There is no happy ending

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EPISODE:3.1

Bianca wiped away her tears with a modicum of dignity. It wasn’t Bianca’s taste to keep crying when she didn’t know when Bliss would return.

It wasn’t long before Bliss returned. He had a bottle of champagne in his hand, just like he said.

Bliss didn’t notice Bianca’s tears until the end.

‘I’m tired.’

Bianca’s words slipped out like a sigh as she looked at his blank face.

Her mind was spinning faster than ever, but she was exhausted. She hadn’t realized how emotionally draining a conversation could be.

She didn’t want to waste any more energy. She’d shown him everything she had to show him.

‘Maybe you should go back.’

Words that still don’t worry me.

Bianca considers spilling the champagne he’s holding over Bliss’s robes.

Instead, she drained her glass and slipped out onto the terrace. Bliss followed her. There was one empty glass left on the terrace.

Bianca was escorted back to the Marquis de Moenings by Bliss. Bliss kissed Bianca briefly on the forehead in front of everyone before leaving the Marquis’s mansion.

Bliss’s lips, however, meant nothing. Bianca knew that well.

She was under no illusions, and she shouldn’t be.

Bianca hadn’t forgotten their conversation earlier. After all, the audience for Bianca and Bliss’s ‘window’ included their families.

They were being careful because it would be within earshot of their families. So you can’t make it mean anything to yourself.

The Moening Mansion’s occupants were briefly surprised by the earlier-than-expected return home.

Bianca had never returned so early from any party before. Usually, she stayed until the party was over.

One of the maids, Jade, noticed that Bianca’s face was unusually pinched and tired.

Thanks to Jade’s shrewdness, Bianca quickly changed back into her nightgown and got into bed.

She said she was tired, but she wasn’t ok at all. As she lay in bed, she kept……, and kept thinking Bliss’s face.

Why did Bliss’s cold words and face keep breaking Bianca’s heart? Bianca didn’t know why.

‘Let’s sleep.

When her mind was racing, it was good to escape into sleep.

Light a scented candle, anoint yourself with fine rose water, keep calm, and sleep soundly.

Just as Bianca was about to pull the string, she heard a knock on the door.

Bianca sat up in bed, savoring the cold sensation of her blood running cold all over her body.

‘……Who is it?’

A stealthy voice came from beyond Bianca’s door.

‘Lady, it’s me. Nicholas.’

It was Sir Nicholas, Bianca’s bodyguard. He was also the knight Bianca had sent on her errand.

When she recognized his voice, she felt a surge of anger rush through her, but her instincts told her to keep it in check for now.

Bianca believed in rigorous reason over instinct or sensation, but she knew very well that it was better to follow her instincts when they reacted this way.

‘What is it?’

Bianca asked. Nicholas’s voice, unable to hide his embarrassment, replied.

‘…… I think I found the girl you ordered last time.’

Bianca’s hand trembled at his words. She didn’t realize it, but there it was.

The woman she’d been searching for.
.

Bianca had only ordered one thing from Nicholas recently. To find the woman Bliss Winston was seeing.

And he did, today?

Bliss had been with Bianca earlier, surely, but what did he mean by finding her now?

‘Miss?’

After Bianca’s silence, Nicholas called out to her again. Bianca snapped to attention at his call.

She shook her head slowly, feeling embarrassed and …… stupid for letting her mind wander for a moment to hear something she didn’t want to hear.

Should I listen now, she thought, but Bianca shook her head. She didn’t want to listen.

If she listened, she knew she really wouldn’t be able to do anything tonight……. If it was a run, it was a run.

‘Come back tomorrow. It’s getting late, isn’t it?’

‘…….’

‘Don’t you know when to come?’

She hated sleepless nights.

I hated knowing it was Bliss’s fault, and I hated knowing I couldn’t do anything about it.

I hated that I would be a disheveled mess by the end of the night.

Bianca had to be perfect all the time, everywhere. The last thing she needed was a day of sleeplessness and patchy skin.

‘Tomorrow…….’

Bianca’s gaze flicked to the mirror on the dressing table in her room.

