City ​​of Witches 290

Chapter 290 – #64_Twins And Sharon (3)

#288

1.
It had already been three days since the full-fledged classes began.
To keep the newly emerged rival, Sharon Evergreen, in check, the twins successfully implemented the following policies:

1) To show a model of a mature apprentice witch in front of Sharon, making her feel inferior.
2) To play pranks on her through switching things.
3) To make her feel uncomfortable by staring at her during class.

The twins were self-satisfied, thinking they were using quite tricky tactics…
However, while talking before going to bed last night, they suddenly realized something.
The conversation was sparked by Odette’s remark.

“Sister, but what changes if we do this?”
“Huh? What do you mean, what changes?”
“If we think about it, isn’t it kind of meaningless for us to keep Sharon in check like this?
If she doesn’t notice the switch, it ends there… Even if we show her a model of an apprentice witch, it doesn’t mean Sharon won’t meet the assistant… And staring at her during class, she might just think we’re concentrating on the lesson, right?”
“Huh?”

Until now, the twins had been too excited about the fact that they were ‘doing something!’ and lacked self-awareness.
Odette’s accurate point was enough to make the two twins toss and turn all night.
Odile and Odette spent the night discussing future strategies and guidelines, barely sleeping.

“Lady Odile, Lady Odette. It’s time to wake up.”

As usual, when it was time to wake up, Head Maid Galina entered with her sharp, precise steps.
The four maids who followed her opened the windows for ventilation, brushed their tangled hair from the night, and helped them put on their slippers, all as usual.

“Haaahm…!”
“Hwaaaahm…!”
“Now, I will inform you of today’s schedule.”

The twins, unable to fully open their eyes due to the late-night discussions, yawned as they received the schedule while their hair was being brushed.
After washing, they would get dressed up and receive a piano lesson from Mr. Kelvin in the morning.
After that, there was a reading session before lunch.
Then, Sharon’s terrifying five-hour lecture awaited them.

“I will be going to Taro Town today for the fireplace and chimney repair, so please follow Lena’s instructions for the rest of the schedule.”
“Haam… Okay, Galina, have a good trip!”
“Hwaam… Have a safe trip.”

As soon as they heard that the head maid was leaving the mansion, Pecha, Lena, Vera, and Masha, who were tidying up the room, all had their eyes light up at once.
The fact that Galina, who was almost the only one managing and supervising the maids, was leaving meant it was a golden opportunity to dote on the apprentice witch twins and chat to their hearts’ content.

“Lena! Make sure to stick to the schedule.”
“Yes, I understand.”

Galina sighed, seeing Lena already about to burst into laughter.

2.
Thus, it was bath time, a fixed routine every morning.
The bath time was originally set for one hour, but Lena boldly skipped breakfast and extended it to two hours.

The reason, of course, was to play with the twins.
Even if Galina was not there, if they were giggling in the mansion, there would be many ears and eyes listening and watching.
It was a welcome situation for the twins as well, who needed to consult with their personal maids.

“Lena, I have a question.”
“Yes, yes, ask me anything. The magnificent and gallant Lady Odile!”
“Pecha, I have one too.”
“Yes, yes, what is it? The kind and cute Lady Odette!”

Lena and Pecha, who were diligently shampooing the twins behind them as they sat on the bath chairs.
The twins, whose faces were turning red from the skillful hand massages on their scalps, confided to the maids the unprecedented challenge that had been tormenting them last night.

It was about the love rival, Sharon, who had suddenly appeared, and the tactics they had used to keep her in check.
The four maids diligently washed Odile and Odette’s bodies while listening to the twins’ words.

“Is that all?”
“Yeah, anyway, we’ve been trying to keep her in check.”
“Thinking about it, I wonder if we haven’t done much.”
“Since you guys are experts in romance, I wanted to ask you.”
“First, our next plan is to give Sharon a cup of tea with a little more water than the right amount, making it taste bad.”

They were girls of a tender age who were very interested in romance.
Although dating among the staff in the mansion was prohibited in principle, as with any workplace, there were actually quite a few love lines, and they had read romance novels thoroughly, so they were quite knowledgeable in that area.

“……”

The maids fell silent at the same time after Odile and Odette finished speaking.

“What, what is it? Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“Did we do something wrong?”

Odile and Odette were bewildered by the sudden silence, and they couldn’t even open their eyes to check the situation because their heads were full of shampoo bubbles…

“Kyaaa! Lady Odile is so cute.”
“As expected of Lady Odile! She’s so cute because she’s so clumsy!”
“Lady Odette! Lady Odette should be designated as a cultural asset of Gehenna! It’s too wasteful to keep this cuteness to ourselves!”
“Lady Odette! Can we tell the other maids about this? Is it okay???”

To think that their so-called love rivalry tactics were so cute!
And to talk about it as if they were subtly bragging!

Just imagining the twins having a serious strategy meeting all night with their heads together made the maids’ hearts melt, and they hugged the twins tightly.

“Ugh! I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe! Whose hand is this!”
“Sha… Shampoo got in my eyes… Shampoo!”

