0% 1.
After saying goodbye to his master, Siwoo imdiately ran after Alia.
Seeing her expression, he could already tell where Alia had rushed off to.
Her cage. The cabin in the wing nut tree forest.
He could just use Dinsion Shift to get there instantly, but he chose not to.
After all, from Malkuth Gallery to the wing nut tree forest, he just needed to go through a field of reeds and a narrow, winding trail cutting through them.
Besides, using magic could make them miss each other. And most of all, he didn’t want to get there too soon since she still didn’t know what to say to her.
“I’m the only one to bla...”
Whether it was Odile, Odette, Sharon, or his master...
All of them were equally precious to him. They were all his previous lovers; he couldn’t just pick and choose one of them.
While he might feel guilty towards the four of them, he didn’t regret having relationships with them.
What he regretted was the fact that he didn’t have Takasho’s skills of dealing with won. He thought that if he did, he could’ve done things better than what he was currently doing.
Of course, there was no guarantee the relationships would remain the sa, but seeing his current pathetic state, it was hard for him not to think so.
As he walked while letting out a deep sigh.
He noticed a golden silhouette charging toward him at an incredible speed from afar.
In that wide field, under the blessing of starlight...
The figure dashed through the tall reeds.
At first, he was caught off guard.
He could tell that the figure’s identity was Alia.
But, this was the first ti he had ever seen her running so desperately before.
Did she encounter a Criminal Exile in the forest?
If it was the kind of threat Alia would run from, then Siwoo wouldn’t stand a chance.
As he mulled over whether to prepare a spell or not, Alia, running through the field like the wind, abruptly stopped twenty steps in front of him.
Her eyes and cheeks still showed the lingering traces of tears she hadn’t wiped away.
The sight roused a sense of guilt he couldn’t explain, keeping his mouth shut.
But when his eyes swept over her face, he realized sothing was different.
He understood why Alia had run away upon seeing Eloa.
What she must’ve felt, and why she had fled.
So, he kinda expected that she’d be crying her eyes out.
And that she’d be drowning in her sadness.
“Siwoo.”
But, what actually happened was different than he expected.
Her stubborn, expressionless face that had been hiding her true feelings like a mask had crumbled.
The fragile atmosphere she exuded, as if she could crack at the slightest touch, was gone, washed along with her tears.
And what remained was her radiance, brighter than even the starlight and a sincere smile on her face.
Alia slowly walked toward Siwoo.
Her golden hair danced in the breeze rustling through the reeds.
What happened to her so suddenly...?
She pulled the bewildered Siwoo into a tight embrace.
Her hug was so tight that it nearly knocked the air out of him. Then, she pressed her ear to his chest, as if listening to his heartbeat.
“I’m sorry for acting like such an idiot.”
Her voice, much softer and more relaxed now, let Siwoo relax his tense shoulders a bit.
He cautiously raised his hand and placed it on her head.
“No, you’re not the idiot here. I was the one who failed to handle things well.”
After holding him in a tight hug for a while, Alia slowly let go and looked up at him.
“Siwoo, I have a favor to ask.”
“Yes. You can ask anything.”
“Can you slap ?”
“...Pardon?”
Her request was so abrupt and strange that Siwoo was left speechless.
It was so out of left field that he thought she was actually asking him, ‘Will you let slap you?’ for a mont there.
Considering the context, that would have made more sense.
He didn’t expect that she’d be asking for a slap while she was staring at him with those teary eyes, filled with affection.
Indeed, there were still parts of her that he didn’t understand.
“Alright.”
Siwoo leaned his face closer.
Seeing his face from up close, Alia froze as she inhaled sharply. Realizing that he had misunderstood her intent, she averted her face a little.
The first advice that her master had left behind flashed in her mind.
‘If you et soone who makes your heart race, embrace them with all your might,’ she had just completed that advice.
Then, the second advice.
‘When they make mistakes that anger you, don’t hesitate. Slap them hard, then kiss them.’
But in this case, Siwoo hadn’t done anything wrong.
Which ant, what was supposed to happen was for her to be slapped, then kissed by him.
So that they wouldn’t regret anything, so that their love for each other could grow.
She had finally found the answer to the worries she had carried for so long.
Her master’s last teachings, and her feelings for Siwoo.
But, with her mind clouded by her emotion, and her inability to express herself properly, the conclusion she reached was a little strange, to say the least.
“Siwoo, no. You have to slap on the cheek.”
“? Slap you?”
“Yes.”
Startled, Siwoo stared at Alia with even more confused eyes.
Why so suddenly?
Not knowing the reasoning behind it, Siwoo couldn’t make sense of it at all.
