Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Self-Contradiction (2)
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1.
After escorting the twins through the portal, Siwoo dove straight into bed and fell into a deep sleep.
Or rather, he tried to.
But after about four hours?
The regular routine he'd maintained for five years, combined with the morning sunlight pouring in through the well-lit window, roused him awake.
-Clunk
At that moment, the sound of the front gate opening and closing echoed through the house.
The only occupants of the vast, almost lonely mansion were Siwoo and Amelia—probably just Amelia.
Siwoo's bleary eyes snapped wide open.
It was because of the plan he'd been mulling over since yesterday.
It was finally time to tell Amelia the truth.
He'd hide the fact that he could use magic, but he'd say he'd received an offer from the Countess Gemernai's family to return to the modern world.
That with Amelia's permission alone, he could leave.
That he was grateful for everything she'd done for him lately, but he wanted to go back home.
There was plenty of dirty and underhanded business involved, but it seemed better to ask her before she heard about the countess's proposal.
It would save her face, and since it was his own business, telling her directly might increase the chances of her nodding in agreement.
Then again, who knew.
Normally, she might have let him go without issue, but if she got annoyed at her exclusive slave for not mentioning such a crucial matter despite relying on Gemernai's influence, she might order him to stay forever.
"Hm... that's possible."
Even the unusually docile and gentle Amelia lately had a history he'd observed over the years.
He wanted to minimize any potential variables.
Even if he aimed for plan B—escaping via magic—there was no guarantee the research would succeed.
If someone who absolutely shouldn't find out discovered it beforehand, they might halt the research entirely.
And crucially, even if none of those issues arose, it would still delay his escape by around a year.
He'd rather just postpone his discharge by another year.
"Hoo..."
Siwoo rushed to the bathroom, splashed water on his face, and tidied his hair.
Don't get nervous. Just say it.
If this were before, he might have felt a twinge of anxiety.
According to Takasho's theory, if Amelia harbored any fondness or possessiveness toward him, she naturally wouldn't let him go.
But that theory had been proven wrong, hadn't it?
Starting from her suggestion of night service—it had all been his misunderstanding.
He couldn't go in pajamas, so he changed into a sharp suit and headed to Amelia's room.
The door, usually shut tight, was open.
Amelia's room was a perfect mirror image of his own.
He'd expected her to be seated at the table, but she was standing awkwardly off to the side of the room.
Her back to the door, she was doing something strange.
Her head bobbed slightly forward and back, tilted upward just a bit.
At first, he thought she was drinking water.
Until he heard the odd sound.
-Slurp... slurp.... slurp...
Siwoo's pupils contracted in shock.
Because what flashed through his mind was an act that simply didn't connect to her at all.
Before she could make an even worse spectacle, Siwoo instinctively called out her name.
"Lady Amelia!"
What happened after that was, as you know, quite the mess.
2.
The promise to head to Border Town with Amelia that afternoon vanished.
As he lay on the bed, rolling around in a troubled daze, a letter folded into a paper crane fluttered in.
It was a note informing him that all his schedules for the day had been canceled.
Thanks to that, Siwoo—enjoying two straight days off—lounged in bed, idly sucking his thumb.
But his mind was still buzzing.
"What the heck."
All day, Siwoo kept replaying Amelia's bizarre behavior that he'd stumbled upon by chance.
Why on earth had she been doing that?
He hadn't seen it in detail, but it looked like she'd had a long glass bottle in her mouth, sucking on it.
And the moment she realized she'd been caught, she panicked hard.
Hard enough to shatter the bottle and lamp.
Siwoo's mind still vividly held the image of Amelia's round ponytail bobbing back and forth.
It was just like...
"Huh?"
And then it hit him.
The night he'd spent his last moments with the twins, chugging drinks in a heartfelt embrace—there had been the urgent sound of a door slamming shut.
Only Siwoo had heard it, but he'd dismissed it as the wind.
But that ponytail motion...
"Kinda looks like a blowjob."
Only then did Siwoo realize the source of that intense sense of déjà vu.
And he let out a chuckle.
"Half-crazy by the end of service, and the same damn thing here."
She must have been so hyped about his impending freedom that her mind snapped halfway.
She needed to make some sense.
There were too many pieces that didn't fit for wild speculation.
Saw the apprentice witches doing their thing and just let him sleep soundly without a word?
Amelia, their supervising professor?
This wasn't just about scandal—it concerned the twins' futures as witches.
And then Amelia, who'd peeped on it, mimics a blowjob?
Pathetically chomping on a glass bottle, no less?
"Pfft."
Siwoo let out a hollow laugh.
Takasho turning into a TS witch and coming to suck him off felt more realistic.
"In that case..."
It was probably some important magical ritual or something tied to Amelia's research.
Or just a slightly odd habit.
He vaguely recalled hearing that kids who couldn't nurse as infants still craved maternal comfort even as adults... something like that?
Honestly, neither explanation was easy to picture.
