Chapter 430
Chapter 430
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 430
Chapter Title: Chapter 430 - #91_메리 크리스마스(2)
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 430
Chapter Title: Merry Christmas (2)
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1.
Gehenna's grandest festival—one that witches, citizens, and even slaves would all agree on—is the Harvest Festival, standing in for Christmas.
For hundreds of years, Gehenna had preserved its traditions almost unchanged. Yet from the evening of the third Monday in December, it transformed into a dazzling spectacle for three full days.
Everyone set aside their duties, and even the witches barricaded in their private chambers burst out to join the merry revelry.
The Jemernai Count's mansion had received a fresh makeover to match the occasion.
Wall-mounted trees adorned the corridors, the carpets gleamed white like fresh-fallen snow, and the candelabras sparkled with vibrant, multicolored lights.
In the courtyard stood a massive fir tree rigged up like a towering centerpiece, twinkling with lanterns conjured from motley mana orbs.
Silver bells and miniature wands gleamed among the other ornaments, reflecting the lights to weave a scene of opulent splendor.
The Jemernai estate, renowned for its extravagance, naturally went far beyond that.
The main gallery brimmed with straw bale replicas offering thanks for bountiful yields, alongside displays of assorted fruit props. A massive taxidermied stag pulled a cart in one elaborate model.
Items that might otherwise come off as garish clutter were arrayed with impeccable aesthetic flair.
"Wow, it's decorated beautifully."
Siwoo took it all in as he strolled toward the rendezvous point.
This evening,
he had shared a feast with the twins, Sharon, his master, and the Jemernai Count herself.
The countess's hospitality had always been superb, but nothing had ever tasted quite so perfect.
The centerpiece was a turkey slow-roasted with lavish oil and butter basting, paired with cranberry jam—joined by a parade of rare ingredients from land, sea, and sky.
These weren't esoteric delights for refined palates alone; even Siwoo, with his plebeian tastes, found them comfortingly familiar and straightforward.
Afterward, they savored cognac together by the roaring fireplace, basking in cozy camaraderie.
Then came the individual date slots.
The schedule had been booked day by day: his master first, then Sharon, then the twins.
Eloa had drawn the slot from 10 p.m. until 8 a.m. the next morning.
It was all arranged without her input, but with so much guilt already weighing on him toward these four women, Siwoo couldn't exactly complain.
He threw himself into it wholeheartedly.
The meeting spot was the fountain in the Jemernai Count's garden, right by the private gate—specific enough, given how many fountains dotted the grounds.
Still, it was a date. Siwoo arrived dressed to the nines.
There, bathed in slanted moonlight as she gazed skyward while leaning against the fountain, was his master.
Her lovely pink hair was pinned up elegantly as always. Spotting him, she offered a soft smile.
"You've arrived."
"Yeah. Hope I didn't keep you waiting."
"As if."
"We could've come together, you know."
He said it aloud, but it sounded a bit silly even to him.
They'd all been together in the drawing room right up until he changed.
Siwoo padded over and took his place beside her.
"Setting the mood like this feels right, don't you think? There's meaning in meeting at the promised place, at the promised time."
As he drew near, Eloa shifted into a more demure posture.
It was their first proper date alone since they'd exchanged hearts.
They'd shared plenty of time together—even their bodies—but now that they'd crossed from master and disciple into lovers, every little gesture felt deliberate.
"Somehow... it feels just like always, but I'm still embarrassed."
Eloa tucked her chin into her mink stole to hide her smile.
But she couldn't do anything about the way her eyes crinkled so prettily.
Her heels kept lifting and settling—clear signs of anticipation.
"Ahem..."
Seeing his ever-dignified master buzzing like a girl on her first date made Siwoo feel sheepish too.
He hadn't planned anything extravagant. He worried whether he could escort her properly.
"Well then..."
"Well then..."
The words slipped out in unison, shattering the brief awkward hush.
"You go first."
"No, you first, Master."
They both froze—their phrasing identical—plunging them into another odd silence.
Eloa cracked first with a laugh.
Siwoo followed suit, and the tension melted away.
"If a date means two lovers spending time alone together, then this is our first."
"Yeah... even though we've spent so much time together already."
"That's exactly why I want to savor every little thing. As your lover, could I ask one favor?"
"Anything."
Eloa nodded, then hemmed and hawed for a long moment.
Finally, she spoke as if it were the hardest request in the world.
"May I... hold your hand?"
"......"
The sheer impact of her asking like that was beyond imagining.
He forgot to reply or even offer his arm.
Eloa took his hand gently between both of hers.
Their size difference mirrored their builds.
She caressed it tenderly, then laced their fingers and pressed it to her cheek.
"I've always wanted to walk like this, hand in hand with you."
