1.
The twins, Sharon, his master, and Periwinkle.
Though Siwoo couldn’t have a proper conversation with Countess Yesod, he at least got to et her and expressed his gratitude sohow.
After that, he decided to set off and look for Alia.
The reason why he held off on doing that for so long was because he didn’t know where she was, or even how to find her in the first place.
All this ti, he had been putting her at the back of his mind, just like how he set aside his emotions for her.
But, soon enough he ran into a problem.
He didn’t know, after he finally found her, should he apologize for treating her too harshly, talk about sothing else first to break the ice, or just imdiately touch the core of the matter?
However, in the end, that question was left unanswered as no matter how hard he tried to look, he just couldn’t find her in Gehenna.
In the cabin in the middle of the forest where they used to live together...
Or in the accommodations provided to her due to her position as an associate professor...
Even in the Marigold Mansion in Ars Magna Town, he couldn’t find any trace of her.
Right now, he ca back to the cabin again—it marked his third visit today.
He swept the table with his hand, carrying mixed feelings in his heart. No dust stained his hand, perhaps due to the Preservation Spell that was still working properly.
The place was completely empty, and so was his heart.
His mind traveled back to the ti when Duchess Keter regressed him into a child again.
The happy ti when his younger self and Alia spread their joy through every nook and cranny of the cabin.
His gaze wandered to the table—the sa table where they ate their als together—before it fell upon the armchair by the fireplace where they used to read books together.
He rembered the ti when she used to teach him magic on that table.
Their ti together wasn’t very long, but each mont was precious.
But then, he suddenly regained all his mories.
His affection towards her turned into resentnt and anger.
Love and hatred was mixed, leaving him emotionally confused.
He rembered how Alia tornted him in every way possible just because he refused her offer to sleep with her.
How she practically grabbed him by the neck and prevented him from regaining his freedom.
But, he ca to know her better. Her words were curt, but she was a scaredy-cat. Though she looked like a tough cookie, she was clueless about a lot of things.
To him, she was a caring mother, a dependable sister, and...soone that he loved.
Ti diluted his emotions.
He rembered the question she asked him, ‘When you regain your mories later... Will you forgive ...?’.
Back then, he thought that question was disgusting and cowardly, but now he could understand her feelings a little.
And now, the emotions he had left for her were only bitterness, regret, and a tiny uncertainty.
Why hadn’t she co and looked for him?
All this ti, why hadn’t she contacted him at least once?
When they last t, did his cold gaze give her cold feet, and made her back down for good?
Such questions arose, prickling his heart.
Like a splinter that was stuck in his fingertip. It wasn’t painful or botherso, but it gave him a feeling that it wouldn’t go away anyti soon.
And today, the splinter’s presence was more pronounced than usual.
“...Haa...”
Siwoo let out a sigh and closed the cabin’s door.
2.
After experiencing the worst possible reunion...
Alia returned to Gehenna together with Clara.
To be more exact, Clara dragged Alia—who had a look of despair on her face, as if her world had completely fallen apart—with her.
“...”
The poor witch could only stare into space.
Clara tried to offer her tea and food, but she refused them all.
Instead, she only sat blankly in front of her desk, staring at a piece of paper in front of her, untouched even after a few days had passed, while holding a pen in her hand.
She had been like that ever since she returned to Clara’s mansion in Gehenna.
Clara hadn’t heard her saying sothing about continuing her hunt or anything else.
This was a difficult ti for the poor witch, that was for sure.
Clara had been watching over her for a while now.
She prevented her from committing suicide, comforted her, cheered her on, and waited patiently for her to open her heart up to her.
Alia’s clumsiness was sothing she knew very well at this point.
She might look like your typical arrogant and haughty witch, but deep inside, she was nothing but a weak child.
Without anyone guiding her, she wouldn’t even know what her own feelings were. Whenever she was stuck with sothing she couldn’t solve by herself, instead of looking for help, she’d run away, close her heart, and hide her feelings.
That alone was bad enough already.
And yet, the clumsy girl decided that she’d clean up the Kill List—the thing Duchess Keter entrusted her as the price of her reviving Shin Siwoo—all by herself.
Maybe if she were faced with fierce battles upon fierce battles, it’d help her ease her conscience for a bit.
After all, the proposition of ‘kill or be killed’ was an extrely effective way to vent out one’s emotions.
Unfortunately for her, her strength was too great.
While her heart was too weak.
Most of the ti, she was faced with executions, not fights. In the end, her foolish expectations beca the sole thing that supported her crumbling heart to go through with those cruel slaughters.
The foolish expectation of, ‘If he knows how much I struggle, he’ll probably forgive ’.
In actuality, her effort was futile.
Conflicts between people wouldn’t be resolved in such a way. They’d need to lay their feelings bare to each other, and work it out from there.
After all, people’s minds weren’t connected by a telepathic nerve like aliens from outer space.
She didn’t have the confidence to be forgiven by the man, so she gambled on piling the feelings of guilt on him so that she could earn that forgiveness.
In other words, she was hurting herself to gamble on the chance of receiving kindness from others.
But then, the anticipation that she had been building up was shattered rcilessly.
After facing the half-conscious Siwoo...
Even the tiniest hope she once had shattered like frail glass.
The rift between them was caused by a misunderstanding in the first place, and now another one was placed on top of it.
Like a twisted cogwheel, one misunderstanding led to another.
Clara didn’t laugh at it.
Because seeing the girl’s agony, stupidity, and excruciating sadness up close...
Gave her so much ecstasy that not even the finest wine could compare to.
“Alia.”
Clara, or rather, Lilith.
Loved those feelings.
Pain, agony, self-hatred, regret, anguish, self-contradiction, everything.
Those emotions would open up a wide gap in soone’s heart.
