“Shindo...” Satsuki whispered so quietly, it was barely audible. Slipping from the side of her mouth as she exhaled, her voice dissipated so rapidly that it hardly seemed real.
Creak... The swing Satsuki sat upon creaked as it slightly rocked. Each time they moved, the swing cried out quietly.
Satsuki allowed Shindo’s lips to have their way with her. With eyes closed, she simply enjoyed the touch of his lips akin to a gentle breeze. That soft, warm touch pecked at her lips.
A richly enticing sensation ran through their bodies like electricity. It made Satsuki’s entire body quiver.
“Are you cold?” By the time Satsuki realized the sound of Shindo’s whispering voice was next to her ear, she felt hot breath from the lips he pulled from her mouth on her earlobe.
“...Mmm...” Satsuki’s body visibly quivered. Shindo traced the edge of Satsuki’s earlobe pressed between his lips with his tongue before moving his mouth along the length of her neck.
“Cold...? Why do you ask...?” Even the words coming out of Satsuki’s mouth quivered. With each slight movement of Shindo’s mouth, the swing chains grasped in her hands rattled and clanged.
“Because you’re shivering...” Shindo replied somewhat teasingly the moment before his lips sucked at the nape of her neck with gentle force.
Satsuki’s body quivered violently, making the swing chains issue the loudest moan yet.
“Meanie...” Satsuki falsely charged Shindo as she tilted her neck toward him to assist the path his lips followed; it was a clear display she accepted what he was doing. “I’m not...cold...”
“I know...” he replied.
Shindo found Satsuki so unbearably cute and adorable as she quivered in his arms. He naturally escalated under such feelings. Already holding Satsuki in an embrace, his hands reached for the zipper at the back of her dress and began to unzip it.
“Ah...!” By the time Satsuki let out an uncertain gasp, her zipper was already pulled halfway down her back. Although the dress once kept her fully concealed up to the neck, her flesh was now exposed down to the beautiful line of her collarbone.
“Shin...do...”
He brushed Satsuki’s flushed cheeks as she looked up at him hesitantly before drawing his lips close. He said, “Please make sure not to make any noises.”
Shindo’s lips covered her mouth, absorbing the sweet sounds that nearly escaped from Satsuki out of embarrassment. He traced her exposed white shoulders with his fingertips, caressing her with his hands as he worked toward her neck.
“Shin...do!” she moaned.
Simply a few soft caresses were enough to fill Satsuki with uncertainty, making her body burn. Shindo’s lips reluctantly pulled away from Satsuki’s own lips only to travel from the length of her jawbone down her neck, ultimately reaching her collarbone.
“Ah, don’t...!” Satsuki snapped, feeling embarrassed and slightly scared. Overcome by those two emotions, she was no longer able to keep quiet.
Due to recoiling excessively combined with the erratic movement of the swing, she lurched forward. Before she knew it, she was flung from the swing into Shindo’s arms.
Rattle... Clatter... Clack...! The chains on the swing gave a metallic cry. With the chains ringing in the background, Shindo fell backwards to catch Satsuki. He rose into a sitting position with her still in his arms.
“Miss...”
Hands gently supported her back as Shindo held her.
“Shindo...” Satsuki airily whispered.
Being held against Shindo’s chest filled her with a deliciously wonderful sensation. As she savored the moment, Shindo held her with gentle, tender love. It was as if she were the most important thing in the world to him.
But after a few minutes, he once again brought reality crashing down upon Satsuki as he said, “Now do you see? This is why I can’t be with you...”
Unexpectedly thrust into reality by his question, Satsuki tried to ask to what he meant. But before she could, Shindo placed his hands on her waist and thrust her against his own. The moment she felt it, her body went stiff as a board with surprise.
“I would corrupt you... Do you understand what I mean by that...?” Shindo asked, turning his face skyward. He gazed at the moon, which seemed to look down on him in contempt for coming so close to sinning.
Somewhere between fear and hesitation, a horribly difficult to describe voice slipped from Satsuki’s mouth.
“Don’t you see...Miss?” Shindo pushed. Bathed in the moon’s derisive laughter, Shindo continued to face the heavens. It was as if he was reconfirming his own foolishness. He was ridiculing himself for having inacceptable physical reactions toward his boss.
Satsuki was paralyzed in Shindo’s arms. It was almost surprising how quickly the sweet daze lingering over her vanished without a trace, leaving behind embarrassment, hesitation...and a hint of fear.
“There is a part of me unable to view you as just my mistress...” Shindo confessed in a pained voice.
Moving his hands from her waist, Shindo pushed aside her waist-long hair as he slid the sleeves of the dress over shoulders that he personally bared. With a slow hand, he glided the zipper back up.
“I have no doubt...I would personally corrupt you... I cannot overcome this fear,” he said, his words shaking Satsuki deep within her core. “I can tell that I would commit an unforgiveable sin...”
“...But I also...” Satsuki blurted, but was too embarrassed to finish.
Shindo realized what Satsuki was trying to say. He distanced his hips thrust against hers and pulled her away from his chest.
“Shindo...” She crumpled to the ground, having to support herself with both hands lest she collapse completely. With teary eyes, she looked up at Shindo.
Normally he would never leave Satsuki to sit on the filthy ground, yet he stood without so much as offering her a helpful hand. With eyes unable to hide his inner sorrow, Shindo looked down at her.
“Why...did you have to grow into such a beautiful young woman...?” Shindo asked in frustration, his voice slightly trembling. “...I cannot commit this sin...”
Craning her head, Satsuki could see the light of the moon shining behind Shindo.
“You are my lady for life,” he said, his voice seeping deep into her. “It is my duty as a member of your staff to wish for your happiness.”
With his heart pushing him to the brink of tears, Shindo gazed into the young lady’s fragile eyes that threatened to dissipate into the hazy darkness at any moment. This wasn’t what he wanted to say. There were far, far more important words he wanted to share, but he buried them in his heart as he spoke the simple truth that neither wanted to hear.
“For the sake of your happiness...I will happily step down from my position as retainer.”
Satsuki gasped with her mouth covered behind both hands. If she didn’t cover her mouth, she feared she’d scream from shock.
“...Shin...do...?” She forced out his name, her chin slightly trembling. Her teeth clattered so violently one would have thought she was about to freeze to death. No, she was about to freeze. Her entire heart was freezing over.
Boom! Boom! There were two loud bangs as something broke before the park was thrown into even greater darkness. The two outdoor lamps near the swing set shattered to pieces one after the next!
Shindo knew it was Satsuki’s troubled heart at work. Even though the look of shock as she hugged herself made it apparent what spurred the outburst, Shindo turned his back to her and looked up at the moon. Its light was even more heavily pronounced in the darkness.
“Please accept it...Miss.” As he gazed at the moon, Shindo might have been saying that more for himself than for her. “Accept your fate...”
Satsuki simply stared in silence at Shindo as he spoke the words she never wanted to hear. This was her...fate. Her destiny was decided for her the moment she was born. She was obligated to accept this reality.
Satsuki was the heiress to the Tsujikawa legacy and Shindo’s mistress. Shindo was Satsuki’s retainer and loyal servant. Their relationship would never change. It must never change. They were forbidden to change it, even if they were drawn to each other... It was taboo to express their feelings for one another. To speak of such things was both immoral and prohibited. Such was their fate...
“Let’s go back, Miss.”
She slowly rose on her own and spoke in a ghost of a voice to his departing back, “You can corrupt me if you want to. We don’t need anyone’s permission…”
Whether he heard her or not, he didn’t act on it.