KISS THE SCUMBAG Chapter 27

As he rode, the familiar scenery of Delight flitted by on both sides. Only then did the tightness in his chest begin to ease. For a while, he spurred his horse on like that, galloping through the vast grounds of Delights.

Just as he had hoped, his cluttered mind quickly emptied, and Winston felt a sense of liberation. Before he knew it, he had ridden quite far from the mansion. Coming back to his senses, he turned his horse around to return.

But his moment of carelessness was his undoing. Winston had taken a wrong turn. By the time he realized he had steered his horse in the wrong direction, it was already too late. The small annex, which he hadn’t visited in years, came into view. Just like that day, the moment that had completely upended his life.

∞ ∞ ∞

“Winston, where are you going? It’s almost time for your tutor to arrive!”

At his mother’s urgent call, Winston shouted back without slowing his horse, merely turning his head.

“I’ll be back in time! Lancelot says he really wants to run today!”

“Lancelot can’t talk, you know….”

Mrs. Campbell said with a sigh, but Winston was already far off, having vanished from sight. Even as she sighed, a bitter smile rose on her face. Her youngest son, overflowing with talent in many areas, particularly loved horseback riding; he had been riding so skillfully that even professionals were amazed, despite having learned for only a few months. Everyone marveled at the way he connected with the horse, as if they were actually conversing, and every time that happened, Mrs. Campbell felt an indescribable sense of pride.

That child will surely manifest as a top-tier Alpha.

She had a strong conviction. There was no basis for it, but her intuition had never been wrong. Winston would manifest as a top-tier Alpha, inherit the family estate, and eventually ascend to the highest position.

Even imagining it gave her chills of excitement. None of the other children she had given birth to had manifested, but Winston was different. Harold was also keeping a close watch on the boy’s superior talent and potential. His son’s future was a smooth, open road.

I should tell them to prepare lemonade for when he returns.

She turned and went back inside the mansion. A hum appropriate for her light footsteps spilled out on its own.

It was summer, and the sun was higher than ever. Lush green leaves hung thick from trees that seemed poised to soar to the end of the sky under the strong sunlight, and the cool breeze that blew struck his entire body as if it might blow Winston away.

“Haha!”

Laughing joyfully, he had ridden and ridden, only stopping his horse once he had traveled quite a distance. Hoo, he panted, patting the horse’s neck, and the horse shook its head lightly in response.

“Shall we head back?”

Winston asked, as if seeking his horse’s opinion, and checked the watch on his wrist. There was still plenty of time before the tutor was due. It would be about right if he returned and finished a shower. He was just about to turn and head toward the mansion when he saw it—the small annex standing tall in the distance.

Ah….

Winston stopped the horse he had intended to ride away and gazed at it for a moment. It had been about two or three years since someone began living in that stark white annex, which had remained unused for so long. At the time, Harold had abruptly brought an Asian boy to Delights and had him live in the annex. Everyone had been visibly flustered by the sudden situation, but his father had only given a short explanation that he was a distant relative who had lost his entire family, so he had taken him in. That was everything Winston knew, and he had heard nothing since.

It was as if he didn’t exist in the world. Winston began to wonder if that relative was really even there.

“Shall we go, Lancelot?”

When he asked the horse, it lifted its hooves as if to answer. The weather was still clear, and the breeze was refreshing. Winston slowly calmed his breathing as he urged the horse toward the annex. The closer he got to the annex, the more his heart fluttered. How old is he? I heard he was around my age. Could he be the same age? Could we become friends?

Maybe it’s completely empty.

It seemed strange that he could never hear any news about him if he were a living person. He had asked the servants, but no one had seen him. Winston began to revive the memories he had forgotten, one by one, as he headed toward the annex.

A breeze blew from somewhere. A cool wind ruffled his hair, and Winston’s hand, which had reflexively swept his hair back, froze in place.

Someone was sitting in the wide clover field spread out in front of the annex. His black hair was somewhat long, brushing his shoulders, and his build was small. Winston guessed he was around his age or younger.

The horse’s pace slowed even further. Winston sat upright on his horse, staring intently at him. He was so focused that he didn’t move a muscle, sitting huddled on the ground.

Ah.

Only when he got closer could Winston see what he was doing. He gazed quietly at the clovers, carefully picked one, then let his shoulders droop and lowered his gaze again. He looked at the clovers quietly again, picked one, looked again, and picked another, repeating the process at regular intervals. After watching that scene for a long time, Winston opened his mouth without realizing it.

“Are you looking for a four-leaf clover?”

At the sudden sound of a voice, the child lifted his head as if startled. When his wide eyes turned toward Winston and he finally saw his face, Winston lost his mind and was left speechless.

An angel.

That was the only way he could think of it. The milky skin, the flushed cheeks, the large eyes turned toward him, the small but well-defined nose, and the plump lips slightly parted beneath it.

I must be dead already.

Winston thought blankly. How else could he have met an angel?

He could feel his face heating up rapidly. Along with it, his heart pounded like crazy, thumping against his ribs. It was his first time seeing a child this beautiful. Winston’s mind went completely blank.

The boy blinked slowly. As his long eyelashes came down and went back up, tears flowed down from his eyes. At that moment, Winston had his soul completely stolen.

Yes, just like this.

Just like that day a long time ago, Yujin was sitting in that very spot. Winston slowly urged his horse forward to approach him. Yujin, who had been staring blankly at one spot as if lost in thought, suddenly noticed the presence and turned his head. His eyes widened when he discovered Winston, who had stopped at a distance. Just like that day.

Ah.

Winston sighed. I should have known it wasn’t Michael who stole my soul back then, but Lilith.

A bitter smile spread across his lips.

∞ ∞ ∞

Haaa.

Walking for a long time holding the child’s hand, Yujin finally let out a deep sigh that sounded as if the earth would collapse.

Why is it so wide?

Surveying the entire Delights estate was a stupid idea. When he was young, he had been almost imprisoned in the annex, and even when he was allowed out, the places he could go were limited. On top of that, it had been several years since he left, so his memory had faded, and he knew nothing of the current reality. The reality he faced only after walking a considerable distance was utterly despairing.

If I don’t have a car, I can’t get out of here.

Then there was only one way.

Can I… can I drive?

The fear that washed over him at the same time clouded his mind. His breathing became urgently frantic, his shoulders heaving as he gasped for air. He thought he needed to calm down quickly for fear of making the child anxious, but the more he hurried, the faster his breathing became.

Hoo, hoo.

He was taking deep breaths, trying to force his heart to calm down, when suddenly he heard his daughter’s shout.

“Daddy, Daddy!”

Coming to his senses, he looked up and saw Angela waving at him.

“Look at this, here! There’s an owl!”

Ah. A sigh escaped his lips unintentionally. There were four residences on the Delights estate; the largest, of course, was the main mansion. Among the other smaller, moderately sized annexes set apart at intervals, the place where Yujin had lived was the farthest and the smallest.