By Zephyria 
It would be problematic if she thought he was a malicious fan.
Bliss hurriedly worked his few remaining brain cells. She might think he was a stalker. But if he were found out to be an anti-fan, that would be the absolute worst. What should he do?
As his deliberation dragged on, Penelope’s silence continued. Eventually, unable to withstand the tension, Bliss was the one to speak first.
“Um, what is the next question…? Or are we finished?”
At his cautious question, Penelope finally spoke slowly.
“You said you were American?”
“Yes.”
As he answered, inwardly tense, she continued in a voice that remained subdued.
“It must have been quite a struggle to come all this way. Was it difficult?”
“Ah, yes… it was fine.”
The following question wasn’t anything significant. Because of that, Bliss felt even more anxious, but he answered steadily. Penelope then murmured as if talking to herself.
“To send his precious youngest son alone… Mr. Miller must have been very worried.”
Seeing her sympathetic expression, Bliss answered with a face full of confidence.
“Ah, it’s okay. He said he comes here often.”
At those words, Penelope nodded as if it were a relief.
“Is that so? That’s a relief. You won’t be too lonely here.”
“Yes, haha. You don’t have to worry. Thank you!”
“…….”
“Ha… haha….”
Bliss’s laughter gradually faded. He realized what he had just done only after the smile vanished from Penelope’s face as she stared at him from across the table.
What is this! What’s happening, ugh, what do I do!
The moment Bliss’s face turned pale, Penelope straightened her back and called his name in a stern voice.
“Bliss Miller, what exactly are you doing here?”
Hieeeek.
In an instant, Bliss turned ghostly pale and froze on the spot.
*
The drawing room was silent. Only the sound of the clock’s second hand, moving with precise rhythm, tapped against the desolate air. Penelope simply gazed at Bliss without a word, as if telling him to speak if he had anything to say.
Of course, there was no such thing. Caught in an unimaginable situation, Bliss was completely speechless. He had braced himself for the possibility of being found out eventually. But this quickly? In one fell swoop?
I underestimated this lady too much.
Bliss blamed himself with regret. She was a person who had devoted her life as a butler for a noble family. To try and deceive such a person with such a flimsy trick—it was practically an act of rudeness on his part. Should he apologize? Of course he should. But then he would obviously be kicked out. No, he couldn’t let that happen. What should he do? What should he say?
“Bliss Miller.”
“Yes, y-yes!”
Startled by the sound of her calling him again, Bliss answered reflexively. When he realized that this had completely sealed his fate, Penelope spoke.
“Be honest with me, Bliss. Tell me the reason you came here.”
The corners of her lips slowly curled upward.
“You came because you’ve fallen for the Count, haven’t you?”
…What?
Bliss’s eyes widened at the unimaginable words. Looking at him, still frozen and showing no sign of thawing, Penelope clasped her hands together and continued in an excited voice, as if dreaming.
“My goodness, to think you’ve grown so much. Bliss might not remember me, but it’s still vivid before my eyes. The sight of you running around the Duke’s estate. You were such a lovely child. And how bold and cute you were when you appeared saying you would marry the young master. I thought all ties had ended when Bliss suddenly returned to America, but to think you’ve grown up so beautifully and appeared again.”
“…What?”
Bliss asked, bewildered, but she continued to raise her voice with a girl-like fervor.
“I knew it. Bliss, you couldn’t forget the Count all this time. Of course you couldn’t. You were young, but your feelings were sincere. To think you still hold the Count in your heart like this! You came because you couldn’t bear it anymore, right? I know, I know how hard it must have been for you.”
“No, wait….”
Bliss, having thawed slightly, tried to say something, but it didn’t reach her ears.
“It’s alright, you don’t even have to explain; I already know. In truth, the Count is a far too perfect groom. I have been waiting all this time to see when and whom Count Herringer would meet to have the wedding of the century…!”
Penelope even let out a sigh, then turned her attention back to Bliss and shouted even louder.
“And for the youngest son of the Miller family to appear like this! What a perfect pair! I never imagined my dream would come true like this. Thank you, thank you!”
Eventually, she reached across the table, grabbed Bliss’s hands, and shook them wildly, leaving Bliss unable to gather his wits.
“Ah, no, wait. Miss Butler, that’s not it.”
“To spend so many years searching for a first love and cross the ocean to appear here—it’s truly romantic. Isn’t it just like a scene from The Duke and the Pirate? ‘Oh, my dear. When you appeared before me through those rough foams, everything of mine had already become yours. Pirate, witch, reaper of the sea, black plunderer—fitting for those many aliases, you plundered everything of mine with a single glance…!’”
Bliss looked on, dumbfounded, as Penelope recited the lines with the tragic passion of a theatrical performance.
“You’ve seen The Duke and the Pirate?”
Bliss suddenly became excited and leaped up from his seat. Among the visual materials he had watched to learn about the Strickland family, the masterpiece that had captured his heart the most was The Duke and the Pirate. Penelope was reciting the love confession the Duke made while pleading for the pirate leader to become his wife, without missing a single word. At Bliss’s exclamation, Penelope stood up as well, her face full of excitement.
“Of course! It’s my favorite romance. Besides, it’s a true story, isn’t it? One that happened in the Strickland family!”
Only then did Bliss understand why she had shown so much interest when she was reciting the history of the Strickland family earlier. She must have been thinking of that drama. In that case! Nodding vigorously, Bliss continued the lines.
“‘Though the heart offered to me has not yet cooled, you turn your eyes to another woman.’”
Receiving the fervent monologue, Penelope shouted solemnly.
“‘I shall gouge out your two eyes and throw them to the wild dogs. I will make you beg in tears. I shall.’”
“‘I shall!’”
Bliss followed with the line. Then, facing each other, the two shouted simultaneously.
“‘The great pirate, ruler of the sea, Veronica!’”
With that, Penelope and Bliss cheered, hugged each other, and jumped up and down in place. As expected! He knew it. Those lines were the absolute best for anyone who had seen that drama. Penelope was the real deal. She was a true fan of The Duke and the Pirate.
“Kyaaaak, kyaaaaak!”
My goodness, my goodness. Bliss screamed repeatedly, unable to contain his joy. He was overwhelmed by an excitement he had never experienced before.
But it didn’t end there. As they pulled apart, the two exchanged meaningful glances. Bliss was the first to speak.
“‘The Lover of the Husband Who Took My First Night.’”
At the title Bliss threw out, Penelope recited the famous line as if she had been waiting for it.
“‘Do you prefer me as a dog, or as a human?’”
“Yes, that’s it!”
As the excited Bliss clapped his hands, Penelope threw out a title this time.
“‘To the Wife Who Does Not Recognize Me.’”
“‘I don’t care, as long as I can have your body. I don’t even hope for your love!’”
“‘Oh, Marcus! My love!’”
Penelope screamed the male lead’s name. They continued to name works, and each time, they recited the exact lines from the drama or book. Finally, when they mentioned the last work, they synchronized their voices to recite the same line once more, and then hugged each other again.