Chapter 361
Chapter 361
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 361
Chapter Title: Outdoor Activities (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1.
The salmon that had hooked Diana was hauled off to the mansion's head chef for its insolence, offering up its body as a full-course meal to atone for its crime.
For the first time, I was invited to dinner and got to eat with Countess Lucy and Diana.
The countess kept bursting into laughter at the sight of Siu enthusiastically seasoning and banging away at Diana's salmon-capturing contraption.
After the warm and cheerful meal came the final task of the evening.
It was time for my intimate private lesson with the countess.
"Siu, would you mind escorting me?"
As we left the dining room together and headed for her private study, the countess extended her hand—gloved in white, palm facing down in the classic noble fashion.
I hesitated for a moment.
Last night's mishap with the countess flashed through my mind.
I'd sworn to myself that nothing like that embarrassing incident would happen again, but now I wondered if I really had to hold her hand.
Still, showing any sign that I was dwelling on it would be rude to the countess, who had graciously let it slide this time.
With that in mind, I gently placed her hand in my palm and led her toward the private study.
"It's an honor."
Maybe it was the archaic corridor.
Or perhaps it was the countess's poised gait—her face flushed just enough from the wine, yet composed as ever.
Either way, it really felt like I was escorting a noble lady.
As if reading my thoughts, the countess spoke first.
"You seem just like a knight, Siu."
"Do I?"
"Yes. It feels like I'm being escorted by a truly reliable knight."
"Must be because I'm so tall."
We arrived at the countess's private study amid such lighthearted banter.
The evening chill in the air was being chased away by the crackling flames in the fireplace.
I sat on the sofa where I always studied, and she took the seat across from me.
"You've been taking such good care of Diana, so I suppose I should reward you."
"Please take good care of today's lesson as well."
I'd half-expected her to tease me about last night, but fortunately, the lesson started without any snags.
That said, it wasn't entirely problem-free...
"Hmm, so you're planning to control the Red Branch through the ribbon rather than shadows?"
"Yes. Shadows are amorphous magic, so they're heavily affected by force fields."
I answered calmly, but my gaze flicked toward the countess.
Yesterday, Countess Lucy had worn a party dress with a plunging back.
But today was different.
This dress modestly covered her back but boldly exposed her cleavage.
It wasn't just a modest dip.
The daring slit plunged all the way to her sternum, revealing not just the full swell of her ample bosom but even a hint of the undercurve.
It was the kind of neckline where a slight tug on the collar would send the whole top slipping right off.
I hadn't paid it much mind during dinner.
The table was enormous—like three billiard tables end to end—so the countess and I sat facing each other from a good distance.
The lighting was bright, and Diana was right there beside us.
The atmosphere had been too distracting to suddenly fixate on her outfit...
"Where should I look? Hmm..."
The countess brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear and reached for the paper in front of me.
Her torso tilted forward like a heavy flower bud, drawing my eyes inexorably to that abundant, maternal valley.
A sweet, creamy scent mingled with her fresh perfume wafted toward me.
We were alone here.
The candlelight and fireplace created an unnecessarily romantic mood.
And at this close range, I could clearly see her tongue as she licked her lips.
It was the ultimate situation where I couldn't help but notice.
"The concept isn't bad... but to check its practicality, we'll need to test it against a distortion field directly."
It was a precarious setup where the slightest shift in her dress might reveal what shouldn't be seen.
I knew she usually dressed lightly and provocatively.
But this felt deliberate.
Was she really exposing herself on purpose?
I barely managed to tear my gaze away from the hypnotic pull.
"Then, let's reconstruct it based on what you saw yesterday."
Whether she knew my inner turmoil or not, the countess calmly continued the lesson.
2.
"Is seeing it once not enough?"
"Pardon?"
"I mean the mental landscape."
"No, no. It's plenty."
"I could share it a few more times. If you're worried about yesterday's accident, don't be."
In truth, Countess Lucy was subtly testing Siu.
She knew her own appearance was exceptional.
Her mature, curvaceous figure and refined features were sources of genuine pride.
But there was a difference between knowing it herself and confirming it through someone's reaction.
Siu's furtive glances at the cleavage she'd subtly revealed.
The prominent Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed hard.
His innocent, endearing habit of scratching his head awkwardly.
These filled Lucy Yesod's self-esteem as a woman—not as a witch, a noble, or Diana's mother.
It was only natural that she felt an urge to tease him a little more.
"Oh dear, but my outfit today is a bit inappropriate. This dress doesn't expose the back at all..."
The countess smiled slyly and placed her hand on the shoulder strap of her dress.
A little slide to the side, and the top would slip right off.
"...so it has to be like this, right?"
She had no real intention of doing it.
Showing her body carelessly to an unrelated man was improper and unbecoming of a noble.
She just wanted to see that dramatic reaction from yesterday.
"It's really fine! Countess! Please calm down and move your hand slowly!"
