Chapter 408
Chapter 408
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 408
Chapter Title: Council of Fair Distribution
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1.
Twins, Sharon, my master, and even Periwinkle.
I hadn't managed to visit the Yesod Count, but I was able to somewhat vent my desire to express my gratitude, and we parted ways.
After that, Siwoo set out to find Amelia.
The reason her turn had been pushed back to the very end was that he, too, couldn't quite figure out what face to make when seeing her.
As such, he'd kept putting off meeting her, shoving those difficult emotions to the back burner like they were low priority.
However, he soon ran into a snag.
At that point, whether it was apologizing for having spoken too harshly or whatever else, shouldn't he at least see her face and have a proper talk first?
But despite his best efforts, Amelia was nowhere to be found anywhere in Gehenna.
Not in the cabin in the gulpinu tree forest where they'd spent time together.
Not in the lodging provided to her back when she was an associate professor.
He'd even checked the Merigold estate in Ars Magna Town, but there were no traces of her anywhere.
This marked the third time he was visiting the empty cabin.
Siwoo ran his hand over the table—pristine without a speck of dust despite having sat vacant for quite some time thanks to the preservation magic—with complicated feelings swirling in his chest.
He felt a profound emptiness.
Siwoo, regressed to his childhood by the Kether Duke.
Every corner his gaze touched brought back memories of the happy days he and child-Siwoo had spent with Amelia, blooming vividly.
The table where they'd eaten together.
The armchairs by the fireplace where they'd sat side by side reading books.
The desk where she'd taught him as he recovered his magical knowledge.
It hadn't been a particularly long time, but every moment was precious.
That's why, when he'd regained all his memories...
When affection and fondness clashed against resentment and rage...
He felt that same intense love-hate all over again.
The Amelia in Siwoo's memories was the nitpicking boss who'd hounded him relentlessly over his refusal of night duty.
She'd even grabbed him by the scruff right before his escape attempt to stop him.
At the same time, she was taciturn yet quick to tears, prickly on the surface but hopelessly inept underneath.
She was a kind mother and sister figure... and the woman he'd harbored feelings for.
Time dilutes emotions.
Her words that she'd once uttered—'Even if you regain your memories, can't you find it in you to forgive me?'
What had sounded so cowardly and repulsive back then... he could now understand a little.
What remained for Siwoo now was a bitterness, regret, and a touch of lingering complexity toward Amelia.
Why hadn't Amelia come looking for him again?
Why hadn't she made any attempt at conversation?
Had that cold gaze she'd fixed on him the moment they reunited made him close off his heart and turn away?
The budding questions poked at his heart.
Like a thorn embedded in his fingertip—not hugely painful or bothersome, but always there.
Today, that thorn felt especially prickly and rough.
"...Haa..."
Siwoo let out a sigh as he closed the door.
2.
After the worst reunion imaginable.
Amelia had returned to Gehenna with Clara.
Clara had practically half-carried her along, as Amelia wore an utterly hollow expression like everything had crumbled around her.
"......"
Amelia stared blankly into empty space.
She refused food when Clara offered, tea when Clara suggested that.
She sat at her desk as if meaning to conduct some magical research, pen in hand over paper that hadn't gained a single word in days, lost in a daze.
She'd been in that state ever since arriving back in Gehenna and staying at Clara's mansion.
No mention of needing to go hunting or anything of the sort.
It must be hard for Amelia.
Clara had been watching over Amelia for a very long time.
She'd saved her from a suicide attempt, comforted her, cheered her on, and waited patiently until Amelia could open up about her own pain.
Amelia was clumsy.
She seemed the epitome of a strong, arrogant witch at first glance, but deep down, she was a fragile child.
Without someone explaining it to her, she didn't even know what her own emotions were, and without anyone to lean on, she'd run off alone, sealing away her heart and burying her feelings.
Even that, she did poorly.
Such an Amelia had taken on the kill list to keep the life of Shin Siwoo—revived by the Kether Duke—going.
If this duty had involved desperate life-or-death battles, the burden on her conscience might have been lighter.
After all, 'kill or be killed' makes for a very, very effective excuse.
Unfortunately, however, Amelia was far too strong.
And her heart was far too fragile.
Most hunts weren't fights—they were executions. Amid the inevitable slaughter, what propped up her crumbling spirit was a deeply selfish hope.
'If he knew how hard this was, maybe he'd forgive me.'
A cold assessment? It was pointless busywork.
Conflicts between people can't be resolved without communicating your feelings or explaining the situation.
They're not connected by some divine psychic link like aliens.
Lacking the confidence to be forgiven right away, she was using atonement as an excuse to pile up guilt on the person she'd reunite with someday.
It was self-flagellation banking on someone else's kindness—little more than mental masturbation.
And not long ago, even that desperately built-up hope had been shattered.
Ever since that day she faced the unconscious Shin Siwoo.
That faint hope of possible forgiveness had shattered into pieces like a dropped glass.
Misunderstandings born of failed communication, layered with even more misunderstandings on top.
Like misaligned gears, one misalignment begets another.
Clara didn't mock any of it.
Her anguish, her foolishness, the abject sorrow stemming from it.
Being able to savor it all up close was an ecstatic experience no fine liquor could compare to.
