Unraveling the Knot of Hatred
My heart refused to settle. My thoughts kept straying down tangent paths. Yet, even so, I couldn't tear my eyes away from Carmel. Forcing a mask of composure, I spoke.
"W-well, now that the second question has been wrapped up... let's move on to the next one. Let's see..."
What should I ask next? Even with my mind stripped of its usual clarity, I strained to come up with the most appropriate question for our current situation.
"W-wait a moment... It's... it's not wrapped up yet..."
"Pardon?" What was she talking about? According to the rules of our game, once I was satisfied, that was the end of it. What could possibly be left?
"What do you mean? I fully accept it. I believe that what you said is the truth, Mother... What more is there to—"
"N-no... That's not what I mean...!" Carmel's voice trailed off, her face a picture of desperate frustration. Looking at her expression, a realization dawned on me.
Was she perhaps waiting for some kind of response from me? Did she want to hear how I felt, as a way to properly conclude this step? But if that was the case, I had already told her multiple times... habitually, even. Well, it couldn't be helped. With a slightly fluttering heart, I opened my mouth.
"Ahem... M-my feelings haven't changed in the slightest either... Just as I've told you so many times... I truly l-love everything about you, Mother—from your beautiful body to your unlovely heart..."
Strange. When I had delivered similar lines before, they had flowed far more smoothly. Now, for some reason, it felt incredibly awkward. Regardless, would this suffice as an answer? I immediately studied Carmel's reaction.
"Ngh..." Oh? Her expression was remarkably complex. She looked pleased, yet at the same time, she seemed to want to protest that this wasn't what she meant... In that instant, the truth clicked.
Carmel's naked body was pressed flush against mine. Of all her features, the one that commanded my attention most was her breasts, which could only be described as voluptuous. Her nipples, which I had been teasing so mischievously just moments ago, were still erect to their absolute limit.
Carmel hadn't merely surrendered to shame. She had finally opened her mouth after an agonizing torture of denial, where she was teased mercilessly without ever being given what she truly wanted. In that case, what she was desperately craving right now was...
"Fufu." My mind, which had been wandering in unfamiliar territory, snapped back to its proper place. I lightly tapped her nipples, teasing them as I spoke.
"So that was it. Standing your nipples up like this... Were you really too embarrassed to tell me you wanted to come? How adorable..."
"N-ngh... I... I did everything you asked... Hurry..."
"Yes, you did. You did wonderfully." Looking closely, I noticed something trickling down Carmel's thighs. An undeniable proof of her arousal, impossible to hide in her naked state. Had she gotten wet just from our kiss earlier? A tight, throbbing sensation coiled deep in my lower abdomen. I wanted to see her unravel right this instant.
"Very well, Mother. I will give you what you so desperately desire. So, would you mind climbing up a little higher?" To provide her 'proof' earlier, Carmel had only been half-draped over my upper body.
"Climb higher than this...? That's..."
"Hurry now. Otherwise, I won't do it for you."
Terrified of that threat, Carmel silently shifted her body. She straddled my lap as I sat on the sofa. The heat radiating from where our bodies met was almost scalding.
It was no wonder she had hesitated. It was a position where the slightest movement of her hips would make anyone think we were in the middle of passionate lovemaking. But for Carmel, shame had already been eclipsed by a far more urgent need.
Because she had mounted me completely naked, all of her most private areas were laid bare before my eyes. Straddling me with her legs spread wide made it utterly impossible to hide her most shameful parts. If I lowered my gaze even slightly, her defenseless pussy was fully visible.
Carmel seemed to realize this a moment too late, but she made no attempt to cover herself or shift her posture. She had come too far, and her desperation was too absolute to back out now. Moreover, her large breasts were swaying right before my eyes, perfectly positioned. Her skin, glistening with a fine sheen of sweat, made her already erotic breasts look unspeakably lewd.
Without hesitation, I cupped both of her breasts in my hands and brought one of them to my lips. "You certainly loved it when I did this last time, didn't you? Fufu..."
Carmel's fully engorged nipples were now the perfect size to suckle. I began to draw her nipple into my mouth with a wet, greedy slurp, sucking on it with intense force.
"Ngh...! W-wait... If you suck that hard... ah, ahhn...!" Carmel's thighs clamped tightly around my waist. The intense stimulation, lavished upon nipples that had been teased for so long, easily pushed her over the edge. She reached her climax in an instant.
