1.
Located in the North-East section of the campus, lies Associate Professor Amelia's research laboratory.
The pathway that led to the building was unsheltered and Siwoo's once dry clothes now clung to his skin, hair dripping of water as he was forced to walk amidst the rain to get to the building.
Amelia Marigold.
Looking at the sheer size of the building, it was clear to see that something was off.
A mere associate professor in the academy, yet strangely enough, the research building that she used could easily be used by 5 other people. That was a luxury only either full or head professors could afford.
"Alright, let's get this over with…"
The reason behind it was probably her nobility and therefore she was afforded with some of the benefits that other professors couldn't afford.
Either way, it didn't matter to Siwoo.
Looking upon the sheer size of the research facility and the dirt that covered it, Siwoo couldn't help but sigh in despair.
He took off his raincoat and put it on the porch, then grabbed some cleaning tools from the warehouse.
-Creaaak!
Unlike the dazzling main building of the Academy, the annex was a simple wooden building.
The aged floorboards creaked and groaned in protest with every step he took.
After going up the stairs to the second floor and entering the large door, Siwoo entered Amelia's 20 pyeong1[T/N: 20 pyeong = 66.1157 sqm] workshop.
As soon as he walked in, he was greeted by the stench of lingering puff of a cigarette.
Filling such a large space were glass bottles with mysterious fluorescent liquids, magic books, parchment scrolls, shelves with sorted and tagged reagents. In the place of curtains, dreamcatchers lined across the windows, as well as candles that illuminated the dark areas of the laboratory.
The place was like the mix of a medieval alchemist's laboratory and an occult cafe that was popular in the past.
It was quite authentic. If this was in a place like Hongdae, it would have been popular.
Amelia was sitting in the middle of the dark laboratory.
With one hand resting on her chin and the other holding a cigarette, she was examining something with a troubled look in her eyes.
Amelia was so deeply immersed in her thoughts, that she didn't even notice that Siwoo had entered.
She looked beautiful.
A flawless innocence adorned with defenseless, a look that Siwoo didn't think she would show to anyone else.
Cleaning supplies in hand, Siwoo walked up to Amelia's desk.
He was worried that if he just started cleaning without saying a word, Amelia would get angry and he would get nagged at.
On a side note, the cigarette that Amelia was smoking was a modern-day product called Lucky Strike.
As it was a long-established brand launched in 1847, it was a favorite among veteran smokers and witches.
"Ah…."
After Siwoo came within 10 steps in front of her, Amelia stared blankly at him and opened her mouth.
A bright light flickered across Amelia's eyes, which had been dimmed while she was blankly staring into space earlier.
"Associate Professor Amelia, I'm here to clean the research laboratory. Where should I start?"
Siwoo became respectful, as much as he possibly could and asked.
From the moment he entered the building, he gauged that it would take 3 to 12 hours to fully clean it.
For now, it was best to sympathize with Amelia and reduce the punishment as much as possible.
"When did you come?"
"I just arrived a little while ago."
Amelia had a naturally scornful look on her face as she looked at Siwoo.
Rolling up her sleeves so that ink doesn't get on her clothes, Amelia moved her slender wrists and pointed with a quill.
"Organize the magic books by category. Don't just sweep the dust off of the shelves, wipe them down with a damp rag. Sort the books with leather covers over there, and the thesis files, in order, on the bookshelf. Do not touch anything on the table."
"Yes."
"Do it quietly and don't disturb me. Alright, you can go…"
Amelia, who had given her instructions, waved her hand without looking at Siwoo.
Siwoo held back his sigh, then started cleaning the corner of the building with a bucket and a broom.
It seemed as though she had never cleaned the place at all. It was Siwoo's first time seeing a place this dirty.
Almost as if someone had messed it up on purpose.
For a while, only the scribbling coming from Amelia's pen and the Siwoo's cleaning sound reverberated throughout the place.
This was so uncomfortable, but Siwoo had to hold his breath in case he made noise…
He was so depressed that he was on the verge of tears.
2.
About an hour later.
Just as the first bookshelf had been cleaned up, Amelia opened her mouth.
"Janitor."
"Yes."
What was she going to nitpick about today?
Siwoo looked back at Amelia with a smiling face while holding back his frown.
With a stoic look on her face, she gently opened her lips. Siwoo could only guess what she would say.
"Come here."
Siwoo was stunned by the unexpected call, he pointed a finger at his chest and asked.
"Yes? M-Me?"
Siwoo's behavior was an eyesore to Amelia, who preferred quick answers to her questions.
Amelia raised an eyebrow.
For reference, this body language meant she had reached about 25% of her hysteric gauge. If it exceeds 50%, she would start scolding him. Thus, Siwoo hastily said.
"I'm just going to clean this up and go."
"That's enough."
Amelia stopped Siwoo, who was reaching forward to dip the mop into the bucket.
Shaking her head, Amelia snapped her fingers.
-Shudder!
A palpable wave of magic swept through the room as Siwoo felt the room shake.
An array of items started floating.
The items that were dancing in the air began to arrange themselves flawlessly into their respective shelves.
Amelia's proficiency with a basic spell such as telekinesis showcased her control and understanding over magic.
While controlling hundreds of objects simultaneously with her mana, the objects never once bumped into one another.
Arising from the nooks and crannies of the room, dust particles rose into the air and were lumped together, before being thrown into a nearby bucket.
The laboratory had been cleaned so thoroughly that if one used a microscope, one wouldn't be able to find a single speck of dust in the room that hadn't already been cleaned.
Siwoo couldn't believe his eyes as he watched this spectacle unfold.
She wasn't a part of the witch's nobility for nothing.
Siwoo had only managed to steal a glimpse of what true magic entailed and now, his previous misconceptions of the utility of magic was completely blown away.
