’re never going to wander off on your own again, right?”
Having delivered his one-sided lecture, he hugged Bliss, rubbed his face against the boy’s cheek, and then set him on the ground. Bliss’s feet barely touched the earth before he stumbled and collapsed.
I… I survived….
He had narrowly escaped the crisis, but as he regained his senses, anger returned. He was trying to get revenge!
“Gnnn….”
Bliss clenched his fists and looked back, but he couldn’t bring himself to pounce on Cassian. If he got caught and thrown into the air again, his heart would truly stop this time. But he couldn’t just let that guy off the hook either. What to do, what should he do?