Chapter 291: The Twins and Sharon (4)
1.
Though she was incredibly wealthy, Countess Lucy Yesod was just the second richest person in Gehenna.
She made a fortune catering to affluent witches by running a lavish bathhouse resort that offered all sorts of entertainment, amenities, and accommodations in the rather dull world that was Gehenna.
But that wasn’t all she had done.
With her amassed wealth, she expanded her business into the modern world, planning and constructing various amusement parks all around the world.
Of course, since they shared interest in modern world businesses, it wasn’t uncommon for both her and Countess Gemini to meet up.
“Sounds like a fair deal to me.”
“As fellow witches, we should understand each other well, right? So, why are those nobles in the modern world, so engrossed in their power struggles and material gains, suspicious of us?”
“My question exactly. The path we took may be different, but ultimately, we’re still chasing the same goals, right? Us witches.”
Albireo carefully arranged the copies of the contract that was sitting on her desk and placed them in an envelope.
These documents outlined the collaboration between their noble families, detailing their joint venture to construct a large-scale theme park in Hong Kong that would be fully built at the end of the following year.
Of course, the two witches weren't really negotiating the fine details of their contracts.
Instead, they only provided each other with necessary guidelines related to the project, and the two companies they owned would handle the execution of the project following the parameters that had been agreed upon those guidelines.
That was why the actual topic of discussion between them wasn’t really related to things in the Modern World, but matters pertaining to Gehenna.
Lately, there had been certain rumors circulating around.
The rumors claimed that Duchess Keter was no longer involved in the affairs of the Modern World. Of course, such rumors lacked any verifiable source.
In fact, this was a recurring rumor that would pop up every fifty years or so, whenever the world turned somewhat peaceful.
Whenever this happened, Keter would silence the rumor by punishing any witch who dared to confirm its veracity.
But lately, things took a different turn.
Even when the Cowardly Witch clearly caused a huge ruckus, the Duchess didn’t make any move.
There had already been reports of some Criminal Exiles’ reckless business expansion and some Exiles trying to cause a stir, and she ignored them all.
And so, both Countess decided to push forward a certain project they had been putting on hold in the meantime to sort out the chaotic situation in the witch society.
Their plan was to set up a Witch Point that doubled as a theme park on Lantau Island in Hong Kong, where the influence of the Communist Party was minimal, to avoid them trying to get their grubby hands on their projects since they strongly opposed any kind of Witch Point’s establishment.
This was a responsibility that those bearing the title of a ‘noble’ should rightfully uphold.
History had shown that whenever chaos erupted in the Modern World, it wouldn’t be long before it crossed over to Gehenna.
“For the prosperity and glory of the Geminis.”
“And for the transcendence and sublimation of the Yesods.”
After exchanging courteous remarks about each other’s families, the two Countesses raised their glasses, doing a light toast.
Feeling satisfied from their deal, the corners of their mouths were curved upwards.
When their discussion was over, Albireo looked out over the watery terrace and opened her mouth.
“Speaking of, I hope that Miss Diana is still doing well.”
“You’ll see how she is when you see her.”
The place where their meeting took place was inside a private villa in the Lavanna Grand Bath.
To be specific, they were on a terrace, overlooking a wide outdoor pool.
When they looked down, they could see an apprentice witch floating in the pool, which was shaped like a large crescent moon.
Just like her master, Countess Yesod, she had ash-colored hair, which she tied up to a ponytail, and wore a bikini.
Floating on a sunbed with a tube attached to it, holding a book in one hand and a bottle of alcohol beside her, it was clear that she was thoroughly enjoying herself.
“Haah...”
Wrinkles formed on Countess Yesod’s forehead as she let out a sigh.
She had a beautiful appearance that fit her esteemed title of a Countess.
As a Countess and a witch who had reached the 22nd rank who had achieved significant research results that were recognized by the Academy...
And as a witch who had achieved everything she could in her lifetime as a witch, and was about to pass on her legacy, ‘Lucy Yesod’ only had one major concern...
