Chapter 151
"Huh?"
Anastasiya tilted her head in confusion when Ella snatched the piece of raw meat from her hand, leaving it empty. She then looked up at Ella, who was huffing in front of her, and tilted her head again.
Her expression showed she couldn't understand why Ella had taken the meat from her.
She extended one hand towards Ella, who was clutching the meat tightly.
But Ella shook her head, showing no intention of returning the meat.
In response, Anastasiya held out her other hand as well. She then put her hands together and held them out to Ella in a polite gesture.
However, no matter how politely and courteously she asked, Ella couldn't return the raw meat for her to eat.
Ella hid the raw meat behind her back and said with a resolute expression:
"You can't eat things like this! Eating raw meat is something only barbarians do! A lady should eat elegantly, eating clean and delicious food!"
"Little sister, calling them barbarians is too harsh."
"No! It's not too harsh! Even stronger words wouldn't be enough for you, sister!"
"No, that's not what I meant..."
Anastasiya pointed her finger at Jinseong.
Ella turned her head following the finger, and only then did she notice Jinseong eating meat on top of the mushroom.
She had rushed over in shock after seeing Anastasiya about to put dripping raw meat in her mouth, so she hadn't noticed Jinseong.
And then...
"Oh...?"
Ella, who hadn't seen Jinseong, had essentially just called him a barbarian right in front of him.
"Th-th-th-that."
Ella felt her mind go blank as she saw Jinseong staring at her while chewing raw meat. Her mind went white, she was too flustered to think, and her mouth, which should have been instinctively spitting out excuses, wouldn't move properly.
"Ah, little sister broke down."
Ella's face turned bright red, seemingly very flustered.
Jinseong, who had been quietly observing this, spoke as if to calm her:
"Frau Winter. Please calm down."
"Huh? Right. Calm... yes."
"I know you didn't mean to insult me."
As Jinseong spoke in a calm voice, Ella gradually calmed down. But the aftermath seemed to linger, as her face remained bright red, and she was fidgeting with the hem of her dress, showing her lingering embarrassment with her whole body.
"Herr Park. What I said wasn't meant to..."
"Yes. I understand. And I'm not eating this because I enjoy it either."
Jinseong accepted Ella's excuse with a gentle smile.
"But it's surprisingly edible. If you think of it as eating a blue rare steak, it's more palatable than you'd expect. Would you like to try?"
"Huh? What? Alright..."
Ella instinctively nodded at Jinseong's offer.
Then, realizing she had blurted out an agreement, she regretted it but decided that since it had come to this, she would prove her "barbarian" comment was just a mistake by eating the raw meat deliciously.
Ella picked up the piece of raw meat in her hand and slowly put it in her mouth with trembling hands...
"Hic."
She let out a hiccup-like sound at the texture of the raw meat, which had retained some warmth in her hand but still held a chilling coldness. Ella closed her eyes tightly and began to chew the raw meat, and with each chew, the blood oozing out and the unique texture of raw meat lingered.
But surprisingly, there was a savory taste, and except for a slight fishy taste and gamey smell at the end, it was edible.
Ella opened her eyes wide in surprise at the shocking fact that raw meat was unexpectedly edible, and looked at Jinseong with a slightly open mouth, her face reminiscent of a startled rabbit. Her round eyes with red irises shimmered in the sunlight, giving off a beautiful color like light shining on the finest ruby.
Jinseong smiled gently as he looked into those eyes.
"You're surprised it's unexpectedly edible, aren't you?"
"Yes..."
"Hahaha. That's because it's top-grade beef. But... yes. If this top-grade meat had been grilled, it would have been much more delicious. The texture would have been much better if it had been cooked too. And if it was to be eaten raw, it would have been better prepared as 'yukhoe', a Korean dish."
"Then why...?"
In response to Ella's question, Jinseong pointed to the mushroom he was lying on.
"It's necessary for using sorcery. I had no choice."
"Sorcery... I see."
Ella nodded as if understanding Jinseong's words.
Sorcery.
The reason sorcerers perform eccentric acts, and the skill that makes them be seen as eccentrics.
Sorcerers often performed acts that ordinary people would never do, from purification rituals to being covered in animal blood, smearing animal dung and dancing, jumping off cliffs, or hanging in the air with fishhooks all over their bodies.
Of course, these actions were for using sorcery, but no matter the purpose, the actions themselves couldn't help but appear bizarre, and consequently, sorcerers came to be treated as eccentrics along with their actions.
If she thought of Jinseong chewing raw meat as preparation for using sorcery, characteristic of such sorcerers, it made sense.
