Chapter 656
Chapter 656
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 656
Chapter Title: Exposed (2)
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Finally, all the pieces of the puzzle clicked together.
The reason Rinne—who had flatly stated that Tiferet couldn't possibly have grown that strong just from sparring with Si-woo—had gone out of her way to offer a "gift" and probe her potential.
Even the reason Alice had been ordered by Rinne to share his bed.
Looking back, it was simple.
The ones who had dragged Si-woo into the labyrinth were none other than Rinne and the Witch of Silence.
It wasn't clear if Si-woo had been their target from the start, but if Rinne was the one who set the stage and dug the trap, she must have been keeping a close eye on both Tiferet and Si-woo.
There were two reasons for that.
First, a duke with the power of the 23rd Hierarchy was the biggest wildcard in her plans—a dangerous element—and from what he'd observed so far, Rinne harbored a strange competitive spirit toward Tiferet.
Second, and simpler: on that battlefield, the rarest prize of all was Si-woo himself.
With two such valuable targets traveling together, they wouldn't have taken their eyes off them even for a moment. They must have been watching when the two of them climbed into the jeep in the middle of the desert and got intimate.
"Master."
One thing was certain: there was no time to leisurely dwell on past mistakes.
It had been an unavoidable accident, impossible to foresee, and now the urgent priority was staring him right in the face.
The greatest crisis since arriving at Hexennacht.
Si-woo's mind began racing at full speed.
"This is a bit much, don't you think?"
He started off by acting utterly shameless, as if he had nothing to hide.
"You seemed to be looking out for me, Master, so I went along with it even though she's not really my type."
"What...!"
"But twice, right in front of you? Come on."
Alice's face flushed red at Si-woo's snide remark.
But she seemed to grasp the situation and immediately played along with his act.
Impressive reflexes and adaptability.
Living as an exile had clearly honed her survival instincts.
"You're too much! I put in some effort too, you know!"
"What can I do? She's not my type."
"You gonna say that to the woman you just rolled around with?"
"......"
This wasn't baseless deflection.
Si-woo's magic amplification and brand replication were unprecedented abilities any witch would covet.
If there had been solid proof, Rinne—who pursued strength above all—would have zeroed in on it from the start.
In other words, while it was confirmed that Rinne had some inkling about his hidden skill, it was just suspicion, not certainty.
Why?
The reason was straightforward.
It was well-known that the master's senses were extraordinarily sharp.
Even her razor-sharp intuition would dull significantly during intimacy—she'd even overlooked Della, who was quite close—but it was unlikely Rinne knew that detail.
Putting all the circumstances together, it was clear they'd been watching the act, but from a very distant vantage point.
That day, there had been two rounds.
One of them an internal ejaculation.
If Rinne had used magic to spy, either Si-woo or Eloa would have noticed, so it was probably optical observation.
All she could have seen was the jeep shaking violently, the windows fogged up white with steam, and one pulse of mana.
If he played his cards right, it wasn't a complete dead end yet.
"Didn't I say to buy her if you liked her?"
Rinne's eyes narrowed at Si-woo's excuse.
"Once I got her undressed, she wasn't all that impressive."
His master had no interest in morals anyway.
So Si-woo's follow-up was just as blunt.
"Is that really the reason?"
But Rinne didn't back down easily.
For her, this was already a huge concession.
The fact that she hadn't used Yebin right there beside her, but instead brought in Alice—whom he'd falsely praised—spoke volumes. It was unexpected, but perhaps she had considered his preferences in her own way.
"Seeing you react like this... it seems you already have some idea."
"That's right. I suspect it's one of your hidden potentials. I saw you sleeping with Tiferet."
Things had gotten seriously tangled, as expected.
Straight-up black lies wouldn't cut it now.
He needed gray—clever shades of truth mixed with falsehood.
"If I wanted, I could have confirmed it by force. Or ordered you to do it. But I didn't."
"No, you couldn't."
Her eyes chilled at his brazen response.
It was warranted.
Si-woo's attitude was more arrogant and uncooperative than ever.
"Don't delude yourself. I took you as a disciple for one reason only."
As potential material for enchantment and reinforcement—not because she liked him.
He'd known that from the start.
"Honestly, I didn't think you'd figured it out that far."
He put on a sly grin, like a black幕 schemer caught in the act.
