Chapter 417
Chapter 417
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 417
Chapter Title: Happy Days (4)
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Even as dawn broke, Diana lay awake.
She was far too furious.
Pitiful for her mother.
There simply wasn't enough time to tremble with rage over the betrayal by the man she had trusted.
"Insolent...! Insolent...! Insolent...!"
Diana gnawed viciously at the corner of her pillow, spewing forth her resentment in thick streams.
Though her sex education had begun with her mother's rather explicit sensual novels, Diana had been drilled endlessly on the proper conduct of a noble lady, so her views on chastity were staunch and unwavering.
A man and woman who have shared their bodies must marry.
Wasn't that the most obvious common sense?
Even that devilish delivery boy who had initially treated witches like playthings had ended up engaged to one.
"Poor Mom..."
Despite offering her body to Si-woo, her mother had been coldly discarded.
Even after being forced into such vulgar acts as spanking.
And indulging in his perverse, lowly fetishes besides.
Sensual novels described such shameless, immoral, and utterly heinous acts in one phrase:
Eat and discard.
Poor Mother had been toyed with by Si-woo, defiled, and tossed aside like a bitten apple.
That pity and sympathy soon twisted into hatred and contempt for Si-woo.
"He even took my first kiss... Made me think he was cool..."
What made Diana even more heartbroken wasn't just the way her mother had been treated.
It was the fact that the man responsible was Shin Si-woo—the first one she had ever acknowledged and taken an interest in.
He had even rescued her from danger once.
She had already incurred a debt of gratitude toward the very man she wanted to hate with all her might.
That infuriated her to no end.
In the end, Diana spent the night sleepless, grinding her teeth until daybreak.
That was when the door opened, and Lucy Yesod entered, holding a candle.
"Oh my, my dear daughter. Did I wake you?"
"M-Mom..."
The barely suppressed sorrow and heartache burst forth the moment she saw her mother.
Diana said nothing, only shedding thick tears like chicken droppings.
Lucy rushed over in a panic.
"Oh dear! Did you have a nightmare? Come here, my girl. Why are you crying?"
"No... It's not..."
Lucy leaped onto the bed and scooped Diana into her arms, stroking her hair over and over.
But Diana couldn't bring herself to tell her mother the truth.
Her mother, whom she respected more than anyone, would learn that she had shown an unseemly side to her daughter.
And above all, that she had delayed the succession through her indolent ways.
Knowing her mother's personality, it would only hurt her more.
Partings inevitably came, but for witches and their apprentices, the greatest sorrow was having to choose the time of parting with their own hands.
"Mom..."
"What's wrong, my dear? Shall we sleep together? Or take a bath? Would you like me to sing you a lullaby?"
So Diana simply rubbed her cheek against her mother's soft bosom and said,
"Mom, I love you so much."
A rare show of affection from Diana.
She was an apprentice witch clumsy with expressions, unable to convey her deep love for her mother adeptly.
But today, she just had to say it.
"Oh..."
Lucy Yesod blinked in slight surprise at her daughter's demeanor.
She hugged Diana tightly and said,
"What's brought this on? Must've been a scary dream. Mom's right here, so don't worry and get some good sleep. I love you too, my dear."
"Yeah... Stay with me. Always..."
"Of course, of course. Mom's not going anywhere."
Diana, who had pulled an all-nighter seething with hatred and was utterly exhausted,
realized just how on the verge of collapse she was the moment she nestled into the countess's warm embrace.
Clutching her mother's waist tightly, Diana fell into dreamland within a minute, breathing softly.
2.
"H-Hey, what're you doing here at the crack of dawn?"
Around one in the afternoon, after a quick sandwich lunch, Si-woo stopped by Rose Glass, Takasho's establishment.
Hosts were fated to work late nights, sometimes until dawn.
Takasho, who came out to greet him, rubbed his sleepy eyes and scratched his messy hair.
He looked like he'd just rolled out of bed.
"Just came to wet my whistle with some booze."
"Listen, I'm not some iron man like you who can pull all-nighters without batting an eye."
"Brought the good stuff. Come on in."
"I already drowned myself yesterday and my stomach's churning. More booze?"
"You don't know hangover soup?"
"What kinda crazy talk is that?"
Si-woo shoved Takasho—who recoiled, uncomprehending Korean culture—inside.