Best to just keep his mouth shut in that case.
Amelia had shown the most panicked expression he'd ever seen when caught.
Like ripping a loud fart in what she thought was an empty elevator, only to realize someone was behind her.
"Gotta pretend I didn't see a thing."
No need to poke the hornet's nest right before the big plan.
With that thought, he forcibly shoved down the lingering suspicions.
Too early to bring it up now anyway.
Amelia must be mortified after getting caught in such an embarrassing act.
Siwoo decided to take a nap and bide his time.
3.
Amelia had holed up in her room all day.
She had no idea how to face him.
Just thinking about the disgrace he'd witnessed made her cheeks burn; she couldn't bear to lift her head in front of him.
The sight of her slurping away at that glass bottle.
What must he have thought of her idiotic appearance?
She could tell without him saying a word that the dignity she'd upheld as a witch and noble had shattered in an instant.
"Ugh.... ugh.... uuuugh...."
To drown out all the humiliation, Amelia doused herself in fatigue perfume and collapsed onto the bed.
It was for a nap.
Sleep would let her forget everything, if only for a little while.
But even the perfume's effect failed to bring sleep; instead, she shredded the innocent bedsheets in frustration.
In just the past few days, too much had come crumbling down.
Everything Amelia had believed in, built up, taken for granted.
Amid the confusion shaking her long-accumulated values, she'd even created a black mark on her history.
Her brain felt like a cocktail shaker violently mixing everything together.
"This can't happen."
Amelia bolted upright from the bed.
One thing was clear: if she left things as they were, the image of herself in Siwoo's mind would be permanently branded as some weirdo.
A pervert, or someone whose head wasn't right.
She wouldn't let it end like that...! She had to explain properly!
As that resolve formed, Amelia suddenly realized something.
"Huh...?"
Why?
Why was she only worrying about what Shin Siwoo thought of her?
Rumors from her behavior in high society? Idle gossip from others behind her back? She couldn't care less.
One who sways to others' evaluations could never be truly noble.
Acknowledgment from Amelia herself was enough for Amelia.
Anyone lacking that self-assurance was just a coward.
By that logic, what she'd gone through yesterday was nothing.
Just caught in a slightly peculiar act, that's all.
Whatever he thought of Amelia Merrygold, I was still I.
"......."
As Amelia sank into tormented self-reflection...
-Bang bang bang
The sound of the door knocker rapping against the front gate rang out.
For Amelia, who had no friends to call except Sophia, guests were exceedingly rare.
She knew it wasn't Sophia because she never knocked—she turned into a crow and pecked at the window.
"Might be for the best."
Whoever it was, when her head was this tangled, distraction was probably wiser.
-Snap!
With a flick of her fingers, the fatigue perfume weighing down her eyelids dispersed.
Amelia sauntered leisurely to the lounge to greet the guest.
"What a lovely afternoon, with sunlight this pleasant."
"I hope my unannounced visit isn't too rude."
Standing at the door were two witches wearing small hats with veils.
Or more precisely, one witch: Gemernai Albeiro and Deneb.
"No issue at all. Come in."
Amelia blanked out for a moment at the unexpected visitors.
She'd figured it was some academy professor or assistant at most, so with a puzzled expression, she led the countess into the parlor.
"It's been five years since I last arranged a separate meeting like this, after entrusting the babies."
"Have you been well in the meantime?"
"....What brings you here?"
Normally, she'd summon Siwoo to attend them, but Amelia had no desire to put him before the countess.
Judging from recent events, she intuited some unseen connection between the countess and Siwoo.
Amelia didn't hide her suspicious glare.
There were far too many fishy things.
After exchanging glances at Amelia's unexpectedly hostile attitude, the countess spoke up.
Everyone knew Amelia was antisocial and prickly, so she cut straight to the chase.
"Have you heard anything from Mr. Shin Siwoo?"
"Nothing at all."
"To get to the point: I'd like to take ownership of your exclusive slave, Shin Siwoo."
Amelia's eyes widened dramatically.
So that's why the sudden visit—out of nowhere, a demand for Siwoo's ownership transfer.
"Why?"
She shot back sharply without thinking.
The countess continued unfazed.
"During the picnic outing, Mr. Siwoo saved Odile and Odette from a homunculus attack."
"When I asked what he wanted as a reward, he said he wished to return to the modern world. It's unprecedented, but we can handle it on our end."
"We'll provide ample support to ensure he settles in well. However, since he's Miss Merrygold's exclusive slave, I came to request your permission before proceeding."
Such a thing had happened on picnic day.
She'd confirmed his desperate desire to leave from the research materials in his shack.
But she hadn't imagined things had progressed this far behind the scenes.
"Of course, you made him your exclusive slave to keep him as an assistant."
"I'm not asking for a free handover. We've prepared ample compensation. We simply want to grant his wish if possible."
The countess placed a pre-prepared jewel box on the table.
"Would you like to take a look?"