City of Witches
chapter-283

1.

“You need to keep your distance from Siwoo. Could you?”

Sharon, who was extremely thrilled because she had received an unimaginable offer just now…

Found her face hardened due to those words.

Though this was the first time she had ever experienced it, this was something she had seen quite a few times before.

Isn’t this just like in those dramas? The scenes where the mother-in-law went ‘Here’s some money, break up with my son’? That kind of thing?

Of course, Albireo wasn’t Siwoo’s mother, and he wasn’t her son either, but this indeed gave off that kind of vibe.

“...Can I ask why?”

For Albireo to suddenly ask her to distance herself from Siwoo…

Even Sharon, as dense as she was, could tell that the twin apprentices of the Gemini Household were quite close with Siwoo.

She was even sure that their relationship was closer than a close friend.

After all, this was the whole reason why she spent her days in anxiety when the twins came over to their place the other day.

At that time, she felt relieved because nothing big ended up happening between them, but now that this happened, she could only curse herself for being complacent.

Albireo then explained what she had in mind in a calm tone.

“I personally hold Siwoo in high regard. Based on the things he had done in the past, the prospects of his future, and his personality, he is perfect as a man. Oh, of course, I’m not saying this because I covet him or anything, I just wish that he’ll get along well with our twins.”

“Are you trying to say that I’m in the way?”

Sharon’s voice as she said that was filled with anxiety.

This put Albireo in a rather uncomfortable situation as well, since it felt like she was taking a precious doll away from a little girl.

But, before she could say anything else, Sharon had quickly made up her mind.

Without an ounce of hesitation, she placed the contract back on the table.

“Please forgive me. I’m thankful for your care to nurse me back to health and for offering me an opportunity that I can never even dreamed of, I really am, and I will forever be thankful for it.”

“Um…”

“But, I’m sorry, I can’t accept the condition to distance myself from Siwoo. I’m really sorry.”

Albireo scanned through the contract using her purple eyes.

She had guessed to some extent that Sharon would refuse it, but she never had guessed that she did it without any hesitation whatsoever.

The contract that she offered was something so unbelievably good that it was hard for any witches to refuse it.

At the moment, the Countess rank was 21st.

But, that was only because they had already transferred part of their brand to the twins.

While the twins were just unruly, immature and unsophisticated children now, they were the future Countess Gemini, and by the time they inherited the brand completely, their ranks would rise to the 22nd.

By rejecting the contract offered by Albireo, Sharon also expressed her refusal to build a relationship with the twins.

That wasn’t all.

Sharon was in a massive debt.

In a world where one would need money to get more money, it was hard for a penniless witch to raise a big sum.

There was also the letter of introductions, either to the Jinri Jinmyeong Academic Society or the Trinity Academy.

Letters of introduction weren’t something that was hard to get.

If one could sit down on a table together with a well-connected witch of Gehenna, one bottle of good booze would be enough to get them to sign their name.

But, letters of introduction that were stamped with the Gemini Household’s seal held a whole different weight compared to those kinds of letters of introduction.

If Sharon were to choose to join the Jinri Jinmyeong Academic Society, she’d be able to receive a considerable amount of research materials from the illustrious Duchess Erelim as a sign of goodwill from her.

Meanwhile, if she were to choose to join the Trinity Academy, even if her skills were lacking, she’d immediately become the Head Professor there and would be able to gain access to various ancient books in the academy.

There was no way that Sharon, a native of Gehenna, failed to recognize what it meant to receive the ‘backing’ from the Gemini Household, which was known for their enormous wealth.

Nevertheless, she refused the offer so firmly.

“Sorry for taking your time in this late hour, I’ll be preparing myself to leave Gehenna now.”

When she saw Sharon trying to get up, Albireo became lost in thought.

It wasn’t hard for her to pressure Sharon by force here.

Before she started this conversation, Albireo went through her debt contract for the first time in years.

Since Sharon virtually had no collaterals or credits back then, she had to agree to all sorts of one-sided clauses to borrow the money she needed.

Back then, she had just inherited her brand, so she was as inexperienced as a witch could get, but even if she noticed how unfair the term she had to agree on was, it wasn’t like she had any choice.

Among the terms, there was a clause that stated the creditor could demand the debtor to pay in a lump sum instead of installments if the time period had exceeded ten years.

In addition to that, if Albireo were to combine some of the clauses, she could raise the interests to however much she wanted.

To put it simply, she could just pressure Sharon by using her debt, then force her to stay away from Siwoo, completely ignoring her wish.

But, Albireo had no intention to go that far.

She knew that Sharon must have been a great help to Siwoo during his stay in the Modern World, so it would be unreasonable for her to oppress the poor witch like that.

Besides, if she played her card well, she could use her as a means to get the twins to have a closer relationship with Siwoo.

Still, the problem here was she couldn’t just let Sharon become closer to Siwoo without doing anything.

“Wait.”

Albireo raised her wine glass and threw Sharon a glance.

This prompted Sharon to sit back down, albeit reluctantly.

“I think you misunderstood me a little. You see, I’m an impatient person, so I tend to immediately go straight to the point when I’m talking. People often misunderstood me because of this.”

“...”

Despite her words, Sharon was still eyeing her warily.

“Whenever I speak, I only weigh the profit and loss and never really take someone’s heart to my consideration. So, I apologize if it sounds like I was testing you by giving you that offer, Miss Evergreen.”

Albireo bowed her head lightly as she apologized.

