City of Witches Chapter 188

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If asked to name the most awkward moment of her life, Sharon would choose the present without hesitation.

The apprentice witches of the Jemernai Count Family, sitting side by side on the sofa, staring fixedly at Sharon.

Their two pairs of gazes poured down on Sharon like raindrops outside the window, leaving not a single gap.

At least with the Jemernai Countess, there was a personal color distinction—the older sister favored black, the younger sister white.

But these twins were so strikingly identical it was impossible to tell who was who, and their breathtaking beauty added an eerie, ghost-like chill.

If they're going to stare like that, I wish they'd at least say something...

Ever since Deneb and Siwoo left together, the twins hadn't uttered a single word, just kept staring intently like that.

"Um, should I bring out some more fruit?"

Sharon managed to force out some words.

Once again, the gazes poured down in unison.

I want to cry.

Why are they looking at me like that?

"Yes, thank you."

"I'd like an apple."

The replies came after a long pause.

As she headed toward the kitchen, Sharon glanced back at the twins—they were still staring holes through her.

Sharon quickened her pace and entered the kitchen.

"What on earth..."

She already knew Siwoo was an esteemed guest of the Jemernai Count Family.

He not only possessed the Count Family's ring, but she also remembered hearing that he had casually rescued an apprentice witch from danger.

Usually, witches within Gehenna don't send apprentice witches outside, so the fact that they came here to meet Siwoo meant the twins' relationship with him must be quite close.

"Could it be...?"

Could it be that among the people Siwoo had kissed, these twins were included?

A situation where an ex-girlfriend is giving the current girlfriend (candidate) a warning look?

Trained by countless romance movies, Sharon instantly crafted an elaborate scenario in her head.

Then what should I do?

Am I supposed to just let Siwoo be taken away like this?

Sharon neatly sliced the fruit and returned to the living room.

"So... but... .... ...... Ah..."

"No, unnie.... ..... That can't be..."

The twins, who had been sitting upright like dolls, were now whispering to each other.

As Sharon approached, they snapped back to their original state, feigning innocence.

Though she was intensely curious about their conversation, Sharon pretended not to notice as she set down the fruit.

"Thank you."

"Thank you."

The twins politely bowed their heads.

One of the twins, picking up a long, slender fork and putting a piece of apple in her mouth, suddenly spoke up.

"Witch, what is your name?"

"Ah, I'm Sharon Evergreen."

Strictly in terms of witch society hierarchy, Sharon had no reason to feel inferior to the twins, who were merely apprentice witches.

But in reality, beyond societal hierarchy, there was the tangible, skin-deep issue: Sharon was a debtor of 58 billion, while the twins were the daughters of the creditor.

Who knows?

These seemingly adorable young ladies might get angry, scurry off to Countess Jemernai, and say, 'Master, please confiscate that bad woman's entire assets!'

Naturally, Sharon couldn't help but shrink back.

"I'm Odil."

"I'm Odette."

"It's nice to meet you."

Finally, the conversation had begun.

Sharon was moved.

It meant she wouldn't have to endure that awkward, stifling, inexplicable silence anymore.

"But what is your relationship with our assistant?"

"Do you live here together?"

However, as soon as she heard the twins' questions, Sharon realized the earlier silence had been a far better situation.

Judging by the content, this wasn't a conversation but more like an interrogation.

"Yes, well, for now, I have nowhere else to go, so Siwoo..."

"Siwoo?"

"Siwoo?"

"Yes, um... Mr. Siwoo provides me with room and board, and I teach him Magic. That's the kind of arrangement we have living together."

Seeing the immediate objection to the casual term of address she had thoughtlessly used, Sharon confirmed her suspicion was correct.

As expected, the twins' relationship with Siwoo was not ordinary.

"...So, are you our assistant's girlfriend? That is, his lover?"

"Ah, no."

Strictly speaking, while they had done this and that, they weren't officially dating as boyfriend and girlfriend, so Sharon answered.

"See, unnie? I told you I was right."

"Odette, is that important right now?"

"Who was it that said that was the most important thing until just now?"

