City ​​of Witches 408

Chapter 408 – #88_Harvest Festival

#407

1.
The twins, Sharon, my teacher, and even Periwinkle.
Though I couldn’t visit Count Yesod, I shared a meal with them, expressing my gratitude and resolving my feelings.

After that, Siwoo went looking for Amelia.

The reason her turn was pushed to the very end was that Siwoo himself couldn’t figure out what kind of face he should make when he saw Amelia.
So, as if putting off a difficult emotion, he had been postponing meeting Amelia.

But soon, he faced a problem.
Whether he apologized for the harsh words back then or talked about something else, shouldn’t he at least see her face and have a conversation?

However, despite his efforts, Amelia was nowhere to be found in Gehenna.

Not in the cabin in the Gulp Tree Forest where they had spent time together.
Not in the lodgings provided to her as a former associate professor.
Not even in the Marigold Mansion in Ars Magna Town. There was no trace of her anywhere.

This was the third time he had visited the empty cabin today.
Even though it had been empty for quite some time, thanks to the preservation magic, not a single speck of dust had settled on the table. Siwoo swept it with complicated feelings.

He felt a sense of emptiness.
Siwoo, who had been returned to his childhood by Keter.

Every time his gaze reached a corner of the cabin, the time when young Siwoo and Amelia had spent happy days bloomed.

There was the table where they had eaten together, the armchair by the fireplace where they had sat side by side reading books.
There was the desk where she had taught him during the process of regaining his magical knowledge.

It hadn’t been a long time, but each moment was precious.
That’s why, when he regained all his memories.
When affection and fondness clashed with resentment and anger.
He felt the intense love-hate.

The Amelia that Siwoo remembered was a strict superior who had tormented him in every way, using the excuse that he had refused her night service.
She had even tried to grab him and stop him just before his escape.

At the same time, she was a mother and sister who was taciturn but actually very emotional, who seemed prickly but was actually clumsy.
She was also the woman he had loved.

Time dilutes emotions.

The words she had spoken, ‘Even if you regain your memories, can you not forgive me?’
Those words, which had sounded cowardly and hypocritical at the time, could now be understood a little.
Now, all that remained for Siwoo was bitterness, regret, and a slight perplexity about Amelia.

Why hadn’t Amelia come back to see Siwoo?
Why hadn’t she tried to have any conversation?
Had she given up and turned away after seeing the cold gaze he had given her the moment they met again?

The questions that arose tapped at his heart.
Like a thorn stuck in his fingertip, it didn’t hurt or bother him much, but it felt like it was always there.
Today, the protrusions of that thorn felt particularly bumpy.

“…Haa….”

Siwoo sighed and closed the door.

2.
After the worst reunion.
Amelia returned to Gehenna with Clara.

Clara had practically dragged Amelia back, who had a vacant expression as if everything had collapsed.

“……”

Amelia stared blankly into the air.
She refused even when Clara offered her a meal or tea.

She sat at her desk, holding a pen, staring blankly at a piece of paper that hadn’t gained a single word for days, as if she was going to do some magical research.
She had been like this ever since she returned to Gehenna and stayed at Clara’s mansion.
She hadn’t said a word about going hunting or doing anything.

It must be hard for Amelia.

Clara had been watching Amelia for a very long time.
She had saved her from attempting suicide, comforted her, encouraged her, and waited for her to open up about her pain.

Amelia was clumsy.

At first glance, she seemed like a strong and arrogant witch, but inside she was a fragile child.
If someone didn’t explain it to her, she wouldn’t even know what her own feelings were, and if she had no one to rely on, she would run away alone, close her heart, and hide her emotions.
Even that was not very good.

Such an Amelia had taken on the list of killings to keep the life of Shin Siwoo, who had been revived by Keter.

If this task had been a fierce battle for life, the pangs of conscience given to Amelia would have been less.
The proposition of ‘kill or be killed’ was a very, very effective excuse.

But unfortunately, Amelia was too strong.
And her heart was too weak.

Most of the hunts were executions, not battles, and the only thing that supported her collapsing heart as she continued to slaughter was a truly selfish expectation.

The expectation that ‘if he knew how hard it was, he might forgive me.’

To put it coldly, it was a waste of effort.
Conflicts between people cannot be resolved unless they communicate their feelings and situations.

They were not connected by some sacred nerve cord like aliens.

Not having the confidence to be forgiven right away, using atonement as an excuse to accumulate a sense of debt in the person she would meet in the future.
That was a self-abusive and self-gratifying act that relied on the kindness of others.

And recently, even the expectations she had so desperately built up had been shattered.

After the day she faced the unconscious Shin Siwoo.
The faint hope that she might be forgiven had shattered like a dropped glass.

Misunderstandings arising from a lack of communication, and another misunderstanding painted over it.
Like misaligned gears, one misalignment leads to another.

Clara didn’t laugh at it.
Her agony, her foolishness, the desperate sadness that stemmed from it.
Being able to savor it up close was an ecstatic experience that even the finest liquor couldn’t compare to.

“Amelia.”

Clara, or Lilith.
That pain, that agony, that self-pity, that regret, that anguish, that self-contradiction.
She loved them dearly.

She widened the gaps they created.
She parasitized through the holes in her broken and intoxicated heart.

