Chapter 462
Chapter 462
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 462
Chapter Title: Perfume (3)
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The newly acquired perfume shop was cramped.
Moreover, a bell hung at the front door on the first floor chimed cheerfully every time it opened or closed, making it harder to miss a customer's entrance.
That meant the two of them had been completely absorbed in each other.
"I knocked a few times on the first floor but got no answer, so I let myself in."
The person who entered with the knock was someone completely unexpected.
Countess Yvonne Kohav.
Her refined features and eyes the color of a latte with more milk than coffee were distinctive, but her most striking trait was her short bob haircut.
Orthodox witches usually had long hair.
The reason was simple.
These days everyone grew their hair out, but go back just 200 years, and lustrous long hair symbolized abundance and leisure for bourgeois daughters or nobles. Long hair demanded a tremendous amount of time and effort.
Over time, the connotation of leisure faded, but for long-lived witches bound by stuffy traditions, it remained a preferred style.
In that sense, Kohav's dyed jet-black bob was quite unique.
Kohav sensed the subtle atmosphere in the room the moment she entered.
Amelia Merigold, whom she had interrogated before, and Shin Si-woo, who had transplanted the prosthetic arm for her.
The two were exchanging sheepish glances that said, 'Why are you here?'
A man and woman alone late at night, in this kind of mood...
On top of that, the male witch Shin Si-woo had plunged into that chaos to rescue Amelia.
Normally, one might think of interrupting a lovers' moment, but that option didn't even occur to Countess Kohav.
Merigold Baroness already had a lover named Avenuga Baroness.
Their relationship probably dated back to when Si-woo was still a slave—a master-servant bond.
What a loyal slave, she thought, and left it at that.
Their relationship didn't really matter to her anyway, so she quickly dismissed the stray thought.
"What brings you here?"
Kohav opened her bag in response to Amelia's wary tone.
It contained various tools for tuning the prosthetic.
"The transplant isn't complete yet. I heard from Avenuga Baroness that you'd be here."
"Ah..."
After implanting the prosthetic, it needed check-ups and fine-tuning every other day, but Amelia and Si-woo's impromptu trip had caused them to miss it.
Si-woo hadn't heard about it beforehand either.
"It won't take long. Please have a seat."
Amelia relaxed at those words, showing relief mixed with complicated emotions, while Si-woo simply rolled up his sleeve.
Amelia excused herself to prepare tea and went downstairs, leaving Kohav and Si-woo facing each other alone in the room.
"Thank you for coming, even if it's late. I heard you treated my arm."
"It's not treatment—it's a transplant. And the Jemernai family paid the fee. I'm just doing the job they paid for."
Kohav replied curtly to Si-woo's thanks, pulling out electrode-like pads and long needles.
Her cool tone carried no malice; it seemed to be her natural demeanor.
In a moment of slight carelessness, Si-woo nearly screamed.
"Checking now. It might sting."
With that, Kohav plunged a large, sharp but slender needle straight into Si-woo's hand.
The needle, at least 30 cm long, pierced right through his left hand.
"How much does it hurt?"
Come to think of it, it didn't hurt at all.
Not only that—no blood flowed either.
Of course, since it's a prosthetic.
As he swallowed his unease at the aggressive test, wondering if it was really necessary, he answered.
"It doesn't hurt. Amazing."
"Doesn't hurt at all?"
"Yes."
"Not even a little?"
"No."
"..."
Countess Kohav stared at the needle before smoothly pulling it out.
She then rubbed her fingertip lightly over his palm.
"Does it tickle?"
"No, I've had no sensation since I woke up."
At that, Kohav furrowed her brow.
"Sensory linkage should be settling in by now. Have you used any intense magic since then?"
He'd only gone on a short trip with Amelia and worked a day at the factory—no intense magic.
When he explained honestly, Kohav's expression darkened.
"Is there a problem?"
"Wait here."
She spread a parchment with a magic circle on the table and placed Si-woo's hand on it, tilting her head.
Si-woo grew uneasy.
Doctors should consider how much that gesture burdens a patient.
"No linkage at all. Why...?"
"Please explain what's happening."
Surprised by Si-woo's calmer demeanor than expected, Kohav patiently explained the anomaly.
Countess Kohav's autonomic magic involved 'dolls.'
Like myths where humans are shaped from clay, her dolls were fired from clay.
She could craft 'porcelain prosthetic bodies' equal or superior to human ones, so making a mere prosthetic arm was child's play.
"After 48 hours post-transplant, it should have fused as part of your spirit body. I reconstructed the skeleton, major blood vessels, muscles, and mana circuits."
Even if male and female bodies differ, arms and hands don't vary that much.
