Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: Spoiling Him (2)
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Lively voices echoed through the leisurely garden of Amelia's mansion.
The twins, who had just portaled out from the academy, were dashing across the garden, spamming Water Salamander Steps left and right.
"Odette, run! Odette! Why are you so slow!"
"Sis! Wait just a little!"
It had happened before, something just like this.
The twins had come rushing over upon hearing that Siwoo had woken up, only to find him stiff and puppet-like.
Devastated afterward, they returned to the mansion and immediately latched onto Countess Gemernai, begging her to teach them healing magic.
Understanding their feelings all too well, Gemernai had no choice but to open the mansion's annex for them, and the twins dove headfirst into their studies.
How long had they spent flipping through incomprehensible advanced texts and groaning in frustration?
Then came the good news via Head Maid Galina.
Duke Keter himself had personally treated Siwoo.
The moment they heard that, they tossed aside their piles of books and papers and came running to find him.
They were convinced that if it was Duke Keter's treatment, he must be fully cured this time.
The twins burst through the front door, bolted up to the second floor, and pounded on Amelia's door.
"Associate Professor! Associate Professor!"
"Can we come in?"
The door slid open smoothly.
Amelia greeted them with a brightness they hadn't seen in ages.
Her emotions didn't usually show on her face, but the atmosphere spoke volumes.
Just recently, she'd been shrouded in gloomy clouds, but now it was like a sunny day with rainbows arching overhead.
"Can we see the Assistant?"
"We heard he's recovered!"
"We want to play together!"
Amelia hesitated at the twins' words before replying.
"You don't need my permission anymore. Shin Siwoo isn't a slave now."
"Huh?"
"Go on ahead."
Dismissed without explanation, the twins left obediently.
Not a slave anymore—what did that even mean?
"What's going on?"
But pondering it could wait; seeing Assistant Siwoo's face took priority.
Besides, no matter what had happened, didn't this mean they could hang out with him freely without asking permission?
"No idea. But does it matter?"
"Nope. Sounds like a good thing, actually."
The twins bounded toward Siwoo's door like baby rabbits out for a stroll, flinging it open.
"Assistant, we're here!"
"Assistant, we came to see you!"
Sunlight poured warmly into the room today like spring rays.
Siwoo, scribbling intently at the table, jumped in surprise and stared at the suddenly open door.
And that's when the twins saw it.
In place of the sturdy young assistant Shin Siwoo sat a tiny little kid.
"Huh?"
"Eh?"
A brief silence fell.
Siwoo tidied his scribbled papers, hopped down from the chair, and greeted the twins.
"Hello."
Black eyes, black hair.
Just like Siwoo's.
Even the eyepatch over his left eye.
His appearance was eerily similar, leaving the twins tilting their heads in confusion as they asked.
"Kid, do you know where Assistant Shin Siwoo is?"
"Ah, I'm Siwoo... sort of..."
"......?"
"......?"
After staring at his face for a good while, the twins looked at each other.
Before the confusion could deepen, Siwoo explained.
He couldn't pinpoint exactly what had happened, but after some ordeal, his body had reverted to this childlike state.
His memories were jumbled and hazy in patches.
But he said he'd recover soon enough.
The twins listened calmly, nodding in unison.
"Ah, so the Assistant turned into a little kid?"
"Y-Yeah... something like that."
"Assistant, do you remember who I am?"
Siwoo pondered deeply before answering Odette.
It was like dredging up a math formula he'd memorized ages ago.
If he focused desperately, hazy recollections surfaced.
"Lady Odette, right?"
"Correct!"
"And me?"
Odile pointed a finger to her chest expectantly.
Siwoo answered her bright-eyed cheerfulness once more.
"Lady Odile."
"Knew he wouldn't forget me."
Odile nodded smugly, pleased.
With the quick identity check and situation assessment done, the twins finally took a proper look at Siwoo.
The initial shock of their first encounter swept away by his explanation, they now saw his condition clearly.
Odile and Odette stepped lightly over to stand before him.
Confirming he was safe and sound with their own eyes sparked an immediate, lively little-Siwoo appraisal session.
"He's shorter than me now."
Starting with his height, barely reaching Odile's chin.
"Sis, look at his skin. Baby smooth!"
His skin was flawless, unscarred from reverting to childhood.
"Assistant, those pajamas suit you perfectly!"
Sky-blue polka-dot pajamas.
They fit without a hint of awkwardness.
It was hard to believe this was the same tall, handsome Assistant Siwoo.
They poked and prodded him like he was a doll, inspecting every detail.
Grabbing his arms and spinning him around, poking his cheeks.
Amid the twins' boisterous welcome, Siwoo stood there dazed and wide-eyed.
Odile finally snapped out of it with a clearing cough.
"Assistant."
"Yes, Lady Odile."
She'd just gotten the perfect idea for something she wanted to hear right away.
Her face flushed with excitement, Odile enunciated clearly.
"Say 'Big Sis Odile' for me."
"Me too! Call me 'Big Sis Odette'!"
"Hold on, Odette. I'm hearing it first!"
"Rock-paper-scissors, Sis! This isn't fair!"
"What? I came up with it first. You're the unfair one jumping in now."
Before Siwoo could even respond, the twins devolved into bickering.
Siwoo gave an awkward smile.
It was so perfectly like Assistant Siwoo that it reinforced the thought: this really is Assistant Siwoo as a kid.
