‘………There was no such event in the original novel.’
[Bliss grew up being persecuted by her father and bullied by his two older brothers.]
That was all.
The part where his two older brothers harassed him was narrated in a few more lines in the story, but the persecution inflicted by Duke Hope wasn’t mentioned in detail.
‘That submissive attitude is possibly because of the fear towards the duke.’
Indeed, if the violence was involved in the persecution of Bliss, the duke was far more of a scum than she thought.
“Are you, perhaps, Bliss’ guide?”
The duke’s attention turned toward Shana. His eyes narrowed slightly right away.
This is because Shana, who was swearing the duke in her head, had a fierce look toward the duke.
“Yes. I am Shana.”
Shana replied with a belated courtesy.
“Remember, you are a guide to the Hope Family.”
The duke spoke to Shana in a voice as cold as he did to Bliss.
“You’ve chanced on a position you could only dream of, it’s not enough to only be grateful but also work hard for such a piece of good fortune. Are you playing house here?”
The duke burst into laughter when he saw the biscuits.
“Even the guide is like this, I would have never imagined that you preferred this kind of game, Bliss.”
The corner of the duke’s mouth lifted up. It was a blatant sneer.
“Are you excited to have a lass of your age to guide you?”
The duke took the flower crown from Bliss’ hand.
“Let’s put this on you, shall we? I must say you would look mighty dapper……”
He frowned at the loosely woven flower crown.
“The young one has already been swayed by women’s innocence and couldn’t tell the difference.”
Shana’s mouth naturally opened at the duke’s harsh words.
‘You were the one who was swayed by the woman and couldn’t keep it in your pants!’
You were the one who had an affair and created this bastard, why are you mocking Bliss now, by treating him as a total jerk?
She couldn’t stand it any longer when she saw Bliss, whose neck and ears turned red from shame. She didn’t want to see him apologize even for this.
“I believe the duke has misunderstood.”
She said while taking a step forward. Naturally, half of Bliss’ body was covered by hers.
“Today’s outing was something that I suggested to Young Master, and we came out to do outdoor practices so that he can increase his mana sensitivity through immersing himself with mana in nature.”
The duke looked down at Shana with cold eyes. Even with his cold eyes, Shana wasn’t discouraged and continued to speak calmly.
“Young Master Bliss has spent his energy to detect the mana in nature, so I just brought a light snack to supplement the used energy.”
Then he caught a glimpse of the basket which contained biscuits.
“Duke, as the noble and great wizard, should have known that magic originated from physical strength.”
Shana tried to clear up his misunderstanding by speaking as politely as she could.
“Then?”
“Pardon me?”
She unknowingly raised her eyes and looked at the duke.
“Was Bliss able to detect the mana from nature?”
Shana knitted her brow slightly.
“This is just the first attempt, so the result was minimal.”
“Well then.”
The duke smiled wickedly.
“Is this flower crown also part of the outdoor practice?”
Shana felt frustrated when he mentioned the flower crown. She couldn’t answer him back.
“Why, if he puts the flower crown on his head, will he be able to feel the mana better? Did your master teach you that way?”
She didn’t even know her teacher’s face, but she was angry. For some reason, it felt as if the duke had asked regarding her parents.
‘No, but I can joke a bit. Would the world possibly get ruined if children played for a little while in the fresh air after working so hard?’
Shana felt resentful, wondering if she would get scolded this much.
‘Yeah, if you don’t like me that much, just fire me.’
Then isn’t it a good thing that she didn’t have to struggle with finding a way to exit the original plot? Shana felt half adamant and half desperate.
“This is my……”
Just as Shana was about to say that the flower crown was purely her fault, Bliss grabbed her by the hem of her clothes from behind.
‘What?’
When she looked back as she felt her clothes being pulled, she made eye contact with Bliss. He shook his head slightly.
Bliss let go of Shana’s clothes and stepped forward, he stood before the duke again. He bowed his head to the duke deeply and said.
“I was foolish. I will make sure this never happens again.”
Shana stared at Bliss blankly.
He was afraid that she would make the situation more complicated than before. Bliss also assumed he should have helped Shana because he was afraid that she would fall out of favor, like himself, if she confronted the duke.
