Chapter 205
Chapter 205
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 205
Chapter Title: Those We Nearly Lost (4)
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Eloa Tiphereth Duke.
A hundred years ago, she lost an apprentice witch to the Aquarius Witch.
She founded Wizpoint.
Sharon had told him bits and pieces about her, but this was the first time Siu was having a proper conversation with her.
What they'd exchanged on the shopping mall rooftop earlier could hardly be called a conversation—it had been far too one-sided.
That allowed him to observe her more closely now.
Even in Gehenna, where every hair color imaginable could be found, he'd never seen pink hair like hers.
You'd occasionally spot someone in areas like Sinchon or Hongdae who'd bleached their hair completely and dyed it that vivid pink, but he could say with certainty that no one pulled it off quite like Tiphereth.
Her firmly pressed lips and stern, neatly arched eyebrows.
And that distinctive air of gravity she'd always carried—up until now, he'd thought of her as quite mature, but her frame was surprisingly petite.
A little taller than the twins, a touch shorter than Amelia?
Her eye and hair color made her seem even younger.
He knew it was a wildly inappropriate assessment given the situation, but she was beautiful all the same.
A surreal kind of beauty, perhaps.
He waited for those tightly sealed, petal-like lips to part and fire off a question, but she remained silent for a long while.
"Ah, should I go first?"
"Indeed. My explanation was lacking."
Siu didn't hesitate to speak up.
She was beautiful, sure.
But he had to ask about this, anger be damned.
"I get that there was a misunderstanding, but wasn't attacking out of nowhere a bit much? And it wasn't just me—you dragged someone else into it too. Even if the circumstances made it understandable for me, why go after the witch beside me...?"
Once the initial shock from their first encounter had faded and he'd had time to think calmly, a spark of resentment had bubbled up.
Fine, he was using a ribbon and had his face completely covered in armor at the time—it was an understandable mistake.
But what had Sharon done to deserve getting caught up in that mess?
"...Whether it truly was a misunderstanding or not, we'll find out from here. And there's still the suspicion that you are Ea Sadalmelik herself, or someone connected to her. That hasn't changed. As for that witch, I thought she might be a third party disguised as an interloper or a collaborator, so I acted accordingly."
"So, you were planning to hurt Sharon... that green-haired witch from earlier, if it came to it?"
A duke who had lost someone precious and wandered the mortal world seeking vengeance could lose her temper.
Siu could forgive that much.
It had hurt like hell for a moment, but he was fully recovered now, and there hadn't been any real mental trauma.
But he'd seen Sharon upset.
He had no intention of letting that slide so easily.
"One question at a time."
"Ask away."
"........."
Tiphereth fell silent at Siu's words, laced with reproach, before continuing.
Siu cooled his heated head and crossed his arms.
Letting emotions take over further wouldn't help.
"What is your connection to Ea Sadalmelik?"
"That bitch. She burst in and gouged out my eyes. My head got smashed too, and I wandered on the brink of death."
It was an immediate answer.
Siu's feelings toward Ea were utter hatred, plain and simple.
She'd murdered multiple witches and apprentices—that alone disgusted him on a visceral level—but she'd done it with a gleeful thumb, digging right into his eyes.
Just thinking of her face replayed the agony from back then.
As Siu's sharp, blade-like response ended, one of the three glowing runes blinked out.
Tiphereth stared at it with trembling eyes.
They had exchanged one question and answer, and it proved there was no lie in it.
It was bewildering.
Siu's question came again.
"Same as before. Were you planning to hurt Sharon too?"
"...I'm not that reckless. I intended to scare her enough to make her spill the truth, but..."
"And that justifies tormenting her like that? Do you have any idea how much she cried when she got home?"
"........."
"Anyway, I've got nothing else to ask. Your turn."
Eloa felt cornered, as if she were the one being pressed.
Where had that earlier confidence gone? She looked utterly deflated.
"...Then why do you wield both Sadalmelik's Nature Magic and that of my apprentice witch?"
"No idea."
"What?"
"Really, no clue. When I woke up months after collapsing, the stigma was just there. And I only learned today that it was your apprentice's Nature Magic. Up until now, I couldn't even identify what spell it was."
"........."
Siu spilled even what she hadn't asked.
No matter how much her attitude rubbed him the wrong way, harboring resentment against a duke was too risky.
He wanted to clear up every possible misunderstanding while he had the chance.
The duke whipped her head around to gaze at the floating runes of the contract.
Another glowing rune vanished.
His words were true.
This contract created a space where lies were impossible.
Its binding power was immense.
It blocked clever dodges, plausible deceptions, and loopholes like "it wasn't a lie"—all with airtight mechanisms.
