At the End of the Hidden Greenery - Chapter 226
“Are we finally leaving the forest?”
Jiwoo asked suddenly, even though they were still deep within the woods. She wasn’t very familiar with forest paths.
“…What do you mean?”
“The green leaves we saw just now have almost disappeared. Did we enter a different forest?”
The husbands exchanged glances at her question.
Solmih quickly conjured a flower and showed it to Jiwoo.
“What color do you see this as?”
“Yellow.”
It was a pink flower.
After sensory confusion, Jiwoo was now unable to correctly perceive colors.
“…This is serious if we leave it like this.”
“Huh?”
The voice was like a whisper in Jiwoo’s ear, causing her to flinch. But the voice came from some distance.
Feeling as if the world was spinning, Jiwoo closed her eyes, and suddenly her body was lowered to the ground.
Her husbands surrounded her front and back, making sure her body didn’t touch the earth.
In front of her, Kaman spoke seriously.
“Seo Jiwoo, even if you say no, it can’t be helped. We have to turn you back before this gets worse.”
“You’re going to do that?”
“Yes. We have to.”
“I don’t want to….”
Jiwoo resisted, afraid she might flail her arms and legs.
But this time, Lancet and Arven were firm.
“If you don’t, it’ll only get worse. You have to do it!”
“No!”
Jiwoo struggled and resisted, but her body wouldn’t move as she wanted.
“I said no…”
“Stay still!”
“No…!”
“If we hold you like this, it’ll be fine. Right?”
“…”
Someone grabbed both of Jiwoo’s arms. It was true. no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t overpower their strength.
Jiwoo reluctantly accepted the situation.
“It’s okay. You’ll get better.”
“Ah…!”
But when they started touching her, Jiwoo moaned loudly because her body was already so sensitive.
“Hey!”
Jiwoo and her husbands turned their heads toward the source of the voice.
It was the aggressive group they had thought they had shaken off earlier.
Jiwoo was trapped between men, her limbs tightly restrained.
The conversation they had just been having. Any outsider witnessing this scene would immediately assume the worst.
“Are you out of your minds?”
“You crazy bastards…!”
“No, it’s a misunderstanding!”
20. Scars of the Heart
The leader of the group, who introduced himself as Tyrinos, listened to the situation and finally dropped his suspicion.
Tyrinos pulled back his hood, revealing sharp red eyes and a surprisingly rough appearance. It was somewhat different from the children of Ellandos they had known before.
He looked like an untamed, dense, and wild branch.
His skin was a bit darker than the husbands’, resembling tree bark’s texture. This was different even from Marron and Night’s bluish night-tone skin.
While Jiwoo’s husbands wielded bows, daggers, magic, and plants, this group gave the impression they would carry longswords or even greatswords taller than themselves.
“So, that’s your spouse?”
Tyrinos’ group doubted that anyone would carry a female manifestation like that around in such a way.
“I’ve never heard of anyone taking an outsider as a spouse.”
Though they said this now, the process of dropping suspicion hadn’t been easy.
First of all, several men had restrained one woman, ignored her protests, and forcibly tried to do something to her.
—Scumbags. If there’s a curse coming your way, it’s because of you!
—Wait! It’s a misunderstanding! We’re married!
—Even if married, that’s inappropriate!
—There are circumstances…!
—Circumstances? Marrying an outsider?
They didn’t believe it easily.
They grew even more suspicious when they confirmed Jiwoo was a powerless outsider woman.
—Enough.
As soon as the word ‘outsider’ was uttered, plant vines grew wildly and wrapped around them.
…Eventually, Solmih used force to injure some of them, and the standoff temporarily calmed down.
“…Is this for real?”
It seemed the plants’ rapid growth, not brute force, subdued them.
Only after using Akarna’s power to heal their minor wounds did they finally believe. Without Akarna’s power, the situation could have been truly dangerous.
Tyrinos, walking ahead, openly stared at Jiwoo carried by Kaman.
“You don’t look well.”
“Pretending to worry? Spare that.”
“Haha! I am worried. Do I look like I’m pretending?”
Kaman gritted his teeth in reply.
He was quite upset that Jiwoo bothered to check on their condition despite her being sick.
“How did you find where we were?”
“I can’t explain. It’s just…”
Tyrinos lowered his voice and said something to Solmih. Jiwoo was too dazed to speak, so Solmih responded on her behalf.
The two talked seriously, and soon Skiass, Lancet, and Arven joined the conversation.
‘…What are they saying? Trees? Impossible?’
Jiwoo caught a negative word or two but trying to focus made her head spin more.
Sensing this, Kaman adjusted Jiwoo on his back and spoke softly.
“Seo Jiwoo, it’s okay. You’ll be able to return.”
Jiwoo didn’t join the conversation and rested her face against Kaman’s neck.
“Kaman…”
“Hmm?”
“Sorry about earlier.”
Kaman didn’t ask what she was sorry about. But he gave a quick glance that somehow looked triumphant.
He smiled briefly through clenched teeth and then whispered.