City ​​of Witches 386

## Chapter 386 – #83_Joint Secret (2)

#384

1.
Like the guest rooms of the Jemerney Count’s family, Diana’s room was not just a ‘room’ but boasted an enormous space with two living rooms, a reception room, a bathroom, a bedroom, and even a front garden.

As spacious as it was, her room was equipped with most of the necessary items.
A rather serious-looking three-tiered first-aid kit was on a shelf, so she took it out.

Diana, who had made a big fuss about getting a weakness and then attempted a kiss, or rather a peck.
She had slipped and fallen spectacularly while running away from Siwoo, and her ankle was swollen.
Siwoo, who had lifted Diana, who couldn’t even stand properly, laid her down on the sofa where she usually kept her position board.

“Are you okay?”
“……”

Perhaps she was quite embarrassed by the full combo of a preemptive confession of a crime + a surprise peck while suddenly claiming to get a weakness + a subsequent clumsy fall while fleeing, because she had been hugging a back cushion and not showing her face since earlier.
He didn’t even expect an answer.

Siwoo placed Diana’s legs on the armrest of the sofa, asked for her understanding, and then lifted her skirt.

“Oh my…”

Her ankle was swollen and red.
It didn’t seem to be a fracture, but it must hurt quite a bit.
How exactly did her leg have to twist for the reflection to be this bad?
The sound of Diana falling was unusually loud.

“Please tell me if it hurts.”

When training with his master, it was common to get a minor injury.
Therefore, he was roughly aware of the magical treatment for it.

Siwoo reached out and carefully wrapped his hand around her ankle.
The spirit body was not as difficult to adjust as one might think.
Especially if it was far from the major organs and close to the extremities, Siwoo’s level of magic control was enough to manage it.

“Bloom.”

Siwoo drew out his magic power and wrapped it around Diana’s ankle.
His intention was to reduce the swelling and soothe the shocked muscles.
The work wasn’t difficult, but it took some time.

By the way, her feet are really pretty.
They look incredibly white and clean.
Her toes, as small as the palm of a hand and slender, showed a glimpse of her elegant genes.
As Siwoo held her a little tighter to inject magic power, her toes wiggled as if she was enduring the pain.

“Why did you do that? You didn’t have to.”
“……”

After a long silence, Diana mumbled, still hiding her face in the cushion.

“My mom told me to have more weaknesses than the other party for a safe negotiation…”
“Oh, I see.”

It was a truly Machiavellian reason.
However, the fact that she chose a peck as the option was quite a strange story.
Come to think of it, she had also rushed out alone for an unknown reason during the Border Town incident…
She was an unpredictable young lady at times.

“…Siwoo.”

Although her flustered appearance was impressive, Diana’s usual demeanor was that of a proper noble lady.
The way she naturally changed her title, the way she called him as if imitating her mother, didn’t feel unfamiliar.

“Yes.”
“Can I ask you just one thing?”
“Sure. It’ll take some time anyway.”
“It might be a little, strange, question.”
“…Okay, sure.”

Diana continued the conversation with a pillow as a mask.
Even though she was hiding her face, Diana hesitated for a long time, wiggling her cute toes, and then asked.

“How long has it been with my mom?”
“…Is that an important question…?”
“Yes, very much so.”

It was a question that had no middle ground and was very difficult to answer, but it was also hard to keep quiet.

“It’s been a day.”
“Liar, everyone only lies to me.”
“It’s not a lie. Yesterday was the first time.”
“…Really?”

The cushion that was covering Diana’s face slowly came down.
Her straight eyes, trying to determine the truth, turned to Siwoo.
Even if they weren’t blood-related, a mother and daughter were still a mother and daughter.
The way her eyebrows were furrowed was exactly like Yesod Count’s.

“Does my mom… do you like her?”
“……”

A tough question.
The answer was predetermined.
However, putting it into words was a different matter.

“My mom likes you too, right?”
“…I’m honored.”

After the meaningless Q&A, the cushion covered Diana’s face again.
Just in time, the treatment was finished.

“It’s done. Would you like to take a look?”
“I think it’s fine now. Thank you.”
“It’s nothing, if you look at it closely, it’s partly my fault too.”

If it wasn’t a magical injury, then external injuries were easily healed by the convenience of a spirit body.
The swelling had completely subsided, and Diana, who had flexibly rotated her ankle, nodded readily.

“Siwoo.”

Diana, who had carefully risen to her feet so that her skirt wouldn’t flip over, sat next to him and looked very calm for some reason.
It was hard to believe that she had been so excited just a moment ago.

“Can you completely… seduce my mom? Make her fall for you.”
“Huh?”

Did he hear wrong?

“You heard me right. I said seduce my mom.”
“No, I think I heard wrong.”

Suddenly asking him to seduce her mother.
Just a moment ago, it was a fresh romantic comedy, but suddenly it had drifted into a soap opera.
Diana, who had muttered softly, looked directly at Siwoo and solidified her intention.

