#20
1.
There was one problem.
The villa that Amelia’s friend had supposedly lent her.
I couldn’t for the life of me figure out where it was.
Amelia, being of noble birth, wouldn’t be familiar with the geography of Border Town, and even when Siwoo stopped passersby to ask, they only tilted their heads, with no one able to give a precise location.
We’d been wandering around for almost an hour, and Amelia’s expression was getting worse, which was really bothering me.
“Where exactly is this Cloud Mushroom Village 1-12?”
“Oh, a newcomer wouldn’t be able to find it. Listen carefully, young man.”
After wandering around for a while, Siwoo asked the old woman who had been selling chicken skewers earlier.
The kind old woman not only gave detailed directions but also told him about an incident he wasn’t particularly curious about.
“Thank you.”
“It’s nothing~ We’re all helping each other out, being from the same place.”
It was no wonder Amelia and Siwoo had been wandering for so long.
The address of the villa Siwoo was looking for was originally a village where the town’s witches lived.
But that was only until ten years ago.
Now, Cloud Mushroom Village had become a huge forest located in the north of Border Town.
Apparently, a witch had made a mistake during an experiment, causing thousands of oak trees to grow out of control and destroy the houses?
For the record, that witch had accumulated a massive debt after this incident, dubbed the ‘Sprout Rebellion,’ and was kicked out of Gehenna.
Siwoo relayed this information to Amelia.
“…So, could it be that your friend, the associate professor, might be mistaken?”
“That’s unlikely. I heard it was built only three years ago.”
“I see.”
Well, meticulous Amelia wouldn’t have failed to check something like that.
Having found the exact destination, we crossed the pier.
The pier, which was used to supply goods from the modern world to Gehenna, was busy with ships coming and going even at night.
Night-time floodlights, like those used at construction sites, were placed everywhere, brightly illuminating the dark harbor, and slaves were being whipped as they endlessly loaded and unloaded cargo.
An auction was taking place under a huge shark that looked like it had been pulled up from a fishing boat.
Smugglers were also seen busily counting dollar bills and exchanging them for gold bars.
The stench of sweat, more pungent than the sea’s fishy smell, and the odors of opium and tobacco wafted from everywhere.
If Siwoo hadn’t been employed by the city hall, he would have been moving cargo here without even having time to rub his bruises.
The thought sent a shiver down his spine.
But Amelia didn’t even glance around.
Even though all of this was an absurd system created by witches, she was just going along with it without any sense of guilt.
It was something I already knew.
But before any displeasure or contempt, I felt a little, disappointed.
“I, I can’t do it…! I can’t do it…!”
At that moment, a slave started causing a commotion at one part of the pier.
The middle-aged man, wearing nothing but pants that were worse than Siwoo’s underwear, threw down the load he was carrying and sat down on the spot.
Even though he was half-naked in this cold weather, the hem of his pants was covered in dried sweat, forming a crust of salt.
“Has this bastard gone crazy? Get up right now!”
A burly slave manager, who had been whipping the slaves, rushed over.
The commotion was in Amelia’s path, so the two of them stopped abruptly.
“Kill me! Damn it, kill me! Just kill me! How can anyone work 16 hours a day!”
The middle-aged man, his eyes bloodshot, started yelling and struggling even as he was being whipped.
After whipping him for a while, the manager noticed Amelia and his face turned red.
It was shameful for a slave under his management to be acting up in front of a high-ranking witch.
The way of thinking of Gehenna citizens hadn’t strayed far from feudalism.
-Swish
The manager finally pulled out the curved sword he had been carrying at his waist.
“I’ve been putting up with your pig-like slowness, but I can’t take it anymore!”
He spat out a thick glob of phlegm and was about to swing the sword at the middle-aged man’s neck when Amelia stepped forward.
“Stop.”
“Witch! This kind of guy needs to be made an example of!”
The middle-aged man was also still fuming, as if his anger hadn’t been resolved.
Upon seeing Amelia, the middle-aged man started yelling.
“Is that the witch you’re all so proud of? Ugh!”
“You bastard!”
The manager kicked the middle-aged man in the head for daring to speak disrespectfully to a witch.
If the slave’s words were considered an insult to a witch, the manager could also get into trouble.
Just as the manager was about to stomp on the half-unconscious middle-aged man, Amelia intervened again.
“I said stop.”
“Yes, I understand!”
The manager had no choice but to back off.
The manager, who understood the ecosystem of Gehenna, wasn’t reckless enough to argue with a witch.
The middle-aged man, having regained his senses, exploded with all his pent-up resentment and anger.
“Why the hell are you kidnapping people who were living perfectly fine lives!”
The middle-aged man crawled on the ground and glared at Amelia with hatred.
“Are you that great? Are you that amazing! Then kill me, you bastards! Just kill me right now!”
Siwoo quickly stepped in as Amelia’s eyebrows twitched.
He knew Amelia was a nasty witch, but he didn’t want to see her kill anyone.
“Sir, calm down.”
“Who the hell are you!”
With the work at the labor camp paralyzed, Siwoo felt the gazes pouring in.
Siwoo pushed past the manager and tore off his shirt to wipe the mud off the middle-aged man’s face.
