City of Witches

1.

If you know your enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.

That well-known quote wasn’t just about fighting on bloody battlefields.

Like any other battle, love also left its marks on everyone involved, in the form of hidden wounds and unchecked passions. This was the truth that the twins had learned from their maids.

“Let’s call it a day for today’s lesson.”

The tight schedule made every class feel like they were squeezing oil from a dry olive.

As usual, Sharon assigned them homework before preparing to leave the nerve-wrecking classroom.

The twins, now accustomed to the pressure, didn’t flee like they used to.

Instead, it was Sharon, who sensed the upcoming trouble, like an animal detecting an approaching storm, who felt the pressure.

And so, she quickly got up from her seat.

“Miss Evergreen.”

Too bad for her, Odette’s call stopped her in her tracks right before she could leave.

She recalibrated her trembling gaze before turning around.

“Do you have any questions?”

Perhaps due to tension, her voice came out cold like ice.

But the twins were undeterred, they spoke up confidently.

“With all these classes, we haven’t had a moment to catch our breath.”

“Yeah, and we barely have off-time, so we haven’t had a proper chat with you, Sharon unnie.”

Sharon unnie?

She heard those two words before.

Hearing their current tone, Sharon was delighted, since it seemed like they were finally trying to get closer to her.

In fact, she had been feeling somewhat stressed. She even doubted her delicate self would be able to keep this up for five years.

“R-Really?”

“Yes! We don’t have anything planned after this class!”

“We’d love to treat you to some drinks if you’re okay with it, Sharon unnie!”

“We can get you some good wine!”

Sharon pretended to hesitate for a moment before nodding.

“Alright. Let me put this away first and I’ll be right there. Where are we going?”

“No need to, it isn’t far.”

“It’s right there.”

Feeling somewhat perplexed by their answer, Sharon followed the twins and soon realized.

They were right, they didn’t need to walk far.

Their destination was a carriage that was parked right in front of the classroom, that was where they’d be having their wine party at.

“Come on in.”

At first, Sharon thought, ‘Are we going to drink inside the carriage?’.

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Once the door was opened, that question of her was immediately answered.

The carriage looked fancy enough on the outside, with detailed bird carvings on the door, but the insides were something that surpassed even Sharon’s wildest imaginations.

A spatial distortion spell had been casted on the carriage, allowing it to break the laws of physics regarding space.

Furthermore, to support the interior space that was easily as big as a decent salon, they applied a weight manipulation spell.

This carriage was a product of a mix between magical artifacts and engineering, showing Sharon the capabilities of the Gemini Household.

“Come on in!”

Encouraged by the twins’ excited gestures, Sharon stepped inside.

-Thud!

Then, the door shut behind her.

The twins quickly went to do their things; Odile getting a bottle of wine ready and Odette setting out some simple snacks like cheese.

Before Sharon knew it, the small drinking party set up was done on the table in the middle of the couch.

“The Geminis really know how to impress, huh?”

“Sharon unnie, this place is completely isolated, so you can say whatever you want!”

“Exactly! Let’s forget about everything and have a good time!”

“Oh, can I really?”

““Yes!””

With the twins approaching her, as friendly as ever, Sharon nodded her head.

Before she knew it, they were opening a bottle of wine.

The wine they had in their hands was different from the usual factory made wine. It was handcrafted by skilled wine artisans from Gehenna, and every step of the process was meticulously done, so its quality couldn’t be doubted, even if she wanted to.

They poured the wine into the glasses without filtering the sediments separately, giving it a lovely jewel-like color.

“This one is a 72-year-old wine made from the Mendell Hills’ grapes!”

“We saved up our allowance to buy it!”

“Also, we bought three whole bottles of it!”

But, I thought wine from Mendel Hills was worth as much as the annual salary of an ordinary citizen?

And they bought it with their own allowances?

This fact and the luxurious carriage she was in, made Sharon painfully aware of the gap in their wealth.

Perhaps due to her low self-esteem, this fact lingered heavily in her mind.

