Chapter 64 – #15_The Bittersweetness Of Life (3)
#63
1.
Around 10 o’clock.
Siwoo wasn’t much of a drinker to begin with.
Trying to keep up with Takasho’s pace, honed from his host job, Siwoo ended up throwing up the precious alcohol in the latter half of the night.
He staggered towards Amelia’s lodgings.
Until just now, his head had been so foggy that he only thought about getting to bed quickly, but seeing the lodgings made him nervous.
The reason was that he had rejected Amelia’s offer today and gone on a picnic with the twins.
What would Amelia think if she saw her slave, drunk and crawling in late at night?
Siwoo, who had been feeling unnecessarily timid, suddenly felt a surge of confidence.
After all, his tiresome life as a slave would be over in about a week.
His days of being on tenterhooks, afraid of displeasing Amelia, were coming to an end!
Of course, he needed to be careful with his words and actions until the Count had completely finished negotiations with Amelia.
Siwoo, holding his breath so Amelia wouldn’t notice, quietly opened the door and stepped inside.
Then, he was startled.
From the outside, all the lights were off, so he thought Amelia had either gone somewhere or was asleep in her room.
But in a corner of the lobby, Amelia was reading a book with a single candle lit.
“……..”
Even in the dim light, her sky-blue eyes, which never lost their radiant glow, glanced at Siwoo.
It was unlikely, but the way she looked seemed as if she had been waiting for him, making Siwoo feel a little guilty.
He had never seen her here at this hour.
In fact, Siwoo hadn’t seen Amelia outside the research lab or her room very often.
He should at least say hello, right?
“I’m back.”
He greeted her politely, being as careful as possible with his pronunciation.
“……..”
Amelia slowly closed her book and continued to look at him without saying a word.
Could it be that Count Jemernai had already told Amelia?
If she was waiting for Siwoo at this hour, that explanation made more sense.
His palms were sweating.
“I have to work early tomorrow, so may I go up?”
Only then did Amelia open her mouth.
“Cake.”
And then silence again.
What was she talking about with cake out of the blue?
Siwoo was bewildered, and Amelia lowered her gaze slightly and asked.
“Don’t you want to eat cake?”
“Uh… well, yes.”
Siwoo hesitantly walked towards the sofa where Amelia had been leaning.
On the table, there was a plate covered with a silver dome.
What was going on?
“There’s some left.”
“Thank you.”
Feeling unnecessarily self-conscious, Siwoo sat down carefully.
He was even careful about breathing, afraid that Amelia might wrinkle her nose at the smell of alcohol.
Even he thought he was being a pathetic slave.
Siwoo kept glancing at Amelia.
Was she really waiting all this time just to give him this?
As he began to eat the cake, Amelia picked up her book again and started reading.
It was a mystery that they weren’t having any particular conversation, and she didn’t seem to have any specific business.
“Here you go.”
He shoveled the cake into his mouth, not even knowing if it was going in his mouth or his nose.
As an aside, it seemed like it would be delicious even if he ate it with his nose.
Just as Siwoo was finishing the cake, Amelia, who he thought was completely engrossed in reading, subtly offered him something.
This time, it was cigarettes.
Not just one, but a whole carton.
He felt like he was going to choke.
No matter how much he thought about it, it seemed like Count Jemernai had said something.
Otherwise, there was no way Amelia would suddenly act like this?
Maybe she would ask him to continue being her assistant, offering him better treatment, or perhaps she would nonchalantly say, ‘I rejected that offer.’
“Th-thank you.”
He couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling, so Siwoo subtly asked.
“Did Count Jemernai perhaps tell you something?”
“Count Jemernai?”
That wasn’t it.
Amelia only tilted her head slightly, as if she was surprised to hear that name from Siwoo.
Seeing her straight eyebrows move as if she was puzzled, it didn’t seem like she was acting.
Amelia’s attitude had been particularly strange lately.
They say that a sudden change in a person’s attitude is a sign of suicide.
She had lived for about 150 years, so maybe her research was stagnating, and she was starting to wrap things up to pass the torch to a novice witch?
He even started to think like that.
This wouldn’t do.
His head was muddled with alcohol, and he couldn’t think straight.
Then, Amelia quickly murmured.
“We’re going to Border Town tomorrow.”
The reason he described it as murmuring was because her words were so fast and quiet.
He wondered if he had misheard, and when he looked at Amelia, she was calmly turning the page of her book.
“You mean you want me to accompany you to Border Town?”
“Yes.”
“Yes, I’ll prepare. Thank you for the cake and cigarettes.”
Siwoo didn’t let his guard down, worried that Amelia might call out to him and say, ‘You didn’t really think you could escape from under me, did you? Hehehe!’ as he entered his room.
“What a bolt from the blue…”
Amelia’s bizarre behavior was getting worse day by day.
He wouldn’t mind if she just tormented him in an easy-to-understand way, but receiving unexpected, cheerful gifts that he had never anticipated before only made him feel more out of place.
-Knock knock
Siwoo was about to take a shower before bed when he was startled by the sudden sound.
Not for any other reason.
“Yes! I’m coming!”
Amelia, who had been barging into his room as if it were her own until yesterday, had actually knocked!
To enter the room of a mere slave!
Siwoo hurriedly put on the clothes he had been about to take off and opened the door.
Amelia was looking up at Siwoo, holding a book in her arms.
Amelia immediately stated the reason for her visit.
“It’s been a while since you went out, so I imagine you’re tired. You can rest until the afternoon tomorrow.”
