The Duke and Duchess, who had noticed the relationship between Ciella and Klein because of Bianca’s words, headed to the ducal house first with satisfied smiles on their lips.

She could have returned to the Roxburrow mansion with her parents as well, but she didn’t because there were still many conversations left to resolve with Klein.

However, now that only the two of them remained, she felt embarrassed. Having heard all those confessions, she was too shy to face him directly.

“Why are you being so embarrassed? I should be the one feeling shame, shouldn’t I? You must have heard all of my story.”

When she fidgeted and paced around near the door, Klein chuckled softly.

“That’s right. That’s why I’m staying here like this to have a conversation with you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have wanted to see your face, would I?”

“Hearing that makes me feel hurt. Don’t you think about the effort I made to restore your body?”

Ciella made a mischievous expression, and Klein’s hand approached to gently cup her cheek.

“Actually… I’m feeling grateful. You were the one who saved me when my soul was trapped in Cookie’s body.”

Rubbing her face gently against his softly stroking hand, Ciella smiled with slight embarrassment.

“You can think of it as an apology for the wrong I committed against you.”

“An apology?”

She had received much help from Klein, but she couldn’t particularly recall anything he had done wrong to her.

“The day our bodies switched, I think I gave you an irreparable wound, so it kept weighing on my mind. I was truly sorry.”

Only after hearing his words did she realize. Ah, she had been hurt that day.

But she too would have misunderstood and acted hurtfully in the same situation. The one who did wrong wasn’t him, but that woman who had possessed her body.

“That was an unavoidable situation. So I accepted it too.”

“No, I hurt you deeply. So from the moment I realized our bodies had switched, I wanted to keep apologizing.”

Klein’s eyes looking at Ciella trembled finely. She could feel it sufficiently just from his gaze. That he was truly sorry.

“I’ll accept your apology. I think I can consider it repaid by how you saved me.”

Ciella lowered the hand that had been stroking her cheek and gently wrapped it with both hands. Since his hand was trembling slightly, she wanted to convey her warmth to him. That it was okay. So he shouldn’t worry.

“Then that’s fortunate.”

Only then did Klein’s stiff expression relax, and this time he sent her an expectant gaze.

“So what’s your answer?”

“Answer?”

Since the conversation had suddenly jumped in a different direction, Ciella tilted her head and asked.

“Now that you know all of my feelings, shouldn’t you give me an answer? I’m getting tired of waiting and my insides are burning black.”

The appearance of the man who had been apologetic just moments before disappeared, and now she could only see a man who was completely anxious before her.

“Are you curious about my feelings?”

Last time, she thought she had shown her heart by licking his lips, but that seemed to have been her own delusion.

“Of course.”

“Hmm…”

Let him suffer a little more.

Separate from accepting his apology, she hadn’t completely forgotten being hurt by his harsh words yet.

She had only temporarily forgotten due to all the incidents and accidents, but Ciella recalled that Klein had said hurtful things to her. So he too needed to wait anxiously.

Ciella tilted her head slightly and pretended to think for a moment. He waited for her answer with an anxious expression without saying anything.

“I’ll head back for today.”

She turned around with an expression that said it wouldn’t work, and a mischievous smile appeared on Ciella’s face as she turned her back to Klein.

“That won’t do.”

As expected, Klein grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward him. Her body stumbled and she fell into his embrace.

Ciella’s heart began to race as it touched his firm abs.

If Klein heard her heartbeat, he would immediately notice her feelings. So it would be better to stop the teasing here and confess honestly before that.

“Honestly… I didn’t think you would like me. I clearly said I disliked you back then.”

Ciella conveyed her honest feelings.

“Right, whenever I saw you my mood would twist, so naturally I thought you disliked me. But when I didn’t see you, I felt like sh*t and was going crazy. So maybe that’s why I tormented you with harsh words every time I saw you.”

Klein shook his head back and forth like he found it ridiculous even to himself.

“I probably didn’t want to admit that I liked you. You were a woman I had despised so much.”

Loneliness began to settle in the gaze he was looking at her with.

Soon after, he briefly told her about his mother. What kind of woman she was, and that the possessed woman’s appearance resembled her.

“I disliked you because I thought you resembled the woman I hated most, but Ciella, I was glad that you didn’t resemble her at all.”

“I had no idea there were such circumstances.”

This was the first time Ciella had heard this story. She had only known that her father opposed it simply because he was illegitimate.

So now she seemed to understand why he had looked at her with such murderous eyes when they first met in his bedroom. Why he had done such extreme things like releasing a snake or choking her neck.

“So I couldn’t help but be confused. The appearance I hated disappeared, and instead you kept stimulating my nerves, and I couldn’t stop my gaze from going to you without realizing it.”

“If I had known earlier, I could have understood you much sooner.”

“Why are you saying such unsettling things? I already know you don’t have feelings for me, but I’ll refuse words of rejection.”

Klein didn’t seem to think that Ciella would naturally like him.

Well, given the words he had spat out before, it was understandable that he would think that way.

“Even though you thought I disliked you, you still thought of helping me?”

“If I said I said those things hoping you would look at me a little, would you give me your heart?”

“I wonder.”

When Klein raised just the corner of his mouth with an innocent expression, Ciella shrugged her shoulders.

“I’m joking. Actually, I just helped. A world without you seemed terrible.”

His previously playful expression became quite serious.

“…”

“So please continue to stay by my side.”

When Ciella didn’t give any answer, Klein’s voice became increasingly desperate.

Is this enough?

Ciella, who had been looking at him intently, smiled softly and nodded. Then she pulled his collar and kissed him. It was a careful kiss with their breaths mingling.

The texture of his lips was soft and sweet, making her feel good. It was a sensation she hadn’t felt in a long time. She didn’t know how much she had missed it.

The lips that had briefly touched separated. At a distance where their breaths mingled, they looked at each other.

One corner of Klein’s mouth rose and he smiled with satisfaction. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, and their lips touched again.

Like stamping a seal, he briefly pressed his lips down on hers with soft sounds. Each time their lips touched, the time they rubbed together grew longer, and then he came deep inside.

The moist penetrating sensation gently stirred the inside and ravaged every place. It gradually began to become rough like a starving person.

It was so ecstatic that she wondered if getting her body back was a dream. She wanted him to come more intensely to realize that she was alive.

Ciella wrapped her arms around Klein’s neck and went deeper into him.

“Mmm.”

The feeling of melting in his embrace led to thrilling shivers. The lingering kiss stopped when they became breathless.

Hah, hah. While Ciella exhaled rough breaths, Klein lowered his upper body and blew hot breath near her ear. While Ciella’s body trembled finely, he buried his lips in her nape and began to suck roughly.

“Ah!”

When he roughly bit, sucked, and licked her skin, goosebumps rose on her body. Short moans flowed from Ciella’s lips.

Klein’s lips, which had persistently bitten and clung, only separated after leaving reddish marks on Ciella’s nape.

“Don’t talk about breaking off the engagement anymore. I just marked you as mine, so you can’t escape me now. I love you.”

His low rumbling voice stimulated her ear.

“I love you too.”

When Ciella slowly nodded, their lips touched again.

Since it was a kiss after their hearts connected for the first time, it felt special.

The air heated up hotly. Her body trembled before the hot heat.

They carefully embraced each other’s bodies, and the warmth of him holding her tightly was warm. Enough that she never wanted to let go forever.

fin.