Chapter 1162 – #277_Division
#1156
1.
No matter how chaotic the world is, the apprentice witch’s lessons continue.
The twin daughters of Count Jemernai, Odile and Odette, still had many mountains to climb before they could fully inherit their marks.
“Odile, Odette, you both did wonderfully!”
“Of course.”
“When have we ever done anything half-heartedly?”
The tutor looked at the twins, who answered so confidently, as if seeing them anew.
She had been in charge of the twins’ alchemy lessons for several years now, and she was a Maygas-level member of the Emerald Tablet.
Originally, she wasn’t meant to be teaching basic alchemy to apprentice witches. To put it in perspective, it was like bringing in a Nobel laureate to tutor for the SAT science section.
It was a luxurious invitation brought about by the immense capital and influence of the Jemernai family.
However, the tutor, who had readily accepted the offer to secure research funds, had come to deeply understand the cliché that ‘there’s a reason why the salary is high.’
‘Tell us about your first love.’
‘What’s popular in the current world?’
‘What’s the hottest gossip in high society these days?’
Basically, the twins were quite scattered. One of the qualities required of an apprentice witch was curiosity, so it couldn’t be seen as entirely bad, but their attitude in class wasn’t exactly great either.
‘Actually, we did our homework, but Pecha washed it with the laundry.’
‘Mine was stolen by a cat and taken to the roof.’
They often made excuses to skip homework, and while they listened to the lessons, they quickly got bored…
‘We’re really sorry….’
‘But the sun was so nice….’
She never imagined that part of her duties would include catching the two of them as they climbed over the fence and rode horses during breaks.
Odile and Odette were full of energy even on their own, but when they teamed up to cause mischief, she had often found herself clutching the resignation letter in her pocket.
But about three years ago, the twins began to change. Especially recently, the change was very noticeable.
“I’ve made corrections. Submit a revised paper reflecting the feedback by the next class. That’s all for today.”
“Yes, teacher.”
“Thank you for your hard work today.”
“Okay.”
Now, the twins, who not only looked like noble ladies but also bowed politely, packed their things and left the classroom with hurried steps.
“Well, apprentice witches do grow up really fast.”
The tutor smiled, reminiscing about her own past.
“I really… want to play.”
“Tsk, Odette. We agreed not to have such childish conversations anymore, right?”
“Yeah, we did, but… it’s just too strict.”
“…It is.”
The twins hurried down the hallway towards the portal.
In fact, Siwoo’s influence was the biggest factor in Odile and Odette’s change.
When Siwoo first went to the current world, Odile and Odette’s future plan was roughly ‘Odile and Odette, the admirable ones who will feed the amateur witch assistant.’ At the time, the gap between Siwoo and the next heir of the count family was so enormous that there wasn’t really a problem with the status quo.
However, the assistant, who was just an amateur witch, rose rapidly and seized the title of count in just three years.
“All of this is a trial to stand side by side with the assistant.”
“I know, I know. The assistant does dangerous things when left alone. Now we have to help.”
This was enough of a stimulus for the twins.
Such an amazing person was their lover. If they only focused on maintaining the status quo, they would obviously become inadequate lovers, wouldn’t they?
This was a reality that the two apprentice witches, who hated losing more than anything, found hard to accept.
So, there was only one way.
To put in more effort than before to become good witches.
Even if they couldn’t help the assistant right away, they would do their best in their current position.
That was the behind-the-scenes story of how the twins became brand new.
“Ugh, it’s a mess.”
“I know…”
The twins, who had arrived at the Hesed Society, clicked their tongues as they watched the witches moving busily everywhere.
Even though they were living with the mindset of doing what they could, they still had eyes to see and ears to hear.
Since the ‘truth of the world’ and Hexen Nacht’s ‘witch empire declaration’ had spread widely, Gehenna was also suffering from an epidemic.
Opinions had been divided into two factions.
The reformists, mainly the orthodox faction, who said that it was necessary to suppress humans by agreeing with or condoning Hexen Nacht’s actions.
And the cautious faction, who said that Hexen Nacht had gone too far and that there was no need to be so wary yet.
“It’s so hard to even see the assistant’s face these days.”
“What can we do? Things have turned out this way.”
The Hesed Society was naturally a moderate faction and was accelerating preparations for war.
Rather than preparing for an all-out war, it seemed to be preparing to threaten Hexen Nacht so that they wouldn’t cross the line any further.
It seemed that preparations were being made with guerrilla warfare in mind in case of an emergency.
Either way, if they condoned this, it was obvious that Hexen Nacht would go even more insane.
