A Kiss of Redemption
It was soft. And it tasted good. If it was Lucian’s love, then it was only right to return it a hundred times, a thousand times over. After all, Carla was Lucian’s mother. And Carla loved Lucian. But the love of that beastly, horny, insane Grand Duke bastard? Return something like that? To Carla?
‘That bastard’s love is nothing but excreted human waste that can’t even serve as fertilizer for the fields.’
You couldn’t wrap up garbage and present it as a gift. The reason Carla had been going mad all this time was because she had been craving that shit-like man’s love and gnawing away at herself from the inside. If that was the case, the answer was simple. What Carla needed was an entirely different kind of love—one that was pure and flawless.
I carefully took hold of Carla’s trembling shoulders as she sat collapsed on the floor.
“My lady. Please stand up.”
With my support, Carla rose to her feet with great effort. There was no trace of the dignity of a Grand Duchess left in her. She looked like a wounded, abandoned creature. Carla kept her head bowed low and spoke in a frail voice.
“Earlier… I’m sorry.”
Moisture clung to the end of her cracked voice.
“It must have been awful to hear… I was out of my mind and spat out things no better than a beast would say. I dug into your wounds… I’m truly sorry.”
She was apologizing for the viciously sexual insults and accusations she had hurled at me. The self-loathing for saying things she should never have said to the person who had risked their life for her made Carla’s face even paler.
“It’s all right, my lady. Please don’t keep it in your heart.”
At my calm reply, Carla shook her head weakly.
“This… will probably be our final goodbye.”
Carla forced a faint smile.
“I’m leaving. For the capital. To my father’s house. I will never return to this North, to this room… ever again.”
Carla was resolute. And at the very end, after letting go of everything she possessed, she left me with a heartbreaking request.
“Please… take care of Lucian.”
“…My lady.”
“Even without me, love that child the way you have until now. No—without a mother like me by his side, he’ll be far happier.”
Tears welled up and fell, meeting my gaze.
“And… thank you, Sena… for embracing Lucian in my place and loving him all this time.”
What must it feel like for a mother to bow her head and entrust her child to the very rival who stole him from her? To the woman who took her own son?
Thud—.
Was it the male instinct triggered by the fact that my core was still a twenty-eight-year-old man? Or was it pure compassion and a protective urge toward this tragic woman who had lost everything and shattered so miserably?
Whatever the reason, my body moved before my head could even process the situation. I pulled the swaying Carla—who looked ready to turn away—into my arms with force.
Swish.
“…Huh?”
The moment Carla let out a startled breath, I firmly supported the back of her neck and, without hesitation, pressed my lips deeply onto her trembling ones.
Chuu.
“……!!!!”
It was soft. And it tasted good. The flavor of the tears sliding down her cheeks touched the tip of my tongue.
“Mmph…!”
I kissed her greedily, as if I would devour her so deeply she couldn’t even breathe.
Ha…
As our lips rubbed together, I realized the emotion bursting from the depths of my soul.
I’ve fallen in love.
With this woman. With this pitiful, dazzlingly beautiful woman who had been abandoned by her husband, rejected by her son, and was now trying to leave after giving up on everything. I wanted to save her with my absolute love—love powerful enough to make her forget all about that Grand Duke bastard’s trash-like excrement.
“Mmph…! Mmm…!”
Caught off guard by the sudden, violent kiss, Carla’s eyes flew wide open and she froze. Her hands flew up in surprise to push my shoulders, but she couldn’t overcome my strength. After all, I was currently in Sena’s body.
“Haa…”
Only after stealing Carla’s breath for a long while did I slowly pull my lips away. A thin strand of saliva stretched and then broke. Carla looked up at me with a dazed expression, panting.
Her previously pale cheeks and lips were now flushed bright red with unbelievable shock and heat.
“Se-Sena…? What the hell are you…!”
She stammered, unable to process what had just happened right in front of her. It was understandable—the concubine she had spent her whole life jealous of and harboring mixed feelings for had suddenly kissed her.
“You’ve warmed up now.”
I smiled as I gently wiped her wet, reddened lips with my thumb.
“My lady. Remember this.”
“…Huh?”
“It’s not over yet. Please wait for me.”
Without giving her a chance to protest, I turned and walked out of Carla’s bedroom, leaving her alone. Even as I closed the door, the image of her blank face—sitting there in shock, touching her lips—wouldn’t leave my mind.
Creak. Thud.
Carla’s door closed, and I stepped out into the corridor of the Grand Duke’s residence. And then—
“Ah.”
My head snapped to the side, and I tasted blood in my mouth again.
“Spicy.”
I staggered, clutching my cheek. The struck area burned like it was on fire. The real Sena’s body, which had been sleeping inside me, had immediately punished me for the blasphemous act of harboring lust toward the mistress she served and shoving a tongue into her.
“Not hitting me more?”
But the body only struck me once and didn’t raise its hand again. Sena’s soul had probably been at a loss seeing Carla break down like that earlier. It seemed she judged that my extreme prescription in that situation wasn’t entirely wrong. After receiving just one blow as punishment, I strangely felt even better.
I rubbed my tingling cheek and walked down the corridor with calm steps. My footsteps were so light I felt like humming. Once I felt good, mischief kicked in. I threw a cheeky internal joke toward the self of the body that had just punished me.
“Hey, Sena.”
The body showed no answer, only tension.
