༺ Those Who Almost Lost a Loved One (3) ༻
1.
Just like Sharon when Siwoo first showed her a movie, the twins’ reactions were satisfying to watch.
Right now they were watching a romance movie that was screened in such a high quality that one could even count the actors’ pores.
The movie was known for its beautiful visuals, so it managed to capture the twins’ attention easily.
They had been keeping their mouths shut, pouring all their concentration on the screen while clinging to Siwoo.
Well, for the first fifteen minutes of the movie, at least.
“Fuuu…”
“Zzz…”
Sharon picked up the remote and turned the TV off.
When the story was about to begin, the twins’ soft snores echoed in the room.
“As expected of twins, I guess…”
“It’s amazing that they could be so in sync. They both dozed off at the same time, there isn’t a single second difference.”
The twins wore one piece pajamas, the ones that required them to put their leg in first if they wanted to wear it, just like a mascot costume.
Their pajamas matched each of their personalities well, but it was still strange to see them sleeping quietly like this.
Then again, considering what had happened today, they must have been totally exhausted.
It was pretty much a given that they’d be mentally exhausted after all that, and the physical exhaustion probably followed afterwards.
This was especially the case with Odette as she had to brave the storm for the night walk right before everything else happened.
“I know they said that I shouldn’t call them cute, but they’re so cute! Ugh…”
The expression on Sharon’s face was like that of a woman who had just seen a tiny, cute kitty.
She covered her mouth with both hands, pressing them against her lips.
Her eyes shone, glistening with tears.
Meanwhile, Siwoo was removing the twins’ hands from his, carefully so that they wouldn’t wake up.
“Ngg…”
But they furrowed their brows, and held on his sleeves even tighter than before.
This didn’t wake them up though.
“Look at them sleeping~”
“Yeah, but I can’t just let them sleep here…I need to bring them to my room.”
“Need some help?”
“Nah, I can do this.”
“Oho~ Look at you go~”
Siwoo took out his ribbons and weaved them around, turning them into a hammock.
‘It’s good that I trained myself a lot.’
Thanks to his training, he could use two ribbons at once proficiently. With two of them, he could freely conjure them to more complicated shapes like this.
And this made him feel even more wronged after thinking about the beating he received because of these ribbons…
‘Whatever, let’s think about that later. For now, I need to get these twins to my room.’
After he brought them to his room, he laid them down, side by side. Meanwhile, they were still sleeping like a pair of angels.
Well, they tossed and turned a couple of times, but that didn’t wake them up. They were still sleeping soundly while hugging each other.
When came back to the living room again, he saw Sharon, still sitting on the couch, staring at the turned off TV while waving her legs.
“What are you doing?”
“Uh…sitting?”
Sharon broke her silence as she looked at Siwoo and smiled.
“Why are you smiling like that?”
“I just can’t get Ms. Odile and Ms. Odette out of my mind! They’re so cute~!”
“Well, yeah, they are.”
It made him wonder though, if the twins were to become proper witches and gained more experience, would they become as quiet as the Countess?
He doubted that it would happen, though.
“At first, I thought that they’d be scary. I know that was just my prejudice, b-but still…”
“Yeah, who woulda expected they’d be like that. If they keep their mouth shut, they look like a pair of picky noble ladies that would criticize the tea you brew and throw a handkerchief on your face.”
“I know, right?!”
Thinking that Siwoo’s description was right on the money, Sharon clapped her hands noisily.
“Anyway, that’s why I’ve been spacing out! They’re so cute…so innocent…can I take them home? They even called me Unnie and all that!”
“Been there before, you’ll die of exhaustion, don’t do it.”
He didn’t deny that those twins were cute and pretty, but innocent…?
As someone who once got played like a fiddle by them, he just couldn’t associate them with that word.
Nowadays, he could play around and joke with them, but back then, just seeing them made chills run down his spine.
“I’m going to smoke, what about you? Movies?”
“No, I’m going to sleep. I swear, ever since I’ve met you I’ve been sleeping more. Before that, I barely even slept…”
“Well, you got to empty your head and rest more, that’s good.”
“I guess so.”
Siwoo patted her head, ending their conversation before going to the rooftop.
The typhoon had passed, but the moist air still lingered.
