Chapter 812 – #169_Ideal World (5)
#806
1.
In the Malkuth Gallery of Gehenna’s arcade shopping district, luxury goods of immense value, such as various jewels, artworks, ornaments, and clothing, are traded daily.
Witches are generally wealthy, and among them, the witches residing in the affluent Lenormand Town are never hesitant to throw gold coins to keep up with the latest trends.
Among them, the most sensational response recently is from the Marigold Perfumery.
It was a niche perfume custom-blended by ‘the Perfume Witch,’ Amelia Marigold.
Essential oils extracted by spraying magical vapor onto natural ingredients.
Combined with the talent of the genius perfumer Marigold, it was a ‘special perfume, the only one of its kind in the world.’
For witches sensitive to trends, there could be no more special luxury item.
Even with all the surrounding shops darkened, the Marigold Perfumery alone was emitting a soft golden light.
Because reservations for several years had filled up at once, Amelia was still engrossed in perfumery work late into the night.
“……”
Amelia lightly dabbed perfume on the end of a handkerchief and waved it.
She paused her breath for a moment, savoring the fragrance left in the wake of the handkerchief.
“…That’s it for today.”
Perfect.
It wasn’t that Amelia, a perfectionist even with herself, wanted to go home early.
Objectively, she judged that she couldn’t create a more suitable fragrance than this.
Just a year ago, Amelia had caused a major incident at the Harvest Festival.
As a consequence, she was stripped of her baronial title and had to pay a large fine.
Originally, Amelia, who didn’t enjoy making perfumes except for research purposes, had received years’ worth of reservations because of that incident.
However, unlike the worried gazes around her, Amelia was not particularly bothered.
No, she was rather happy.
No matter the process, she was able to reconcile with Siwoo.
They had become the lovers she had dreamed of.
After focusing solely on magical research for over 100 years, she was now making perfumes, and she was positively accepting it as a recharge, as Sophia had advised.
The tedious, repetitive labor of extracting essential oils was not a burden for Amelia either.
Amelia was persistent and was the type to find small achievements in small tasks.
If she hadn’t been a witch, she would have probably tinkered with miniatures as a hobby.
Her only complaint was that she couldn’t be lovey-dovey with Siwoo 24/7, 365 days a year?
After neatly arranging the essential oils lined up on the perfumery shelf, Amelia locked the shop door and stepped out onto the street.
The crisp winter air created a white puff of breath.
Today was a day without Siwoo.
She was planning to stay overnight at the cabin for the first time in a while.
A building that hasn’t been touched by human hands for a long time tends to become desolate.
“……?”
When she reached the aspen forest where she had spent her apprenticeship days, Amelia felt a sense of bewilderment.
An orange light was flowing through the lattice window of the cabin.
Smoke was rising from the chimney.
However, Amelia’s steps, which had slowed down due to bewilderment, soon turned as light as fluttering feathers.
It was definitely Siwoo.
He was supposed to spend time with Duke Tiferet today, but somehow he must have come to the cabin first in his remaining time.
Amelia, walking briskly, flung open the cabin door.
“Siwoo?”
Amelia tilted her head toward the kitchen, hearing a sound coming from that direction on the first floor.
A sweet smell wafted through the air.
It was the smell of apricot jam simmering.
It was a smell that wasn’t particularly related to Siwoo, so Amelia was slightly wary.
The uninvited guest appeared before her on their own before Amelia could start her search.
“Oh my, Amelia, you’re here?”
“……”
Lustrous and fluffy blonde hair, eyes as blue as jade.
The person who greeted Amelia, holding a bowl and whisking with a whisk, was none other than her teacher.
Malika Marigold.
“Teacher?”
Amelia’s eyes, already as big as a deer’s, grew as large as they could possibly get.
Her delicate eyelids twitched.
“I’m making dessert, would you like to help?”
Her teacher gave Amelia a playful wink.
It was a smile that was a little more mischievous than she remembered, and in some ways, a little less composed.
2.
It was the Austrian dessert, ‘Sachertorte.’
A sponge cake baked with dark couverture, spread with tangy apricot jam, and coated with bittersweet chocolate.
It is completed with a side of moist whipped cream.
It wasn’t too sweet to eat even without coffee, and it was a cake that had never failed to receive Amelia’s praise among her teacher’s desserts, who was a master of baking.
“Could you finish whipping the meringue? I need to boil the apricot jam.”
Dazed.
But naturally, Amelia took the bowl and whisk and stirred it.
It was quite a difficult task, and magic could shorten the time and effort, but in her teacher’s baking philosophy, magic was not an acceptable cooking tool.
Meanwhile, her teacher was stirring the jam, which was bubbling in a small pot, with a spatula to prevent it from sticking.
“Amelia, do you have any lemons? I forgot to buy them.”