"What? I only said that if it were that kind of relationship, I might feel a bit betrayed by our assistant. In other words, Odette, you're overinterpreting my words."

"Aren't you just nitpicking because you probably lost the bet, unnie? You always do that."

Sharon was dumbfounded by the sudden argument that erupted between the twins.

She had definitely expected chilling dialogue like, 'Hehe, you're in debt to our family, right? If you don't want that debt to double, quietly step away from darling!' or 'You vixen, did you seduce Siwoo when he was vulnerable?'

But unexpectedly, the two suddenly started bickering.

"Speaking of which, Odette, your idea was really not that great! Our assistant wasn't even that surprised!"

"And unnie's idea of hiding in a big gift box to surprise him was an even more foolish notion!"

"Foolish? You're the one who can't even use Magic as well as I can, you pauper!"

"Unnie, you're the one who can't accept defeat—you're really acting like a child!"

"Hey, p-please calm down."

Though it might have been their usual cute squabble, for Sharon, encountering such a fierce war of words for the first time, she felt she had to intervene first.

The twins simultaneously looked at Sharon and asked.

Their gazes weren't seeking mediation for the fight, but rather a judge to decide the winner and loser.

"From Witch Evergreen's perspective, who do you think is in the wrong?"

"No matter how you think about it, unnie is being strange, right?"

"Huh, me?"

While Sharon was flustered, not knowing what to do, Siwoo returned.

Deneb's unexpected departure.

Leaving behind the sentiment that he was more trusted than he thought, Siwoo entered the house.

"What's this?"

He had expected a noisy commotion in the living room, but it was quiet, as if they had entered a temple.

Siwoo stepped into the living room.There sat the Twins, calm and well-behaved, and Sharon, frozen in an awkward state.

The moment Sharon made eye contact, she sent a desperate distress signal.

That look was probably the expression Siwoo would have worn whenever he had to be dragged around during the Twins' rampages.

It was understandable.

They must have been fighting noisily and suddenly quieted down when it seemed like the Master had returned.

Odette, who had slowly turned her head, came scurrying over.

"Assistant, where's the Master?"

"She said something came up and she went somewhere for a while."

"Wow!"

"Really?"

Simultaneously, the Twins threw off their masks of well-behaved apprentice witches.

Odil, who practically did a somersault as she bounced off the sofa, and Odette, covering her mouth with joy right where she stood.

So this is how I get to indirectly experience the proverb that raising daughters is utterly useless.

"Oh my! Oh my! Oh my! So when is the Master coming back?"

"I didn't hear about that part. Probably by tomorrow... Gahk!"

Siwoo's words were abruptly cut off because Odil, who had just slammed into the sofa, launched a full-body tackle and clung to him.

"Assistaaaaaant! I missed you! I totally missed you!"

"O... Odil-nim."

During this, Siwoo's face turned pale as he took a knee to the solar plexus, while Odette, who had been standing still, also joined the enthusiastic welcome.

She pushed and pulled at Siwoo's arms, which were barely holding Odil.

"Unni! Cheating again, keeping him all to yourself! Assistant! I missed you too!"

"Ye... yes, first, Odil-nim... could you please get down?"

"Ah! Okay, sorry. Earlier, since the Master was here, I couldn't even greet you properly and it was frustrating."

"The little Master is super sensitive about this stuff... We're not kids anymore!"

"Right, right!"

Odil, the moment she hopped out of Siwoo's embrace, started chattering away nonstop.

Naturally, Odette providing covering fire from the side was a bonus.

"Assistant, have you been well?"

"Nothing bad happened, right?"

"You weren't forgetting about us, were you?"

"We were so surprised thinking you might have abandoned us and gotten a lover!"

On top of that, they said they studied Magic hard to come see Siwoo, that this time they wheedled their way here as a special trip instead of a birthday present, that they schemed ways to sneak out to the Mortal Realm.

Anyway, they unpacked a whole bundle of stories.

Hmm.

Feeling the Twins' high tension after so long naturally puts me in a good mood.

If I had to pick the best connection from my five years of slave life, it would undoubtedly be these lively, mischievous Twins.

