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The new year had arrived.

Currently, Lucy Yesod was pacing anxiously in front of Diana’s bedroom door.

“Diana...”

“...”

Ever since the Harvest Festival, she had noticed something off about her dear daughter.

Of course, she knew of her lazy nature—she’d remain hidden in her room unless she started to practically beg her to come out.

She had hoped that bringing in Siwoo as a tutor would make her daughter more outgoing. For a while, it did work, but as soon as Siwoo’s visits became less frequent, she shut herself away again.

Whenever she pressed her ear to the door, she’d hear quiet sobbing or eerie whispers of curses that she couldn’t quite make out.

At first, she thought that her daughter missed Siwoo, and so she tried to arrange a meeting with him, but she shot down the idea with a sharp refusal.

Thinking that her daughter was going through a late puberty, she was worried sick.

For all her reputation as a grand witch of Gehenna and a formidable businesswoman in the Modern World, Countess Yesod was nothing but a clumsy, doting mother when it came to her daughter.

“Are you going to stay in your room again today, Baby? But, you’ve never missed the charity event before, haven’t you?”

“...”

Similarly to the Gemini Household, Yesod Household also had a tradition of visiting Border Town for charity at the start of the year.

Even as lazy as she was, Diana had always joined her mother during the whole thing, as she clearly understood the importance of the occasion.

And yet this year, for some reason, she refused to come out. In fact, this was the countess’ last attempt to persuade her to come out.

But, the only reply she received was a long silence, prompting a small sigh out of her.

“Alright, if you need to rest, then rest. Mommy will be back later, so please get better soon, my cute little baby.”

Just as she turned her body to leave...

The door quietly clicked open.

Revealing Diana, standing behind it, her hair a tangled mess, while her face clouded with deep gloom.

“Diana...”

“Mom, I need to talk to you.”

2.

Fifteen minutes later.

Countess Yesod sat with her face buried in her hands, burning red.

Apparently, her daughter, Diana, knew about her scandalous relationship with Siwoo. Not only that, she also knew about her secret hobby of writing erotic novels.

No matter how much she loved her daughter—or perhaps, it was exactly because she loved her daughter so much that having such a humiliating secret exposed became so unbearable to her.

The fact that she had failed to shield her from such things felt like a minor problem compared to the overwhelming shame she felt.

“...”

While Countess Yesod sat frozen in embarrassment, lowering her head, Diana hesitated for a bit before reaching out and pulling her into a warm hug.

All this time, she had been worried that her concerns might trample on her mother’s pride.

After all, even between a mother and a daughter, there were things that were just hard to say.

But she couldn’t hold back any longer.

She tried to act cheerful and unaffected, but in the end, she couldn’t bear to see her mother, who was deeply hurt by Shin Siwoo, pretending to be okay while worrying about her, who was hiding in her room all depressed.

If she hadn’t known anything, it would probably have been different, but she couldn’t stand seeing her mother suffer even more because of her.

And so, she decided to tell her the truth, no matter how shocking it might be, and comfort her.

“Mom, you didn’t do anything wrong. The only one to blame is that horny jerk, Shin Siwoo.”

“...”

“I’m sorry for refusing to listen to you all this time. It must’ve been hard for you, right, Mom?”

“...”

“But, no matter what, I love you, Mom, more than anything.”

With tears welling up in her crimson topaz eyes, Diana hugged Lucy even tighter.

She thought her mother’s silence and bowed head were due to the old sorrow resurfacing, or because she was moved by her words.

After all, she knew how emotional her mother could be.

But the truth was, the countess was simply bowing her head out of shame—a feeling worse than any of Diana’s speculation.

On top of that, Diana was mistaken about several things.

“My baby... Thank...you...”

“It’s nothing, of course I’d do this much for you, Mom.”

“But...there are a few things you’ve misunderstood...”

“H-Huh?”

Diana tilted her head in confusion.

What she had imagined was a tender moment where a loving daughter—her—comforted her mother, who couldn’t openly share her pain.

But, when her mother raised her head, though her feeling of gratitude was clear in her face, it was completely overshadowed by her deep blush of embarrassment.

“First of all... I’ve decided to keep my relationship with Mr. Siwoo going...”

“W-What?! Mom?! Don’t you have any self-respect?”

That was a statement that could knock the wind out of anyone.

At the same time, it made Diana furious at her mother.

Shin Siwoo had turned down the Harvest Festival date Diana had planned with such care.

He even came up with a ridiculous excuse about already having a lover.

Since in her eyes, there was no way that pathetic excuse of a man had reached out first, the only conclusion she could make was that her mother was latching onto him.

“You know what kind of trash he is, right? And you’re still gonna keep seeing him?”

“Diana... I knew from the start that he had a lover. He never hid it from me.”

“Huh...?!”

So it’s an affair from the beginning?!

This was something that Diana had never imagined.

She knew that her mother wrote erotic novels, but never did she expect that she’d actually choose to live a life that was similar to one—to fall in love with a man who had already taken.

“It’s just, I never expected that one of his lovers would be Duchess Tiphereth...”

One of his lovers is who??

Diana didn’t even know how to react to this confession. The content made her tongue stiff in surprise.

She just stood there, mouth agape, her eyes flickering with confusion and disbelief.

“In any case, it’s good that we can continue to see each other~”

But, the most ridiculous thing here was that, even now as she spoke, her mother’s face was glowing with a strange, almost content look.