A gap that would wear them out, the perfect place for her to parasitize.
“Would you like to talk to ?”
That was the Witch of Whispers’ surefire way to manipulate other witches.
3.
Inside the Gemini Mansion’s parlor, two witches and two apprentices gathered.
They were...
Eloa Tiphereth.
Sharon Evergreen.
Odile Gemini.
Odette Gemini.
After straightening things with Siwoo and confirming their feelings towards each other, Eloa visited Sharon to tell her everything.
Sharon was the only other person who knew the truth, and also the only one Eloa confided in. She deserved to know everything.
Of course, Eloa clarified that she was content with just staying by Siwoo’s side, and she didn’t have any intention to ask for more.
It would be a lie if she were to say that she didn’t want to keep him to herself, but it’d be shaless of her as his master if she were to actually do that.
After hearing what she had to say, Sharon didn’t seem to be surprised at all.
Instead, she hugged her, all excited, as if it was a joyful occasion for her.
She understood the emotional pain that Eloa had felt.
Unlike her and the twins who shared secrets to each other, Eloa only shared her secrets to her. And with her peace treaty with the twins still intact, this occasion called for a eting between the four of them to discuss what they should do moving forward.
“Hello, Duchess Tiphereth.”
“It’s really the duchess...”
“Is this the first ti we all gathered together like this?”
“No, we’ve had als together before, Sharon unnie.”
Looking at this lineup, Eloa’s mouth was half-open.
She had heard from Sharon that Siwoo had other lovers, ‘the twins’, but she expected them to be Countess Gemini themselves.
Considering how they practically gave him their full support every single ti, it only made sense.
Though she found it weird that Sharon used ‘the twins’ instead of ‘the countesses’ to describe them, she could still understand the logic as she thought that they were just that close.
“...It seems I’ve misunderstood sothing...”
But then she found out that Siwoo’s other lovers were actually the apprentices instead of the countesses, leaving her completely dumbfounded.
Naturally, the question, ‘What are their masters doing?’ ca to her mind.
“...It seems like a proper scolding is in order.”
Apprentice’s bowls were a symbol of succession that couldn’t afford to be damaged, and n were the pri reason why they could get damaged.
No matter how much she loved her disciple, for him to lay his hands on apprentice witches was just wrong.
“I was also surprised when I first found out...”
As Sharon let out a bitter smile, expressing her understanding of the duchess’ reaction...
The twins chid in.
“Don’t worry, we know what we should and shouldn’t do! We’re making love with Mr. Assistant in a safe way!”
“Odette, why are you telling them that?!”
“Aren’t we supposed to be honest and tell each other everything today? It would be weird if we keep hiding it, Sis!”
In fact, Eloa’s brain short-circuited the mont she heard the words ‘making love’.
It was the second shock she received today.
Siwoo is having sexual intercourse with apprentice witches??
H-How—?
“No way...”
Eloa had already seen Siwoo’s deed with Periwinkle.
That was why it didn’t take long for her to find the answer to her own question.
“It’s not a shaful thing. Besides, it’s the only way...”
“T-That’s right, that’s right!”
Though they said that, their gestures and flushed faces implied otherwise.
But, all the won here shared their love for Siwoo, that included Eloa.
Hence why she decided that she shouldn’t make any comnts about it and just leave it at that.
“Why don’t we have a drink first before we start?”
“Sure! I’ve prepared so alcohol!”
“Isn’t that the fad ndel—?!”
Everyone poured the alcohol into their glasses.
It was Sharon who spoke first.
“The reason why we gather together like this is... While Siwoo isn’t the kind of person who’d break his own words, we all know how much of a womanizer he is.”
“That’s why we and Sharon unnie set so rules of our own!”
“So we won’t get into unnecessary fights!”
Indeed, the reason why Sharon and the twins stopped getting into any more fights was because of this gathering.
As for the main topic for the gathering—which was nad ‘Council for Fair Share’ by Odile—today...
“Anyway, we’re here today to talk about the Harvest Festival!”
It was just a trivial matter, at least to Eloa.
At first, she thought that it was a joke uttered under the influence of alcohol, but when she looked around, it was clear that the twins and Sharon were completely serious.
That was when she understood.
While this gathering happened to prevent useless fights, it wouldn’t limit any kind of fair competition between all of them.
“, Odile, will speak first. Odette and I are one. If we just divide our ti spent by factions—by three—the ti that each of us can spend with Mr. Assistant will be cut in half. So, I propose that we receive twice as much ti as what Sharon unnie and Duchess Tiphereth will receive.”
“Agreed! Sis is right!”
The twins’ argunt was as follow:
To use pizza as an analogy, if they were to divide a whole pizza in three large portions, the twins would have to share their portion.
Therefore, it was only right to divide the pizza into four instead, so each of them could get one each.
“Sharon here, objection! The Harvest Festival is a special event that takes place for three days a year! While yes, if Siwoo is paying his attention to Ms. Odile, he’ll be ignoring Ms. Odette to so extent and vice versa, but since you two are always together anyway, counting you separately won’t work! Furthermore, if we were to follow you two’s logic, that ans you two will be hogging half of the available ti to yourselves!”
As for Sharon’s argunt, it was as follow:
They just couldn’t use pizza as an analogy here as unlike pizza that could be divided in such a clear cut way, there were more variables to be considered. For example, even if Siwoo was focusing on one of the twins, the other one could still talk and touch him as she would be nearby.
anwhile, Eloa could only stare at them in a daze.
After watching them go on with her eyes wide open, eventually, she opened her mouth, ready to join in the discussion.
“I also have sothing to say.”
She realized that as soone who loved Siwoo, if she wanted to stay with him, she couldn’t let herself be outdone by these three.
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