Chapter 465
Chapter 465
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 465
Chapter Title: Interlocked Hands
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1.
After bidding farewell to his master, Si-woo hurried after Amelia.
The destination of Amelia, who had bolted out with such an expression on her face, was obvious as reading her palm.
Amelia's birdcage—the cabin in the gulpi tree forest.
He could have used a coordinate transfer spell to reach the cabin in an instant, but he chose not to.
The path from Malkuth Gallery to the gulpi tree forest was nothing but vast plains turned into fields, overgrown with pampas grass and a crooked trail winding between them.
Using magic might only lead to them missing each other needlessly, but more than that, even if he caught up to her, he had no idea what to say. He was in a truly awkward state.
"Who can I blame for this?"
Odil, Odet, Sharon, his master.
It was impossible to choose just one—they were all equally precious connections and lovers.
He might feel sorry toward all four of them, but harboring any regrets was out of the question.
If only he'd been as adept at handling women's hearts as Takasho, or had some techniques up his sleeve, maybe he could have smoothed things over more gently.
Of course, there was no guarantee the relationships would have turned out like this, but seeing his own pathetic behavior made the thought come naturally.
As he trudged along, sighing deeply,
a golden silhouette came racing toward him from afar at tremendous speed.
In the twilight field where starlight served as streetlamps,
she charged through the pampas grass.
At first, he was just startled.
It was unmistakably Amelia.
But he'd never seen her running so frantically like this.
Could a Public Enemy have appeared in the forest?
If it was one that even Amelia had to flee from, Si-woo wouldn't stand a chance.
As he blinked in surprise, debating whether to cast a spell, Amelia sliced through the field like the wind and came to an abrupt halt twenty paces away.
Tear stains lingered untouched around her eyes and cheeks.
His lips parted, but a inexplicable guilt kept them from moving.
Yet the moment his gaze took in her entire face, he sensed something had changed.
He understood why she'd fled upon seeing Eloa.
He could imagine the emotions she'd felt, and why she'd run.
So he'd thought she was just crying.
Just sad.
"Si-woo."
But no.
The stubborn mask that had hidden her true feelings had crumbled.
The fragility that seemed ready to collapse at the slightest touch, the wavering—it was all washed away with her tears.
In its place shone a brilliance more radiant than starlight fallen to earth, paired with a genuine smile.
Amelia approached Si-woo slowly.
The breeze rustled the pampas as her lush golden hair whipped about.
What shift in her heart had brought this on?
Amelia wrapped her arms around the bewildered Si-woo in a tight embrace.
She held him so fiercely it stole his breath, then pressed her ear to his heartbeat.
"I'm sorry for acting like such an idiot."
Her voice, now softened considerably, allowed Si-woo to relax his shoulders a bit.
He cautiously raised his hand and placed it on her head.
"You're not the idiot. I couldn't conduct myself properly."
After holding him for a long while, Amelia gently released him and looked up at him from where she stood.
"Si-woo, I have a favor to ask."
"Anything."
"Will you slap my cheek?"
"...Pardon?"
It was an utterly out-of-the-blue request.
He even heard it as, "Will you let me slap your cheek?"
Considering the context, that version made more sense, even.
Yet here she was, gazing at him romantically with slightly moist eyes, asking to be slapped.
Amelia still had her unpredictable side.
"Understood."
Si-woo leaned his face forward.
As his face drew near, Amelia swallowed and tilted her head, finally realizing he'd misunderstood.
One of the pieces of advice her master had left her.
"If you meet someone who makes your heart race, hug them with all your might." She'd just successfully carried that out.
Next was the second piece.
"If they've done wrong, slap their cheek hard and kiss them." But that didn't apply here—Si-woo hadn't done anything wrong.
So the order left was for Amelia to get slapped and Si-woo to kiss her.
To leave no regrets between them, to love even more passionately in this moment.
Amelia had found her own answer to the dilemma she'd put off for so long.
About her master's feelings, and about her relationship with Si-woo.
With her exhilarated heart, surging emotions, and clumsy way of expressing herself, it led to this somewhat offbeat conclusion.
"Si-woo, no. You need to slap my cheek."
"Me?"
"Yes."
Si-woo recoiled in shock, staring at her with eyes full of utter incomprehension.
Asking out of nowhere to be slapped.
Without knowing the backstory, nothing about it made sense from start to finish.
