Deflower Me If You Can Chapter 13

“Alright, Bliss, I can see you’ve worked really hard. You did well. Now, Daddy will take care of packing your things, so how about you practice your greetings?”

“Greetings? You mean this?”

Bliss jumped up and, wobbling slightly, bent his knees. There was no need to ask where he’d seen that—it was obvious. It must have been a scene from one of the dramas Bliss watched so intently.

“No, Bee. That’s what women do. Men do it like this.”

Standing up straight, Koi demonstrated how to bow in greeting. Bliss nodded, saying “Oh, I see.” Watching his son place the crumpled baseball cap—shoved into the bag and now terribly wrinkled—over his chest and bow his head deeply, Koi gently explained.

“Good job, Bee. But if you do it a little more slowly, it’ll look more impressive…”

As Koi adjusted his posture, the child followed along earnestly. If he’s this eager, what if he ends up not being able to go? Just thinking about how disappointed Bliss would be already made Koi’s heart ache. Suppressing the urge to call the duchess right away and beg her, he forced himself to wait, watching the time pass.

And then, after a couple of hours, a loud cry of joy from Bliss echoed through the mansion.

∞ ∞ ∞

The sky was unusually clear for once, pouring down bright sunshine. The Strickland ducal residence had been bustling for days. Naturally—today, a very special guest was scheduled to arrive. The duchess, who had been moving busily through the house for days inspecting everything, was doing a final check in one of the rooms when something caught her eye.

“What is this curtain? Bryson, didn’t I tell you to replace this? Bring new curtains—throw these away.”

She grabbed the curtain hanging at the window and shook it as she gave the order. The butler quickly replied.

“Yes, Your Grace. Right away.”

After confirming that the butler immediately relayed her orders to the staff, the duchess hurried—though to others she appeared composed—out of the room. Despite having been diligently moving since early morning, a glance at her wristwatch told her it was nearly time.

“Oh dear, oh dear.”

She bustled across the corridors of the vast castle. She was heading to her own room to touch up her makeup and do a final check. Even so, she didn’t miss even the smallest oversight.

“The cleaning here isn’t done properly. Wipe this down.”

At the duchess’s words, pointing to a corner of the staircase, a servant who had been wiping the windowsill rushed over and vigorously scrubbed the spot. After confirming that, the duchess turned and headed to her room. She peered into the mirror, fixed her lipstick, adjusted the position of the pearl hairpin in her hair, and finally checked her outfit.

Perfect.

She smiled with satisfaction, straightened her back, and smiled at her reflection in the mirror. Ever since she’d heard the child was coming, she’d been waiting for this day. He’d be arriving soon. The dear little thing—how she’d missed him!

Just then, a knock came at the door. Turning her head, she saw a servant standing in the open doorway, reporting.

“Your Grace, the young master of the Miller family has arrived.”

“Oh my.”

The duchess’s face lit up visibly, and she hurried out of the room and walked toward the entrance. Her normally pale cheeks were unusually flushed with a faint rosiness. The servant, seeing the gentle smile on her lips, thought it quite curious but kept a straight face and quickly followed their mistress.

The butler was standing at the entrance, welcoming the guest. The moment the duchess spotted him—the one she’d been waiting for—she practically ran across the hall toward him. The boy, who happened to be standing in the middle of the hall, saw her, took off the hat he was wearing, held it in both hands, and bowed his head respectfully.

“Your Grace, thank you for inviting me.”

Oh my goodness, he’s gotten even cuter.

The duchess, moved by the child’s polite demeanor, let out a soft sigh, haah. Matching the guest’s manners, she extended her hand in greeting.

“Welcome, Bliss of the Miller family.”

The child held his hat in one hand and extended the other to lightly take the duchess’s hand. Seeing how tense he was—his shoulders practically bunched up—the duchess smiled and said.

“That’s more than enough. You did splendidly. Did your Papa and Daddy teach you?”

She asked playfully, and the child answered with a firm “Yes.”

“They told me not to cause any trouble for the ducal household and to behave myself while playing. Don’t worry, Your Grace. I’m all grown up now.”

“Is that so. Truly splendid.”

Hearing the child speak in such a grown-up manner, the duchess had to make a considerable effort to keep from bursting into laughter.

“You must have had a tiring journey. Aren’t you hungry?”

“I’m fine, I ate on the plane. Thank you.”

Again, Bliss responded politely. Smiling warmly, the duchess looked up and met eyes with a woman standing a few steps away from Bliss, dressed in a neat suit. The woman bent her knee in a curtsey and spoke.

“Good day, Your Grace. I’m Thalia, a bodyguard from the Miller family. Now that my duty is complete, I’ll be taking my leave.”

At that, the duchess realized this woman had been the one to escort Bliss here. She smiled and nodded kindly.

“Very well, you’ve worked hard. Do take care on your way back.”

“Thank you, Your Grace. Goodbye, Bliss.”

After greeting Bliss following the duchess, she added one more thing.

“If you need anything or have any business, just call the number on the card I gave you earlier.”

It was the number of the head of the Miller Law Firm’s London branch. Bliss nodded, saying “Okay,” and gave a polite farewell.

“Thank you for today. Goodbye.”

Thalia, seeing him so composed—a far cry from his usual rambunctious self—was taken aback but didn’t show it as she withdrew. After she left, the duchess turned her attention back to Bliss with a “Now then.”

“Shall we go see Bliss’s room? We can have some tea together and catch up. Bryson.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

The duchess said to the immediately responding butler.

“We’re going to Bliss’s room, so bring the tea. And plenty of sweets for Bliss. I’ve already told the pâtissier, so they should be ready.”

Then she smiled at Bliss.

“Come now, Bliss. Let’s go upstairs.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Bliss answered politely and took the duchess’s extended hand. And so, hand in hand, she and Bliss ascended the stairs.

∞ ∞ ∞

Thanks to the sun showing its face after so long, the school grounds were overflowing with students sunbathing. Some had taken off their shirts and lay sprawled carelessly on the grass, while others sat on benches in bikinis reading books. Passing briskly among them, a young man walked with almost a running pace.

“Cassian, hey!”

The young man, who had been walking hurriedly, turned at the sound of someone calling from behind. Jeffrey, who was in the same class, ran up to him.

“Where are you off to? Why are you in such a rush? The weather’s so nice.”

Jeffrey, apparently also out for some sun, was wearing swim trunks below. He looked as if he might invite Cassian to join him, but Cassian didn’t have the leisure for that.

“To the main house. The break’s starting, and they’ve been hounding me to come back quickly.”

At his short reply, Jeffrey nodded knowingly, saying, “Ah, I see.”

“Well, can’t be helped then. So you’re staying at the main house the whole time? That’s so boring.”

At that, Cassian let out a snort of laughter and said.

“You’re welcome to come visit. Actually, a few people are coming, so I’ve told them it’s fine.”

“What? Really? Hey, why didn’t you tell me about it sooner? I’m hurt, seriously.”

Cassian gave his visibly crestfallen friend a light pat on the shoulder and added.

“Come anytime. You’re welcome.”

“Really?”

To Jeffrey, who immediately brightened up, Cassian waved a hand in affirmation and turned to walk away. It didn’t take long to reach where he’d parked the car. After loading the lightly packed luggage into the trunk, he immediately got into the driver’s seat and started the car. Exiting the congested city traffic, he headed toward the very castle where he’d lived his entire life—and where the dukes before him had lived and died.