Chapter 772
Chapter 772
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 772
Chapter Title: Side Story 01: Twins and the Writing Contest (5)
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1.
Late at night.
Amelia couldn't hide her fatigue.
She had been throwing herself into perfume-making to pay off the massive debt that had cropped up recently.
At first glance, perfumery conjured images of elegant, refined artistry, but handling the whole process solo was little different from backbreaking labor.
After all, she had to extract essence oils from tens of thousands of flowers, moss, tree bark, spices, and the like—stacked up in warehouse loads.
Still, she had no complaints.
She even felt a real sense of reward.
Because, no matter what, she could be with Si-woo, right?
Compared to that farewell deferred indefinitely with no promise in sight, this kind of work was nothing.
Apart from the exhaustion, every day brought Amelia happiness.
"Haaam..."
Amelia let out a small yawn, gave herself a quick rinse, and headed for bed.
"Hmm... Si-woo..."
Up until last night, she'd slept cradled in his broad embrace, but disappointingly, Si-woo wasn't beside her tonight.
She wanted to cling to him forever if she could, but she couldn't very well keep him glued to her side around the clock.
As a consolation prize, Amelia pulled the fluffy bedding—still faintly scented with his presence—close and shut her eyes.
At that exact moment, Odil and Odet were steeling themselves in a dim alley of Malkuth Gallery, right in front of Amelia's perfume shop.
"Sis, should we just head back...?"
"Odet, what're you saying after coming all this way?"
Odet shot nervous glances at the music box clutched tight in both hands.
Even Odil, who fearlessly took charge in most escapades, was rigid with tension tonight.
Because what they were about to do carried dangers incomparable to their past pranks.
"But sis... do we really need to go this far?"
"You've already forgotten Lady Yesod's invaluable lesson?"
Lady Yesod's piercing critique that morning had been enough to make the twins' hearts quiver.
The image replayed: Lady Yesod, fists clenched, unleashing her fervent lecture.
'Miss Odil, Miss Odet. Did that scene really grip you with sweat-in-your-palms tension? Did you feel the exquisite thrill of voyeurism's allure and depravity's gravity?'
'Jin Ji-woo's motive for stealing those panties, his attachment to the ones that brushed the pretty blonde baron's most intimate spot. Do you really think the fierce drive to fulfill his lecherous goal amid all those risks was captured here?'
'If the words don't stir the writer's own heart, how could they ever move anyone else's?'
Hearing that, the twins realized what they lacked.
Just as a master actor immerses in a role, a writer must dive deep into the protagonist.
But Odil and Odet had never actually tried such perverse, voyeuristic acts.
To recreate that razor-edge depravity in their story, they'd have to experience it firsthand.
And so, their target was set: former associate professor Amelia Marygold.
More precisely, stealing her panties—just like the novel's protagonist.
Just picturing the fallout if caught already brought them a step closer to the hero.
Odil raised a finger with grave resolve.
"Odet, don't forget. To become a true creator, you have to lose your mind once."
"Yeah, got it, sis..."
"Deep breaths. Deep breaths."
"Huu, huu, huu, huu."
If their accomplice Sharon had heard, she'd have grabbed their skirts and yelled, "Girls, that's not what I meant!" to stop them cold...
Regrettably, no one was here to rein in the twins' wild impulses.
They'd deliberately cut Sharon out, anticipating exactly that.
"Music box activated. Silence's Song all-directional concealment field confirmed."
"Confirmed...!"
With that, the twins slipped the perfumery door open under night's cover.
Fortunately, it was unlocked.
Security was tight in Gehenna's second-finest upscale district, Renomond Town—but who would dare burgle a shop presided over by a 23rd Hierarchy witch?
-Creak!
-Jingle jingle!
Amelia's perfumery, at the forefront of Gehenna's hottest trends.
Odil and Odet had splurged pocket money here before, so they knew the layout.
Floorboards and doorbells that once went unnoticed now boomed like thunder.
Both swallowed hard.
Recon said four floors total.
First: reception counter slash showroom and blending room.
Second and third: storage.
Only the fourth held the professor's private quarters.
"Sis... I can't breathe right..."
"Don't worry—the music box has it covered."
The twins were spot on.
The music box was a gem from the Gemernai Count Family, renowned for luxury magic artifacts.
An artifact that semi-permanently regenerated its own spells.
No archwitch could detect them mid-slumber.
They'd tested it sneaking into the Assistant's quarters before.
"...Ready to go?"
"Ughhhh..."
The twins eyed the stairs upward, shoulder to shoulder.
Break-in accomplished.
Caught now, they'd have zero defense—but busted en route upstairs? No excuses at all.
"I... I really can't do it, sis."
Odet ached to bolt, but Odil's zeal overrode her terror.
Odil planted hands on hips, shot her waffling sister a peeved look, kicked off her shoes, and took the stairs first.
"Fine, stay put. I'll handle it solo."
"Sis!"
-Creak! Creak! Creak!
Wooden steps groaning raucously per footfall.
Odet watched her sister's retreating rear, clenched her eyes, and trailed after.
Gemernais were two-in-one.
Hell ahead or not, they went together.
"Huu... huu..."
"Haa... haa..."
Just a cramped, steep flight.
Yet the riding-and-hunting-hardened twins soaked their backs with sweat after two floors.
Tension turned breaths ragged, starved for air.
At last, the top.
A stout wooden door loomed.
Beyond it: Associate Professor Amelia and her lingerie chest.
"......"
"......"
No turning back now—Odet's gaze hardened, steeling during the climb.
Concealment radius minimized, chatter was safe, but they swapped looks and nodded in sync.
Even tough-as-nails twins found the strain unbearable aloud.
Ears to the wood, utmost focus.
Presence detected.
No household stir.
Indeed, asleep.
Like novel hero Jin Ji-woo, eyes shut in silent prayer.
May the door yield panties unscathed.
May the professor's grasp not end them here.
Imagined lust fueling scant courage, knob turned.
-Creeeeeak...
Door yawned with a chilling groan.
Odil, subbing for knob-shaking Odet, peeked through.
"......"
The fourth-floor suite was studio-style—one glance took it all in.
Bed framed the front window; Amelia lay back-to, round crown visible.
Odil flashed their pre-set all-clear hand sign.
Odet crept in after.
Witch of Perfume lived up to the title?
Shop scents were one thing, but the room swam in rapture-inducing perfume.
Without that soothing aroma, they might've fled on the spot.
"......"
Frozen like dark-caught hamsters under flashlight glare, Odil and Odet stood stiff and awkward.
Five minutes ticked by.
Breaths still came soft and even.
Conviction set.
She's out cold.
Deep enough to whisk away unnoticed? Debatable, but asleep for sure.
Meantime, the twins shared electric elation.
Finally, they got it.
How text-only tension should pulse alive.
Why Lady Yesod's critique cut so deep.
This instant, Odil and Odet became characters.
Hyper-alert to the professor's tiniest bed twitch.
Knife-edge ploy, danger for the prize.
Like midnight-prowling cats, they inched toward the wardrobe.
One oversight the twins missed.
Since becoming a witch, Amelia seldom truly slept.
Lately, per her master's urging, she'd built a shut-eye routine—but she still sucked at it.
Music box concealment flawless or not, the door's whoosh stirred air currents, rousing her light doze to intruders' vibe.
'...Si-woo.'
Eyes clamped shut, Amelia feigned slumber, geared for Si-woo's surprise visit.