City of Witches

Siwoo got out of his bed.

Without the help of an alarm clock, Siwoo’s eyes naturally opened as 6 am rolled over.

He felt refreshed when he awoke from the blanket’s soft embrace, unlike when he used to sleep on a hard bed made of straw that he had placed in a box.

He hurried off to take a shower in the bathroom.

“What a pleasant morning.”

Speaking of showers, it had been a while since Siwoo had taken a shower indoors with hot water instead of an outdoor one.

He no longer whined about wanting to take a warm shower once a week, even if he was to be sent to prison.

If Siwoo’s room was at the eastern end of the sprawling mansion, then Amelia’s room could be said to be at the western end.

Getting out of his comfy bed, he took a warm shower, got dressed, and proceeded to head over to meet with Amelia as she had instructed him to do so the day before.

Siwoo finished organizing his outfit for the last time in front of the mirror hanging in the hallway, then opened the door and went into Amelia’s room.

“Ms. Amelia, I’m coming in.”

“Come on in.”

Her voice could be heard from the other side of the door as Siwoo requested to enter the room.

Siwoo anticipated going into a girl’s room to be a dull, uninteresting experience, but when he did so, he quickly realized that this was not the case, and his initial impression quickly disappeared.

If he was forced to explain the layout of Amelia’s room, it wasn’t all that much different from his own.

Odil and Odette’s room had been more luxurious, but Amelia’s room exuded a sense of modesty and simplicity.

Aside from the high-quality furniture, the room did not appear to have been decorated with much care.

However, it was crammed with all kinds of magic-related books, papers, and experimental materials.

Nevertheless, the room felt more cluttered than the research building, perhaps because of its smaller size.

Amelia appeared to have brought numerous research-related items into her house.

As he entered the room, Siwoo was about to say good morning to her when he realized that those words held no significance.

“Did you sleep well?”

Amarlia asked while still holding a pen in her hand while sitting at the desk.

“I haven’t slept today.”

She had been scribbling something down on the paper placed on her desk.

She must have been staying up all night.

A large stack of paper, recently written on with ink, was laid out in front of her and was starting to dry.

“Wait a moment, please.”

After finishing her sentence, Amelia focused on her work again.

Her brows furrowed, displaying her focus on her work.

Though she did not display much facial or emotional expression, her thin and straight brows were remarkedly exceptional.

Her eyebrow expression significantly influenced Siwoo’s ability to anticipate almost 90% of her feelings in advance.

After finishing her final work, Amelia finally looked at Siwoo.

”Take a look at your upcoming tasks.”

It seemed to be the reason behind her calling him to her office.

Amelia rummaged through her desk drawer and handed Siwoo a bundle of 30 to 40 pages of paper.

As an exclusive slave, this guide summarizes what you are required to do based on the day and time of the week. Please take the time to read it and become familiar with the material.”

“Got it.”

Amelia got up from her seat and walked around the table.

This time, she was wearing a more comfortable-looking robe, which she may have changed into from her previous attire.

“See item 15 on page 3.”

“Yes.”

It appeared to be some sort of work manual.

Whilst flipping through the pages, Siwoo suddenly realized that the handwriting in this manual was familiar.

This was something that Amelia had carefully written letter by letter.

Page three detailed the tasks he had to accomplish when he woke up in the morning.

He would have to wake Amelia up if she was sleeping. On the other hand, if she wasn’t asleep, he was instructed to greet her.

Following that, he would have to organize her bedding and prepare her breakfast.

It was decided that Siwoo wouldn’t prepare breakfast on his own but would simply pick it up from the kitchen in the school’s building.

“Yes, I have confirmed it.”

“I’ll be waiting for you at the cafeteria, so please come over.”

Assuming it would take a considerable amount of time to fully comprehend the details, given how thick the manual was,

Siwoo watched Amelia walk over to the washroom and then make his way to the academy kitchen.

2.

On his way to the kitchen, Siwoo encountered a familiar face.

Takasho was yawning while cleaning the hallway,

But he began jumping with excitement upon seeing Siwoo’s new outfit.

“Whoa~ who are you? I’m going to freak out at how slick you’re looking.”

“Hey, calm down. It’s not a big deal, is it?”

