Chapter 519 – #109_Missing(6)
#519
1.
Bianca Bellili.
She was truly a ruthless conqueror and a greedy ruler, befitting her moniker of the Witch of Desire.
Moreover, the charisma and dignity she possessed, which her master lacked even a sliver of, instantly captivated Clef.
Meanwhile, Bianca, he believed, was curious about Clef.
Clef was a ship without a captain.
She needed a captain to take the helm, and Bianca was the type who found deep interest in the deficiencies of others.
The two were able to develop a relationship that went beyond mere business partners, to the point where they could be called friends.
One day, Clef told Bianca about her entire past and her master.
It was blurted out in a drunken stupor.
Bianca, having heard the miserable past, which she didn’t even know what she wanted or why she had spoken of it, dismissed it with a snort.
‘Your master is such a pathetic bitch.’
At that moment, Clef felt a catharsis akin to a shiver.
At the same time, she felt the ghost of Erezebet, which she thought would never be erased, being torn to shreds.
Clef envied Bianca, admired her, and kissed her instep, wanting her to rule over her remaining life.
After they became lovers, Bianca taught Clef how to live.
She taught her how to fight witches, how to live in the present world, and how to continue her magical research without being noticed by Duke Keter, such as by establishing a blood donation organization and smuggling blood packs.
Of course, it wasn’t free.
‘You want to be tormented again today, don’t you? I really like the look of fear on your face.’
‘Can you lower the commission a bit? I’m a bit tight on money these days.’
‘I heard you made a new formula this time? Can I take a look?’
‘I’m starting to want to manage the plant myself. Teach me the secret.’
‘This looks good. I’ll take it.’
Sometimes she would demand her body, sometimes she would demand materials or data from her magical research, and sometimes she would demand business-related interests.
At first, Bianca wanted a reasonable amount of concessions, but gradually her demands increased.
Eventually, she would take away interests close to extortion, nibbling away at Clef’s assets.
However, Clef granted all of Bianca’s requests.
If she could just be by Bianca’s side, she didn’t mind such things.
That was the only way of life Clef knew.
Those were dreamlike days.
So much so that she couldn’t believe the sudden catastrophe.
‘Sorry, I’m too bored with you. Nothing you do is fun anymore.’
From the beginning, Bianca’s interest in Clef was probably due to curiosity at first, and then because she was an easy target to exploit.
She was the type who easily got bored with everything.
When she judged that there was nothing more to suck out of Clef, Bianca declared their breakup.
‘Why are you suddenly doing this! I’ll do better! Don’t leave me! I was wrong!’
She cried and begged.
She even clung to her skirt hem and dragged herself along.
But Bianca didn’t even bat an eye.
‘Clef, that’s why you’re no good. Instead of just relying on others, why don’t you try to do something on your own?’
The cruelty of the woman she had admired and envied was sharp as a knife, even when its edge was pointed at Clef.
With a final sneer, Bianca turned her back on Clef without a moment’s hesitation.
All that was left of her time with her were commissions close to extortion and a huge amount of debt.
This would be enough reason for Clef to resent and hate Bianca.
But in truth, she knew.
From the moment Bianca abandoned her, Clef had come to love her even more.
It was because she was certain the moment the sneer hanging on her lips and her cold gaze pierced her heart.
She was the only witch who could rule over Clef in place of Erezebet.
The only queen who could hold onto her weak self, staggering without being able to stand alone.
Bianca was dead.
Who should she wait for now, and what should she live for?
Clef opened her eyes.
The pain of being stabbed all over her body with awls helped her consciousness awaken.
Soon, she realized that this place was a dungeon and that her body was restrained, unable to move.
“Kuh…!”
At the same time, a trauma from her old memories drenched Clef’s entire body in cold sweat.
She hated basements. They were scary.
She also hated being tied up. It was frightening.
“Let me go, let me go! You… damn it! Let me go! Let me go…!”
Clef, half-panicked, struggled, and the chains tightened even more.
She couldn’t see anything anymore.
Her heart rate was spiking abnormally, and a panic attack accompanied by nausea and a headache began.
Then, someone roughly grabbed her head.
Her vision was blurred by tears and her breath was ragged from hyperventilation.
What she saw there was neither Erezebet nor Bianca.
It was the witch of perfume who had subdued Clef without even lifting a finger a moment ago.
“Clef Asmode. You’d better answer my questions honestly from now on.”
She asked with a frosty gaze and a cold voice that seemed to freeze her heart.
“Where is Shin Siwoo?”
