Chapter 672
Chapter 672
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 672
Chapter Title: A Bizarre Date (7)
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The day after their grand affair.
Dorothy swiftly departed the mansion without fulfilling the promised two days.
On the surface, her reasons were, "I can't handle two days in a row when it's this exhausting," and "I have a backlog of business matters to attend to, so I'll wrap those up and return." But the truth was different.
Thanks to the surveillance gap Si-woo and Dorothy had engineered together, they'd carved out enough time for a proper conversation. She had stepped out first to handle the matters they'd discussed.
To uncover what exactly had passed between them, we have no choice but to rewind to the previous night.
"...Want to die?"
Dorothy opened her eyes beneath the blanket Si-woo had draped over her.
A menacing grind echoed from between her teeth.
"I'm sorry, but thanks to you, we've bought ourselves this time. We've shaken off any suspicions too. It's all because of you, Dorothy."
"You think sweet-talking me like that will make my anger go away?"
As expected, given the somewhat forceful and embarrassing display, there was no sign of her temper cooling anytime soon.
"Honestly, I didn't plan on going quite that far."
"Don't lie! You absolutely planned to go that far! You didn't even drink in my scent!"
She flattened herself even more, piling on the flattery.
"That's not true."
"Liar~"
"Dorothy, you're just so captivating that I got more excited than I'd planned."
Dorothy's eyes, narrowed in annoyance at the lame excuse, softened ever so slightly.
"As you know, you've got all these elements that drive a man insane."
"Hmm~ Is that so?"
"Yes, yes. Breasts this magnificent.... Your body itself makes it impossible to hold back. And your beauty goes without saying."
"Keep going."
"Is that all? That pure yet sultry smile reminiscent of a saint. Drunk on the thrill of having my way with a woman like you, I lost all self-control...."
At some point, the two were chuckling to themselves, playfully bantering.
"Smooth talker~"
"Aaaack!"
Dorothy pinched Si-woo's cheek and shook it until tears welled up in his eyes.
The smile tugging at her lips seemed to say it was cute enough to forgive.
"Well, I'll play along and believe you for now. Not nitpicking lies is the virtue of a woman in an affair, after all."
"Play along? Don't I sound completely sincere?"
In any case, their discussion turned to the escape plan.
"Like I said earlier, even I can't resolve this right away."
"Aren't you pretty high up in this city, Dorothy?"
"Sort of~ But I've stepped back from Hexennacht business for a while now. I have no real influence—just citizenship. Even helping just you is a stretch, let alone adding others. It'd take way too much effort."
"Is it really that tough?"
"Yeah, extremely."
This wasn't something she could dismiss lightly as if it were someone else's problem.
For instance, back when Si-woo was a slave, if he'd earned the favor of a 22nd Hierarchy witch and gotten her help to escape, leaving Gehenna wouldn't have taken a single day.
Assuming no concerns about repercussions, it would have been a trivial matter.
"Don't compare it to Gehenna."
Dorothy spoke up first, sensing Si-woo's unspoken question.
"Hexennacht is a brand-new city. And every member is a lawless rogue, right?"
"True."
"To rein in such free-spirited witches, the rules have to be ironclad. Gate surveillance is especially ruthless—more than anywhere else. If Gehenna's like an airport customs check, this place is prison-level. And you'd draw eyes no matter where you went."
In short, it was best to abandon any rosy expectations of Dorothy handling everything.
"I'll drop that idea then. It wouldn't be fair to dump all the burden on you."
In a situation like this, asking her to help not just him, but Ye-bin, Alice, and even their escapes too—that was pure greed.
So they quickly moved on to the next topic.
Plan B: Si-woo would craft a dimensional transfer spell for their escape.
That was why he'd gone to observe the 'gate' in Dignity Town with Linne in the first place, but circumstances hadn't cooperated.
He'd been tangled in one mess after another and barely gotten a look.
Fabricating an excuse to head back there was one issue.
Even if he somehow reached an observation spot, there was no guarantee something like today's fiasco wouldn't happen again.
At least, Si-woo roaming Hexennacht without trouble seemed next to impossible....
In that regard, if Dorothy—who could move freely about the city—gathered the intel instead, things would be much simpler.
"That, I can help with. But it'll take a little~ time. I don't have special eyes like yours."
It tied into the problem above.
As Dorothy had said, Hexennacht's entry and exit protocols were brutally strict.
The gate's structure wasn't open-source like Gehenna's, where anyone could observe it freely.
After all, the info could be abused to build backdoors or enable smuggling.
"So~ three witches handle the gate's core components, each managing their part separately."
"That's a problem...."
"No, I said I could help."