It was none other than her apprentice witch, ‘Diana Yesod’.
“Sometimes, I envy you to death.”
Countess Yesod lamented, expressing her honest sentiments.
“Your twins always listen to their masters, unlike my Diana... Ugh, why is she so...”
“If you spend a day on a picnic with the twins, you’d understand how ferocious they could be. If anything, I often wish those two are as well-behaved as Miss Diana.”
Albiero responded with a wry smile, clearly able to sympathize with Countess Yesod’s dilemma.
Even after over ten years living together, the twins always left her feeling drained.
“The mysterious balance of the field, woven like an arabesque, the combination of those mysterious principles gave me the feeling of not only magical effectiveness but also outstanding aesthetic value.”
“...”
“After reading such a high-level paper, I couldn’t concentrate on the rest of my studies, so I spent the whole day floating around on the water, lost in thought.”
“...”
-Flip, flip
Lucy kept on reading through DIana’s analysis of the thesis until the very end.
Seeing this, Diana reached out her arms and hugged her mother like a baby bird seeking its mother’s warmth.
“I really admire you, Mom. I want to be a great witch like you.:
“...”
Even Albireo, who was watching from behind, could see right through the obvious flattery.
Let alone Lucy, as her face turned red.
Like a mischievous imp, Diana whispered in her mother’s ear, whose body remained stiff.
“Tonight after dinner, I’ll take a walk for at least thirty minutes.”
-Grit!
Lucy tightened her grip on the paper that Diana had handed her.
She lost it.
Then again, Albireo could relate to her.
If the twins were to try and pull something like that, she’d definitely get them to write a ten page worth of self-reflection.
“...My baby...!”
“Huh?”
However, things developed in a way that she didn’t expect.
“Where did you get your smarts from, hm? Then again, the paper that you submitted a while back did cause quite a stir in the Jinri Jinmyeong Academic Society! Right, what do you think about this part? This is the influence and control of the field that distorts the concept of reality! What do you think of it?”
“Uh, right, this one...went over my head a little, but I’ll definitely give it another look tomorrow.”
“Good, good, keep it up then! Oh, my baby, you’re just perfect! Look at you, your nose, your eyes, your lips, everything about you is cute! Mommy is so proud of you, Diana!”
“Y-Yeah, I’m also proud of you, Mom...”
Lucy opened her arms wide and hugged Diana tightly.
Meanwhile, Albireo was watching this passionate mother-daughter bonding, though they looked like they were sisters, with her mouth half-open.
She knew that leaving her mouth like this couldn’t be considered a dignified act, but she really couldn’t help it.
“Alright, come over here. Sorry for getting mad for no reason... Sometimes, Mommy just lost her patience, you know?”
“It’s okay, Mom, I know you did it because you care about me.”
“Mommy loves you more than anything in this world...”
“I love you too, Mom.”
At that moment, Albireo saw the corners of Diana’s mouth curling up slyly while she was settling herself in Lucy’s arms.
But when she noticed her stare, Diana immediately wiped that smirk off her face.
I’ll pretend that I didn’t see it.
Anyway, that explains everything.
Now she knew why Lucy never managed to change Diana’s bad habits.
Aside from being the second richest person in Gehenna, she was also a complete pushover when it came to her daughter.
“My genius baby, what do you want to eat today? Mom will buy it for you.”
“I want those snacks you bought from Border Town before.”
“Doritos?”
“Yes. Those.”
“If my baby wants it, I’ll get it for you! I’ll hurry up to Border Town now, take care!”
“Yes! Get me the Nacho Cheese flavor, please!”
“Got it!”
After Diana casually specified the flavor she wanted, Lucy practically skipped towards the portal.
Meanwhile, Albireo could only watch her disappear, as it seemed like she forgot that Albireo was even there.
Calling her a doting mother isn’t even enough at this stage. She’s a complete sucker for her daughter...
She secretly /genesisforsaken