City of Witches Chapter 364

“Miss Diana. You seem unusually unfocused today.”

Since they had outdoor activities yesterday, today was Witchboard training.

At Siwoo’s sudden remark, Diana snapped back to attention.

“Why do you think that?”

“It’s just… you’ve been missing details you normally wouldn’t. If you’re not feeling well, would you like to take a break?”

He was right, actually.

Normally, Diana and Siwoo’s matches would end after a long battle of around 250 to 300 moves.

But today, they all ended within about 100 moves.

Sometimes she even lost in as few as 50 moves.

Moreover, Diana hadn’t even requested post-game review feedback from Siwoo today.

She played mechanically, and as soon as one game ended, she immediately started another without uttering a single word.

This was despite Diana, at least regarding the Witchboard, acknowledging Siwoo and wanting to learn from him.

Diana stared intently at Siwoo.

Although they had been playing together for over three hours today, this was the first time their eyes met.

“…….”

A complicated state of mind.

As if she didn’t understand why.

And faced with those eyes holding a faint trace of concern, Diana couldn’t bring herself to voice the tangled feelings inside.

“Yes, I’ll take a break.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

Replying in a listless voice, Diana returned to her bedroom.

A custom-made bed boasting an ergonomically perfect design.

She flopped down onto her personal sanctuary, decorated with cascading drapes to resemble a princess’s bed.

“Sigh… What is this feeling….”

Ever since realizing the secret relationship between her tutor, Shin Siwoo, and her mother yesterday.

Diana had felt an emotion she had never experienced in her life.

The indecent image of her mother from the novel.

And though she did feel a moment of shock at the lie of hiring him as her tutor just to keep him close, she had sorted that out while sleeping last night.

Diana had also read about what love is, at least in writing.

Even though it was hard to accept that her mother, who had always warned her so vehemently to be cautious of men, was hiding such a secret.

She tried to understand it all.

Because of Diana.

Because of the eyes of those around them.

Because she pitied, even felt sorry for, her mother, unable to show her true feelings openly and finding release by writing sensual novels in her secluded room.

How lonely and solitary must she have been to do that?

But there was something strange.

Diana was sure she understood her mother’s circumstances.

Therefore, even if her mother had met a new man and was secretly having an affair behind Diana’s back, there was no reason for Diana to feel uncomfortable.

It was a minor matter—a bit surprising and bittersweet, but one she could simply murmur ‘That’s good’ or ‘I’m glad for her’ about.

Having sorted out her feelings, her heart should have been at ease.

Last night, she should have enjoyed a sweet, deep sleep without much tossing and turning.

The ripple that disturbed Diana’s peace of mind started when she faced Siwoo, who had come to see her again today without fail.

“Ugh… ughhh….”

Diana buried her face in the pillow and kicked the bed, as if swimming.

Siwoo, who had arrived still dressed in his neat butler uniform.

From the moment she opened the door and led him into the living room, phrases from the novel began flickering in her mind.

The Adam’s apple, protruding prominently from the secondary sexual characteristics, unlike in women.

The firm forearm glimpsed through the slightly raised shirt cuff.

Even the serious gaze fixed on the Witchboard.

It perfectly matched the novel’s descriptions.

Around the time she felt inexplicably restless and tightly closed her mouth.

Around the time she realized he would receive her mother’s ‘private tutoring’ again tonight.

Diana discovered another source of discomfort.

“This is weird….”

It was unpleasant.

Him, taking her precious mother away.

Him, knowing a side of her mother that even Diana didn’t know, was unbearably uncomfortable.

But simultaneously, a very small complaint that arose like a whisper was not directed solely at Siwoo.

He’s my tutor.

I knew him first.

She told me all men are wolves.

Though she couldn’t understand it herself and found it absurd.

For a very brief moment, she harbored resentful feelings toward her mother.

“Ugh… ughaaa….”

Unable to make sense of any of it, Diana pounded the bed again.

Private tutoring with Countess Yesod always took place in the evening.

But today, Diana had retired earlier than usual, and coincidentally the Countess also had some free time, so the lesson was scheduled for the afternoon.

“We’ll begin searching in earnest for a method to control the Red Branch. It means we’re moving into practical application.”

“Is it alright to not cover more theory?”

“From this point on, I think it will be more efficient to address deficiencies through supplementary education while directly confronting the challenges.”

“I understand. But where are we going?”

“Huhu, that’s a secret.”

He had assumed they were heading to the usual private library.

But the path was slightly different.

The Countess’s back, walking slightly ahead.

Based on his observations so far, the Countess was a Witch who greatly enjoyed dressing up.

Apart from preferring white outfits, the clothes she wore changed every time, and her style was always outstanding.

As he stood there dazedly wondering how much her clothes must cost, he saw the Countess’s bottom, walking slightly ahead, swaying gently.

The elegant silhouette created by the harmony of her narrow waist, improbably wide hips, and high heels.

His gaze was stolen by the magical power that drew the eye….

“Mr. Siwoo, staring so blatantly at a lady’s back is impolite.”

He was caught by the Countess, who had turned around.

Far from being angry, she shot him a seductive sidelong glance with a bewitching smile.

Flustered for words, he scrambled for something, anything, to say.

“My apologies. Your style looked familiar. Is it perhaps from Flora’s Boutique?”

“Hmm~ So that’s what it was. Yes, you have a good eye.”

The Countess smiled as if she understood but didn’t press the issue further.

Instead, the topic naturally shifted to the boutique.

Talk about how Siwoo had also had a suit made there once, how most of Gehenna’s nobility had their clothes tailored there, and so on.

Naturally, the conversation then moved to the boutique’s owner, Flora Arabesque.

“Flora Arabesque is also a remarkable Witch. Until about 200 years ago, there was no Witch of a higher Hierarchy than her.”

