Chapter 749
Chapter 749
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 749
Chapter Title: Let's End It Here (2)
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1.
Albireo, who had been racking her brains over her utterly wild son-in-law and Deneb's scandalous fling with a younger lover, chose cognac as her remedy for the headache.
The family photo of the Gemernai household, slanted and pinned crookedly in its frame, suddenly caught her eye.
Albireo and Deneb, each cradling the wriggling Odil and Odet.
Not that Albireo—who bore a striking resemblance to Deneb—had any room to talk, but back then, Deneb had been the very model of an ideal witch.
Who could have imagined that this same Deneb would end up tormenting Albireo like this.
And at this critical juncture, with succession just around the corner, no less.
There was no choice but to lean on the power of alcohol to soothe this aching grief.
-Knock knock
Sighs were all that came, so an unexpected visitor at this hour was hardly welcome.
But on the flip side, perhaps chatting with someone else would help settle her troubled heart.
"Come in. Oh? Sharon?"
"I'm sorry for dropping by so late unannounced. Is now a bad time?"
"No, of course not."
Albireo blinked in surprise.
The identity of the guest who had shown up out of the blue before dawn even broke was Sharon.
Well, that much wasn't so strange.
Sharon, who had lived as a guest in the house for nearly a year, knew full well that workaholic Albireo rarely slept.
And having sat out the recent rescue operation, she was bound to have questions.
Albireo figured it was probably something related to her son-in-law again, but...
Sharon's outfit—worldly clothes for going out—and the large suitcase she was dragging behind her didn't quite add up.
"Sharon, are you heading somewhere?"
"Yes, that's actually what I came to talk about."
"Don't just stand there—have a seat first."
"Thank you, I won't stand on ceremony then..."
There were plenty of questions on the tip of her tongue, and something felt off, but Albireo quietly poured Sharon a cognac as she settled onto the sofa.
It was hard to put her finger on exactly why.
But Sharon's demeanor and expression screamed for the solace of the wine god.
Sharon dipped her head in gratitude but hesitated, lifting the glass only slightly without taking a sip.
"Um, I don't think I can continue as the home tutor going forward."
"...?"
Albireo couldn't quite keep up with the sudden turn.
Yet she didn't show much shock, instead asking gently and steadily.
"I know you're not the type to shirk your responsibilities on a whim, Sharon. It seems like there's a story behind this—mind if I ask why, if it's not too rude?"
The Sharon that Albireo knew was an incredibly diligent witch.
Even saddled with astronomical debt, she had stayed on the straight and narrow, steadily saving up without straying.
She never neglected her tutoring duties either.
The twins had particularly struggled with elemental magic, but after Sharon took charge of those lessons leading up to succession, they'd shown marked improvement.
And it wasn't just that—someone of Albireo's experience could judge a person's character at a glance.
So if that Sharon was suddenly handing in her resignation and leaving, there had to be a good reason.
"..."
But even after Albireo's question, Sharon didn't open her mouth.
She just sat there, hesitating for a long while, staring at her knees drawn tightly together.
Then she rummaged through her suitcase and pulled out a single sheet of white paper.
Albireo, who was as familiar with documents as she was distant from magic, recognized it at once.
Two contracts stamped with the unforgeable seal of the Full Witch Magistrate.
It was the IOU that Albireo had returned to Sharon in exchange for her handling elemental classes right up to succession.
By the standards of Gehenna's municipal law—which still felt a bit outdated—the IOU alone served as proof of debt.
In other words, if Sharon burned it, her obligation to repay would vanish permanently.
Considering the staggering amount written on it and the hardships she'd endured because of that debt, Albireo had assumed she'd torched it the moment she got it back.
Facing it again now... Albireo's premonition had been spot on.
Something was seriously amiss.
"Since I'm quitting midway on my own accord... I'll return this. If you give me a bit more time, I'll make sure to pay back every bit of the interest too."
"Sharon, don't say it like that—it sounds so heartbreaking. Sure, you're technically my employee, but we've shared so many dinners by now."
"..."
"Odil and Odet both adore you, and I'd love for this arrangement to last as long as possible. If there's some unavoidable circumstance, I'll understand—just tell me?"
After much coaxing and reassuring from Albireo, Sharon finally spoke, her words dropping heavily like stones.
"We broke up."
"Oh..."
Albireo couldn't hide her sigh.
Her intuition had pointed straight to it, yet she'd desperately hoped it wasn't true—until it came from Sharon's own lips.
"It didn't feel right to keep taking his help after breaking up."
On such a heavy topic, Albireo—who had struggled to broach it—quietly retrieved the IOU Sharon had placed on the desk.
"If that's the reason, I get it. I won't pry for more details."
