Chapter 2 – #01_Slave Of The Witch City (2)
#002
1.
There isn’t a place within the academy specifically prepared for servants to wash themselves.
Which means, they can’t even set foot in the elegant bathrooms equipped with plumbing.
In the end, Siwoo, squatting by the well, shuddered as he splashed the ice-cold groundwater onto his body.
Each time the drying mud pack clinging to his skin turned into dirty water, his bones ached with cold.
If only he had a little more time, he would have lit a fire under the nearby pot to make hot water.
The thought that all of this was because of Amelia’s tantrum made him grind his teeth.
“Fucking freezing, shit!”
It’s been five years since he was captured and enslaved in Gehenna.
To explain this absurd city, one cannot leave out the explanation of witches.
Having encountered various anecdotes through books in the library and living alongside witches, Siwoo had come to deeply understand what kind of beings they were.
Witches are arrogant, dangerous, selfish, and consumed by madness.
However, this is merely Siwoo’s impression of witches, far from the actual definition or concept of a witch.
To put it more objectively, excluding personal feelings,
a witch is someone who has a ‘mark’ engraved on their body and can also wield magic.
The first person to tell him this was the slave trader who kidnapped Siwoo and brought him to Gehenna.
The slave trader, whose face was covered in thick scars, gave Siwoo a piece of advice, not a warning.
‘If you want to keep your life, never go against a witch.’
Looking back now, it’s a ridiculous thing to say.
Not only was he kidnapped while living his life normally, but he received advice from the person who was about to sell him.
However, Siwoo still vividly remembered the primal fear that lingered on the slave trader’s face.
Five years have passed since he was sold at a slave auction to a city hall official and assigned as a caretaker at Trinity Academy.
While eavesdropping on Amelia’s lectures or browsing through books in the library, Siwoo came to understand what the slave trader had said back then.
The fear of witches wasn’t just because of their magic.
What truly made witches terrifying was their goals and the way they achieved them.
All witches live to catch up to the great magic of the ‘Witch of Creation.’
For a witch pursuing a higher path of magic, experimental ethics or morals are secondary issues.
In fact, private slaves, not city hall slaves, are subjected to harsh labor close to forced labor, and some are said to die during secret human experiments.
Perhaps that was too complicated.
In short, they are crazy bitches who go wild for magic.
Even the obsession of middle-aged menopausal women searching for stamina-boosting foods is nothing compared to a witch’s obsession with magic.
“Crazy bitches…”
What would have happened if a city hall official hadn’t bought Siwoo at the slave auction?
Whenever he thought about that possibility, he couldn’t help but feel a chill down his spine.
He had lingered too long.
After roughly drying his hair with a towel that had three holes in it from being used for over three years, he put on loose white clothes without even wearing underwear.
It was a dress-like design that barely covered his body, made of stiff material that contained no synthetic fibers.
This garment, called an experimental gown within Trinity Academy, was more like a clean rag than clothing.
Just by slightly lifting the hem of the skirt-like garment, his private parts were clearly visible.
Siwoo, who never got used to the experimental gown no matter how many times he wore it, headed straight to the Second Lecture Hall.
2.
Trinity Academy, located in Lenormand Town.
It is where apprentice witches are educated and witches conduct their research.
The academy’s lecture halls, arranged in a cross shape to align with the cardinal directions, are stone buildings that combine 17th-century Baroque style with Gehenna’s unique architectural style.
Among them, the recently renovated North Second Lecture Hall was reminiscent of the Palace of Versailles. It was that luxurious and flamboyantly decorated.
Siwoo, who was dissatisfied with everything about Gehenna’s class system, structure, and origins, couldn’t help but express pure admiration when he saw such aesthetically pleasing architecture.
Passing through the corridors that stretched like blood vessels in all the lecture halls, Siwoo entered the hall of the Second Lecture Hall, where crystal chandeliers, softly burning candlesticks, and a ceiling painting praising the mysteries and beauty of magic greeted him.
Below, Amelia Marigold stood with a pensive expression, her gaze lowered in deep thought.
She often got lost in thought like that.
Pointed shoes called poulaines, a mermaid dress that subtly revealed her body’s silhouette, and a cloak that covered her shoulders.
The overall color was black.
It was the formal attire, difficult to put on and take off, for a class for apprentice witches.
The clothes Amelia inherited from the previous ‘Marigold’ were all larger than her body.
Thanks to that, Amelia, holding a book as big as her upper body and slightly frowning, looked very small.
“……”
Siwoo, forgetting his own situation for a moment, stared at her profile as if he were bewitched.
Even though he hated witches so much, the undeniable fact was that all witches were beautiful.
Her luscious blonde hair flowing down her black cloak, her red lips like forbidden fruit, and the soft curves revealed by her clothes.
They were so dazzling that they couldn’t be considered human.
Amelia was like a sculpture, blending into the scenery of this splendid and luxurious hall.
“Associate Professor.”
At Siwoo’s call, Amelia slowly blinked her eyes.
In less than five seconds, she turned to Siwoo with a cold expression.
Amelia took out a pocket watch from her cloak pocket and checked the time.
“It’s three minutes past noon. Do I look that idle to you?”
“I arrived on time. However, I didn’t want to disturb you as you seemed to be deeply contemplating the truth of magic, Associate Professor.”
Actually, he had been blankly staring at her profile, but it seemed like this was the wrong choice.
“You’re wrong, you should have called me instead of standing there blankly. The time I confirmed the caretaker’s arrival was three minutes after the appointed time, which means you were late. Unless I’m aware of it, there’s no way to confirm whether the caretaker was late or on time, is there?”
“I apologize.”
