City ​​of Witches 1242

Chapter 1242 – #290_Proposal(3)

#1236

1.
“Hmm.”

Returning to his office, Shin Siwoo clutched his head, lost in thought.
Blanche quietly observed him.

It wasn’t unusual for him to be deep in contemplation.

Although he had shown superhuman abilities when fighting Blanche before, she had come to realize, while assisting him with his work, that he was neither a superhuman nor a transcendent being.

When burdened with excessive work, he would groan, and when things didn’t go as planned, he would whine.

He was just a very, very talented young man with an extremely ordinary sensibility.
A boy who was always agonizing and hesitating over which method was better.

That was Shin Siwoo, as observed by Blanche Hererim.

Blanche deeply revered him, so she was eager to help if there were any difficulties.
Although her magical prowess might be inferior to his, she had more life experience.

Blanche, having quickly brewed a drip coffee to Siwoo’s liking, cautiously approached him.

“Is something the matter?”
“Ah, thank you. Please have some too, Ms. Hererim.”
“I’m fine.”
“It’s because I’m a burden.”

Blanche, who had been standing beside him, ready to serve until he finished his coffee, finally sat on the sofa opposite him after repeated encouragement.

“If you have any concerns, I can listen. I’ve finished all the tasks that needed to be done by tonight.”
“It’s a difficult story to tell just anyone.”
“Sometimes, it’s easier to confide in a stranger. My lips are sealed, so please don’t worry.”

Siwoo looked at Hererim with a renewed gaze.

In truth, Siwoo was uncomfortable with Hererim’s one-sided sense of distance.

He understood the reasons for her respect and dependence on him, but given the long period of conflict they had endured, he often wondered, ‘Were we this close?’

Moreover, the nature of it was very ambiguous.

Blanche seemed to revere Siwoo as she had once revered Keter.
The path he had shown was the path for all witches, and Siwoo had readily forgiven Hererim’s past mistakes.

However, it was different from the blind loyalty of Las Werpanas.

At the same time, she displayed a strangely caring attitude, as if dealing with a child.
It felt like a determination to be a protector, as if handling a delicate rose.

It wasn’t particularly unpleasant.

In Hererim’s eyes, Siwoo was probably a little kid, almost like Malika.
It was just difficult.

“Hmm. Alright.”

But difficult was difficult, and it was a fact that she was a great sage of Gehenna.
Knowing that a suitable psychological distance between a client and a counselor facilitated counseling, he asked for her advice.

“It’s actually about a proposal.”
“Ah.”
“I wanted to do it sincerely, but it’s my first time doing something like this. Considering our relationship, the order of things has been a bit mixed up, so it feels awkward to be so formal. And as you can see, I’m not good with words. I wonder if I can do it well…”

Siwoo’s relationships had naturally progressed after many twists and turns, and he had become lovers with many of them.

Come to think of it, he had never made a proper confession, and so he couldn’t grasp how to put his sincere feelings into the framework of a proposal.

Blanche pondered for a moment before readily suggesting,

“Would you like me to be your practice partner?”
“Pardon?”
“I think I can play the role of a teddy bear.”

Was it right to practice a proposal with someone else? Maybe Takasho, but…
He glanced at Hererim, wondering if this was some kind of romantic atmosphere, but her words and actions were all very ordinary.

Looking at her, he thought his previous thought was a bit self-conscious.

Wasn’t Hererim, after all, the lover of Count Kohab?
In this case, it was right to see Hererim not as a woman, but as a separate gender.

“Can you just listen to my lines?”
“I will.”
“Ahem.”

First, let me get into the mood.

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”
“……”
“The most beautiful coincidence in my life is you. Will you accept this ring?”
“……”
“Will you be my last love? Let’s get married.”
“……”

Blanche didn’t express many emotions, and among them, she was least likely to laugh.
Therefore, she had some difficulty reacting to Siwoo’s jokes.

It wasn’t very funny, but if there was no reaction to a joke, it would be awkward.
She was contemplating whether to raise the corners of her mouth slightly out of courtesy, but then she faced the truth.

“How was it?”

Shin Siwoo, with an utterly serious expression, was asking for feedback.

Ah.
It wasn’t a joke.
It was a good thing she didn’t laugh.

Apart from this relief, Blanche Hererim was greatly shocked.

“……”

His acting was truly good.
His melancholy eyes and the mask that supported them were all excellent.

However, his lines were so terrible and cliché that it shattered her desire to give feedback.
How could a man like this have nine lovers! Such blasphemous thoughts began to creep in.

But Blanche was a very polite person, so she chose metaphorical expressions instead of direct words.

“Come to think of it, there was still some work I hadn’t finished. I will have it done by this morning, so please approve it.”
“Uh, what about the lines?”
“It’s a serious matter, so I think it would be good to think about it a little more.”

A quick retreat.

It was the wisdom that came from a thousand years of being hailed as a sage of Gehenna.