“Of course, it’s a big deal! My friend has finally made his debut!”

Siwoo actually had a lot to say to Takasho, but he wasn’t sure he would have time to say it all.

He simply summarized and informed him of the events that had occurred so far.

“Hey, what did I tell you? Didn’t I say that Amelia likes you?

Takasho’s eyes shone with pride as he patted Siwoo on the shoulder as if congratulating a friend who had finally passed a difficult civil service exam after many sleepless nights of preparation.

What kind of nonsense are you talking about? Have you been listening to me? What have you heard that would make you think that Amelia likes me?

“What?”

”I just told you, she didn’t call me to the inn that night to serve her, but instead to be her assistant.”

Takasho’s proud expression faltered and became ambiguous at Siwoo’s words.

Takasho had the impression that he was staring at a lottery winner who would never go to the bank again in their entire life to claim their prize.

“Hey, how should I describe this? Every time I see her, she seems to be in love, so it really amazes me that you don’t understand.”

“Because of you, I almost got into trouble. Do you know how Amelia looked at me back then?”

Takasho gave Siwoo a look that was almost like he was looking at a bug as soon as he mentioned the story of that night.

Siwoo’s face would turn red in embarrassment whenever he thought about that night.

“Hey, idiot… Have you ever had a girlfriend?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“….Right, I thought so.”

Takasho had abandoned the idea of reprimanding Siwoo and paused, considering where to start before vocalizing each of his thoughts.

“Take a look, Shin Siwoo. Amelia bought you underwear, didn’t she? She gave you a cigarette, right? Didn’t she also give you a cake? She even bought you a suit. Why is she being so kind to a slave who doesn’t give a damn?”

“How would I know? She may be feeling a little sorry for me because she has been tormenting me.”

“Oh, dear,”

“You won’t know until you spend a day with Amelia. As you said before, she’s an Orthodox witch and doesn’t seem to be interested in men.”

“That’s the typical story, and isn’t it something special that Amelia is interested in you?”

Takasho came to the conclusion that Siwoo would not understand no matter how many words he used to explain.

“Hey, would you look at that?”

“Hey, keep your hands to yourself! It’s disgusting.”

“This is mohair, isn’t it?

“What’s that?”

Takasho slowly touched Siwoo’s arm, almost as if he were inspecting his suit, and started to speak.

“I used to get a lot of suits as gifts when I worked. Have you heard of cashmere?”

“Cashmere coat?”

“Mohair is a material that is as good or even better than that. Would you just give such a good piece of clothing to a mere slave if you didn’t have any feelings toward them? Besides, Amelia never had any slaves before.”

Siwoo made a sullen expression as he thought that since the suit was tailored at a tailoring shop in Ars Magna Town, it ought to be good enough.

“I can see that this is being openly favored, but you say that I’m mistaken. Can’t you see what’s going on?”

“I’m afraid you’re mistaken, but I don’t have any interest in Amelia.”

“You’re crazy.”

Takasho opened his mouth in disbelief.

Even though the situation was murky, this was what Takasho said after taking Siwoo’s situation and circumstances into account.

“Well, I admit that you’ve suffered a lot because of Amelia. But aren’t you partly to blame because of what you did as well?”

“That’s not my fault. Anyway, I don’t believe you anymore.”

“Please, Shin Siwoo, you have to believe me. Sometimes when I see you, I feel like you’re acting like a silly goldfish, swimming around in circles. What you’re missing is a golden opportunity! How long do you think a noble, rich, and beautiful witch will stay interested in you?”

“So what’s your point? I have to go soon.”

After pausing to think, Takasho finally spoke.

“Let me know your experience if you ever get to have sex with her. I’ll buy you a drink.”

After giving Takasho a smack on the back of his head for getting overly excited, he went to the kitchen to collect the food.

3.

Siwoo had no idea how the future would play out, but he was certain that he would always have food to eat.

He took the tray from the kitchen after receiving the breakfast meal.

It was an English breakfast.

The breakfast spread included a perfectly executed bagel with bacon with just the right amount of seasoning and a boiled egg that was cooked to perfection – with the yolk bursting forth when tapped. The salmon salad was delectable, and a warm cup of coffee rounded out the meal.