Siu shot to his feet as if scalded by boiling tea spilling in his lap, desperately trying to stop her.
His reaction matched her expectations perfectly, and she barely suppressed a laugh.
"If you don't need the mental sharing, then I guess the lesson ends here. Such a shame."
"Whew..."
"Aren't you disappointed, Siu?"
"I'm disappointed not to learn more, but not because you... aren't undressing."
His words preemptively blocked any teasing ammunition, nearly making her lose her composure and roll on the floor laughing.
The countess had encountered all sorts of people while leading major ventures.
Over such a long life, she could judge character to some extent just from eyes or tone.
Especially after facing each other for over four days, she had a solid read on him.
Her verdict: he was diligent and kind.
Even prickly Diana followed him willingly, and there was no sticky malice in his speech, demeanor, or gaze.
In a situation like this, most would harbor lustful thoughts.
"Siu."
"Yes."
"Do you have any plans or appointments after the lesson?"
His pupils wavered.
The obvious signs of fluster were one of the joys of teasing this man.
She fiddled with her dress idly, dragging out her words.
"If you're not too busy... could you spare me a little time?"
"I'd like to hear what it is first before deciding."
His predictably cautious response prompted her to say:
"Would you take me fishing too?"
"...Right now?"
"Yes. Hearing you talk about it at dinner made it sound so fun."
He seemed to think for a moment, then nodded.
"Understood."
3.
Diana tossed and turned in bed.
Though exhausted from being dragged around outside by Siu, sleep wouldn't come.
She was replaying the fishing trip with him in her mind.
"Hmmm..."
Overall, it had just been annoying and tiring.
Did they really need to portal into this forest path just to fish?
And then the sudden accident forced her to dive into the icy river on a winter day.
But if asked whether only bad memories remained, that wasn't true.
On the contrary, it felt strangely fresh and novel.
The thrill of that catch after long waits and trial-and-error.
The powerful life force and thrashing at the bite still lingered in her fingertips.
Sure, it ended ridiculously with the salmon dragging her off because she'd gripped the rod too tightly.
Men are all wolves.
Inferior beings doomed to mortality, unable to become witches.
One must always be cautious around men to avoid being used.
These were the words her mother had drilled into her repeatedly.
Such tinted glasses had colored Diana's view of Siu as well.
Even if he could use magic, even as history's first male witch, even if he was ridiculously good at it—nothing changed.
But.
'Let's switch spots. Seems like you're catching more because your side's better.'
'I came out here because I agreed to outdoor activities. Pay some attention to me too.'
'Let's head back now. It's been over two hours.'
Looking back, he hadn't frowned once at Diana's constant sulking.
She remembered saying plenty of lines that could have soured the mood and hurt feelings.
Diana was the apprentice witch of the countess's household, while he was just a witch-for-hire.
Moreover, he'd secured her mother's lessons in exchange for tutoring her.
She didn't take it for granted, but he was someone Diana couldn't complain about even if she threw a tantrum.
Even accounting for their positions, people emit an aura when hiding emotions.
He never truly took issue with her attitude or got annoyed.
Instead, he just brushed it off with a wry, good-natured smile.
There must have been plenty of impulsive actions she'd taken out of spite.
'You should go boast about it.'
Far from getting angry, he'd handed over his own catch and let her take the credit.
That was when she realized it.
He was the kind of person whose innate consideration for others shone through effortlessly, no matter how small the matter.
This became the trigger for Diana to reexamine her tinted glasses.
"Maybe even back then..."
At the time, it had just made her blood boil.
And it was still something that prevented her from viewing that man positively.
That reception game.
Wasn't it his own way of being considerate?
Of course, an unwanted, humiliating kind of consideration.
"Sigh..."
It was complicated.
Everything she thought she knew felt twisted up.
Her mother, who had relentlessly drilled in that men were dangerous and lowly, was actually writing novels about witches being conquered by such men.
Sin Siu, the male witch Diana had only glared at coldly, wasn't the barbarian her mother had described.
Just ordinarily.
"Mm..."
He was someone who looked out for others' circumstances.
Suddenly, her chest itched.
She hadn't even voiced it aloud—just muttered it to herself—yet goosebumps rose like when she laid on flattery thickly.
"Ugh..."
Diana shook her head vigorously to dispel the stray thoughts.
Come to think of it, it had been days since she'd snuck into her mother's secret library.
She'd read up to the latest written part, so there must be more to the story by now.
A deliveryman and witch committing outrage right beside the sleeping apprentice witch.
It had ended at the scene where the apprentice stirred—what would happen next?
"......"
Diana wrestled with inner conflict.
It was lewd literature far from refined tastes, so she should steer clear.
Moreover, digging into her mother's secret hobby didn't seem right.
But the addictive, soap-opera pull of curiosity about what came next—and her first glimpse into male-female relations—was more than enough to tempt her.
Mother should be asleep by now.
Diana grabbed her slippers and blanket, slipping quietly out of her room.