Whatever was Bliss’ intention, she couldn’t get rid of the feeling that he was sacrificing himself on her behalf.
The duke sighed tired of hearing Bliss’ apology.
“Bliss. Think carefully about your position.”
“Yes.”
“Whilst you do not compare yourself to your brothers, you know quite well your own failings than anyone else, do you not?”
“I know.”
“Even your ugly Guardian……”
The duke saw the white dragon behind the basket. He turned his head away quickly, angered just seeing him wriggle.
“At the very least. Do try not to embarrass the Hope Family anymore.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
“You are always good at answering. Do you comprehend exactly what I mean?”
Bliss bit his lips. After a brief hesitation, he answered. “I will make sure to never leave the separate house and cause you any trouble again.”
‘He said that he wouldn’t leave the separate house at all.’
Perhaps he wanted the answer, the duke nodded and left without another word.
Shana clenched her fists, staring in the direction the duke had disappeared. For the first time, she was angry at her status, which she couldn’t refute despite the unfair treatment.
She was so upset just by facing Duke Hope for a brief moment, she wondered how Bliss would feel, who has been treated coldly by him for all his life.
“Let’s go back inside.”
Bliss gathered his coat that he had spread out on the floor. Shana called after Bliss, who strode to the detached house.
“Young Master, do not care too much……”
“Forget it.”
He spoke in a calm voice.
“It’s all useless anyway.”
Bliss didn’t seem like he was lying when he was surprised and angry at Shana’s prank.
His face was expressionless, unlike when he was surprised and angry at Shana’s prank.
“So don’t get hung up on useless things anymore.”
With those words, he entered the separate house alone. Shana stood up and watched his back.
Her heart was beating nervously. Bliss looked like he was in danger.
As if he was going to collapse at any moment, as if he would crumble.
Her anxious hunch wasn’t wrong. A few days later, Bliss had a fever and collapsed.
***
A few days after receiving a restraining order from Duke Hope, Bliss fell ill.
Upon hearing the news, Shana thought he only suffered a simple body ache. Dealing with the duke must have taken a toll on him.
She expected Bliss would get better after two or three days of rest, but Shana hadn’t seen his face for almost a week.
‘Is his condition serious?’
She was worried and asked the maid about his condition from time to time, but the answer she got was the same.
The doctor examined him and found that he had a common fever. It was nothing serious.
She should be relieved that the family doctor had dropped by, but Shana became more anxious.
‘Did he just think it would be annoying?’
People didn’t want to get involved with Bliss by any chance because they wanted to get out of the duke’s sight. It was the same with the doctor, so she didn’t know if he had given Bliss a proper diagnosis.
‘Is there anyone who can take care of him?’
Even the servants of the separate house would have to take good care of him, but it seemed unlikely to be the case with his indifferent attitude all the time.
‘Everyone may feel complacent, saying ‘It’ll be taken care of by someone else.’
Shana was afraid that no one would take care of Bliss.
To be exact, she thought Bliss was dying quietly amid people’s indifference.
Even at a young age, it seemed that Bliss would be left with the pain of loneliness.
‘It’s not really a serious illness, given that it hasn’t been mentioned in the original novel.
Besides, isn’t Baek Ryong by his side? He couldn’t let his master die in vain. Though Shana thought so, she still couldn’t get rid of her anxiety.
Shana kept rethinking her ominous imagination alone in her room and eventually jumped out of her seat.
She left the bedroom and went to look for the maid. She went to visit Anne and immediately asked how Bliss was doing.
“Young Master still has a high fever, but he doesn’t have any major illness.”
His fever was still high, but she couldn’t believe there was no major illness. It didn’t match.
“Have you checked on him?”
“Pardon me?”
“I mean, did you see with your own eyes if there was any major illness?”
Anne tilted her head as if she couldn’t understand Shana’s anxious reaction.
“Of course. A maid who served the Young Master visited this morning as well.”
Shana was a little relieved to hear that. At least she knew he wasn’t dead nor left unattended.
“Did Young Master have a proper meal?”
“I’m not sure about that.”
“We do bring him food, but there’s no telling if he will eat it?”
However, Bliss was the owner of the separate house.
Don’t they have to know if their master has eaten or taken his medicine?
