Chapter 118
Chapter 118
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: A Serene Daily Life (3)
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1.
When Siwoo woke up, Amelia was busily packing her luggage.
Three large travel trunks.
She filled them with essentials—enough for about a week per bag, making plenty for three weeks away from home.
Siwoo rubbed his sleepy eyes and asked,
"What's all this?"
"There's a place I want to go with you. Pack your things?"
"Sure."
He had no idea what was going on, but Siwoo took the small travel bag Amelia handed him and headed to his room.
He grabbed his few changes of clothes (ones Amelia had bought him), pajamas, some paper, and a ballpoint pen.
As he came down the stairs from the second floor, Amelia was waiting in the lobby with her bags.
"Got everything? Your toothbrush?"
"Packed it."
"No need for towels or anything. I already put them in."
"Yeah, yeah, you said."
Siwoo hurried down the stairs and stood beside Amelia.
From everything he'd seen so far, Gehenna was an incredibly beautiful city.
Even a short walk with Amelia was lovely, and occasional trips to Lenormand Town or Ars Magna Town were the same.
Every place was so stunning it made his eyes widen.
So Amelia's preparations for what looked like an impromptu trip had Siwoo buzzing with excitement.
Wherever they were going, it had to be pretty, right?
"Where are we headed?"
"To the cabin where I used to live."
"Camping?"
"Something like that."
Amelia naturally stroked Siwoo's hair, and he accepted the gesture.
Until now, he'd never seen Amelia smile even once.
But despite her brusque exterior, he knew her heart was warm, so he felt no resistance to her touch.
"Let's go."
Amelia and Siwoo loaded their bags onto the back of the carriage waiting in the garden, then climbed inside together.
As Amelia waved from the plush-cushioned, beautifully decorated interior, the carriage jolted into motion.
"Feels like riding on a plane. Even with the luggage."
Siwoo grinned at Amelia.
"A plane? Oh, right, planes."
Amelia tilted her head at the unfamiliar term before nodding.
The fastest common transport in the modern world—a metal hunk that flies through the sky, she'd heard.
"Have you ridden one?"
"Yeah, the first time was terrifying. I think I was seventeen... Huh?"
Siwoo trailed off mid-recollection.
No matter how you looked at it, his current appearance was that of a young boy, not even into puberty yet.
Seventeen wasn't that old, but still.
Amelia's expression darkened for a moment.
His every little action.
Every hint that he might be regaining his memories.
Each time, Amelia was forced to remember.
That this happiness and peace were all lies.
She parted her tightly pressed lips and barely managed to soothe him.
"Must be some memory confusion."
"Yeah, probably. My head kinda hurts."
"Want to lie down?"
"Yeah, I think so..."
The carriage provided by Sophia had no space-warping magic.
That was a luxury for the likes of Count Gemernai, who could afford it even if the world ended.
Still, there was enough room for Siwoo to stretch out and lie down.
That's when Amelia smoothly rose from her seat and moved toward him.
"Huh?"
"Put your head here."
She straightened the hem of her aquamarine dress and patted her thigh.
Siwoo panicked.
"N-No! I'm fine. This is okay."
"Your head must be uncomfortable."
"But you'll get tired..."
"It's fine."
After some back-and-forth, Siwoo finally gave in.
Truth be told, her soft thigh beat the bumpy seat cushion any day.
"Thank you. Feels kinda bad, though."
"No need."
He felt the plush, resilient warmth of Amelia's thigh against the back of his head.
Tilting his gaze upward, even from that awkward angle under her chin, her beauty shone undimmed.
He could even see the swell of her breasts.
"It's a long ride, so feel free to sleep."
Amelia gently stroked his hair as she spoke.
The steady vibration, comfy thigh pillow, and delicate fingers brushing his hair worked better than any sleeping pill.
As the carriage wound along a peaceful country path between fields of swaying blue barley, Siwoo drifted off before he knew it.
2.
Despite leaving early in the morning, it was well past lunchtime by the time Amelia and Siwoo reached the Gulpi Tree Forest.
Amelia gently shook Siwoo's shoulder—he hadn't stirred once—and they gathered their bags before stepping into the forest path.
"Wow... It's beautiful."
Gehenna's natural preservation was excellent, thanks to the lack of reckless development.
Besides, this Gulpi Tree Forest lay in the uninhabited zone between Lenormand Town and Tarot Town, untouched by any town.
The trees, barely touched by human hands, towered enormously.
"Isn't it?"
Amelia shrugged proudly at Siwoo's exclamation, as if he'd praised a cherished treasure, and stepped between the russet trunks.
A breeze rustled the pointed, rounded leaves, making them flutter like breathing lungs.
Following the undeveloped mountain path led to a clearing about 30 meters wide.
The forest depths were shaded by dense foliage, sunlight barely penetrating, but this spot was different.
Bathed in constant light, the grassy ground bloomed with wildflowers and field blossoms.