2.
After the war, the courtesy and respect that Hererim showed Siwoo were those of a devout saint towards a god.
If he asked to see her panties, though he had no intention of doing so, she would probably lift her skirt without hesitation.

“No way, is it that bad?”

That’s why it was even more shocking.
Wasn’t she clearly someone who had approached with good intentions to give advice, only to realize there was no hope and run away?

“This isn’t easy.”

Takasho had told him to prioritize sincerity over formality.

But expressing the emotion of love in words, especially in the form of a proposal, was incredibly difficult.
It might sound cheesy, but how could he express this burning heart with mere words?

It was even more difficult than when he had given gifts to each of his lovers last time.

In the end, despite much deliberation, there was only one principle he had decided on.

Meet each of them and propose, but don’t worry about the order.

It was a principle he had established because he had many lovers.
If he gave meaning to the order, his head would probably explode.

He was just planning to start his confession attack in the order he naturally met them, but…

As he wandered the hallway, lost in thought, there was someone who descended like a goddess.

“Siwoo, what are you doing here alone? Exercising in the moonlight?”

It was Sharon, who had just finished a lovers’ meeting and was passing by the office.

“I greet the Witch of Uranium.”
“I told you not to do that!”

“Ah, it hurts…”
“You can’t keep teasing your sister like that, okay?”

“Yes, Sharon noona.”
“Ugh, I got goosebumps. Don’t do that again. I was wrong.”

Siwoo bowed politely and was immediately pinched in the side by an enraged Sharon.
Sharon playfully pinched his side here and there, and Siwoo twisted his body this way and that.

“You’re always pretty.”
“Of course~ How pretty is Sharoni?”

Perhaps it was because the day was clear, but Sharon’s dark green hair, bleached by the moonlight, looked more like a fairy than usual.
Or maybe it was because of her mint-colored eyes, which shone beautifully without ever losing their brilliance.

“Siwoo, you’ve been busy lately. It’s hard to see your face.”
“Ah, yeah. I have so much to do.”
“I’m doing really well these days too? Maybe not as much as you, but my name value has skyrocketed since the war ended.”

Indeed, Sharon had made a great contribution, considering her rank.

As a witch who manipulated elements, she was the first to succeed in a ritual that sacrificed a nuclear warhead, a great achievement as a witch.
The Witch of Uranium was quite a cool title.

“I’m writing papers smoothly, and I’m handling the work as the head of the Elemental Society well. Once I finish this, I’m going to start home visits.”
“Ah, that’s a sweet part-time job.”
“Right, it’s a sweet part-time job that can’t be compared to when I was scanning barcodes and putting up flyers.”
“Wow, those are real memories. Back then, we ordered delivery food every day and watched movies.”

Sharon and Siwoo smiled at each other again.
The memories of wandering around Sinchon with Sharon right after returning home were probably something he would never forget.

“There was also a time when we almost got hunted while trying to hunt homunculi.”
“Right, but I always liked going for walks with you.”

After a while of giggling, the two naturally held hands and kissed lightly.

The moonlight, shining through the fluttering curtains between the window frames, illuminated the happy fools of the moonlit night.

Sharon’s cheeks, flushed with health, and her lovely, fidgeting fingers were all the same as usual.

The same as usual, but…

It was different.
Something was different.

Only then did Siwoo realize that Sharon’s pulse was twice as fast as usual.
And Siwoo’s own heart was also beating so fast that his ears were ringing.

Just like how a man and a woman who are attracted to each other know the timing to kiss naturally, without anyone telling them, without counting one, two, three together.

Wait a minute.
Isn’t the timing now, really good?

“Actually, I always thought about it back then? That I was only receiving from you. To be a worthy girlfriend, I had to do at least this and that. What should I call this? Inferiority complex? A personality that doesn’t like to be indebted? Actually, I still think that way sometimes.”
“Hey, we’re in a relationship…”
“I thought the gap had narrowed a bit, but now it’s going so far again… So I’m just going to give up now.”

It felt like ice water had been poured on the good atmosphere.
It was like the last time Sharon had faked a breakup, wasn’t it? His PTSD button was pressed.

Sharon had always hated being indebted to someone, so he was about to try to appease and comfort her.

“So, I’m going to be very shameless now.”

Sharon took a deep breath and continued.

“Siwoo, even if I become indebted again, even if I’m weak and only rely on you, even if I show you embarrassing sides every day and only have foolish worries. You have to stay by my side.”
“Of course.”

“You have to treat me like a cute younger person even though I’m older, and you have to act dependable like an older person even though you’re younger. If we have a baby, you have to treat them like royalty. If I look upset, you have to make me laugh with silly jokes. You have to endure even if the movie I want to watch is boring, and even when I do something bad, you still have to say you love me.”
“……”

“You have to let me rely on you and be spoiled by you for the rest of my life.”

After this, she spoke with a trembling voice, as if she could never back down.

“How about it? Will you marry this very shameless Sharoni?”

A sincere proposal.