“But damn, Lady Carla’s lips were incredibly soft. Smelled nice too.”
Twitch!
I felt the body’s heart rate spike.
“Hey, teach me how to masturbate when we get to the room later. It’s my first time doing it with a woman’s body, so I have no clue. After tasting her lips, I’m seriously horny now.”
The instant I spat that vulgar, low-class joke inside my head—
“Ack!!”
The body that had supposedly decided not to hit me twice had finally snapped and delivered another merciless blow.
You vulgar bastard……!!!!
It felt like I could hear an enraged voice—whether hallucination or the body’s own thought, I wasn’t sure. Beeep—.
Ah, so it was tinnitus.
With bright red handprints blazing on both cheeks, I walked down the corridor giggling like a madman. My cheeks hurt like they were burning, but the heavy congestion that had been crushing my chest felt like it had been blown wide open.
I roughly wiped the blood pooled at the corner of my mouth with my sleeve and hurried toward the nursery.
“Oh my, Sena! What happened to your cheeks? Did someone hit you?!”
The moment I returned to the nursery, Maryse, who saw the clear handprints on both my cheeks, rushed over.
“Ah, haha… You already know, don’t you?”
“Ah, the lady…”
I casually took Lucian from Maryse’s arms.
“Young master, were you having a good time?”
“Abu! Mama!”
The instant he was in my arms, Lucian laughed brightly and stretched out his short, chubby arms to hug my neck. I patted his bottom lightly and walked over to the large window in the nursery. Located on the second floor of the Grand Duke’s residence, the nursery offered a full view of the wide front yard and the main gate.
“………”
The scene outside the window was extremely busy. A carriage bearing the crest of Carla’s family was visible. Dozens of servants and knights moved in perfect order, endlessly loading luggage onto two massive traveling carriages. Preparations for Carla’s departure to her family in the capital were proceeding without a hitch.
Her exclusive escort knights already stood in strict guard around the luggage carriages.
So she really is leaving today.
The plan I had originally set up remained unchanged in its essence: tonight, I would take Lucian to Carla’s bedroom, have an honest conversation, and restore the mother-son relationship. The only difference was that the touching reconciliation would not take place in this suffocating northern Grand Duke’s residence.
I looked down at the busy servants’ heads through the glass and smiled.
That Grand Duke bastard. Even getting beaten won’t change him.
What kind of poison could I feed that insane Grand Duke bastard? Divorce papers? Assassination? No. There was only one answer.
Loss.
The wife he had torn apart and ignored—Carla. The only bloodline and heir of the Grand Duke’s house—Lucian. And the number one woman he had obsessed over, bound, and tried to possess for decades—Sena.
All three of them vanishing from the Grand Duke’s grasp in a single night. Everything he believed he owned inside the castle he ruled disappearing like a mirage, leaving only an empty shell behind.
“Maryse.”
I turned away from the window.
“What is it, Sena?”
“Thank you for everything.”
“So suddenly?”
“Yes, well… suddenly.”
That day, I sent Maryse home early. The carriage carrying Carla left through the gates of the Grand Duke’s residence. By evening, only Lucian and I remained in the nursery.
I stroked Lucian’s plump cheeks as he lay quietly in the cradle babbling, and stared at the cold northern evening sun slowly sinking outside the window.
We’re escaping tonight.
I began roughly packing our belongings in a large cloth. Almost everything was Lucian’s toys, soft blankets, and diaper cloths. My own luggage amounted to just a few changes of clothes.
While packing, I spoke to Sena’s body.
“Hey, Sena. You’re listening, right? We don’t have time. The lady’s carriage left before sunset. If we don’t move now, it’ll be hard to catch up. I’ll just tell you straight.”
Sena had somewhat expected it, but fear made her tremble.
“We’re leaving the Grand Duke’s residence. We’re leaving Lumikan.”
Shudder.
“We’re taking Lucian with us. Don’t try to stop me like last time.”
The body shook violently.
“You were the one who told Lady Carla to return that love, right? You asked her to repay the debt. This is the path to repaying it, so don’t strangle me or drag me out the window like before.”
The moment I made it clear that taking Lucian was an act of atonement toward Carla, the body’s violent tremors gradually subsided. Then, very slowly, my head nodded downward. Sena’s ego had agreed to my plan.
“Good. I’ll leave control of the body to you while we chase them. Catch up to the lady’s carriage. I don’t know the way. You know it best.”
I chuckled and securely wrapped Lucian in a sling, carrying him on my back.
“What? Worried about Lumikan? That bastard needs to grow up. This is discipline. He has to lose something precious before he comes to his senses. We’ll make him crawl on the ground, kneel before Lady Carla, and beg.”
At my words, Sena’s body gave another small nod.
And then—
Thank you.
For doing what I could never bring myself to do… for having the courage.
I smiled quietly at the invisible letters written on my open left palm.
“All right, shall we go?”
I threw open the large window of the nursery. The cold night wind of the North slapped my cheeks fiercely. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
“I’m counting on you.”
I completely handed control of the body over to Sena.
In that instant, my body became light as a feather and, without hesitation, stepped onto the windowsill and leaped. To keep Lucian from waking, the body absorbed the impact with flexible strength and lightly landed on the high outer wall of the Grand Duke’s residence.
The northern forest lay thick with darkness. Sena’s body began racing toward the direction Carla’s carriage had gone, cutting through the wind at terrifying speed.