In other words, he was purely Ea’s enemy and genuinely unaware of why he wielded two Nature Magics.
The problem was that it wasn't a perfect explanation.
If he'd detailed how he obtained the magic, fine—but "I don't remember" was ambiguous.
Innocent if innocent, suspicious if suspicious... it depended entirely on the perspective.
"Last one... Do you still suspect me?"
Siu swallowed hard as he asked.
He sensed that how Tiphereth Duke took this answer would reveal her true mindset.
She wore a conflicted expression before replying.
"I don't know... Truly, I don't."
Eloa had encountered all sorts over the years.
Irredeemably evil from the core.
Innately good, caring for others.
Neutrals who compromised based on the situation.
A few words of conversation, and she could read a person's innate disposition like the lines on her palm.
And from various judgments, Siu was exceedingly good-hearted.
His anger over his friend nearly getting hurt, more than his own injury.
Everyone around him insisting he was incapable of evil.
Added to his confession, the scales tipped toward him being an innocent victim caught in events, not some schemer.
"Your last question."
"Siu? Why's it taking so long?"
As he pondered his words, the rooftop door swung open, and someone entered.
It was the witch from the shopping mall rooftop earlier—the one who had tearfully begged for his life and handed over her card.
"Wh-what?! She's here again?!"
Spotting Eloa, her face hardened instantly.
She hastily raised her wand, pulling Siu behind her.
She knew she couldn't match the duke after their clash, yet she bared her hostility to protect him.
"Siu! Run! I'll hold her off!"
"........."
"........."
Sharon had mistaken it for Eloa returning to kill Siu.
But with both standing there blankly, she whipped her head back and forth between them.
Then she quietly dismissed her wand.
"Wh-what's going on? This isn't...?"
"Uh... yeah, doesn't seem like it."
Eloa fixed Siu with resolute eyes.
The floating runes around her were sucked into her sword and vanished.
Nothing more to ask.
"My apologies."
Before he could react, Eloa dropped to her knees before them.
It's said that a person's true character shines through the testimonies of those around them, not just their own words.
If it were merely his claims, plenty remained suspicious and unconvincing.
But with not one, but four people desperately defending him, she could draw a conclusion.
This man had no connection to Ea.
Even if there was one, it wasn't as accomplice or partner—just a thorough victim.
"I deeply apologize for persecuting you without learning the full circumstances. And for arbitrarily dragging in the other person beside you... I scarcely know how to beg forgiveness."
But Eloa didn't stop there—she bowed her forehead to the ground.
Her lustrous pink hair fanned out across the floor.
"I have no face to show... Words fail me... Will you allow me to offer fitting compensation?"
"Y-you don't have to go this far..."
"I-I'm fine now too..."
Siu and Sharon floundered, at a loss.
Siu hadn't harbored such deep ill will toward Eloa to begin with.
It had hurt terribly, and he'd been furious about Sharon getting involved, but everything he'd heard of Eloa's conduct was more humane than any witch he'd known.
And Sharon felt the same.
Anyone could grieve over losing someone precious.
But pouring her fortune into preventing repeats—for strangers whose faces she didn't even know—risking her life to capture homunculi and public enemies? That was praiseworthy justice.
For such a duke to kneel and apologize over a mere misunderstanding?
There was no room left for resentment.
"Please stand. The misunderstanding's cleared, and we've accepted your apology. We're truly okay now."
"I'm so sorry. Let me stay like this."
Siu bent to help her up, but she wouldn't budge from the floor.
Her strength was unbelievable.
Siu glanced at Sharon, who rushed over to join him.
"Tiphereth Duke, please lift your head. I was really, really mad and upset about today, but I forgive you."
Only after Sharon pulled did Eloa raise her head.
Siu and Sharon were stunned.
Tears glistened at the edges of those stern, strong eyes.
Her voice hadn't wavered at all—they'd had no idea.
"It's my fault, all of it—my shortcomings and folly... Holding your loved ones hostage for deceit... No apology suffices."
"L-loved ones...?"
Sharon panicked.
After a moment's hesitation, she knelt before Eloa.
Then she reached out and pulled her into an embrace.
Eloa's body trembled faintly.
Was this okay?
As someone who knew her tragic past, Sharon wanted to offer what little comfort she could.
"It's okay. Don't cry. Everyone makes mistakes."
"I'm sorry... Truly sorry... I did something unforgivable..."
"Oh, come on, I said it's fine..."
Before long, Sharon was teary-eyed too, gently stroking Eloa's hair.
The impromptu inquiry, which had begun so abruptly, ended in a scene reminiscent of a long-lost family reunion.