The fact that more Gehenna witches chose to side with humans than with Hexen Nacht was probably because of the order that Keter had maintained and the connections that had been established between Gehenna witches and the current world.
The Hesed Society, which had already incorporated various minor societies, the Emerald Tablet, and the Secretary Office, had completed its organization, and as soon as this news spread, Hexen Nacht’s expansion policy also became passive.
In fact, there wasn’t much the twins could do in this situation.
They were still apprentice witches, after all.
But that didn’t mean there was nothing they could do.
Hadn’t they made a promise?
To do what they could right now.
“Amelia! We’re here!”
“Is the associate professor here?”
The place the twins arrived at right after class was the annex of the Tiferet mansion.
It was a private annex within the Hesed Society that only Siwoo’s family could enter.
“Odile, Odette. Welcome.”
Amelia, dressed in comfortable and cozy clothes, greeted the twins with their cheerful greetings.
Originally, Associate Professor Amelia was one of the few natural enemies who held the reins of the twins.
The twins were quite afraid of her.
Well, how many witches weren’t afraid of Amelia during her ice statue days?
But the current Associate Professor Amelia was like a teacher.
Her atmosphere had softened, she smiled warmly, and most of all, she gave them lots of snacks.
“I’ve prepared cookies and coffee. Make yourselves comfortable.”
“Wow! Thank you.”
“Did you make them yourself again this time?”
“Of course. I even made the apple jam myself.”
Although the Marigold Perfumery had gained fame in Gehenna, it was safe to say that if they had created a Marigold Bakery, it would have received tremendous praise.
Despite her modesty, saying it was just a hobby, Amelia’s baking skills were better than the family’s chefs.
“Amelia, can we play with Malika?”
“Of course. Just don’t be too loud.”
The twins, who had devoured the crispy pastries with apple jam and coffee, went straight to the nursery.
“Is our cute princess sleeping?”
“Malika…! Your aunts are here…!”
The twins whispered quietly so as not to wake her if she was sleeping.
A mobile that spun around was rotating above a tiny crib.
As soon as she heard the twins’ voices, Malika smiled and made a baby’s typical laughing sound.
She even made direct eye contact with her bright, clear eyes.
Usually, babies don’t properly distinguish objects and sleep less until they are at least three months old, but Malika was a spirit, so she was different.
“Oh! Sister! I think Malika can recognize our voices now!”
This was what the twins had decided was ‘what they could do right now.’
The incompetent assistant was busy running around with the baby, so the twins would fill that void and play with Malika.
When Malika was sleeping, they would help Amelia with housework or run errands.
“Bwa…”
“Instead of ‘bwa,’ try saying ‘Odette.’ Odette.”
“No, Odile! Try saying O. Dile.”
In fact, at first, both Odile and Odette only saw Malika as an object of caution.
A witch who couldn’t get pregnant, yet the associate professor was pregnant.
They thought that since a baby had been born between the two, different problems might arise, unlike the relationship they had been managing well so far.
So, from a young age, their initial goal was to take on the position of aunts who played with Malika thoroughly, and to put in place a hidden power that could control the Shin Siwoo family in the future.
But.
“Ugh, she’s melting my heart.”
“How can a baby be so cute?”
She was just too cute.
Her tiny hands and feet that wiggled.
Her fluffy blonde hair and dark eyes that resembled the assistant.
The way she wiggled her eyes, nose, and mouth.
The way she didn’t cry or fuss much and always smiled brightly like a sunflower.
How could she be so lovely that she even melted the wicked schemes of the twin apprentice witches?
Malika, exhausted from smiling, fell asleep, blinking.
The twins, with a warm feeling of cuteness in their hearts, chatted quietly.
“I’d like to play the Odile Odette shuffle game later. A game to guess who’s the older aunt and who’s the younger aunt.”
“I think she’d guess it right, wouldn’t she? The assistant always guessed it right in one go.”
As they said these things, they suddenly had this thought.
“I want to have the assistant’s baby too.”
“I’m jealous of the associate professor.”
It wasn’t jealousy, but purely a desire.
They could guess how happy it was to have the child of the person you loved, just by looking at the changes in Associate Professor Amelia.
As they expressed their envy as if they were just talking to themselves, they were tidying up the laundry.
-Click, click
A strange sound came from Malika’s crib.
“What was that? Did she wake up?”
“Isn’t she asking for food?”
The twins, thinking nothing of it, approached Malika and saw it.
““Oh my god….””
The mobile that the twins had gifted to Malika, a mobile that symbolized the rotation of the celestial realm, was floating in the air.
Below it, Malika, with her hands stretched upwards, was using telekinesis with an innocent expression.