“Sir, you’ll really die if you keep this up. Let’s try to think rationally.”
The manager was bewildered by Siwoo’s absurd behavior but couldn’t stop him.
It was because Amelia was standing there silently, without saying a word.
The middle-aged man suddenly stood up and shoved Siwoo in the chest.
“Are you a witch’s lackey? Seeing you sticking so close to a witch, I can tell. Guys like you are the most disgusting. Do you know who made us like this? It’s those bitches! You’re no different from a pro-Japanese collaborator, are you?”
Shiwoo was shoved back, his face stinging from the spit.
Amelia, witnessing this, stepped forward with a frown.
The scent of lilac filled the air.
In this port, where not a single flowering tree could be found, save for the dried seaweed clinging to the pier, a floral fragrance began to spread as if one had entered a garden.
The stench of rotting fish, the musty odor of exploited slaves, and the smell of mud mixed with the sea breeze all seemed to vanish, replaced by the intoxicating lilac scent.
This bewitching fragrance, as if from a dream, was certainly not natural.
This was her self-generating magic.
The magic that earned Amelia Merigold the title of ‘The Perfume Witch.’
People turned and fled from the sudden anomaly. Even the overseer threw down his sword and began to run.
“If that’s your wish, I’ll grant it.”
Just as Amelia’s hand was about to leisurely point at the middle-aged man,
Shiwoo grabbed her wrist.
“….Huh?”
Amelia’s sky-blue eyes, which had been burning with a bright blue magical reflection, trembled as if she had hiccuped. A slave touching a witch’s body without permission was a capital offense.
But her shock was fleeting. Amelia returned to her usual expressionless face and asked,
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“Do you think this is the right thing to do, Witch?”
“I was insulted by a slave in a public place. It seems he wants to die, so it’s a fitting punishment.”
That was wrong. Amelia was a pure-blooded witch to her core. No matter how much one preached about the absurdities of this system, she wouldn’t listen.
“You’re right, you’re right. But, Assistant Professor Amelia.”
Shiwoo tightened his grip on Amelia’s wrist, preventing her from extending her arm. He absolutely did not want to see Amelia kill another person.
“If you kill that slave, I don’t think I’ll ever forgive you.”
It was a ridiculous thing to say, considering it was a declaration made with one’s life on the line. What slave would dare to talk about forgiving a witch? Shiwoo was aware of the contradiction.
“……”
Amelia stared directly into Shiwoo’s eyes for a long time, and Shiwoo met her gaze without flinching. After a long staring match, the reflection in Amelia’s jewel-like eyes faded. She had withdrawn her magic.
The sweet lilac scent that had filled his nostrils was replaced by the usual smells of Border Town.
Only then could Shiwoo look around. The people who had been screaming and running away were now frozen in place, as if they were all participating in some kind of performance art.
Then, they began to move again, little by little.
“What, what was that?”
“What happened?”
“I think I smelled a nice flower scent.”
The people murmured, as if their memories had been erased for a moment. Amelia walked past Shiwoo and approached the overseer, who was picking up the sword he had dropped.
“Who’s in charge here?”
“I’m Jack, the logistics manager of the Third Pier!”
The overseer introduced himself loudly.
“Find out where that slave came from and reassign him to a suitable place. Judging by his appearance, he’ll die within a few days if he stays here.”
“Yes! I understand!”
The overseer replied with the vigor of a fresh recruit. It was an extremely lenient measure, considering the slave had openly insulted and cursed at a witch.
A moment later, the middle-aged man, who had been standing blankly as if he had forgotten his anger, began to yell at Amelia’s retreating back.
“Why? I told you to kill me! Can’t you do it, huh?”
Amelia didn’t turn around. The middle-aged man’s shouts faded as the overseer covered his mouth, and Shiwoo sidled up next to Amelia.
“Thank you, Assistant Professor.”
Shiwoo was happy. He didn’t know why. The fact that Amelia wasn’t a completely rotten witch made him feel proud.
“Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s not like I changed my mind because of what the overseer said.”
Amelia was still as cold as ever. Yes. It was better for Amelia to act aloof and cold than to get her hands dirty.
Just before stepping onto the path in the oak forest in the distance, Amelia spoke as if reciting a poem.
“Live like a witch, and like a noble.”
“Pardon?”
“Those were my teacher’s last words to me. She always said it like a habit.”
Shiwoo was stunned. It was the first time in five years that he had heard Amelia talk about herself.
“I know what it means to live like a witch. I guess I can just keep living as I am.”
Shiwoo looked at Amelia’s profile, who was more like a witch than anyone else. For the first time, he seemed to catch a glimpse of a shadow of anguish on her arrogant and cold face.
“But I still don’t know what it means to live like a noble.”
Amelia, who had always seemed like a pretty doll (albeit one with a very scary curse), seemed a little more human. Shiwoo said,
“Just now, you were more noble than anyone else.”
Amelia’s face, which had been momentarily unguarded, returned to its original state. It was a stubborn change of expression, as if she had to do it.
“What does the overseer know?”
Amelia retorted sharply. Shiwoo just smiled at her.
