City Of Witches 283

Chapter 283 – #63_Interlude (5)

#281

One.
“Could you keep your distance from Siwoo-kun?”

Sharon, who received the best proposal that she could not have imagined just a moment ago, became a bright color.
Her face immediately hardens.

It was her first experience, but it was a sight she had seen many times.
Isn’t it like the mean wife in a drama who asks, ‘Give me this money and separate from my son’?
Of course, Siu wasn’t Albireo’s son, and Albireo wasn’t Siu’s mother, but it just means that the appearance is like that.

“… May I ask why first?”

Suddenly you want to keep your distance
Even the most ignorant Sharon could tell that Siu and the twins of the apprentice witches of the Jemona family were close.
She’s thinking maybe she might have been in a close relationship.
Wasn’t that why she was so anxious when the twins visited the other day?
At that time, she was relieved that nothing had happened, but when she suddenly said this, she blamed her complacency.

Albireo explained the situation in a calm tone.

“I look very good at Siwoo. It is the same when thinking about the future, thinking about the grace he has received, and thinking about his character. Oh, of course, rather than coveting me, I mean that I want things to go well with my twins.”
“Am I getting in the way?”

Sharon’s voice was full of anxiety.
Albireo is not very comfortable with her, as she feels as if she has seen a child stealing her precious doll.
But Sharon quickly made up her mind.
Without the slightest hesitation, I pushed her contract out in front of the table.

“Sorry. Thank you so much for helping me recover and giving me suggestions that I hadn’t even thought of. I will never forget this grace.”
“Hmm….”
“However… It’s hard to accept the suggestion that you stay away from Siu. I’m really sorry.”

Albireo scanned the contract held out in front of him with purple eyes.
I guessed that she would be able to say no, but I bet she wouldn’t even bother.

Albireo’s offer was such a good condition that it would be difficult for a witch to refuse.

The current earl is 21st rank.
However, it was only because he gave his twins a portion of the stigma as a container.
Right now, the twins are just immature and ignorant children, but later they inherit the name of the Countess of Zemonai and become Counts of the 22nd rank.
First, Sharon kicked off any chance of friendship with such a twin by refusing her contract with Albireo.

Not only that.
Sharon has a lot of debt.
In a world where money brings money, it is not easy even for a witch to make such a large amount of money without a single penny.

Lastly, a letter of recommendation from the Academy of Truth and Truth and a letter of introduction from Trinity Academy.

A letter of introduction or recommendation itself is not that great.
If you catch a witch with some connections in Gehenna and ask for a luxurious drink, she’ll be able to write a piece of paper for you.

However, if it is a letter of introduction with the seal of the House of Zemonai, the weight is different.
If you enter the academic conference, you will be able to receive a considerable amount of research materials and support through the calculations of the Duke of Erelim under the guise of goodwill.
If you enter Trinity Academy, even if your skills are somewhat lacking, you will be immediately appointed as a senior professor and have access to various old books.

There is no way that Sharon, who is from Gehenna, does not know what the ‘support’ of Count Zemanai, which stems from their overwhelming wealth, means.
Even so, he refused so abruptly.

“Excuse me for being late. Now, I will slowly prepare to return to the present world.”

Albireo was lost in thought for a moment as he watched Sharon try to get up.
In fact, if you put your mind to it, it’s not difficult to force Sharon by force.

Before starting a conversation with Sharon, Albireo looked through her debts for the first time in a long time.
With almost no collateral and no credit, Sharon had to sign over debt documents with all sorts of toxic clauses to borrow her money.
Sharon, who had just finished her succession, lacked her social experience, and if not, she had no choice.

Among them, there was also a provision that if the repayment period exceeded 10 years, the creditor could demand a lump sum repayment from the debtor.
Also, if you combine this clause and that clause well, you can increase interest and principal.

In other words, she can press for debt right now, slap her face with a bunch of money and threaten her, or she can forcibly tear Siu and Sharon apart regardless of her will.

However, Albireo had no intention of going that far.
It is not reasonable to press Sharon, who would have supported Siwoo in any way in her present world, with her stubbornness.
On the contrary, the twins may provide a clue to cross paths with Siwoo, so it is a bad idea to consider the practical side.
Can’t you just keep your hands off it?

“Wait.”

Albireo raised her wine glass and winked at Sharon.
Sharon reluctantly sits back in her seat.

“Well, I think you misunderstood me a little. Because I have an impatient side and get to the main point first, it sometimes leads to misunderstandings like this.”
“…….”

Sharon still looks at Albireo with a wary gaze.

“I don’t think people’s hearts, especially the emotion of love, move only according to gains and losses. I apologize if my proposal seemed to test Miss Evergreen’s heart.”

Albireo lightly bowed her head and apologized to Sharon.

“It’s just that twins are still children who don’t know what is what. Of course, he has passed his adulthood, but he still looks like a kid in my eyes. Perceiving emotions is still immature.”

