Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Uninvited Guest (2)
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Like any other witch.
The figure of the uninvited guest standing before him was as breathtakingly beautiful as if it had been painted in a portrait.
The jet-black dress, as though tailored exclusively for her, draped fluidly over her body.
Her crimson eyes, too vivid to belong to a human, and her alluringly glistening lips.
Even with her sharp bob cut ending abruptly below her shoulders, her delicate frame evoked the image of a single, fragile flower.
Yes.
The spider lily.
The flower that bloomed at the river's edge leading to the underworld.
Shin Siwoo felt every hair on his body standing on end.
The way she regarded him—with a calm, gentlemanly demeanor at first glance—was devoid of any respect one might show another human.
She probably wasn't even aware of it herself, but her gaze was as indifferent as one looking at an insect capable of rudimentary communication.
The gentle tone packaging that gaze created a nauseating sense of dissonance.
No witch he'd encountered so far had ever looked at humans this way.
What he sensed from her was an instinctive terror reserved solely for apex predators—something no one needed to teach him to recognize.
Even the booze couldn't dull his balls-shrinking crisis instinct; it was a wake-up call like no other.
Despite not fully grasping why he felt this repulsive sensation, Siwoo bowed his waist as cautiously as possible and asked,
"I'm Shin Siwoo, the exclusive slave of Baroness Amelia. Would it be all right if I asked whether you had a prior appointment, and what your relationship to her might be?"
"Unfortunately, no prior appointment. As for our relationship... let's call it friends."
Above all, the atmosphere she naturally imposed on her surroundings, combined with the answer to that one question, solidified Siwoo's sense of danger.
Amelia, the personality wreck, only had Sophia as a friend.
So what was this witch, claiming to be Amelia's friend, doing here?
Siwoo flashed a bright smile and said,
"Lady Amelia is out at the moment. She'll be back soon—would it be okay if I showed you to the reception room first?"
Buying time was the priority.
It was an intuition without certainty.
But he couldn't ignore the chill creeping up his spine.
"Shall we?"
The witch responded to Siwoo's smile with a polite one of her own, then followed behind him, her high heels clicking rhythmically.
Siwoo glanced at her reflection in the glass pane.
If there was such a thing as a face that devoured men, this was it.
The beauty mark under her left eye, her subtly seductive features—even in this situation, they made him imagine the flesh beneath that black dress.
Beautiful was an understatement; it was no extravagance for her.
Yet why did his stomach keep churning like this?
A thick sense of distortion, perhaps?
The air around this witch felt heavier, different.
Clingy, sticking to his lungs like damp air on a humid summer day, making it hard to breathe.
The reception room, meant for guests, was the most ornate space in the mansion.
Siwoo guided her to the table covered in white cloth and pulled out a chair for her.
"Please wait just a moment. I'll prepare some tea and drinks."
Now, just bolt from here.
Back in his room, there was the music box under the bed.
Activate it to mask his presence, drop out the window, and escape.
His relationship with the already-ruined Amelia was beyond salvage.
There was no reason to wait alone with her mysterious, dangerous guest for her return.
"Wouldn't it be too lonely to wait alone? Come sit here."
As Siwoo pondered how to deflect or slip away, the witch whispered in a tone that felt overtly seductive.
"Come on."
"Pardon the intrusion."
With no choice, Siwoo pulled out the chair beside her and sat.
He managed his expression meticulously, putting on just enough of an act to avoid awkwardness.
"It's an honor to join you."
"Do you know who I am?"
"Forgive my ignorance as a lowly slave with limited knowledge. Might I have the honor of asking your name now?"
"I'm Ea Sadalmelek."
"A beautiful name befitting such a noble presence."
Ea covered her mouth and giggled, as if tickled by Siwoo's flattery.
"And you? What's your name?"
"Shin Siwoo."
It didn't seem like bad vibes, so Siwoo let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Honestly, he'd wondered if he was overdoing it.
But the conversation flowed naturally, so it looked like he'd passed.
"It seems it'll take a while for the baroness to return."
"Probably..."
She didn't seem likely to come back anytime soon.
Not after dashing off like that.
Come to think of it, Siwoo still didn't fully understand why Amelia had fled.
Until now, he'd thought it wouldn't be strange for her to coldly execute him on the spot.
Ea scrutinized Siwoo's face with keen interest.
Then, licking her lips, she spoke.
"I hate being bored... Shall we find a way to pass the time?"
A thick, cloying breath wafted toward him.
As if she'd deliberately shifted the air currents, her rich feminine scent filled Siwoo's nose.
"What did you have in mind for passing the time?"
"I have this terribly naughty habit. So bad and embarrassing, I can't even admit it openly to others."
No way.
A faint crack appeared in Siwoo's perfect poker face.
Her tone sounded like coquettish wheedling.
Of course, it was restrained enough not to shatter her refined image.
He let her words slide with an ambiguous smile, listening quietly.
Ea, who had rested her chin on her hand atop the table, extended her slender fingers and grasped Siwoo's hand.
"Uh..."
She drew one of his fingers near her lips and gave it a light nibble.
