Chapter 746 – #159_The Prodigal Son Returns (4)
#746
1.
After a major operation, Siwoo successfully escaped from Hexennacht.
From Eloa’s perspective, the results are as follows:
The most important thing.
Due to Eloa’s carelessness, she almost lost him again, but her disciple and beloved lover, Shin Siwoo, returned safely and unharmed.
Next.
Eloa did not lose her title.
Contrary to Duke Errelim’s threats, it was not so simple to confiscate the Duke title from Eloa.
It was also true that Eloa was respected by many witches.
At least, no one in Gehenna was dissatisfied or suspicious of Tiferet being a Duke.
Tiferet’s name was essential to promote that Hexennacht’s growth was not a threat and that Gehenna was still strong.
And next.
The accomplice who kidnapped her disciple, and a notorious public enemy, followed him, claiming to be his lover.
Of course, Eloa was not the type to hate and reject public enemies unconditionally.
The only public enemies she sentenced to death, regardless of the reason, were those who committed the crime of ‘killing apprentice witches.’
This complex world could not be perfectly measured by the dichotomy of good and evil.
Therefore, Eloa’s attitude towards Dorothy was generally moderate.
It wasn’t just because she needed her help to rescue Siwoo, but also because Dorothy was a witch who had never committed unnecessary killings.
However, this time, the opponent was the Sword Witch, with whom Eloa had clashed several times before.
Eloa could not accept the Sword Demon, who roamed the world under the pretext of worshiping the sword and reaching higher levels, challenging the strong to life-or-death duels.
That such a detestable public enemy would serve Siwoo, whom she loved more than anyone, as her husband.
That her beloved disciple would acknowledge such a public enemy as his lover.
It was impossible.
It was unacceptable.
She didn’t even want to understand.
Not knowing what face to make to her disciple, and with the thought of immediately cutting down Linne if she tried anything suspicious.
Eloa had shut herself in this gloomy underground prison, leaving her disciple, whom she had reunited with after a long time, alone.
Linne had been kneeling on the floor in meditation since being imprisoned in the underground prison, and Eloa did not bother to speak to her.
A call breaks through the long silence.
“Master.”
Siwoo walked towards his master, whom he had not seen in a while.
“I’m here.”
The beginning of this incident was due to a small mistake by his master.
Considering the hardships she must have gone through when Siwoo disappeared again, it wouldn’t be strange if she ran to him with tears in her eyes and a flushed face.
However, her face, which had been sitting with a fierce expression, was still stiff even after discovering Siwoo.
It was as expected.
For his master, who had vowed to spend the rest of her life subjugating evil public enemies, the existence of Linne, who had become his lover regardless of the circumstances, could not be tolerated.
But when he reached close to his master, that is, to where Linne, who had only opened her eyes while meditating, could be seen.
Siwoo saw Eloa’s pink eyes, which were moist with tears.
Unlike her eyes, which seemed to strongly plead, ‘Hug me now,’ ‘Kiss me now,’ his master calmly continued to speak.
“Have you woken up? I’m glad you returned safely.”
“Yes, it’s all thanks to you, Master.”
“How is it thanks to me? I couldn’t even stop you from being captured, despite all my boasting… I have no face to show.”
Eloa hung her head low.
Even a single strand of hair sticking out looked dejected.
When Siwoo carefully tried to embrace her shoulder…
“…Siwoo.”
Eloa silently brushed away Siwoo’s hand.
It was a simple action, but it was a huge shock.
His master, who was more prone to loneliness than a rabbit, was rejecting physical contact?
Especially after reuniting after such a long time and many twists and turns?
It wasn’t just because Linne was next to him.
It was a sign of her determination not to let this issue pass easily.
“Not now…”
His master, with a pained expression, clutched her elbow at Siwoo’s surprised reaction.
Her attitude was cold, yet she seemed as if she would burst into tears at the slightest touch, truly feeling like she was in extreme confusion.
“Husband.”
Linne, who had been watching this, had already gotten up from her spot and was holding onto the bars of the prison.
Linne spoke, leaning her body as close as possible, perhaps to get closer to Siwoo.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
She had lost consciousness from the moment she left Hexennacht.
Therefore, she did not know Siwoo’s situation properly and was just asking out of concern.
-Whoosh!
At that moment, a sword was swung, and the blade stopped right in front of Linne’s eyes.
A few strands of hair that had been grazed by the tip of the sword fluttered down.
“I warned you not to approach the bars.”
“……”
The person who swung the sword was Eloa.
The weak atmosphere from just now was gone, and a spine-chilling murderous aura was radiating out in streaks.
Linne looked at Eloa without blinking an eye, even with the threat of her eyes being pierced if she moved even slightly.