It was the first he’d heard of it, so he was surprised.

“Really?”

“Yes, excluding Duke Keter. If she had continued dedicating herself to Magic Research… it’s something no one knows, but she would likely have reached a very high realm, right? She’s been at the 22nd hierarchy since time immemorial.”

He had thought she seemed like a languid person.Perhaps it was the dignity of a former powerhouse.

While discussing trivial matters, they had arrived at their destination before they knew it.

“…….”

“Shall we go in?”

Siwoo stopped upon seeing the entrance to that day’s classroom.

Because no matter how he looked at it, it was the entrance to a bathhouse.

“Is this the right place?”

“Yes, it’s my personal bathing area.”

Countess Yesod answered Siwoo’s question, which he had asked just in case, as if it were obvious.

Unable to understand why private tutoring was being held in a bathhouse, he looked at her, but the Countess tilted her head with an expression of feigned ignorance.

“Is there a problem?”

“It seems there are many problems?”

“Since we started the lesson early anyway, wouldn’t it be nice to have a conversation while mixed bathing beforehand?”

The moment he heard the two characters for ‘mixed bathing,’ Siwoo’s instincts scanned Countess Yesod’s body.

Yesterday’s fishing was somewhat date-like, but suddenly mixed bathing?

It felt like several steps had been skipped.

“The bathtub is spacious enough for two people to enter.”

The Countess, who had stealthily approached, whispered in a sweet voice.

It tickled his ear.

Countess Yesod, who had been subtly provoking or testing him for the past few days, confusing him, laughed elegantly a moment later upon seeing Siwoo’s dumbfounded reaction.

“I’m joking. Follow me.”

The beautifully decorated bathing area, though not as extravagant as the large public bath he had visited before.

Her personal bathing area, decorated more like a fancy hotel lounge than a bathroom, gave a healing feeling just from walking through it.

Looking around as he entered, there was a single circular bathtub that seemed large enough for ten people to enter simultaneously, let alone two.

The tub was filled with water, and in the center, the Red Branch that Siwoo had entrusted to the Countess was locked away.

“The Red Branch was acting up too much, you see. The inside of the tub is filled with magic heavy water, 99.9% pure, maintained at minus 2 degrees Celsius.”

“What is magic heavy water?”

“Oh my, they teach this basically in alchemy, but you don’t know? It’s Magical Power refined to have an infinitely low reactivity.

For now, let’s start by handling the Red Branch inside there. If control fails, simply submerging it in that water can serve as both a buffer and a moderator.”

It was clear it was different from ordinary water.

There was no refraction from the water’s surface, and he could see all the way to the bottom without any obstruction.

“So we start by trying to control it inside the magic heavy water?”

“That’s right.”

“Understood.”

“Ah, before that.”

The moment Siwoo was about to enter the tub, having only removed his shoes and socks.

The Countess gently placed a hand on Siwoo’s shoulder.

“Wouldn’t it be better to take off your top? Since it’s set to a low temperature, your clothes will make you colder if they get wet.”

It was a somewhat strange request, but he wasn’t a woman, and it was just his top…

Weren’t they literally skin-to-skin contact anyway?

After removing his jacket, vest, and shirt, the moment he stepped into the tub, Siwoo realized the Countess’s advice was correct.

It was really damn cold.

But it wasn’t unbearable.

“Is it really okay to grab it like this?”

“Yes. No problem.”

In the water that came up to his waist, Siwoo carefully grabbed the Red Branch secured in the middle.

“Ugh!”

His palm tingled as if he had grabbed a leaking battery.

He had felt something similar before; it was a sign his Spirit Body was about to distort.

But unlike the previous pain that felt like his whole body would shatter, now it was at a level he could hold in his hand.

Moreover, it was much more comfortable just because the annoyingly persistent red barrier didn’t spring out.

“Would you like to try wrapping it with the prepared Magic and lifting it above the water surface?”

“Understood. Bloom.”

Siwoo calmly took out a single Ribbon.

A Ribbon imbued with a shielding formula and a control formula.

The Ribbon, sinking like a water snake below the surface, wrapped around the Red Branch, and Siwoo carefully lifted it out of the magic heavy water.

He gulped.

Unlike before, when he had sealed it by wrapping it tightly layer upon layer, this was a thin wrapping made of just one layer.

The moment it was taken out of the magic heavy water, it might run wild.

Finally, the Red Branch emerged from the water.

Siwoo was moved.

Because the spear, which had been utterly disobedient until now, was sleeping very quietly.

With this, it was stable enough to use coordinate transfer even while holding the Red Branch.

“I did it!”

Countess Yesod, who had been quietly watching from the side, informed him in a gentle voice.

“The method you previously used, Siwoo, only had a shielding rate of about 72% in normal state. It wouldn’t immediately affect your Spirit Body much, but if there were delicate Artifacts nearby, they could malfunction. Now, it’s close to almost perfect shielding.”

“Thanks to you. I’m really grateful.”

“Not at all, all I did was give basic advice.”

The Countess responded with a smile to Siwoo’s beaming grin.

It was a somehow pleased-looking smile.

“But there’s still a long way to go. The Red Branch reacts to impact, you know.”

“That’s right.”

When he fought the Enemy Knight.

He couldn’t forget the Shockwave from the Distortion Field that tried to turn his insides to mush just from clashing weapons.

As the Countess said, he could control the Red Branch in its normal state without issue, but to wield it freely as a weapon, more precise adjustment would be necessary.

“Shall we start by lightly applying impact in that state?”

Still, it was a huge improvement.

He was confident he could improve even more.

Siwoo nodded and continued the experiment.

Haa.

A feast for the eyes.

Watching Siwoo fiddling with the Red Branch with his top off, the Countess smiled a pleased smile.