The transplant had surely succeeded as usual, and the diagnostics showed no issues.
Except one thing.
The lack of sensory linkage.
"Same procedure, same conditions, and still no sensation—it doesn't seem to be my error. Have you noticed any unusual symptoms in your body lately?"
"Occasional headaches after using magic?"
Ever since his life-or-death battle with Bianca.
Si-woo's magic had advanced significantly.
But attempting high-level spells since then brought throbbing headaches.
He'd chalked it up to his skills outpacing his brain's adaptation...
"We'll monitor it for now. Diagnostics are clear. Next time, come to my estate directly. In five days."
"Understood."
As Kohav packed up, she paused as if remembering something unrelated to the treatment.
"Do you know Duke Erelim?"
"No. The trial was the first time I met her."
"...I see."
By the time Amelia returned with freshly brewed tea, Kohav had already finished and left, declining a cup.
Left alone again, Amelia and Si-woo.
"Si-woo..."
Her expression was like a puppy afraid of scolding.
Amelia called his name in a voice that sounded endlessly childlike, unlike her usual self.
Even sitting on the sofa, her knees were pressed tightly together, hands clasped between them.
She was agonizing over it.
Kohav had come because Amelia had injured Si-woo's arm, forcing her to confront her own fault.
"No issues. She said to visit in five days."
Understanding her feelings, Si-woo spoke first to stop her from brooding.
"Treatment's going smoothly. She said it's practically a new arm, not just a prosthetic."
"..."
But Amelia didn't sigh in relief with a 'That's good.'
She didn't smile.
No reply—just a lonely nod, her face full of wounds.
Then, a clamor of bells rang from the first floor.
Soon after, quick footsteps climbed the stairs.
The door burst open with familiar footsteps.
"Si-woo!"
The footsteps were familiar, indeed.
Pink hair and a familiar silhouette rushed in the moment the door opened—Eloa Tiphereth.
Eloa had left to investigate Gobi Desert after hearing from Sua Branch Chief.
When she found suspicious activity and contacted Sua, she learned of the upheaval in Gehenna.
And that Si-woo was caught up in it.
Eloa's choice was obvious.
She rushed straight to find Si-woo upon returning to Gehenna, without even changing clothes.
Albireo's assurance that he was fine now, or manners about barging into someone else's home—none of it crossed her mind.
Only the duty to confirm her disciple and lover was safe.
"You again! How is it you can't stand being out of danger for even a moment?!"
"M-Master...!"
Eloa hugged Si-woo tightly without warning.
Then came a machine-gun barrage of scolding laced with affection.
Perhaps because two incidents had happened in quick succession.
Her tone was sharper than usual.
'Charging blindly into trouble will get you killed someday!'
'If you're going to rely on your meager skills and act recklessly, better to live as a coward!'
The reprimands, harsher than she'd ever voice normally, suddenly cut off.
A choked, tearful voice followed.
"If something happened to you... what would I do...?"
Unable to contain her emotions, Eloa leaned in for a reunion kiss but froze.
Her narrowed vision had missed the person now in plain sight.
Lush, fine pale golden hair that would frizz without care.
Trembling pale blue eyes beneath delicate, aristocratic brows.
Amelia, whom she'd confronted Deneb Jemernai about after hearing Ea had been subjugated.
The very one responsible for dragging Si-woo into the massive incident in Tarot Town.
"...Merigold Baroness."
Amelia flinched at Eloa's stunned tone.
No time to correct that she was no longer a baroness.
Amelia wasn't stupid.
She knew Tiphereth Duke had rushed back from the mortal world because Si-woo was in danger.
As the culprit, she couldn't bring herself to correct Eloa's title.
Even without malice, Eloa's presence, her reason for returning, and the wrong title stabbed like a sharp thorn of self-reproach into Amelia's heart.
Amelia bit her lip.
Should she step out?
Make way for their reunion?
Or apologize to Si-woo's 'lover,' Tiphereth Duke, for endangering him?
Or stay and talk it out together?
The last was probably most proper.
She'd heard Tiphereth Duke and Si-woo were lovers amid his complicated relationships.
But knowing and seeing were different.
She couldn't stay composed.
Especially since they looked so much closer than her and Si-woo, who were just starting to get to know each other.
This was her lodging, yet she felt like an uninvited guest.
Jealousy toward Tiphereth Duke? Possessiveness over Si-woo? Defeat from feeling left behind? Or just inertia from her bad habit of fleeing awkward situations?
"I'll... bring some tea."
At Si-woo's call from behind, Amelia repeated the obvious excuse.
She chose to run, despising herself for the pathetic choice.
Amelia just wanted to cry.