‘Well, at least the breeze is cool tonight…’
He took out a cigarette and lit it. The light smoke immediately filled his lungs.
“Phew…”
He didn’t do anything much after waking up, but his eyes felt heavy.
Normally, he wouldn’t get drowsy even after a busy day.
It seemed like his mental exhaustion affected him more than he expected today.
He wasn’t a soldier, let alone a military veteran, so it was the first time he had seen so many people die at once.
If anything, it would be strange if he wasn’t affected after seeing such a sight.
Like, it wouldn’t be strange for someone to puke or start having nightmares after seeing such a gruesome thing in a movie, but he had witnessed the scene directly in real life.
He was thankful that at the very least he didn’t have such an intense reaction
-Buzz!
Suddenly, his phone rang.
The caller was a certain someone who had given him their phone number a long time ago, but they had never contacted him until now.
Deneb Gemini.
“Hello?”
[How are you feeling? Oh, leave it there.]
From the commotion coming from the other side, it was clear that the ‘Oh, leave it there’ wasn’t directed at Siwoo.
Such a commotion was most likely the reason why she had left the twins in his place even though they had just gone through such a horrible incident.
She already had her hands full dealing with the aftermath of said incident.
“Thank you for your hard work, Ma’am. It’s already late at night and you’re still working…”
[Just part of the job, really. How are the twins doing?]
“They ate a lot and drank a lot, after that they just went straight to sleep.”
[Don’t they seem scared? Or anxious?]
He was tempted to say, ‘No, not at all. In fact, they fell asleep because they were overeating’, but he refrained from doing so.
“They said that they miss you, Ma’am. Maybe you should visit them soon.”
Instead, he said that.
Saying such a flattery made him feel nostalgic.
[Yeah, right, those mischievous brats would indeed say something like that. Especially with their beloved Assistant around. Totally believable.]
“Haha.”
Although she could tell right away that he was just talking nonsense, Deneb’s voice sounded more cheerful when she said those words. It didn’t make her sound any less exhausted though.
Well, at the very least, his attempt on lightening the mood was a success.
After that, Deneb said, ‘Wait a moment’, and the noise surrounding her died down a little.
[The reason why I’m contacting you is not because of those brats.]
“I see, please go ahead.”
[I want to thank you for sending them home safely.]
Unlike the previous times, he actually wondered if things would go better for him if he didn’t send the twins back, but…
Hearing how thankful Deneb was, it seemed like at least he didn’t make a bad decision.
[And, if I don’t compensate you in some ways, I’ll lose my face, so, can you please tell me if there’s anything that you want?]
“I don’t really need anything. What you’ve given me is already— Ah…”
[Well, it seems like you have something in mind already.]
He remembered that one of Sharon’s debtors was the Gemini Household.
Considering her reaction when she saw the Gemini’s ring, maybe it was safe to assume that most of her 50 billion debt was between her and the Gemini Household.
“Actually, can we discuss it next time?”
He didn’t want to arbitrarily decide without asking for Sharon’s opinion, though.
Besides, the Gemini Household had already given him too much money.
It would be inappropriate for him to bring such a huge amount of money without a thorough discussion first.
That was why he decided to book the Countess’ time later.
[Alright, I don’t have time for a lengthy discussion right now anyway. We’ll talk about it at a later date.]
Noticing that the Countess was about to hang up, Siwoo hurriedly asked her a question.
“Ma’am, may I ask you something?”
[Yes?]
“Do you know the reason why I can use Ea Sadalmelik’s self-essence magic?”
[Haah…I don’t know that either. In fact, I’m the one who wants to ask you that question.]
Deneb really didn’t seem to know about it.
And it wasn’t like she could stop what she was doing and help him find out about it at the moment.
“I see. Anyway, sorry for taking up your time with that question, even though I knew that you’re busy…”
[Don’t be sorry. You are free to contact me if anything happens.]
After that, the call was cut off.
At some point, the fire had burned through the filter of his cigarette, and the smoke that came out of it smelled incredibly foul.
This sudden brief moment of silence reminded him of the victims of today’s incident. And so, he used the occasion to pay them his respects.
Because he felt that it was the right thing for him to do.
“I should go to sleep now.”
