City ​​of Witches 422

Chapter 422 – #90_Verification(3)

#421

1.
Shiwoo swallowed a groan.

“Ugh….”

Should he be thankful that at least Albireo, who was somewhat reasonable, had come?
He could hear the two countesses chatting away.

Their conversation would probably determine Shiwoo’s fate.
He couldn’t make out the exact words because they were echoing, but when Deneb raised her voice, her diction became clear.
Mostly, it was just harsh words like, ‘We should kick him out!’ ‘I want to get rid of him!’ ‘I can’t forgive him!’ which made him nervous.

“Sss! Sss!”

Then, a snake-like sound came from somewhere.
At first, he thought it was the wind whistling through the rocks.

“Assistant…! Assistant…!”

When he turned his head, he saw Odile and Odette crouching in the passage, only their heads peeking out.
True to their elusive nature, the twins had popped out of nowhere.

They looked around, then tiptoed carefully to Shiwoo’s side.
Their eyes, which had been full of tension, filled with concern when they saw Shiwoo, covered in dust with blood on his forehead.

“Assistant…. You’re bleeding…. What do we do…. It’s because of us….”
“It’s okay, Assistant. Stay still. We’ll save you.”
“Odile… Odette….”

Actually, when Deneb said, ‘Even the twins don’t know about this dungeon,’ he had thought, ‘That can’t be right….’
There was no way the twins, who seemed to be the personification of curiosity, wouldn’t know about this exciting dungeon.

As Shiwoo had expected, the twins knew about the dungeon.
They had also guessed that Shiwoo had been captured, and they had come to rescue him, each holding a thick bunch of keys.

“Odette, you take the arm, and I’ll take the bottom.”
“Okay, Unnie.”
“Is it okay for you to do this?”

Odile and Odette each inserted a key and tried to turn it.
Shiwoo asked worriedly.

“Assistant, do you think Little Master will just let this slide?”
“You should run away first. We’ll take the blame and defend you.”

The whispering and the clinking of keys sounded as loud as thunder.
However, he knew that simply running away wouldn’t solve the problem, which was escalating like a wildfire in autumn.

“I appreciate the thought. Just leave quietly without me. I’ll talk to Deneb.”
“Assistant, don’t talk nonsense and run.”
“Something really bad will happen….”

On the other hand, the twins, knowing Deneb’s fiery temper, decided that avoiding blame was their priority.
If they left him like this, it was obvious what would happen to the Assistant.
Hadn’t the Assistant been beaten and dragged here?
Unless the twins acted as a buffer, his future was clear.

“Why isn’t this opening….”
“There are too many keys, Unnie….”

But there were too many keys.
No matter how hard they tried, the restraints wouldn’t open.
Shiwoo, who couldn’t stand it anymore, spoke up.
After all, the fire that had grown out of Shiwoo’s poor judgment didn’t need to spread to the twins.

“I’ll handle it. You don’t need to do this because of me, so just run away.”
“We’re the ones who ran off on our own, so how can we just run away?”
“That’s right, we have a sense of responsibility too.”

Just as the clinking sound was picking up speed, the sound of Albireo and Deneb’s conversation completely stopped.
The twins, who had been focused on getting Shiwoo out until that moment, didn’t make it in time.

“Ah….”

Albireo, who had finished talking with Deneb, returned.
They found the twins, who were stuck close to Shiwoo, trying hard to unlock his restraints.

“Haa…. You little rascals….”
“How did you two get here?”

Albireo sighed, and Deneb looked at the twins in shock.
She had clearly put them to sleep with magic, and she had never told them about this dungeon.
Yet, the twins had come down as if they knew all along.
They even had spare keys.

“Master! The Assistant didn’t do anything wrong!”
“That’s right! We seduced him first! If something happens to the Assistant…!”
“We’ll never see you again!”

The twins, who had given up on escaping and were now confronting them head-on, and Deneb, who was biting her lip.

“Unnie! Take the kids upstairs!”
“No!”
“We’re never leaving the Assistant!”

But the twins stuck close to Shiwoo’s sides, firmly stating their intentions.
Deneb, unable to stand it anymore, shouted.

“Do you even know how many women this man is playing around with?”
“We know! But our feelings for the Assistant won’t change!”
“We understand! We’re devoted like dandelions!”

Deneb, whose temper was being scratched raw again by the twins, yelled as if she didn’t want to hear it.

“Unnie! I said go upstairs!”
“We won’t fall for the same trick again…! Hmm….”
“It’s cowardly to keep trying to solve things with magic…! Um… zzz….”

Having no other choice, Albireo put the twins to sleep with a sleeping spell.
The twins tried to resist with magic, but all the magic they knew was a weaker version of the countess’s magic.
The twins quickly slumped again, and Albireo picked them up.

“Hoo….”

Deneb sighed deeply as she watched.
The twins’ short appearance and quick exit had clearly conveyed their intentions.

