City ​​of Witches 92

Chapter 92 – #21_치료(2)

#90

1.
Amelia’s day, as always, began with a visit to Siwoo’s bedside.
A month had passed since Yebin started intensive treatment, and most of his organs, except for his brain, had fully recovered.
Consequently, the magic circles that had been draped around him were removed.

Yebin Smirna’s skills were undeniable.
She had restored Siwoo’s body, which would have died within days if left unattended, back to normal.
As she had confidently stated, no other witch could have restored a broken human body to this extent.

Now, without needing to delay any further, Siwoo was breathing and making his heart beat on his own.
All metabolic functions, including cardiopulmonary functions, had returned.
Only then could Amelia truly feel the hope that he might live.

When she first saw the color return to his face, Amelia held Siwoo’s hand for a long time, feeling his pulse.
Yebin’s speculation that he might be different from before weighed heavily on her heart like a lead weight.

Still.
It’s enough that he’s alive, it’s enough that he’s alive… she muttered every day, counting each of his calloused knuckles.

“Ah, I’m sorry… I didn’t know you were here.”
“It’s okay, come in.”

The door opened, and Yebin entered.
Compared to her earlier appearance with her bizarrely styled clothes, she now looked quite like a proper witch.
Amelia quietly released Siwoo’s hand.

Yebin’s efforts were so admirable that Amelia, who watched her from the side, couldn’t push her any harder.
Not only did she dedicate 12 hours a day to healing, but she also spent the remaining 8 hours researching self-magnetic magic for brain healing.

Except for four hours of rest, she was dedicating her entire day to Siwoo’s recovery.
Knowing this, Amelia didn’t bother Yebin by asking about the situation.
However, now that they had met like this, she couldn’t help but ask.

“How is it going?”
“Ah, everything is back to normal except for the left eye socket, which I left empty to secure space for the brain procedure.”

To have improved him this much from a near-comatose, vegetative state close to a half-corpse and brain death.
She had accomplished something that was impossible even with modern medicine.

“Now that preparations are complete, we plan to begin the full reconstruction of his magic circuits and brain regeneration in three days.”

Amelia stood up and faced Yebin.
Then, she hugged her tightly.

“Thank you, really…”
“You, you don’t have to do this. The Baron has been supporting me…!”
“Thank you, thank you…”

Yebin, who was having trouble breathing from the tight hug, barely managed to push her away.
It would be a lie to say she didn’t feel proud, but there were still things she hadn’t told her.

“I think you can spend more time with Siwoo. I just came to check on his condition briefly… Then, I’ll be going.”
“Yes…”

Yebin sighed and closed the door, returning to her room.
On the large table brought in from the dining room, a brain model and thousands of papers were fluttering.

If Shin Siwoo were just an animal, this much preparation wouldn’t be necessary.
If it were just about the functions needed for survival, they had already been restored, and the induction of neuroplasticity had also been successful.
She could simply awaken him from his intentionally dormant state.

However, Yebin’s duty was to restore him as close to his original state as possible.
To maintain his thoughts, memories, ideologies, and behavioral patterns.

And Yebin’s plan, which had been sailing smoothly, hit a wall there.
After receiving the thesis written by her teacher and carefully reviewing it with the knowledge she had gained through the imprint…
There was only one conclusion.

The reason she had given herself three days was to look for other methods, but…
Frankly, she concluded that there was almost no chance of finding a method other than the original plan.

“But how am I supposed to tell the Baron about this…”

Yebin collapsed onto the table.
The method required for the procedure itself was not simple at all, and Yebin herself was too embarrassed to easily bring it up.
Above all, the biggest, biggest, biggest problem was that she had no idea how to broach the subject with the Baron.

If only she hadn’t seen the way the Baron treated Siwoo.
Yebin recalled Amelia holding Siwoo’s hand for hours every day.

“He’s so precious to her…”

Whether she could get away with saying the surgical method was unavoidable remained to be seen.

“But really, how do I say it…”

Yebin’s worries deepened.

2.
It was a dark space.
A consciousness floating without a place to set foot slowly drifted.
Below, two structures, or rather, one that had become one, were spread out.

A mess, tangled and collapsed as if bombed, everything Siwoo had built.
Why did even the remnants of his stopped functions shine so brightly and display such beauty?

“………”

Siwoo saw it.
He clearly saw and recognized it, but the flow of his thoughts was cut off.
Connecting the gaps in his severed thoughts was pure, unrefined reason, or instinct.
His eyes, undistracted by trivial thoughts, stared directly at the debris of the magic circle.

Siwoo raised his arm.
He didn’t intend anything.
He didn’t deeply contemplate anything.
Yet, the magic circle, his loyal servant that always moved according to his will, stirred all at once.

-Kugugugugung!

The world transformed.
The black world vibrated.

Golden gears, lines, dots, letters, and shadows all sprang up at once.
Like the stars of a galaxy that draw beautiful orbits without anyone dictating them, they followed the natural order, instinct, and settled in their rightful places, shining softly.

Creation always arises from destruction.
The legacy made up of tens of thousands of fragments had created a completely different form of ‘rule.’

In Siwoo’s eyes, a beautifully shining golden sphere appeared.
Like an egg containing truth, a new rule nestled in the nest of shadows.

“……….”

As if all of it was meaningless, he waved his hand carelessly again, and it collapsed once more.

A ‘rule’ that was not bound by any ‘rule’ and a newly built ‘rule’.
That contradiction crumbled.
The crumbled debris lay scattered at the bottom of the Aine, waiting for its master’s command, just like before.