“Cheers!”

“Cheers!”

Despite her initial reservations, she ended up enjoying the occasion.

Feeling a bit silly for her insecurity, Sharon clinked her glass with the twins’ and they started drinking.

At first, they mainly talked about their studies.

Sharon asked if there were any parts the twins didn’t understand, while the twins eagerly engaged in a conversation about topics they had been hesitant to ask about before.

Yes!

This is it! The thing that I wanted!

Though she still had her doubts about them possibly stealing Siwoo away from her, she still didn’t want to be on bad terms with them.

“Sharon unnie.”

“Hm? I haven’t finished my glass yet.”

“Not that. I have something to ask you.”

“More questions? You shoulda asked me during class, don’t you think?”

Sharon replied, ready to hear their questions while wearing a playful smile.

“What is your relationship with Mr. Assistant, Unnie?”

However, Odile’s subsequent question sent a chill down Sharon’s spine, as if she had been doused with cold water.

One thing about conversation was that it wasn’t solely about the spoken words.

The timing of the words said, tone, atmosphere, everything needed to be considered.

In that sense, Odile’s simple question put Sharon under a huge amount of pressure.

It went without saying that it also made her feel uncomfortable.

Who exactly was the mastermind behind the Countess' attempt to separate her and Siwoo?

Obviously, it was the twins, who asked their master to do so, even setting up such conditions that she had to agree on.

Furthermore, over the past few classes, they had been putting silent pressure on her, making her feel self-conscious.

And so, Sharon wondered, what exactly was the purpose behind their pretended ignorance?

Whatever it was, she knew that it couldn’t be anything good.

“...What?”

Though she had heard the question clearly, she asked for a clarification with a cold tone.

She tried to put up a tough front, she was secretly flaring up in anger.

After all, she genuinely thought that they were calling her to get to know each other better.

She thought they could finally address their issues.

But it turned out that everything was just her naive assumptions.

This place wasn’t set up for them to bond over drinks and laughter.

Rather, it was for questioning and giving out warnings.

It was like the cheap dramas where the jealous ex would show up and force the new girlfriend to have a drinking session just between the two of them.

“I wanna know! Last time we met, you said you’re friends with him, you taught him magic in exchange for accommodation and meals.”

“It’s been a while since then! Are you two still just friends?”

They pretended not to notice her irritation and kept pressing on.

Clearly, their behavior was way over the line.

Borderline humiliating even, at least to Sharon.

She felt the urge to leave the room immediately.

Yet, she managed to contain her frustration.

Because she just needed to tough it out for five more years.

In the long and arduous life of a witch, five years could pass in the blink of an eye.

“Haah… That’s a personal matter. I don’t know if I can discuss it.”

Sharon composed herself once again.

“But we’re curious…”

“Can’t you just tell us?”

There was a tinge of disappointment in their voices, since they were unable to satisfy their curiosity, but to Sharon, it sounded like provocation, adding to her discomfort.

Sharon took another deep breath.

She was trying to cool down her anger.

Then, she gulped down her wine as if it was water.

If the wine artisan who made the wine was here, he’d definitely be devastated by the sight.

“We’re more than just friends.”

Then, in a fit of anger, mixed with intoxication.

She blurted her next words out.

“We had sex.”

Take that!

No one messes with Sharon and gets away with it!

Sharon couldn’t hold back any longer and decided to fight back against their continuous prodding.

She was convinced that the twins wanted to create a distance between her and Siwoo, then find an opportunity to step in.

Since she had already been forced into a rather ambiguous relationship with him due to external pressure, she decided that it was best to assert herself and put the twins in their places.

After all, the twins were just apprentice witches, they couldn’t have sex with him.

Well, the truth wasn’t the case at all, but that was what she believed.

“...”

“...”

In that instant, the atmosphere turned chilly.

The twins felt like they had been stabbed in the heart.

They made the exact same reaction and expression to those words.

Their eyes widened and their mouths dropped at the same time.

