Chapter 456
Chapter 456
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 456
Chapter Title: Travel (5)
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1.
After their fresh, innocent kiss, the two naturally pulled apart.
Well, it was hardly natural.
Amelia had suddenly startled and shoved Si-woo away.
"S-Sorry..."
Amelia stared at her hands, then at Si-woo, flustered as if shocked by her own actions. Her pale face had turned bright red, and she couldn't stand still, swaying left and right as if someone were tugging at her.
She looked just like someone drunk.
"Did I do something wrong?"
"No! Absolutely not! It was great! It was just..."
When Si-woo asked worriedly, Amelia frantically waved her hands and shook her head.
It was the most emphatic denial imaginable, but seeing her use such grand gestures for the first time felt refreshingly novel.
"......"
Amelia seemed about to explain something to Si-woo but gave up, clamping her mouth shut like a clam and bowing her head deeply.
It had been a while since he'd seen the crown of her head.
Between the thin, radiant golden waterfall of hair cascading down, her pointed ears poked up, flushed bright red.
Of course, the Amelia in his memories wasn't lacking in sexual knowledge, but she'd always maintained an exceedingly chaste demeanor regardless.
Even back when she was the caretaker, if he'd told her, "You're going to kiss Amelia in the future?" she wouldn't have been able to imagine it.
Such a sudden advance must have caught her off guard.
Especially so soon after their reconciliation.
"Looks like we got a bit carried away..."
"It's not your fault, Si-woo. I'm the one who should apologize for pushing you away so suddenly."
The two faced each other and politely bowed their heads in apology.
When they looked up, Amelia was combing through her hair with her fingers, brushing away the awkwardness.
He'd smugly thought he had quite the track record with women by now.
But watching Amelia's endearingly innocent reaction, fresh as if it were her first kiss, made him feel sheepish too.
"Ahem... So, shall we grab some breakfast?"
"Sure...!"
To change the mood, he casually suggested it, and Amelia eagerly latched on.
"If there's anything special you'd like, just let me know. The hotel restaurant here is supposed to be good."
Amelia answered almost immediately.
"Steamed kimchi."
"Pardon?"
Amelia was a Gehenna native, and Gehenna itself was steeped in a thoroughly Western diet, so he'd expected something more European. Steamed kimchi out of nowhere was surprising.
"It's food from your hometown, right?"
"Ah."
During that distant second adolescence of his, he'd once casually asked Amelia to make it for him without much thought.
They'd gone shopping together for ingredients, and she'd toiled in the kitchen, but the result hadn't been great.
Si-woo had forced it down pretending it was fine, but Amelia might have noticed.
"Sounds good."
Her remembering that time made a corner of his heart warm with gratitude.
2.
On the way to a nearby steamed kimchi place rumored to be delicious, he diligently explained the modern world to Amelia as best he could.
Si-woo had been dragged to the absurd witch city and seen all sorts of wonders, but Amelia must be experiencing a cultural shock beyond comparison.
And for good reason. Gehenna's overall atmosphere was that of the "past."
Whether it was the academy resembling Versailles or a market straight out of a fantasy game village, he'd at least had indirect exposure.
But what about the modern world?
To Amelia, this place was the perfect future.
Seeing her anxious yesterday, he'd resolved to explain even more carefully.
"That over there is the National Assembly building. It's ugly, right? But despite appearances, it's a central government office. Unlike Gehenna, Korea has separation of powers—executive, legislative, and judicial branches are distinct."
"...Yes."
Si-woo introduced the eyesore of a building standing by the riverside, ruining the night view—a prime example of architectural failure for any student.
He couldn't skip it while touring Yeouido.
"Oh, and that's a bus. Like the cars I mentioned earlier, it runs on fossil fuels. Think of it as a horse-drawn carriage with an internal combustion engine. But it's bigger, not for personal ownership, and follows fixed routes to help citizens get around. Of course, you pay a fare."
"...Yes."
He tailored his explanations to Amelia's level with apt examples, putting real effort into it.
"Lady Amelia."
"...Yes."
But something was off with Amelia.
She responded, but her voice sounded half-dazed.
Until now, he'd thought she was just distracted.
Even Si-woo would zone out similarly when hearing groundbreaking papers from renowned mathematicians at conferences.
But no, this was clearly her mind wandering.
"Lady Amelia."
"...Yes."
A spaced-out Amelia was a rare sight.
He couldn't help wanting to check on her.
"Lady Amelia, do you ever drink tea through your nose?"
"No."
"Ah, so you are listening."
He tossed out a light joke, but Amelia just looked up at him with a puzzled expression, as if wondering why he'd ask that.
