City ​​of Witches 450

Chapter 450 – #95_Reunion(4)

#449

1.
Siwoo came up from the underground prison, his fingers lightly touching his lips where they had briefly met Amelia’s.

He had wanted to see how the interrogation was going, but considering Albiereo’s mother-in-law’s position and the very stubborn look on Count Kohab’s face, he didn’t think he could stay just by acting spoiled.

He hadn’t realized it in the dark underground prison, but dawn had broken and the morning sun was already up.

“Haa…”

For some reason, he felt refreshed.
It was as if all the worries that had been lingering had been cleared away, and a pleasant sense of relief washed over him.
Just like Albiereo had said, everything would be fine once the trial was over.
All that was left was to return to his happy daily life…

“Come to think of it, where is Master?”

Two days had passed since the incident.
Even though they were in the mortal realm, it was a huge event that everyone in Gehenna would know about.

Surely it had reached Elloah’s ears…
It wasn’t that he was upset about not receiving any concern, but he was worried that something might have happened.
Of course, there were very few beings who could put his master in danger.

“Hmm…”

He was thinking of visiting her soon since she had said she was going to see Branch Manager Sua first.
Just then, a shadow emerged from a corner of the hallway where the morning sun hadn’t yet reached.

“Odile! Odette! Attack!”
““Yes, Master!””
“Wh-what is it?”

-Thud thud thud

The twins rushed in from the left and right, as if they were about to set the hallway carpet on fire, and Sharon Evergreen reached out from behind, controlling them.
With the force of a martial arts movie ambush, Odile’s foot lightly stepped on Siwoo’s thigh as she soared into the air.
She grabbed his sleeve and wrapped her leg around his arm, spinning him forward.
In an instant, the world turned upside down.

It was the Flying Omoplata.
He had heard that jiu-jitsu was the martial art that most easily overcame differences in size.
Odile, who weighed about half of Siwoo’s weight, used her opponent’s strength to simultaneously execute a spin and a joint lock, making it impossible for him to resist.

“Kkyaak!”

Siwoo fell forward with a thud, kneeling on the ground.
As he lay there with the heart of a criminal caught in the act, Odette, who had arrived a little later, kicked Siwoo’s butt repeatedly.

“Assistant! You’re so mean! So mean!”

Meanwhile, Odile, who had successfully executed a technique that could only be done by mouth, forgot her anger and exclaimed in admiration.

“Wow! Odette, did you see that? Did you see that? It’s the first time I’ve succeeded!”
“Guh-uh-uh…! Tap tap tap!”

While Siwoo was going to see Amelia, the twins, who had belatedly rubbed their eyes and woken up, gnashed their teeth at the sight of Siwoo’s empty bed.

Their long-awaited Harvest Festival date had also fizzled out.
The surprise gifts they had prepared were confiscated by their little master, and even the assistant they had been nursing with concern had disappeared as soon as he woke up.

Especially the last part, Sharon, who had also been away on business, felt similarly, so they decided to team up and punish Siwoo.
Sharon, with her arms crossed, stood in front of Siwoo, who was face-to-face with the floor, with a cold expression.

“Shin Siwoo, no matter how urgent it was, couldn’t you have said a word to the people who were worried about you?”
“That’s right! You were so mean!”
“We were so shocked when we woke up!”

At Sharon’s gesture, Odette, who had been kicking his butt, and Odile, who hadn’t released his arm even after he tapped out, stood upright next to Sharon, each with their hands on their hips.

Siwoo had no excuse for that.
Even if he was in a hurry to see Amelia as soon as he came to his senses, and even if he didn’t want to wake the twins who were sound asleep.
If the people involved felt that way, then he was deeply at fault.
He had no choice but to bow his head respectfully in the same kneeling position and apologize.

“I’m sorry… The thing is…”

Neither Sharon nor the twins had heard the full story about Amelia and Siwoo’s relationship.
The twins had at least seen it from the side and helped with the care after the chaos, so they knew a little more.

