Chapter 596
Chapter 596
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 596
Chapter Title: I'm Home (4)
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A long gallery far too opulent to serve as a duel venue.
Amid the fiercely clashing gazes, what Lurye felt was profound disappointment.
Both of them were glaring with rather sharp intensity, but their opponent was nothing more than an apprentice witch. For them to raise their hackles in earnest and brawl like that was already an affront to the queen's dignity.
Thus, Lurye sought to seize the initiative by exuding her lofty dignity. She assumed that the moment they heard her regal voice, they would naturally yield.
"This is the queen's presence. Kneel and show your respects."
Meanwhile, the twins—who had skipped piano practice to tease Pecha—found themselves face-to-face with Lurye.
Odil and Odet were utterly flustered at the sight of this bizarre character who had popped up out of nowhere.
Dark navy-blue hair crowned with a tiny tiara. Eyes of deep navy, gleaming darkly like the ocean depths. Not some elegant reinterpretation of ancient garb, but attire seemingly yanked straight from the past.
To put it bluntly, it was a tacky dress.
"Where have we seen her before?"
"No, first time."
'At some old party or ball in the past?' They racked their memories, but this was definitely a witch they'd never laid eyes on.
"She's an apprentice witch, right?"
"Yeah, sis. Looks like it."
From the mana aura wafting around her, that much was clear.
"Didn't you hear me? I declared this the queen's presence."
Irritated that they were whispering among themselves instead of reacting, Lurye snapped in a voice thick with vexation.
But her intimidation fell completely flat on the twins.
Apprentice witches were indeed weaker than full witches. Yet among Gehenna's renowned witches, none had ever treated Odil and Odet carelessly.
After all, the twins would soon inherit the Jemernai name, and no witch wanted to cross swords with a prestigious count family.
And to act like that in the front courtyard, where their master would rush over in ten seconds flat if trouble arose...
"Sis, something's off with her."
"What could it be? No reason to be scared—she's just an apprentice witch."
If anything, Lurye's brazen attitude only heightened the twins' wariness. 'Could she be the apprentice of some ridiculously powerful witch we don't know about?'
"Oh ho, even when you should be crawling on your knees to beg forgiveness for your irreverence, you still stand on two feet? You'll shed tears only after beholding the crown."
Her already peculiar speech, delivered in an overly deepened tone, came off as nothing but awkward theatrics to the twins. There were plenty of eccentric witches out there, but none quite as outrageously performative as this. Bewildered, the twins gaped at her, their expressions mirror images of each other—like decals.
"...Aha."
"...That's gotta be it, right sis?"
"Yeah."
"Sigh."
But about five seconds later...
They reached a conclusion.
An ego pumped to bursting. So immersed in her own worldview that she couldn't read the room at all—it was a dead ringer for the twins during their stormy adolescent phase.
That had been years ago, which meant the witch before them was a younger apprentice than they were.
"We used to act like that too, huh. I totally get wanting to look cool for no reason."
"Right, right. Sis was 'Jet-Black Odil,' and I was 'Pure-White Odet.'"
Once that clicked, the hostility faded from their eyes, replaced by a gaze tinged with pity.
They knew self-absorption like that was only possible in one's immature days—soon enough, it would fill an album of cringeworthy black history.
So they offered some kind advice to top it off.
"Hey, kid. Act like a proper lady."
"Yeah, you might think it's cool now, but you'll regret it big time later."
"What in the world are you talking about?"
Lurye couldn't keep up with their self-serving logic at all.
"If you're gonna commit to a concept, at least make it cool—what even is that?"
"The tragic twin witches whose souls were split by an evil dragon would've been way cooler."
"Totally. I came up with it, but honestly, the concept was solid."
"Yeah, yeah—embarrassing in hindsight, but it had its own romance, sis."
Lurye reeled from their rapid-fire banter, her mind in a fog.
Even if she didn't grasp the exact words, she could tell they were treating her like a fool. Her brows twitched in mounting irritation.
With Siwoo's advice in mind—and her being an apprentice, no less—she'd tried to take the high road. But this insolence...
"Hoo, quite the spitfire. But the price for letting your tongue wag beyond your station is heavy indeed."
Sparing the rod only ruined apprentices. Here, she'd demonstrate her power and firmly establish the hierarchy—or so Lurye thought as she began her incantation.
"Sink deep."
A rippling wave of azure mana rose at her gesture. Though injured and not at full strength, she had no need to go all-out against mere apprentices.
"M-Magic? Sis! This kid must be sick!"
"Pecha! Get behind us!"
Lurye flashed a triumphant smile as the twins' eyes finally widened in alarm.
"Drown and reflect while you flail."
Caught completely off guard, their response came too late.
