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Jasmine, ylang-ylang, lavender, dandelion, orange flower, blackcurrant, irises, nutmeg, black pepper, vanilla, salvia and so on.

There were mountains of materials waiting to be extracted.

One good thing about the extraction work was that it left them with the smell of a whole garden.

After eight hours of extraction, Siwoo, now drenched in a mix of various fragrances, returned to the perfume shop.

Alone.

Actually, the extraction wasn’t fully done yet.

Yesterday, since they only had to extract the oil from roses, the task had been simple; he just needed to clean the distillation equipment at the end of each extraction.

But now that they had to extract the oil from various flowers and fruits, especially jasmine—a staple in perfumes—there was naturally more work for him to do.

There was just too much material to finish their work in a mere eight hours.

“Crazy...”

But Amelia stubbornly pushed Siwoo to head back to the perfume shop.

She insisted that she’d handle the rest on her own.

Since he had volunteered to help her, he intended to see it through, even if it was tiring.

So, he pressed that he’d help her, but Amelia was being even more stubborn than usual, so he had to go back alone.

“There’s nothing to do here...”

Back then, we could chat while working.

Here? There isn’t even a book for me to read...

It wouldn’t sit right with him if he were to sit idly here, especially when he knew that Amelia was still working tirelessly. But, if he were to go back to help her, she’d just snap at him.

Left with no other choice, Siwoo decided to clean the shop, so he grabbed some tools and headed upstairs.

2.

Meanwhile, Amelia, the one who had sent Siwoo home first...

After watching his figure disappear through the workshop door, she finished inspecting the distillation equipment and rushed to Sophia’s house.

She had resolved herself to not hesitate any longer.

But determination alone wouldn’t solve everything.

And so, she visited her friend—an expert in this field who had helped her countless times before—for advice.

The last dawn of the year was coming up quickly.

She wanted to give him something before the year ended.

-Knock, knock, knock!

About 30 seconds after she knocked on the door, a soft meow echoed, and the door creaked open.

“Amelia?”

Sophia, known for her strict sleep schedule, greeted the unexpected guest in pajamas. Her eyes looked groggy, while a million thoughts ran through her head.

She remembered that in the past, Amelia had always come knocking whenever there were misunderstandings or conflicts with Siwoo.

Did something happen again?

“May I come in?”

But, when she looked at Amelia again, she realized that her worries were unfounded.

Amelia’s face wasn’t wasn’t the face of someone wanting to vent out her frustration.

It was the face of someone who had firmly decided on something.

Feeling relieved, Sophia let out a soft sigh and smiled.

“Of course. Come on in.”

Sophia’s cozy house was filled with the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee.

As befitting her moniker, ‘Witch of Beasts,’ Sophia shared her home with over a hundred cats.

Since the cats were drawn to Amelia’s fragrant scent, she had to endure their overwhelming affection until she entered the drawing room.

“I’ll make us some coffee. Coffee beats tea this early morning.”

“Thank you.”

Normally, Amelia couldn’t stand cats, but right now, she was too preoccupied to care.

That was why when Sophia came back with the coffee, she had turned into a cat tower: there were two on her lap, three on the armrest, two on the backrest, and five at her feet.

There was no way they could have a proper conversation like that.

“Shoo, shoo, go play somewhere else, little ones.”

As Sophia waved them off, the cats scattered, grumbling in protest.

Only then did the room feel a little more organized.

“So, what’s up?”

“I need your advice.”

Sophia wasn’t surprised by the request, but it didn’t make it any less daunting.

In the past, Sophia had eagerly offered advice, hoping it would encourage Amelia to open up to others a little more.

She even tried to push Amelia and Shin Siwoo closer, creating chances for them to get closer to each other.

The problem was that, even though she meant well, her meddling caused a lot of trouble for both of them.

Part of the reason why the witch in front of her almost went bankrupt was due to her advice, so there was no way she could just give her another advice.

The fact that she was her best friend only made her case worse.

She could give out safe, generic advice, but that still made her think that something would go horribly wrong.

Amelia seemed to sense her hesitation and spoke first.

“I know what you’re worried about, Sophia.”

“Yeah... I’ve come to realize that careless advice can do more harm than good...”

Seeing Sophia said such words, looking all embarrassed, Amelia...

“No, your advice helped me, Sophia. I just couldn’t admit it back then.”

“Still... Isn’t there someone else you could ask?”

“But I want to hear your advice, Sophia. This is an important matter, and I...want to hear the advice of my most trusted friend.”

Amelia’s shy but heartfelt words left Sophia stunned, as if she had been struck.

Then, tears welled up in her eyes. After dabbing them away with a handkerchief, she made up her mind.

She resolved to use everything she knew to help Amelia and make sure that there’d be no mess afterward.