Once again, as she came, Carmel wrapped her arms tightly around me. Because of our positions, she ended up smothering my face in her breasts, but I had no intention of complaining about such exquisite softness.
"Hngh, ah... Ah, ahhn...! Ngh, mnh...! Haah, aaah!" Her climax didn't end with just one wave. Before the first peak could even subside, the next one crashed over her, layering orgasm upon orgasm. Perhaps it was because I never stopped stimulating her, switching from one breast to the other even as she writhed in pleasure.
Carmel's thighs squeezed me in a vice-like grip, refusing to let go. The sensation of her legs twitching and clamping around me in rhythmic spasms felt surprisingly good.
"Haaah, ah... ugh..." Once I stopped suckling her breasts, Carmel's climax finally seemed to draw to a close. Battered by the violent onslaught of pleasure, tears welled in her eyes. But the situation down below was even more spectacular. A flood of fluid, warm with her body heat, had thoroughly drenched my noble princess gown.
"How messy of you, Mother. Spilling so much water..."
"This is... ngh, because of you... ugh..." Her voice was thick with ragged, erotic pants. Still, she seemed to have recovered just enough energy to glare at me, even if she was still too weak to move.
But I couldn't afford to be lenient. I still had three questions left, and though the night was long, our time was not infinite. Lightly stroking Carmel's back, I spoke.
"Fufu, I assume you are sufficiently satisfied now? Then let's move on to the next question."
"...Yes..." It was time for the third question. I had already decided what to ask.
"Mother, why do you hate Rustier so much?"
In an instant, the flush of heat vanished from Carmel's face, replaced by a chilling coldness. For the current Carmel, this question was undoubtedly akin to touching a live detonator. But I intended to break through her defenses head-on.
"You really know nothing at all, Sera." Carmel's voice was laced with thorns, carrying an undercurrent of inexplicable sorrow.
Hmm, seeing her make an expression like that while completely naked is actually quite exquisite. Keeping that thought strictly to myself, I replied in a serious tone.
"If there is something I do not know, please tell me. That is exactly why I am asking."
Carmel let out a deep sigh before answering. "Because I despise seeing everyone wallowing in happiness, taking hundreds of years of peace for granted. Because I simply want to watch everything on this land burn to ashes. What will you do if that is my answer?"
Her voice was as sharp as a winter wind. I had expected such a reaction, but those words were not the truth. In fact, there might not even be a real reason behind it.
If I were to follow the rules of our game, this would be the perfect moment to begin 'punishing' her. But I chose not to. Through the vision from earlier, I had witnessed a glimpse of how the hatred toward Rustier had taken root inside Carmel.
When she was still young and desperate for her mother's approval, hatred had insidiously seeped into the young girl's heart. She had learned the reasons to hate, sometimes even fabricating them herself. After so many years, that hatred had undoubtedly become an inseparable part of who Carmel was.
To deny or tear that hatred away might feel to her like destroying a piece of her very soul. Yet, even if abandoning her hatred entirely was impossible, the shackles of Mistylia had to be broken. Every ounce of my effort up until now had been for this exact purpose.
Looking up calmly into Carmel's icy eyes, I spoke. "I am going to break Mistylia, Mother. No matter how powerful the curse is, I will find a way."
"Indeed, you must be terrified. After all, I am the living curse of Rustier itself."
"No, I am not doing this for Rustier."
Carmel narrowed her eyes, staring down at me. Perhaps she already anticipated what I was about to say next.
"I am doing it for you, Mother. I will personally save you from this curse of hatred you are trapped in."
Carmel's face clouded with a complicated mixture of emotions. Or perhaps my declaration had simply displeased her. Seizing the moment, I threw out my next question like a sudden strike.
"So, Mother, tell me how to lift the Mistylia curse."
"Ha? You're asking me that? Besides, that goes beyond the scope of the questions we agreed on! Did you forget we're only supposed to ask questions about me?"
"Then let me rephrase. Mother, do you know how to lift the curse of Mistylia?"
"T-that..." I recognized this reaction. Besides, it didn't matter whether her answer was 'yes' or 'no'. I had no intention of believing her until she actually revealed the method anyway. Arbitrary rules were truly convenient.
"Can't answer? Fufu, in that case..." I began to move the hands that had been gently caressing her back. Down her body, sliding lower and lower.