That was what baffled Diana the most.

She had always thought that her mother was a bit of an airhead when dealing with her, but she had no idea that she’d be this clueless when it came to relationships.

It was as if she was one of those pathetic married women that got easily manipulated by a random gigolo—willingly giving him everything she owned.

Diana was racking her brain, trying to figure out who she should be mad at, and whether she should lecture her mother right here and now or not.

But then, a comment came that completely erased her worries.

“More importantly, Mr. Siwoo might have found a new method of brand inheritance. If that happens to be true, we can stay together forever, Diana.”

“What...?”

As that comment was the glimmer of hope she had been searching for so long, an answer to an unresolved dilemma she had been holding onto for so long.

3.

The New Year dawned, the charity event started early in the morning.

In Tarot Town, on the white stone-paved plaza, wagons from various witch households lined up, filled with warm clothes, blankets, preserved food to last throughout the winter, and toys for the children.

Kids eagerly lined up to get their dolls, while women in aprons and headscarves, men with bundles of firewood in their hands, and townspeople alike, all laughed cheerfully.

People sipped on black tea from a large pot, chatting away, while in one corner of the plaza, a makeshift stage was set up for a band to perform.

Since it was, after all, an event where one could do good deeds...

Siwoo volunteered to join.

He had just finished carrying some luggage and was currently resting in a quiet spot to smoke.

Amelia left the place a while ago to continue making her perfume, while Countess Gemini were visiting the people’s homes, delivering food baskets to the elderly who had difficulty moving.

As for the twins, they were warming up in their carriage for a rehearsal.

Siwoo had been constantly surrounded by people lately, so this rare moment of lonesome felt a little unusual to him.

He leaned his back against the alley wall, watching the lively scene with a calm heart while smoking.

Unlike Border Town, where most of the population was made up of slaves and smugglers, the citizens of Tarot Town enjoyed a relatively high standard of living.

No one was starving, there were no beggars on the street, and no one died from sickness due to poor hygiene.

With witches around, there was no need to fear even the smallest crime.

Back when Siwoo was a slave, he used to look at these citizens with sympathy.

He felt a kinship with them, as he thought that just like him, they were trapped with those witches for centuries, while having their freedom stripped away due to their obligation to serve those witches.

But now, seeing their carefree faces, he realized that such thoughts were all prejudice.

It was clear that they were all living their own simple happiness in their own way.

Sure, their technology was far behind the Modern World, and they couldn’t enjoy the luxuries that advanced civilization could bring them, but...

He couldn’t help but think that their faces looked a lot brighter than the faces of the people going through a busy city in the rush hour.

At that moment, a voice called out from beside him.

“Excuse me.”

Maybe it was due to the charity event.

Even the witches were dressed in practical attire.

That also applied to this apprentice witch who was wearing a cape over her shoulders and a pair of boots.

She was Diana Yesod, with her faded silver hair and beautiful crimson eyes, someone who was once involved with Siwoo in more ways than one.

“Ack!”

He hadn’t seen her since the day before the Harvest Festival when he had to receive the full force of her Ten Thousand Lotus Rain.

That moment of sheer fury was still deeply burned into his mind.

But, the sharp accusations or harsh words that he expected didn’t come.

Instead, she hesitated, nervously tapping the tip of her boot on the frozen ground.

“I-It’s been a while..”

“Yeah... It has...?”

“Are you okay? I mean... Your injuries...”

“Oh, yeah. I’m fine now.”

In the midst of the awkward silence, they exchanged such awkward pleasantries.

Then, Diana suddenly lowered her head.

It was a swift shift in attitude, much like when she had suddenly erupted in anger before.

“I’m sorry for my misunderstanding...!”

Until recently, Diana had cursed Siwoo for his beastly acts.

Hence why when she heard about the commotion in Tarot Town and his involvement in it, she closed her ears completely.

Even if he had saved her life once, she just couldn’t forgive him for playing with her mother and then tossing her aside.

But this morning, after a proper conversation with her mother, she had learned the truth and realized that she had been misunderstanding him.

She learned that his and her mother’s relationship was never serious from the start.

Moreover, it was her mother who had made the first move on Siwoo, ignoring the fact that he had a lover.

And finally, Diana had realized too late that she had placed unfair expectations on Siwoo because she was so focused on her inheritance.

Most of all, she came to realize that, although she didn’t know how, Siwoo might just hold the key to solving her long-standing dilemma.

Diana’s outburst must have been a shock to him.

Now that she knew all that, she couldn’t not bow her head and admit her mistake.

Because if he somehow misunderstood her intentions, any new methods or solution that she had been looking for could just disappear for good.

“Um... I’ve learned the whole truth.”

“Ah...”

“About my mother and Mr. Siwoo’s relationship, and the inheritance thing too.”

“Huh...”

That one statement made Siwoo remember.

The Mana Copying Phenomenon had vanished.

He and Countess Yesod had been trying to look for a way to inherit the brand without the predecessor dying using the brand replication effect from the vaginal cumshot when she had sex with Siwoo.

But nothing happened when he had sex with Amelia yesterday.

He had been planning to speak to Countess Yesod about this very issue.

“Um, is your mom around by any chance?”

“Huh?”

“It’s an important matter... could I have a quick word with the Countess?”

After accepting Diana’s apology, Siwoo asked her to lead him to Countess Yesod.