Chapter 1118 – #265_Promising Star
#1112
1.
My hot night with Amelia ended quickly.
Instead, I filled the recently purchased bathtub with hot water, and we snuggled together while soaking in it.
“How was it, Siwoo?”
Perhaps it was the warmth of the lukewarm water, or perhaps she was a little embarrassed now that she had come to her senses.
Amelia asked, her cheeks flushed like roses.
“What’s there to say? It was the best.”
“Weren’t you disappointed that it was so short?”
Yebin had said that sex was not a problem after the mid-pregnancy stage, but that didn’t mean I could overexert the mother.
I couldn’t pour all my energy into Amelia like before, since she wasn’t alone anymore.
Therefore, the role-playing could be said to have been very short, lasting only about two hours in total.
“More than that, Amelia and Saessak are more important.”
I kissed Amelia’s neck and stroked her belly, and Amelia giggled with a small gesture.
“But how do you come up with these things?”
“What do you mean?”
“The… concept of the role-playing script.”
Let’s say the cringe, the humor, and the acting are overcome by the nostalgia of over-immersion and Amelia’s genius talent.
But even just looking at today, her role-playing often has bizarre settings, doesn’t it?
Even Siwoo, who had been trained with all sorts of adult content in the modern world, couldn’t have predicted it.
I was curious how Amelia, the orthodox witch assistant professor who was so uptight and sexually ignorant, came up with such ideas.
Amelia, who had been spouting absurd lines (that she wrote herself) with the stern expression and atmosphere of an assistant professor just 30 minutes ago, revealed the source with great embarrassment.
“I get all sorts of inspiration when I think about what Siwoo might like.”
It’s amazing in many ways.
That the vulgar, titillating situation was purely Amelia’s freestyle.
“I guess my image isn’t very good.”
“Because Siwoo is a huge pervert.”
“What about you, Amelia?”
“You’re asking the obvious. Aren’t I the prim, rigid, orthodox witch that Siwoo is terrified of?”
Amelia jokes with a playful tone.
“I do it because I love you.”
“They say a wise man pretends not to know a woman’s lies. I’m surprised once again that this was Amelia’s taste.”
When I retorted with another joke, Amelia puffed up her cheeks like a golden pufferfish.
“It’s not my taste. It’s Siwoo’s taste.”
“Hey, I’m not that deep.”
“I’m telling you, Siwoo is a pervert.”
“Ugh, that’s a shame. If I had known this, I could have gotten close to the assistant professor much faster.”
Then, as Amelia and I were playfully bickering, she exclaimed, “Siwoo!” with a small gasp.
“Saessak just moved!”
“Really? This little one is finally showing it to his dad!”
It was because Saessak was kicking to stop the couple’s fight.
“Unlike Amelia when she was young, she seems to be very shy and quiet. She doesn’t show any movement to her dad.”
“Saessak likes her mom more, you know? Here, Siwoo. Put your hand here.”
“Oh!”
“Isn’t she lively?”
With the two of them chatting away, their faces beaming, their 18-hour vacation slowly passed.
2.
Witches live for magic.
This proposition, which seems to require no further questioning, actually contains a bit of a contradiction.
It’s that witches don’t live ‘only’ for magic.
Witches also love, strive to increase their wealth, struggle to gain honor and social recognition, and enjoy fine dining, entertainment, and amusement.
Although magic may be their top priority, they rarely overwork themselves like machines.
Daphne Digrit, the ‘Green Witch,’ a researcher in the Basic Studies Department of the Hessed Magic Society, who was also a member of the Wine Pub Society and had been overworked on a recent project, was reminded of this obvious fact.
“I have something to tell the Society President.”
“Yes.”
“This is my resignation letter.”
Society President Shin Siwoo, who had immediately started researching upon returning from his vacation.
In front of him, Daphne placed a piece of paper and a thick stack of documents on the table.
The thin one was her resignation letter, and the thick one was the final version of the leftover work he had left behind.
I could feel the gazes around me.
I could hear the sounds of gasping and swallowing, and the signs of eyes widening in surprise.
Siwoo immediately waved his hand to form a soundproof barrier.
“Daphne, would you prefer to move to another place to talk?”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
As she followed him to the Society President’s office, Daphne reaffirmed her decision.
In fact, she had been agonizing over it several times.
Whether or not to quit being a researcher in the Basic Studies Department, which had become famous for its murderous workload.
It was an internal conflict shared not only by Daphne but also by other researchers in the Basic Studies Department.
It had been a long time since she had been able to go home, and she had never been able to lie down comfortably in the provided accommodation.
Instead of rest or vacation, it was routine to be thrown into all-nighters without a moment to breathe.
Until now, she had been pushing herself, seeing the potential of the Hessed Society and the charisma of the Society President, but seeing Shin Siwoo leaving behind leftover work yesterday, she was convinced.
The Society President is a genius sociopath who just knows how to handle people well.
It’s impossible to keep working under such a monster.
Siwoo handed Daphne a cup of coffee he had made himself and sat down.
“This is sudden.”
