City ​​of Witches 444

Chapter 444 – #93_Your Memory (2)

#443

1.
Amelia and her teacher’s happy days continued.

It was as if the secluded cabin was completed by their mere presence,
and the way they seemed indispensable to each other was like a physical manifestation of the word ‘happiness.’

Before long, she passed through puberty and became quite similar to how she looks now.
There were countless things I realized and learned while glimpsing into Amelia’s recollections.
Amelia during her apprentice witch days was completely different from Amelia after becoming a witch.

An apprentice witch refers to a girl who has been marked for succession by the witch’s bloodline, that is, by the prophecy institution.
They possess not only brilliant and quick-witted minds and learning abilities, but also artistic talent and beauty.
They are truly beings favored by the gods.

However, there are exceptions to everything.
Amelia during her apprentice witch days was beautiful and could play the violin with ease, but she was not the same when it came to magic.
I could easily tell, having watched the twins and Diana, and having studied magic from the ground up myself.

Amelia had to stay up for days and nights to understand even the most basic magic formulas, and when she tried to grasp new concepts, her eyes would spin as the new information mixed with the old.
It wasn’t just that she lacked talent; it was truly hopeless.

Amelia couldn’t even define her own definition of magic, her ‘incantation,’ until after her 20th birthday.

I can guess why young Amelia hated studying magic so much and tried to run away.
It’s hard for anyone to be forced to do something they’re not good at.

Siwoo knows how harsh a discipline magic is.
Magic is a cruel discipline that doesn’t even grant the right to begin to those without talent.

Nevertheless, Amelia didn’t give up on studying magic.
As she grew older and more mature, Amelia no longer ran away.
She didn’t throw her homework into the fireplace, nor did she slack off during class.

The time she spent sitting at her desk, studying, increased.
The time she spent staying up all night, the time she spent not going out to play, the time she spent looking at magic books with bloodshot eyes, all grew longer and longer.

Amelia’s changes weren’t just about her academic zeal.
Her long-standing illness worsened with her growth.

In her childhood, she would only get dizzy or collapse from sudden fevers, but now she was coughing up blood and spending more than half the year in bed, and her complexion had gone beyond pale to almost bloodless.

But even when she collapsed and lay in bed, Amelia didn’t let go of her books.
The reason was ‘to be with her teacher forever.’

Like the common belief that all humans eventually die,
it is a fact known to anyone related to witches that all witches die after succession.

Therefore, Amelia’s words, ‘If I succeed someday, I will be with my teacher forever,’ were clearly contradictory.

The previous Merigold couldn’t have been unaware of that.

Rather, it was because she knew that she isolated Amelia from the world and kept her only in the cork tree forest.
Even when they occasionally went shopping together, they would only finish their business and return immediately.

Except for Sophia and the previous Avenega, who occasionally came to visit, she didn’t allow anyone else into the forest, and she was cautious about Amelia meeting other witches.

There’s no need to guess the reason.
It was to have Amelia pass on the mark before she died from her illness, as she had no talent.

If Amelia knew the truth, she wouldn’t try to receive the mark.
She would have refused vehemently.

Conversely, even if she knew the truth and was persuaded, her body wouldn’t have held out until Amelia, who had no talent, had gathered her wits and finished preparing for the succession.

Therefore, the previous Merigold chose to conceal the truth.

Of course, this is a scene that Siwoo can realize because he knows the concealed truth from a third-party perspective.
Amelia didn’t have any doubts about her teacher’s attitude.

In Siwoo’s view, Amelia is seen resting her chin on the windowsill, looking out at the pouring autumn rain.
Lying in bed, she would sit in the same spot like this, waiting for the previous Merigold to return.

“When will you come back… You always leave me with homework and go out to play…”

Amelia pouted her lips and expressed her disappointment.
I didn’t know what emotion to feel, so I was just staring blankly at her when.

“Why are you making that face?”

Amelia’s sky-blue eyes meet Siwoo’s.
Siwoo felt a fear that made his heart sink.

He is looking at her past and wounds without permission.
And he holds the key to the cruel truth.
The fear that he might have to tell her this.
Even though I know this moment is a fragment of the scattered past, my body shrank.

“Ah… that…”

When my mouth wouldn’t open and I was at a loss for words.
Amelia got out of bed and walked past Siwoo with quick steps.

“Come in quickly. You came back in the rain again without an umbrella.”

Amelia smiled happily as she saw the previous Merigold return to the cabin.
Only then did Siwoo realize that he was just overlapping with the previous Merigold’s illusion.

On a day when autumn was hanging by the end of the calendar.
The previous Merigold returned from Lenomond Town, soaked to the bone from her hat to her cloak.
She looked at Amelia for a moment without saying anything, then spoke.

“Amelia.”
“Yes, Teacher.”
“It’s tomorrow.”

Amelia’s expression stiffened for a moment at the sudden words.
Amelia, who was staring at her teacher’s face in a daze, sprang up and hugged the previous Merigold.
She didn’t care that her pajamas were getting wet from the cold rain, or that the chilly cold was seeping into her embrace.

There was no need to explain what ‘tomorrow’ meant.
What else could it be but the succession she had been waiting for so eagerly?
She had been worried because her body was getting so bad.
She was worried that she might die before she could even receive the succession.

“Is it really? You’re not lying, are you?”
“Of course, you’re ready to receive it now.”
“Lies! That can’t be! That can’t be…! I haven’t even properly defined my incantation yet?”

Amelia, as if she couldn’t believe it, looked at her cheek and pinched it.
Her teacher, who had paused, gently stroked Amelia’s shoulder and kissed her forehead.