The twins had infiltrated, knowing full well that they would fail and that they would be punished later, all to get him out.
Just as Albireo had said, at least it was clear that the twins’ feelings for Shiwoo were genuine.

“I’ll take them up quickly, so don’t think anything weird, okay?”
“I said I understand, Unnie.”

Albireo kept reminding her until the very end.
In fact, when Deneb had brought Shiwoo here, she had been quite harsh.
She had intended to reveal all his sins, thoroughly investigate his additional crimes, and then give him a suitable punishment before banishing him.

However, Albireo’s calm appeals and persuasion, and the twins’ desperate defense, had succeeded in stopping her intense emotions.
It had only stopped her rampage, but from Shiwoo’s point of view, it was a relief.

“Shiwoo.”
“Yes, Countess Deneb.”
“I am very, very, very disappointed. I trusted you.”
“I have no excuses for disappointing you. It’s all because I was so indecisive that things escalated.”

Deneb snapped her fingers, releasing the oath of confession that had been placed on Shiwoo.
She then proceeded to unlock the restraints on his hands and feet.

“You can’t even begin to imagine how devastated I am. Maybe you’ll understand a little when you have your own apprentice witch.”

Deneb was still being prickly.
But seeing her reach out and heal the wound on his forehead, it seemed that Albireo had successfully persuaded her.

“First of all, there’s a lot to talk about… but you’re already back?”
“Did everything go okay?”
“I told you I calmed down.”

Albireo returned not long after.
Considering how quickly she had returned, it seemed she had been quite worried about Deneb’s rampage.

If something happened to Shiwoo, it wouldn’t just be the twins’ hatred, but it would also strain her relationship with Duke Tiferet.
From Albireo’s perspective, stopping Deneb’s rash actions was the right thing to do, both morally and practically.

“Deneb, you held it together well. You’re my sister after all.”
“Just shut up, Unnie.”

The two Geminai countesses were bickering with each other.
As he watched the unusual scene, Deneb, who had pushed away the overly clingy Albireo, stepped forward.

“First, okay. I’ll concede that the twins’ physical relationship….”

-Grinding teeth

Her words were cut off by the sound of her grinding her teeth.
Deneb, who had calmed herself with a sigh for what felt like the hundredth time today, continued.

“I understand the reasons and circumstances behind it. I also understand that you’ve seduced and slept with countless other witches. Since the twins themselves are okay with it, I’m not in a position to say anything more.”
“Shiwoo, isn’t it too many, even so? And they’re all… a duke, a countess, a great witch…. Are you trying to put a gold band on your national treasure?”
“No, that’s not it…. It’s just that the situation….”

Shiwoo’s shoulders slumped as he received the mothers-in-law’s well-aimed jabs.
But a crisis is also an opportunity.
If he handled this well, he could get Deneb to acknowledge his relationship with the twins, which had been half-hearted until now.
Shiwoo calmly swallowed and met Deneb’s eyes.

“What are you looking at?”
“Ah, nothing.”

And he quickly lowered his gaze at Deneb’s scolding.
He wanted to show a responsible, manly side, but she was too scary.
Could anyone really look into those piercing blue eyes?

“I admit that there was a misunderstanding earlier. I attacked you because I thought you were trying to humiliate, defile, commit adultery with, and ruin the future of our twins without any proof, irresponsibly, for the sake of base pleasure, and without any remorse.”

His shoulders slumped more with each long-winded description.

“But since you’ve shown a tiny bit of conscience, a thimbleful of responsibility, and a tear of remorse, and because of the favor you did us before… I’m very sorry to say that the banishment is off.”
“Whew….”

Albireo, who had been listening quietly from behind, sighed in relief at Deneb’s verdict.
She had tried to persuade her as best she could, but it was uncertain whether Deneb would accept it.

“However.”

Like a judge giving a final verdict with a suspenseful twist, Deneb delivered her final judgment.

“All of this leniency will only be granted after I confirm that your actions with the twins have no negative impact on the vessel. Even if you say you’ll refrain from physical relations with the twins from now on, I can’t trust that. You don’t have any complaints about this, do you?”

Shiwoo had already deceived Deneb and played around with the twins, so he had no complaints about that.
However, there was something suspicious about Deneb’s words.

“Huh?”
“Huh? Deneb?”
“In other words, I will directly verify all the magical reactions and effects that occur during anal sex. If even the slightest negative effect is observed, the leniency I mentioned earlier will be nullified. In other words, you will be forbidden from seeing the twins until they inherit the vessel.”

Shiwoo couldn’t think for a moment.
So, let’s summarize.

Even if she told them not to do it, both of them would probably break the rule, and even though she said there was nothing wrong with the vessel, she wanted to make sure nothing would happen, so she would check it herself.
Also, even if there was nothing wrong with the vessel right now, there might be some problems later, so she would verify it directly.
That’s what she meant.

“Huh?”

Shiwoo was startled.

“What?”

Albireo, who had been listening from the side, was just as shocked.