An Overwhelming Kiss
It was the most natural reaction in the world.
It wasn’t a trivial sum. It was two billion gold.
He had borrowed that staggering amount to purchase that damned doll. Hadn’t he stood before the royal family and boldly declared he would repay it the moment he returned?
Yet here he was, changing his story and claiming he could not pay. He would have had no defense even if the other party drew a blade.
“I’m sorry. Just give me a little more time…”
“Do you truly expect me to accept that?”
Ren’s tone turned vicious at once. He discarded the polite mask of an employee and revealed a razor-sharp smile.
“You promised to repay me the moment you reached the palace. I trusted those words and lent you the money.”
I know. That’s exactly what happened.
Canna clutched her throbbing temples.
“I’m truly sorry, but circumstances have changed. It’s impossible right now. Please, just give me time.”
“I am a mercenary who sells both my body and my time, my lady. Yet I have already wasted far too much of it.”
“……”
“Our contract was only meant to last while you remained in Bryzk Territory. Instead, I abandoned the fief and followed you all the way to the capital just to collect that cursed debt.”
Every word was painfully reasonable. She had no ground to stand on.
He had already sacrificed too much time. The only reason he had tolerated it this long was probably goodwill.
Goodwill that had even led him to lend her money…
“I’m truly sorry for the trouble I’ve caused. Just a little more time and I’ll prepare the sum somehow.”
“Time.”
He echoed the word in a low murmur.
“I cannot give you that.”
“…Ren.”
“However, I can take payment in another form.”
The hardness in Ren’s face suddenly melted away like snow under spring sun. He smiled, gentle and sweet, and made his proposal.
“Shall we?”
“Right now I have nothing to give…”
“You do.”
He gave a small nod.
“You.”
Canna’s eyes widened.
In that instant, Ren pushed off the door he had been leaning against. His long legs carried him across the room in swift strides until he stood directly before her. Then he bent at the waist, bringing their eyes level.
“If we simply continue what we stopped last time, I believe I could consider the debt paid in full.”
Canna stared at him for a long moment, then her eyes curved into a soft laugh. The next words that left her lips dripped with biting mockery.
“Men really are all the same. Every last one of you—your heads are filled with the exact same filth.”
Ren let out a low chuckle, as if her insult genuinely amused him.
“Ah, yes. You know us well. So obvious. All of us vulgar creatures. Think whatever you like.”
“I will repay the money I borrowed, one way or another.”
Canna reached out and seized his chin.
“So wait.”
“……”
“Wait for me.”
For a single heartbeat, bewilderment flickered through Ren’s eyes.
The fingers against his chin were far too gentle. He had nearly blurted out all right.
Even if she made the absurd request to borrow yet more money, he felt he would have nodded like a fool.
Irritation surged through him. Was he not simply choosing one losing move after another?
Lending out two billion gold without a shred of collateral had been insanity from the start.
Ren no longer wished to continue this parade of foolishness. At the very least, he had to resist.
So he reached out and cupped her cheek in return.
“Very well.”
He lowered his head. The distance between them shrank slowly.
Their gazes collided at an almost unbearable proximity.
“I’ll wait. So let us settle the account with this much.”
Like a mischievous boy, he smiled wickedly and whispered.
“If you’re afraid, you may run.”
He expected a slap.
Instead, Canna simply looked up at him and smiled—a smile that said his threat was utterly ridiculous.
Then she grabbed the back of his head, yanked him down, and crushed her lips against his.
“…!”
For an instant, Ren’s vision went white as though he had been struck. He could think of nothing. He could feel nothing. The shock was that absolute.
Yet the moment her scent flooded over him like a tidal wave, his senses roared back to life. The mingling of breath and skin was impossibly sweet. Dizzying.
It swept through every part of him. Pride, defiance, every rational thought—it all crumbled into dust. All that remained was overwhelming ecstasy.
When she began to pull away, Ren reached out desperately. He dragged her waist forward. His voice came out like a plea.
“A little more… please…”
Their lips met again. The soft sensation made his mind go blank. God, it feels so good I might lose my mind…
But the next moment, a firm hand shoved his shoulder.