Even though he'd meant it as playful banter.
Come to think of it, he couldn't recall ever seeing Amelia smile broadly.
Her default was a mask-like blank expression.
Even when she smiled, only the corner of her mouth twitched slightly—no real change.
At this point, making her laugh like in a romance manga felt like a worthy goal.
"Do you drink tea through your nose, Si-woo?"
"Not really... You seemed distracted, so I was joking around a bit."
"Joking...?"
"Sorry if it upset you."
"No, it's not upsetting at all."
After that, Amelia and Si-woo resumed walking toward their destination.
"......"
In truth, Si-woo's hunch that Amelia was distracted had been spot on.
Until his random remark snapped her out of it, her mind had been a hurricane sweeping through a blooming rose garden.
The aftertaste of the kiss lingered.
Even closing her eyes brought back the hot, soft sensation on her tongue tip, the thick hand wrapped around her waist.
It felt like thousands of balloons were tied to her waist, lifting her up.
The modern streets, once alien and intimidating, now seemed dreamlike. Even the firm, orderly bricks felt soft and pliant.
She was so elated she might start skipping if she let her guard down.
"We're here."
This steamed kimchi place was from a blog, boasting an 80-year tradition.
The recent remodel left it with a clean setup.
No matter how much Park Young's talisman blurred the user's presence and image, perfect shielding like an orrery was nearly impossible.
A balding middle manager wiping sweat from his brow entered a diner, followed by a stunning blonde he'd never seen before—naturally, it caused a stir.
Thankfully, the talisman and partitions did their job; the commotion died down quickly once the waiter took their order.
By then, Amelia, who'd been floating in her own cloud kingdom, had calmed a bit too.
The stimulating food smells assaulting her nose and the bustling restaurant atmosphere helped settle her.
"Lady Amelia, mind if we talk about something more practical?"
Si-woo ventured, gauging her mood.
The new fines and reparations imposed on her were astronomical—four digits before "hundred million pounds." An eye-watering sum.
No matter how satisfying the moment, if she couldn't pay within ten years, imprisonment would lead to exile—a horrific fate.
"Something practical?"
Practical talk after their dramatic reconciliation and sweet kiss...
Was it about marriage?
Bathed in girlish bliss, her serotonin surging in a high, Amelia jumped to a whimsical conclusion. She straightened up and met Si-woo's eyes seriously.
"I'm ready."
Si-woo hesitated at her oddly resolute aura.
Then he spoke the words he'd prepared.
"It's just... that's a huge amount of money. I want to help, and I should know exactly how things are progressing."
"Ah... that."
Amelia grasped the situation as his words ended.
Her inflated expectations deflated like a punctured rubber duck.
In a way, it was a relief.
Her rationality, which had felt ready to fly away at any moment, settled back into place.
"You don't need to help, Si-woo. It's my mess."
"I want to. I may not be much help, but I want to anyway. What's the current situation? At least tell me that much."
Si-woo's unexpectedly earnest gaze.
She could feel his genuine intent to help, not just lip service, filling her with joy once more.
She laid out the rough details for him.
"I've decided to sell the Merigold estate in Ars Magna Town. Including the surrounding land, I should get about 8,000 pounds."
Plus the rest of her inherited assets:
5,000 pounds in cash at the gold bank.
About 10,000 pounds from magic items and artifacts unrelated to Merigold's autonomic magic.
2,000 pounds from various artworks.
1,000 pounds from pastureland northeast of Tarot Town.
4,000 pounds from villas scattered around Gehenna.
Si-woo mentally tallied as she spoke.
Amelia's total fines and reparations: 212,000 pounds.
Her liquidated inheritance: roughly 30,000 pounds, or about 24 billion won.
Shortfall: even trimming scraps, 180,000 pounds—1.44 trillion won. Monstrous.
The numbers hadn't budged.
In truth, what old Merigold left Amelia barely matched an average witch in Lenormand Town's wealth.
Vast sums had gone to her treatment.
Enough for magic research without issue and a luxurious life forever—but puny against cosmic debt.
"......"
Si-woo felt darkness closing in.
Not hopeless, but the path ahead looked grueling.
Sharon, in a similar bind, earned 1.3 billion over ten years to pay off 100 million principal...
At least no interest on the fine—small mercy?
"Don't worry too much."
"Hard not to..."
"I'm going to sell perfume. I've ordered the materials and tools... Should be ready to work by tomorrow."
Amelia's perfume.
Even Gehenna's wealthy witches couldn't buy it— but could it cover the debt?
As Si-woo pondered dubiously, their ordered steamed kimchi arrived.