“So, what’s the problem?”

But, after Sophia steeled herself, it was Amelia who hesitated.

She fidgeted nervously, her lips moving as though searching for the right words, and when she finally did, what came out was barely a whisper.

“Today, with Siwoo...”

Even with her sharp hearing, Sophia couldn’t catch her words.

She tilted her head in confusion, prompting Amelia to speak a little louder.

“Today... I want to... with Siwoo.”

Her voice trailed off. The gap in her sentence was filled only with a faint whisper that barely escaped her lips. But, even without hearing the full sentence, Sophia could guess from Amelia’s flushed face and the subtle ‘s’ sound what she was trying to say.

Thinking she hadn’t been clear enough, Amelia repeated herself, this time firmly.

“I want to have sex...with Siwoo...”

It took three tries for Sophia’s brain to fully process Amelia’s words, which had initially skimmed past her understanding.

She had expected that Amelia would ask about a kiss, not sex.

Hearing this, she couldn’t help but reflect on how true it was that love changes people.

Amelia, usually curt and expressionless, was now blushing like a maiden in love, asking for advice about something so intimate.

Her innocent vibe was contagious that Sophia felt like she caught some of it herself.

The long-forgotten excitement seemed to flutter into Sophia’s mind like a breeze scattering blossoms.

Calm down.

Sophia swallowed hard.

First of all, there was one question that she had to ask, even though it was embarrassing.

“Can I ask you one thing?”

“Yes...?”

“Do you really want to do it?”

Amelia’s small head bobbed up and down in a nod.

Her face was so red it looked like it might burn to the touch.

Amelia understood both the significance of intimacy and how embarrassing this conversation was.

“Can I ask why?”

Sophia steadied herself and took a deep breath.

Before discussing the ‘how,’ they’d need to figure out the ‘why’.

This might make her sound overprotective, and she knew that.

Amelia might have grown and changed through her experiences, but her knowledge of the relationship between male and female likely hadn’t deepened enough yet.

Sophia needed to ensure Amelia wasn’t making this choice based on a misunderstanding or fleeting emotions.

Caught off guard by the question, Amelia hesitated for a moment before giving out a sincere answer.

“Because... I want to be closer to him.”

“Did he ask for it?”

“No, he didn’t...”

Though briefly flustered, Amelia quickly composed herself.

Then, she began expressing her thoughts.

“O-Of course, such intimacy before marriage might seem improper... I’m sorry, Sophia, I didn’t mean to badmouth you. Anyway, the world is changing a lot these days...”

“It’s okay. That doesn’t bother me. Go on.”

“I want to give Siwoo something precious... Even if he doesn’t give me anything in return... I want to give him everything.”

Amelia had always been indifferent to everything except magic.

Especially when it came to relationships, she was a staunch conservative. In fact, she had once scolded Sophia about how sex should only happen after marriage.

And now, the same person said that she wanted to ignore both her pride and view, giving her love unconditionally.

Honestly, even as a close friend, Sophia couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy and jealousy.

After all, she’d never felt that way about anyone herself.

Regardless, after hearing that, there was no need to ask further.

“Alright, how can I help you?”

“Well... The nighgown. The ones you left at the villa...”

“Oh, you mean the baby doll?”

Sophia thought back to the day Amelia and Siwoo first headed to Border Town.

Not only had she set up the villa for them, but she had also included a rather erotic baby doll nightgown.

And for Amelia to bring it up now...

It meant that she was planning to go all out and seduce Siwoo.

She could just seduce him with her looks alone, but Sophia understood that she just wanted to be fully prepared.

“Yeah, first times are always nerve-wracking.”

Sophia smiled as she led Amelia to the wardrobe.

Just as Sophia had nudged Amelia into wearing more mature lingerie, she had secretly been stocking up on sexy nightwear to give her someday.

Amelia had vehemently avoided any talk about it since then, so Sophia hadn’t dared to bring it up.

“Ah...”

Clothes tailored to Amelia’s size.

Amelia’s face, which had calmed down a bit, turned even redder than before as the secret collection of garments that could barely be called ‘clothes’.

Designs that didn’t cover the skin, but also breasts and pussy, depending on the type.

They weren’t inherently shameful, but the thought of her wearing those outfits in front of Siwoo made her burn with embarrassment.

“W-Won’t it look indecent?”

“But it’ll make a guy lose his mind. What do you think about this one?”

Sophia picked out a black negligee with a minimum amount of fabric.

If they tore apart Amelia’s current dress, it could probably make five or six of these.

While Amelia was frozen in shock, Sophia was brimming with excitement.

She tried to stay composed, but her excitement kept bubbling up.

“Let’s pick one out together, shall we?”