He Awakened When I Died - Chapter 9

 

Bliss started eating the biscuits after Shana pulled her hand back. Shana’s eyes lit up as she eagerly waited for his response.

 

“Cough!”

 

Bliss coughed while chewing the biscuit he had bitten. He had a surprised look, rarely seen by others. Then he covered his mouth with his hand. He didn’t know what to do with the biscuit in his mouth.

 

“You……!”

 

When he saw Shana turning her eyes and smiling, he realized the biscuits were Shana’s dongs.

 

“What have you done to the biscuits?”

 

“It’s not weird, you can eat them all.”

 

Bliss thought he shouldn’t spit out the biscuits, so he slowly started chewing it again.

 

He almost coughed from time to time, but he held it in and swallowed it completely.

 

“Actually, these biscuits, I……”

 

“You, why are you doing this to me?”

 

Shana looked surprised.

 

Bliss seemed to react more sharply than she expected.

 

“Even the guide is trying to pick on me now?”

 

Judging by his betrayed voice, Bliss seemed to have assumed that Shana was trying to harass him like his two brothers.

 

“Harassing you?! Definitely not. I was just joking around a bit.”

 

“Joking?”

 

Bliss asked again with a fierce voice, ready to kill her if she joked about it one more time.

 

“Yes, isn’t it fun?”

 

“What is so funny about this.”

 

“Isn’t the texture interesting……”

 

Shana was sweating.

 

‘Is it that bad?’

 

She applied the fireworks magic used for the festival to biscuits. It was to imitate rock candies that she had eaten in her previous life.

 

It wasn’t dangerous because the magic was applied faintly.

 

However since Bliss had never experienced such texture before, he coughed out in surprise.

 

“From where I used to live- No, I mean this kind of sweets are very popular in faraway countries.”

 

“A biscuit that pops in your mouth?”

 

Bliss didn’t like it.

 

“Of course. Everyone likes it because it’s fun when it pops in our mouths.”

 

Shana took a bite of a biscuit to reassure Bliss.

 

‘Oh, it’s pretty similar, isn’t it?’

 

The texture of the biscuits, which pops irregularly with each bite, reminded her of the candy she had eaten before.

 

‘Next time, I think I can increase the intensity of the spell slightly.’

 

She was thinking of making another snack to eat by herself, not for Bliss.

 

Bliss sighed as he saw her swallow the biscuits casually.

 

“You are so weird.”

 

“Are you upset? I apologize for that.”

 

Shana felt a little sorry and decided to apologize to him.

 

It was her job to elicit various reactions from Bliss, but she had to be careful not to offend him.

 

Bliss fixed his gaze on Shana and said, “You know what? You’re like a mutant.”

 

“……Pardon me?”

 

That came out of nowhere.

 

‘Why does it sound worse than a curse.’

 

Whether Shana was embarrassed or not, Bliss was being serious.

 

“I don’t know why people like you even came here.”

 

I don’t know why I’m here- No, I don’t even know why I’m in this world. Shana swallowed back her words.

 

“You are not fit for living in this separate house. You’re more……”

 

Bliss abruptly stopped talking and bit his lip.

 

“Huh. What kind of biscuit is this in the first place.”

 

He stared at the biscuit in his hand and took another bite. Then he chewed the biscuit with a determined face and didn’t cough in the slightest.

 

As he ate all the biscuits, his brows, which had been scrunched up, gradually eased back to normal.

 

“Would you like to eat one more?”

 

Shana, watching Bliss quietly, asked him carefully.

 

“……I will eat it for the next meditation.”

 

Bliss picked up another biscuit dispassionately.

 

Shana sneaked a smile at Bliss.

 

No matter how hard he pretended to be an adult, he was at an age where he would prefer sweets over rice.

 

The servants in the separate house didn’t make any sweet treats for young Bliss, nor did he ask for it in the first place.

 

Shana looked at Bliss, who kept eating the biscuits and finished the flower crown she had been making.

 

“What’s that?”

 

“A Flower crown. I made it by myself.”

 

Shana smiled proudly as she held the flower crown with both of her hands. Then Bliss’ expression turned strange.

 

“I don’t like it.”

 

“What?”

 

“I wouldn’t wear it, even if I had to die.”

 

Shana blinked, unable to understand his words for a moment.

 

‘Do you think I made a flower crown for you to put on?’

 

She couldn’t understand why he was vehemently refusing.

 

She assumed Bliss found himself wearing a flower crown strange.

 

Shana smiled mischievously.

