City ​​of Witches 705

## Chapter 705 – #142_The Golden Witch

#705

1.
The applause died down.

In the shadows of the open doorway, like a dark curtain.
The first thing visible was a pair of golden eyes, shining like those of a feline predator.

The figure who appeared, with her shimmering blonde hair cascading around her shoulders, was none other than the Golden Witch, Lydia Magnus.
The slightly muffled applause was likely due to the white gloves she wore, reaching up to her elbows.

“Ha….”

I had a rough idea from her voice, but seeing her in person made me feel utterly lost.
The hand holding my spear loosened.

If she had been just an average witch, I would have tried my hardest to create some kind of variable, but the opponent before me was someone whose rank even Siwoo couldn’t fathom.

In other words, she was at least a Great Witch…

According to Dorothy, the Golden Witch was the head of a massive organization called the ‘Solidus Trading Company.’
If she led such a large group in the wild Heksen Nacht, it meant she was a witch with considerable power.

I hadn’t expected things to go smoothly, but to face the worst possible opponent in just three minutes?
Siwoo inwardly swallowed the words, ‘This matchmaking is seriously fucked.’

Unlike Siwoo, who was already on the battlefield in his mind, regardless of his condition.
Lydia calmly walked past Siwoo towards Rosie’s mangled corpse.

She approached close enough for the blood, which had spread out in a radial pattern, to soak the tips of her shoes, and stared at it silently.
Her back was completely exposed.
The only remaining chance of escape was to pray for a miracle and launch a surprise attack on that defenseless back.

Yet, Siwoo couldn’t bring himself to thrust his spear.

After participating in the Almak Club auction with Linne and winning Alice.

Siwoo, while waiting for Linne in the reception room, had met Lydia.
And he remembered the cryptic words she had left behind.

‘Come find me when you have time. There are many things I’d like to talk about. Maybe our interests align. Of course, keep it a secret from Linne.’

He hadn’t discarded the business card she had given him either.
Even if the opponent was an enigmatic figure with unknown intentions, in the worst-case scenario, even their help could become crucial.

After quickly weighing the situation, Siwoo let his spear dissipate.

The probability of injuring her enough with a surprise attack to stop her pursuit and being protected by Linne, who would know all the circumstances.
The probability of the conversation progressing in a way that ensured safety through dialogue.

Both were extremely slim, but the latter at least showed some possibility.

It was important not to forget.

Even though he had spent a considerable amount of time with Linne and had seen her embarrassing side that no one else had, the relationship between Siwoo and Linne hadn’t changed.

Siwoo was a temporary disciple and a catalyst for her power.
Linne was a temporary teacher and a jailer who confined and monitored Siwoo.

That was all their relationship was.

He hadn’t started this whole thing with the intention of relying on her in the first place.

If the violence he committed in Heksen Nacht, especially killing a Great Witch like Rosie, became an official issue, how likely was it that Linne would cover it up?

And most of all, what bothered him was the relationship between Rosie and Linne.

Linne and Rosie had known each other before.
Rosie had been by Linne’s side when she tried to kidnap Siwoo in the labyrinth.

If Linne knew about this atrocity, it meant she had knowingly let everything happen and, to make matters worse, continued to maintain a close relationship.

He couldn’t accept that, no matter what else.

“The brand is intact. I can take it, right? Oh, by the way, I wasn’t just being polite when I said I was impressed by the fight. I was genuinely amazed.”

Lydia, who had been squatting down and poking Rosie’s corpse, stood up.

In her hand, she held a single gold coin.
It wasn’t a sophisticated, counterfeit-proof coin with ornate designs like the ones used for transactions in Gehenna.

It was a crude coin, like something an archaeologist would dig up, that looked like it was used at least before the Common Era, with a color that resembled brass rather than gold.

However, even if his magic was completely depleted, Siwoo’s eyes were still working properly.

He could easily sense the immense power contained in the gold coin that was magically rolling between Lydia’s fingers.

-Ting

Lydia flicked the gold coin with her thumb, producing a clear sound.
At the same time, golden magic covered the space.

Rosie’s corpse, drawn by the dazzling light, shattered into pieces.
Not in a grotesque sense, but in a way that felt like it was being decomposed into its elemental components, enveloped in light and radiance.

The golden particles, swirling like pollen caught in a whirlwind, created another gold coin before settling down.

Now, in Lydia’s hand, instead of the shabby gold coin, was a slightly larger and shinier blank gold coin.

“Hmm, it turned out beautifully. I’m very satisfied.”

Lydia, who had neatly cleaned up the crime scene like a special cleaner, looked at Siwoo with her eyes still reflecting the light and gave him a soft smile.

“You don’t have to look so stiff. First of all, I have no intention of blaming you or getting you into trouble. That means I’m not your enemy.”
“Why?”

Siwoo had just seen a depth of power in that gold coin similar to what he had seen from his teacher, Amelia, and R’lyeh.
As befitting the representative of a trading company that had gathered various public figures and exiles, she possessed the power of the 23rd rank.

It was fortunate that there seemed to be a chance to resolve things through conversation.

Even if he had been at his best, he couldn’t guarantee even a 1% chance of victory against her.

