City of Witches Chapter 80

“Huff....! Huff...!”

The wind brushing past her ears.

Amelia, who had been running frantically without any particular destination, caught her toe on a protruding rock.

In that instant, the rock crumbled into dust, shattered by the naturally activated Autonomous Defense, but she had been running at such speed.

Amelia’s body floated up slightly before tumbling down the slope.

From her soft, fine hair to the elegant hem of her dress.

Though not injured, she was now covered in dirt.

Amelia pushed herself up.

In her mind, Siwoo’s terrifying expression as he relentlessly pursued her still flickered like an afterimage.

‘Did you feel relieved after crushing even my last hope like that? Well, I guess that’s why you tormented me as if you wanted to devour me.’

‘What on earth do you expect from me?’

‘I’m sorry for hurting your fragile pride five years ago, but if you’re going to torment me like this, why not just kill me instead?’

Anger transparently expressed without any filter.

With an expression, tone, and voice she had never seen before.

Siwoo looked at Amelia, resented her, reproached her.

And Amelia, crushed under that pressure, ran away.

“Ugh....”

A sharp pain throbbing in her chest.

Amelia unconsciously clutched her clothes tightly.

It felt as if a heavy weight had fallen upon her.

No words came to her lips; all she wanted was to run away and hide.

To Amelia, Siwoo’s actions were an utterly unacceptable act of insolence.

Not only did he raise his voice before a Witch, but he even showed signs of resorting to insults and violence.

It was an unforgivable act of insubordination.

“How dare... a mere slave...”

If only she could vent the tangled mess of emotions coiled at the bottom of her heart, even just internally, it might feel better.

But after forcing out those words and chewing them over, Amelia quickly realized.

They were utterly hollow and fleeting words.

No matter how much she tried to be angry with him, no matter how much she should clench her fists and grit her teeth over his outrageous insubordination and rudeness.

She couldn’t.

Each time, his blazing gaze flashed back into her mind.

His eyes, filled with refined anger, moist with tears.

He was crying.

Even Amelia could recognize tears of anger, resentment, and sorrow.

Being hated by others meant nothing to her.

After all, Amelia had never once considered what anyone else thought of her.

But Siwoo was different.

Was he that angry?

Did he hate her that much?

The fact that she was the one who caused this outcome, that she was the target of his pouring anger, was too difficult to accept.

“Master...”

Amelia brushed off the dirt and stood up.

White particles began to swirl around her, enveloping her.

She wanted to see her Master.

She wanted to abandon everything and simply run away.

Amelia’s body mingled with the autumn wind and vanished in an instant.

“Hey! I’m not done talking yet!”

Simultaneously with Amelia’s escape, Siwoo chased after her.

But her footsteps, enhanced by Magic, were so swift that she disappeared from sight in less than ten seconds.

With his last hope gone, Siwoo, his vision red with rage, immediately entered Amelia’s room.

“Fuck! I endured for five fucking years, and you run off after just a few words?”

The whiskey bottles displayed in her room, clearly expensive at a glance.

He grabbed one, poured it straight down his throat, and vented his frustration.

It was practically the same as laying hands on a Witch’s belongings without permission, but he had no regard for the consequences now.

Since he’d already caused this shitstorm, the likelihood of Amelia forgiving him was infinitesimally slim.

Would that authoritarian Amelia forgive a slave who cursed her to her face?

It was more realistic for Siwoo, after getting too excited receiving a blowjob from the gender-transformed Takasho, to ask for her Boji instead.

Still, he felt completely relieved.

If there was one regret, it was that he couldn’t grab her and cause more chaos before she ran away?

After tormenting him in every way possible, she scurries off the moment she gets insulted—he didn’t like that cowardice either.

Anyway, she’d probably come back.

Once he paid the price for his insolence, he’d likely be demoted from assistant back to slave, moved from city hall slave to private slave.

Maybe he’d even be sold off to some nasty Witch and die.

“Fucking bitch.”

Siwoo poured about half the whiskey down his throat and dry-heaved a couple of times.

The liquor was fucking strong.

With alcohol hitting his already heated head, there was no chance of regaining his senses.

Since he was going to die anyway, Siwoo pondered how to give Amelia a big ‘fuck you,’ when he spotted the research materials on her table.

Compared to what was in Amelia’s head, it wasn’t much, but if he trashed it all, wouldn’t even Amelia get a little angry?

“Piss-drinking bitch. Let me dirty your precious research with my ammonia.”

Thinking of pissing on the pile of documents, Siwoo fumbled to pull down his pants but stopped just as his dick swung out.

“....Let’s not.”

There was still a code of ethics among those who pursued academia.

Even that vicious Amelia hadn’t confiscated Siwoo’s research literature itself, had she?

If she’d planned to, she would have completely disposed of it while he was sound asleep in bed.

No need to place it on the table.

Not that this made her look any better, of course.

He swore to God.

When Amelia returned, no matter what happened afterward, he planned to smash her head in with a liquor bottle.

“Amelia... you fucking bitch! Damn blonde-nose-hair bitch...! A bitch whose Boji hair would be prickly and irritating!”

Siwoo plopped down at the table, spewing insults about Amelia while blowing his drunken horn.

But even after finishing half a bottle of whiskey in under ten minutes, his mind remained sharp.

He gained the realization that sheer fucking hatred could overcome even alcohol.