"Every time I indulge in this secret habit, I have to expose my shame to the other person. It's so embarrassing."
Siwoo hesitated, wondering whether to pull his hand away.
He still thought it couldn't be that, but her sultry aura made him swallow involuntarily.
"I wouldn't know how to put it... Do you have any guess what my bad habit is?"
"Not a clue..."
"Really?"
This time, Ea's slightly parted lips let her tongue softly lick his fingertip.
A tongue astonishingly flexible and swift, wrapping around his finger in circles.
Siwoo realized today that a human tongue could flick like that.
"I... uh...!"
Now fully convinced, as he tried to dissuade this terrifying witch, she popped his finger into her mouth whole.
Did she feel no shame doing this?
With a crescent-eyed smile, she began lavishing his two fingers with her lips and tongue.
As if sucking a cock.
Yet despite the lewd, bizarre sensation, his dick didn't even twitch.
Honestly, it was just fucking scary.
"I get this wicked urge to steal other women's men whenever I see them. Oh dear, how embarrassing..."
What the hell is this crazy bitch saying?
Ea cupped her cheeks with her hands, beaming with ecstatic bliss.
As expected, statistically speaking, witches were highly likely to be unhinged.
Even if Siwoo was just a male concubine, what Ea was attempting was taboo.
It was akin to sleeping with a favored concubine.
Proposing such nonsense when Amelia could return any moment was proof she was out of her mind.
Was she even a proper guest to begin with?
Claiming friendship with friendless loser Amelia, then admitting NTR was her kink right off the bat...
And this stifling atmosphere he'd felt since earlier.
Even her sweet scent reminded him of the floral aroma from carnivorous plants.
"Don't you like me? Thinking about your mistress?"
"Your attention flatters me beyond my station."
"No? Tell me. You were thinking of Merrygold, weren't you?"
For some reason, Ea couldn't hide her excitement.
She leaned in close, practically lifting her ass off the chair, her face inches from Siwoo's.
His pupils, shaking side to side, reflected in her dark crimson eyes.
"Be honest, and I won't blame you."
Was this even a situation where she could blame him?
A bit bewildered, Siwoo nodded anyway.
Honestly, staring into her eyes at this distance, he lacked confidence he could lie convincingly.
"Yes."
"What were you thinking? Her voice? Her face? Or maybe naked?"
Siwoo panicked at Ea's rapidly excited voice.
He couldn't easily pinpoint what about this was turning her on.
And he sure as hell couldn't say he'd been thinking about Amelia's shittiness.
"I should have explained beforehand... Lady Merrygold and I are merely exclusive slave and associate professor."
"Oh, I see."
Ea, who had peered deep into Siwoo's eyes for a long while, leaned back against the chair as if her interest had waned.
She made no effort to hide her disappointment, her boredom.
"Too bad. It would've been more fun if you two had a sticky relationship."
"Sorry for not living up to expectations."
Anyway, he wanted to ditch her now.
Sticking around might backfire, and frankly, he didn't want to be near her.
Every sense in his body screamed it.
This woman was too dangerous a witch.
"Uh..."
That's when Siwoo happened to notice.
The ribbon lace tracing over the black dress—the pattern woven into the fabric.
At first, he'd thought it was just flowers or vines.
But the lace formed the shape of a water bearer.
So masterfully depicted with advanced weaving that the pouring water looked natural; he'd simply overlooked it.
Three words flashed in his mind.
The Exile.
Truth be told, he'd suspected as much from her unique aura since they first met.
But he'd dismissed it, unable to imagine an exile brazenly visiting Amelia's home...
Siwoo recalled what Sophia had said that night when Amelia had nearly been kidnapped.
Sophia had called the mastermind the "Witch of Aquarius."
And here was this ominous witch, draped in a dress adorned with water-bearer lace motifs.
No way it was coincidence.
Siwoo, already planning to flee from her, now had certainty.
Time to run.
No matter how ready he'd been to throw his life away defying Amelia, he wasn't passive enough to sit still in the face of death.
Besides, even if he died, he had a mission to hurl some parting curses at Amelia upon her return.
Without changing expression, Siwoo rose leisurely from his seat.
"It seems it'll take some time, so I'll fetch some fine whiskey. It'd be shameful for me not to entertain a贵 guest properly."
The Witch of Aquarius sat there, chin propped on folded hands, smiling wordlessly.
Siwoo glanced at her and turned to exit the reception room with calm steps.
-Vrrr!
Then, a heavy vibration from behind.
Siwoo, familiar with the sensation from long exposure, knew what it was.
The telltale presence of mana in motion.
"You've figured it out, haven't you?"
Her cat-like vertically slit pupils overflowed with rippling mana reflections.
Behind her, black ribbon-like tendrils extended in layers, undulating.
He could sense their overwhelming mana density—enough to shave mountains with a casual swing.
Siwoo could deduce it.
A witch visiting solo to meet a Rank 22 witch must possess comparable power.
And those ribbons she revealed weren't drawn for benign intent.
"Fuck."
RUN.
Time to escape.