By Zephyria 
“Throw it away.”
“Ah!”
Before Bliss could even react, Cassian snatched it from him and tossed it aside. Bliss hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should be angry that his belongings had been taken without permission or that trash had been thrown just anywhere, but he soon glared and protested.
“Why do you just throw other people’s things away? And if you’re going to throw it away, you should put it in a trash can, not just toss it anywhere!”
“Someone will clean it up.”
Oh my, what a piece of trash of a human.
Gasping, Bliss covered his mouth with one hand and decided he couldn’t just leave it. He turned around, thinking, I should pick it up and throw it away…
“Oh.”
He stopped mid-thought, his eyes widening. A few men had rushed over to pick up the bag Cassian had thrown. Seeing them hurry outside with it, it was clear they were either reporting the unidentified object or taking it to be disposed of. Either way, it was handled.
Thank you, nameless strangers. Sorry, Grandmother.
As he offered his alternating greetings and turned back, he found Cassian, who had already walked far ahead, standing still and looking at him.
“What are you doing? Why aren’t you following me?”
“Hmph.”
Bliss snorted at the irritable tone, but his feet instinctively hurried toward him. After all, the Palace of Versailles was innocent. Bliss nodded to himself, thinking this. Whether he looked right, left, up, or down, everything was so enchanting. How could a palace be this wonderful and magnificent? I want something like this too…!
With his hands clasped as if in prayer, his face was filled with happiness as he eagerly looked around the castle. Looking down at Bliss, Cassian also wore a faint smile, but…
Something is strange.
When they had viewed about two-thirds of the palace, Bliss felt a peculiar sensation. At first, he hadn’t noticed because he was so excited to finally see this magnificent palace in person, but as time passed, the suspicious points began to pile up.
Despite the crowds, Bliss—and Cassian as well—didn’t bump into anyone, nor did they even brush past them. It was as if a small protective shield was cast around them; people delicately navigated around them. It was fine when he didn’t notice, but once he became conscious of it, it kept bothering him.
Look, there it is again.
Bliss frowned deeply as he watched a woman exaggeratedly curve her body to pass by him and Cassian. Something is weird.
Hmm, he was lost in thought when he suddenly turned. A man attempting to pass them had his path tangled by Bliss’s sudden movement.
Thump.
“Aaaah!”
“What is it?”
At Bliss’s piercing scream, Cassian reflexively pulled him into an embrace. Checking his condition urgently, Bliss spoke with a tearful face, hopping on one foot.
“My… my foot was stepped on.”
“Who was it?”
The moment Cassian scanned the surroundings with terrifying eyes, the people in the area stopped moving all at once. While they turned pale and glanced at one another, a man nearby cautiously raised his hand, sweating profusely.
“I… I think it was me.”
Everyone’s gaze converged on the man. Amidst the unfriendly looks, one person suddenly burst out in anger.
“You should have been careful! How could you step on a sick child like that?”
Following those words, a barrage of criticism began to pour out from all directions.
“Apologize right now!”
“What are you just standing there for? Do it quickly!”
“Pierre, do you want something terrible to happen? What are you doing! Apologize quickly!”
In an instant, the surroundings became chaotic. Bliss was left utterly bewildered by the sudden situation. He was confused, wondering what on earth was happening, but it didn’t end there.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It was truly my fault. Please forgive me. I really didn’t do it on purpose. I was just trying to pass by—no, none of that matters, it’s my fault. Please forgive me, I beg you!”
Bliss could only blink his wide, bewildered eyes. He had just had his foot stepped on once; why were they acting like this? And what was with the other people? With everyone turning pale and walking on eggshells while watching their reactions, Bliss didn’t know how he was supposed to respond.
The one who ended the confusion was Cassian.
“Are you okay?”
At his quiet word, the surroundings fell silent instantly. Feeling everyone’s attention focused on them, Bliss felt embarrassed and his face flushed.
