1.
Outside Gehenna, or the modern world, to be precise, there were numerous mentally unstable witches targeting the young witches.
After she received her brand, Yebin chose to hide in a place where no one would find her due to her limited combat skills.
She threw away the benefits and luxuries of modern civilization that she had enjoyed thus far.
For the next ten years, she engrossed herself in her mentor's teachings. How tedious it had been for her!
At one moment, when she was absentmindedly fiddling with her smartphone, which couldn't receive any internet connection in the desolate frozen land, something she didn't expect occurred.
A single bird, speaking in human language, came to find her, conveying a peculiar proposal.
Apparently, there was a patient that needed her help in Gehenna and Yebin was asked to conduct a medical examination and to provide treatment to said patient.
In return, they offered to issue a temporary permit for her to enter Gehenna and promised substantial reward and citizenship based on the results.
Yebin received this once-in-a-lifetime news with open arms.
She wouldn't have to constantly keep on guard against malicious witches threatening her life in Gehenna. Not to mention she could find abundant materials and resources she could use for her research.
And most importantly, it was a chance for her to escape from this boring place.
With high hopes, she traveled to Gehenna.
The first person she encountered was an incredibly beautiful blonde woman.
She deduced that this was the Baroness Marigold, Amelia Marigold.
The aura the other witch exuded made her look like a haughty princess and Yebin couldn't help but feel that her existence was small compared to her.
Perhaps this was what they meant by being a noble born.
She felt uncomfortable after seeing Amelia just standing there without uttering a single word. So, she attempted to start various conversations to ease the atmosphere.
"My attire is a little peculiar, isn't it? Actually, back when I was still in Korea, it wasn't hard to get some clothes, but where I live now, proper clothes are scarce… Haha…"
"Don't worry about it."
"Seeing how you dressed up so nicely, I really should have visited the city at least once… But, that doesn't mean I didn't do my best to dress up."
"No, really, don't worry about it."
However, Amelia's mind was filled with complex thoughts, so she couldn't digest Yebin's words properly.
Amelia simply brushed off all her questions and avoided any meaningful conversations with her. Feeling that her efforts were in vain, Yebin gazed around Gehenna with a slightly disappointed expression.
After using the 'Gate' to teleport, it still took them around thirty minutes to get to Amelia's mansion from Border Town.
As Yebin looked at Amelia's accommodations, her eyes went wide.
It was a magnificent and elegant-looking mansion, a sight rarely seen even in Korea, let alone in the Greenland National Park.
Its refined and vintage architecture was visible the moment the door was opened. It was like a work of art in itself, making it hard to suppress one's admiration toward it.
"Wow, is this really a house?"
"It's a place to sleep."
"I've only seen something like this on Nexlix. Amazing…"
"Nexlix?"
"Yes. Do you not watch Nexlix, Baroness? Oh, maybe there's no internet here? Well, my place also doesn't have internet, so I had to go to a gas station to download something I could watch back at home."
"Internet? Gas station? Download…?"
After hearing a barrage of unfamiliar words pouring out, Amelia, who could only blink in response, finally spoke out the suspicion that she had been harboring since she first saw her.
Yebin Smyrna mentioned that this was the first time she came to Gehenna.
But, being an Exile meant that one was banished from Gehenna and was stripped off their citizenship. This punishment would extend to the Exiles' descendants.
Since that was the case…
"How long has it been since you received your brand?"
The girl in front of her must be Smyrna's successor.
Yebin, who was entranced by the dazzling flowerpot, hurriedly responded to Amelia's question.
"It's been about ten years."
A realization struck Amelia.
Because everyone was desperate in trying to save Siwoo, they rashly invited Yebin without confirming first that she was the exact person they wanted.
In the first place, they had no intention to ask a young witch, who had only received her brand ten years ago, for help. What they wanted was Smyrna herself, not her successor. With this revelation, things had turned a little troublesome.
Inheriting the knowledge a brand possessed would take about ten years on average. This situation was akin to inviting a doctor whose ink on their medical license hasn't dried yet.
