City ​​of Witches 110

Chapter 110 – #24_회귀(3)

#108

1.
It was a dinner time after a very long time.
Since Siwoo collapsed, Amelia hadn’t touched anything other than alcohol and cigarettes.
She had neither the time nor the mood for it.

The long table in the dining room was filled with a feast that could easily feed ten people.
A whole roasted suckling pig, with its skin crisped by constant basting with boiling oil, was the main dish, surrounded by various other lavishly prepared dishes.

Although it was a joy to have a meal with Siwoo after so long, Amelia couldn’t feel completely at ease.
It was because of Siwoo’s reaction as soon as he woke up.
That subtle distance and fear.
Even though his memories hadn’t fully returned, he instinctively felt negative emotions, indicating that Amelia was not favorably positioned in his subconscious.

That fact stung her heart, but regardless, Amelia had a duty to tell Siwoo the truth.

“If what you’re saying is true, Amelia, I’m originally 28 years old, and I suddenly became younger while recovering from an accident, is that right?”

Siwoo, sitting on a chair with several cushions added to make up for his height, said while watching Amelia’s expression.
He had a napkin tied around his neck, which Amelia had personally done for him.
Judging by his expression of having heard something absurd, he didn’t seem to believe it at all.
In fact, Amelia wasn’t sure where to even begin explaining this.

“I see…”

However, he didn’t rush to doubt Amelia based on his questions.
Whether it was because of the fear he instinctively felt towards Amelia, she didn’t know.

“Then, could you tell me what I need to do? I’m sorry, but my memories are a bit… jumbled, I guess.”
“There’s nothing you need to do. Just stay here until you recover.”
“Is that really okay? I’m Amelia’s slave…”

Seeing his dejected expression, Amelia pretended to drink water and avoided his gaze.
She couldn’t bear to face him, knowing that she was the one who had driven him to such a state when he didn’t know anything.

“Slave… you’re not.”
“Huh?”
“I had your slave certificate destroyed while you were unconscious.”

The day Siwoo got angry at Amelia, she had mulled over every word he had uttered in resentment.
The one thing he had desperately wanted was freedom.
Remembering that, Amelia had gone to the city hall a month after he collapsed and had his slave certificate destroyed.

“I see. Thank you.”

Siwoo looked bewildered.
Seeing his reaction, Amelia thought.
She had felt it for a while now, but he was very mature for his age.
While most of his other traits seemed to have reverted to his childhood, his ability to assess situations and consider his surroundings didn’t seem like that of a child at all.
Looking back at her own memories, Amelia at that age was a complete naive child.

-Clink, clink

After that, there were no more words exchanged.
Only the awkward sound of cutlery clashing filled the table.

Apologizing to Siwoo was something she had to do after all his memories returned.
The current Siwoo wasn’t in a state where he could make normal judgments.

“Thank you for the meal.”

Siwoo put down the knife he had been slowly slicing the pork with as soon as Amelia put down her utensils.
Seeing that, Amelia said,

“You can have more if you’re not full.”
“No, this is enough.”

Judging by his reaction, it seemed he had been pretending to eat until Amelia finished her meal.
She used to take his actions for granted.
Why did it hurt so much to see Siwoo constantly watching her?

After the meal, they got up and headed to the second floor together.
His head used to be much higher when they walked side by side.
It felt very awkward to see Siwoo, who had become so small and cute.

“Then, rest well. Call me if anything is uncomfortable.”
“Yes, good night, Amelia.”

Just as they were about to return to their respective rooms, Siwoo, standing at the fork in the central staircase, suddenly grabbed Amelia.

“Um, Amelia.”

Amelia was slightly taken aback, not expecting him to speak to her first.

“I’m listening.”

Siwoo hesitated for a moment and then said to Amelia,

“Actually, I don’t really know what’s going on, but… I wanted to say it’s okay.”
“What… do you mean?”
“You apologized as soon as I came to my senses. Of course, I don’t know exactly what it was for, but… I think it’ll be okay. I’ll forgive you.”
“……….”

Amelia, shocked as if she had been hit on the head, nodded vaguely.

“I see…”
“Ah….”

How did Amelia’s ambiguous reaction appear to Siwoo?
Siwoo, looking pale, quickly apologized.

“I-I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have said that, not knowing my place…”
“No, no, no, it’s not like that…!”

Amelia fussed over Siwoo, trying to reassure him.
After telling him several times that it was okay until he was relieved, Amelia watched Siwoo open his door and enter, then went into her room with a complicated heart.

‘I’ll forgive you.’

Forgiveness.
It was a word she desperately longed for.
But Amelia knew.
According to Duke Keter, Siwoo’s body would soon return to its original state, and his jumbled memories would gradually return as well.

What Amelia had received from Siwoo now was an empty shell of forgiveness.
It was the forgiveness given by the boy Shin Siwoo, who had forgotten all the things Amelia had done to him, and who feared her but didn’t hate her.

“…Forgiveness…”

Even though it was just that, Amelia felt so relieved that she stood there blankly for a while.
She felt like she was going to cry like a fool.
Amelia took out a bottle of rum from the display case and slumped onto the sofa.

She absentmindedly put a cigarette in her mouth and was about to light it when she remembered Siwoo.
She seemed to remember hearing that secondhand smoke was bad for the body.

