City Of Witches 226

Chapter 226 – #51_People Trapped in the Past (2)

#224

One.
Coq au vin.
A stew in which chicken is marinated in wine for a long time, fitting the name of rooster in wine.
It is a dish that even Koreans who are not familiar with French cuisine may have heard of at least the name.
The marinated chicken was dropped into the wok where butter was added and vegetables were stir-fried.

While ignoring the oil splashing on the back of your hand, cook the skin and fat over high heat.
When the surface of the chicken takes on a nice caramel color, transfer it to a pot and heat it up.
For the last time today, put two whole bottles of Burgundy wine and sprinkle herbs on top to finish the preparation.

The smell of wine spread gently, and the bubbling sound began to be heard.
It must have been a good wine since it was given to me as a gift by Mr. Sua.
Maybe that’s why the scent that spreads through the lid of the pot was very good.

Since it is a food that must be cut off for a long time, a tough and hard cock should be added…
Unfortunately, all the chickens in the mart were small.
Seeing a compromise with free-range chicken, Eloah put the lid on the pot and began preparing his second dish, bouillabaisse.

This is, so to speak, a French seafood hot pot.
Tomatoes, red peppers, garlic, onions, etc. Are added to all kinds of high-quality seafood, and fragrance is added with bay leaves and thyme.
Originally, fish bones were supposed to be used to make orphan broth, but there was no time, so seafood stock was substituted.

These two dishes were Eloa’s most confident, and Raffi’s favorite food.
It’s been over 100 years since I last cooked like this, but my hands and body remembered the two recipes very accurately.
If only a little more time had passed, if only a little more had passed.
Did you forget how to cook then?

Eloah stood blankly in front of the bubbling pot.
Suddenly, a laugh came out.
This is because during a conversation with Siu, she reflected on what she said.

‘Especially for the orthodox witches living in Lenormand Town, their way of thinking is stuck in the past.’

The mindset is stuck in the past.
Stuck in the past
That is, there is no change.
Like the seawater that has sunk deep in the deep sea, it just stays and stagnates.
She thoughtlessly chewed her words again, as if they had been prepared for herself.

Every night she dreams of the moment she lost Raffy.
To Eloati Ferret, who is haunted by her past, which she will never get back.

“Oops!”
“Are you okay?”

She seemed lost in thought for a moment.
The pot in front of her was bubbling and about to overflow.
Eloa hurriedly reduced the fire.

Originally, coq au vin has to be boiled for a long time in a slow low heat to get rid of the alcohol in the wine, but I forgot about this and that.

“…Okay, that’s fine.”
“I’ll help you move it.”

Elroa just watched as Siwoo rummaged through the shelves in the kitchen looking for her dishes.

2.
First, the bouillabaisse was completed, followed by the coco vin.
The wine that the chicken had been soaked in was reduced to the point of self-sufficiency and permeated every corner of the chicken.
Eloah and Siu sat face to face at the table and finished preparing the meal.

“I wanted to prepare a little more for you. It’s been a while, so I forgot a lot.”
“No, it seems like it’s been a while since I’ve eaten someone cooked for me.”
“I’m not wearing anything, but I’ll be comfortable.”

Siwoo served her food on the plate in front of Elroa and sat down.
Afterwards, the two start eating side by side.

Bouillabaisse, coco vin, and Siuro had never seen it before, but it was unexpectedly suitable for their taste.
The chicken soaked in wine and tomato seasoning melts as soon as you put it in your mouth.
When the salty lightness goes away, a fragrant and bitter aftertaste comes up, which was another delicacy.
When a foreigner eats samgyetang for the first time, I think this is how they feel.

Bouillabaisse also looks like spicy seafood soup on the outside, but the taste is completely different.
Is it a taste full of the sea?
The moment you take a bite of the soup, the smell of butter and the spreading rich flavor of various seafood delight your nose and tongue.

“Wow, this is the first time I’ve tried it, and it’s so delicious. I’ve only heard of the names for both of them.”
“The amount is generous, so take it slowly. Would you like a drink?”
“Good.”
“It’s a dish that goes well with wine…But I used it up while making coco vin. Which is better, gin or whiskey?”
“Whisky, please.”

Eloah walked into the kitchen and mixed whiskey with water in a one-to-one ratio.
The alcohol is too strong to be taken with a meal, so it is appropriately adjusted.
Elloa himself gushed whiskey into a large On the Rocks glass, filling it almost to the top.
While contemplating whether to toast and drink this or just drink it, Elroa raised her glass first.

-Braided

The glasses of the two collide lightly.

“You seem to like alcohol.”
“I neither like it nor hate it. But I am grateful for the fact that I can get drunk. What about you?”
“I like it. It makes me feel better and I don’t have a hangover.”

Is it because of alcohol and delicious food?
The conversation between the two began to mesh smoothly, as if lubricated.
Instructor Tiphareth, who always shouted ‘again’ in a stern voice, also became more relaxed.
Thanks to that, Siwoo could relax and enjoy the accompaniment with a comfortable mind.

“It’s really delicious. I think it’s good as a side dish… Why don’t you open a store like this? If you sell it around here, I think it will go well.”
“I’m embarrassed, so please stop.”
“I’m serious. The speed is comfortable and I think I enjoyed eating it after a long time.”

Elroa showed a gentle response to Siwoo’s continuous praise throughout her meal.
Still, the corners of her mouth are loose, wondering if the praise is too unpleasant.