All sensation vanished like foam on water. A gut-wrenching sense of loss surged up from his stomach in a silent groan.
“What?”
Ren opened his eyes. Canna’s face filled his vision, staring at him with a strange expression.
“Why are you crying?”
Crying?
With a trembling hand, Ren touched his own face. His fingertips came away wet. Tears had fallen without him even noticing.
He stared blankly at his damp fingers.
Why did I cry?
Surely not because…
It felt too good?
Heat exploded across his face. His mind snapped back into focus. Crying from joy after nothing more than a kiss?
Shame scorched every inch of his body. He began to tremble for an entirely different reason than before.
Yet he could not deny it. A moment ago, he had completely lost his reason.
Of course it had felt good. The pleasure he had drawn from a mere kiss was almost unbelievable.
But to cry like an idiot?
“Why are you crying?” she asked again, clearly puzzled.
After a long pause, Ren forced his voice into something resembling calm.
“Something flew into my eye.”
She clearly did not believe him. When Canna’s gaze turned suspicious, Ren spun away quickly.
“Prepare the money at the earliest possible date.”
“I will.”
Damn it all.
Ren muttered a curse and began to walk, only to stagger violently. He braced himself against the wall just in time. His legs had gone completely weak.
“Kuh… ahem.”
“……”
“Hmm, hmm.”
Behind him came the sound of Canna nearly bursting into laughter before she hastily swallowed it. She was pretending to clear her throat out of supposed consideration.
Damn it.
His ears burned crimson. He wanted to slam his head into the wall and die.
Without the courage to look back, he walked faster. He practically fled the room.
Unlike Ren, who had even shed tears, Canna felt neither agitation nor sentiment. She simply found the whole thing rather amusing.
To think he had imagined her as some innocent maiden who would tremble at a mere light kiss.
And then he himself had been the one sobbing. He was worse than a boy going through puberty…
That was the end of it. The moment Ren left, Canna began investigating the incident.
“It’s strange. It was definitely locked when I checked this morning.”
The maid spoke in clear confusion.
“This morning while dusting the doorknob, I confirmed the lock was engaged…”
The guards gave the same account.
“No one entered the room except the cleaning maid. I stood inside and watched while she cleaned.”
Canna reported the matter to the royal knight order.
An investigator arrived shortly afterward. It was a woman she knew well—someone with whom she shared a rather close relationship.
“The safe’s lock has been completely destroyed.”
“Has it?”
“Yes. It wasn’t pried open with a sword or tool. The metal was literally torn apart by hand.”
“…Is that even possible?”
“I’ve never seen anything like it either. Moreover, judging by the broken edges, this was accomplished in a single attempt.”
The investigator murmured as though she could scarcely believe her own findings.
“They broke solid iron with one application of force. And without much difficulty, at that.”
“……”
“The door is the same. The latch has been utterly shattered. They forced the knob until the locking mechanism broke.”
The investigator’s expression grew grave.
“This is no ordinary thief, Councilor. There are almost no people in this world capable of such a feat.”
“I suppose not.”
“I will report this to my superiors, but assigning personnel to the investigation immediately will be difficult. The Holy Spirit arrives tomorrow, you see…”
“…The Holy Spirit is attending the engagement ceremony?”
“Yes. Her Majesty the Queen made a personal request.”
“I see.”
“Everyone is on edge because of it. You know how it is with the new Holy Spirit… and how he rose to that position.”
Canna offered no reply.
The investigator gave a stiff, tense smile, as though merely thinking about it made her nervous.
“The world has changed greatly, hasn’t it?”
The following day, early morning.
Ren woke from sleep.
He sat up and yawned, then ran a hand through his disheveled white hair as he swung his legs off the bed.
At that moment, something cold brushed against his toes.
Ren lifted his foot.
It was a necklace.
He stared down at it, then slid off the bed and crouched low. Lifting the drooping bedsheet, he peered underneath.
“……”
There, countless pieces of gold and jewels sparkled in the shadows.