 

She didn’t intend to ask Bliss to put on the flower crown, it was meant to repay him for providing her with an opportunity to go outside.

 

“Can’t you just wear it for once? I worked really hard on it.”

 

“I don’t want to wear that. Stay away from me.”

 

Bliss backed off slowly.

 

“I think it will look really good on you, Young Master.”

 

“That’s just what you think!”

 

He squealed in rage. An awkward silence fell between both of them in a moment.

 

‘Is that a compliment or an insult?’

 

Shana tilted her head. Bliss was blushing, he was confused by what she said.

 

“Thank you for your words, but rather than me……”

 

Deciding to take it as a compliment, she frowned and glanced at Bliss.

 

“Young Master’s hair resembles the night sky, meanwhile your pupil resembles the sea. How perfect would it be if you put on this flower crown?”

 

She spoke with sincerity. It was true that Bliss was beautiful.

 

Bliss was speechless but his lips moved slightly.

 

The moment Shana was about to put the flower crown on his head……

 

“What a sight to behold.”

 

Surprised by the strange voice that suddenly interrupted them, Shana and Bliss turned around towards the direction of the sound.

 

There stood a middle-aged man with a chilling aura.

 

“Ah, Father.”

 

Bliss called the person with a pale face.

 

Shana’s spine grew cold at the word ‘Father’.

 

‘Is this person Duke Hope?’

 

Jonathan Hope.

 

One of the best wizards in the empire, and the person who imprisoned Bliss in the separate house.

 

She looked at Duke Hope, who appeared without warning with nervous eyes.

 

Indeed, Duke Hope was Bliss’ father in many ways.

 

No, it would be fair to say that Bliss resembled Duke Hope. Bliss closely resembled Duke Hope’s dark hair, blue eyes, and cold eyes.

 

Although his hair had greys here and there, the wrinkles around his eyes and lips were deepened, she could affirm on a single glance that he was a handsome man who broke many women’s hearts when he was young.

 

Duke Hope stared only at Bliss and didn’t care whether Shana was looking at them or not.

 

Bliss bowed his head to the Duke. It seemed as if he was a prisoner who was waiting for his judgment.

 

“You left the separate house with your guide so I came here to see what you were going to do.”

 

The Duke’s gaze fell to Bliss’ hands.

 

After an argument between Bliss and Shana, the duke appeared to see him holding a flower crown that he hadn’t yet released from his hand.

 

“You must have been flirting with your guide.”

 

Bliss shrugged as the duke clicked his tongue.

 

He clutched the flower crown with a face of embarrassment and shame. The delicate flowers crumbled helplessly in his grasp.

 

Shana was antsy. She was the one who played pranks with the flower crown, so the duke should scold her, not Bliss.

 

“Who knew the master of this house would show up without saying a word.”

 

Shana was surprised when she found out that the duke didn’t go to the separate house by accident, but that was because he heard Bliss had gone out.

 

‘Is there anyone who is being used by the duke in the separate house to report Bliss’ every move to him?’

 

‘It’s probably meant for surveillance.’

 

At this point, she understood Bliss, who had been pessimistic about his future, saying he would be confined in this separate house for the rest of his life.

 

Indeed, this was the prison where he was held, and his father was no better than a prison guard.

 

“Bliss. You are such a great child.”

 

Bliss lifted his head slowly. He couldn’t understand what the duke meant by ‘great child’.

 

Naturally, he thought it couldn’t be a compliment, but there was a glimmer in his eyes hoping he was wrong.

 

The foolish expectations were mercilessly shattered by the next words uttered by the duke.

 

“I’ve never thought I’d find myself disappointed in you anymore, but every time I give you a new opportunity, you always find ways to prove me wrong.”

 

Bliss moved his lips slightly. He struggled to answer.

 

“I apologize. Father.”

 

“Don’t call me father. I don’t want to admit someone like you as my child.”

 

Shana swallowed her breath. Still, Bliss was his son who inherited his blood. She was appalled at how the duke could speak so harshly.

 

“……I apologize.”

 

Bliss apologized once again. Shana felt her chest tightened seeing him apologizing for even calling him father.

 

‘How much power do you have to be able to bring Bliss down?’

 

How many harsh words had he said to Bliss until he turned up to be a child who would apologize whenever he was being reprimanded.

 

‘No way.’

 

A thought flashed through Shana’s mind at his obedient attitude without a single objection.

 

‘Did the duke hit Bliss in order to discipline him?’

 

Shana had never seen any signs of physical abuse in Bliss. She couldn’t conclude that it never happened to him just because she had never seen any trace of it.