“The Silent Witch and I don’t get along very well. She’s so well-connected that I have to deal with her, but I’m grateful if she exits so cleanly like this. The brand is a bonus.”
“Our interests align. Is it okay to think that?”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s lucky for you that you did this without any countermeasures.”

Lydia took out a long carving knife from her pocket.
She delicately grasped the smooth wooden handle, which seemed to have been used a lot, and began to carve something into the blank gold coin.

She made a scratching sound, occasionally blowing on it to remove the gold dust.

It seemed that Siwoo was the only one maintaining a state of tension in this place.

“What will happen to me now?”

In that short time.
Lydia, who had finally finished carving the front and back of the coin, as well as the serrated pattern on the edge, held the coin up to the ceiling light before opening her mouth.

“Sorry for making you wait. The quality can drop if I don’t process it immediately.”
“…If you’re done, I would appreciate it if you could answer what will happen to me.”

“You have to come with me. Do you have any other choice? Linne doesn’t have the power to cover up this incident. But I do. If you fall into the hands of another faction because of this, that would be a headache for me.”

Lydia’s answer wasn’t so kind.

Another faction? A headache?
Just as he was trying to piece together the fragments of clues from the conversation to form a bigger picture.

“Oops.”

Lydia let out a rather old-fashioned exclamation, looking flustered.

“I wanted to explain in more detail, but I guess I was too relaxed.”
“Yes, you were carving a gold coin.”
“Someone scary is coming here, so we need to leave quickly.”
“Someone scary?”

The first person that came to mind was Linne.
But she had clearly become quite awkward after the last hot night, and she had even received a message from Yebin, so why would she be here?

While Siwoo was furrowing his brow in confusion, Lydia began to emit magic.

“I’ll explain and persuade you later. Please don’t take it too badly?”

With Lydia’s wink, a powerful sleep spell engulfed Siwoo.

2.
A long wait.
Even though it was well past midnight, there was no sign of her disciple and prospective husband, Shin Siwoo, returning.

“……”

In fact, she just needed to wait.

As Linne had understood before, a virtuous wife should not criticize her husband’s lack of virtue but rather embrace him.

Jealousy was one of the seven reasons for divorce, so even if he was having an orgy with three women, if she covered it up, it would be as if it never happened.

However, the growing impatience and anxiety kept making Linne fidget.
After opening and closing the eel rice bento box she had made several times, Linne could no longer bear it and got up from her seat.

She had already prepared a plausible excuse for her actions.

Devotion doesn’t take just one form.
It was certainly frivolous to chase after a wandering husband and nag him.

But what about a wife who carefully offers a homemade bento box to her hungry husband?
Who could point a finger at such a devoted act?

It was said, “A home with a virtuous wife, the husband will not encounter misfortune.”

Even though his licentious behavior was a problem right now, it meant that if there was a virtuous wife, the husband would also understand his duty and fulfill it.

The food in the lunch box didn’t require any separate packaging.
It would be excessive to pack enough food to break the table.

Based on that thought, Linne, taking only the eel rice and clear soup she had made, left Hyangwolru and headed towards Rosie’s mansion.

The wide mansion was as open as ever.

However, while there were signs that someone had been in the reception room, there was no sign of anyone.
She walked around the garden with the fountain, the areas where guests could freely come and go, and even the more private spaces, but she couldn’t see a single shadow.

There was no way there was only one bedroom in this large mansion, but the bedroom she found during her search was also empty.

Eventually, Linne used her senses to find Siwoo and Rosie.
However, even though she had heightened her senses to the maximum, the quiet silence that showed no sign of breaking indicated that this place was currently uninhabited.

Linne’s intuition was excellent.
It wasn’t just intuition, but a transcendent sixth sense that she had gained from her time on the battlefield.

That intuition was ringing red alarms.
There was an unease that wouldn’t go away.

“……”

There was something interfering with Linne’s senses during her search.
A dome-shaped structure, wrapped in all sorts of barriers, was located at the top of the mansion, a workshop.

It was rude to approach each other’s workshops unless they were very close, so she had passed by it during her search.

-Creak!

Linne, who had climbed the stairs, opened the door to the workshop without hesitation.
Linne frowned.

A playroom with a chaotic and childish design greeted her.

However, even in this place where there didn’t seem to be any place to hide, Rosie and Siwoo were nowhere to be seen.
There were no signs of doors or connections to other rooms, so there was no point in searching this room any further.

Just as she was about to turn away without any regrets.
Linne didn’t miss the scent that brushed past her nose.

“…This is.”

The fresh smell of blood had traces of someone covering it up with magic.

However, like with cleansing magic, it was difficult to get rid of all the scent particles that had already spread in the air.
To be precise, there was no need to prepare so thoroughly.
There was no need to erase even the subtle scents that only a hunting dog could notice.

And Linne was a witch who boasted a sense of smell superior to that of a hunting dog, even though she couldn’t taste.
Linne closed her eyes and inhaled.

When her eyelids opened and her black eyes took in the scenery of the workshop.
Linne murmured softly.

“Shin Siwoo.”

The owner of this scent and Linne’s prospective disciple.
And the name of her soon-to-be fiancé.