City ​​of Witches 447

Chapter 447 – #94_Reunion

#336

1.
Two days had passed since the rampage of Baron Marigold.

The incident, which could have been remembered as the second invasion of Gehenna, was not something that could be easily overlooked.

Under the direct command of Duke Erelim, an investigation committee was formed to decide Amelia’s fate, and Count Kohab was appointed as an investigator to confirm the damage and determine the cause.
Since Gehenna did not have a judicial system to try witches, an agreement was to be announced through a hearing.

“…Therefore, any false statements may be detrimental to the Baron in this hearing, so please cooperate sincerely with the investigation.”
“I understand.”

Short black hair, ivory eyes with an intellectual gleam.
Count Kohab, who wore a suit and a monocle stylishly, recited the precautions and began the interrogation.

Amelia was deemed a flight risk immediately after the incident and was detained in the underground prison of the Jemernai mansion to cooperate with the investigation.
Of course, the outcome would not be determined solely by the testimony of the person involved.
Analysis of the magic patterns collected on the day and evidence collection would be carried out, and it was clear that at the very least, a huge amount of compensation would have to be paid.

Nevertheless, during the interrogation that lasted about three hours, Amelia hardly showed any signs of agitation.
She simply answered the questions in a calm and truthful voice.
Her answers were straightforward, with no contradictions or falsehoods.

“Very well. We will take a 30-minute break and then resume.”
“Yes.”

Count Kohab rose from his seat, holding a stack of papers that had grown quite large.
It wasn’t just because he needed a break.

He would probably send those documents to the committee immediately for cross-verification and delve into more in-depth aspects.
A barrage of tiring questions, incomparable to the previous ones, would follow.
However, Amelia sipped her coldly brewed black tea as if she didn’t care about such things.

“Baron Marigold.”

Albiereo Jemernai, who was attending the interrogation as a mediator, readily stepped into Amelia’s cell.

“I’m sorry it’s such a shabby place. It hasn’t been used for decades.”

Although it had been cleaned thoroughly and a new bed had been placed, it was still an old underground structure.
There was nothing he could do about the musty smell and the chill that flowed between the stone walls.

“No, thank you for your consideration.”

Albiereo looked at Amelia, who bowed her head again.
It was common knowledge that all witches were beautiful.

Among them, Amelia’s beauty was outstanding.
Her neatly twisted side hair resembled a rope woven with gold thread, and her sky-blue eyes, as if they held a clear sky, were enough to give one goosebumps if one stared at them.
Her long double eyelids and her slender yet elegant figure made even Albiereo, who had lived his whole life without any complaints about his appearance, feel intimidated.

Many witches had strong homosexual tendencies, but Albiereo considered himself to be extremely heterosexual.
Even though he had no experience.
The reason why she was suddenly admiring Amelia’s beauty and thinking such thoughts was…

“Is Shin Siwoo okay?”

It was because the witch, who combined truly demonic beauty with a mysterious atmosphere, was none other than the rival of his daughters.

Amelia had maintained a deep relationship with Shin Siwoo in the past, and had even openly shown her unrequited love.

With something having gone wrong in their relationship, and Siwoo having risked her life to save her, it was obvious that they would follow the Hollywood cliché of ‘reunion after a major crisis’.

It was already a shark tank with Evergreen, Duke Tiferet, and Count Yesod, and now Amelia was back in the mix.
As a mother, how could she not sigh deeply?

“She’s okay, but her circuits were greatly affected, so she’s unconscious.”
“…What about her arm?”

Amelia, who hadn’t even blinked during the rather sharp interrogation, flinched and looked like she had done something terribly wrong as soon as Siwoo’s name was mentioned.

“Count Kohab has agreed to implant a prosthetic arm. He’s the best in this field, so he’s trustworthy.”
“That’s a relief.”

Only then did Amelia lean back in her chair, as if relieved.
She didn’t care about what would happen to herself, but she was so emotional about Siwoo’s situation.
It seemed that the problem he had anticipated was going to occur.
Albiereo cleared his throat and continued.

“It will only be known after the official hearing, but it won’t end with a light punishment. At the very least, your title will surely be confiscated.”

The commotion Amelia had caused was not a simple incident.
Even if the Whisper Witch’s manipulation was involved, she had magically imprisoned thousands of citizens and had almost posed a serious threat to Gehenna’s barrier.

Therefore, Amelia nodded her head readily.

“The good thing is that public opinion among the witches is not bad. The consensus is that it would be too harsh to revoke your citizenship if proper compensation is made. The detention period will also be suspended as soon as the hearing is over.”
“Thank you for always looking out for me.”

Albiereo hid the words, ‘I know, I don’t even know why I’m doing this.’
In fact, the reason why the opinions were aligned to this extent was because Jemernai and Yesod had worked together.

