City of Witches Chapter 78

-Click

What Deneb took out from his breast pocket and placed on the table was a very small wooden box.

Amelia realized that the outwardly shabby wooden box was in fact no ordinary object.

Three layers for shock absorption, three layers for theft prevention, four layers for sealing, seven layers for internal preservation.

A total of seventeen protective barriers enveloped the wooden box.

It was an absurdly excessive safety measure.

The interior of that tiny box had probably even stopped the flow of time.

If someone were to foolishly steal it, their body would rot away from countless curses before they could even glimpse its contents.

What extended from Albireo's hand was a very small key.

A key that temporarily fixed magic power to emit a specific pattern touched the box.

With the sound of chains coiling, the barriers lifted.

What appeared when the box opened was a diamond of extraordinary size, emitting a radiant pink glow even amidst the red velvet lining.

"Steinmetz Pink, 62.2 carats."

"It's also called the Queen of Diamonds. A rare treasure that is no longer produced."

The decision to gift Amelia with a gemstone wasn't merely because it could be used for pretty jewelry.

Various gemstones are usefully employed in alchemy and magic.

Especially diamonds, which are used in the most crucial parts of crafting wands, large-scale barrier formations, or Artifacts, so the preference of witches for large, enormous diamonds hardly needed explanation.

If possible, pretty ones are better, of course.

A pink diamond of this size is so rare it could be said its price is whatever one is willing to pay.

It's an excessively high price to pay for the ownership of a mere slave.

The sad truth is that even if you combined the value of every slave in Gehenna, it would likely be cheaper than this Steinmetz Pink.

In other words, Count Gemernai is that proactive in fulfilling his benefactor's wish.

"........."

Until the brief explanation of the gemstone, the Count had been confident, but upon seeing Amelia gazing expressionlessly at the jewel case, he realized there had been some misunderstanding.

"If the item doesn't please you, I can prepare a corresponding Artifact or magical tool."

"Or I could provide gold coins or dollars."

"How about artworks? I have pieces by famous painters unknown to the world. Like Van Gogh."

Deneb spoke while closing the jewel case again.

But in Amelia's eyes, there was neither greed nor hesitation.

No matter how wealthy one is, seeing such an item before them should stir desire, yet hers were too clear and pure.

"Does Assistant Shin Siwoo know about this?"

"I've already reached an agreement with Mr. Siwoo..."

"That's not it."

Amelia no longer even looked at the wooden box.

"Does he know what kind of reality awaits him if he leaves Gehenna?"

"That part..."

"I haven't explained it yet. But I intend to provide sufficient funds for him to become self-reliant."

"There's no need to go that far."

Though he said this...

The Count, having negotiated with numerous conglomerate chairmen, multinational CEOs, and high-ranking political and financial figures, could intuitively sense it.

Amelia had absolutely no intention of letting him go.

Even if three or four more such diamonds had been inside, her reaction would likely have been the same.

It seemed there had been a misunderstanding from the start.

The relationship between the two wasn't merely a business-like one between an exclusive slave and a witch.

It was bound by slightly stickier emotions.

Judging by Siwoo's eagerness to escape Gehenna as soon as possible, the direction of the emotion seemed to be a one-way street from Amelia to Siwoo.

"I'm sorry to have wasted your precious time in vain."

As expected, Amelia declared the end of the conversation.

"I wanted to meet your expectations as much as possible. What a pity."

"Separately from this, could you arrange a place for me to speak with him privately?"

Now that things have come to this, I must propose a different compensation to Siwoo.

Though, of course, there's no telling if he'll readily accept it.

What else can be done?

"No, I will explain it to him."

Amelia's handling of the matter was an attitude that could easily be seen as rude.

It was an action that showed no consideration whatsoever for the dignity of the Jemernai Count Family.

But the Count understood immediately.

Sometimes, emotions are formed beyond human calculations of gain and loss.

Wasn't the gem he offered to immediately acquire ownership of Siwoo an absurdly irrational price compared to the actual market value?

From Amelia's perspective, what the Count just did could be seen as a tremendous discourtesy.

"Then, please take care on your way."

Without even seeing the Count off, Amelia remained alone in the reception room and sipped her tea.

"This... is correct, right?"

"It seems so."

Chased out of Amelia's mansion, Albireo and Deneb trudged through the garden.

In truth, ever since hearing that Amelia Marigold, whose social circle was not just narrow but nearly non-existent, had taken an exclusive slave, they had somewhat anticipated this.

That she must cherish him quite a bit, or that he must be a slave of truly exceptional quality as an assistant.

Wasn't that why they selected such a grand and extravagant item for the trade?

"Good heavens."

"She must be really angry, huh?"

But they hadn't anticipated this level of outcome.

Who would have thought a witch would be in unrequited love with her slave.

And not just any ordinary witch, either.

She was a Great Witch of the 22nd Hierarchy, who had risen two ranks within the short span of 150 years and now held a higher Hierarchy than even Count Gemernai.

It wasn't confirmed, but the circumstantial evidence was too clear.

The situation had become troublesome.

"By the way, are you going back like this?"

"What else can we do? Baron Marigold is that stubborn."

"Still, I think we should inform him that things got tangled. So he can prepare other compensation."

"If we personally give a gift, she might view it even less favorably. It's better to deliver it through the Baron later."

Even so, it wasn't a serious enough problem for the Count to agonize over for more than ten minutes.

Haven't they always said since ancient times that one shouldn't meddle recklessly in matters between men and women?

"He'll figure it out on his own."

"I feel pointlessly sorry."