"Really?"
"Conveniently, I know one of them. If I say it's for research purposes and offer a nice~ bribe, she'll show me plenty. It'll just take about a week."
"I can wait. Thank you so much."
The once-stifling plan suddenly felt breathable with Dorothy's assistance.
"Ah, and.... Could I ask one more favor?"
"You're piling on the requests~ But go ahead, let's hear it."
"It's nothing major.... There are people back in Gehenna who must be worried about me. If you could just let them know I'm safe, that'd be great. Of course, only if it's feasible."
"No direct line to Gehenna?"
"You could connect through Lurye."
Dorothy broke into a delighted smile.
Her eyes brimmed with warmth and affection.
"Oh? Our little princess got her citizenship? Looks like she pulled some strings."
She was still the doting aunt, ever attentive to her niece.
"Yes, she's probably deep into her trials in Akula right now. You could visit, right?"
"Of course~. It's been ages since I last saw her face."
"She'll be thrilled."
"She will."
Though she'd charged into the trials with gusto, by now she was likely lounging around, grumbling "This is so boring!"
If Dorothy showed up, she'd no doubt bounce around in excitement, beaming ear to ear.
The two lingered in that fond moment before wrapping up their talk.
"By the way. Ye-bin, Alice, Manya, Malisha? Who are these people? More girlfriends?"
"Ah, they're...."
Dorothy's expression turned peculiar upon hearing Si-woo's explanation.
"You're still out there playing the fool for everyone."
"Why does it always end up like that?"
"The healing witch repaying a debt, fine. But the other three—they're total strangers, aren't they?"
To Dorothy, the whole scene was utterly baffling.
He wasn't some idiot who couldn't grasp how much risk extra people added to a covert escape.
"It's to squeeze some money out of them."
In a situation where even pocketing escape fees plus extras on top of his 8 billion debt barely broke even, volunteering like that meant....
"Still as much of a hopeless softie as ever."
"It's for the money, I said."
It was simply him extending favors.
Others might curse it as clueless meddling or mock it as cheap heroism, but not Dorothy.
She was yet another who'd benefited from his uncontrollable busybody nature and self-sabotaging naivety.
None other than Dorothy herself.
"So, you want to pull Manya and Malisha out from the Witch of Silence first?"
"Yes. Better to keep them close so we can move immediately once preparations are ready."
Originally, the plan was to finish the dimensional spell, head to Manya and Malisha's location with Alice's guidance, link up, and escape.
But with Dorothy out and about for the week anyway, pulling them nearby ahead of time would minimize variables during the joint escape—and make productive use of the downtime.
"Any information on the Witch of Silence?"
Dorothy gently stroked Si-woo's cheek.
Her eyes, which had cooled after the rough treatment and multiple climaxes, now overflowed with loving warmth once more.
"...Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Just~"
With his own safety on the line, it was fine to come off a bit desperate.
Clinging to her skirts and begging "Save at least me!" would be the norm.
Dorothy would have done the same in his shoes.
Far more rational than ditching safe options for a surgeon who'd operated on her or three near-strangers.
Excuses were easy: no room for that now, secure safety first and plan later.
Yet he hadn't.
Even in this mess, he stayed soft-hearted, stubbornly choosing the risky path for others.
Watching him stirred worries about how he'd survive this brutal world—and ignited a maternal urge to look after him personally.
"I have info on the Witch of Silence. But first...."
"Yes."
"What if all sound suddenly cuts out? Won't Linne get suspicious?"
Dorothy pulled Si-woo's neck close and planted a shy kiss on his nape.
"Ah, it's fine. Sounds like she headed to the other room.... No issues until her presence returns. Besides, we have more to discuss...."
This harmlessness.
This unwavering gentleness, no matter the situation.
She loved it.
Yet Dorothy was a public enemy, while Si-woo was entangled with Gehenna's top witches as lovers.
No matter how much time passed, the day she'd stand proudly by his side would never come.
The realization stung anew, leaving a faint bitterness.
So, couldn't she spoil him a little now?
With that thought, Dorothy sank her teeth firmly into his lower lip.
"Mmph! What was that for?"
"You're annoying."
She'd bitten hard enough to draw blood, leaving Si-woo clutching his lower lip in stunned confusion.
Even that dopey expression from the old days now struck her as endearing. No wonder they said love makes beans sprout in your eyes.
"Do I really~ have to spell it out?"
Dorothy flung the blanket aside completely and bent at the waist before him.
Exactly the position she'd been in when taking him earlier.
"You've been acting all cheeky, so you want me to~ punish you properly, right?"
Dorothy's seductive sway of her hips....
It worked like a charm.