Odile was suffocating from the hands reaching out from all directions, and Odette was sobbing because shampoo got in her eyes.
After the commotion subsided, the maids sat Odile and Odette down and began to seriously preach about how to win love.

“That’s not what you call keeping someone in check!”
“That’s right! Matters of love should be resolved with love!”
“Hmm… First of all, shouldn’t we find out exactly what kind of relationship the witch has with the assistant?”

Vera was the first to speak.
In fact, judging from the twins’ words and the surrounding circumstances, it was clear that the witch named Sharon and the assistant the twins were so smitten with had a close relationship.
However, since the twins had never even dated or had many conversations with men, there could be misjudgments.

“I don’t think it’s just a simple friendship. Vera, you told Odette, right? That cohabitation between male and female friends is impossible.”
“Oh my god, that’s what this was about?”

To think that Odette, who had suddenly asked about cohabitation, actually had this backstory!

“Ahem, we can’t just sit here and be defeated. We’ll give you special coaching.”
“That’s right! If Lady Odile and Lady Odette’s cuteness is combined with our staff’s strategy, we will never fail!”

Masha clenched her fist as if it were her own problem.

“Okay, I’ll listen.”

Odile and Odette listened to the advice with serious eyes, and today’s bath was over.

3.
The witch who had thrown herself to save Amelia, who had been momentarily overcome by a terrible thought.
The witch with deep blue eyes and long reddish-brown hair introduced herself as ‘Clara Scorpius, the Dragon Witch.’
Amelia had vaguely heard of her before.

“…Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I just did what was natural.”

She was famous as the witch who had recklessly interfered in the war of the present world, was scolded by Keter, and returned to her workshop.
In fact, there were many witches who had been stopped by Duke Keter.
Among them, the ‘Dragon Witch’ was particularly talked about because she was the only one who had survived after confronting Keter.

Of course, it was taken into consideration that Clara was not a criminal or an exile, and that her involvement in the war was not due to selfish desires.

Her workshop, which she called a ‘nest,’ was a cave carved out of a sandstone cliff that stood tall in the middle of the desert.
The scale itself was large, but the interior decoration was not even remotely close to being considered decent.
The interior was littered with various magical documents and junk, and since there was almost no artificial interior, fine sand was stuck to the walls and floor.

However, one thing that surprised Amelia a little was that there were piles of gold bars that seemed to weigh tons in one corner of the cave.

At first, she thought they were brass or alchemical materials because they were so carelessly left there.
As soon as Clara saw Amelia’s gaze glancing at the gold bars, she shrugged her shoulders.
She seemed proud.

“There’s a lot, right? I worked hard to collect them.”
“……”

But the person she was dealing with was Amelia.
And Amelia, who was closing her heart with deep fatigue and disillusionment.
She just nodded slightly without showing much interest.

“Sit here and rest for a bit.”
“…Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. I’m happy to meet a witch after a long time.”

Clara, who had thrown a joke to ease the atmosphere, went to prepare tea when she didn’t hear a reply, leaving Amelia sitting at the table.

Amelia, who had been half-forcibly dragged to her workshop and was being served tea, was able to clear her head a little.
However, it didn’t mean that everything was gone.
A dark shadow still clung to her face like a scent, showing a gloomy light.

After waiting for a while, Clara brought a teapot, teacups, and some madeleines to go with the tea.
The tableware was very clean, as if it had been properly stored.
She sat across from Amelia, showing an informal attitude.

“Drink.”
“Thank you.”

Amelia’s mind was blank.
The burnout that came after the intense emotional turmoil seemed to have partially paralyzed her brain function.
The only lines she had said since coming here were three very formal ‘thank you’s.

“You’re really pretty.”

While Amelia was waiting for a few months to lift the teacup and wet her lips, Clara, who had been waiting, spoke to her.
It wasn’t because she had any other intentions.

Beautiful golden hair that looked like it was made by melting gold and drawing it thinly, and noble sky-blue eyes that seemed to stop the heart just by looking at them.
Even among the witches, who were famous for having many beauties, Amelia’s appearance was outstanding.
Although Amelia was not neat due to her hard wandering life and homelessness, she could not hide her beauty.

“If I could be reborn as pretty as you, I would give all my gold.”
“……”

She didn’t know how to react.
She just wanted to rest right now, so Amelia didn’t answer.
Clara glanced at Amelia’s expression.

Then, she quickly realized that she didn’t have the energy to talk.
Well, if someone who was trying to destroy themselves just a moment ago suddenly started chatting lively, that would be a more dangerous sign.

She looked at Amelia, who was silently sipping her tea, cleared her throat, and cautiously suggested.

“If you go over there, there’s a bathroom made with water drawn from an oasis. You can wash up there. There’s also a bed in a container inside, you can use that too. It seems difficult to talk right now, so we can talk about it later.”
“…Okay.”
“But promise! Don’t think bad thoughts! If you feel like telling me what happened later, tell me. Until then, feel free to rest comfortably as if it’s your own home.”

Amelia looked at Clara, slightly surprised.
She nodded her head slightly, feeling a warm kindness for the first time in a long time.