Second line of defense against the gray lie being exposed: don't show anxiety or haste.
"Don't get cocky."
Her killing intent stabbed like icicles, sending chills down his spine, but he didn't flinch.
Information asymmetry was effective regardless of force or authority.
The side with more intel could suck the other dry—just look at Sharon's recent crypto misadventures.
Told her not to mess with coins.
"I did sleep with Alice. But nothing happened. Do it a hundred, a thousand times, and it'd be the same."
"...I don't believe you slept with Alice either."
"She's got lewd piercings on her legs and breasts. See for yourself."
Si-woo pulled Alice to her feet and shoved her toward Rinne.
Rinne slipped a finger into Alice's cleavage, tugged at her clothes.
Her eyes widened slightly, then returned to normal.
"What do you mean by 'the same result'?"
Sorry, Alice—whose face burned with humiliation again—but with the semen she'd taken as proof, Rinne seemed to accept that it had happened.
This was the turning point.
He had to choose his words carefully.
A plausible gray lie: hard to verify, and even if tested directly, unlikely to trigger anything.
"Just as you suspected, Master, when I have a truly satisfying lay, I release pure mana along with a wave of magic power."
"......"
"But Alice wasn't satisfying enough. So even if we repeated it, nothing would happen."
"Satisfying?"
"Sexual satisfaction, obviously."
"......"
This was the power of information asymmetry.
Hiding the fact that he'd had "sex" with Eloa was tough anyway.
Better to throw distorted info and sow confusion.
"I see."
Rinne murmured calmly, though still skeptical.
One layer of suspicion peeled away.
But the situation had merely halted its slide into disaster—it was still dire.
All he'd bought was avoiding an immediate forced creampie with Alice and exposure of his amplification ability.
"Get out."
Rinne jerked her chin at Alice.
Alice stood awkwardly, then slipped out of the room amid the icy silence.
Now, only Si-woo and Rinne remained in the room with its dying hearth and rumpled bedding.
What had to come, finally arrived.
Either way, Si-woo had hidden something from Rinne.
And she instinctively knew it held the key to ascension in her pursuit of power—like an ascetic monk enduring trials.
Expecting her to let it slide was wishful thinking.
"Just so you know, even if I do have a satisfying lay, nothing special happens. And Tiferet Duke didn't get stronger because of it."
"I can't believe you. You're hiding too much."
As expected, she was gearing up to test it herself.
With her view of master-disciple relations—no different from parent-child—it wouldn't sway her.
In other words...
"I'll confirm it myself."
Such words were hardly surprising.
It felt like a familiar cliché.
Just like his first greeting to Little Mother-in-law.
In the past, he might have panicked at the awkward proposal.
But after two years tangled in hurricane-like ordeals...
Si-woo had built up enough composure to not rattle easily.
"Do you know what that means?"
"Take off your clothes."
"It's a waste of time."
"Satisfy you, and it's done."
Rinne casually untied the sash of her training robes.
Until now, he'd laid the groundwork well.
He'd anticipated her impatience leading to this.
From his observations, Rinne was a thorough pragmatist and ascetic.
Unlikely she'd had sexual experience herself.
No reason not to exploit the information gap once more.
"You sure about this? My tastes are a bit... unusual."
"I have no interest in your tastes."
"But if it doesn't match my tastes, it won't mean anything."
"...Fine. Tell me your tastes."
Si-woo leaned in close to Rinne's ear and whispered.
Hardcore play that would give even strength-obsessed Rinne pause.
The kind that had shocked every witch he'd encountered.
"......?"
Even whispered right by her ear, she blinked like she'd received a garbled interplanetary transmission.
Clearly, she didn't get it at first.
"In other words... let me explain again..."
He whispered it once more, elaborating.
Oh.
This time, there was a definite change.
Her crimson lips twitched.
Her orchid-like eyebrows, neat under her straight bangs, twisted asymmetrically.
The first vivid expression he'd seen on her since they met...
"......"
Was a look of utter contempt, like she'd spotted maggots.
Her hands, which had been undoing her belt, froze solid.
"Filthy pervert."
She'd gasped in shock and stalled, her shoulders heaving like a bristling cat.
"Filthy pervert."
So struck was she that she spat the insult twice, then turned on her heel.
She stormed out without hearing excuses or explanations—stubborn as ever.