Deflower Me If You Can Chapter 11

“Ha… haha…”

The duke let out a laugh, as if utterly dumbfounded. The duchess likewise wore a wry smile, Ashley silently pursed his lips, and Koi let out a deep sigh.

But the one who found the situation most absurd of all was, of course, Cassian. That damn little brat. Every fiber of his being wanted to grab the kid by the head and give him a good shake, but unfortunately, the child was safely nestled in his daddy’s arms. After glaring for a moment at that smug little devil, Cassian soon let out a weary sigh—haah.

He was fed up with everything now. The only thought left in his head was wanting to go home and collapse into bed. But to do that, he first had to deal with the demon. All the while, Bliss kept thrashing about, shouting, “Marry me to Cassian!”

“Bliss.”

Cassian, who had said nothing until then, called his name and stepped forward. Bliss, who had been struggling wildly in Koi’s arms, paused and turned to look at him. Cassian forced as indulgent a smile as he could manage and spoke to him.

“I’m so sad that I have to go back too. But how about we stop playing here for today, and next time you come over to my house to visit?”

At his calm voice, Bliss tilted his head.

“Next time? You want me to come over to your house?”

“Yeah.”

Cassian continued, speaking to Bliss, who was parroting his words back at him.

“My house looks completely different from yours. Don’t be surprised—it’s a castle that’s over a thousand years old.”

“A thousand years?”

Bliss’s eyes went wide as he exclaimed, then tilted his head to the other side and asked.

“What’s a thousand years?”

Cassian froze for a moment, and Koi, seeing this, whispered apologetically.

“Bliss can only count up to a hundred so far.”

…Is this kid an idiot?

Cassian was exasperated, but he suppressed his boiling irritation and forced a smile.

“It means it’s very, very old. It was built way further back than the ‘olden days’ you know about.”

At that, Bliss’s eyes lit up and he shouted.

“What? So a dinosaur built it?”

No, that’s way too far back.

Cassian was flustered, but quickly changed his thinking. Who cares, anyway? It wasn’t like he’d ever see this kid again.

“That’s right. A Tyrannosaurus built that castle.”

He threw out whatever name came to mind, and Bliss frowned. Now what? Cassian felt a surge of anxiety, when Bliss opened his mouth.

“That’s weird. Tyrannosaurus had tiny hands like mine, so how did it stack bricks?”

…Why did he suddenly get smart?

At a loss for words, Cassian once again forced a smile and quickly changed his story.

“You can come and see for yourself. Anyway, Bliss, I came to visit this time, so isn’t it only fair that you come to my house next time? That way it’s even. Right? So let’s call it a day here, and next time come over to my place. We can have lots of fun there, okay? Got it? Alright, that’s settled.”

Before Bliss could raise another question, Cassian unilaterally wrapped things up. Everyone, including Cassian, waited with bated breath for Bliss’s response.

If he still insists, I’ll have no choice but to forcibly take him to the manor…

…Just as Koi was thinking that.

“Okay!”

Bliss suddenly said. Everyone looked at him, and Bliss, meeting Cassian’s gaze, continued.

“Fine, next time I’ll come over to your house. To be fair!”

Seeing the adults’ reactions, Cassian let out a quiet sigh of relief. He thought they’d gotten past this hurdle, but then—

“So since we’re getting married, I can just go to your house now too, right?”

“No, no no, no, absolutely not.”

At Bliss’s eager question, the color drained from Cassian’s face once more. Faced with this sudden new crisis, he frantically shook his head in denial, then let out a deep sigh and pressed his hand to his forehead. Bliss, puzzled by his behavior, asked.

“What’s wrong? You’re the one who said I should come to your house.”

Having said that, he narrowed his eyes suspiciously and muttered.

“Don’t tell me… you lied to me…”

“Of course not.”

Cassian quickly replied with a smile.

“It was sincere, of course, but Bliss, it’s a bit difficult to invite you over so suddenly. When we have guests, we need to prepare on our side too… you know, like a room for you to stay in, and things like that.”

As he spoke, Cassian frantically signaled to his father with his eyes. Don’t just stand there—say something! Fortunately, the duke caught his son’s distress signal and stepped forward belatedly to back him up.

“Yes, the castle is old, so there are many places that need fixing up. So give us some time.”

Bliss still looked suspicious, glancing back and forth between the duke and Cassian, before cautiously opening his mouth.

“How long? About five nights…”

“One year.”

Cassian quickly cut him off. As Bliss, who had been holding up five spread fingers, showed a flash of disbelief on his face, Cassian continued nonchalantly.

“I’m graduating soon, Bliss. I’m going to university. Then I’ll be busy and won’t have time to play with you like this. So wait until my break, alright? You can do that, can’t you?”

At that, Bliss adopted a serious expression and fell into thought. Cassian, anxious that this kid might not fall for it, waited for his response. If he started spouting nonsense again, then—

“Fine, I guess I have no choice.”

“Good decision! What a relief—I knew Bliss would understand.”

The moment Bliss finished speaking, Cassian exaggeratedly sighed in relief and beamed brightly. Bliss then raised his chin confidently and said.

“If that’s my friend’s situation, then of course I should be the one to yield. That’s what a man does.”

“Right. You’re the manliest of men, Bliss.”

Cassian laughed, holding up both thumbs and continuing to praise Bliss. Just as Bliss’s nose was getting so high it might pierce the ceiling, the duke and duchess timed their farewells perfectly.

“Well then, we’ll be heading back now. Goodbye…”

“Thank you for coming. Take care.”

“Goodbye, Koi. Thank you for today.”

“The thanks are all mine, ma’am. I hope to see you again.”

“Bye, Cassian. I’ll come visit during your break.”

“Yeah, I’ll look forward to it. Take care until then.”

After each had said their piece, the ducal family finally climbed into the car. The duchess first, then the duke, and finally Cassian—just as he was about to get in, Ashley Miller, who had approached as if to hold the car door for him, whispered in a low voice.

“You have a talent for politics.”

Cassian looked up without thinking, and the platinum-haired man gave a faint smile and added.

“That’s a compliment.”

With that, he readily stepped back. After hesitating for a moment, Cassian got into the car, and the bodyguard immediately shut the door. Then the car, just as when it had arrived, filed out of the garden in a line.

“Phew.”

Finally convinced that everything was over, Cassian leaned his head back against the seat and let out a deep sigh, as if he’d been waiting for this moment. Seeing this, the duchess smiled sympathetically and spoke to him.

“You worked hard today, Cassian.”

“Don’t even mention it.”

He gritted out, then added in a tired voice.

“Anyway, it worked out well, so it’s fine.”

“I never imagined you’d actually get a proposal.”

The duke let out a hearty laugh. The duchess laughed too, but Cassian didn’t find the situation amusing at all.

“By the way.”

The duke spoke to his sullen-faced son in a casual tone.

“What did Ashley Miller say to you out there just now?”

Cassian, expressionless, looked at the curious duke and duchess, then opened his mouth.

“He said, ‘See you next time.'”

“We’re in-laws, after all.”

The duke laughed again, and the duchess joined in. Cassian made a show of laughing along with them, then turned his gaze to the window.

He himself had come up with a fairly decent excuse in that short moment. Ashley Miller’s words probably meant something similar.

A compliment, perhaps, meaning you got out of that neatly.