City of Witches Chapter 33

Amelia and Siwoo boarded the carriage.

It was a two-seater carriage where they faced each other, and seeing there was no coachman, this must also be Sophia’s carriage.

She said she’d give him clothes, so he expected she’d just toss him something from the Academy’s supply room, but suddenly they were going out.

The carriage rattled as it passed through the Academy’s main gate.

“Where are we going?”

“A dress shop.”

“I see.”

But aren’t dress shops places that make women’s clothes?

She said she’d give him clothes, but surely she wasn’t suddenly planning to have a custom dress made for him.

Siwoo seriously wondered if this was a new form of harassment, but soon dismissed the thought.

“......”

“......”

Anyway, it was a suffocating space.

Perhaps it was because only the two of them were in this cramped space, and the seating forced them to stare directly at each other.

Since the incident at the inn last time, Siwoo had felt awkward around Amelia.

It wasn’t an awkwardness stemming from emotion due to the “O” in “Hoo-Oo,” but rather from confusion.

Of course, secretly touching her breasts without Amelia knowing was somehow a guilt-inducing act, but there was a bigger concern.

The main source of confusion was why the Autonomous Defense didn’t activate for Siwoo.

Let’s assume Siwoo’s hatred for Amelia didn’t reach the Autonomous Defense’s threshold.

But the fact that there was no reaction even when he touched her breasts—didn’t that ultimately mean Amelia’s Unconscious permitted it?

That seemed like a rational conclusion.

However, once the question arose—Amelia, the epitome of a noble Witch? Permitting it for a mere slave?—everything became murky again.

Unless he asked her candidly, he’d never know, but if he told her the whole truth, Amelia’s reaction and the danger were as clear as day, so it was ultimately pointless.

He didn’t know.

Sophia, who understood Amelia best, had said Amelia was like a child, but even that statement was hard to comprehend.

In the end, he could only wait, hoping time would resolve it.

Either that, or he’d perfect the Magic to open the Gate and escape—one of the two.

As he silently watched the scenery flowing past the window, Amelia cleared her throat.

Siwoo snapped out of his thoughts and asked.

“Ahem…!”

“Is something bothering you?”

“Manager, is there anything wrong with your health?”

Did she want to show concern now that he was her exclusive servant?

Pretend all the times she’d tormented him over various things never happened?

Siwoo found it a bit hard to keep up with her suddenly changed attitude lately.

“Things like infectious diseases, skin diseases. If you have any, tell me in advance.”

“I don’t.”

A person might be a bit grimy, but to say something like that to his face…

It seemed Siwoo’s sweat house had left quite an impact on Amelia.

Still, Siwoo diligently showered with cold water.

Fortunately, he’d never particularly experienced itching or anything like that.

“I see.”

“Yes.”

“........”

“........”

The two fell silent again.

The awkward conversational pattern that had been tediously repeating for the past few days.

He felt like he’d get indigestion even though he hadn’t eaten anything.

Ignoring the awkward atmosphere, the carriage rattled along just fine.

Then, a certain scene entered Siwoo’s view.

“Huh?”

The sight of a large fortress with tall, white buildings densely packed began to come into view.

The castle walls, standing with an elegant demeanor as if carved from ivory, still seemed quite far away, yet their majesty was extraordinary.

In Gehenna, there was only one town surrounded by a fortress.

It wasn’t Renomond Town, nor Taro Town.

Then that place was…

“Associate Professor. Is the carriage heading to Ars Magna Town?”

“Yes.”

Siwoo’s jaw dropped.

The carriage crossed the drawbridge over the moat and soon entered through the castle gate.

Ars Magna Town.

Since its full name had eight syllables, it was often shortened and called White Town.

This was because the white walls encircling the town were all specially alchemically treated, emitting a subtle milky glow when struck by light.

To describe its features first, it could be said to be Gehenna’s central city, its wealthiest district, and the most beautiful and important town.

It was said that only Witches with titles could reside in Ars Magna Town.

Thus, the entire population of White Town consisted of: 3 dukes, 7 Countesses, and 32 baronesses.

Nevertheless, Gehenna’s most important facilities were concentrated here.

First, the ‘Central City Hall,’ which handled Gehenna’s minor administrative tasks, was located here, and the ‘Tree of Sephirot,’ the decision-making body that practically ran Gehenna, was attached next to the Central City Hall.

Excluding the vault bank in Renomond Town, these were essentially Gehenna’s entire administrative bodies, so there wasn’t much else to mention.

However, the reason any Witch with some money visited White Town was because all the top-tier luxury facilities were located here.

The social club ‘First Red Roof Salon,’ accessible only to Witches of Hierarchy 15 or above,

The Levana Grand Bathhouse operated by Countess Yesod,

‘Flora Dress Shop,’ which led Gehenna’s fashion trends,

‘Gemernai Magical Tools Main Store,’ which dealt only in the highest quality magical tools among magical tools—all sorts of luxurious, high-end facilities that Witches would go crazy over were packed in here.

Ordinary citizens could not enter or leave without permission, and even if one were a Witch, a Witch of mediocre Hierarchy would feel overwhelming pressure and be unable to utter a word from the moment they stepped in, so there was no way Siwoo, a slave, had ever been here before.