No matter what anyone said, the twins and Sharon were Siwoo’s lovers.
Since he was planning to set a date and talk about it soon, he confessed briefly for now.
But even before the story could get past the beginning.

“Oh, that’s enough, I get it.”
“Just from hearing this?”

Sharon listened intently to Siwoo’s words with a serious expression, then cut him off in the middle.

It wasn’t in a bad way, but rather in a tone that said, ‘I’ve heard enough,’ which was even more surprising.
He hadn’t even said half of it yet.

Sharon wasn’t good at hiding her true feelings.
Whenever something displeased her or something she didn’t like happened, her cheeks would puff up.

But the expression Sharon was making now was that of an older girlfriend who generously understood her immature boyfriend’s troubles.

“Get up, the floor must be cold.”

She grabbed his wrist and pulled him up, then dusted him off and straightened his clothes.
He felt like he had been understood before he could even properly explain himself, which made him feel even more ashamed.
Especially since he had spent so much time with Sharon but had never told her about his conflict with Amelia.

“Sorry.”
“It’s enough that you kept your promise and came back safe. Now, it’s our turn.”

Sharon stepped aside slightly, and there were Odile, with her lips pouting, and Odette, who was suppressing a sigh.

“Assistant, promise me just one thing. That you won’t do anything dangerous on your own.”

Odile and Odette’s anger wasn’t just from simple jealousy or disappointment.
It hadn’t been long since they had nearly died fighting Bianca, and now he had done something reckless again.
This was the biggest reason why the twins were so upset.

“Aren’t you going to promise?”
“……”

But the promise Odile was asking for was not something Siwoo could easily make.
Siwoo knew that if a similar situation arose, he would make the same decision again.
He didn’t want to make a promise that would easily be broken just to get out of the situation.

“I’ll try my best.”

Odile and Odette’s eyebrows twitched at Siwoo’s answer, and they let out a long sigh.

“Haa, I knew it.”
“Assistant never fails to live up to expectations.”

He had always been known for his meddling nature.
If he had listened when they told him to, this wouldn’t have happened in the first place.
Moreover, if the twins, whose lives he had saved twice with that meddling, told him not to do it now, it would be outrageous.

“Then at least get permission, Assistant. You always do something and then ask for permission.”
“That’s right, it’s a courtesy to the people you love, a courtesy.”

Odile patted Siwoo’s shoulder like a department head comforting a subordinate.

“Thank you for always understanding.”
“Instead…”

Odette tiptoed closer and whispered something in Siwoo’s ear.
It was a request, or rather an order, to do some ‘playing’ to make up for the lost Harvest Festival.

Now that there was nothing to hold back the twins, who were no longer under the thumb of their little master, there was no limit to the level of their requests.
The bold proposal was filled with outrageous words that made his ears burn.

“…Got it?”
“Y-y-y-yes…”

Sharon, who had been staring at Siwoo’s strangely gaping face, seemed to have sensed something as well.

“Wait! What is it! What are you talking about without me!”
“Sharon, you must have done all sorts of things at the Harvest Festival. You should give us a turn this time.”
“That’s only fair, right?”
“No, shouldn’t we have discussed this beforehand?”
“So, didn’t you?”

Although they sometimes joined hands based on mutual interests, Sharon and the twins were fundamentally in a competitive relationship.
Even creating a date schedule was the result of a fierce battle of wits.
Even when they were making love.

“I did, I did, but…!”

But coincidentally, Sharon also found it difficult to say that she had fully enjoyed the Harvest Festival with Siwoo.
Of course, they had done it very briefly in the dressing room, but that was like instant ramen.
They hadn’t spent time like a hearty bowl of ox bone soup, snuggling together naked all night.

“You did it, so it’s fine!”
“Sharon, you’re always saying things you don’t need to!”

The argument between Sharon, who felt wronged, and the twins, who couldn’t understand Sharon’s grievances, continued until Deneb, who was passing by, found Siwoo standing like a stone statue and started to scold him.

