City ​​of Witches 1034

Chapter 1034 – #246_Count Cagliostro (8)

#1028

1.
“Alright, you can go back now, Cindy.”
“Mother… I could have done better. I can still manage from here.”

“But you already made a mistake, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t make any mistakes!”

The first thing Siwoo noticed was that Cindy, the daughter of Countess Tia Cagliostro, had put on a rather forced performance.

Her pouting and whining to the Countess was not much different from the twins.
Well, if she was an apprentice witch, she would be in her early twenties at most, so it was only natural.

“Baron, can you tell me how you figured it out?”

The Countess, who had been indulging Cindy, turned a gentle, friendly gaze towards Siwoo.
He didn’t know why, but he answered anyway.

“It’s the ring.”
“Hoho, I knew it. You even aimed a precise blow at the ring a moment ago. So, why did you find the ring strange?”

Since the method was already exposed and there was nothing more to gain from it, Siwoo decided to play along.

“It didn’t match the other decorations and created a sense of disharmony. I investigated it personally and soon realized it was a disguised artifact.”
“Thank you for your answer. Did you hear that, Cindy?”
“……”

Cindy, who had heard Siwoo’s answer from the Countess, closed her mouth as if she couldn’t have imagined it.

“When planning a big scheme, you shouldn’t overlook even the smallest details. They can act as variables like this.”
“…But, hiding my identity doesn’t really affect my qualifications as a witch.”
“But isn’t it the same as having your only weakness exposed after gaining an overwhelming advantage?”

She grumbled a little, but nodded when the Countess looked at her with a motherly smile.

“…I made a mistake. I don’t think I paid any attention to the ring.”

The brazenness she had shown while acting as the Countess was gone, and she admitted her mistake quite honestly.

“Alright, let’s talk more about it at breakfast tomorrow. I think I need to talk to the Baron from here. Aren’t you getting tired?”
“…Yes, good night.”
“Sweet dreams, Cindy.”

Cindy received light kisses on both cheeks and left the room.
Siwoo quietly watched her leave.

Whether it was thanks to Odile and Odette or the influence of his teacher, it seemed that even if an apprentice witch did something annoying, it didn’t feel so bad.

Considering that Cindy, who had cornered Siwoo with all sorts of despicable means, didn’t seem so unpleasant.

“She’s a smart girl, isn’t she?”
“She’s really amazing. I was completely cornered.”

The elite education for apprentice witches is not limited to magic.

The adorable twins may not seem like it, but they are also taking additional classes on investment and management and are already handling some tasks. Cindy was probably trained in the management of the magic academia.

“Don’t think of her too badly. She probably wanted to prove herself.”

He had to understand.
It seemed like the succession was not far off.

She must have tried to forcefully take over the Hessed Academy to reassure Countess Cagliostro, who would leave Cindy alone after the succession.
To show that she could now be independent on her own.

“I understand, but I’m not comfortable.”

However, there were still many unresolved issues to simply smile at the heartwarming mother-daughter affection.

No, to be precise, it was a checkmate.

Cindy’s weakness that Siwoo had seized to take control of the Hessed Academy’s voting rights was still valid, and conversely, the ‘revealing the fake Countess’ identity,’ which he thought was his trump card, had essentially become a dud.

Moreover, the opponent in the already difficult game had changed.
The ‘real Countess Cagliostro’ had taken over the game and was continuing the match.

Should he be grateful that she was covering up the mess he had made in the Countess’s office?

The only variable was the irregular succession, but…

It was too much of a burden to reveal the biggest secret at a time when it didn’t seem like the Countess, a staunch orthodox witch, would risk the penalties of the hierarchy.

At this point, he had half given up.
It seemed that he would have to hand over 40% of the voting rights and plan for the future operation of the academy.

“More than that, Baron, you are really handsome. If I had met you 10 years earlier, I would have tried to seduce you. Hohoho!”

The Countess was talking nonsense.
Still, he felt rather at ease, perhaps because he had done everything he could.

“May I ask you one thing?”
“Hoho! Of course. You told me how you figured out my identity, Baron. What are you curious about?”
“I think you’re hiding the existence of the apprentice witch. I’m curious about the reason.”

It wasn’t exactly a public matter for the Countess.
There didn’t seem to be any disadvantages to revealing the succession.

But why had she kept the existence of the apprentice witch a secret until now?

“If I revealed the succession at this timing, it would probably disrupt the operation of the academy.”
“It is a chaotic world.”
“It may not be as bad as Hexennacht, but Gehenna is not full of pushovers either. If the head of the Emerald Tablet changes, the Castle will also be shaken, and opportunists will gather.”

No matter how much of an orthodox successor she was, it was a fact that the manager was changing to a much less experienced and younger witch.

If such an issue arose in a large academy like the Castle, the repercussions would be unimaginable.

“I am the head of the Emerald Tablet. If there is anything I want to protect even when I fulfill my mission and leave this world, it is the witches researching in this Castle. My people, my comrades who chased dreams together.”

Then, could he lower the voting rights in exchange for keeping this secret?

“In that sense, I feel sorry for Cindy. Well, it’s not like I’ve been keeping her locked up, but she always had to use disguise magic, and I made her do this difficult test because of my greed. So, don’t hate Cindy, and blame me instead, hohoho.”
“Of course.”