2.
Albiereo cast a spell of confession on Clef, who was imprisoned in the basement.
In this basement where autonomous defense didn’t work, she would confess all her inner thoughts, so it was an excellent method of interrogation.
However, an unexpected problem arose.
Clef, who was having a panic attack and causing a ruckus, didn’t answer anything even though she was already under the spell of confession.
Amelia had been questioning her about Shin Siwoo’s whereabouts for 30 minutes, but she hadn’t uttered a single word.
Amelia, frustrated with the lack of progress, gritted her teeth and came out.
“What’s going on?”
“I’ve cast the spell of confession. Perhaps her body is fundamentally equipped with anti-magic power…”
Albiereo cautiously added his speculation.
Even though it was limited in this dungeon, the blood flowing through her body was in itself a powerful magical result.
In fact, the minor wounds on Clef’s body were healing at a visible speed, and her messed-up magic circuits were also being restored in real time.
Moreover, as a vampire who had reached the pinnacle of all kinds of black magic, she possessed her own defense against mental magic.
“Isn’t there a stronger magic?”
Amelia’s voice was growing colder.
Seeing the determination forming on her face, Albiereo realized.
That when it came to Shin Siwoo’s problem, Amelia would not hesitate to use torture.
“……”
After all, the opponent was a public enemy.
Whether Amelia twisted her limbs or cut her into pieces, Albiereo didn’t particularly care.
He had been hiding it, thinking that she would show up on her own soon.
However, seeing Amelia becoming more and more impatient, he felt a pang of conscience for keeping quiet.
Albiereo pressed his eyes and sighed.
“Amelia.”
“……”
“There’s not much you’ll get out of interrogating her.”
“…Huh?”
Vowing not to forgive Deneb for making her make such a humiliating confession, Albiereo cautiously revealed the truth he knew.
Of course, he took measures to ensure that this unfortunate behind-the-scenes story would not reach Clef’s ears.
That is, that Siwoo and Deneb were together.
That the two had engaged in physical relations several times.
That Deneb was ignoring calls and hiding her location, and therefore Albiereo didn’t know where the two were either.
He wanted to confess all the truth if possible, but he hid the fact that they were sharing pleasure.
“…So, maybe, the True Ancestor Witch has nothing to do with this case… I’m sorry, I couldn’t tell you sooner.”
Albiereo bowed his head in front of Amelia, as if he was ashamed.
If he had told her a little earlier, she wouldn’t have had to suffer so much.
“……”
When she finally raised her head after a long silence.
He had expected that Amelia would be angry at either Shin Siwoo or Albiereo.
“That’s strange.”
But Amelia, who had a bewildered expression, was rather looking at the situation with suspicion.
“It’s still strange.”
“……”
Albiereo felt sympathy and camaraderie.
She also wanted to deny reality when she was convinced that her younger sister was playing around with Siwoo.
Amelia, who believed in Shin Siwoo, must have felt the same way.
“The act of intercourse itself may not be the goal.”
“Huh?”
Siwoo replicates magic power when he ejaculates.
High-purity magic power that doesn’t require a separate self-assimilation process.
So, what if the two were in some kind of crisis and the purpose was to continuously recharge their magic power?
“……”
Albiereo listened to Amelia’s added speculation.
Honestly, he was actively supporting Amelia’s hypothesis, which was nothing more than a far-fetched idea, because he wanted to believe in his younger sister and son-in-law, but the information itself was still too lacking.
It was necessary to analyze it in more detail.
A relationship that kept an almost clockwork 8-hour cycle.
Siwoo, who disappeared without a word to Amelia or the lovers around him.
Similarly, Deneb, who was blocking Albiereo’s telepathic waves.
It was true that Siwoo lacked self-control, at least when it came to women.
But was he the kind of person who would disappear without a word, knowing that the people around him would worry?
Similarly, it was true that Deneb was impulsive and immature.
But was she the kind of person who would be so reckless as to sleep with her beloved twin’s lover without a good reason?
And the public enemy who was caught at that time.
Were the two unrelated?
Albiereo admitted that he had been unable to see the essence of the matter because of the embarrassing incident of pleasure linkage.
“I’ll ask her a little more. Even if I have to use harsh methods.”
“Yes, I’ll also look into the circumstances at that time a little more.”
His heart was in turmoil.
Albiereo also wanted to help Amelia, but he had something urgent to do.
It was almost time.
“I’ll go upstairs for a bit. Please investigate.”
Albiereo slapped his thighs and ran to his room.