He had come to Takasho today for advice.
The guy was an expert on women's hearts; it'd be a crime to leave him out.
His offhand nonsense had proven useful more than once or twice.
"Yawwwn..."
Takasho slumped onto the sofa, yawning hugely and rubbing his eyes.
Instead of booze, Si-woo had brought spicy ramen he'd cooked himself as a hangover cure.
Takasho slurped it straight from the pot lid, and vitality returned to his eyes.
"So, brother, what's up?"
"What do you think love is?"
"My feelings for you in two words?"
Takasho grinned slyly, but seeing Si-woo's serious expression, he chuckled.
"Love advice, huh."
"Things are complicated, so I'm grasping at straws."
"Got it. Should I answer that cringey question first?"
Si-woo nodded, and Takasho pondered briefly before shrugging nonchalantly.
"Dunno. Love's like wanting to share your happiness with the other person, right? Somethin' like that."
He rubbed the tip of his nose awkwardly.
Si-woo was surprised, of course.
It wasn't like Takasho at all.
"Chosun boy, why the face?"
"Nah, it's just so... normal? I figured you'd say it's a woman you wanna impregnate."
"You can think that without love."
"Ah, right."
It was surprisingly convincing.
"When somethin' fun happens, you wanna do it together. See somethin' tasty, wanna feed it to her. Like that."
But that answer didn't quite cut it yet.
He got the sentiment, but it wasn't a guide for his current mess.
"Listen, Takasho. What would you do in my shoes?"
"What's your situation?"
"Just hear me out."
Si-woo spilled all his pent-up worries.
About the twins, Sharon, his master, Periwinkle, Lucy Yesod, and more.
About how he'd recklessly bedded them all, leading to this chaotic harem situation beyond repair.
This time, he held nothing back.
As the conversation went on, Takasho's bored expression hardened into shock.
Especially during the twins' story, he looked queasy; by the end, faint anger simmered on his face.
"You came here first thing in the morning to brag and rub it in? Wanna die?"
"I'm serious, asshole."
Takasho wasn't serious at all.
He sneered like he was looking at a con artist.
"You crazy bastard. You've got the countess's apprentice witch, big-titted girlfriend, one of Gehenna's three dukes, a rich hotel-owning madame, and another rich countess on the hook—and you're asking me what I'd do? Tell me how to handle that shit!"
"No, that's not..."
"Gotta torment me like this? Where's our friendship? You wanna see me lose my mind?"
Takasho spat in frustration.
"Wanna know how I feel? It's like a buddy who hit the hundred-million jackpot asks me—livin' hand-to-mouth—'Ugh... too much damn money, how do I spend it wisely?' You fuckin' Korean kimchi bastard."
"Hey, that's not what I—"
"How do all these witches fall for a bland loser like you...? When Hokkaido's hot-blooded hunk Mimaya Takasho is right here."
Takasho, having slurped down even the ramen broth, spoke in a slouched pose.
"What would I do? Build a castle first. Then fuck seventeen times a day inside till I drop dead of exhaustion! Fuck! Just imagining it makes me happy!"
Takasho, briefly aflame with jealousy, knew Si-woo's temperament well.
He knew why Si-woo had come agonizing like this.
They'd been tight for over five years.
A spineless guy like Si-woo would feel guilty toward those four women.
Plus, using 'research' as an excuse to sleep with Lucy Yesod was subtly nagging at him too.
"Well, that much was sincere. Now for the real talk. You'll sleep with the countess anyway, no matter what I say, right?"
"Why?"
"That Shin Si-woo of yours ain't gonna stand by watchin' someone die. And you already went full view-pounding with the madame. You can't ignore pussy, can you?"
Takasho lit a cigarette after pulling one out.
"Just accept you're fucked and dive in balls-deep. You feel like you have to anyway."
"Yeah."
"If it's to save lives, those four won't chew you out. Maybe a few slaps."
Takasho's blunt words cut through the vagueness, as always.
With Periwinkle's advice too, Si-woo finally resolved to stop beating around the bush.
"Gotta do it now. Thanks for the advice."
"Oh, and Si-woo."
Takasho added one last thing.
"I ragged on you 'cause I'm jealous as hell. But I think you deserve it. So start with a 5P."
Pure Takasho-style counsel.