Let’s stop.

The atmosphere was quite good now.
Immediately putting the ‘secret’ that the Countess had revealed on the negotiation table could be an excessive provocation.

Although he was resentful of being hit so far, it would be best to get through the situation as smoothly and gently as possible.

“……”

The Countess, who had been watching Siwoo carefully, said one thing.

“As I thought, you are amazing.”
“You flatter me.”
“Flatter you? This was the final test, and you answered it very well, Baron.”

What was she talking about all of a sudden?

“You didn’t try to counter-threaten me in exchange for keeping the secret, did you?”
“I thought it would be better to ask for a good relationship.”

“That’s exactly it! The ability to make different choices from ordinary people. Even the ability to read the trends and endure! Amazing. There are many witches who have lived for hundreds of years who are worse than Baron Siwoo.”

However, what was certain was that the atmosphere emanating from the Countess had completely turned friendly.

“As you know, I have been watching and tolerating Cindy’s methods. If the Hessed Academy was a mediocre academy, I would have been fine with it being swallowed by the Castle.”
“What do you mean?”

“If the head of the academy is an outstanding person like Baron Shin Siwoo, I would rather maintain a good relationship than try to attack the Hessed Academy in a half-hearted way.

Of course, you may not understand. It’s true that the Castle has been harassing the Hessed Academy. I will offer reasonable compensation for that. Like, a consolation payment?”

Then, the Countess made her proposal.

“I will never use any scandal with a public figure as a weakness. I will maintain the support plan for the Hessed Academy, but 10% of the voting rights is enough.

Also, I will officially announce my support. This will prevent the Truth and Enlightenment Academic Society, which is starting to move, from acting rashly.
In addition, all these promises will be kept in the name of Cagliostro.”

He barely managed to close his gaping mouth.
He thought that phase 2 was about to begin, but she was offering such massive support.

Of course, Siwoo had also grasped the Countess’s intentions to some extent, as the saying goes, “If you spend three years in a temple, you can recite a sutra.”

If the Emerald Tablet faltered, the first to move would be the other major academy, the Truth and Enlightenment Academic Society.
In the midst of internal and external chaos, he had concluded that trying to swallow the Hessed Academy by force would be counterproductive.

Instead, he would establish a friendly relationship and partnership with the Hessed Academy from the perspective of long-term investment, rather than short-term gains, to find a breakthrough.

In addition to perfectly complementing the lacking alchemy school, it would also accelerate the recruitment of minor academies that had been hesitant to move while watching the Castle.

Furthermore, it would also serve as a check against the Truth and Enlightenment Academic Society, which he didn’t know how they would react. If he could buy all these packages with 10% of the voting rights, it would be a bargain.

“How is it? Isn’t it worth joining hands with each other?”
“It’s enough.”

Siwoo gladly took Countess Cagliostro’s hand and shook it.

He thought that this might be what it meant to become an adult.

2.
The lazy Diana, who was floating on a tube in the Levana Grand Bath’s lazy river as usual, was called by her mother and trudged out of the water.

“My dear daughter, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about the irregular succession method.”
“Huh?”

Diana, who was preparing to count the floor tiles, thinking she was going to be nagged again, widened her eyes.

The irregular succession that would allow her to be with her beloved mother forever, even after the succession.

She had roughly heard about the framework under research last time.
The details were vague and seemed not to be finalized, but she knew that ‘sexual intercourse’ was required.

“Um, well, you know that your mother loves you very much, right?”
“Yes, of course. Please tell me quickly.”

Diana, who was becoming impatient with her mother’s hesitant words, soothed her in a calm tone.

If there were any hardships, Diana would endure them.
Because she loved her mother.

“Can you come here for a moment?”
“Yes.”

Whisper, whisper, whisper.
Lucy, the mama, whispered because it was too embarrassing to say out loud.

“……?”

Question marks kept popping up above Diana’s head.

“……!!!”

Soon, her mouth fell open.

3.
Albiereo finally made a decision.
That is, to secure a sample of the irregular succession through his relationship with Siwoo.

“…I can’t do it sober.”

But there was the shameful behavior he had shown last time and Siwoo’s rampage.
Even though he knew the necessity, he couldn’t bring himself to do it sober.

Then there was a way.
Since ancient times, music has been one of the methods to uplift and manipulate the mind.
Military songs, marches, and hymns were like that.

Therefore, Count Jemena’s magic included many spells that manipulated ‘mental states.’

“I’ll have to borrow the power of magic.”

Albiereo got up from his seat with a determined resolve.

4.
Amelia, who was freed from the custom perfume production work to repay her debt, had a new task.
As the head of the department of the Hessed Academy, she had to collect and organize the materials needed for the classes.

“……”

It was the academy of Siwoo, whom she loved and respected.
Amelia’s desire not to waste a single class manifested as a passion for preparing class materials.

However, Amelia, a late-blooming genius who was second to none in concentration, was not concentrating at all.

“Strawberries….”

She had been craving strawberries a lot lately.
She had just finished a bowl for dessert, but it was still the same.

Red, plump, and glossy strawberries.
Strawberries that reveal a white flesh and offer a sweet and sour juice when you take a bite.

“…Just one more plate….”

Amelia jumped up and headed to the kitchen.