Chapter 290
Chapter 290
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 290
Chapter Title: Twins and Sharon (3)
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1.
Three days had already passed since the proper lessons began.
To keep the newly arrived rival, Sharon Evergreen, in check, the twins successfully implemented the following policies:
1) Show a mature example of an apprentice witch in front of Sister Sharon to make her feel inferior.
2) Play pranks by swapping things out.
3) Stare intently during lessons to make her uncomfortable.
The twins had been patting themselves on the back, calling it a pretty solid strategy for rivals...
But last night, during their bedtime chat, they suddenly realized the truth.
It started with Odet's comment.
"Sis, but what difference does this even make?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Even if we try so hard to keep Sister Sharon in check, when you think about it, doesn't it feel kinda pointless?"
"Swapping things only works if she doesn't notice, and that's the end of it... Even if we act like model apprentices, that doesn't mean she won't meet the assistant... And staring during lessons? She probably just thinks we're paying extra close attention."
"Huh?"
Up until now, the twins had been so excited about "doing something!" that they'd lost all objectivity.
Odet's sharp observation was enough to keep both twins tossing and turning all night.
And so, Odil and Odet spent the night half-awake, debating future plans and strategies.
"Lady Odil, Lady Odet. Time to rise."
As usual, at wake-up time, Head Maid Galina marched in with precise steps.
The four maids following her opened the windows for fresh air, brushed their tousled hair from the night, and even slipped slippers onto their feet—just the daily routine.
"Yaaawn...!"
"Huuuuaaaawn...!"
"Now, allow me to brief you on today's schedule."
Exhausted from debating late into the night, the twins yawned with eyes barely open as their hair was combed, receiving the day's agenda.
After washing up and getting dressed, they had piano lessons with Teacher Kelvin from morning.
Then, a reading session until lunchtime.
Followed by the terrifying five-hour lecture from Sharon.
"I'll be heading to Tarot Town today to handle the fireplace and chimney repairs, so please follow Lena's instructions for the rest of the schedule."
"Yaaawn... Got it, Galina. Have a safe trip!"
"Huuuuaaaawn... Take care."
The moment they heard the head maid would be away from the mansion, Pecha, Lena, Vera, and Masha's eyes lit up while tidying the room.
With Galina—the one who usually kept the maids in line—gone, it was the perfect chance to dote on their apprentice witch twins and gossip freely.
"Lena! Stick to the schedule, no exceptions."
"Yes, understood."
Galina sighed deeply, seeing Lena already blooming with a grin.
2.
And so, the fixed morning routine: bath time.
Normally an hour, but Lena boldly skipped breakfast to extend it to two.
The reason? Obviously, to play around with the twins.
Even without Galina, fooling around openly in the mansion meant too many listening ears and watching eyes.
And since the twins needed to consult their exclusive maids anyway, they were more than happy with the setup.
"Lena, I have a question."
"Yes, yes! Ask away, oh cool and dashing Lady Odil!"
"Pecha, me too."
"Yes, yes! What is it, sweet and adorable Lady Odet!"
Lena and Pecha diligently shampooed the twins' hair from behind their bath chairs.
As their skilled scalp massages turned the twins' faces rosy, they spilled last night's monumental dilemma to the maids.
You know, about the sudden love rival Sister Sharon and the countermeasures they'd used against her.
The four maids listened intently while washing Odil and Odet's bodies.
"Is that everything?"
"Yeah, we've been trying our best to keep her in check, in our own way."
"But now we're wondering if we even did anything meaningful."
"You all have some dating experience, so we wanted your advice."
"Our next plan is to serve Sister Sharon some nasty black tea with extra water."
They were all blooming young girls with plenty of interest in romance.
While romance among mansion staff was officially forbidden, like any workplace, plenty of love lines existed in practice—and having devoured romance novels, they had solid knowledge on the topic.
"......"
The maids fell silent the moment Odil and Odet finished speaking.
"Wh-what? Why the silence?"
"Did we mess up somehow?"
Bafoamed heads preventing them from opening their eyes to check the sudden quiet...
"Kyaaa! Lady Odil, you're too cute!"
"That's our Lady Odil! So adorably clumsy!"
"Lady Odet! You should be designated a Gehenna cultural treasure! It's a crime to keep this cuteness to ourselves!"
"Lady Odet! Can I tell the other maids? It's okay, right???"
Calling it a lovers' rivalry spat, and this was their cute little strategy?!
And bragging about it, no less!
