At the End of the Hidden Greenery - Chapter 217

Kaman watched quietly for a moment before suddenly asking,

“Are you just going to leave the rest here?”

“Yes.”

She wouldn’t exactly say she was leaving it here on purpose, but she had always intended to give it away. Leaving it here meant they’d find it faster, since they loved the tree so much.

“I never planned to take it all with me. I just needed an excuse, and it was nice to have a date at such a warm, cool beach. The night sea was mysterious, too…”

And by giving the final gift without making a trade, she felt a strong sense of goodwill.

Jiwoo was the kind of person who repaid kindness with kindness.

Kaman hesitated, then finally said.

“But they knew everything.”

“Knew what?”

“That even if you used it as currency, you’d scatter it around and leave.”

He glanced toward Petar waiting in the distance and lowered his voice.

“All the goods were ridiculously cheap anyway.”

That was true.

When she asked the price for a beautifully crafted rare jewel, they hesitated briefly but then just asked for one in exchange.

“The prices didn’t even make sense.”

The priciest thing was the grilled shrimp.

Though it was Lancet, not Jiwoo, who insisted on buying that…

Considering the children of Ellandos usually ate only one meal a day, she had thought the food might be expensive, but it seemed they simply didn’t know how to set prices.

“They probably planned to keep us here by selling small things little by little.”

“…Really?”

Kaman nodded slightly.

“If you get attached, you might end up living here. Years could pass in the blink of an eye.”

And once that bond forms, they gain justification to stubbornly refuse meeting other women. If you’re soft-hearted, you’d just give in.

“Don’t let your guard down.”

“I’m not going anywhere. My husbands are already set.”

Jiwoo wasn’t planning another wedding or to live in a shared tree household as someone had playfully suggested before.

“Hmm.”

Jiwoo said that deliberately, but Kaman’s reaction was indifferent.

Was this just another way of saying she shouldn’t have married so soon or should have dated more?

‘These guys are seriously jealous.’

She had once thought they weren’t jealous, since they all wanted to marry, but it turned out their jealousy was just directed differently.

From what she’d gathered so far, each of them wanted something only they could monopolize. Not necessarily exclusive rights over their spouse, which they actually found difficult or disliked.

Instead, they insisted on monopolizing certain memories, marks on the body, or secret places known only between the two of them.

This time, they were complaining as usual about something they didn’t like. Though Jiwoo wanted to accommodate them, she felt she needed to truly understand them first.

So Jiwoo asked.

Because, from her perspective, this situation fits the pattern well.

“Was this date not good?”

“Of course it was.”

This, too, could certainly be called special. Wandering through a small market, coming to the sea, these were rare experiences for them. Even more so, the chance to be inside a massive tree beneath the sea and breathe there. This was their first time with Jiwoo.

“I want something a bit more than that…”

“A bit more?”

Kaman started to explain but then fell silent.

Of course, it was a fun date, and Jiwoo seemed to be enjoying herself quite a bit. But it wasn’t that kind of experience he wanted. He wanted something rare enough that it was hard to have twice. Even if it carried a bit of risk.

Everyone knew Jiwoo thought of Lanceil as something special. So, at some point, he wondered: what if he had first met Jiwoo when he was injured by the miasma? What if, knowing the danger, he had entered Caranazion earlier, seeking a way to save the tree and met her sooner? Or better yet, what if he could go back in time with these memories?

But since such thoughts were somewhat dark, Kaman never voiced them aloud.

“We live long lives. So, the total accumulation of time or frequency of fun experiences isn’t important.”

“So?”

“It absolutely has to be something rarer than anything else. Something you’re unlikely to experience even once in a lifetime.”

Something unlikely to happen more than once in a lifetime.

Hadn’t she already experienced that?

A tree falling ill and then being revived would surely be a dramatic experience.

“But that’s happening quite often now, isn’t it?”

“Ah…”

Indeed, Jiwoo saving the sick tree was a special event for the entire group. A rare, precious moment to be grateful for and never forget.

The jealousy within Jiwoo’s group stemmed from reluctance to share that experience with others.

Leaving it be would be like a disaster for El Ragneil, and Jiwoo knew she had been praised as a savior, so she couldn’t easily dismiss it. She also knew how much the experience of connecting with the tree brought joy and happiness. Still, that didn’t mean there was no jealousy.

But… there wasn’t much anyone could say about it.

“Do you perhaps not like it?”

“Huh? No, absolutely not. At first, I didn’t really like it… but as it happened more often, it actually started to bother me less.”

However, his jealousy transformed into a desire to monopolize personal experiences.

As Kaman continued, his voice gradually grew softer, as if embarrassed.

This shy side was something Jiwoo had only seen recently. At first, he tried to show only a beautiful, impressive front, suppressing what he thought were petty feelings from Jiwoo.

In the end, it was just a spoiled act.

“That…”

Jiwoo glanced around and lowered her voice to a whisper.

“Wasn’t the very first thing we did on our wedding night kind of special?”

Kaman’s ear twitched slightly as if he heard, and his eyes widened.

“You know that?”

“…Didn’t I say?”