Siwoo gaped at the scenery flowing past the carriage window.

It was the first time he’d seen so many Witches at once.

Compared to the castle road wide enough for eight carriages to pass Simultaneously, it was a small number, but even a rough count showed well over 50.

“Wow…”

Forgetting Amelia was in front of him, Siwoo opened his mouth and looked around.

To summarize the majestic scenery of Ars Magna Town in one word, it could be called a city from mythology.

Architectures from eras that did not use steel reinforcement or concrete in construction, spanning Gothic, Baroque, and Rococo styles.

If one stacked those architectures to their limits—tall, large, and cleanly—it would roughly resemble this town.

That such a beautiful city could be built without using a single modern construction material was something Siwoo couldn’t believe even while seeing it.

“It’s truly beautiful.”

When he first saw the scenery of Renomond Town, he thought it was incredibly beautiful, but this place was on a different level.

If the buildings of Renomond Town were world cultural heritage grade, the buildings of White Town were world mystery grade.Without Magic, you could never build a structure like this.

"Is that so?"

Aside from being able to study the discipline of Magic, being able to see such a beautiful city is one of Gehenna's few, almost non-existent, advantages.

Still, it feels like a rare outing, so my mood is lifted.

"Is the Associate Professor's residence also here?"

"Yes."

Living in a place like this would probably be just as good as living in Hannam-dong, and I suddenly became curious about the mansion owned by the Marigold family.

"I'd like to see it sometime."

"I've never been there either."

An unexpected reply came back.

Thinking about it, Siwoo knew almost nothing about Amelia.

He knew the survival essentials—what she disliked, when she got angry, the expression she made when being petty, how to gauge her anger meter.

But he actually knew nothing about what Amelia liked, moments that made her happy, or her past.

Suddenly curious, he asked.

It's a bit welcome to have a conversation that flows smoothly without abrupt stops for the first time in a while.

Seeing wondrous things seems to have loosened my heart, so the conversation is going well.

"Why is that?"

"Because I lived in a hut in the forest with the Master even before becoming a Witch."

"A forest? Which town was it?"

"It wasn't any town. It was just a pretty forest dense with alder trees."

Not every place in Gehenna is a town where people gather and live.

Among them, there were also farmlands, pastures, or undeveloped woodlands.

The place Amelia said she lived was probably one of those.

"Though it's not as beautiful as it used to be now."

Her profile as she said those words looked somewhat lonely somewhere.

Just as Siwoo was about to say something, Amelia took the lead.

"We've arrived. Get off."

The two horses pulling the carriage without a coachman stopped in front of a certain splendid building.

The words written on the signboard were Flora's Dress Shop.

It's a building that looks like a church, probably about five stories tall.

Covered in anticipation for the new clothes he would get and a vague unease about having to get them custom-made at a dress shop of all places, Siwoo moved his feet.

When Amelia knocked on the door a couple of times with the doorknob, the iron door, easily 5 meters tall, opened by itself.

The dress shop Siwoo thought from outside was about five stories was actually a single floor.

It's just that the ceiling is incredibly high, like a Gothic-style chapel.

And there was a storage cabinet filling one side of the wall all the way to the end of that high ceiling.

Colorful fabrics were densely packed into the storage cabinet without a single gap.

A red carpet covering the entire floor.

Siwoo looked around, observing the interior structure of the dress shop.

Should I say it's like a hotel lobby? It's hard to believe it's a humble place that makes custom dresses.

Then, a woman walked out from one corner.

A dress that boldly revealed one leg, a long pipe clenched in her mouth. Hair swept to cover one eye—a very sexy woman.

And she was probably a Witch too.

Seeing Amelia, she showed no sign of being intimidated and instead blew out a puff of smoke.

"That's a dress made ten years ago. Back then, I took snowflakes as the inspiration source. I think Sophia bought it then... You're that Marigold, right?"

"Yes."

It was an inscrutable statement.

It didn't seem like addressing a customer, nor did it seem like words meant to build camaraderie.

"True beauty is something that doesn't change with the flow of time. That dress was made quite a while ago, but it's not the least bit tacky, is it?"

Even Siwoo was pondering what to say, let alone Amelia.

The Witch blows out smoke again with a hoo.

Maybe it wasn't a statement expecting a reply in the first place.

"My introduction is late. You probably already knew, but I'll do it for formality's sake. I'm Flora Arabesque, the Witch who weaves thread. That outfit you're wearing, I made it too."

"I came because I want to get a suit tailored."

"A suit? Where are you going to wear it? The modern world? Gehenna?"

"Here."

Flora abruptly cut off the conversation mid-way as if she just remembered something.

"Good, some Turkish mohair wool just arrived. I had an outfit I wanted to make too, I'll weave it beautifully."

If it's a custom suit, I've had one tailored once before.

It was absolutely necessary when attending things like academic conferences.

But back then, they asked for almost two hours about what Siwoo wanted, and production alone took over 15 days.

But that Witch isn't even taking measurements.

Just as Siwoo was feeling bewildered, Amelia pointed at Siwoo with her fingertip.

"Not for me, please tailor a suit for this man to wear."

A strange light flickered in Flora's eyes.

A word from the author (Author's Note)

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