"Before receiving the brand from my master, I was studying medicine in Korea. After receiving it ten years ago, I hid in a vacant workshop at the National Park to avoid the eyes of other witches."
Seeing Amelia's vague response, Yebin thought that her explanation was inadequate so she added more to it.
"I see…"
"I've heard a lot about Gehenna from my mentor, so I really want to visit at least once. Thanks to you, I got the chance to come here. But, more importantly, I'd like to check on the patient's condition now. Which way should I go?"
To summarize, back when she was an apprentice witch, Yebin studied medicine(?) in Korea and later hid in a remote place to avoid confrontations with malicious Exiles.
Exiles were known to often engage in conflicts among themselves, making them dangerous to each other as well.
In truth, Amelia was disappointed.
Even if she was an Exile, Amelia would have preferred the predecessor to come here instead because she would have had accumulated a vast amount of experience and that would add to her credibility.
After all, a skilled doctor with a shitty attitude was still better than an incompetent doctor.
"Follow me."
"Yes."
Nevertheless, even if it was her predecessor who came here, they'd still need to conduct a preliminary examination before anything else.
And so, Amelia, suppressing her dejection, led Yebin to the room where Siwoo was sleeping
As Yebin quietly entered the room, Amelia heightened her senses.
The possibility was low, but she still needed to be prepared just in case Yebin attempted to harm Siwoo.
This was the proof of how much Amelia distrusted Exiles.
"Is this the patient?"
"Yes. As you can see, he's a human."
"You don't have to worry about that."
On the bed was a man with his eyes bandaged.
Though he looked pale and weak, he had a fairly handsome face and to Yebin's surprise, the man was an Asian.
"Is he Korean by any chance?"
"Yes."
Yebin was taken aback.
She had to come all the way to Gehenna within just a day, naturally she assumed that the patient she needed to tend to was a witch.
After all, her temporary permit was stamped with the seals of Countess Gemini, Baroness Marigold and Baroness Avenega.
In the first place, issuing a temporary permit to an Exile was an unprecedented situation. Not to mention that three noble witches were putting in their efforts to save someone, she wasn't wrong to assume that this particular patient was someone extraordinary.
However, reality couldn't be any more different.
The patient was Korean. Not only that, he was a man. Unlike her assumption, he wasn't a witch.
Though, seeing someone from her home country for the first time in ten years stimulated a nostalgic feeling within her, even though he was in a coma.
Still, this wasn't the time to feel happy about this encounter.
After all, if she were able to completely heal this patient, she'd finally be able to leave Greenland and live in Gehenna.
"You should've heard about the situation already. He suffered a severe brain injury through his left eye. There are traces of magical damage remaining, so it's impossible to regenerate his eyeball. We've slowed down his biological clock to the limit, barely stabilizing his condition so it wouldn't deteriorate any further."
"Can I check on him myself?"
"Yes."
Amelia nodded her head with difficulty in response to Yebin's question.
The latter took off her floral coat, revealing the light clothing underneath it.
She then casted a purification spell, completely killing all germs and pathogens around her.
"I'll take a look then."
"Please be careful."
Amelia nervously clasped both of her hands.
Though Yebin only learned about romantic relationships through K-dramas, she had a rough idea of what it might feel like just from seeing Amelia's current state.
This man was likely a lover that Baroness Marigold held great affection for.
There were enough telltale signs that strengthened this assumption.
After getting rid of such distracting thoughts, Yebin removed the gauze off Siwoo's eyes and revealed the scarred eye socket underneath.
Even at a glance, it was an unsettling sight.
No wonder such an esteemed witch from Gehenna went out of her way to invite an Exile.
Yebin was confident in her abilities.
Despite the gruesome wound, she didn't even blink an eye as she heightened her senses onto her fingertips.
As she reached forward, a tendril of magic squirmed into Siwoo's eye sockets.
This allowed her to examine the wound with minimal adverse impact on her patient's body, boasting more precision than any modern device.
"…"
Seeing Yebin's serious and focused look that was rare to see in a witch as young as her, Amelia felt surprised.
In contrast to her unreliable first impression, when she started her work, she practically turned into a different person.
The examination itself didn't take a long time.