“Fuck... who needs that kind of realization...?”

After sighing for a while and chewing over his insults for Amelia, Siwoo’s gaze was caught by a single sheet of paper.

It wasn’t Magic research material.

The corner of a paper densely covered in long lines of text peeked out from under the pile of documents.

“........”

Siwoo pulled the corner, extracted the paper, and looked at its contents.

The paper, bearing Amelia’s rounded handwriting, clearly showed traces of being erased and rewritten multiple times.Some parts were crossed out with two long lines, while other parts were written in such a slanted cursive that they were nearly illegible.

"Did she pull another stupid stunt..."

The venom that had filled Siwoo's words trailed off into shock.

It was because of the note's contents.

Though the writing was haphazard, as if scribbled down the moment thoughts came to mind, its purpose was crystal clear.

Things Amelia had said to Siwoo today.

The compensation proposal, future plans, and matters to refuse were written in great detail.

It even detailed how to handle Siwoo's possible reactions.

Moreover, the sentences at the edge of the paper, now crossed out with several X marks.

'I clearly say I'm sorry for tormenting you all this time'

Multiple slashes drawn over it, and below that...

'I say that trying to make you live in the stable was an administrative error and not intentional, and I apologize for that too. I also propose compensation.'

Again, multiple slashes drawn over it, and below that...

A single sentence, pressed down firmly after numerous revisions and much deliberation.

'I apologize honestly'

There were no slashes on the final sentence.

Siwoo put the paper back exactly as it was, as if he hadn't seen it.

"Fuck, I really hate this kind of thing."

Suddenly, his head feels incredibly complicated.

It feels like watching a hero movie ambiguously targeted at adults.

The hero coolly beats up the villain, only to find out the villain isn't unconditionally bad but has some circumstances or reasons...

That kind of movie that forcibly inserts such inexplicable backstory just to piss off the viewer.

Of course, that didn't mean his anger towards Amelia had subsided.

It was just a bit unexpected.

Amelia had an impression of being sharper, more precise.

The image she showed to those around her was close to perfectionism.

The version of her Siwoo had seen was cold-blooded, shameless, and above all, gave the feeling that even stabbing her with a needle wouldn't draw blood.

But looking at this note's contents, doesn't it seem like an incredibly introverted person meticulously wrote down what to say and how to handle variables before placing a delivery order?

Still, this scrap of paper doesn't become Amelia's indulgence.

Because what Amelia did to Siwoo was intentional torment in itself, far too much to be compensated by something like this.

Even if she sincerely regrets it, what does it matter?

Siwoo is unequivocally the victim.

"No, then, logically, shouldn't an apology come first?"

While spouting this and that about making it convenient for Magic research or taking him as a disciple, wasn't that nonsense? Shouldn't a sincere apology have come first?

After a moment of thought, Siwoo quickly realized something.

Amelia couldn't possibly be that stupid, so it must be that problem again.

That petty pride of hers.

Unable to overcome her pride, she kept beating around the bush until Siwoo exploded first.

"Well, looks like it's not my fault."

Even as he said this, there was a bitter aftertaste.

Siwoo tidied up Amelia's table, which he had thoroughly messed up earlier, and left the room.

He was going to meet Takasho.

Who knows what will happen now? Shouldn't he at least say a final goodbye to his only friend?

After pocketing another bottle of high-end whiskey from Amelia's room to drink with Takasho, Siwoo trudged down to the lounge.

The lounge, with its lights dimly off, had an eerily creepy atmosphere.

The corner table in the lounge suddenly caught his eye.

That's where Amelia unexpectedly gave him cake and cigarettes.

Even thinking back, he still doesn't understand why she did that.

Did she think, in her own way, that she wanted to apologize?

"No way that's it."

Amelia was a woman whose actions, from start to finish, were impossible to predict.

-Knock knock knock

Suddenly, a knocking sound echoed.

It wasn't a sound of shaking the doorknob, but a soft knock as if someone was tapping the door directly with their hand.

What's this?

Puzzled, Siwoo wondered whether he should open the door or not.

If someone came looking for Amelia at this hour, they'd likely be a Witch and Amelia's guest.

A thought briefly crossed his mind: even though he was her assistant, their relationship was ruined, so was it appropriate for him to receive the guest instead?

The time for deliberation wasn't long.

The door wasn't locked to begin with, and the person who knocked opened it themselves.

Through the crack of the opened door, sharp moonlight poured in.

Backlit by the shimmering light, the person stepping into the mansion was, as expected, a woman.

"Pleased to meet you."

The slender, short-haired woman leaned against the moonlight as she elegantly and gracefully removed her glove to greet him.

Neatly arranged black hair.

Eyes as red and dark as blood were slit long, like a cat's.

Yet, her beauty was in no way lacking, like a cursed ruby shimmering brilliantly.

The kind of curse that seems to lead its owner to ruin the moment it's obtained.

Siwoo felt a shiver run from the nape of his neck to the tips of his toes.

He didn't know why.

Something, an instinctual warning, was sounding an alarm in his head.

"Is Baron Marigold inside?"

The Witch's voice, gentle and amiable with a hint of a smile, echoed softly.

Author's Note (Afterword)

That day, the 12 o'clock serialization might be difficult...! I'll post it even if it's a bit late!

And a new patron is making... an Amelia cone!

Thanks to everyone's support!!!!!