“The succession ceremony is something you’ve practiced hard for, isn’t it? You can inherit the incantation I used, and it would be good to receive the mark first and then contemplate it.”
“No way… no way… What should I do, Teacher…? I’m so, so happy… It’s like a dream…”

Amelia finally shed tears.
She couldn’t express all the overwhelming joy because the hardships, trials, and efforts she had endured had come as a great reward, and she ended up crying.

“Teacher… I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble… When I become a witch, I’ll surely be a great help to you too. I really love you. I love you, Teacher…”

Like a baby bird soaked in rain burrowing into its mother’s embrace, Amelia kept hugging her teacher.

“…No.”

Even though I knew it wouldn’t be heard, I couldn’t help but say it.
This is too cruel a story.
It’s too cruel a story.

2.
The last moments that only Siwoo and the previous Merigold were aware of passed by like any other day.

Although the two had been using separate beds after Amelia had grown up to a certain extent, that night they hugged each other in bed and closed their eyes.

The next day, they had breakfast together.
Amelia was clearly excited.
Even though her eyes were stinging from not sleeping well all night, she smiled all day as if she had overcome her illness.

“Now that I’ll be cured, I can go out with you, right? Teacher, I want to go to the mortal world too. I’m curious about Lenomond Town and Ars Magna Town.”
“…Traveling is a good thing.”

After that, they hung out the laundry together, played duets on the piano and violin, cooked together, and continued to have a harmonious time.
The fact that the everyday life that was no different from usual felt like a terrible tragedy was because I knew the ending of this tragedy.

The two of them finished their banquet with a turkey roasted in the oven as the main dish, taking turns throughout the afternoon.
The final moment had arrived.

“Amelia.”
“Yes, Teacher.”

A happy smile that she couldn’t control was lingering on Amelia’s cheeks.
Seeing that, her teacher managed to smile and hugged her.

“Do you remember the method of succession?”
“Of course! I’ve practiced so hard!”
“Of course, of course, I know better than anyone how diligent and admirable our Amelia is.”
“Heh… hehe…”

Tears were welling up in her eyes as she smiled bashfully in her teacher’s arms.

The two headed to the clearing in the forest where the magic circle they had prepared in advance was drawn.
The magic circle, drawn with a mixture of special perfume and ink, gave off a fragrant lilac scent.

Amelia and the previous Merigold knelt down on it, holding hands.
Then, they touched their foreheads together.

“Amelia, do you know how much I love you?”
“Of course, you taught a clumsy apprentice witch like me to the end. I’m so happy that I can finally repay you.”
“That’s all that matters.”

Subtle particles spread through the two’s bodies, and a vortex of particles, so beautiful that it was mesmerizing, enveloped Amelia and her teacher.
Everything that flowed out of the previous Merigold began to be absorbed by Amelia’s body.

“Stop…”

Even though I knew I couldn’t change it.
In front of the recollection of the past that was clearly visible and clearly audible even when I closed my eyes and blocked my ears.
Siwoo felt a pain that seemed like he would collapse.

“I did it! Teacher! Look at me!”

The mark was successfully passed on.
Amelia looked at the particles of magic that were swirling around her, jumping up and down happily.
She was amazed by the realm of mystery that she could never have achieved on her own and raised the newly acquired power on her palm.

What entered Amelia’s eyes was.
The previous Merigold, who was crumbling as if breaking apart from her fingertips.

At that moment, the information and knowledge recorded in the mark were combined in Amelia’s mind.
The succession ceremony, which Amelia had only memorized during her apprentice witch days because it was a level of magic formula that she couldn’t even understand.

The meaning and results become ‘known information’ as if they were directly inputted into her head.

“Ah…”

The moment when Amelia’s face, which had been filled with joy, collapsed was shorter than a fleeting moment.
A hollow and dull sigh was all that could express Amelia’s shock.

“Amelia, I’m sorry for not being honest with you.”

Amelia slumped to her knees on the spot.
Tears flowed from her eyes, which were staring blankly.

What followed was a scream and a cry close to a shriek.
Siwoo couldn’t bear to watch it and turned his back.

“Teacher! Why, why didn’t you tell me…! I… I… I thought that if I became a witch… I could be with you forever…”
“There is parting when there is meeting. Oh my, is that too cliché a thing to leave as a last will?”
“It’s cowardly… I can’t accept it! How can this be… It’s cowardly… Don’t go… Don’t go…”
“Amelia, my beloved disciple, my daughter, my mirror. I am so glad that you will carry on the name of Merigold.”
“I don’t need a name like that! Why… why didn’t you listen to my story…”
“You are a warm child.”
“I don’t want to! I don’t want to…! Take it back… Without you, Teacher, I’m… nothing…!”

Crying, tearing at her hair, screaming, shaking her head, praying.
The time of cruel farewell that had suddenly arrived did not stop.

“Live like a witch, like a noble. And…”

What was heard from behind was only a one-sided monologue.
And the sound of the witch who killed her teacher, searching the forest for her teacher who had disappeared without even leaving a corpse, was all that could be heard.

3.

Incantations, also called activation words, are the process of redefining the formless magic power into an image that is easy for the caster to accept.
It could be said to be a reorganization of consciousness.

For example, the reason why Siwoo’s incantation is ‘Bloom’ is because the liquefied form of magic power that had formed at his fingertips looked beautiful, like a flower blooming.

The reason why Amelia’s incantation was decided to be ‘Weep’ is.
It was probably because the way the magic power scattered in a hazy manner looked sad, like tears flowing.