Even though less than a year has passed, they were so happy to see him that dewy tears welled up in Odil and Odette's eyes.

"It's touching... I thought we wouldn't be able to see you at all for five years..."

"Unni, at least you got to go on a date with the Assistant at the end! I... I couldn't even do that."

"You're still sulking about that?"

"Unni talks too lightly! How can you just let that go?"

"Now, now, calm down. You get along so well, why do you fight whenever you get the chance?"

"Odette picks fights every day!"

"Unni picks fights every day, I'm telling you!"

"Tsk tsk, that won't do."

The Twins suddenly started bickering, just like they did back in Gehenna.

Siwoo smiled wryly at their unchanging selves and tried to dissuade them.

Normally, the Twins would have sought a judge, but seeing Siwoo's smile, they soon grinned cheekily.

They came to find him because they wanted to see that smile again.

"It's like a dream... I really wanted to see the Mortal Realm too... and to have the Assistant here with us."

"Ah! That's right! Assistant! The Mortal Realm is full of really, really, truly amazing things! I studied a bit about the Mortal Realm to come meet you, Assistant, but even so, there are so many surprising things!"

"Right! I rode in a car for the first time today, and while it's impressive, the ride comfort of our carriage is better."

"I thought the elevator was the most amazing! Can I ride it again later? Where do I pay the fare?"

The chattering sound fills every gap.

Well, if Odil and Odette have spent their whole lives in Gehenna, the sights of the Mortal Realm would be wondrous.

Just like Siwoo was amazed seeing Magic when he was first taken to Gehenna.

I feel a sense of familiarity in the way they pour out their own words without giving him a chance to reply.

"You look excited, so I'm happy too."

"Assistant, you missed us too, right?"

"Ah, geez, Unni... why ask something so obvious?"

"Odette-nim is right. I was always curious about how you both were doing."

Odil and Odette each hugged one of Siwoo's arms and clung tightly.

As if Siwoo might disappear if they slacked off for a moment, they rubbed their soft cheeks against his chest and tugged firmly at his collar.

Thus, the Twins' way of expressing affection generally involved physical contact.

After clinging to Siwoo for a while, the Twins yawned loudly at the same time.

Looking at the clock, it was already 4 AM.

Unlike a perfect Spirit Body, an apprentice witch's Half-Spirit Body essentially requires sleep.

It wasn't a strange time for the Twins, who had been bouncing around excitedly, to start feeling tired.

Siwoo also wanted to keep chatting and playing, but since Deneb had entrusted their care to him with trust, he intended to be sincere about it.

After all, she's also the patron maintaining Siwoo's comfortable life.

"First, since it's late now, shall we sleep?"

"Already?"

"You seem sleepy, your eyes are red too."

"This is my eyes turning red from being happy to see you, Assistant. I yawned because Unni did it."

"What? I did it because Odette did. I'm not sleepy at all!"

As expected, the Twins were being stubborn, but Siwoo knew how to handle them quite well.

Actually, it's less that he knows how and more that the Twins just listen to Siwoo's words excessively well...

"I found a dessert shop I think you'd both like. If you wake up late tomorrow, you'll only be able to go for a little while. How about sleeping soundly first and waking up early tomorrow to go together?"

"Great! But how about sleeping in the same bed?"

"That would be difficult. Deneb-nim said if I do anything foolish, there'll be big trouble. I plan to sleep on the sofa."

Of course, she never said anything like that, but saying it this way would make it easier to convince the Twins.

However, the Twins, who hadn't even been with their longed-for Assistant for 30 minutes before being urged to sleep, didn't seem inclined to let it go easily.

"Assistant, we're not trying to do anything weird. It's just sleeping in the same bed, right?"

"Right, we'll just hold hands next to you.""No matter what, I don't think that would be appropriate. At least for today, I must insist. What if Deneb comes to check if I'm really doing well—what would we do then?"

When Siwoo declined this firmly, the Twins' face fell, but they nodded.

His reasoning made enough sense.

And so, the matter was settled with the Twins sleeping in Siwoo's bed and Siwoo sleeping on the sofa.