"I've intruded on your busy time and been rude. Herr Park, will you forgive my rudeness?"
"Hahaha. Of course."
"Then I'll take my leave now."
Ella bowed and tried to pull Anastasiya away. But Anastasiya refused to be grabbed by Ella and ran up to Jinseong.
"Um, Benefactor?"
"Yes, Frau Lentz."
"Can I know what kind of sorcery it is~?"
Anastasiya's eyes were full of curiosity.
Jinseong spoke warmly, as if pleased by Anastasiya's attitude.
"It's a secret."
At this, Anastasiya's face fell, looking disappointed.
"Benefactor! Then!"
"Yes. Go ahead."
"Then can I watch you do the sorcery?"
Jinseong smiled at Anastasiya, who was using her cuteness to the fullest as a weapon, and said:
"No, you can't."
"Aww."
After being rejected twice, Anastasiya retreated without argument and took Ella's hand, allowing herself to be led back to the mansion.
As peace returned to the corner of the garden, Jinseong picked up the meat he had placed on the mushroom cap and began chewing and swallowing it again. His canines tore the raw meat, and his molars ground it as he chewed and swallowed the meat down his throat.
Then, strange things began to happen.
Something white began to rise from the empty space, and as if in fast-forward, it grew rapidly to become identical in shape to the mushroom supporting him. It crept up and squeezed itself between the mushrooms.
And this kept happening.
Once.
Twice.
And thrice.
When the number of mushrooms reached fifteen, Jinseong stopped chewing the raw meat and came down from the mushrooms that had grown to the size of a small person, returning to his room. As soon as he returned, he began rummaging through his closet.
But no matter how much he searched, he couldn't find what he wanted, so Jinseong sighed and went out into the corridor, politely asking a servant:
"I need leather pants and a leather top. The top can be a leather jacket, but please get clothes made from real animal leather, not artificial leather. I also need combat boots and shoelaces. These should also be made from animal leather."
"Understood."
The servant accepted Jinseong's incomprehensible order as if familiar with it.
"Would black be suitable for the color?"
"Please get them in dark colors."
"Understood."
The servant nodded slightly as if he understood and disappeared from Jinseong's sight. Jinseong watched through the window as the servant left the mansion, then began searching for materials to be used in the sorcery.
He first gathered all the necessary materials from his room, then began roaming the areas of the mansion used as storage.
The storage areas, which should normally have been moderately full, were packed with items that the Grand Witch had stuffed away while renovating the interior yesterday. Although arranged to some extent, the items were placed haphazardly, to the point where even the person who organized them might not remember what they had put where.
Jinseong roughly looked through these, searching for items made of leather or bone.
If bone items were small, he took them as they were, and for leather items, he checked their condition and took them if they were made from the animal he wanted, otherwise putting them back.
After circling the storage areas for a long time like this, he gathered a bundle of items and took them to where the mushrooms were, dumping them in front.
Then he began tearing and ripping the leather items to make leather pieces, and started shaping them into dolls. Instead of stuffing, he filled the dolls with raw meat, and carefully collected the blood that seeped through the clumsy stitching in a bowl.
Then, listening to the sound of dripping blood drops, he closed his eyes quietly for a while, then suddenly opened them and returned to his room.
When he returned to his room, the clothes the servant had procured were there.
A leather jacket boasting a pitch-black shine.
Leather pants with less shine than the jacket.
Combat boots with a gleaming black shine and shoelaces made of dark brown leather with a strong presence.
Jinseong changed into these and returned to where the mushrooms were.
He then grasped the air, dug the ground slightly, settled in, and covered himself with weeds like a blanket.
Jinseong tried to sleep in that state.
And as time passed, when the sun began to set and twilight dyed the sky red.
Jinseong opened his eyes wide and approached the mushrooms.
He made a cross-shaped mark with his fingernail about a hand span above where the mushroom's mouth was, and repeated this process twelve more times. Then he began to perform special work on two other mushrooms.
Jinseong took sandpaper and rubbed the surface of the small-looking mushroom to make it rough. And on the forehead of the large mushroom, he drew a pattern reminiscent of a slug rather than a cross.
After treating each mushroom like this, Jinseong began to draw an unknown pattern on the ground. It was a pattern that looked like a maze at first glance, or like a tree when viewed differently.
And finally, when the pattern was complete.
He began to slowly circle around the mushrooms.
One lap.
Two laps.
Three laps...
And on the seventh lap, he opened his mouth.
"Who knows one?"