Chapter 32
Chapter 32
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Ars Magna Town (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Sophia left the room, leaving Siwoo slumped over.
Thinking back to how he'd writhed beneath her made her feel a twinge of desire, but she quickly pushed it aside.
He was the first man Amelia had ever shown interest in since arriving at that cramped shack.
Though the girl herself denied it vehemently.
There was no way she'd stoop so low as to steal her precious friend's chance at romance.
"I couldn't do that."
Siwoo had no experience with women, and Amelia had none with men.
It was obvious what a mess they'd make of things if they got together.
Especially Amelia—she'd probably lie there stiff as a board, like a piece of driftwood, while Siwoo flailed about in panic.
How regrettable would their first time be if it went like that?
A woman always felt more at ease—and more drawn to a man—when he took the lead, just a little.
With that in mind, she'd decided to teach him the bare basics of handling a woman, as a reward and a preemptive lesson.
"Ugh..."
She stretched languidly, pulling her robe's hood over her head.
Truth be told, Siwoo suffering like this was partially her fault.
If she hadn't egged Amelia on, Amelia wouldn't have been rejected by Siwoo, and he wouldn't have been tormented like this.
The rumors of Amelia's interest in him wouldn't have spread, either, and with that princely face of his, he'd have been doted on by all sorts of witches.
Not that he seemed to enjoy being treated like a slave, of course.
"Elites are always so picky."
Night had deepened.
Witches didn't need much sleep anyway, so it was time to handle the task Siwoo had asked of her.
She had to decide the fate of those thugs the guards had captured and make sure they kept quiet about Siwoo using magic.
"Handy not needing sleep at times like this."
Sophia leaped out through the window frame.
Her robe enveloped her body as feathers sprouted across her skin. Transforming into a massive crow, she soared into the moonlit sky.
Slaves didn't get real vacations.
Even on their one day off a week, they had to work until lunch, so this was par for the course.
Yet here was Siwoo, sprawled comfortably on his straw bedding, limbs splayed out lazily.
The sun visible through the skylight was already high in the sky.
This was the joy of sleeping in.
For Siwoo, who always rose before dawn or at the crack of dawn, it was a tearfully luxurious indulgence.
"How long has it been since I got to slack off like this?"
He'd never realized just how blissful it could be to do nothing and sleep late.
This was his first vacation since becoming a slave.
Just the day before yesterday.
Amelia, who slept in late that afternoon, had appointed him her assistant and, recognizing his hard work wandering Border Town late into the night, granted him a day off as a reward.
Who would've believed it?
A vacation from Amelia, of all people.
He'd been stunned, but if it meant her prickly attitude had softened even a little, it was a relief for him.
"Huh?"
Then he spotted someone approaching along the grassy path in the distance, footsteps crunching steadily.
He'd avoided her so much that he could now tell it was her just from her gait.
Amelia.
"What the heck."
Siwoo hurriedly threw on some clothes.
"She gives me the day off, then won't even let me rest. Why does she have to be such a pain?"
Still, he couldn't greet her looking this disheveled.
That said, he really loved the panties she'd given him recently.
Every time he changed, he felt a swell of pride.
His irritation at her sudden visit eased a bit upon seeing them.
"Is this what they call a slave's lot in life?"
Siwoo opened the stable door and went out to meet Amelia.
There was nothing but open grassland around his lodging, so no reason for her to run over.
In fact, she'd never visited once in five years.
Under the blinding sunlight, Amelia stood with her parasol, her golden hair sparkling where the sunbeams pierced through.
As always, she waited with a haughty expression as Siwoo came running up.
"What brings you here, Associate Professor?"
Siwoo calmed his breathing, forcing down thoughts of her naked body from the inn. His member twitched anyway.
Men were such pitiful creatures.
Repeating pure thoughts to himself, he willed the growing bulge to subside.
Amelia waited until he wasn't panting before speaking.
"Tomorrow, I'm taking you on as my exclusive slave. You'll start learning your duties as my assistant. Today, we need to move your lodging closer— it won't take long, so follow me."
True, it was over thirty minutes from here to the research building.
An exclusive slave would need to stick even closer.
"You've been living in quite the nice place."
Nice place? What were the other slaves' quarters like, then?
Amelia gazed at the stable floating atop the green hill.
It did look like a decent building from afar.
If it weren't built for livestock, anyway.
"Yeah, it's fine."
Amelia tilted her head slightly at Siwoo's vague response.
"Then allow me to escort you. Where to?"
"We have to go to my lodging to pack your things."
She blinked at him as if he'd asked something obvious, then brushed past and started up the hill path.
"I'll escort you."
He wasn't too worried about the mana essence, mana paper, and magic circle drafts inside.
They were stuffed in a box buried under the straw pile, and Amelia had no reason to dig through it.
Still, he'd come back tonight after the move.
As he opened the stable door for her, various thoughts swirling in his head, he said,
"It's a bit shabby, so I'm embarrassed."
As the door swung open, revealing the interior, Amelia's impassive eyes gradually widened.
"I'll pack as quick as I can, so wait here."
There wasn't much to take anyway.
Siwoo went to the straw pile, securely covering the box, then pulled clothes and underwear from the half-rotted wardrobe.
"........."
Amelia stood frozen like a statue at the door, surveying the surroundings.
Her face was full of confusion.
"Lady Amelia, all packed."
At his call, Amelia snapped out of it with a start.
After a brief hesitation, she asked,
Her voice sounded more subdued than usual, almost timid.
