Chapter 866 – #189_A Common Drama (4)
#860
1.
Lucy Yesod found the twins near the docks of Bordertown.
They were soaking wet from the rain and sobbing, so she couldn’t just leave them and brought them home first.
In principle, apprentice witches cannot go outside Gehenna without a guardian, but the fact that they were loitering near the immigration office indicated that they were determined to run away.
“Sniff…”
“Paeaeeng…!”
Count Yesod, having finished a remote communication with Albireo, wrapped a towel around herself and spoke to the sobbing twins on the sofa.
“Kids, would you like some cocoa?”
Even if they were sturdy reflection bodies, they were likely to catch a cold if they were drenched in rainwater in this cold weather.
She offered them sweet cocoa, which was good for warming the body and when feeling down.
“Thank you, sniff.”
“Thank you, Count…”
“You can stay as long as you’re comfortable. I’ll make sure you’re not inconvenienced.”
Odile and Odette, who had been alternating between wailing, were now exhausted and listlessly accepted the cocoa.
Their eyes, swollen like caterpillars, were truly pitiful.
Albireo also seemed unaware of why the twins had run away, and at this point, she became curious.
Count Yesod waited for them to calm down a bit more and then cautiously asked.
“Kids, but why did you run away?”
As soon as the question was asked, the twins’ lower lips jutted out.
At the same time, their tear ducts, which had been drying up a bit, seemed to burst again, and tears flowed down their faces.
“If it’s hard to talk about, you don’t have to.”
“No, it’s not that… Hwaaaeng!”
“Hwaaaang!”
Seeing the twins crying loudly like the exhaust sound of a sports car, Count Yesod was at a loss.
She felt like she had poked at them unnecessarily when she should have waited a bit longer.
“Actually… actually, our little teacher and…”
“Assistant Shin Siwoo…”
Finally, Count Yesod learned the cause of everything from the twins’ mouths.
“Two people kissed?”
“Yes… It’s too much… Both our little teacher and the assistant.”
“It was so bad!!!”
“They’re mother-in-law and son-in-law! Our little teacher and the assistant!”
Watching the twins, who were erupting again like a volcano that had briefly paused, Count Yesod felt her head spinning.
“First, why don’t you rest a bit.”
Count Yesod left the room for a moment, leaving the twins behind.
“I didn’t think it would turn out like this…”
It was a fact she had known all along.
Wasn’t Lucy the first person to know Deneb’s true feelings?
It was Count Yesod’s idea to switch Deneb and Lucy’s bodies so that they could have a relationship with Shin Siwoo.
At that time, Deneb received effective ‘healing’ for her lovesickness, and Lucy was able to obtain excellent experimental data by observing the ‘relationship between Shin Siwoo and the apprentice witch,’ so she thought it was a win-win contract.
In the end, she was caught by Albireo and had to listen to harsh words, but she didn’t think it would escalate this seriously.
Deneb was also a twilight witch who was not far from succession, and as a very sharp person, she believed that even if she felt confused by her first love, she would quickly regain her composure.
But she never thought the snowball would roll this far.
It seemed that she had taken this matter too lightly, blinded by the possibility of living with Diana forever.
It was also difficult to say that Lucy had no responsibility at all.
“What should I do…”
Count Yesod sighed deeply.
2.
Siwoo, Deneb, and Albireo gathered in one place.
The heavy atmosphere flowing between the three was completely different from usual.
“I’m sorry, Siwoo. I’m sorry, sister…”
Deneb, with tears and a trembling voice, poured out all her feelings.
It was a secret she wanted to hide forever because it was so shameful and embarrassing, but she couldn’t help but speak, thinking of the twins who had been hurt.
Siwoo and Albireo remained silent.
Albireo, in particular, did not look good.
Her eyes were red, and she looked like she would burst into tears at any moment.
That was because there was no one in this place who had malicious intent or had done wrong.
When she first heard Deneb’s words, she thought it was just her ‘immature’ younger sister’s clumsy first love.
She had lived for so long without even holding a man’s hand, so she thought she was just faltering from so-called physical affection.
And if that was such a light feeling.
If it was just a momentary mistake.
She had left it alone, believing that Deneb would take care of it herself.
She had only looked at it with a critical eye, citing reasons such as it was because of her damned son-in-law, or because Deneb had a late-blooming love.
All she had done was sigh at the family tree that had become a mess.
“……”
But in fact, she had never seriously listened to Deneb’s words.
She had treated it like someone else’s problem, just because they were one body, a Gemina, and it was outrageous.
She had dismissed Deneb’s feelings as a momentary impulse or an immature feeling, and that was why they were having a serious conversation only now that things had come to this point.