But incomprehension didn't mean he couldn't respond.
"I can't."
"Why...?"
He didn't know the reason—and even if he did, asking to be slapped?
That was a line he couldn't cross.
To such a Si-woo, Amelia clutched his hand and pleaded once more.
"I want you to slap my cheek and kiss me."
"......"
"Is that okay?"
Si-woo looked at Amelia with a troubled expression.
It wasn't the request itself that troubled him, but rather that he simply couldn't bring himself to hit her.
Still, she was pleading so earnestly—there must be some backstory he didn't know.
"Just once?"
"Yes."
There wasn't the slightest hint of her backing down.
With a sigh, Si-woo raised his hand, and Amelia closed her eyes tightly, like a condemned prisoner awaiting execution.
Her ridiculously serious expression drew a wry chuckle from him—what on earth was this all about?
-Tap
"Here."
Si-woo fulfilled her wish by placing his hand against Amelia's cheek.
It was far closer to a caress than a slap, causing her eyes to widen in circles.
"I have no idea why you're asking this all of a sudden... but there's no way I could hit you."
"......"
Amelia's gaze suddenly turned teary.
Her face was etched with bewilderment and surprise at this unexpected turn.
Si-woo grasped her soft cheek and tilted his head.
He truly had no desire to hit her, but kissing her? That he could do anytime.
That was his mindset.
2.
For once, the mood was good, but Si-woo and Amelia's perfume tycoon saga wasn't over yet.
The two returned to the workshop, where the cleaned and deodorized distiller awaited reactivation.
In the meantime, additional shipments had arrived—countless varieties of flower branches and fresh fruits piled neatly in the warehouse, welcoming them.
Excluding animal-derived perfumes, it seemed they planned to extract everything themselves.
"Hm..."
Si-woo sorted the flowers separately while stealing glances at Amelia, who was diligently inspecting the distiller.
Amelia hadn't said a word about what happened in the cabin.
But one thing was clear: she had changed.
Her face showed no particular emotion, as usual, but there was an oddly overflowing vitality and energy.
She looked far more unburdened than during their travels together—it was more than surprising; it left him stunned.
So when Amelia finished her checks and waddled over, he masked his embarrassment with something like, "New Year's almost here."
Two days until the new year.
For Si-woo, it had been an incredibly eventful year.
Recovery from his vegetative state, return to the present world, meeting Sharon, reuniting with his master, the Sochitl uproar, Takasho's host club part-time gig.
His various mishaps with the Yesod family, the Takasho rescue and Bianca subjugation, that bizarre night with Deneb Jemernai.
Amelia's rampage, its suppression, and their dramatic reconciliation.
If he distilled all his past lives into the machine, it wouldn't yield an extract as rich and potent as this year's experiences.
Naturally, as the end of the year approached, his emotions ran deeper.
"Do you have plans, Si-woo?"
"Not yet."
In truth, the twins and Sharon probably all wanted to spend New Year's with him...
But telling that to Amelia—who had just swallowed her tears and run off—was awkward.
"Really?"
"Yeah, nothing set in stone."
Amelia responded with something unexpected.
"I can handle the extraction alone. Spend time with your lovers."
He was so shocked he hadn't expected her to say that.
Especially from Amelia, who moments ago had been hurt by seeing Eloa and had always avoided mentioning Si-woo's other lovers.
"I want you to spend precious time with your precious people. Don't worry about me."
It wasn't forced bravado or anything.
Amelia seemed just as she always was, utterly serene.
But blurting out "Sure!" would be foolish.
He didn't feel that way at all.
"You're a precious person to me too, Amelia."
He personally thought such lines didn't suit him at all.
Still, he wanted to say it.
"......"
Amelia, who had been tidying a pile of jasmine flowers on the verge of collapse, stared straight at Si-woo.
Then she narrowed her eyes, smiled softly, and replied.
"I know. You're precious to me too, Si-woo."
It was such a beautiful smile—one that made him realize she could make expressions like this—that he was at a loss for words.
Si-woo struggled to maintain his composure as he answered.
"So don't worry. Time with you is important to me too."
"Thank you for saying that."
After that brief exchange, it was back to work.
Jasmine, sweet alyssum, lavender dandelion, orange blossom, dark shepherd's purse fruit, iris, nutmeg, black pepper, vanilla, salvia, and more.
A staggering amount of ingredients remained to be extracted.