“You see, the twins are just children who can't tell what’s left or right. Well, of course I’m aware that they’re already full-grown adults, but they’re still children in my eyes. They’re especially immature when it comes to perceiving emotions.”

Albireo paused for a moment.

“But, it isn’t the case with you, right, Miss Sharon? You’re already mature enough in that regard, and you are definitely aware what kind of feelings you’re harboring.”

The twins’ feelings towards Siwoo were mostly just curiosity and goodwill towards the benefactor that had saved their lives twice.

They still had no clue whatsoever about the meaning of love and what they should do to deal with such matters.

“This is why I’m asking you to distance yourself a little from him, so that the twins could have a chance.”

Due to Albireo’s decision in separating the three of them, the twins had to start way behind the starting line to get to the race.

That was why she felt the need to intervene to balance things out for them.

“Chance…?”

“Yes. You don’t need to distance yourself too much, just enough so that they can compete with you.”

“I don't even deserve to be their competition to begin with… Besides, it isn’t like I can do anything about what Siwoo feels…”

“Don’t say that. I’m sure Siwoo appreciates your presence in his life, Miss Evergreen.”

If anything, Albireo’s words sounded more like sophistry than anything.

However, just by her putting it in a different way, the feeling of her trying to get in Sharon’s way disappeared.

In the end, even though they were both witches, Albireo was just far more experienced than Sharon was.

The moment Sharon made a face as if she was thinking about it, Albireo started her next move.

“I have no intention to shun you or throw you out of the picture completely, Miss Evergreen. I’m just asking you to give a little concession to my lacking daughters.”

“...”

“Besides, this will benefit him in the future as well, especially considering that they will inherit their brand in the future. Wouldn’t it be better for you as well, as someone who loves Siwoo, if he were to have a close relationship with the future Countess Gemini?”

That was her ace in the hole.

Those words immediately shook Sharon’s heart.

No pressure needed, she only needed to do this much and this would surely make Sharon rethink her decision.

“If you have difficulties coming to a decision, you can take your time. Alright, I’m going to leave now. Pleasant night to you.”

After placing the contract in front of Sharon again, Albireo left the room.

2.

“Ugh, I feel so…”

Sharon was sitting on the bed while hugging her knees.

The sadness in her heart spread like a non-washable stain.

As her train of thoughts became more complicated and she became more distraught, a certain someone’s face came to her mind.

“I miss you…”

Siwoo, I want to see you…

For ten whole years, she lived as a beggar with a huge debt on her name, enough reason for her to grow sick of the Modern World.

Always getting treated coldly by others, constantly living as if she was being chased by something, her debt always weighed on her mind and there was never a single penny in her wallet…

She couldn’t remember even a single good memory in that world.

Thinking back, perhaps that was the reason why she desperately tried to return to Gehenna.

But now that she was actually back in Gehenna, she didn’t have the slightest urge to visit White Whale Bar in Tarot Town, tasting Kipushi cakes, or walking around to see the beautiful scenery of Lenomond Town.

Instead, the thing she wanted to do was to watch various movies with Siwoo while chugging bottles of tasteless beer, all the things that they did together inside that officetel room.

She genuinely missed the nights where they were out hunting for Homunculi together…

Looking at it, it sounded like a bad joke.

But, that wasn’t the main cause of her depression.

She could just do all these things when Siwoo came here, she knew that seeing his face would make her feel better.

The problem here was the words that the Countess had told her, which deterred her from thinking about doing all these things with him in peace.

‘Wouldn’t it be better for you as well, as someone who loves Siwoo, if he were to have a close relationship with the future Countess Gemini?’

There was no malice in the Countess’ voice as she said that, but she could feel her head turn cold, as if cold water had been splashed on it.

So far, Sharon had only ever received things from Siwoo.

He bought her food with his money, got her to live together with him in his house, and he even helped her to resolve her incomplete inheritance problem.

Yet, there was nothing that she could even offer to him.

She had a huge amount of debt and she was merely a 17th ranked witch.

Even if she were to rise to the 20th rank now and became a proud witch that was comparable to her predecessor, compared to the heirs of the Countess Gemini, she was practically nothing.

She had only ever been relying on Siwoo, there was no guarantee that she’d ever pay back all the favor she owed him if she were to stay by his side.

It wouldn’t be her who’d be of a great help to Siwoo later in the future, but the Gemini twins.

“...”

Since that was the case, should she break up with him completely?

Well, if that was truly what Albireo was trying to do, Sharon would definitely reject her offer without hesitation, but it wasn’t the case, as she had only been leaving her with vague words.

Also, just because she finally broke to the 20th rank, didn’t mean she could utilize all those powers freely.

As such, the safest path to take for her here was to take up on Albireo’s offer, that way she also wouldn’t need to completely rely and burden Siwoo anymore.

If she were to take this path, at the very least she could stand side by side with Siwoo as his equal.

“What a joke…”

Sharon let out a bitter smile.

She had watched a bunch of dramas and movies where this exact same progression happened.

Most of the time, the female lead would choose to give up her own happiness for the sake of her loved one’s future.

From the perspective of the audience, including herself, it was such a frustrating development.

Like, what future would you need to be so worried about?

The best course of action was surely to just stay with your loved one, or so she believed.

But now that she was actually experiencing that kind of dilemma…

She could understand why those female leads would take the opposite choice.

“Ugh…”

As the night grew deeper, so was her contemplation.