The reason why they had gone out of their way for Amelia, who would be a promising rival for their twins, was partly due to the solidarity between witches, but also, needless to say, to prevent Shin Siwoo from going on a rampage.
If anything bad were to happen to her, she would be the first to roll up her sleeves and do something reckless.

“Count.”
“Yes.”
“If Shin Siwoo wakes up…”

Just as Amelia, who seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, was quietly speaking, a sudden commotion arose.
Thump, thump.
It was the sound of someone rushing down the stairs.

“Amelia!”

A very familiar voice echoed in the common area.
The person who came running down, her large, no, huge breasts bouncing as if she would fall, was…
Sophia Aveneu, Amelia’s only friend.

“Sophia?”
“Amelia!”
“Ugh…!”

She instantly opened the iron gate and hugged Amelia tightly, as if they were a family reuniting after being separated.
It was such a violent hug that a ‘keh-hek’ sound came out involuntarily.
Amelia, who had been drinking her black tea in an elegant posture, was instantly buried in Sophia’s chest, struggling.

“I’m so glad… I’m so glad…”

Amelia had left for a public hunt alone without even telling Sophia properly.
Sophia, who had no idea of the circumstances, had left to find Amelia, worried about her.

However, even Sophia, who could borrow the eyes of all kinds of beasts and animals, could not find even a trace of Amelia.
It was as if someone had intentionally erased her traces, and there was no clue as to her whereabouts.

The news that reached Sophia, who had been searching every corner of Gehenna and the present world, was like a bolt from the blue.
Baron Amelia Marigold had invaded Gehenna.
She had come running, foaming at the mouth, at the unbelievable telegram.

“Was I too late? I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Amelia…”
“Sophi, a… It’s, okay… ugh…”

Sophia, who was crying and rubbing her cheek against Amelia while holding her tightly.
The commotion subsided as Albiereo, who saw Amelia turning blue from oxygen deprivation, hurriedly separated the two.

2.
“A corpse was found?”
[Yes, it has been confirmed that the Whisper Witch impersonated Clara Scorpius to approach Baron Marigold, and it was not a lie.]
“Any other unusual findings?”
[We have formed a search team in case the Class 1 public enemy, the Whisper Witch, is still in Gehenna… but I don’t know if it will be effective.]
“You’ve worked hard. Please contact me again if there is any progress.”

Count Kohab hung up the communication.
He had organized the information from the interrogation and passed it on to the committee for verification.
At least so far, there was no truth that contradicted her words.

When they raided Clara Scorpius’s workshop in the desert of the present world, what they found was a mummified corpse intertwined with a half-melted pile of gold.

Putting aside the question of ‘what was the Whisper Witch’s purpose?’, at least additional circumstantial evidence was secured that Amelia’s attack was not malicious.
Of course, the fact that she had been fooled by a public enemy’s trickery as a baron did not mean that her mistake was erased.

“……”

As he walked down the spiral staircase leading to the underground prison, Count Kohab was lost in thought.

The world changes.
Even the hypotheses that were accepted as absolute truths collapse over time.
And there are always signs of such changes.

Like a watershed that divides history, it is difficult to notice when walking together, but when you look back, you can clearly feel such signs.

Moreover, he was feeling the signs of why Duke Erelim, who had always maintained neutrality, had acted that way two days ago.

“Anyway…”

Personal questions were personal questions, and his duty was his duty.
In order to repay Duke Erelim’s favor, he had a duty to distinguish the black and white of the incident based on transparent testimony collection.

“Huh?”

Count Kohab tilted his head.
He heard an unfamiliar voice coming from the cell where Amelia was imprisoned.
He could glimpse Aveneu weeping and pleading with the Baron, and the Baron calmly accepting it.

“It’s not Sophia’s fault. If it weren’t for Sophia, I wouldn’t have even had contact with him.”
“Ugh-huh… Still, I should have, I should have protected you…”
“It’s because I was foolish. Sophia doesn’t have to take responsibility for anything.”

He also saw the Baron Marigold gently stroking Aveneu’s head as she sobbed, trying to calm her down.

“I’m sorry for always worrying you. Thank you for always worrying about me.”
“Amelia…”

It seemed that they were having a rather touching reunion.
Although it was against the rules to meet with a third party during the interrogation process… since when have witches followed the rules so well?

Kohab took out his pocket watch.

“Shall we wait for about 10 more minutes…”

He wasn’t so shameless as to interrupt a couple’s reunion.
Admiring his own kindness and sensitivity, Kohab leaned against the wall and tapped the floor with the toe of his shoe.

=======

This is Bunny Girl Eloa ver.2 drawn by Godji Eunbap.