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Two days had passed since the New Year charity event.

Since then, Amelia and Siwoo were both absorbed in extracting essential oils.

So much so that they worked for 48 hours straight without a single break.

“...”

Although to be fair for them, there were just too many things to do.

The variety of raw materials they had to process kept increasing, making Amelia practically glued to the distiller, constantly adjusting the pressure and temperature through the valves.

She barely took her eyes off the gauges, emptying and refilling the massive storage three times over, only to fill it a fourth time.

There was no time to sleep, eat, or even a simple stretch break.

Seeing her working herself to the bone, there was no way Siwoo would just let himself sit back and relax, so he joined in too, but he couldn’t help wondering, ‘Do we really need to push ourselves this hard?’.

In his eyes, they had already extracted most of the frequently used essential oils, leaving the trivial ones like mosses and the likes.

Even if they ran out later, they’d have plenty of time to restock.

On the first day, Siwoo chalked up Amelia’s intensity to her usual dislike of leaving tasks unfinished.

But by the third day of this grueling pace, he started to notice something.

She was using work as an excuse.

If he had to put it into words, it was like, ‘I’m making myself busy so I won’t need to talk to Siwoo’.

She never started a conversation with him, and whenever he spoke to her, she barely responded.

Siwoo wasn’t some clueless virgin who’d think one night of sex would instantly bring them closer.

But, he knew that they had grown a lot closer since then.

After all, they shared soft pillow talk and some sweet moments afterward.

And yet, from the last dinner of the year onward, she had been acting strange.

To put it into words...

It felt as if she was avoiding him a little.

She wasn’t completely avoiding him though, after all, if he were to call out to her, she’d respond immediately, almost like she’d been hyper-aware of him the whole time.

And he had a feeling he knew why.

Back when they visited the Gemini Mansion.

He still wasn’t sure what had come over her, but Amelia had suddenly dragged him into a hallway and tried to give him a titfuck out of nowhere.

Her breasts were beautifully shaped, about the average size for witches.

But, a standing titjob wasn’t exactly easy to do with breasts that size, and after several failed attempts, she panicked and ran off.

Perhaps, she was embarrassed about that time and still didn’t know how to face him now.

“Ms. Amelia.”

Eventually, they emptied the warehouse from all the raw materials, and the distiller was shut down for cleaning.

Since the cleaning cycle would take eight hours, they were forced to go on the much-needed break.

As if he had been waiting for this moment, Siwoo called out to Amelia.

Immediately, she turned her gaze on him.

As if she had been keeping track of him in the corner of her vision the whole time, she turned toward him immediately.

“Did I...do something wrong?”

“No.”

“Then... Is something bothering you?”

“It’s not that either.”

Amelia avoided his gaze slightly as she spoke.

‘That’s a lie,’ Siwoo thought immediately.

He had seen this enough times to tell. Whenever she wasn’t fully confident in what she was saying, she’d lower her eyes just a little.

Then, as if their conversation was over, she turned back to the control panel, even though there was no reason to check it anymore.

In the past, he might’ve let it go, but now he knew that if he let this vague awkwardness continue, it would only drag on longer.

Siwoo gently took Amelia’s wrist.

“If something’s on your mind, can you just tell me? If I did something wrong, I’ll fix it.”

“...”

He could feel her pulse beneath his fingers.

“Did I mess up somehow?”

“It’s not you, Siwoo. Really...”

He could feel her heart rate skyrocketing as her face flushed crimson just from their bare skin barely touching at her wrist and hand.

As she spoke, she lowered her head.

Somehow, he found her even cuter like this.

At that moment, he suddenly remembered the way her usually composed face twisted in pleasure that night.

Then, he realized that ever since she’d thrown herself into work, like a writer racing to meet a deadline, they hadn’t made any skin contact whatsoever.

Obviously, that meant they hadn’t talked about testing the mana-copying effect either.

Siwoo swallowed hard.

A thought crossed his mind that perhaps, this was her way of saying, ‘I want to do it with you, but I can’t say it out loud!’.

Since Amelia had squeezed out her courage and gave her all to throw herself onto him the other day, he thought that she was waiting for him to take the lead.

“...”

As a man, he had to be bold in times like this.

Without a word, Siwoo carefully lifted Amelia’s chin.

He never considered his hands as particularly big, but with the way her tiny face was cradled into his hands, it made them seem really huge.

Her lips parted slightly in surprise, revealing a glimpse of her flushed red tongue.

She stared at him with innocent eyes, like a startled deer, while her face was flushed red, as if she were tipsy.

“Um...”

Seeing him leaning in, Amelia instinctively pressed her lips together.

Her long, thick golden lashes fluttered like butterfly wings.

Siwoo felt a surge of satisfaction, convinced he had made the right call.