His master beamed—a smile melting with happiness over something so simple.
"Finally granting a little wish."
"......"
"Will you come with me? There's a place I want to visit together."
Their date began, hands clasped tight.
2.
Ars Magna Town sat at Gehenna's heart, but geography kept it rather compact.
Strip away over half the area claimed by the Levana Grand Bathhouse, and it shrank to less than a quarter the size of Tarot Town.
Head northwest from the urban district housing spots like Flora's Tailor Shop, and you'd reach one of Gehenna's architectural marvels.
The Sky Garden.
It was the sole possession the Tiphereth Duke refused to sell—even after liquidating everything else to fund the Location Point's founding and upkeep.
Now off-limits to all, it spiraled upward via glass staircases toward the heavens, its gardens seemingly adrift in midair.
Season-defying flowers swayed as if murmuring prayers to the stars, while a balmy breeze—not at all wintry—tickled their cheeks.
Hand in hand, they ascended the vertiginous glass steps and wandered the garden's nooks under the moon's gentle glow.
From the elevated vantage, they spied Tarot Town far off in festive uproar, and the Sacred Mountain looming majestic through its veil of mist.
It felt like a fantastical dream.
"Gehenna's got pretty spots everywhere the more you see. It's incredible."
"Hehe, take your time looking around. I'll waive the entry fee just for you."
Siwoo had grown accustomed to wondrous sights, but he was certain nothing rivaled this garden brushing the sky itself.
Eloa, fidgeting with the hand she hadn't released once since linking it, spoke up.
"Siwoo, I'm about to embark on a long journey soon."
"What?"
"With the Kether Duke away, we're bracing for chaos from Public Enemies. I'll likely have to focus on hunting them down for the foreseeable future."
Siwoo had aimed for romance, what with the time and place.
His master's abrupt announcement threw him off balance.
"Master... so suddenly?"
"I've been gearing up for a while. I only dragged my feet because I hated leaving you."
Public Enemy hunts.
To honor Rafi's dying wish. For personal vengeance.
He'd long known she'd devoted her life to it.
Yet since the Coward Witch incident, she'd changed profoundly.
No more blind charges fueled by revenge; her smiles carried a newfound ease.
Public Enemies wreaked havoc on humanity.
Eradicating them was righteous—nay, a boon to justice itself.
But the heart played sly tricks.
He knew she wouldn't fall to any run-of-the-mill Public Enemy.
He knew it would save countless unknown lives.
Still, he wanted to stop her.
Wished she wouldn't go.
Or at least...
"I'll say it now: don't follow me."
"...I was just about to offer to help."
"I can't allow that."
Eloa squeezed his hand fiercely.
Her small grip conveyed unyielding resolve.
"It's not like the Coward Witch business. I can be a real asset to you now."
"This is just a precaution—I'm not doubting you. But I still can't permit it."
Siwoo wasn't bluffing.
He'd already taken down the formidable Public Enemy Bianca.
He'd even bested Eloa in a spar while she held back.
True, his unconscious self had pulled it off—but he'd powered up inexplicably afterward, and he trusted his growth trajectory.
If he were powerless, fine.
But when he could actually help, how could he let her tread that perilous path alone?
He tried to persuade her calmly.
Yet Eloa cut him off, as if denying even a foothold.
"I'm not saying you wouldn't help."
"Then why...!"
She halted abruptly mid-stride.
The spot they faced held a gravestone, its plaque engraved with "Rafi Tiphereth."
Ancient by all measures, yet pristine—no trace of moss, as if laid yesterday.
The sight jammed every rebuttal in his throat.
"You're the first I've brought here since burying Rafi."
"......"
Eloa released his hand softly and dropped to one knee before the stone.
She wiped its icy surface as if caressing her disciple's face.
Indescribable pathos dwelled in her eyes and fingertips.
"I wanted you here with me. Rafi would have been delighted."
"...That's playing dirty."
That simple gesture laid bare her every feeling.
Why she barred him from joining her.
The emotions driving her words.
Eloa hadn't forsaken her mission.
But she refused to drag Siwoo into her path of atonement.
He was the fragile hope blooming amid her life's ashes.
She couldn't risk losing him again.
"How can I argue now...?"
"That's not arguing. You're just worried for me."
To her cherished disciple. Her beloved lover. Eloa made her plea.
"I'd like to say hello to Rafi. Give me a moment? Don't wander far."
"...Got it."
As Siwoo turned away to light a cigarette, Eloa conversed with Rafi.
Tales of how she'd been faring, how much she'd missed her, how the world had shifted.
And stories of Siwoo.
Sometimes her voice warmed with smiles; other times, it quavered with heartbreaking sobs.
It was a night of starlight, beautiful in its stinging ache.
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