The twins threw up the bare minimum defense while shielding Pecha.
However...
"Huh?"
The massive tsunami that should have submerged the entire gallery merely sloshed at Lurye's feet—like splashing through a puddle after a rain shower.
She wouldn't have failed so spectacularly if she'd stuck to simple magic. But in her arrogance, she'd attempted a complex spell without accounting for her condition. The result was predictable.
"Well, well? Gotten too big for your britches?"
"Pecha, step back for a sec."
"Y-Yes...!"
Pecha bolted off to fetch Albireo or Deneb.
"Time for a spanking."
"Sis, what's with these juniors these days?"
To the twins, it looked like she'd tried to throw a sucker punch mid-conversation and tripped over her own feet. And in a situation that could've hurt someone, no less—the mood turned hostile in an instant.
"Wh-What...? S-Sink deep...! Gyaaah!"
Before the flustered Lurye could recast her spell, the twins charged and tackled her midsection.
"Daring to sling magic right off the bat, huh? Fine—as your seniors, looks like we need to teach you some manners. Odet, shoes off."
"Got it, sis. Acting all high and mighty just 'cause you've got big boobs? What a cheeky underclassman. Let's give her a lesson."
Without magic in play, sheer numbers favored the twins. On top of that, they enjoyed horseback riding and hunting as hobbies, making them far stronger than Lurye, who mostly lounged in her submarine.
Odil swiftly secured full mount and pinned Lurye's wrists to the floor. No matter how she thrashed, Lurye was stuck flat like a pinned insect specimen. Odet yanked off her shoes with a flourish.
"L-Let go! If my body were normal, I'd crush the likes of you with a single finger!"
Humiliated at being pinned under an apprentice witch, Lurye screamed, her face flushed crimson.
"Whew, what lungs. No excuses. So ugly."
"Time for some reflection. We won't watch."
"And bring your mom later."
"Yeah, yeah—you need some counseling."
Odil unintentionally landed a mom jab amid the piled-up misunderstandings. But Lurye had no chance to catch it.
Hellish torture commenced immediately.
"Hgyaaaah! Kyahahahaha...!"
Odet began tickling Lurye's bare feet. Already hypersensitive to tickling, Lurye tried to cast a spell to shake her off—but her calculations went haywire in seconds.
"Oh-ho, trying magic again. Fat chance."
"Right, right—no way you can calculate through this tickle hell."
"Kyaa! Uhyaaaah! Hgyagyagak!"
Having tussled endlessly as kids, Odil and Odet knew tickling was the most effective way to subdue someone without magic.
"Wow, she's thrashing like a rodeo."
"Sis, pin her thigh with your butt."
"Stop...! Enough already...! My...! My...! Aren't you afraid of my wrath?!"
"That might make it hard to hold her wrists. Armpits instead?"
"Think so? She might kick."
"Hbbubub! Ubbub...!"
No matter how she pleaded, the twins showed no mercy—appearing outright psychopathic to Lurye.
"Haaang! Haaaang!"
Mind-numbing ticklishness and breathlessness overwhelmed her. Armpits, sides, feet, and more.
Under the twins' deft fingers targeting her weak spots, Lurye's body remembered.
Her first experience. Back when her sexual senses hadn't yet awakened, the sticky tickling paired with waves of sexual pleasure. Even afterward, she could never forget that peculiar, tantalizing sensation—often indulging in feather-teasing play.
In other words, tickling and sexual arousal were inextricably linked for her, regardless of her will.
"Haaang... Hhhaaah... Huu... Huu..."
Odet's tickling hands faltered after a while. Odil, still restraining her, exchanged a stunned glance with her sister.
"Stop.... Didn't I say stop.... Hic... Hic..."
Something was off.
It had started as pure laughter.
When strange sounds crept in later, they'd chalked it up to exhaustion and panting.
But Lurye's flushed face and eyes glistening with tears...
That sticky, nasal moaning was all too familiar to the twins. It was the sound their sister—or they themselves—made during blissful moments with Master.
"Good lord..."
"Oh my god..."
They never imagined she'd react like that in a situation like this.
Their opponent wasn't just a chuunibyou apprentice witch—she was a massive pervert, too.
"Odet, did you touch something weird?"
"No way! Sis, you saw it! Why would I even..."
A chill ran up Odil and Odet's spines.
All thoughts of annoyance or punishment evaporated.
She was far too risky to keep engaging with.
Flee first.
And report her, too.
"R-Run."
"S-Sis...! Wait for...!"
The two abandoned the drained Lurye and bolted.
"...Uu..."
Left alone, Lurye twitched faintly.
Her disheveled hair and clothes had shed every last shred of the dignity she'd desperately projected.