Frozen in shock, Odette stuttered out a response with trembling jaws.

“S-S-Sex…?”

“Yes. Did you not hear me the first time?”

Seeing their reaction, Sharon couldn’t help but smile inwardly.

Actually, there was a little misunderstanding between Sharon and the twins.

Their somewhat hostile attitude added to their confusion.

The thing was, seeing Albireo’s extravagant and outrageous payment, Sharon simply didn’t believe that her goal was only to ‘give the twins a chance to get a good partner’.

So, she assumed that the Countess’ involvement was due to the twins’ request.

In such a situation, she figured that she couldn’t just sit back and endure if the twins were to tease her or pressure her about her relationship with Siwoo.

Meanwhile, in the twins’ case…

They seeked help from their maids to navigate through this complicated and perplexing situation.

The conclusion they managed to reach after considering everything carefully was to first ‘clarify the nature of Sharon and Siwoo’s relationship’, since ‘there wasn't sufficient evidence’ at the moment.

Just because Sharon gave them a lot of homework and kept them busy in class didn’t mean that she was being ‘hostile’ to them.

So, them setting up this drinking party wasn’t because they wanted to keep her in check or anything.

They were simply trying to gauge the situation to understand everyone’s position.

But at the same time, they felt suspicious over the matter with their assignments and packed schedule; They thought that Sharon was trying to control their free time with that.

So, they threw out a little ‘kitty punch’ of their own to see how she’d react.

But instead of playing along with them, Sharon unleashed a surprise backspin elbow that sent them reeling.

The twins were stunned by the shock they received to the point that their tongues went numb.

However, they quickly regained their composure.

Without even exchanging glances, they managed to realize something.

She is our enemy who’s also aiming for Mr. Assistant!

“Ah, I see… Well…”

Odile shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, her voice trembled as she suppressed her anger.

The tension in the air grew more palpable, just like the flow of liquid nitroglycerin.

“Since Sharon unnie is kind enough to be frank with us… We’ll share a secret with you.”

“S-Sis…! T-That’s…!”

Still retaining some sense, Odette hurriedly tried to stop Odile, but it was too late.

Her sister had already crossed her arms, gesturing towards the couch where Sharon was seated.

“On the couch you’re sitting on right now, Sharon unnie, Mr. Assistant took my first. Hehe, what a nostalgic, steamy moment that was…”

“W-What…?”

Such was Odile’s retaliation.

It genuinely felt like she was receiving a dropkick on her head for Sharon.

But then she realized that there was one big flaw on her claim.

The fact that she was an apprentice witch.

If they had sexual intercourse, their bowls would be damaged, so there was no way that they had actually done that.

Now that she realized this fact, Sharon let out a victorious smile and crossed her legs.

“Oh, really?”

“What? Do you think I’m lying?”

“Of course. You’re an apprentice witch, after all.”

“Sis, no! Yes, she was lying!”

Them doing such things with Siwoo was a secret between the three of them only.

It was a dangerous secret that even their masters didn’t know about.

Such information was too risky to be used to win a petty fight.

Because if things went wrong, Sharon could just reveal this fact to their masters.

“Ugh…”

Odile also seemed to have realized it.

Biting her lip, she pushed the words that had risen to the tip of her tongue back down.

The atmosphere of the place changed, making it felt like it wasn’t the spacious and luxurious interior of a carriage anymore.

Instead, it felt as if this was a narrow cage with three feral beasts inside.

“Too bad. I really wanted to be close to you, Sharon unnie.”

“I don’t care.”

Throughout that exchange, Sharon and Odile had been glaring daggers. At one point, they reached for their wine glasses at the same time and chugged them down without saying a word.

Then, with a bang, they slammed the glasses down.

“I will never give up on Mr. Assistant!”

“M-Me too!”

Odile declared coldly as Odette chimed in with determination afterwards.

“Me too! I won’t just stand around and let you two do whatever you want!”

At that moment, the unseen Cold War between Sharon and the twins erupted into an all-out /genesisforsaken