“Yes, I decided yesterday.”
“Hmm… May I ask why?”
“I think the values that I and the Society President pursue are different. I thought that if I continued, the gap would only widen.”
Daphne, who had revealed her prepared answer without hesitation, was newly nervous.
Shin Siwoo, who had become half-memed as the ‘Demon King’ among the researchers in the Basic Studies Department after struggling together for so long.
Rather than being a scary and overbearing image, he had a strong impression of being a comrade who worked together on tasks.
“Hmm.”
However, an indescribable sense of intimidation could be felt from his one eye, which was slightly frowning and resting on his chin.
I wanted to say ‘Just kidding~’ and retract my statement right away.
After all, his impression had become blurred because we had been eating together every day, but the person in front of me was a count, no less.
Moreover, she was a monster witch who had earned the title of count in less than 10 years.
And judging by the rumors, he seemed like he would hold a grudge for a very long time, wouldn’t he?
“Daphne, you were a really reliable person, so it’s a shame. You always carried out the tasks I asked for meticulously, and your sharp criticisms of the parts I missed were a great help.”
Daphne suppressed the heels that were about to fly up at Siwoo’s praise, which he added as if he were sorry.
No way!
I have to hold on here.
I had to resist the sense of accomplishment that his recognition gave, his soft, low voice, and his deep eyes that held regret.
How many times had I been played by the same trick until now?
“Thank you.”
He nodded without saying anything and put the resignation letter in his pocket.
“I want to hold you back, but I can’t force you since you seem to have already made up your mind. I will process it today. You can go to the personnel department to return the experimental materials and room keys that were provided.”
“Yes, thank you for your guidance, even though it was for a short time.”
“Do you have any societies or research institutes in mind? I can write you a letter of recommendation if you need one.”
A letter of recommendation from a count would work anywhere.
Except for the Truth and Enlightenment Society, which didn’t seem to have a good relationship with him, it would be a free pass to any society or research institute….
“It’s okay. It would be shameless for me to receive a letter of recommendation after dropping out of a project midway.”
“It’s a shame. I hope we can have a connection again in the future. Thank you for your hard work.”
“Yes, then I’ll be on my way.”
After finishing the business-like greetings, Daphne left the Hessed Society after being seen off by Siwoo and stopping by the personnel department….
The brilliant afternoon sunlight, which she had only been able to see through the window recently, enveloped her body.
“Ah….”
Daphne’s throat tightened.
Half of it was self-loathing, and half of it was a sense of liberation from finally escaping this tiresome cycle.
“This is life.”
But right now, the sense of liberation was much greater.
3.
Daphne, who went straight home and slept soundly to catch up on her sleep, finally woke up from her late nap at 11 a.m. the next day.
It was 16 hours of sleep that completely washed away her fatigue.
“Ugh… That’s good.”
After waking up her stiff body from a long sleep with a strong espresso, Daphne took out the list she had written before going to bed yesterday.
It was a list of ‘things to do for fun.’
Although she had personal research to catch up on, she didn’t want to look at the ‘m’ of magic for the time being, so now was the time to have fun like a student who had finished their exam life.
She threw off the shabby dress she had been wearing for days, prioritizing comfort, and changed into the most glamorous outfit in her dressing room.
She immediately rushed to the Levana Grand Bathhouse to relax her body.
“Ughhh…. This is good….”
As she soaked in the boiling hot bath and drank chilled champagne, she couldn’t help but let out an old man’s sigh of happiness at the feeling of paradise.
“Ughhh, so refreshing.”
After sweating it all out, she received a luxurious esthetic treatment with various scented candles and oils for a full body massage.
“Uuum! Delicious!”
Afterwards, she went straight to a wine bar in Lenormand Town to replenish the salt she felt she was lacking and crunched on salted olives while waiting for her friend.
“Who is this? Isn’t it Daphne? I haven’t seen your face in so long, I thought you were dead.”
“Olivia, don’t even say it. Do you know how I’ve been lately?”
The friend she had made an appointment with and was waiting for was ‘Olivia Treji.’
She was one of the vice-chairpersons of the Truth and Enlightenment Society, and in terms of a witch’s hierarchy, she was far higher than Daphne, but since they were classmates at Trinity Academy, they were best friends in private.
It was also the reason why Daphne had refused Siwoo’s letter of recommendation.
It was true that she was shameless, but if she received a letter of recommendation from him and ended up going to a research institute affiliated with the Society with Olivia’s help, it would look awkward.
As soon as they met, they expressed their joy with a bisou (a kiss on the cheek) and sank into the sofa.
“Order whatever you want.”
“If you remember how picky I am about wine, you wouldn’t say that so carelessly.”
“Today is the day to celebrate my great exodus.”
“Exodus?”
“I quit the Hessed Society.”
“Really? Well, I didn’t think you’d be there for long anyway.”
Daphne, who was in a great mood, didn’t notice Olivia’s eyes flashing for a moment as she replied nonchalantly.
“Do you want to talk about it in detail?”
Olivia leaned her upper body slightly and asked secretly.