Siwoo stood in front of Amelia.
Due to what happened in the morning, Amelia's hands were always on Siwoo's mind.
No.
If he were to get an erection at this moment, Siwoo would simply become a slave of his desires.
With that thought in mind, Siwoo forcibly suppressed his libido from flaring up.
"Sit down."
As Amelia pointed with her chin, a spare chair slid out from a corner of the room and provided a seat for Siwoo to sit upon.
How whimsical…
Siwoo nervously sat on the chair provided, this was nothing like her usual self.
Amelia took out a cigarette from a pack.
When she sucked in her breath, a small spark appeared, lighting the cigarette.
"Huuu…"
Amelia turned her chair and faced Siwoo.
Casually crossing her legs, Amelia handed Siwoo an opened pack of cigarettes.
As she crossed her legs, Siwoo who had caught a glimpse of the pair of milky white thighs in all their glory, hurriedly adverted his eyes.
"Do you smoke?"
Cigarettes.
In Gehenna, cigarettes were a scarce commodity and were thus extremely valuable.
At least, that was the case for Siwoo, who was a slave.
He couldn't stop smoking, even while being enslaved. It got so bad that he would sometimes share a stick of cigarette with Takasho just to get by.
Siwoo could barely endure the withdrawal symptoms that constantly assaulted him.
It was honestly kinda scary.
He would've traded anything for a pack of cigarettes. Anything but Amelia's kindness.
He would rather be forced to drink an opened can of soda that someone had found on the benches than to accept a cigarette from Amelia.
"I'm fine. Thank you."
"Well, that's a shame but alright."
Amelia relented.
Siwoo gulped as Amelia put the pack of cigarettes back onto the table and exhaled a puff of smoke.
Amelia's profile, reflected in the dark laboratory, showcased her breath-taking beauty. It looked as if she had walked straight out of a painting.
She rubbed the remaining half of the cigarette into the ashtray and put it out.
She had just wasted half of the precious cigarette right in front of Siwoo.
Siwoo tried his best to inhale as much secondhand smoke into his lungs as he possibly could.
He knew what he was doing was wrong.
Siwoo didn't know what kind of trick it was, but he knew only servility awaited him if he fell for the Witch's scheme.
Wasn't there a famous saying?
"It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied."
As if reading Siwoo's thoughts Amelia cleverly spoke with perfect timing.
"Are you hungry?"
"No, it's fine."
A plate covered with a cloche flew onto the table and landed in front of Siwoo, who was sitting at attention much like a disciplined soldier. 2[E/N: Cloches are tableware covers that are often made in silver and resemble a ball (-■_■)]
A plate of similar design landed in front of Amelia.
The dome cover that had been covering it was removed and a piece of cake was revealed.
The cake, 'Schwarzwaelder Kirschtorte', otherwise known as 'Black Forest Cake' was made with cherry brandy, whipped cream, and chocolate.
Fresh cream filled the layers of chocolate sponge, which covered a candied cherry filling with pulp texture, and finally, cherry brandy syrup was the main highlight as it was sweetly wrapped around the top of the cake.
Amelia took out a fork and cut out a piece of cake, placing it in her mouth.
Meanwhile, Siwoo was stuck processing his emotions.
If one was a military veteran, they could easily restrain themselves, but the thing that he had been cravingthe most while living in slavery were not meat, not cigarettes not anything but sweets.
In Gehenna, where both sugar and honey were traded at high prices. Sweet food was not something a slave could get the opportunity to savour.
As soon as his nose, which had become sensitive to the sweet smell, detected the scent of the cake, saliva began to drool out from the corner of his lips.
"Go on, eat."
"Is it really alright?"
At that moment, Siwoo's desires overtook his sense of reason.
He couldn't stand it any longer.
With a fork, he sliced the cake like Amelia did.
The weight of the cake seemed to represent its sweetness and an audible gulp could be heard from Siwoo as he took a bite.
"Ah…."
It tasted delectable.
The shiver inducing scent of cherry was enough to make him dizzy.
The moist fresh cream and sweet chocolate caressed the tip of his tongue, tickling his senses.
Siwoo could feel each of his taste buds, that had not experienced such a sensation in a long time, rise up in unison and scream in joy.
"Haaa…!"
Siwoo even forgot that Amelia was in front of him and ate the cake in a hurry.
The cake the size of a palm disappeared within a minute leaving no crumbs.
"I-I apologize."
At that moment, he had let his mind wander and when Siwoo snapped out of his trance, he could see Amelia looking at him with a strange expression on her face.
Amelia licked the whipped cream off her lips and handed her plate over to Siwoo.
"If it's not enough, you can have this too."
"Is that fine with you?"
Amelia nodded her head slightly.
This was not Amelia!
Something was wrong!
Alas, despite his inner consciousness cautioning for vigilance against the witch, Siwoo's tongue and belly craved more of the sweet cake.
Siwoo, who ended up inhaling the extra cake, looked at Amelia.
He could feel a new sensation brew within him.
It was because Amelia was watching him. She was staring at him until he devoured the entirety of the cake.
"Thank you very much."
But why was Amelia acting like this all of a sudden?
Was it due to the lack of progress despite having consistently bullied Siwoo for 5 years?
Well, if she thought that she could make up for all the sufferings with just a piece of cake, she couldn't have been more wrong.
Siwoo thought, 'Evil witch bitch! I'll just eat this cake and bolt the fuck out of here.'
As Siwoo recalled Takasho's advice, he began to think sinisterly.
Amelia slowly opened her mouth.
"Do you know how that cake was made?"
She spoke in a tone similar to the one she often used when she was teaching the twins.
At that moment, Siwoo felt a cold ominous chill run down his spine.