“Please do it.”

2.
Diana’s main outfit for today was a sable long coat.

A sable coat is a fluffy brown coat that rich housewives often wear in dramas.
Even then, if it was made of pure sable, it would be too expensive, so they would mix in a lot of mink or cashmere.

Moreover, Diana’s coat was made of black sable fur, yet it was as white as the first snow.
When asked, she said it was made by skinning an albino individual.
He couldn’t even imagine how expensive it would be.

Anyway, it was a style that would instantly make someone look like a nouveau riche if they wore it without being worthy.
Diana was walking through the streets of Tarot Town, effortlessly pulling off such an outfit.

Diana’s absurd proposal to seduce her mother.
Without getting a proper answer to what that was all about, he ended up in the Gwangjang Market.

The streets were chilly because of the season and the rain that had fallen the night before.
The rainwater that had flowed down the grooves of the road had turned into layers of ice.
However, despite the cold weather, the Gwangjang Market was as lively as ever.

“Well-dried firewood that can be used all winter for 10 pennies a bundle! If you buy now, we’ll give you a flint!”
“Rose water that makes white faces even whiter! Ladies, take some!”
“People! Look here! Plump ducks!”

A sales pitch that resembled a concert hall.
The street was crowded with peddlers who had laid out their goods in front of the tents on both sides of the road, making it difficult to find a place to step, and it was very chaotic.

However, when Diana, who was wearing a parasol, and Siwoo, who was dressed in a suit, walked forward, the path opened up as if by magic.
Even if the citizens didn’t know about albino or sable coats, Diana’s clothes must have looked expensive.
They knew that if even a drop of muddy water splashed on it, they would have to mortgage their lives to pay for the dry cleaning for at least three generations.

“So, why did you suddenly come all the way here?”
“Just follow me for now.”

There were quite a few interesting things just by looking around, but what surprised Siwoo the most was that Diana was the one who suggested this outing.

Following the dense, spiderweb-like alleys, they came to secluded buildings.
Diana looked around and picked a three-story building and went inside.

“Oh, it’s a bookstore.”
“I’ve been keeping an eye on it, wanting to come.”

The citizens of Gehenna lived a rather medieval life, but considering the average standard of living, it was not comparable to that time.
Thanks to the supply of water through magic, the level of hygiene was high, the infant mortality rate was only about 1%, and the crime rate was also significantly low.

As they were essential for the convenience of witches, they were guaranteed a more comfortable environment than most third-world countries.
The fact that there wasn’t a single beggar in the crowded market was one proof of that.

Anyway, basic education was also carried out smoothly, so there were quite a few citizens who read books as a hobby.
This bookstore was for those citizens.

From the entrance, there were piles of books that were not properly arranged, and the bookshelves throughout the building were filled with the smell of old paper.
Dust particles floated leisurely in the dim interior, illuminated by the light of lamps.

Siwoo had known about the bookstore for a long time.
However, he had never bothered to use it.
During his slave days, he didn’t have time to read novels, and he didn’t particularly like them.

Also, he didn’t need to look through the magic books that were hidden here and there, since Siwoo’s workplace was already the magic library of Trinity Academy.
There was no need to go out of his way to visit.

“Are you looking for a specific book?”
“Wait.”

Diana didn’t answer and walked past the bookstore owner, who was dozing off, and looked around.
Since he had come all the way here, Siwoo also spent some time looking through various books.

There were all sorts of books.
A book on basic herbal knowledge.
A food recipe written in sloppy handwriting, as if they had been stingy with paper.
There was even a diary that didn’t seem to belong to anyone.

“Hmm…”

Among the piles of books that seemed to be at least ten thousand, Diana picked out books without caring about the dust on her coat.
She already had a few books tucked under her arm.

“Hmm?”

What caught Siwoo’s eye was an unusually large book covered in dust.
It was almost falling behind the bookshelf, as if it had been left there.
The letters were old and worn, making it difficult to read, but after wiping off the dust with his hand, he saw the title.

[Public Records]

“Oh.”

He untied the leather strap that was binding the book like a band and opened it to find a surprisingly neat page.
As the title suggested, it was a book that recorded various public achievements.
Their actions and major events, hierarchy, and even some of the magic they used and their artifacts.
It was like a DB of location points, a book that shared information about public achievements.

“……”

He had already been entangled with two witches, the Aquarius Witch and the Cowardly Witch.
He would likely encounter more of them in the future against his will.
Just like in an RPG game where you need to know the boss’s patterns before going in, looking through a book like this might be helpful.

“Well, I don’t think it’ll be of much help.”

Just as Siwoo found a useful book, Diana had almost ten books tucked under her arm.

“That’s a lot, isn’t it?”

Diana stared at Siwoo.
She looked hesitant about whether to say this or not.
After biting her lip several times, Diana moved her lips.

“What I’m about to tell you now… is also a secret between us. Okay?”