2.
On the evening of the day the final interrogation by Count Kohab was completed, Amelia’s trial was held.

Duke Erelim, who had compiled information from the investigation committee and Count Kohab’s interrogation records, had reached an agreement after sufficient discussion based on them.
It was Duke Erelim’s role to read it out and pronounce the sentence, but it was merely a formality.

The nobles belonging to the Tree of Sephiroth were jurors, and each one was a judge who examined the faults, sentencing, and interrogation records. They were simply reciting the verdict that everyone had agreed upon.

Many witches were crowded into the large conference room.
It was probably the most witches who had ever attended a trial in Gehenna’s history.

Of course, Siwoo was also sitting in the gallery, trying to calm his anxious heart.
Count Albiereo had said that everything would be fine, but the final agreement was today, and she had also attended the meeting, so Siwoo hadn’t heard anything about the verdict.

The result of the sentence would only be known when it was revealed.
So much so that he didn’t even notice the glances from the witches around him, Siwoo looked anxiously at Amelia’s profile.

“Does Baroness Merrygold admit that she deployed large-scale magic without permission in Taro Town on December 24, 632 of the Gehenna calendar?”
“Yes.”

Amelia stood in the center, and Duke Erelim, looking down at her, asked for her final statement.
With her jet-black hair and chillingly cold silver and white eyes, she spoke in a monotone voice that was nonetheless dignified.

“Do you admit that you threatened a large number of citizens and, furthermore, endangered the existence of Gehenna?”
“I admit it.”

It was something she had already admitted during the interrogation, and the investigation into the damages had been completed.
All Amelia could do was silently nod her head.

“Very well. Then I, Blanche Erelim, will announce the agreement reached by a total of thirty-one witches.”

Duke Erelim held the verdict in her hand and began to read it.

“Amelia Merrygold abandoned her duties as a noble and was swayed by the whispers of the Whispering Witch, causing chaos.
Furthermore, she failed to control her own magic, posing a serious threat to a large number of citizens and the Great Barrier, and accelerated the severity of the situation by ignoring repeated requests to stop on the day of the incident.

Therefore, Baroness Merrygold’s title will be confiscated, and after 58 years of imprisonment to reflect on her sins, she will be sentenced to exile with no statute of limitations.”

Siwoo’s eyes widened with a feeling that his heart was about to drop, and Duke Erelim slowly took a breath and spoke again.

“However, this committee will take the following into consideration when sentencing.

Baroness Amelia Merrygold has made many contributions to the extermination of enemies, the incident was extremely accidental, the actual damage was minor, over fifty petitions for leniency were received from Count Gemernai, Count Yesod, Count Avene, and others, Baroness Merrygold herself has shown genuine remorse for the incident.
Finally, the fact that the past Merrygolds have greatly contributed to the development of Gehenna is a mitigating factor.

Therefore, the execution of Baroness Merrygold’s imprisonment and exile will be suspended for the next 10 years on the condition that the following clauses are met.

One, Baroness Merrygold must relinquish her title.
Two, she must compensate each of the 182 witches who suffered financial losses from this incident with 1,000 gold pounds.
Three, she must pay a fine of 30,000 gold pounds to the city hall.
Four, the execution of Baroness Merrygold’s imprisonment and exile will be permanently suspended once all of the above conditions are met.”

As soon as Siwoo heard the conditions for the suspension, he quickly did some calculations in his head.
The total amount of gold that Amelia had to pay was 212,000 pounds.
If he roughly estimated one gold pound to be 800,000 won and multiplied it…

“169.6 billion won…?”

Within 10 years?
Was it even possible to pay that much money?

Compared to Siwoo, who couldn’t close his mouth, and the surrounding witches who were murmuring at the unimaginable amount, Amelia, who had received the sentence, was completely calm.
It was as if it were someone else’s problem.

“The above verdict was reached after discussions by the Tree of Sephiroth, the highest decision-making and executive body of Gehenna. Baroness Merrygold cannot appeal or request an appeal. This concludes the trial.”

The trial was short and impactful.
It ended in less than 5 minutes, and it had handed down the highest damage compensation ruling in Gehenna’s history.