Just imagining the twins huddled seriously all night in a strategy meeting melted the maids' hearts—they glomped the twins en masse.
"Gaaah! Can't breathe! Can't breathe! Whose hand is this?!"
"Sh-shampoo's in my eyes... Shampoo!"
Odil gasping amid the flurry of hands, Odet tearing up from shampoo in her eyes.
Once the chaos settled, the maids sat the twins down and began earnestly lecturing on how to win love.
"That's not checking anyone—that's nothing!"
"Exactly! Love matters need to be settled with love!"
"Hmm... First off, don't you need to figure out exactly what kind of relationship this witch has with the assistant?"
Vera spoke up first.
From the twins' stories and the circumstances, it was clear the witch named Sharon had a close bond with the assistant the twins adored.
But given the twins' zero experience talking to guys, let alone dating, there could be misjudgments.
"I doubt it's just friendship. Didn't you tell Odet, Vera? That guys and girls can't live together platonically."
"Wait, that was about this?!"
Odet had suddenly brought up cohabitation out of nowhere—and she had this backstory!
"Ahem, we can't just sit back and take it. We'll coach you specially."
"Right! With Lady Odil and Odet's charm plus our staff's strategies, failure's impossible!"
Masha clenched her fist like it was her own battle.
"Alright, we're all ears."
With utmost seriousness, Odil and Odet absorbed the advice as their bath concluded.
3.
The witch who had thrown herself to save Amelia from her momentary dark thoughts.
With deep blue eyes and russet long hair, she introduced herself as "the Dragon Witch, Clara Scorpia."
Amelia had vaguely heard of her before.
"...Thank you."
"No problem. Just doing what anyone would."
She was the witch infamous for barging into the current war on her own, getting scolded by Kether Duke, and slinking back to her workshop.
Many witches had been stopped by Kether Duke.
But the Dragon Witch stood out because she was the only one who'd survived clashing with her.
Of course, extenuating circumstances helped: Clara wasn't a public enemy or exile, and her war meddling wasn't personal greed.
The "nest" she mentioned was a cave carved into a towering sandstone cliff in the desert's heart.
It was spacious, but the interior decor was laughably crude—no frills.
Miscellany including magic scrolls littered the floor, and with zero artificial touches, fine sand clung everywhere to walls and ground.
But what mildly surprised Amelia was the corner piled with what looked like tons of gold bars.
At first, dismissed as brass or alchemy scraps amid the mess.
Spotting Amelia's glance, Clara shrugged proudly.
"Impressive, right? Took a lot of work to gather."
"......"
But her guest was Amelia.
An Amelia whose heart was closing off amid deep fatigue and disillusionment.
She merely nodded faintly, showing no interest.
"Sit here and rest a bit."
"...Thank you."
"Save the thanks. I'm just happy to see another witch after so long."
Trying to lighten the mood with a joke, but getting no reply, Clara seated Amelia at the table and went to prepare tea.
Half-dragged to the workshop and served tea, Amelia could cool her head somewhat.
But that didn't erase everything.
A heavy shadow still clung to her face like a scent, casting a grim pallor.
Soon, Clara returned with a teapot, cups, and madeleines for pairing.
The dishes were spotless—clearly well-kept.
She plopped down opposite Amelia casually.
"Drink up."
"Thank you."
Amelia's mind was blank.
The burnout after the emotional whirlwind had numbed her brain.
Her lines since arriving? Just three rote "thank yous."
"You're really pretty."
As Amelia lifted the cup to her lips for the first time in months, Clara finally spoke.
No hidden meaning.
Her hair like fine-spun molten gold, sky-blue eyes that could stop hearts.
Even among beauty-packed witches, Amelia's looks were peerless.
Despite her ragged wanderer life and homelessness dulling her glow, her allure shone through.
"If I could be reborn as pretty as you, I'd give up all my gold."
"......"
Not knowing how to respond.
Wanting only rest now, Amelia stayed silent.
Clara glanced at her, quickly reading the room.
Of course—someone suicidal moments ago chattering away would be more alarming.
Watching Amelia sip tea wordlessly, Clara cleared her throat and ventured carefully.
"Through there, there's a bathroom with oasis water piped in. Wash up if you like. There's a bed in the container inside—use it. Seems tough to talk now, so we'll chat later."
"...Okay."
"But promise me! No bad thoughts! When you're ready to share what happened, tell me. Until then, treat this as your home and relax."
Amelia looked at Clara, slightly surprised.
Feeling warmth after so long, she nodded faintly.