Siwoo’s apology was quick. It wasn’t the first time he had been caught in such petty fault-finding.
Amelia always acted like she was about to devour him, but surprisingly, if he apologized right away, she wouldn’t say much.
It seemed like she thought it would degrade her dignity to nitpick at the words of a lowly slave.
“Alright. I’d rather teach magic to an experimental mouse than expect a wise judgment from you.”
“I am truly sorry.”
But today, Amelia’s nagging was particularly long.
Amelia’s sharp reprimands continued, directed at the back of Siwoo’s bowed head.
“I think I’ve overlooked quite a few of the manager’s mistakes until now. However, repeating obvious errors means there hasn’t been appropriate punishment.”
This was ominous.
“From now on, for one week, after finishing your afternoon duties, you will clean my research lab.”
“Excuse me?”
This was blatant harassment.
If she used magic herself, she could finish cleaning in three minutes. But for Siwoo, a mere human, not a witch, cleaning that complex lab would take at least three hours.
Amelia, using a mere three-minute tardiness as an excuse, had ordered three hours of overtime on top of his already twelve-hour workday.
“You were late for our appointment, and now you’re not even going to listen to this?”
Siwoo couldn’t say anything.
Amelia showed through her actions that she wouldn’t accept any objections or complaints, ending the conversation.
She threw a large book onto Siwoo’s chest and then walked towards the stairs.
Siwoo, who almost cursed out loud at her outrageous behavior, barely managed to swallow it back.
He could see Amelia’s back as she dragged her cloak, which was too long for her height and trailed on the floor, up the stairs.
He wanted to stomp on it and make her fall backward.
It wouldn’t be difficult. But he wasn’t confident he could handle the aftermath.
With shoulders that felt twice as heavy as before, Siwoo followed Amelia.
3.
“Take a seat.”
Amelia said this without any greeting as she entered the lecture hall.
The lecture hall, which maintained its elegant dignity even in the gloomy weather, had a tiered structure with desks centered around a large blackboard.
Despite being structured for a large lecture, it was actually small enough to be filled with just 20 people.
But there was no need to worry.
There were only two apprentice witches waiting in the lecture hall for the class.
The two girls, who were stuck together as if they were one, grinned at Siwoo and sat at the table.
The atmosphere was a bit chaotic, as if they had been chatting until just now.
Siwoo placed the heavy book on the teacher’s desk and stood next to Amelia.
Then, he couldn’t help but flinch at the violet eyes staring intently at him.
The identical twins, who looked like they had been copied and pasted, had focused all their attention on Siwoo from the moment Amelia entered.
Odette and Odile.
The only apprentice witches who had been taking classes at Trinity Academy for the past two years.
Jet-black hair and sparkling violet eyes.
They sat there innocently, as if they didn’t know the ways of the world, but Siwoo knew.
Innocence doesn’t always mean goodness.
A child will crush an ant with a pure face.
The innocence these twins possessed was closer to that kind of pure ferocity.
“Professor Amelia! Is today’s class with Assistant Shin Siwoo?”
“Professor Amelia! Is today’s class with the assistant?”
They began to chatter almost simultaneously in clear, high voices, like birds chirping.
Their voices were so similar that it would be difficult to tell who was speaking without looking closely at their mouths.
“Yes.”
Amelia secretly sighed, as if she was already tired, and at the same time, Odile and Odette giggled, looking at each other. Even that was so identical, like looking at a mirror image, that it created an uncanny valley effect.
““What kind of experiment is it today?””
Amelia Merrygold, the 15th of the Merrygold family, who was also an associate professor at Trinity Academy and had reached the high level of 22 paths.
She belonged to the ‘Baron’ class, a rare aristocracy even in the witch society.
Normally, the twins, who were just apprentice witches, wouldn’t be in a position to chatter so casually.
And Amelia was definitely not the kind of saint who would tolerate such behavior.
“It’s about male body fluids and…”
“Kyaa! That’s too indecent.”
“Kyaa! How can it be so shameful!”
Odile and Odette made a fuss before she could even finish her sentence.
Siwoo felt a rare sense of satisfaction seeing Amelia bite her lip.
It was almost only when dealing with these twins that Amelia showed a troubled expression.
Siwoo didn’t know how Odile and Odette, who were just fledgling apprentice witches, could elicit such a reaction.
Still, it was quite a sight to see the mighty Amelia flustered.
“…male interactions.”
“Are we going to see them naked?”
“Are we taking their clothes off again this time?”
“That’s right.”
The satisfaction was short-lived.
If Amelia had trouble dealing with them, it meant that Siwoo had to be careful about his actions in front of them.
Having to do a humiliation play in front of these twins was something that would remain the same yesterday, today, and probably tomorrow.
Until he escaped this damned city.
“But before the actual experiment, I need to check how well Miss Odette and Miss Odile are keeping up with the class.”
“But theory is boring.”
“That’s right, that’s right. The Geminai witch said that magical theory without practice is meaningless.”
But it wasn’t like Amelia was always swayed by the twins.
Amelia had the authority of an associate professor, and when she started to set the tone, the twins followed her instructions well.
Amelia completely ignored the twins’ grumbling and tapped the desk.
“Submit the assignments I gave you last class.”
“Yes!”
“Yes! Professor.”
The twins glanced at each other and then became well-behaved children, submitting their stacks of papers.
Even if they seemed naive and immature, they were still apprentice witches.
The assignments, which at first glance were filled with complex magical formulas and equations, seemed to be at least dozens of pages long.
Siwoo, who was curious and tried to skim through the contents of the assignments, flinched.
It was because the two girls’ gazes were still fixed on him even at this moment.
