Chapter 412
Chapter 412
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 412
Chapter Title: Harvest Festival (5)
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In the end, unable to even attempt a proper conversation, Siwoo let out a long sigh after being turned away at the door.
If he scraped together excuses, it was the Yesod Count who had first approached and seduced him.
And their subsequent physical intimacies had also come about through mutual agreement on magical research.
But would anyone buy it if he laid it all out straight like that?
Even so, no matter how much one could seek magical enhancement through intercourse, or how he couldn't share a bed anymore with a beautiful woman like the Yesod Count...
Siwoo figured it was time to wrap things up properly.
With a heavy heart, Siwoo knocked on the door.
It probably wouldn't be as bad as with Diana, but he doubted he'd get a warm reception from her either.
"Come in."
After the refined voice granted permission, he cautiously opened the door.
It was the countess's private study—the place where they had always studied together, and more recently, where they had shared heated nights of passion.
"It's been a while."
"It has."
"I heard you came to visit me while I was ill. Thank you."
She received his greeting bundled up tightly in thick woolen clothes, as if warding off the cold.
But the atmosphere was a bit different from usual.
A sense of distance, a clear gap in her welcome.
Based on the Yesod Count's patterns before they parted, it wouldn't have been odd for her to shower him with kisses the moment they reunited after so long.
Especially since he'd crossed life and death to return.
Yet there she sat in her spot, merely sipping from her cup of coffee.
"I want to say it's impressive. To be born a man, study magic alone, and use that magic to subdue even the Witch of Desire."
"You're too kind. It was all just good luck."
In truth, Siwoo found such praise a little awkward.
For one, what had dragged the fight into a stalemate wasn't really him, but his rampaging unconscious.
And Bianca, specialist though she was in tentacles and fornication, had made the mistake of trapping him in a narrow cage.
Even amid those blunders, without Amelia, Siwoo would've lost his life to her final counterattack—so he had no reason to puff up his chest.
"Excessive humility stops being humility. Siwoo, you'll go on to write new history in witch society. It's an achievement worth boasting about."
Anyway.
The reason he'd come to see her today wasn't for tutoring.
It was to clarify their future relationship—and to offer his own form of apology.
Even if their bond had started lightly with physical relations, if it was ending, shouldn't he at least observe the minimum courtesies?
He was just gauging the right moment to broach the subject when the countess spoke first, her lips parting.
"By the way, I was a little surprised."
"About what?"
"I had no idea you were hiding such a big secret."
"What secret?"
As her words circled around without diving straight to the point, Siwoo tilted his head in confusion.
"Siwoo, why didn't you tell me? That your lover is the Tiphereth Duke."
The Yesod Count's composed expression twisted slightly.
There was no displeasure or sense of betrayal.
Their encounters had been premised on flirtation and research from the start.
She already knew there were other witches by his side.
"Just so you know, I don't feel the slightest bit betrayed by it."
So the reason the countess was clutching her head and grimacing was precisely because his lover's official partner was the Tiphereth Duke, revered as a martial god.
"But Siwoo! If it was the Tiphereth Duke! You should've given me at least a hint!"
She possessed power befitting one of Gehenna's three noble titles.
Excluding Kether, no one had purged more witches with their own hands.
And most importantly of all, she was the straightest, most upright—and strictest—witch of them all.
"Your mentor! I never dreamed it could be her!"
The Yesod Count shot up from her seat and stood before Siwoo, demanding answers.
The faint shadows under her eyes seemed to speak volumes of her recent worries.
What witches pursued was elevating their Autonomic Magic to higher levels.
Thus, in Gehenna, noble titles didn't carry much weight among witches—at least not in the usual sense.
The titles themselves had been bestowed by Kether to reward those who helped establish early Gehenna with shares of influence, unlike modern cabinet positions with inherent privileges.
So differences like countess or duke didn't dictate hierarchies of power.
The Yesod family was one of the wealthiest in Gehenna.
By contrast, the Tiphereths teetered on financial instability; without support from a few admiring witches, they could've gone bankrupt overnight.
In worldly influence, the Yesods held the edge—so even against the Tiphereth Duke, she had nothing to fear.
But the Yesod Count had met Tiphereth before.
She knew what kind of person she was.
A perpetually stern expression and tone.
A vengeful spirit who madly hunted down Public Enemies and Homunculi to avenge her disciple's death.
Her violent prowess and blade-sharp gaze had cowed even Lucy Yesod herself.
"Was it really that big a deal?"
From their exchange, Siwoo realized what was worrying the Yesod Count.
Hadn't countless witches spoken of 'revering' the Tiphereth Duke?
Revere: respect and fear.
In short, even the Yesod Count feared her without exception.
It made sense, really.
Her mentor's actions could generously be called 'mini-Kether' behavior.
Siwoo had overlooked it lately, seeing only her faint smiles, but their first meeting had left him with impressions of a terrifying, unapproachable person.
"Of course! Didn't you say you're learning from the Tiphereth Duke? You know better than I do what kind of witch she is!"
"My mentor isn't that scary."
