Chapter 865
Chapter 865
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 865
Chapter Title: A Common Drama (3)
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1.
Asking the Assistant for gifts like some spoiled child just wasn't mature.
The simple sequence of 'receiving a gift and just being happy about it'.
Even Lurye, a total newbie when it came to romance, could manage that much.
So Odil and Odet had thought one step ahead.
"This is exactly when we need to stand out, Odet."
"I know, sis. Master taught us that when competing against rivals on equal footing, that's the way to go."
"While everyone else is just thrilled to get their gifts..."
"What if we thoughtfully prepare return gifts as well?"
Convinced this was the perfect big picture, Odil and Odet had each picked out a fountain pen and carefully wrapped it in a box.
And they even had a perfect excuse.
Siu had been making significant contributions to the witch academic world lately.
A fountain pen just happened to be the symbolic and quintessential gift for honoring a scholar, so it fit him perfectly.
They'd slipped in a short but heartfelt handwritten letter too.
But the dreams and hopes inflating Odil and Odet's hearts had shattered like glass at the sight of Deneb and Siu kissing.
"......"
"......"
Too stunned to even hold an umbrella,
too flustered to cast a spell against the rain, the twins had turned and bolted.
By the time they stumbled back to their room, they were drenched to the bone, faces blank with shock.
Odil and Odet collapsed into the chairs by the fireplace.
"They were... kissing."
"Little Master and the Assistant..."
Desolate mutterings leaked out from between the twins, slumped like laundry strewn about haphazardly.
It wasn't a mistake. It wasn't their imagination.
The twins could tell the difference between a greeting kiss shared with a dear friend and one between lovers.
Master had definitely reached out, wrapping her arms around the Assistant's neck like a serpent, pressing her full lips to his and tangling their tongues.
That was unmistakably a kiss of lust and passion.
The twins pinched each other's arms.
Twisting the flesh until the blood drained white, the sharp sting of pain hit them.
"Ow."
"That hurts for me too, sis."
"So... it wasn't a dream."
"Nope."
Their hearts were astonishingly calm.
So calm it felt stifling, like they'd hardened into stone.
Hard enough that hurling a rock at them wouldn't leave a mark.
"Odet, how long have Little Master and the Assistant been...?"
"No way, sis."
"Huh?"
"There must be some misunderstanding. Something we can understand once we hear the calm explanation. Like she tripped or something. Or wait—right! A potion? What if Little Master accidentally drank some shady potion?"
Odet squeezed out strained cheer like toothpaste from a nearly empty tube.
But her bright tone stemmed from her own lack of conviction.
"......"
Odil's silence proved it.
The forced smile on Odet's lips crumpled heavily.
"I was so happy that he'd made so many friends..."
"Why did it have to be..."
They hadn't been entirely free of the selfish desire to monopolize the Assistant's love.
Especially back when they first met Sharon sis—they'd even shown sharp hostility then.
They hadn't wanted to lose their beloved Assistant to anyone.
But as they grew closer to Sharon sis, the twins' hearts had softened a bit.
Love was like a happy war full of endless trials.
Kind rivals walking that rough path together made the best friends, comrades, and confidants.
Every time the Assistant was in danger, they'd wondered more than once, 'If it had just been us as his lovers, could we have endured it?'
In the end, despite their different situations, the common point of 'the one we love = Siu' had brought them closer.
So while they sometimes grumbled about the Assistant recklessly adding more lovers, they understood.
Because he loved them that much.
Because the Assistant from his slave days had thrown away his life for the twins without a second thought.
Because they could all become good friends.
But Little Master was a different story.
"I can't believe it... the Assistant.... Why her of all people..."
"Anyone but... Little Master..."
Odet, who had barely held the mood together, finally crumbled.
Odil and Odet stared blankly ahead, fat teardrops rolling down their cheeks.
Tears born of betrayal and shock.
The master-apprentice relationship was like that of parent and child.
To the Assistant, Deneb was his mother-in-law; to Deneb, the Assistant was her son-in-law.
Why hadn't the Assistant told them?
Why had Little Master gone and done something like that?
And how long had those two been in that kind of relationship?
No questions had clear answers.
But one thing was certain.
Having the one you love stolen by the person they love—that was the most horrific tragedy in the world.