“I have some here.”
Malika naturally asked for lemons to put in the jam.
Amelia took out the lemons she had bought to put in her tea.
It was definitely a very, very.
A very, very, very, very long time since they had met again.
It was her teacher, whom she had missed and longed for so much.
But the series of events was so natural.
It was as if her teacher had just returned from a short outing, and there was no sense of incongruity, as if they had always been together.
Was this possible because the two were mother and daughter?
But regardless, until the two finished the Sachertorte and sat facing each other at the kitchen table.
Amelia was still confused.
Her teacher had definitely left on a long journey after passing on her title to Amelia, due to unavoidable circumstances.
She had left a note saying that it was a journey from which she would never return.
At first, Amelia missed and resented her teacher, but as time passed, she forgave her.
She didn’t remember well, but there must have been unavoidable circumstances.
Only the longing to see her again remained.
“Well, shall we eat? You’re drinking coffee now instead of cocoa? You’ve really grown up, haven’t you?”
“…How did you come back?”
“I’m sorry, Amelia, I don’t think I can tell you that.”
Actually, that wasn’t important.
The next question was more important.
“Will we be together from now on?”
At that moment, a fork was suddenly thrust in front of Amelia.
Instead of answering, Malika urged Amelia with a warm smile.
“I’ll explain everything. First, say ‘ah~’.”
Amelia puffed out her cheeks as if she was in trouble.
“Teacher, I’m not an apprentice witch anymore.”
“Well, that’s true, isn’t it? But I still want to do it? You’re still my little Amelia in my eyes.”
“I’m not little either!”
A brief squabble.
But Amelia eventually bit into the cake that her teacher was feeding her.
The sensation of the soft sponge melting on her tongue, the harmony of the tangy apricot jam and the bittersweet chocolate.
The whipped cream that softly embraced the slightly dry taste.
It was delicious.
It was the same taste that she thought she would never taste again, the taste that her teacher always made.
Only now did she realize that this was not a blissful dream or delusion.
At the same time, a torrent of emotions flowed fiercely in her heart, as if a dam had collapsed.
“Ugh…. Ugh….”
Amelia’s slender shoulders trembled.
Her vision blurred.
Starting with a single tear, transparent droplets rolled uncontrollably down her cheeks.
“Teacher…. I missed you…. I missed you so much….”
Her teacher hugged Amelia.
The subtle, pure white fragrance of gardenia flowers also stirred Amelia’s heart in a familiar way.
“I, I, missed you so much….”
“Yes, yes…. I missed you so much too. Were you surprised that I suddenly left? I’m sorry, Amelia. I’m really sorry….”
The two shared the joy of their tearful reunion until the hot coffee had cooled.
3.
“Oh my, look at this. Amelia is still a spoiled child, isn’t she?”
“…Don’t tease me.”
Amelia was nestled in her teacher’s arms like a baby.
She rubbed her red eyes and held onto her waist tightly, as if she would disappear if she let go for even a moment.
How much had she longed for this moment?
The days when she would lie in bed with her teacher, sharing stories, and then fall asleep exhausted.
“Would you tell me how you’ve been since I left?”
Feeling her teacher’s hand gently stroking her hair, she told her about the things that had happened.
If she told the truth, her teacher would obviously worry, so she only talked about the happiest moments.
The time she had devoted herself to magical research after her teacher left.
The time she had gone to the mortal world.
The time she had made many friends.
She only talked about good things, happy things.
“Really? That’s amazing, isn’t it?”
“That’s great.”
“That’s wonderful.”
Her teacher praised Amelia with joy, without showing any signs of boredom.
Amelia remembered the request her teacher had left in her note and opened her mouth.
It was probably the most surprising statement her teacher would hear.
“And I, I have someone I love.”
“Really? Really?”
“Yes.”
“Is it a boyfriend?”
“Yes.”
“Well, if such a pretty daughter didn’t have a lover, the world would be wrong. Don’t you think?”
“Teacher, if you keep teasing me, I won’t talk to you anymore.”
“Hehehe, your face has turned as red as a wild strawberry? Oh my, how cute.”
As expected, her teacher was delighted, like a girl having a pajama party, chattering excitedly.
Amelia felt proud and embarrassed at the same time at her teacher’s teasing and congratulatory words.
“By the way…. Who could have taken our cute Amelia? I’d like to meet him, would that be okay?”
Of course.
She definitely wanted to show off.
She wanted to show her teacher how wonderful her most precious lover was, how kind and good he was.
Conversely, she wanted to show Siwoo how kind and caring her teacher was.
“Of course, Teacher. Let’s have lunch together tomorrow.”
“Okay, okay.”
That night, Amelia fell into a deep sleep in her teacher’s arms, listening to a lullaby.
If this was a dream, she prayed that it would never end and last forever.