Trying to shake off the depressing feelings, he stretched his body…and froze stiffly in that exact position.
A witch suddenly appeared on the supposedly empty rooftop.
“…”
He recognized her; The same witch who mistook him for Ea and smashed him unconscious.
Duchess Eloa Tiphereth.
She stared at him without saying anything, and her blank expression made it hard for him to guess what she was thinking.
Chills went down his spine, as goosebumps appeared all over his body.
Despite this, Siwoo still managed to call out to her first.
“Sorry to trouble you, but if you’re going to hit me, please avoid hitting my liver. I’ve been drinking a lot lately, so I don’t want it to get worse than it already is.”
Either because he was really concerned about his liver…
Or because he just didn’t want to suffer through the same experience again…
He spouted such nonsense before he could even realize it.
Having saying it out loud, made him genuinely feel embarrassed.
“…”
The occasion was just so inappropriate that anyone could take it either as a sarcasm, a provocation, or a light joke.
But, the Duchess brushed his words off. Her tightly shut lips finally opened as her eyes fixedly staring at Siwoo.
Yet, contrary to his expectations, her gaze bore no ill-will.
They shook, seemingly uncertain about something.
“You…who are you, really…?”
Her voice was soft and high-pitched, just like what he had heard earlier.
Apart from her tightly clenched fists, red, just like a pair of snow crabs in season, there was this air of fragility that surrounded the rest of her body.
This was Duchess Tiphereth, the same person who knocked him out upon seeing him, and hurted Sharon without much thinking.
He expected her to rush at him again the moment they met, but…
Her current appearance looked forlorn to the point that he couldn’t even bring himself to curse at her. It was as if she could break down to pieces if he were to touch her.
Well, not that he’d just start spewing curse at her, or downright attack her, of course.
“Hereby, I declare a covenant.”
But, the next words that came out of her mouth made him realize that it wasn’t the time for him to immerse himself in such needless compassion.
At the same time of her chant, she took out her sword.
The sword looked pretty with twelve unknown letters engraved on its sides.
“Bloom!”
‘I thought the twins said that the misunderstanding has been resolved—!’
‘Come to think of it…neither the Countess or this woman knew the reason why I could use Ea’s magic…’
‘There is nothing that can be used to prove my innocence—!’
The one he was up against was a great witch even among the great witches.
A 23rd ranked witch, someone who could kill him with just a single touch.
He enveloped his body with his black armor while racking his brain, trying to find a way out of this situation.
But, to his surprise, Eloa threw her sword at his feet.
This didn’t reassure him at all though.
Earlier today, she had already proven to him that she didn’t need her sword to subdue him.
“I have no intention to fight, for now.”
Noticing Siwoo’s anxiety, Eloa put her hands in the air.
‘For now, she said…’
‘Now or later, I’d get hit all the same!’
Cold sweat began to trickle down his neck.
“I just want to talk with you. So, who are you?”
As she said that, Siwoo could see a great magic being casted through the Duchess’ mouth.
It was the first time that he had ever seen such a dense amount of mana.
Word of power.
The kind of magic that would manifest its caster’s will the moment the word left their mouth.
Such a high-ranked magic was being casted right in front of Siwoo.
Three of the letters engraved on the sword shone in resonance with the Duchess’ decree.
The letters then surrounded both of them almost immediately.
“I want to sign a covenant with you. Both of us can ask each other three questions, and neither of us can lie. Will you accept the covenant?”
Fortunately, she was true to her words. The magic she casted wasn’t one laden with hostile intent.
“We could have spared a lot of trouble if you had just used such convenient magic last time…”
Siwoo let out a complaint.
‘Sharon and I wouldn’t unnecessarily get hurt if she just casted it back then.’
‘Well, whatever, we’d still get hurt either way if the magic fails to resolve the misunderstanding.’
Siwoo raised his hand and grabbed one of the strings of mana that surrounded him.
The moment he did that, an intangible force bound his body.
It was a completely different sensation than the Poem of Confession.
With the Poem of Confession, it forced his body to confess whatever it was that the caster desired. Whereas with this magic, there was a strong coercive force that made one felt subdued and willing to obey the Covenant.
“I accept.”
And so, under the midnight sky, the discussion between the two started.