She only spent around thirty minutes thoroughly assessing the man's overall condition, focusing on his frontal lobe. Carefully, she retracted her heightened senses.
"How's his condition?"
Amelia was eager to ask a barrage of questions immediately, but she suppressed the urge.
Yebin's expression after she completed her examination worried her.
"Could you give me some space? This is the first time I performed an examination while someone else was present…"
'Did she tell me to leave the room?'
'In a situation where I don't know what she'll do to Siwoo?'
Amelia was taken aback. She couldn't just leave the room while a complete stranger was assessing his condition.
She urgently asked Yebin to tell her about his condition.
"How's his condition?"
"Since, I haven't finished examining him properly, I can't give you my full assessment, but his condition is serious… His frontal lobe is damaged way beyond what 'recovery magic' can address. The magic circuits all over his body are malfunctioning, the neural structure also severely damaged…"
"I'm aware of all that already. Can you give me a more detailed diagnosis?"
Although she didn't burst to tears, Amelia looked unstable, as if she could crumble at the slightest touch.
Yebin avoided her gaze, finding it was difficult to face her.
"Using the restorative potion that my master researched might help somehow… But I need to give him a closer examination to get a clearer picture…"
Amelia steeled her heart when she saw Yebin's burdened expression.
The young witch had just arrived here, after all.
She had waited for three months already, it wouldn't hurt to wait just a little longer, would it?
Amelia decided to trust her for now.
Her proficiency in handling her magical senses was on par, if not better, than most witches she knew.
She took a step back.
"…"
"Sorry for rushing you. Would it be alright for me to wait outside the room?"
"Yes, I'd appreciate that."
"…"
Still, leaving Siwoo alone with an Exile left her worried.
Wasn't it because of her running away on that fateful night that made his condition like this?
She knew this line of questioning was baseless, but the memories of that night haunted her mind.
"Please take care of him."
Amelia clasped her hands together respectfully and bowed down towards Yebin.
This trivial thing was the only thing she could do for Siwoo at the moment.
"Please… Save him…"
"P-Please don't do this to me, Baroness."
Amelia's 90-degree bow startled Yebin.
Prior to this, she had heard her master cursing the noble witches' lofty attitudes.
Although she knew that part of her master's rant was likely filled with her envy and inferiority complex, her own opinion of noble witches wasn't all that positive.
In fact, she felt the same way toward the class system back in Korea, the place where she was born and raised. She felt that it was vexing and unjust.
But, never did she expect that a Baroness would bow her head down for the sake of a mere slave.
Suddenly, the weight of responsibility she felt became twice as heavy.
Leaving Yebin with her gradually increasing burden, Amelia left the room and leaned against the door.
Then, her legs gave out and a stream of tears flowed like a bursting dam.
She had thought that she had come to terms with it over time.
Maybe it was because of the faint glimmer of hope that she had seen in the midst of the darkness.
Or the sense of foreboding she felt from Yebin's stern expression.
Nevertheless, she felt like her heart had been wrenched, the same feeling as back on the day when she almost lost him.
If this sliver of hope completely vanished.
If Siwoo were to disappear and never return again like her master.
Could she endure the agony of such a loss again?
Especially when it was the result of her own actions?
Amelia held her mouth with both hands as she swallowed her tears, worrying that the sound might bother the examination that was going on next door.
She shook her head wildly. She didn't need to feel the sadness now.
What she needed to do was to think positively, focus on joyful and happy thoughts.
Like what they'd do together when he woke up.
First, she'd explain about the pain she had caused him and apologize to him.
He'd probably be angry at her.
Like in her dreams, he might even scream at her.
But, it would be alright.
Even if he ended up never forgiving her, it would be alright.
Compared to his well being, everything else was irrelevant.
But, if the slight chance of him forgiving her actually happened, what would they do?
Maybe travel to the modern world together?
While holding each other's hands, they'd travel to the homeland that he desperately wanted to go back to.
Then, she'd tell him…
"Please… Stay with me from now on…"
She leaned against the wall with tears streaming down her face. For over five hours, she waited for Yebin's examination to finish.