Siwoo bid farewell to the meal he had been served before he became Amelia’s assistant. The meal consisted of bread scraps that were so hard they could be used as a charcoal eraser, and a thin soup that was not enough to satisfy his hunger.

The meal had been terrible the entire time, and he didn’t want to lay eyes on it ever again.

Siwoo sat at the same table as Amelia and savored each bite of breakfast slowly. After finishing their meal, they headed to the research room together.

The cycle that had been ingrained in his body for the past five years had finally broken, leaving Siwoo with an odd feeling.

He was urged to head to the academy immediately and start working.

Siwoo was absorbed in reading the manual in the far corner of the research building, contemplating new concepts.

Meanwhile, as soon as Amelia entered the research room, she lit a cigarette and focused on the magic research without saying a word.

Siwoo continued to carefully read through the handover manual, acting as though his keen intuition was taking in all the details entirely.

Taking a quick glance through the content, he found a list of tasks that he had to accomplish.

What to do in the morning.

What to do during lunchtime.

What to do from dinner to bedtime.

Things to do during weekdays

Things to do during weekends.

Things to do inside the mansion.

Matters to be observed when accompanying to the research room.

Instructions for organizing documents and papers.

Cleaning and laundry methods

How to order various desserts.

Things to do in the event of any issues that may appear.

There were various detailed items written.

All of which wouldn’t pose much of a problem if Siwoo were to read through it carefully.

“Hmm…”

Incidentally, he needed to move things from the barn, but it seemed he wouldn’t have time for a while.

To begin with, according to the manual’s contents, Siwoo would have to follow Amelia around for almost the entire day. It would usually take about an hour to get from either the research building or the accommodation to the barn.

He considered taking a day off and sneaking out at night.

However, it wasn’t an urgent matter for now.

It was a place that no one would ever visit anyway.

– Caw caw!

At that moment, he heard a crow’s cawing from outside the window.

Amelia had suddenly called him at the exact moment he was about to look out the window to see the source of the sound.

“Siwoo.”

“Yes, Ms. Amelia.”

“Come back here in three hours.”

“Understood, is there anything you need me to do before that?”

“No, just focus on reading the manual for now.”

“Alright.”

Siwoo nodded obediently and left the research building.

4.

A warm and comforting glow of sunshine.

The weather was very warm and cozy during late autumn.

Outside the research room, Siwoo stretched his arms wide open and basked in the peaceful and tranquil atmosphere.

“Ah, this is life.”

Usually, by this time, Siwoo would have been climbing a ladder and shaking branches to remove dead leaves or sweeping the dust-free hallways.

It was amazing that he had some peaceful time to relax after a delicious breakfast in the morning.

“It’s moments like this that I wish could last forever.”

Siwoo was concerned about what to do with the items he had left behind in the barn, but it turned out that the timing was perfect.

He intended to transfer the magical items from the barn to his new home, and once that was done, he returned to the research room and acted as if nothing had happened, thereby resolving the situation.

He planned to take an hour’s nap after finishing the task and thus hurried off to the barn.

Siwoo found himself humming with delight as everything started to go smoothly after all his hard work.

Siwoo entered the rose garden with a light step, knowing that crossing it was the quickest way to reach the barn.

The magically enchanted roses, which seemed to have disregarded the seasons, blooming in a variety of colors, they pleased the eyes and noses with their vivid hues and their sweet fragrances.

However,

Something didn’t feel quite right to Siwoo.

“What?”

He was certain the fountain he was looking at was the same one he had seen earlier.

A little angel blew a trumpet, and a witch sprinkled blessings onto a pile of witches’ children covered by a blanket.

Siwoo turned to look straight ahead again.

He could see the exit.

Keeping his eye fixed on the exit, he slowly walked towards it.

His mind fully focused on the exit and, just as he thought he was about leave the garden, he suddenly found himself back in front of the fountain again.

“It’s rather unexpected.”

Siwoo turned around, feeling a sense of foreboding.

A massive carriage that was three times the size of Sophia’s was parked there.

Perched on the hinges of the carriage door was a pair of black and white birds with their wings spread open, they had the ability to sing songs that could cast spells.

They combined to form a single entity, a witch.

One that symbolized the Countess of the Gemini family.