"Big Sis Odile, Big Sis Odette... like this?"
Perhaps to stop their pointless squabble, Siwoo rattled it off quickly without pause.
"........"
"........"
The noisy twins, arguing over who got "sis" first, clamped their mouths shut.
They stared blankly at Siwoo's face, falling silent in unison.
Wondering if he'd messed up, Siwoo switched the order and tried again.
"Big Sis Odette, Big Sis Odile. Don't want you fighting over it..."
"........"
"........"
Even after the correction, the twins gaped at him, mouths half-open.
Sure, Odile and Odette were apprentice witches, but above all, they were girls who loved cute and sweet things.
This cute, sweet version of Siwoo's unintentional charm was firepower enough to melt the rift that had formed between the twins.
"Kyaa! Little Assistant is too cute. Look at these squishy cheeks."
"So cute, so cute! Assistant is adorable!"
Odile latched onto Siwoo, pinching his soft cheeks and rubbing them against her own.
Odette fawned over him too, hugging, releasing, petting his hair.
After chanting "cute" about two hundred times each while stroking him, Odile and Odette squeezed him in a tight embrace.
The twins, who had showered him with affection, stuck to him like glue, their smiles melting away.
"Just holding him brings such peace..."
"Sis, let's take Assistant home and raise him..."
"Sandwich him between us and sleep?"
"Mmm...."
They wore cozy smiles, already imagining whisking Siwoo back to the mansion.
Meanwhile, Siwoo squirmed red-faced in the twins' sandwich grip.
"Assistant, so your memories still haven't come back much? What do you remember?"
"You don't remember playing with us?"
"No, just your names and that you're apprentice witches... Could you let go of my neck, though?"
"Oh, sorry, sorry."
The twins finally released him upon seeing his discomfort.
"Assistant saved our lives twice."
"As an adult, he was so cool. But this form is pretty great too..."
Siwoo averted his gaze, embarrassed by the twins giggling like they might die from cuteness overload.
The twins tugged at his sleeve insistently.
"Anyway! That's not the point."
"Right, Assistant! Wanna come play with us?"
"Play...?"
"Yeah! No need to hold back. We'll buy clothes, hit the big bathhouse together."
"Sis, great idea! Assistant, Assistant! Know how gorgeous the grand bathhouse is? We wanna go with you. We go once a week ourselves."
"But..."
To Siwoo, the twins might as well have been strangers.
All his accumulated memories were sealed away, after all.
Yet he felt an odd familiarity, and their kindness eased any reluctance—like his first meeting with Amelia.
"Sure, I'll go."
"Yay!"
"Good choice, Assistant! Ugh~ so cute."
Just for answering, Odile ruffled his hair vigorously.
Everything he did earned shrieks of "cute!" as the twins bounced around, lifting Siwoo's spirits a bit.
No kid ever hates praise, after all.
"First, let me get permission from Lady Amelia."
"Huh? But Assistant, you're not a slave anymore..."
"Quiet, Odette. Yeah, he should."
"Okay."
Siwoo had nothing to wear but the pajamas Duke Keter had dressed him in, so he headed out in them.
"Sis, why bother asking permission?"
"It's polite, for starters."
The twins' chatter drifted from the closing door as he crossed the hall.
*knock knock*
The door slid open at his knock.
Amelia sat at the table, catching up on overdue research.
Breaking through the 22nd sephirah barrier again had yielded much.
Now that Siwoo's condition had stabilized somewhat, she was organizing it all.
"What is it?"
She tilted her head at Siwoo entering alone, despite planning to play with the twins.
"Lady Amelia, is it okay if I go play with the apprentice witches?"
Compared to yesterday, Siwoo's demeanor toward Amelia felt far more relaxed.
She'd cared for him so diligently, like a mother, leaving a good impression.
And...
He recalled fondling Amelia's breasts yesterday.
He had no idea what he'd been thinking then, but looking back, it was mortifying.
The sensation kept resurfacing, making it impossible to meet her eyes directly.
She seemed utterly unfazed, though.
"Go ahead."
"Thank you."
After a polite bow, Amelia added.
"And Siwoo, you don't need my permission anymore. You're not my slave—or anything—now."
"Still, you're the one taking care of me. I thought it was only polite to ask."
Amelia paused at the unexpected reply, then nodded readily.
"Fine then. Just tell me where you're headed in the future. Things could go wrong otherwise."
"Got it. Well then..."
"One more thing, Siwoo."
"Yes?"
Amelia stopped him.
Something had flashed through her mind.
His past self, entangled physically with the twins—not full intercourse, but still.
She hesitated on how to phrase it, then circled around grandly.
"...Don't do anything too naughty with the apprentice witches."
Siwoo tilted his head.
He clearly had no clue, but she figured nothing major would happen.
"Yes, ma'am. I'll be back, Lady Amelia."
Siwoo bowed at the waist again and left the room.
Amelia rose and moved to the window.
Gazing down at the garden, she soon spotted Siwoo dashing toward the academy, one hand held by each twin.
Watching him stirred an odd feeling—like she'd become an ancestor of House Merrygold.
Everything she did for him echoed what her mentor had done for her.
She wasn't doing it for forgiveness.
So why this persistent urge to keep doing something for him?
Amelia pondered deeply, her eyes following the trio as they receded into the distance.