“Would you like to talk to me?”

That was the strongest formula for a whispering witch to dominate another witch.

3.
In the drawing room of the Zemerai Mansion, two witches and two apprentice witches gathered.

They were:
Sharon Evergreen.
Eloa Tiferet.
Odile Zemerai.
Odette Zemerai.

Eloa, who had shared her heart with Siwoo and received confirmation, went to Sharon and told her the truth.

Regardless of the circumstances, she had become the new girl, so she told Sharon, who had comforted and empathized with her, the truth first.

Of course, she also made it clear that ‘I am content just being by his side and have no intention of coveting anything more.’
It would be a lie to say that she wasn’t greedy, but as an unscrupulous teacher, she had no justification to monopolize him.

Sharon was not surprised or disappointed at all.
She hugged Eloa and was happy for her as if it were her own business.
Sharon also understood the emotional hardship that Eloa had gone through.

Unlike Sharon and the twins, who shared each other’s secrets, Eloa’s secret had only been shared through Sharon, and under the peace treaty with the twins, they had a place for information sharing and meetings.

“Hello, Duchess Tiferet.”
“You’re really a duchess…”
“It feels like this is the first time we’ve all gathered like this.”
“Sharon, we’ve had meals together a few times before.”

Eloa’s mouth was half open.
In fact, when Sharon had said that Siwoo had another lover, ‘there are also the twins,’ she had naturally assumed that it was the Count of Zemerai.

That was also why he received the full cooperation and support of the Zemerai family.
Although it was a little strange that Sharon used the term ‘twins’ instead of ‘Count,’ it made much more sense from a logical point of view.

“…I think I might have misunderstood something…”

Eloa, who had met the cute apprentice witch of the Zemerai family, and realized that his lover was actually an apprentice witch, couldn’t hide her bewilderment and embarrassment.
It felt like she was about to ask, ‘Where is your teacher?’

“…I think I need to scold him for this.”

The vessel was a symbol of inheritance that should never be damaged, and the easiest thing to contaminate it was a man.
No matter how much she loved her disciple Siwoo, she didn’t think he should be touching an apprentice witch.

“I was surprised at first too…”

While Sharon was giving a wry smile as if she understood.
The twins chimed in.

“It’s okay, we’re not thoughtless either. We’re sharing love with Master in a safe way.”
“Odette! How can you just blurt that out?”
“Sister, but we agreed to be honest with each other today, didn’t we? It’s stranger to hide it.”

In fact, after ‘We’re sharing love!’ Eloa couldn’t hear anything else.
Secondary shock.
Siwoo was having a physical relationship with an apprentice witch?
Then what was the method?

“Could it be…”

Eloa had already seen Siwoo having a passionate encounter with Periwinkle from behind.
So she was able to quickly figure out the answer.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s because that’s the only way…”
“That’s right, that’s right.”

Even though they said it was nothing to be ashamed of, just looking at the twins’ exaggerated gestures and flushed faces, one could guess what their true feelings were.

But the women here were all people who loved Siwoo.
Whatever the method, at least it wasn’t something Eloa should interfere with.

“How about we have a drink and talk?”
“Good idea! We’ve prepared some wine.”
“It’s a famous wine from the Mendel Hills!”

They all poured wine into their glasses and lightly clinked them.
Sharon spoke first.

“Actually, the reason we’ve gathered like this is… Siwoo isn’t exactly a decisive person. But he’s also a playboy.”
“So Sharon and I have made our own rules to share Master.”
“So we don’t fight or anything.”

The reason why Sharon and the twins got along so harmoniously without any particular disputes was also because of these meetings they had from time to time.
Borrowing Odile’s naming sense, this meeting, called the ‘Council for Fair Distribution,’ discussed topics like:

“Today’s council will discuss the order and time of dates for this harvest festival.”

It was such a trivial matter.
Eloa, who was looking around, wondering if it was some kind of drinking joke, due to the serious atmosphere and the somewhat distant topic of discussion, was able to find Sharon and the twins who were endlessly serious.

And she understood.
This council, although organized to prevent unnecessary disputes, did not limit fair competition.

“I, Odile, will speak first. Odette and I are one. If we simply divide the time according to the camp, I think we should have twice the time as Sharon and Duchess Tiferet, considering that the time we can spend with Master will be halved.”
“That’s right. My sister is absolutely right.”

The twins’ argument was as follows.
If you divide a pizza into three large slices, the twins would receive one slice and share it.
Therefore, it was right to divide the pizza into four slices and have the twins take two slices.

“Sharon, I object. The harvest festival is a special event that only takes place for three days a year. It is true that while Siwoo is paying attention to Odile, he will pay less attention to Odette, and vice versa, but as long as they are together, it is difficult to equate it with a completely isolated situation. Furthermore, if we divide the time according to that logic, Odile and Odette will take half of the right to be with Siwoo.”

Sharon’s argument was as follows.
Unlike pizza, which cannot be eaten if it is divided into pieces, she argued that just being able to have emotional connection and interaction nearby was a valid amount of time.

Eloa, who had been dragged into this council in a daze.
She blinked her eyes and watched the serious debate, and she also joined in.

“I also have something to say.”

If it was about the desire to cherish and be with Siwoo, she was no less than these three.