Chapter 206
Chapter 206
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 206
Chapter Title: Before Regretting
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In the cabin nestled deep within the gulpin tree forest.
Amelia gave her large travel bag one final check.
Inside her master's relic, enchanted with spatial expansion and weight reduction magic, were neatly stacked clothes and magical tools, topped gently by a letter and a note.
The seasons had turned, the sweltering summer giving way.
The breeze brushing past the lush gulpin branches and the wildflower-filled yard now carried the scent of autumn.
"........."
To heal Siu, Amelia had called in Yebin, the exile.
But Yebin had only mended his body and part of his brain—she couldn't restore his personality to its original state.
That was when the Kether Duke stepped in.
She healed Siu and even provided a white potion for his recovery.
In exchange, she demanded one favor from Amelia.
The Kether Duke had appeared before Amelia, who had been immersed in magic research while pining for Siu as usual, after months of silence.
"Are you prepared to fulfill your promise to me?"
After eighty-two years of seclusion, the Kether Duke had emerged personally.
If it was enough to move her, the price would be heavy.
Yet Amelia wasn't particularly afraid.
A hollow life where all her precious people had ultimately left her.
She nodded faintly, sifting through memories filled only with regrets and longing.
She had nothing left to lose anyway.
Because of her clumsiness, her ignorance, her failure to cherish them.
She had already lost everything.
"Why this of all things..."
Before closing the bag, Amelia looked at the thick book the Kether Duke had left behind.
It was as thick as a dictionary, bound in ominously black leather.
The moment Amelia received it, she asked,
"What is this?"
"A book detailing the task you must perform."
Kether spoke in her leisurely tone.
"It's a death note."
For such a terrifying concept, her tone was like a waitress handing over a menu.
After the Kether Duke departed, Amelia carefully examined the death note.
It recorded the locations of public enemies and homunculi hiding throughout the mortal world.
The mortal world, out of nowhere.
And she had to purge the public enemies and homunculi in Kether's stead, just like that.
The old Amelia would have absolutely refused and avoided it.
Yet now, even after packing and readying herself to leave, she felt remarkably little.
Amelia took one last look around the cabin.
Thinking she might never see it again made everything look a little different today.
This small, precious cabin held memories of happiness with her master—and with Siu.
Her eyes suddenly caught Siu's shirt draped over the arm of the rocking chair.
She had planned to leave it here originally.
This cabin was her treasure chest, a place to gather precious things.
Amelia reopened the bag and folded his shirt neatly.
She carefully brought it to her face and inhaled his scent.
The fragrance had nearly faded, but in stark contrast, his unforgettable face and voice came to mind.
She placed the shirt in the bag, closed the door, and stepped out of the cabin.
The wind chimes hanging from the eaves rang idly in the breeze.
2.
Sharon and Siu had calmed Tiphereth and sent her on her way.
She promised proper compensation later before vanishing into the dim city streets.
"Pitiful."
Sharon murmured softly, watching her retreating figure.
Of course, hurting Siu—and trying to kill him—was still unforgivable.
Just thinking about the blade that had pierced his throat made her heart race even now.
But separately from that, pity lingered.
"Yeah."
Humans walk today hoping for tomorrow.
Witches are no different.
But not Tiphereth Duke.
Though no one can change the past, she was someone perpetually tormented, sinking into the swamp called the past.
Siu soothed his complicated feelings with a cigarette.
Sharon slipped in beside him, perhaps to lighten the mood.
"Is that tasty?"
"Tasty? Nah. I just smoke it."
"I smoke sometimes because of magic too... but it's really not tasty."
"It's good for clearing my head sometimes. No worries about lung cancer, so I might as well smoke more."
"What kind of logic is that?"
Sharon giggled, squirming a little as if tickled.
Something occurred to her, and she spoke up.
"Oh, and thanks."
"For what?"
"For trying to help me."
"Hey, come on...! Don't tease me! I really thought something bad was happening. You came back late, and I was worried..."
The moment she saw Tiphereth, Sharon had shoved Siu behind her and prepared to fight.
Siu had only been impressed by Sharon's sacrificial play, risking her own body without hesitation...
But Sharon took it as teasing.
Her face flushed as she playfully punched his shoulder.
"I'm not teasing. I really am thankful."
"........."
When he gently grabbed her wrist—still mid-punch—Sharon stiffened like she'd been shocked.
She glanced diagonally downward and mumbled,
"Th-thanks... I have way more to thank you for..."
This reaction...
Hard to respond to.
Siu cleared his throat awkwardly, tossed the half-smoked butt in the trash, and they walked home side by side.
He changed into pajamas, lay on the sofa like the night before, and closed his eyes.
Then he sensed a presence.
It was Sharon.
"Can't sleep?"