"Naturally she'd be gentle with you! Who acts harsh even with their lover..."
Frustrated, the countess thumped her chest, then gulped down what looked like scalding coffee to wet her throat before sighing and spilling her woes.
"Honestly, I can't say I handled it well. You told me outright you had a lover, and I pushed ahead anyway."
"I'm just as guilty. It's not all your fault."
"Still, I thought she was someone I could handle the fallout with. I even imagined our relationship gaining recognition someday. It's cowardly to say, but of all the possibilities, I never imagined it'd be the Tiphereth Duke..."
Even if she'd asked about his lover's identity back when they first got together, Siwoo would've named Sharon.
His memories had been restricted by his mentor's seal until then.
The countess, now nearly in despair mode, gripped his forearm tightly.
"You don't think she's found out, right? No, she couldn't have. She'd have come storming in already if she did."
"How about calming down a bit, Countess?"
"Calm down...? You really don't know the Tiphereth Duke at all."
"She's discerning, not just with me but in general. She doesn't lash out without reason."
Seeing her worry excessively, he explained upfront.
For his mentor's honor—who was probably scratching her itchy ear in blissful ignorance—he figured some clarification was needed.
"Really...?"
"Of course. She looks stern and rigid on the outside, but if you explain the situation, she'll understand. She won't even get mad."
To the Yesod Count, this was just the assessment from the duke's lover.
It might not be objective.
But the thick aura of trust in Siwoo's tone was enough to reassure her.
As if appraising his truthfulness, she stared deeply into his eyes with her crimson ones for a long moment, then let out a heavy sigh like a puppy needing to pee.
"...If that's true, then I'm relieved. I can't fully trust your words, but if even half is accurate, that's one weight off my shoulders."
Her legs giving out, she plopped back onto the sofa with a weary expression, exhaling long breaths repeatedly.
"We can't just go around doing bad things carelessly."
"Living upright does seem like the best way."
Siwoo sat across from her, sharing a wry smile.
Still, it lightened his burden a little.
Rejection burdens both the rejectee and the one who must declare the end.
It had started casually, but their messy entanglements had built some attachment—what if she took it badly?
But the conversation had veered toward 'let's end the affair.'
"While we're on the topic, what if we call our research here?"
Even so, he probed cautiously, gauging her reaction.
The 'research' naturally referred to studying mana amplification during ejaculation.
"Pardon?"
Her response diverged from his expectations.
"End... our meetings?"
"Not ending meetings altogether... just the sexual relations. For at least a minimum of propriety."
"How could we..."
Contrary to the easy flow up to a minute ago—where she'd fretted over the Tiphereth Duke's wrath—the countess reacted as if hit with sudden breakup news, utterly shocked.
"Research is important, but there are more important things..."
"No. Studying your body is extremely—vitally—important to me."
Her grave voice cut him off.
Before he knew it, the Yesod Count was staring straight through him.
Her posture conveyed not mere lingering lust, but a firm conviction.
"Look at this."
With a flick of her hand, a thick stack of documents flew from the table into her grasp.
She spread the analysis data before Siwoo with a rustle.
Though half-assed in parts, Siwoo was no longer the amateur mage of old.
He had foundational knowledge from peeking over shoulders.
He couldn't grasp everything she showed, but about half he could read.
"See? When we connect, you're not just charging me with mana. You're imprinting the circuits etched into your Stigma using that pure mana."
With fervent voice, she showed chaotic graphs and explained each item point by point—how his mana interacted with her Autonomic Magic during sex.
"Just as I thought."
"As you thought?"
Her words linked up, overlaying his current situation.
All the new spells added to Ain came from partners he'd ejaculated inside.
Yebin, Ea, Sharon, Eloa, Lucy.
Their Autonomic Magics had been copied to him.
Siwoo confided this fact, along with recent observations from his Memory Palace.
Convinced his hypothesis was correct, the Yesod Count clapped, eyes sparkling.
As if her earlier jitters had been a lie, she brimmed with energy.
"See! Siwoo! If we refine this properly, we might even achieve 'transference' of Stigmas! Apprentice witches could inherit without their predecessors dying! Of course, it'd require precise numerical adjustments and far more samples... but it would be revolutionary!"
"Ah..."
Siwoo realized too late.
Just as Diana didn't want Lucy to leave.
Lucy didn't want to leave Diana behind either.
In that bind, Siwoo was their sole lifeline out.
The Tiphereth Duke's frowns or resistance could wait.
"Siwoo, I'm begging you like this. Help with the research a little longer... I can't claim it's free of personal desire, but you are vital to me and Diana."
The countess clutched his hand desperately.
Any hint of refusal, and she'd strip and kneel on the spot.
"For now... alright."
It felt uneasy, but he wanted closure.
Yet if it wasn't mere lust, he couldn't coldly refuse.
Lives hung in the balance—how could he just cut it off?
"I'll talk to her about it."
"Thank you, thank you, Siwoo...!"
With reasoning like this, surely the four women would show some leniency.
Thinking so, Siwoo gave a positive sign for now.