“Master!”
Siwoo, who never expected her to be so forceful, tried to grab Eloa’s wrist.
Of course, he understood his master’s feelings.
Siwoo was the only one who had spent time with Linne.
His master would not know Linne’s situation or position, nor how many times she had risked her life for Siwoo.
However, his master’s arm did not budge even while being held by the wrist.
“I have not criticized you for having multiple lovers.”
Instead, she continued with a very heavy voice.
“It was because I thought I had no right to monopolize you, nor the right to limit your happiness.”
“Master, please listen to me.”
“But not this woman. How can you say it makes sense to have a clear public enemy as a lover? I think I’ve been too lenient in how I’ve treated you so far.”
Knowing better than anyone what kind of life his master had lived, and knowing how much she was swallowing her tears inside while scolding Siwoo, he couldn’t say a word in protest.
“I know what you’re trying to ask me.”
He had heard from the others about the offer Siwoo had received from the Golden Witch, and what Duke Errelim had been plotting behind the scenes.
Duke Errelim had audaciously tried to secretly secure Siwoo’s safety.
The reason she couldn’t openly address this provocation was because evidence of her backroom dealings with Hexennacht had been discovered.
Errelim, who had talked about stripping her of her Duke title, had no justification for her underhanded schemes.
On top of that, Eloa was furious, and if she protested formally as a ‘Duke,’ the safe return of Linne and Dorothy would not be difficult.
If Eloa, who was famous for opposing public enemies her whole life, vouched for the two, other witches would not strongly object.
Deneb’s words, ‘The key is held by Duke Tiferet,’ meant this.
“You are a kind person, so I believe you can be swayed by emotions and make the wrong choice. You wouldn’t be able to cast aside someone who helped you.”
“That’s right. I definitely want to help.”
“I will set a condition. You don’t need to worry about Dorothy. If you deny that the Sword Witch is your lover, and promise not to meet her again, I will also put my honor on the line and work for their return.”
“Master…”
“This one is a sinner and an evil person. This time, put aside your childishness.”
This was the maximum concession Eloa could make.
“Duke Tiferet.”
At that moment, Linne called out to Eloa.
Eloa’s gaze turned coldly.
Her gaze, devoid of any warmth, quietly recited her will to reject once more.
“If my past is the problem, I will atone.”
“Atonement? You speak of it so easily.”
In front of Eloa, who was growling, Linne calmly uttered chilling words.
“Cut off my two thumbs so they will never heal. Sever my ankles, gouge out my eyes. You can seal the mark with my organs.”
The content she calmly spoke was utterly gruesome.
If Eloa had dedicated her life to revenge, Linne had dedicated hers to the sword.
For her, who was a swordswoman, cutting off the thumbs that allowed her to wield a sword, the Achilles tendons that allowed her to kick off the ground, and taking away her sight, meant death.
Sealing the mark meant death as a witch.
“If I cannot be by my husband’s side, then kill me. I have no attachment to life.”
Linne was willing to endure all of that in the name of atonement.
However, Eloa did not even blink an eye.
“Do not call him your husband.”
“My husband is my husband. I have decided to dedicate the rest of my life entirely to my husband.”
“I clearly told you not to.”
“I have no intention of starting a rivalry between wives.”
“I am not his wife, and you will not become a concubine either.”
If you only took the dialogue logs, it would seem like a cute fight between masters, but the atmosphere was truly too chilling.
Siwoo quickly intervened and said.
“Master, then how about this method?”
In fact, he wasn’t just trying to ask his master without thinking.
He had explained the situation sufficiently and had also considered Linne’s ‘atonement’ in a different direction.
Like Alice, he had planned to ask her to put Linne into the position point, which was already short-handed, under the guise of unpaid service.
If a 22nd-level combat witch joined, it would help to rectify the chaotic situation.
However, that was a naive plan he had come up with, not knowing that Eloa’s heart was so full of distrust.
He had tried his best to explain, but his master seemed to have no intention of accepting Linne no matter what.
“I will absolutely not allow it. If the current world is chaotic, then I will just exert more power. The enemy of an enemy is not necessarily an ally.”
“Master…”
“…I need to rest a bit. You should rest too.”
As if she could not listen anymore, Eloa left as if fleeing.
She was feeling extreme fatigue just from having to refuse Siwoo’s request.
“……”
Siwoo could not bring himself to grab her and just stared blankly.
Thus, only Linne and Siwoo were left alone in the underground prison.
Siwoo turned his gaze back to the front.
On the chair where his master had been sitting, there was a bunch of keys used for the prison’s bars and shackles, placed too neatly to be a mistake.
Master so cute