City ​​of Witches 815

Chapter 815 – #170_Amelia’S Dream (2)

#809

1.
In a strange tension, Siwoo introduced himself.

“I’m Shin Siwoo, and I’ve been dating Amelia for a little over a year. I was originally a public slave from Gehenna, but I became a witch by chance. Oh, and back in the mortal realm, I got my master’s degree from a famous engineering university and was working on my doctorate.”

It was the first time meeting his mother-in-law.
Actually, he had no idea how these kinds of meetings went…

His top priority was to appeal his abilities to Malika Marigold, Amelia’s mentor.
Academic background, annual salary, abilities—he needed to get his mother-in-law to recognize his worth as a son-in-law first.

Where else would he find such an important task?

“That’s right, Mentor. Siwoo is really amazing. He gained power befitting a great witch in just a few years.”
“Oh, really? So, you’re the male witch I’ve heard about?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”

Especially the fact that he was the only male to have achieved the status of a great witch.

That had been a shackle or a penalty that put Siwoo in all sorts of danger, but now it was a merit that no other man could claim.

Therefore, he was somewhat confident.

Until now, every witch except his mentor had been very surprised to hear that Siwoo was a male witch.
Whether they were blatant or not, most of them looked at him with strange eyes, as if they had discovered a rare research subject.

“Is that so? That’s quite impressive.”

But unlike Siwoo’s expectations, Malika just smiled.
Surprisingly, her smile didn’t show any shock or the unique inquisitiveness of a witch.

“So, how did you two meet?”

Instead, she leaned forward slightly, asking as if she were curious.
She didn’t seem very interested in how capable Siwoo was, and she seemed more eager to hear about their love story.

Siwoo, who was usually humble but had decided to do some American-style self-promotion today, was a little flustered.
Was this how it was supposed to go?

“If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to hear your story.”
“Of course not. It’s no trouble at all.”

And just as Siwoo was flustered, Amelia seemed flustered too.
Their first meeting wasn’t sweet or very ideal.
Now it was an old story for them, but they didn’t know how a third party would take it.

After a moment of thought, Siwoo began to speak.

“Actually, we didn’t have a very good relationship at first.”
“Oh, really?”
“At the time, Amelia was an associate professor… and she was very hard on me, who was a slave. Right?”
“That’s too much, Siwoo…”

She had suddenly asked him to serve her at night, and when he refused, she had nagged him endlessly.
It was a chaotic collaboration caused by the power difference added to Amelia and Siwoo’s inexperience.

Back then, they had no idea that their relationship would develop like this.

“My daughter does have a lot of clumsy sides.”

The atmosphere was cheerful, as intended.
Unlike Amelia, who looked like she was about to cry, Malika covered her mouth and burst into a cheerful laugh.

After that, Siwoo rattled off the absurdities of Associate Professor Amelia.

The time she made him do a bare-handed deer-catching challenge, the time she made him clean the research building as busywork because she wanted to be alone with him.
He left out the ‘handjob lesson’ because it was a bit embarrassing.
Amelia’s expression changed from a pout to a tearful one.

Still, he felt that their relationship had developed a lot.

They had accepted each other’s faults, forgiven each other, and understood each other, so they could talk about it jokingly.
If it had been when they first reunited, Amelia might have already run out of the cabin, wailing sadly.

“Amelia is one thing, but Siwoo, you’re also a bit insensitive, aren’t you?”
“That’s right!”

Amelia, who had suddenly raised her head at her mentor’s voice, which was taking her side for once.

“Still, you were bad, Amelia. How could you torment him like that when you liked him?”
“Even you, Mentor…”
“I was insensitive, but it was impossible for me to notice.”

He subtly took Amelia’s hand under the table, who had lost her ally.
It was a reassuring hand-in-hand.

“How could I have imagined that such a beautiful witch would like me? Oh, I couldn’t have.”

Amelia bloomed at Siwoo’s banter, and Malika laughed loudly, saying, ‘You’re more of a busybody than me.’

“I hate you, Siwoo.”

Amelia, who didn’t know what to do with her mentor’s renewed laughter, soon leaned her head on Siwoo’s shoulder, embarrassed.

“Well, isn’t the most important thing how things are now?”
“I guess so.”

The story after that was subtly skipped.

Perhaps they could meet like this now because of that time, but it didn’t seem like something to talk about in such a good place, and Amelia probably wouldn’t want to either.

“Then… oh! I almost forgot? How old are you, Siwoo?”

It was a slightly unnatural ending, but thankfully she didn’t notice… or rather, she did.
Knowing and letting it slide was the wise and intelligent mentor that Amelia remembered.

“I’m twenty-eight years old by the Korean age system.”
“Amelia, you really need to treat him well! My daughter is a thief, a thief.”

Mother-in-law.
She was having a lot of fun.

On the other hand, it was the first time he had seen Amelia, who was subtly assertive, so flustered and unable to say anything.
It was probably because she trusted and followed her so much.

Every time the coffee cup was emptied and refilled, many questions and answers were exchanged.

The questions were mostly about what they liked about each other, and there weren’t any difficult questions, but what was coming was coming.

“How far have you two progressed?”
“Cough…!”
“S-Sorry, I didn’t hear you?”