"You really live here? For real?"
"Yes."
"For five years?"
"I was in a different place at first, but about a week in, they moved me here. Said they were reconstructing the old one."
"........."
Even after his succinct explanation, Amelia remained silent.
She just blinked her long lashes quietly.
Here we go again.
Conversations with Amelia often stalled like this without warning.
"I hope the new place is a little nicer."
To break the awkward air, he tossed out a light joke. Amelia bowed her head deeply.
Was living like this such a shock to her?
Well, even Siwoo had struggled to accept it at first.
For a delicately raised young lady, it must be a real culture shock.
As he tried to brush it off with that thought—
Suddenly, Amelia grabbed his sleeve.
"Um..."
He felt the fabric tug sharply under her delicate hand.
A fragrance wafting from her overwhelmed the nearby stench.
"Caretaker, there's something I want to say."
"Yes, go ahead. I'm listening."
Amelia looked up at his face, as if she'd steeled herself.
The moment she opened her mouth, a choking gulp echoed, like something was caught in her throat.
"Associate Professor?"
After a long silence, as if broken, Amelia released his sleeve.
A voiceless sigh slipped out.
"From now on, you're my exclusive slave, Shin Siwoo Caretaker, so I can't have you wearing such undignified clothes."
"Th-this is my cleanest outfit..."
"We'll handle that later. Follow me for now."
Amelia strode out of the stable.
Why the sudden change?
Still, free clothes? No reason to refuse.
His current ones were wearing thin anyway.
Siwoo tossed the bundle onto the straw and hurried after her.
Amelia felt uneasy.
Deeply unsettled.
It was like that time long, long ago when she'd eaten spoiled cheese and gotten sick—an uncomfortable twisting in her gut.
All because she'd seen Shin Siwoo Caretaker's lodging.
Amelia squeezed her eyes shut without realizing it.
After he'd openly rejected Sophia's offer of nighttime companionship right in front of her.
The next day, fuming, Amelia had stormed into the academy's administrative office.
In a very calm tone, she'd issued her command.
Assign him the worst lodging available.
How dare a mere slave defy a witch's order.
And humiliate her so publicly, no less.
She hadn't shown it then, but she'd spent the whole night flushed, unable to calculate even a single rune.
Up to that point, she hadn't questioned if it was a fitting punishment.
She'd never felt such raw humiliation, like being stripped bare.
For Amelia, who knew how agonizing an uncomfortable bed could be, it was the perfect revenge she could think of on the spot.
The reason it came rushing back now was simple.
She had to tell her new exclusive slave to move his lodging closer to the research building.
Year-round, enchanted grass that never wilted.
His place was in a prime spot, with refreshing breezes rippling the long blades.
Plenty of sunlight, and above all, a stunning view of the academy sprawling below the hill.
When she'd first spotted his lodging from afar, Amelia doubted her memory.
She'd clearly ordered the worst one, yet here was this massive wooden building in such a great location.
She wasn't particularly angry now, but it planted a seed of doubt in the academy's handling of affairs.
As she walked under her parasol, the stable door opened in the distance, and Siwoo came running out.
"What brings you here, Associate Professor."
After telling him the errand, Amelia headed to check his lodging herself.
Truth be told, part of coming all this way was curiosity about how he'd been living and how her revenge had played out.
It was a novel feeling.
"It's a bit shabby, so I'm embarrassed."
As the door opened under his awkward escort, Amelia doubted her eyes.
The floor was damp mud, reeking of something foul.
The ceiling was rotted through in spots, sky peeking in, with wooden crates and straw scattered about as "furniture."
She'd ordered the worst lodging.
But the "worst" she'd imagined was something like a peasant home in Tarot Town.
The academy's facilities were all so grand and beautiful; she hadn't anticipated this level of disparity even at the bottom rung.
And so, Siwoo's home was no place for a human to live, no matter how you sliced it.
A sharp pang in her chest made Amelia furrow her brow.
Her heart throbbed.
This feeling was strange.
"You really live here? For real?"
"Yes."
"For five years?"
"I was in a different place at first, but about a week in, they moved me here. Said they were reconstructing the old one."
"........."
She'd checked just in case, but the karma was plain as day.
Her heart grew heavier.
Siwoo tossed a joke her way, not knowing why she felt this way.
"I hope the new place is a little nicer."
He acted like it was no big deal, turning to leave first.
Unable to hold back, Amelia tugged his sleeve.
She had to say this.
Some instinct told her so.
"Um..."
Amelia was a noble, and he a mere slave.
Even so, she wanted to apologize for this.
He'd probably be baffled.
It might not satisfy him to hear it wasn't intentional.
"Caretaker, there's something I want to say."
"Yes, go ahead. I'm listening."
She finally forced the words out.
But the moment she tried to phrase it as an apology, her breath caught.
What should she say?
Where to start?
What tone, what words, what expression, what gesture, what breath?
It wasn't some complex spell.
Just a simple sorry—yet her mind blanked white, clogged up.
"Associate Professor?"
Feeling his puzzled gaze, Amelia blurted the first thing that came to mind, unfiltered.
"From now on, you're my exclusive slave, Shin Siwoo Caretaker, so I can't have you wearing such undignified clothes."
"Th-this is my cleanest outfit..."
"We'll handle that later. Follow me for now."
This wasn't it.
Amelia bit her lip and strode out of the stable first.
Fine, she'd just buy him some clothes.
Enough to wash away the faint guilt budding from her past mistake.
Exactly that much.
Amelia decided as much.