2.
Albreo was enjoying her best days in nearly a year.
Everything was going smoothly these days.
There was some chaos in the mortal world due to Hexennacht, but preparations for succession—streamlining business operations and handovers—were progressing steadily.
Her playboy son-in-law, who used to drag scandals and flings everywhere, had settled down and was excelling with his papers.
Her younger sister, who had fallen into forbidden puppy love in the twilight of her witch life, seemed to have finally given up on that 'deviant succession' through Siu and stopped giving Albreo headaches lately.
When Siu brought home those two as his new lovers, her composure had crumbled spectacularly...
"Let's just gloss over that..."
Actually, letting go a little had brought her some peace of mind.
He was a male witch, after all.
The first in witch history, brimming with insane talent.
Maybe witches flocking to him was simply fate.
The still-young twins were holding their own without getting intimidated, and their bonds with the surrounding rivals seemed solid enough. Albreo figured meddling would just give her a headache.
That's how she'd ended up humming in her office when she suddenly got a call from Countess Lucy Yesod.
"Pardon? Runaways? Our twins?"
[Yes, Albreo. I found them and I'm looking after them. They're throwing a fit about keeping it secret from Mom... but I figured I should let you know anyway.]
"Did something happen?"
[No injuries or mischief.]
"Not that—what reason did they give for running away?"
[Even I don't really know...]
"I'll come get them right now."
[No, better not force it right now... Let me try talking them into coming home. They're at that sensitive age.]
"...Got it, Lucy. Sorry to trouble you."
After the crystal orb call ended.
Albreo tilted her head.
No matter how tomboyish the twins were, they always had some plausible reason for their antics.
But running away out of the blue?
Hadn't they just attended Sharon's class properly this morning?
"This is weird..."
The twins had a knack for stealing Albreo's wits with their boundless energy and unpredictable actions.
But rebellion from Odil and Odet usually topped out at sneaking off to the Tarot Town villa now and then. This sudden?
"Deneb."
Albreo shot up from her seat and headed to her younger sister's room.
Seeing the door, locked tight for so long, now ajar sent a chill racing through Albreo's marrow.
Nothing was set in stone yet.
No solid proof.
But Albreo's sharp instincts sensed something gravely amiss.
A powerful hunch struck her: the twins' runaway was tied to Deneb and Siu—that indecent relationship too vile to even mention.
Feet moving briskly to track down either Siu or Deneb, Albreo soon ran into Deneb trudging in from the garden.
"......"
Deneb's condition and gait were off.
Soaked through with icy rainwater, stumbling steps—the answer was plain.
The vague anxiety solidified.
'My poor sister who knows nothing of love's wonders!' or whatever—she'd gone and caused a major incident.
"Deneb! What happened?!"
Albreo gritted her teeth and strode toward her sister.
Then she froze in shock.
Her sister's face, which she'd failed to notice amid swirling suspicions, came into focus.
"Sis.... Siiiis.... I... I..."
Deneb's lips quivered, not just moping pitifully as expected.
Tears mingled with raindrops trailed down her bloodless cheeks.
"You okay...?"
Albreo had spent ages with her sister, but she'd never seen Deneb this broken.
Feeling her heart sink, Albreo magicked away the moisture.
"Calm down, Deneb. Tell me what happened."
As Albreo embraced her shoulders, Deneb collapsed into her chest, trembling violently.
Clutching her sleeve tightly over and over to steady herself, Deneb finally poured out her tear-choked confession.
"They caught us..."
"Caught what?"
"Odil and Odet... saw us kissing..."
Albreo squeezed her eyes shut.
Her mind reeled with the thought: 'So it came.'
In terms of intensity, it wasn't a big deal.
Deneb had nagged Siu into giving her her first time 'from behind'.
After getting stuck in the fish tank, they'd kept up regular relations 'from the front' too.
Even after she got out, unable to resist her feelings, she'd swapped bodies with Lucy and enjoyed him.
A mere kiss hardly packed that much punch.
But getting caught by the twins? That was a whole other issue.
That's why she'd tried so hard to dissuade Deneb and urge Siu to be cautious...
Albreo let out a long, weary sigh and asked Deneb,
"Where's Siu?"
No conversation could proceed without dragging the root of this mess into it.