She should have arranged this kind of meeting sooner.
Albireo felt responsible.
“It’s all my fault.”
Her son-in-law spoke in a gloomy voice.
“I should have handled things in the aquarium myself, even if it took a little longer. I think I created unnecessary trouble.”
“No, that was the best we could do at the time. I don’t think it’s Siwoo’s fault… It’s all because I’m lacking…”
Albireo, who was now able to look at the situation a bit more objectively, judged that Shin Siwoo seemed to have been completely unaware.
No, he had vaguely sensed it, but it would be more accurate to say that he had intentionally turned a blind eye.
Shin Siwoo was someone who had his own standards and knew how to draw the line appropriately.
He must have felt sorry just for having the thought, ‘Could my little mother-in-law be into me?’
Even in that situation, he was trying to take responsibility, saying it was his fault, and Albireo wondered if she had been looking at Siwoo with too much prejudice.
“I will try to talk to Odile and Odette. This was also a problem, I should have told them about the verification fact sooner, but I messed things up by trying to keep the secret ambiguous.”
Siwoo was feeling responsible amidst his confusion.
Even if it was an unavoidable situation during the verification, there were other options in the aquarium.
If he had ignored his little mother-in-law’s hot seduction and continued with only obligatory bee sex….
Wouldn’t the situation be better than it was now?
People in the world want to express love as something spiritual and sublime, but the impact of sex on a relationship between a man and a woman is never small.
Especially if it’s the first relationship.
“Okay, I understand. Siwoo, could you leave us for a bit? I have something to talk about with Deneb.”
“No. I think it’s a problem that I should share as well.”
“It’s not that, it’s that we sisters have something to talk about. I’ll come find you if I need to.”
“…Then I understand.”
Siwoo, who was about to say something to Deneb, silently left the room.
Only the two counts remained in Albireo’s office.
Albireo organized her thoughts.
“Deneb, so what do you want to do?”
In the past, Albireo would have just lashed out at Deneb.
She had begged her to come to her senses, urged her to give up quickly, and even threatened that she would never see her daughter and the apprentice witch fighting over a man until the day she died.
But after hearing Deneb’s desperate story, it wasn’t easy.
“Deneb, if it’s really hard for you…”
Therefore, she was considering whether to turn a blind eye to their relationship after setting a time limit of ‘until the succession.’
It was outrageous, but what could she do?
Odile and Odette were her beloved daughters, but Deneb was also precious.
It was no exaggeration to say that she was one with Albireo.
How could she be called the twins’ sister if she didn’t stand by her side when she was suffering?
Anyway, she already had many lovers, and Count Yesod was also having regular relationships under the pretext of experiments.
Albireo was willing to compromise and yield to that extent.
Of course, she would have to ask her son-in-law’s opinion as well.
Originally, witches who were about to succeed were supposed to spend their remaining lives doing whatever they wanted.
It was hard to watch her suffer and end her life with this kind of heartache.
“I’ll… give up…”
But unlike Albireo, who was thinking of a more generous solution, Deneb’s answer was quick.
There was no energy in her voice, but her firm determination was felt.
“I’ll apologize to the twins… and atone with asceticism until the succession.”
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
“No, sister. This is how it should have been from the beginning. I’m sorry for showing you my ugly side.”
The shocked expressions on the twins’ faces had also left Deneb with much to think about.
She realized how ugly she was, floundering over love and losing her mind.
She realized how much pain that could cause the twins.
She acknowledged and accepted that she could no longer betray Odile and Odette with the excuse of love.
“Can I go now?”
“You look tired, so let’s talk again tomorrow. Count Lucy Yesod is protecting the twins.”
“Okay, sister. I’ll go see them tomorrow.”
“Tell me to go with you.”
Seeing Deneb turn away, Albireo didn’t add any more words.
“How did it come to this…”
She could only see her off with a pitiful gaze, watching her heartbreaking unrequited love.
Even before Albireo could return to her seat, she heard hurried footsteps.
“Great Master!”
The one who rushed in was Vera, one of the twins’ exclusive maids.
Judging by the fact that she wasn’t in her pajamas even at this hour, she must have been on duty.
“What’s wrong?”
Vera, who was still clumsy as a servant but still tried to follow etiquette, knelt down and cried.
“Maid Galina has collapsed! What do I do… What do I do…”
“What? What are you talking about! Explain calmly!”
“I, I found her collapsed in the kitchen. I heard she had a fever recently… Huk, heuheuheuk…”
Why did bad news always come one after another?
Albireo immediately followed Vera.