I couldn’t answer right away and just blinked.
Did I hear that correctly?
“Then, good night.”
What? Good night?
Was that to me?
Amelia, not even noticing Siwoo’s stiffened, shocked figure, walked into her room with a haughty stride.
I couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
2.
After finishing his shower, Siwoo sat on the windowsill, smoking the cigarette Amelia had given him.
He was deep in thought, trying to figure out what had caused Amelia’s unpredictable change of attitude.
First of all, it didn’t seem like she had heard anything from Jemernai.
As soon as I became her assistant, I got a fancy room, a suit, pajamas, cigarettes, and even cake?
Of course, that amount would be pocket change for Amelia.
But the important thing wasn’t the amount of money spent on the gifts.
It was her attitude towards Siwoo.
It hadn’t been that long since she was acting like she wanted to eat me alive, so this sudden change was almost frightening.
The most likely reasons were two.
One was that Amelia had changed her mind and was compensating for the things she had done to torment me.
The other was that, even though she didn’t seem like it, she was the type of boss who took good care of her people once she considered them her own.
‘Why is she like this?’ I thought, but it wasn’t as serious a concern as before.
In fact, this worry would soon be useless anyway.
Still, I had a lot of eye candy looking at Amelia.
When I go back to the modern world, will I ever have a chance to talk to a woman as beautiful as her?
Siwoo gradually organized his thoughts.
Originally, he was planning to stay quiet until Count Jemernai negotiated with Amelia, but he should at least say something.
That he was planning to leave this Gehenna.
That continuing as her exclusive slave would be difficult in the future.
He decided to show at least a minimum of courtesy by asking for her permission.
“I’m so easy.”
I’ve had so many hardships because of her, but my heart is melting just because she’s been nice to me for a few days.
It was late.
Siwoo was about to close the window and go to bed when he noticed something hanging on the window.
Several strands of black thread swaying in the wind like a dream catcher.
No.
It was hair.
“Come out.”
At Siwoo’s call, the long, dangling hair drooped further down.
Then, a round forehead and mischievous purple eyes peeked out.
“Assistant, you’re so slow to notice. I’ve been like this for five minutes.”
There was no one else who would come to the dorm and play such a prank.
It was Odile, wrapped in a cloak and hanging in the air like a bat.
It was a good thing she had come before, or I would have had a heart attack if I had met her like this for the first time.
“Can’t you just come normally?”
“Shall I come back through the front door then? And say hello to the professor while I’m at it.”
“Ugh, come in.”
As Siwoo opened the window wide, Odile flew into the room.
“Ta-da! I’m here too!”
Following her, Odette popped out from above the window and landed in Siwoo’s room.
The twins had invaded the room before he could stop them.
I probably wouldn’t have been able to stop them even if I had had plenty of time.
“Before I ask why you’re here, you’re using the music boxes, right?”
“Of course, both of them are working.”
Odile said, wiggling two fingers on each hand.
It was a cute gesture that only someone with a cute face could pull off.
“So…”
“Wait! We want to talk first.”
The situation was still giving me a headache.
No, with Odette added to Odile, it could be said to have gotten worse.
But was it because of the camaraderie we had shared today, risking our lives together?
Siwoo was actually glad to see the twins.
“We all fell asleep in the carriage, so we didn’t get to talk properly on the way here.”
“That’s right, we had so much to talk about with our assistant.”
The room, which felt a bit bleak due to its antique style, became lively as soon as the bubbly twins entered.
“You’re not going to make us go back like this, are you?”
“On a day like today, we have to chat all night!”
“That’s good, but… it’s not like my situation has completely changed. The fact that it would be a problem if Amelia found out hasn’t changed, has it?”
Odile and Odette looked at each other for a moment, then pointed to the window with their hands.
“That’s why we brought the carriage for our assistant.”
“With a carriage, it’s okay to talk loudly all night.”
“And there are presents too.”
That didn’t sound bad.
Besides, I could sleep in until the afternoon tomorrow, and judging by Amelia’s attitude these days, she didn’t seem like she would nag me for being out late at night.
Even though I was a little tired from the alcohol…
“Okay.”
“Yay! You made a good choice!”
“Here, take my hand.”
Odette jumped up and down, happy, and Odile opened the window and reached out her hand.
They were so carefree.
I wish I had gotten closer to the twins sooner.
That thought came to me unintentionally.
The three of them escaped through the window using levitation magic and crossed the mansion’s wall, heading to the rose garden where the twins had kidnapped him before.
“When did you move the carriage?”
“When we dropped you off earlier, we left it here and went home through the portal.”
“Ah.”
It seemed they had planned to come back for Siwoo from the start.
“It seems like our teacher is busy today, and we thought there wouldn’t be many days left to come like this, so we couldn’t just stay still.”
“Actually, we wish our assistant would stay here.”
“Odette! We said we wouldn’t talk about that.”
“But we just got close, and I don’t want to say goodbye…”
The twins, who would normally have walked far apart, were now close to Siwoo’s sides, bickering softly.
Indeed, it was not about how long you spent together, but what kind of time you spent together that mattered.
In just one day, where they had trusted each other and risked their lives, the relationship with the twins had advanced greatly.
Especially Odette, who hadn’t been this friendly before, was now almost clinging to one of Siwoo’s arms.
Flowers on both sides.
A cliché description came to mind.
Feeling the fresh scent and pleasant fragrance rising from the twins’ heads, Siwoo opened the door of the carriage.