“Today’s dish wasn’t at its best. There’s a lot of stuff to put in. Next time you come, we’ll treat you to a better meal.”
“Hey, I’m already looking forward to it. Oh, I’ll fill the glass for you.”
“Thank you.”

Siwoo quickly got up from his seat and poured about half of the alcohol into Eloa’s glass, which had already been emptied three times.
Drinking is really fast.
No matter how spiritual you are, drinking alcohol is bound to get you drunk, but looking at your undisturbed appearance, it seems that you are a great drinker.
He is a duke with a lot of appearances and twists.

“I wanted to have a drink like this with Raffi…”

Words that flow like a complaint taking advantage of a loose heart.
Seeing Siwoo startled after hearing those words, Elroa immediately shook her head, as if she was sorry.

“It’s nothing. It’s a performance word.”
“……..”

Siu couldn’t say anything.
Time stops for those who have lost a loved one.
He reminisces fleetingly, regrets, tears and suffers.
Some people shake it off and move on.
Someone wanders in search of an end to sorrow that will never end.

“I’m sorry, it was such a fun event, but you ruined the atmosphere. I didn’t have a solution.”

Duke Tiphareth, who seemed strong at first glance, was also a person in the end.
A person who cannot forget the sorrow of losing his disciple and suffers from the emptiness of not being able to achieve revenge.

“…Shall I listen to the story?”

Siu asks carefully.
Was it the intoxication, or was it soaked in the nostalgia that the intoxication had evoked?
Her pupils were shaking as if a haze had been placed behind her.

“It’s pointless…”

In fact, the relationship between Eloa and Siu is quite strange.
Siu is a person who has Rafi’s vessel, and at the same time, he is formally being taught by Eloa.
She couldn’t deny that she was unconsciously overlapping Raffy’s back as she taught him.
Is that why?

The urge to tell him the memories of the happy days that he had turned away and never even mentioned shook his heart.

Perhaps…
Just the scent of a dish that had been on the table for the first time in a long time, or a meal with someone, might have turned her clock back for a while.

While Siwoo was hesitant about whether he should apologize for her careless remark, seeing Eloah unable to follow her words.
She opened her mouth first.

“Raffy…Was a bright and cheerful child.”

The voice is vague, as if groping for the very distant past.

“He was more talkative than a little bird. He chattered so incessantly that he said everything I’d ever wanted to do in a year… But he was a child with a kinder heart than any jewel in the world.”

Eloa wet her dry lips with alcohol.

“She loved that child. She was too good a child for me to be an apprentice witch.
No one in Gehenna would have hated Raffi. Animals were no exception. Raffy, the sire rumored to be hard to tame, would lick her palms in front of her.”
“………”
“Is that all? He was a genius both in martial arts and in magic. Unlike me, who pretends to be a genius, he is different.”

Memories gather in Eloah’s blurred eyes.
A slight smile crept across her lips.
The smile that came to my mind as if I was happy just thinking about it…

It sinks with ensuing flashbacks.

“But, as you know… I lost it. I missed out on the undeserved blessing Heaven gave me because of my complacency.”
“…That…”
“If I had been a little more careful, a little more careful, a little more… If I had known the harshness of the world… I wouldn’t have had to let you go like that…”

Eloa did not shed a tear.
Not even her crying voice came out.
She cried without shedding tears, without trembling in her voice.

“You know what’s the worst thing? That I don’t even deserve to mourn that child. It’s ironic.”

How broken and devastated humans show sorrow.
Siwoo knew it for the first time.

“I’m sorry. I asked something stupid…”

I couldn’t bear to speak any more.
The Duke of Tiphareth that Siu knew was a strong man.
Because he had always seen only a firm, unshakable figure.
Even though I was burning with revenge, I never imagined that my stomach would fester so dangerously.

I wondered if my attempt to talk openly might have scratched the bloody scab on her chest.
Eloa looked at the empty glass and took the bottle with more than half of whiskey left and blew the bottle.

“Eat a little slower…”
“I don’t hate you or resent you for having Raffy’s bowl. Don’t worry.”
“I wasn’t worried about that. I know the Duke is a good person.”
“…..Is it.”

It’s just a relived experience of complaining thousands, hundreds of thousands of times.
It didn’t take long before he regained his composure.
Elois straightened her disheveled body and wiped the whiskey that had dripped down her chin.

“I was drinking a little too much. I showed rudeness, I’m sorry.”
“No. I’m just sorry that I’ve been bothering you by talking about it…”

Eloa reached out her hand without saying a word.
Her hand, warmed by the spirit of her alcohol, walks on Siwoo’s eyepatch.
The stigma engraved on the golden pupils clearly contains Raffy’s vessel.

“You are holding Raffy’s bowl.”

To a witch, a stigma is something more than life.

“I never thought I’d see you again like this…”

It wasn’t until 100 years later that Eloah came across the memento of her beloved apprentice witch.
As if it will break if you touch it even a little hard,
Eloa’s eyelids, which had been caressing Siwoo’s cheek, slowly closed.
While she was giving and receiving alcohol, she couldn’t stand it any longer because the alcohol was added to the sleep time that was approaching before she knew it.

Seeing Eloah collapsed on the table, Siwoo let out a sigh of relief.
Her heart was heavy.

“Rafi…Rafi…”

Even when she fell asleep, she was suffering.