But not understanding didn’t an he couldn’t respond.
“I can’t.”
“Why...?”
Asking him to slap her without knowing the reason—no, even if he knew the reason...
That wasn’t sothing he could bring himself to do.
Alia clutched his hand and pleaded again.
“Please slap ...and then kiss .”
“...”
“Can you do that...for ...?”
Siwoo stared at Alia with a conflicted expression.
It wasn’t her request that troubled him, but his own inability to even imagine hitting her.
But seeing her so earnest, he figured there had to be a reason he didn’t know.
“Just once is fine?”
“Yes.”
From her face, it was clear that she wouldn’t back down from this.
So, Siwoo let out a sigh and raised his hand. Seeing this, Alia tightly closed her eyes like a death row inmate awaiting execution.
Her overly serious expression made him chuckle softly at how absurd this all felt.
-Tap
“Here.”
And then, Siwoo brought his hand to her cheek, barely brushing it, granting her request in the gentlest way.
His touch was closer to a caress than a slap, and Alia’s eyes widened in surprise.
“I don’t know why you asked for this, but... There’s no way I could ever hit you.”
Her expression faltered, tears threatening to well up in her eyes.
Confusion over the unexpected turn of events was written all over her face.
Seeing this, Siwoo held her soft cheek in and leaned his head closer to hers.
I can’t hit you, of course, but if it’s a kiss, I’d do it as much as you want.
That was the sentint he held in his heart.
2.
The mood between them was good for a while, but the pair still had a business perfu to take care of.
After that, they returned to the workshop where the distillation apparatus—that had been cleaned and deodorized, ready to be restarted—awaited them.
In the anti, countless fresh flowers and fruits from an additional delivery had piled up in the warehouse, greeting Siwoo and Alia.
From the way it looked, they planned to extract everything directly from the raw materials, except for the animal-related fragrances.
“Hmm... ”
While sorting the flowers to keep them separate, Siwoo kept sneaking glances at Alia, who was diligently inspecting the distillation setup.
Alia hadn’t ntioned what had happened in the cabin.
The only thing he knew for sure was that she had changed.
As always, her face didn’t show much emotions, but there was this strange energy and vitality overflowing from her.
She seed much lighter, almost carefree, compared to when they went on a trip together, leaving Siwoo in a state of astonishnt.
So, when Alia finished inspecting the equipnt and walked over to him, he could only awkwardly say, “It’s almost New Year’s,” trying to cover up his complicated feelings.
In just two days, the new year would start.
For him, this had been an incredibly eventful year.
From him recovering from his vegetative state, returning to the Modern World, eting Sharon and his master, dealing with Xochitl’s chaos, and working at Takasho’s host bar.
There were also the various incidents with the Yesod Family, rescuing Takasho, subduing Bianca, and the unexpected one night stand with Deneb Gemini.
Then ca Alia’s rampage, his intervention, and their dramatic reconciliation.
His life had been so eventful that even if he could put it all inside a distillation apparatus and extract it, he’d probably get essence so rich that nothing would compare.
Naturally, as the year drew to a close, he couldn’t help but reflect on what had happened.
“Do you have any plans for the New Year’s, Siwoo?”
“Not yet.”
Actually, both the twins and Sharon said that they wanted to spend the occasion together with him.
But, he couldn’t possibly say that to Alia, who had just run out while swallowing her tears.
“Really?”
“Well, I don’t have anything specifically planned.”
Hearing his answer, Alia said sothing unexpected.
“I can handle the extraction myself. You should spend ti with your lovers.”
He never expected her to say that at all.
After all, she had just been hurt after seeing Eloa, and had been stubbornly avoiding talking about his lovers all this ti.
“I want you to spend more ti with the people you cherish. You don’t need to worry about .”
It didn’t seem like she was forcing herself to say it.
She looked as composed as ever, genuinely calm.
But if he replied with an ‘Okay!’ here, it would be foolish of him.
Not that he wanted to do that.
“You’re precious to too, Ms. Alia.”
He felt that this kind of line didn’t suit him at all.
But he still wanted to say it.
Alia, who was in the middle of tidying a pile of jasmine that looked like they might topple over, turned to look at him.
Then, she narrowed her eyes, let out a soft smile, and replied.
“I know. You’re precious to too, Siwoo.”
Her smile was so beautiful it left him speechless for a mont. It even made him think, ‘She can smile like this?’.
Struggling to keep his composure, he replied.
“That’s why you don’t need to worry. The ti I spend with you matters to , too.”
“Thank you for saying that.”
After that short exchange, they went back to work again.
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