Finally, he managed to understand her a little better.

Their lips brushed softly as they exchanged a few light kisses.

But, just as he thought things were about to heat up, Amelia suddenly pulled back.

Her hand that had been gripping his sleeve had let it go at some point.

It was a subtle but clear message of, ‘I’m okay with kissing, but I’m not ready for more’.

Um...

I think I fucked up...?

As Siwoo hesitated, Amelia spoke in a hushed voice.

“Siwoo, do you... Want to go grocery shopping with me today?”

“Now?”

“Yes.”

That offer was given to him out of nowhere—he barely had time to be confused.

From the way she was acting, it didn’t seem like she was rejecting him.

But at the same time, he had no idea what was going on.

“I’ll head back, take a quick shower, and change. Can you finish up here? Meet me in front of the shop in 20 minutes.”

“Uh... Yeah, sure. Got it.”

Finish up?

Amelia had already done most of the work, so there wasn’t much left to do.

Scratching the back of his head, Siwoo watched as she disappeared out the workshop door.

“...What just happened?”

Is she having second thoughts about the whole ‘You could do anything to me’ thing and is now regretting it?

Or maybe she’s just embarrassed after thinking about it some more?

“...Wait, it’s already past 10?”

Tarot Town’s market closed by 7, and aside from a few shops in Lenomond Town, most places wouldn’t even be open.

What kind of grocery shopping Is she even planning to do at this hour?

Tilting his head in confusion, Siwoo quietly finished cleaning up the workshop.

2.

Amelia clutched her racing heart, letting the hot water wash over her.

She always relied on magic instead of taking showers directly, but ever since she realized how soothing warm water could be, she had started using the bath more often.

“Haa...”

First Sharon, then the twins.

A few days ago, she had just clashed with them, and according to the results, it was clear that she lost big time.

Sharon, Odile, and Odette were all bound to Siwoo in different ways, each forming strong connections with him.

In the process, she even learned about Siwoo’s unique preferences.

Doing it outside, using places one wouldn’t normally use, using big tits, doing it a little rough, and so on.

The difference between theirs and Amelia’s experience was so vast that she couldn’t even come close.

The world of adults was beyond anything she had imagined; so much so that she worried about what shocking surprises even Duchess Tiphereth might have in store.

But, over the past two days...

It wasn’t that she started resenting Siwoo, or she tried to avoid talking to him just because she messed up the titjob.

Well...

The second part still made her face heat up, but it wasn’t bad enough to make her run away from him.

Amelia might have the mind of a scholar, but when it came to being a woman, she was still severely lacking in experience.

So, when Pandora’s Box suddenly burst open, flooding her with obscene knowledge all at once, she had no idea how to process it.

It completely clashed with the way she had always seen the world.

And so, after two days of struggling with herself, Amelia finally made up her mind.

She had already decided to give herself to Siwoo, completely and without hesitation.

That meant she needed to figure out how to satisfy his desires too.

“...Alright. I can do this.”

But no matter how much she mentally prepared herself, when the time actually came, her heart couldn’t stop pounding.

“What if he...thinks it’s gross...?”

Is this really gonna be okay?

Siwoo might have some perverted tendencies, but still...

Every time she went over her bold plan in her head, she couldn’t help but worry about it.

But in the end, only results would tell her whether this was the right choice or not.

Steeling herself, Amelia dried her body with a towel and put on some perfume.

Then, she carefully brushed her hair in front of the mirror before slipping into the outfit she had prepared.

She had already wasted too much time.

At that moment, she could hear the soft chime of the shop’s doorbell from the first floor.

Dressed in the clothes she had picked out for her plan, Amelia made her way downstairs to where Siwoo was waiting.

Every time the old wooden stairs creaked beneath her feet, her heart thumped even louder.

‘Should I run back and change into something else...?’ She hesitated.

But, she swallowed that hesitation and faced Siwoo head-on.

“Ms. Amelia, I don’t think there are any shops open at this hour...”

“Then it’s fine. We can just take a walk.”

With that, Amelia took his offered hand and hopped lightly down the last step.

His gaze swept over her, taking in every detail.

“You dressed warmly. Were you cold?”

“No.”

“...It looks soft.”

“Yes, it’s soft.”

Since they had spirit bodies, they weren’t really affected by the cold or heat.

Even in the middle of winter, the chill only made them feel a little chilly, and they could use their magic to fix that.

Siwoo was probably asking because he had never seen her wear this cloak before.

She had always worn the one her master left her, but tonight, she had on a thick, white wool cloak.

Still, without even thinking about it, their hands stayed clasped together.

“Where do you want to go?”

“I want to look around the gallery.”

And so, with everything in place, Amelia’s carefully planned late-night date began.