“Uh, yeah. I’m okay. I was just a bit surprised, it was nothing…”
He tried to brush it off quickly, but Cassian asked with a still-frowning face.
“Are you really okay? Be honest. If you’re hurt…”
In that moment, he could feel the surrounding tension tighten. Bliss hurriedly shook his head and replied.
“No, I’m really okay. L-let’s go. We have to see the next room.”
Bliss grabbed Cassian’s arm and hurried away from the spot. Only after reaching the next room did he let out a sigh of relief. That’s enough. Now I can just look around slowly again. Bliss exhaled and thought so, but…
It really is strange.
After passing through a few more rooms, he scanned the faces of the people around him with a serious expression. There was no mistake. They were the same people he had seen earlier. They were continuously following Bliss and Cassian. They looked around as if they were mere tourists, but whenever Bliss moved with Cassian, they all followed and surrounded them. Just to be sure, when he skipped two rooms, they also skipped those rooms and followed Bliss.
There’s no doubt, something is definitely going on.
Bliss’s brain cells began to work rapidly. His brain cells, which usually worked maybe once or twice a year at most, had been working far too often lately. Perhaps that was why the puzzle wasn’t easily solved. Maybe I need to eat something sweet. He suddenly remembered the cookies Grandmother had given him. If only this jerk hadn’t just thrown them away. As he glared at Cassian in belated resentment, Cassian immediately looked down at him.
“What? If you have something to say, say it.”
At the blunt words, Bliss gave a “Hmph” and turned his head away. This guy is definitely plotting something. I will definitely find out.
“Phew.”
Having passed through the final door and stepped outside, Cassian let out a loud sigh. The second course was finally over. He’s probably overwhelmed with joy by now. Thinking that, he looked back to see Bliss a few steps away, lost in deep thought.
He’s probably thinking about some drama again.
Imagining him immersed in a fantasy as absurd as that list, Cassian waited for Bliss to approach before speaking.
“How was it? The Palace of Versailles.”
Bliss opened his mouth. During the brief one or two seconds before the answer came, the corners of Cassian’s mouth naturally softened. He was surely going to say he was happy…
“It wasn’t very interesting.”
“What? Why?”
At the answer that was completely contrary to his expectations, the smile vanished from Cassian’s face instantly. To Cassian, who looked down at him with an incomprehensible expression, Bliss pouted and grumbled his answer.
“There were too many people. I was being pushed here and there; I couldn’t appreciate it in peace at all. I don’t even know what I saw.”
At that moment, a vein popped on Cassian’s temple. What? Too many people? What is this clueless capybara talking about?
In fact, the Palace of Versailles was closed to the public today. This was an enormous privilege obtained thanks to Cassian’s special request to the government while announcing the visit schedule. Of course, since it was far more difficult than visiting Mozart’s grave, he needed a plausible reason.
‘A distant relative’s child is ill, and this is their last wish.’
He hadn’t given detailed explanations. However, they had mistakenly assumed Bliss had a terminal illness and granted the difficult permission.
But it didn’t end there. Because Bliss’s list had stated the following:
Visit the Palace of Versailles while mixing with tourists.
Of course, he couldn’t actually do that with real tourists. Therefore, while securing the temporary closure, he had hired 100 fake tourists. To ensure no mistakes were made and no word leaked externally, he had specifically selected civil servants to put on a show as tourists…
What? He couldn’t see it because there were too many people?
At that moment, Cassian exploded.
“What the hell are you talking about, you damn peanut! Because you wrote it like that on that damn list, do you know how much effort I…!”
Oops.
Cassian hurriedly shut his mouth, but it was too late. Bliss was staring at him with wide eyes.
“Huh? What are you talking about right now?”
As expected, at the question, Cassian’s mind raced. What should I say? How should I answer? The best way is…
Avoidance.
“Count, where are you going!”
Bliss shouted urgently and chased after the figure that had simply started walking away rapidly without a word. However, Cassian didn’t look back once, merely distancing himself in an instant with a crazily fast pace toward the car.