In a space like a vast ocean submerged in pitch black.
With a single gesture from Siwoo, rules were created and destroyed.

Me, freedom.

What am I?
What is freedom?
Siwoo’s brow furrowed at the two words that had suddenly caught a thread of his consciousness.
He pondered their meaning for a long time, but in the end, nothing came to mind.

Siwoo waved his hand once more.
Like a god rolling dice until he got the desired result.

After all, he had plenty of time.
This world was his world.

3.
Amelia lay blankly on the bed.
She had long since stopped her research for Siwoo.
With Yebin invited, it was meaningless.
But she couldn’t focus on her existing magic research either, so Amelia’s daily life consisted of taking care of Siwoo and lying blankly on the bed.

“Amelia, is it okay if I come in?”
“Come in.”

Then, along with a knock, Sophia’s voice was heard.
She had always bothered Amelia whenever she had time, but recently, her visits had become more frequent.
Amelia knew that it was to comfort her friend who was in despair, and she was grateful for it.

Sophia, who entered the room, sighed inwardly at Amelia, who was as listless as ever.
She knew that Amelia would have a hard time when tragedy struck Siwoo.
But she didn’t expect it to be this bad.
Every time she came, the tear stains were still visible.

However, she didn’t think that Amelia was being dramatic.
Amelia had already lost her teacher and closed her heart due to the shock.
She was a fragile child who had been immersed in her own world without giving her heart to anyone.

Such an Amelia had barely mustered the courage to open her heart, and now an incident that triggered her past trauma had occurred, so Sophia was very worried.

“Can we talk for a bit?”
“I’m sorry, it’s a bit hard right now.”
“It’s important.”

Amelia also got up from the bed at Sophia’s unusual reaction.
Her luscious blonde hair swayed, spreading a pleasant fragrance.

“Is it about Siwoo?”
“Yes.”

Sophia naturally sat on the bed and held Amelia’s hand tightly.

“First, I want to say that what I’m about to say might feel very unpleasant and complicated to you.”
“Wh…what are you talking about? Is there a problem…!”
“Calm down, I misspoke a little. This is about you. Of course, Siwoo is involved, but.”

Sophia soothed Amelia, who had turned pale, wondering if something had happened to Siwoo’s body.
She calmly stroked Amelia’s disheveled hair.

“What do you think of Shin Siwoo?”

Amelia’s eyes, unable to grasp Sophia’s intention, darted around.
A question arose as to why she was asking such a thing now, but she couldn’t easily say anything.

“I… I like him.”

Sophia held Amelia’s hand even tighter as she barely managed to speak.
Sophia asked again.

“Then what about me?”
“I like you too.”
“Why?”
“…Do I have to say it?”

Amelia avoided her gaze, looking embarrassed.
Sophia sighed deeply and nodded.
Amelia, who was looking at her with puzzled eyes, as if she found Sophia’s reaction strange, obediently spoke.

“Because you always help me and give me strength… because you’re my friend.”
“Right? Then what about Siwoo? Do you like him because he’s your friend? Or do you like him romantically?”
“……..”

Amelia couldn’t answer again.
In fact, there was something that bothered Sophia a lot.
It was good that Amelia had opened her heart to someone else and become aware of her feelings.
In the first place, Sophia had tried to bring Siwoo and Amelia together, partly to help her mental growth.

However, she hadn’t taken into account that Amelia was more innocent than she had thought.
Whether what Amelia felt for Siwoo was simply goodwill, or love that had sprouted for some reason,
or if it was simply a misunderstanding.
Sophia didn’t know.

It wasn’t that Sophia didn’t like Siwoo being Amelia’s partner.
He was a sufficiently wonderful and kind man who was hard to find.
Moreover, even though Sophia cared for Amelia, she wasn’t so extreme as to interfere in their relationship and act like a sister-in-law.

“Can you answer me?”

After a long hesitation, Amelia opened her mouth.

“I think it’s… love.”
“What if that love is a misunderstanding?”
“Sophia!”

A sharp voice, like a glass breaking, returned.
It was a sharp reaction without a moment’s hesitation.
Amelia’s blazing eyes glared at Sophia.
No matter how close they were, she would not forgive anyone who denied her feelings.
Such a light of anger flickered.

“I’m really sorry, but I wanted to tell you this. You were in a state where you didn’t know anything.”
“I know how to distinguish things.”
“Amelia, calm down…”
“This feeling…! Just looking at him lying there, just the thought that he might leave makes my heart ache like this…! If this isn’t love, then what is love?”

From Amelia’s desperate outburst, Sophia was once again convinced.
No.
A sense of obligation is not love.
The fear of loss is also a separate emotion from love.

What is love?
What is guilt?
What is responsibility?
What are human relationships?
What is affection?
What is goodwill?
What is friendship?

Amelia knew nothing.
She was just in the state of having just opened her eyes.

Like a duckling that imprints on the first living thing it sees and follows it as its mother.

What if she was misinterpreting a feeling that wasn’t originally hers?
What if Sophia’s excessive interference had created an unnatural flow of emotions?
What if ‘magic’ had interfered with the cause and effect that should have remained at the level of ‘goodwill’?
Was that really love?

“I’m sorry for making you angry, but I want you to hear this much.”

At Sophia’s gesture, the door opened.
There stood the twins, their eyes filled with tears.

“Professor Amelia…”
“We have something to tell you.”

They stood there with their heads bowed, like sinners confessing a great sin.