"Thank you for understanding. It's shameless of me, but... could I ask one more favor?"
This time, Sharon pulled out a small jewelry box.
It felt quite heavy, and the faint clinking from within suggested a fair amount of gems inside.
Sharon wasn't one for extravagance, and given her magical affinities, they were probably for research purposes.
"I'll repay the debt somehow, no matter what—so could you pass this on to Si-woo?"
"That much is fine... How should I give it to him?"
"Please don't let him know it came from me."
Albireo had little experience in romance herself, but she could tell this breakup was utterly sincere for Sharon.
Sharon was cutting ties completely, leaving nothing behind.
"...All right."
"Thank you so much. Sorry again for the late hour."
Albireo called out to Sharon, who bowed her head and turned to leave.
"Sharon."
"Yes?"
Albireo waved the IOU lightly as she spoke.
"I'll hold onto this for now. But if you change your mind, come back anytime. I'll be waiting."
"...Thank you. But that won't happen."
"And the officetel I let Si-woo use before—you can stay there until you've got somewhere settled."
"Pardon?"
"You're heading to Seoul, right?"
"Well, yes, but..."
"It's just sitting empty anyway, and a house without people in it gets this gloomy vibe. Stay a bit, think things over calmly. You have my number—if anything comes up, give me a call."
"...Okay."
Sharon nodded and finally left the study.
In the heavy, oppressive air that settled in her wake, Albireo downed the cognac Sharon hadn't even sipped.
"Whew, I'm getting old too..."
It was a truly foolish thing to do.
Albireo was the strategy advisor and coach for Odil and Odet in the romance war swirling around Si-woo.
Even with Deneb's sudden betrayal, her position remained rock-solid.
Sharon and Si-woo's bond was ironclad.
It hadn't wavered even as his lovers multiplied after entering Gehenna.
She was the lover who'd been by his side the longest, sharing a cultural background and years of life that built deep rapport—a formidable rival.
As a witch, her looks were a given.
Cheerful, capable, sociable, and unlike the stubborn twins—who knew from whom—with a nurturing personality that embraced everything.
That's why even Albireo had felt threatened enough to subtly warn Sharon to "keep her distance" in the past.
In that light, Sharon's voluntary resignation was something Albireo should have welcomed with open arms.
It would give the twins even a slight edge amid the horde of competitors.
Albireo could have just done nothing at all.
She certainly didn't need to offer to rehire her as tutor if she returned.
Nor lend out the place where Sharon and Si-woo had stayed together, giving her a reason to come back.
"Even so, how could I?"
But seeing Sharon's expression—stubborn on the surface yet on the verge of crumbling—she couldn't bring herself to coldly crunch the numbers.
"Anyway, it's all that Shin Si-woo's fault."
Thus reaffirming her enmity toward her son-in-law.
2.
Sharon's departure was swift.
The people she'd say goodbye to? Eloa, the twins, Amelia, maybe.
She'd bickered endlessly with Odil and Odet but got along surprisingly well.
It started with plenty of frustrations, but up close, they were endearing, and affection—both bitter and sweet—grew until they felt like sisters.
They'd traveled together, and whenever anything bizarre happened, the twins were always tangled up in it somehow.
She and Duchess Eloa made great drinking buddies.
Their first meeting hadn't gone smoothly due to a misunderstanding, but after Eloa tearfully confessed her mentor's woes of loving her own disciple.
Sharon had done her best to help her out.
From then on, they'd grown close like sisters, treating each other without reservation.
With Amelia too, they'd gone from awkward to building a friendship—hitting the big baths on weekends or grabbing coffee nearby.
Sure, they'd occasionally clash over things like "who pulled off the hotter event for Si-woo," but when Si-woo had been captured by the Witch of the Deep Sea, they'd opened up and comforted each other.
"Friends..."
Compared to her past—booted into the mortal world under the yoke of incomplete succession and a mountain of debt—these days felt undeservedly blissful.
From a life with no one to vent to, no one to lean on, she'd finally made a bunch of friends.
Friends who loved the same man, competed good-naturedly, yet cherished each other all the same.
She'd never once hated or resented those bonds.
But now, after declaring breakup to Si-woo, even saying goodbye felt awkward.
Probably would forever.
-Hoooown!
The sensation of space rippling around her washed Gehenna's scenery away in an instant, replaced by the blare of horns piercing her ears.
A drizzle left the asphalt shimmering like flames under the night skyline.
The cold blaze melting into the glass in a riot of colors.
"Back to being alone again..."
Sharon, standing lost in the crowd, finally slumped into her seat.
Cold rain soaked the back of the huddled, umbrella-less Sharon.
The city's night—indifferent and lonely—swallowed up her faint sobs amid the traffic roar.