Amelia choked like a painting, and Siwoo was also very flustered.
But was it normal for this kind of question to come up?

“Look at you pretending. You heard me well.”

It sounded like a joke disguised as a serious question, but it was also a somewhat clumsy response.
She didn’t look like it, but she was a bit of a prankster.

“I’ll take the fifth.”

Just as Siwoo was trying to politely avoid the answer.
Amelia suddenly blurted out like a model student who had been told to raise their hand if they didn’t have their homework.

“…We’ve done it all, Mentor.”
“Amelia?”
“But Siwoo didn’t do anything wrong! I, I seduced him first… and we’re dating with the premise of marriage…”
“Amelia…!”

Even Malika, who didn’t know her joke would escalate this far, stared at Amelia with wide eyes.
Siwoo was trying to sit Amelia down, who had jumped up.

But Amelia didn’t even notice that and continued her high-speed run without brakes.

“Mentor told me to be careful about relationships until three years after marriage, but when I went out into the mortal realm, I found out that people don’t do that these days. That’s how they did it hundreds of years ago. Rather, for a close and sincere love…”
“…Amelia, Amelia…! Please!”

Please stop!
I know you’re excited, but please don’t extol the importance of premarital sex in front of my mother-in-law!

He thought they understood each other quite well now.
Sadly, Siwoo’s telepathy didn’t reach Amelia.

“It’s important to aim for a proper relationship rather than covering it up!”
“Ah…”
“Anyway, it’s definitely not something to be ashamed of or disrespectful!”

Her face was too red for someone saying that.

Siwoo looked at Malika with a miserable heart.
And he was a little relieved.

Malika was biting her lower lip tightly.
Her cheeks were puffed up like volleyballs filled with air.
In other words, she was trying to hold back her laughter.

“Huuuuh…”

Malika, who had barely calmed herself with a deep breath, opened her mouth.

“You did well. I’m so glad. Amelia.”
“Yes, as you said, Mentor. I’m loving with all my might, so I won’t have any regrets.”

Amelia was speaking as if she was being chased, but her last word was clear.

2.
The meeting with Malika ended more blandly than expected.
Of course, it was bland in the sense that it was different from what he had expected, not that it was a pointless time.

After tea time, they began cleaning the cabin.

“Magic is certainly convenient. But moving your body is also rewarding.”

Due to Malika’s claim, all three of them rolled up their sleeves.

They wiped away the dust that had accumulated in the corners and washed the dishes used for baking.
They changed the bed sheets and blankets and filled the feather pillows with feathers by hand.

He had thought this before, but sharing ‘housework’ really made him feel like he had become a member of the family.

Amelia, who didn’t usually smile much, was smiling all the time today.
She was giggling and joking with her mentor, which showed that the two were not just mentor and mentee, or mother and daughter, but more like sisters.

Siwoo smiled as he watched them.
He sometimes joined in the conversation.

By the time they finished cleaning, it was already night.
Siwoo and Amelia had changed into their pajamas, and Malika…

She was already preparing to leave.
She was carrying a large suitcase and wearing a large shawl.

His heart sank.
It was like watching a play that was about to end due to an unexpected accident.

“Malika? Where are you going?”

Malika didn’t answer.
Instead, Amelia, who had come to his side, stood holding Siwoo’s hand tightly.
Her fingertips were trembling slightly.

“Amelia.”
“Yes, Mentor.”
“Did you know?”
“Yes. You’re going on another long journey, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, it’s a shame. I want to be with you too… Amelia.”
“I’ll get angry if you apologize. You don’t have to worry.”

The dream created by the homunculus depicts an ideal world.
This situation, where her mentor, who had returned after a long time, was leaving again, was definitely not the ideal world of Amelia, who had not noticed anything.

Then…

He turned around with a surprised expression and saw Amelia’s profile.
A baby-like expression that was putting on a brave facade, as if she was about to burst into tears.

“Because Siwoo is here in this cabin now.”

In the cabin where Amelia’s happiest memories were stored, she was holding Siwoo’s hand and preparing to see her off.

“Is that so? Okay, that’s enough.”

Malika looked at Amelia and sighed as if she was relieved.

“I’m living happily. And I’m going to be even happier than this in the future. More than anyone else in the world.”

Amelia didn’t shed any tears.
Instead, she stubbornly pulled up the corners of her mouth and smiled.

“Okay, Mom believes in my daughter.”

At the same time as Malika nodded, the space rippled.
The scene where the moonlight was dimly shining through the window, like the lights of a stage being turned off, turned dark.

“It’s time for me to go now.”
“Mom.”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
“Why are you doing this, it’s embarrassing. I love you too.”

After a final, deep hug and a kiss on Amelia’s forehead, Malika turned her back.
She walked away without looking back, like an actor exiting the stage.

When Malika’s back, which had turned into a dot, finally disappeared.
Siwoo, who had been watching the scene with his breath held, asked worriedly.

“Did you know from the beginning…?”

Amelia shook her head.

“I knew when I held Siwoo’s hand.”

Tears were streaming down her flushed cheeks, but after hearing her answer, he realized that she didn’t need any words of comfort.
Because her voice was more unwavering than ever.

“Thank you, Siwoo.”

Amelia’s small head rested on Siwoo’s shoulder.