For a witch, smoking wouldn’t be a problem, but Siwoo was human.
Moreover, the body of a frail child was even more vulnerable.
Amelia quietly broke the cigarette and poured herself a glass of rum on the rocks.
It seemed like another night of many thoughts.

2.
The night was deep, but sleep still didn’t come easily.

Amelia, who had been opening and closing books, getting up and sitting down, and rolling around on the bed, couldn’t stand it anymore and jumped up.

Siwoo’s room was just a few dozen meters away.
In fact, Siwoo still seemed uncomfortable with Amelia, so it would be better not to visit him if she was being considerate.
At least until he regained his accurate judgment and memory.

“…I just need to check if he’s sleeping well.”

But wasn’t Siwoo just recovering?
It was a sudden recovery.
It was important to keep watching him in case anything happened.

Even though she knew that Duke Keter wouldn’t make such a basic mistake, Amelia forced herself to be convinced and headed to Siwoo’s room.
She thought that maybe looking at his sleeping face would ease her complicated feelings a little.
Amelia entered the room, holding her breath so that the sound of the door opening wouldn’t wake him.

“………!”

It seemed that Amelia’s consideration for him had ultimately failed.
As soon as Amelia entered the room, she saw Siwoo, who was completely covered with a blanket on the bed, flinch.
The timing was too coincidental for him to have just tossed and turned in his sleep, and above all, his movements were too big.

Amelia checked the grandfather clock on one side of the room.
It was past 2 a.m., and he still hadn’t fallen asleep.

She sat on the chair next to the bed, where she always used to look at his face and hold his hand, and carefully lowered the blanket.

“Ah… Amelia, I’m sorry. I know I should be sleeping early… Ah, wasn’t that what you said, Amelia?”

Siwoo, looking around nervously as if he had done something wrong, was rambling.
She was the one who should be feeling sorry.

“It’s okay, you can sleep whenever you want. You can wake up late too.”
“I-I’m sorry…”

Amelia waited for him to calm down, speaking in the kindest voice possible, so that he wouldn’t be scared.

“Is there something uncomfortable that’s keeping you from sleeping?”
“N-No, but…”
“Should I bring you some warm milk?”
“Ah, no. It’s just…”

After thinking for a while, Siwoo carefully opened his mouth.
He seemed quite shy.

“I’m a little… scared.”
“Ah.”

That’s right.
Amelia realized.
She had been so focused on the fact that the person in front of her was Siwoo that she had overlooked the fact that he was a child, despite his mature appearance.
He was now a child, through and through.

When Amelia was young, she would be startled and lose sleep just by seeing the shadows of trees swaying in the wind.
If there was an open closet door, she would always close it, and she would fill the space under her bed with things so that monsters couldn’t lie there, afraid that there might be monsters there.
On days when storms raged with thunder and lightning, she would run to her teacher’s room.

At those times, her teacher would read her fairy tales until she fell asleep, sing her lullabies, or lie down with her and chat until Amelia was exhausted.

Children need care.
Only then did Amelia understand the meaning of Duke Keter’s words, “It will take a lot of care.”

“Shall we sleep together?”

While reminiscing about her memories with her teacher after a long time, words she hadn’t expected popped out of her mouth.
It wasn’t exactly her true feelings, but once she said it, it seemed like a good idea.

“Ah, no… it’s okay!”

As expected, Siwoo declined.
Of course, he wouldn’t accept such an offer when he felt so much fear and negative emotions.
Just as Amelia was slightly disappointed, Siwoo spoke again.

“Um… Amelia.”
“Yes, tell me.”
“Then, would it be okay if I asked you for just today?”

His eyes were wide and bright, and he looked so cute as he shyly asked.
Amelia understood why her teacher had poured so much love on her when she was a reckless and mischievous child.
It was a sight that awakened the maternal instinct within her.

“Is it comfortable here? Or do you want to come to my room?”

Gently.
She carefully stroked his forehead so that he wouldn’t be scared.
Siwoo, who had been flustered at first as if he had experienced unfamiliar kindness, seemed to have gained confidence and conveyed his intentions clearly for the first time.

“The picture over there is kind of creepy. I want to move rooms.”

The place he pointed to had a magic circle in the shape of a tree that he had drawn.
It was indeed a bit eerie when seen in the dark like this.

“Okay.”

As Amelia nodded, Siwoo slipped out of the blanket and put on his slippers.
He stood straight, looking awkward, as if he didn’t know how to treat her.

“Ah.”

Amelia reached out and was re-adjusting his eye patch, which had been disheveled from tossing and turning, when she realized something.

“Can I take off your eye patch for a moment?”
“Ah, yes. Amelia.”

When she removed the eye patch, his left eye was visible.
It didn’t move, and even if you looked closely, it had no life in it.
It was a prosthetic eye.

Duke Keter had turned back his time, and he had become a child, but his left eye, which had been injured by Eah, had not been healed.
Amelia, holding the eye patch, stood there for a long time, and Siwoo touched his face.

“Why, why are you doing that?”

Siwoo wouldn’t know anything right now.
Amelia shook her head calmly and put the eye patch back on.

“It’s nothing. Let’s go.”

It seemed that she needed to hear more explanation from Duke Keter about this issue.
Amelia took Siwoo back to her room.