"Yeah. Gonna sleep in the living room again today?"
Sharon sat diagonally across his lap and casually reached out.
She ruffled his hair gently.
"Sleep in my room tonight. My bed's big."
"In your room? Together?"
"What's wrong with that?"
"It'd be awkward. The sofa's comfy like a bed. This thing's expensive."
"Still... if you won't, I won't sleep either."
"Fine. I don't need to sleep anyway."
Just idle chit-chat like always.
Since the twins arrived, they'd both been so busy it felt like forever since they'd relaxed like this.
"Then... wanna do it again tonight?"
Sharon glanced at him slyly and spoke in a suggestive tone.
The omitted words in "wanna do it again?" were obvious from her shy, sweet voice.
She meant her reward time.
"The twins are here."
"So? They're asleep."
This felt suspiciously like putting the kids to bed and sneaking some intimate time with the birth mother.
"Nah, you've had a tough day too."
Siu had his share, but Sharon had worked hard today as well.
He wasn't particularly pent up, and he didn't want to trouble her...
"I want to!"
Sharon's response was surprisingly fervent.
Though what followed was so timid it was barely audible.
"I want to do it because I want to..."
"Well, if that's the case..."
He didn't know why she was so insistent, but swept up in the mood, bold words slipped out.
Of course he didn't hate it?
No way.
In the end, Siu got up and followed Sharon casually into her room.
The dimly lit space was filled with a pleasant scent as always.
Sharon shrugged off her top.
Even just glimpsing the side of her breast peeking from her back and chest made him react.
Was this some Pavlovian conditioning?
Bathed in moonlight, Sharon's green hair shimmered mysteriously.
Like a fairy from legendary forests.
"Wanna sit on the bed?"
"Uh, yeah."
Sharon shyly covered her chest with one arm as she invited him.
Truth be told, "covered her chest" was a bit of a stretch.
Her heavy, swaying breasts were too grand to hide with two arms, let alone one.
Only her nipples were concealed...
And that only tormented him more.
Sharon knelt down and slid off his pants along with his underwear.
Having done it a few times, Siu lifted his hips to help.
From the moment they entered, his erection's heat had subtly warmed her cheek.
Sharon stared intently at it, face flushed, then stood.
She nodded to herself with a resolute expression.
"Huh?"
Siu's eyes widened like saucers.
Sharon had hooked her thumbs into her shorts' waistband and slid them off smoothly.
Her skin was snow-white and flawless.
No scars or blemishes anywhere, evoking a sculptor's masterpiece or a nude painting.
Luxurious hair cascading to her waist.
Full, feminine breasts with nipples precariously perched at their tips.
Smooth abs without an ounce of fat.
A cute, indented navel.
A beautiful heart-shaped pelvis and pubic mound.
The witch's stigma starkly etched on her perfectly flat lower abdomen.
And because she was sitting on the bed, her tightly closed mound was visible too.
Under the moonlight filtering through the window, her skin sparkled like it was dusted with melted sugar.
"........."
Siu was at a loss for words.
If you gathered and refined every beautiful curve in the world into a tapestry of femininity, it might look like this.
It was shocking.
"I-I... was so scared today."
Sharon rubbed her plump thighs together as she spoke.
Her calves trembled, toes fidgeting.
She feared the unknown too.
But standing naked before him, her resolve was anything but light.
"I was afraid I'd lose you... that I'd never see you again."
"........."
Sharon approached Siu step by step.
With each one, the filter over Siu's eyes seemed to peel away and be replaced.
Not as a friend, but a woman.
Not as a woman, but a female.
Her nudity exuded such devilish sensuality it planted even those thoughts in Siu.
Sharon straddled his rigid thighs like mounting him.
His upright member pressed against her moist petals, sharing its heat.
Her tense limbs were cool, but her petals burned with astonishing fervor.
"I know I haven't become your equal yet."
Sharon hugged him close, as if he were the world's most precious treasure.
Her maternal breasts rubbed against his firm chest.
"I absolutely shouldn't... I don't want to... but even so, if something like this happens again, I don't want to have regrets."
"Uh, yeah..."
Sharon's sparkling mint eyes met his wavering ones.
Even in the darkness, her pupils glistened with lust and passion, radiating chilling allure.
Her tongue slithered into his half-open mouth like a serpent burrowing.
Siu instinctively accepted, tangling their tongues.
Her sweet, slightly rough tongue expertly ravaged his mouth.
Her petals ground against his shaft's base, twitching as if reluctant to part.
Moisture was building bit by bit.
Sharon ended the brief kiss and said,
"Even if we're not equals... even if we call it friends with benefits for a while... can't you hold me?"
She pleaded in a pitiful, trembling voice.
"I want Siu to make me a real woman."