‘………There was no such event in the original novel.’
[Bliss grew up being persecuted by her father and bullied by his two older brothers.]
That was all.
The part where his two older brothers harassed him was narrated in a few more lines in the story, but the persecution inflicted by Duke Hope wasn’t mentioned in detail.
‘That submissive attitude is possibly because of the fear towards the duke.’
Indeed, if the violence was involved in the persecution of Bliss, the duke was far more of a scum than she thought.
“Are you, perhaps, Bliss’ guide?”
The duke’s attention turned toward Shana. His eyes narrowed slightly right away.
This is because Shana, who was swearing the duke in her head, had a fierce look toward the duke.
“Yes. I am Shana.”
Shana replied with a belated courtesy.
“Remember, you are a guide to the Hope Family.”
The duke spoke to Shana in a voice as cold as he did to Bliss.
“You’ve chanced on a position you could only dream of, it’s not enough to only be grateful but also work hard for such a piece of good fortune. Are you playing house here?”
The duke burst into laughter when he saw the biscuits.
“Even the guide is like this, I would have never imagined that you preferred this kind of game, Bliss.”
The corner of the duke’s mouth lifted up. It was a blatant sneer.
“Are you excited to have a lass of your age to guide you?”
The duke took the flower crown from Bliss’ hand.
“Let’s put this on you, shall we? I must say you would look mighty dapper……”
He frowned at the loosely woven flower crown.
“The young one has already been swayed by women’s innocence and couldn’t tell the difference.”
Shana’s mouth naturally opened at the duke’s harsh words.
‘You were the one who was swayed by the woman and couldn’t keep it in your pants!’
You were the one who had an affair and created this bastard, why are you mocking Bliss now, by treating him as a total jerk?
She couldn’t stand it any longer when she saw Bliss, whose neck and ears turned red from shame. She didn’t want to see him apologize even for this.
“I believe the duke has misunderstood.”
She said while taking a step forward. Naturally, half of Bliss’ body was covered by hers.
“Today’s outing was something that I suggested to Young Master, and we came out to do outdoor practices so that he can increase his mana sensitivity through immersing himself with mana in nature.”
The duke looked down at Shana with cold eyes. Even with his cold eyes, Shana wasn’t discouraged and continued to speak calmly.
“Young Master Bliss has spent his energy to detect the mana in nature, so I just brought a light snack to supplement the used energy.”
Then he caught a glimpse of the basket which contained biscuits.
“Duke, as the noble and great wizard, should have known that magic originated from physical strength.”
Shana tried to clear up his misunderstanding by speaking as politely as she could.
“Then?”
“Pardon me?”
She unknowingly raised her eyes and looked at the duke.
“Was Bliss able to detect the mana from nature?”
Shana knitted her brow slightly.
“This is just the first attempt, so the result was minimal.”
“Well then.”
The duke smiled wickedly.
“Is this flower crown also part of the outdoor practice?”
Shana felt frustrated when he mentioned the flower crown. She couldn’t answer him back.
“Why, if he puts the flower crown on his head, will he be able to feel the mana better? Did your master teach you that way?”
She didn’t even know her teacher’s face, but she was angry. For some reason, it felt as if the duke had asked regarding her parents.
‘No, but I can joke a bit. Would the world possibly get ruined if children played for a little while in the fresh air after working so hard?’
Shana felt resentful, wondering if she would get scolded this much.
‘Yeah, if you don’t like me that much, just fire me.’
Then isn’t it a good thing that she didn’t have to struggle with finding a way to exit the original plot? Shana felt half adamant and half desperate.
“This is my……”
Just as Shana was about to say that the flower crown was purely her fault, Bliss grabbed her by the hem of her clothes from behind.
‘What?’
When she looked back as she felt her clothes being pulled, she made eye contact with Bliss. He shook his head slightly.
Bliss let go of Shana’s clothes and stepped forward, he stood before the duke again. He bowed his head to the duke deeply and said.
“I was foolish. I will make sure this never happens again.”
Shana stared at Bliss blankly.
He was afraid that she would make the situation more complicated than before. Bliss also assumed he should have helped Shana because he was afraid that she would fall out of favor, like himself, if she confronted the duke.