In the midst of that quaint, beautiful carpet of nameless flowers floated a small log cabin.
A cozy cottage basking in fresh sunlight, with a tiny annex beside it.
For Amelia, happiness meant these days in that little cabin.
With so little time left with him anyway, she had this small selfish wish to spend it here.
"Let's unpack."
"Okay!"
Compared to Amelia's opulent mansion or the grand buildings he'd seen, it was humble and unremarkable—almost unworthy of the word "lodging."
Yet the log cabin in the heart of the forest stirred a boy's romantic dreams.
Siwoo bounded inside excitedly.
It was cozy.
Small and intimate enough that two people could live without ever leaving each other's sight.
"Is it okay?"
"Yeah! I love it!"
Siwoo poked around, inspecting the place.
A small cupboard, a rocking chair by the fireplace.
No signs of recent habitation, yet it was spotless and tidy.
"Upstairs is the bedroom. Want to see?"
"There's a second floor?"
"Follow me."
Seeing Siwoo so delighted lifted Amelia's spirits too.
Maybe because he seemed to like her treasured place.
She took his hand and climbed the stairs.
Cabins weren't built big or spacious by nature.
So the second floor held just two tiny rooms.
"This was my master's room, and this was mine."
Amelia entered the room she'd used as an apprentice witch.
Right under the roof, the ceiling sloped diagonally.
A small south-facing window framed the lovely Gulpi forest like a painting, beneath which sat a bed barely big enough for one.
A clutter-free desk and chair filled the corner; miscellaneous items were boxed under the bed.
"Siwoo, you take this room. It's small, but clean."
"You clean it regularly?"
"Yes."
Siwoo unpacked like a kid who'd found a secret hideout.
Hanging clothes in the wardrobe and setting paper and books on the table finished it off quick.
"Mine's right across. Help me unpack?"
"Sure! I'll help!"
Siwoo grabbed her carry-on from downstairs and returned to the second floor with her.
Amelia's room and her master's were mirror images, but this one was slightly larger with a bigger bed.
Siwoo and Amelia unpacked item by item.
Such a mundane task brought Amelia profound peace.
Until she spotted her underwear in his hands.
"Ah..."
"Uh..."
And the unfortunate truth.
Sophia's advice had started sometime back.
A true adult wears grown-up underwear—her near-brainwashing had turned Amelia's panties and bras mostly into lingerie.
Halves of breasts exposed, sheer hips, barely-there straps.
In her excitement, Amelia had forgotten.
Siwoo's uneasy gaze met hers as she watched him.
Realizing his flickers darted between her chest, lower body, and the lingerie, she felt a strange embarrassment.
Her face warmed.
But she had to stay calm.
Showing fluster would just make them both awkward.
Besides, why blush over a boy in this state?
She wouldn't bat an eye if other witches saw her like this.
So, stay composed...
"Th-That...! I'll handle that myself."
Amelia bit her tongue mid-sentence.
She was flailing far more than she realized.
"Okay..."
Siwoo's face flushed as he quietly handed her the lingerie.
Rustle rustle.
An excruciating awkwardness hung between them for a while.
3.
After a quick lunch of sandwiches, they headed to the clearing in front of the cabin.
Surprisingly, it was Siwoo's idea—he'd noticed the wildflowers around.
"My mom taught me once. You gather rabbit grass like this and weave it into a headband..."
Amelia crouched by the rabbit grass, watching Siwoo work.
He knotted the long flower stalks.
Braiding lengths about a handspan long formed a round band the width of a pinky finger, and he tucked wildflowers between.
"Decorate it with flowers like this, and you get a pretty coronet. Cool, huh?"
Pink, green, purple, orange, indigo, red.
A simple crown bloomed amid the white rabbit grass flowers, dotted with vibrant colors.
"You can make bigger ones usually... Been a while, and the stalks aren't that long. Hard to get right."
"It's really pretty. You're handy, Siwoo."
Truthfully, it wasn't perfect.
The band was crooked, knots too tight, breaking some stalks.
If Amelia tried after watching, she could make something far more refined.
Still, she praised it.
It was cute.
After hesitating, Siwoo offered it.
"For you, Amelia."
"Me?"
Her eyes went wide like a startled rabbit.
It was the first time receiving something from him.
Siwoo shyly avoided her gaze.
"You always take good care of me. Wanted to give you something, even this."
"........."
Amelia felt tears welling.
Why?
Emotions too tangled for words.
She set the question aside.
"Will you... put it on me, Siwoo?"
"Sure!"
She lowered her head slightly.
As something light settled on her hair, she looked up.
"Ah..."
And in Siwoo's eyes was this:
Amelia, coronet-crowned, eyes misty,
smiling brighter than the wildflowers.
"Thank you, Siwoo."
The expression Siwoo faced
was the smile she'd regained for the first time since her master's passing.