A petite woman, dressed in a pure white silk nightgown, stared back at her, a face so fierce and glamorous it was hard to find a shred of it.

Just a mesmerized look on her face.

Funny, she thought.

Funny. Funny that Bianca, who had always been perfect, was looking like this because of one man, Bliss Winston.

Bianca laughed self-deprecatingly. But the only one who could hear her laugh was Bianca.

Bianca closed her eyes.

‘Right after I finish breakfast. Yes, that would be a good time. I’ll call on …….’

‘As you command.’

Footsteps sounded distant beyond the doorway. Bianca sat up and turned her head toward the door.

That night, Bianca could not fall asleep. No matter how many times she closed her eyes, Bliss’s words, Nicholas’s words, stayed in her memory, yes…….

Bianca remembered the words she had heard all night, Bliss’s face, Eris’s words.

she said.

I almost hoped so.

I wish I had a worse memory. Then I would have forgotten what Eris said.

I wish I could have forgotten the look on her face, the look that was intended to make Bianca’s head muddle. I wish I could have forgotten the coldness of Bliss’s gaze and voice that pierced my heart.

If only my memory was a little worse…….

****** I’ll never forget.

It was the first time Bianca had ever slept through the night with her eyes open, no matter how busy she was.

Her body felt heavy and weak. But her mind, which had been lost in thought, was clearer than ever.

Bianca glanced at the window where the sun was rising, then turned away. she stroked her cheeks in the mirror.

My eyes were blue from lack of sleep and fatigue. I don’t like the cloudiness of the whites. My skin is rougher than yesterday.

I wanted to rest. I should have canceled everything today, but I didn’t want to miss work just because I was tired.

‘It’s not a big deal.’

Bianca told herself as she looked in the mirror, feeling vaguely anxious. Nothing she said made any sense to her.

Suddenly, Bianca felt that she had to look more glamorous than anyone else today, and for no reason.

Bianca tugged on the string. It meant she was up.

Soon a maid came to Bianca’s room with a basin of water. Bianca allowed herself to be touched and groomed by the maid.

‘I think you should take more care with my make-up today.’

‘Yes, miss.’

‘Don’t you think my eyes look a little blue?’

‘Of course not, you look lovely today.’

‘You have a way with words.’

In the maid’s eyes, Bianca’s beauty was still there. But Bianca thought that couldn’t be true. There were many things she didn’t like about herself.

It was only when she was impeccably groomed that Bianca left the door, heading for the dining room. The Marquis and Marquise of Moening were dining in the dining room of Moening Manor.

Bianca pulled the corners of her mouth into a smile.

‘Good evening, Mother and Father.’

‘Yes, my dear Bibi.’

‘Did you sleep well, Bibi?’

The gentle greeting greeted Bianca. Bianca smiled in return.

One would expect a family of high nobility to be flawed, but the Moening Family was so harmonious that it seemed to laugh at their ideas.

The Marquis and Marquise got along well, and there was love between them. Bianca was the only child of the Marquis and Marquise, and she was loved by both of them.

This was a fact that would not change after her death, so Bianca was very used to being loved. The love that began with her parents had never dried up.

Bianca walked up to the Marquis and kissed them on the cheek. It was a good morning greeting.

‘Good morning,’ she said, ‘I had some champagne last night, so I guess I’m still a little tipsy.’

‘I was worried you looked a little tired.’

‘I heard you went to the royal ball with Duke Winston last night, but I didn’t see ……. I know we got there a little late, but what happened?’

‘Bliss and I were on the terrace for a while, and that’s when you must have come because we came straight home after we left the terrace.’

It’s a simple lie. It wasn’t a complete lie, but it wasn’t like nothing had happened either.

But Bianca wasn’t going to talk about it. Bianca smiled and sat down.

As she enjoyed her leisurely breakfast, Bianca thought.

Now, here. What would Marquise’s face be like if she told her that Bliss Winston was seeing a woman other than Bianca Moening-and perhaps…… that he was taking her quite seriously?

The Marquise’s face would be cold, and the Marquis would be furious.