Whatever was Bliss’ intention, she couldn’t get rid of the feeling that he was sacrificing himself on her behalf.
The duke sighed tired of hearing Bliss’ apology.
“Bliss. Think carefully about your position.”
“Yes.”
“Whilst you do not compare yourself to your brothers, you know quite well your own failings than anyone else, do you not?”
“I know.”
“Even your ugly Guardian……”
The duke saw the white dragon behind the basket. He turned his head away quickly, angered just seeing him wriggle.
“At the very least. Do try not to embarrass the Hope Family anymore.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
“You are always good at answering. Do you comprehend exactly what I mean?”
Bliss bit his lips. After a brief hesitation, he answered. “I will make sure to never leave the separate house and cause you any trouble again.”
‘He said that he wouldn’t leave the separate house at all.’
Perhaps he wanted the answer, the duke nodded and left without another word.
Shana clenched her fists, staring in the direction the duke had disappeared. For the first time, she was angry at her status, which she couldn’t refute despite the unfair treatment.
She was so upset just by facing Duke Hope for a brief moment, she wondered how Bliss would feel, who has been treated coldly by him for all his life.
“Let’s go back inside.”
Bliss gathered his coat that he had spread out on the floor. Shana called after Bliss, who strode to the detached house.
“Young Master, do not care too much……”
“Forget it.”
He spoke in a calm voice.
“It’s all useless anyway.”
Bliss didn’t seem like he was lying when he was surprised and angry at Shana’s prank.
His face was expressionless, unlike when he was surprised and angry at Shana’s prank.
“So don’t get hung up on useless things anymore.”
With those words, he entered the separate house alone. Shana stood up and watched his back.
Her heart was beating nervously. Bliss looked like he was in danger.
As if he was going to collapse at any moment, as if he would crumble.
Her anxious hunch wasn’t wrong. A few days later, Bliss had a fever and collapsed.
***
A few days after receiving a restraining order from Duke Hope, Bliss fell ill.
Upon hearing the news, Shana thought he only suffered a simple body ache. Dealing with the duke must have taken a toll on him.
She expected Bliss would get better after two or three days of rest, but Shana hadn’t seen his face for almost a week.
‘Is his condition serious?’
She was worried and asked the maid about his condition from time to time, but the answer she got was the same.
The doctor examined him and found that he had a common fever. It was nothing serious.
She should be relieved that the family doctor had dropped by, but Shana became more anxious.
‘Did he just think it would be annoying?’
People didn’t want to get involved with Bliss by any chance because they wanted to get out of the duke’s sight. It was the same with the doctor, so she didn’t know if he had given Bliss a proper diagnosis.
‘Is there anyone who can take care of him?’
Even the servants of the separate house would have to take good care of him, but it seemed unlikely to be the case with his indifferent attitude all the time.
‘Everyone may feel complacent, saying ‘It’ll be taken care of by someone else.’
Shana was afraid that no one would take care of Bliss.
To be exact, she thought Bliss was dying quietly amid people’s indifference.
Even at a young age, it seemed that Bliss would be left with the pain of loneliness.
‘It’s not really a serious illness, given that it hasn’t been mentioned in the original novel.
Besides, isn’t Baek Ryong by his side? He couldn’t let his master die in vain. Though Shana thought so, she still couldn’t get rid of her anxiety.
Shana kept rethinking her ominous imagination alone in her room and eventually jumped out of her seat.
She left the bedroom and went to look for the maid. She went to visit Anne and immediately asked how Bliss was doing.
“Young Master still has a high fever, but he doesn’t have any major illness.”
His fever was still high, but she couldn’t believe there was no major illness. It didn’t match.
“Have you checked on him?”
“Pardon me?”
“I mean, did you see with your own eyes if there was any major illness?”
Anne tilted her head as if she couldn’t understand Shana’s anxious reaction.
“Of course. A maid who served the Young Master visited this morning as well.”
Shana was a little relieved to hear that. At least she knew he wasn’t dead nor left unattended.
“Did Young Master have a proper meal?”
“I’m not sure about that.”
“We do bring him food, but there’s no telling if he will eat it?”
However, Bliss was the owner of the separate house.
Don’t they have to know if their master has eaten or taken his medicine?