Albireo paused once.

“But it’s not Miss Sharon, is it? She’s an adult, and she’s definitely aware of what she’s feeling.”

The twins’ feelings for Si-woo are more like curiosity + goodwill toward the benefactor who saved their lives twice.
It is a blank slate with no textbooks or guidelines on what true love is and how to do it in such a case.

“So when I said to keep my distance from him, I meant to give the twins a chance.”

In addition, because Albireo intentionally separated the three, even the starting point was behind.
He felt that artificial intervention was needed to strike a balance.

“A chance?”
“Yes, don’t just think that it is taken away too much, but give it a reasonable distance. At least to make it a fair competition.”
“I didn’t deserve it from the beginning… In the first place, it’s not like I can do anything about Siwoo’s feelings… “
“Don’t talk like that. I also feel gratitude and respect for Miss Evergreen.”

In fact, if we looked at Albireo’s words piece by piece, it was close to sophistry.
However, the feeling of recklessly pressuring Sharon just with the difference in the subtle nuances naturally disappeared.
Even if they were the same witch in the first place, their lived experiences were different.
While Sharon was making a complicated expression, Albireo began to harden her.

“When I say this, I am not saying that I will shun Miss Evergreen or exclude her from the competition altogether. I just ask for a little concession with the heart of a guardian who has children who are lacking.”
“…….”
“Wouldn’t it be of great help to him if her twins later inherited the stigma, and they still maintain a close relationship? That would be a joy for Miss Evergreen, who loves Siwoo.”

This was the wedge that Albireo had been hiding.
At the same time, she also said something that strongly moved Sharon’s heart.
Even without direct pressure, she would be able to fathom the meaning if she implied this much.

“If you are having trouble making a decision right now, you can respond slowly. Good night then.”

Albireo left the room, returning Sharon’s contract in front of Sharon, who stiffened in a daze.

2.
“I’m blue….”

Sharon sat back on her bed, hugging her knees.
Her blue melancholy in her chest spreads like a complex stain on her.
In this way, her head is complicated and her heart is disturbed, so she has a person’s face that comes to her mind naturally.

“Miss you… “

I wanted to see Siwoo.

Her ten years of being a debtor and beggar were one of the reasons Sharon was making her sick of her world.
Unkind and stiff people as if they were being chased somewhere, pressure to pay off debts, always empty wallets…
Looking back, it wasn’t a place I would ever have good memories of.
Was that why she was so unwilling to return to Gehenna?

But while she was in Gehenna, she had no thought of going to the White Whale Tavern in Taro Town, or trying the cakes or cookies at Kifish, or walking the promenades of beautiful Lenormand Town.

Instead, what comes to mind is the movie we watched together when we lived in an officetel with Siwoo, and the tasteless beer that quenched our thirsty throats.
I miss the mundane world of searching for the homunculus with him and roaming the city at night…
It was a nasty joke.

But that wasn’t the main cause of Sharon’s depression.
Anyway, when Siwoo comes back, he just needs to see his face again, and he just needs to go out with him, even if it’s Hyeonse.
However, seeing his face quickly, the count’s words kept bothering me.

‘If the twins inherit the stigma later on, and they maintain a close relationship until then, wouldn’t it be of great help to him as well?’

She didn’t mean anything particularly malicious, but Sharon felt her head turn cold as if she had been splashed with cold water.
Sharon had only received from Shiu until now.
With Siwoo’s money, she bought food, and with his support, not only did she get a comfortable bed, but thanks to him, she was able to overcome the obstacle of incomplete succession.

But nothing Sharon gave him.
Because Sharon was a creditor and she was a witch of the 17th order.
Even if she rose to the 20th rank and became a witch who could open her shoulders to her master, it would be absurd to compare a normal 20th-tier witch with the official heir of the Countess of Jemyrnai.

Until now, she had only leaned on Siu, and she would only hold her back. Is it really right for her to remain by her side?
It is not Sharon who can help Siu more than anyone else, but her cute twin.

“…….”

Doesn’t that mean a complete breakup?
If it was such a statement, she would have rejected it without hesitation, but Albireo only told her vague standards, so Sharon was also deeply troubled.

20 Just because you succeeded in inheriting the hierarchy perfectly doesn’t mean you can handle it as if it were your own.
At the very least, accepting Albireo’s proposal is the most realistic way to stop leaning on him and becoming a burden.
If that happens, at least you will be able to stand proudly next to Siwoo in an equal relationship.

“That’s funny….”

Sharon held back her wry smile.
There are so many dramas and movies with this repertoire.
A frustrated heroine who gives up her own happiness and love for the future of her beloved.

From the point of view of her third-person observer, she was just frustrated.
What is the future, what is the future
Isn’t it supposed to be happier being together? I was frustrated by beating her chest.

I think I know what that feels like now.
She seems to know how she felt and how she should have made that choice.

“Whoa….”

Sharon’s worries deepened with the night.