"Amelia."
Clara—no, Lilith—
loved that pain, that torment, the self-pity, regret, anguish, and self-contradiction to no end.
It pried open the gaps they created.
It parasitized through the holes in her shattered, smoke-blackened heart.
"Won't you talk with me a bit?"
That was the Whispering Witch's ultimate formula for dominating another witch.
3.
The reception room of the Jemernai estate had gathered two witches and two apprentice witches.
Sharon Evergreen.
Eloa Tiphereth.
Odil Jemernai.
Odet Jemernai.
Having shared her heart with Siwoo and received his firm answer, Eloa had gone to Sharon to report it.
Whatever the circumstances, the stone had rolled her way, so she first informed Sharon—who had comforted and empathized with her all this time—of the truth.
Of course, she made it clear: 'I'm content just being by his side; I have no greed for more.'
It would be a lie to say she felt no greed at all, but as a shameless master, she had no grounds to monopolize him.
Sharon wasn't surprised or regretful in the slightest.
She hugged Eloa and rejoiced as if it were her own affair.
Sharon understood the anguish Eloa must have gone through, after all.
Unlike how Sharon and the twins shared each other's secrets, Eloa's secret had only been shared through Sharon, and under the peace treaty they'd forged with the twins, they'd come together for this venue of information sharing and meetings.
"Hello, Duchess Tiphereth."
"She's really a duchess..."
"Feels like the first time we're all together like this."
"Sharon sis, we've eaten together a few times, haven't we?"
Eloa's mouth hung half-open.
In truth, when Sharon had said Siwoo's other lovers included 'the twins too,' she'd naturally assumed they meant the Jemernai Count.
He had the full backing and support of the Jemernai count family, after all.
Sure, Sharon using 'twins' instead of 'Count' was a bit odd, but logically speaking, that made far more sense.
"...I wonder if I misunderstood something..."
Facing the adorable apprentice witches of the Jemernai count family and realizing his lovers were in fact apprentices, Eloa couldn't hide her bewilderment and embarrassment.
It made her want to blurt out, 'Where is your master?'
"...Looks like someone needs a scolding."
The vessel—an emblem of succession—must never be sullied, and the surest way to taint it was with a man.
No matter how beloved a disciple Siwoo was, touching apprentices wasn't right, she thought.
"I was surprised at first too..."
As Sharon gave a wry smile of understanding,
the twins chimed in.
"It's fine. We've thought it through. We're sharing our love with the assistant in our own safe way."
"Odet! How can you just blurt that out?!"
"Sis, but we all agreed to open our hearts honestly today, right? Hiding it would be the weird thing."
In truth, Eloa hadn't heard anything after 'sharing our love!'
Secondary shock.
Siwoo was having physical relations with apprentices?
Then how?
"No way..."
Eloa had already witnessed Siwoo going at it intensely with Periwinkle from behind once before.
So she quickly arrived at the answer.
"Nothing to be ashamed of. It was the only way..."
"Exactly, exactly."
For supposedly having no shame, their exaggerated gestures and flushed faces betrayed their true feelings plainly enough.
But the women here all loved Siwoo.
Whatever their methods, Eloa had no business meddling.
"How about we start by having a drink and chatting?"
"Sounds good! We prepared some wine."
"It's the famous delicious vintage from the Mendel Hills!"
They all poured drinks into glasses and lightly clinked them.
Sharon spoke first.
"Truth be told, the reason we're gathered like this... Siwoo's not the decisive type, right? And yet he's such a playboy."
"So Sharon sis and us made some rules to share the assistant."
"To avoid pointless fights."
It was thanks to these occasional meetings that Sharon and the twins got along so harmoniously without major clashes.
Borrowing Odil's naming sense, they'd dubbed it the 'Council of Fair Distribution.'
The topics discussed at this gathering were...
"Today's council agenda: the date order and scheduling for this Harvest Festival."
...something utterly mundane like that.
Eloa, glancing around thinking it some kind of drinking-game joke amid the serious atmosphere, spotted Sharon and the twins utterly earnest.
And she understood.
This council may have been formed to prevent petty squabbles, but it didn't restrict friendly rivalry.
"I'll speak first as Odil. We're twins—we count as one. If we divide time by faction, our time together with the assistant gets halved, so factoring that in, we should get double the time of Sharon sis and Duchess Tiphereth."
"That's right. Sis is absolutely correct."
The twins' argument boiled down to this:
Say you divide a pizza into three big slices. The twins would split one slice between them.
Thus, dividing into four and giving the twins two slices would be fair.
"Sharon, I rebut. The Harvest Festival is a special event that only happens three days out of the year. Sure, while Siwoo's paying attention to Miss Odil, he'll have less for Miss Odet and vice versa—but since they're together, it's hard to equate that to completely separate time slots. Moreover, by that logic, Miss Odil and Miss Odet would claim half of everyone's time with Siwoo."
Sharon's counterargument:
Unlike a pizza slice that crumbles if split, being nearby allows for emotional bonding and interaction, making it valid time.
Eloa had been dragged into this council in a daze.
She blinked at the serious debate before joining in.
"I have something to say as well."
When it came to cherishing Siwoo and wanting to be with him, she was second to none of these three.