Deneb and Albireo, having returned empty-handed, boarded the carriage and broached the next topic.

It was about the witch who had recently smuggled herself into Gehenna.

"By the way, did you catch the tail?"At Albireo's question, Deneb shook his head.

"He's no ordinary fellow. I even released familiars and hired a few Witches, but there's been no news whatsoever."

"What about the possibility he's already returned to the Mortal Realm?"

"Low. Nothing has happened yet, after all."

If an Exile is sighted in Gehenna, they are subject to permanent elimination regardless of reason.

Taking such a risk to enter Gehenna clearly means he has an important objective.

There is no commotion within Gehenna.

By now, he's probably hunkered down in a blind spot of the surveillance net.

"I'll contact Count Adonai and ask him to trace the flow of funds in Gehenna. He might have come to buy something."

"Understood. I'll pick about three and send them to the Red Roof Salon."

Thoughts of Siwoo and Amelia soon faded from Count Gemernai's mind.

His day was far too busy to keep mulling over such trivial matters.

Even the diligence of a slave, diligently built up over five years, could not overcome the law of fatigue preservation.

Staying up all night doing lewd things with the Twins, culminating in 11 consecutive releases.

Moreover, sleep time was barely 2-3 hours.

It was only natural that after rolling around idly in bed and finally falling asleep, he wouldn't wake up until the afternoon.

"My sleep schedule is wrecked."

When he opened his eyes, the sun was already beginning to set.

The crimson sunset, tumbling over the grassy hill, leisurely dyed the drifting clouds in pastel tones.

This clearly foreshadows tomorrow's suffering.

"Ughhh...."

Siwoo stretched as hard as he could.

Living this lazy, carefree life after so long makes him feel like royalty.

-Flutter!

Then came the sound of papers scattering.

From Siwoo's bed, where he had just sat up.

"What's this?"

Siwoo scanned the bed.

And discovered something very familiar.

He picked them up.

"........"

The draft Magic Circle diagrams he had researched, sacrificing sleep to escape Gehenna.

About 200 sheets of paper were scattered across Siwoo's bed.

He felt wide awake in an instant.

No matter how much effort he put into creating them, those draft Magic Circle diagrams, left in a box under a pile of straw in the barn, wouldn't have crawled in on their own, missing their master.

That would be horror in itself, but the possibility now surfacing in his mind is a horror beyond horrors.

Siwoo stared at the drafts with shaken eyes and gulped.

Given how vivid his senses were, this was definitely not a dream.

Then, who brought them here?

No, looking at it, they seem more haphazardly thrown than placed.

Siwoo gathered up all the drafts, organized them, and shoved them into a drawer.

"Hoo...."

Cold sweat dripped down.

That Magic Circle was Siwoo's only insurance.

Even if the fact that he knows how to use Magic were discovered, the fact that he planned to use that Magic to escape Gehenna must not be revealed.

In that sense, the barn was the safest vault.

For five years, no one had ever visited, and even if a Witch happened to drop by, they wouldn't rummage under the smelly pile of straw looking for something.

Then who could have done this...

-Click

Siwoo's head snapped toward the door connecting the bedroom and the living room.

A very faint sound, like a teaspoon tapping a teacup.

That meant someone was in the living room.

Probably the person who threw these drafts and left.

Sweat was dripping as if he'd just washed his face.

His heart was pounding madly.

He cautiously placed his hand on the doorknob, twisted it, and opened the door.

In his field of vision was Amelia, sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed, leisurely drinking black tea.

The last remnants of the sunset flooded through the balcony window.

In a world dyed a burning red.

Eerily beautiful, coolly shining sapphire eyes looked at Siwoo with a twinkle.

"Sit down."

Amelia spoke to Siwoo, who had stiffened like a log.

It was the worst possible situation.

If it's Amelia, she would have deciphered what this Magic Circle was made for.

Siwoo felt his head turning white.

All the plans he had drawn up were crumpling.

Should he have concealed things more flawlessly?

But it's been five years.

For five years, no one had ever found it.

Could she have already known?

Had she been enjoying a sinister voyeuristic pleasure, watching the lab rat try to escape?

Sitting at the table, he saw the Kyphi cherry cake but paid it no mind.

Next to it were paper and a pen.

Amelia flipped over the paper.

It was densely covered with Magic formulas.

Amelia, having chosen one of them, slid the paper toward Siwoo and spoke.

"Solve it."

"Associate Professor..."

"Solve it."

A voice of rejection that allowed no further conversation.

After hesitating for a long while, Siwoo reluctantly picked up the pen.

Author's Note (Afterword)

I'm overwhelmed by the flood of support, lol.

Could this place be a utopia?

• Thank you zhwkfbcsmx for 20 coins

Spending it on anal plugs for the Twins... lolololol

• Thank you 'Otters are Cute' for 100 coins

I'll work even harder. It'll probably get more fun!

• Thank you Royu for 400 coins

I won't spend this on gacha; I'll add it to my food budget, hehe

• Thank you corrupted for 200 coins

Financial therapy? I'm perfectly fine.

I don't think I've ever enjoyed writing as much as I do these days.

• Thank you vurgil for your support

Are you perhaps the Virgil from DMC?

• Thank you Jang Eunyoung for your support

You must be the one who visited the Room of Truth last time, lol

• Thank you AppleStrawberryJam for 35 coins

I had already sensed you were an ardent fan of the Twins

• Thank you Vintage Hunter for 50 coins

• Thank you Mincho Song-i for 25 coins

• Thank you Ak-gwi for 34 coins

• Thank you Nuo for the leftover coins, hehe