At the End of the Hidden Greenery - Chapter 236

Solmih kept fiddling with Jiwoo’s arms, wrists, and fingers.

Wherever his hands touched, it felt oddly prickly.

“Even though the blood purification efficiency is high, there was really no need to cause wounds.”

When Jiwoo hesitated to speak, he broke the silence first.

It was true. If they only needed blood, drawing it with a syringe would have been enough. It wasn’t a difficult tool to make, and if it was such an important and meaningful task, making one would have been far better.

“It must have been part of the ritual. And I had to do it myself.”

Looking back, the Empire didn’t really want to save everyone. It was just propaganda to show how special she was, and Jiwoo was the sacrifice.

That made her husbands even less able to understand.

Though she hated using the power of Akarna, she insisted on going on more missions in El Ragneil.

“I never really explained why I kept wanting to go on missions.”

“You said you were worried that accepting outsiders would get us ostracized in El Ragneil.”

“Of course, that was part of it.”

That was true, but it was more like hiding her true feelings behind a veil.

“I hated being Akarna.”

Before marriage, she had told them she didn’t want to keep playing that role.

It wasn’t a power she asked for, and it felt like all her suffering happened just because she was Akarna.

If she hadn’t had it, maybe she could have died early before enduring years of pain.

“…But there were times when I was okay. I was thankful to have even this.”

At first, she kept crying and almost died, but eventually, she got better.

She wanted to be strong for the person who needed this power most.

But as Solmih asked, was everything really okay? If it was, she wouldn’t have left.

“They probably still think I left just because of relationship troubles. It’s so frustrating.”

They needed each other. They decided to walk the same path and she willingly agreed.

But things important to Jiwoo were decided without her consent, then she was informed abruptly, and when she expressed betrayal, she became labeled a narrow-minded woman who couldn’t understand imperial affairs.

“I became unable to tolerate the unreasonable things happening to me after that, but that wasn’t all. Everyone thought that way, even the person who brought up the issue.”

So when Jiwoo left, they accused her of it being about a woman, and tried to just end that problem.

“If it was just about a woman, then there’s no woman problem anymore. That’s it.”

That made her feel so humiliated she almost vomited.

“I know why. If he reduces it to just that problem, he can ignore everything else. It’s easier for him if that’s all that ends.”

She was not an object. Seeing only that broken part and thinking just patching it up was enough was the most miserable thing.

“…But it’s true. To others, I was still ‘okay.’ He never saw the core reason I wanted to leave. In the end, I was just the witch who went crazy over strangers from the outer wall and destroyed the Empire.”

Struggling to handle this situation, when she barely uttered those words, disdainful remarks came back, asking if she even wanted to get married in such a mess.

Unable to accept that she wasn’t the saint the Akarna praised, so it was easier to just call her a witch.

“People like that can only see so much. It’s easier if they just blame me.”

Everything she was forced to do for the Empire was considered normal.

So they thought if they could just bury the one petty complaint Jiwoo squeezed out, everything would be solved.

“Honestly, it was very hard and unpleasant.”

Everyone collectively ignored that part and treated her like ‘that kind of woman’.

And she hadn’t truly realized the essence of it until recently.

“I hated being defined and restrained by rules that had nothing to do with me.”

“I see.”

Listening carefully, Solmih understood why Jiwoo was angry.

The wounds and the need to heal them were just a small, visible part of a bigger problem.

Even if the wounds would soon disappear, it didn’t mean it was okay to treat her carelessly or let such situations happen.

Even though Solmih just listened attentively, Jiwoo knew he fully understood. They were the kind of people who could hear even the subtlest feelings.

“Actually, I didn’t really wander around here for others.”

The rare, wondrous rewards from missions.

The supreme ecstasy felt when communicating with the trees.

Of course, those were nice, but this was something else.

“Whenever I used Akarna’s power, it was always like that. I had to see blood, my intentions didn’t matter… but here it’s different.”

This time, she chose the mission herself, consulted with her husbands even when they picked, went together, and made the final decisions.

The more she used Akarna’s power, the more it felt like the old memories were fading.

Before, she never accepted Akarna’s power as hers and thought it was a resource without an owner, so others could freely exploit it.

But now, it is different.

“So I…”

Akarna’s power was hers.

Recognizing this power that had always protected her as a priority was the way to break free from all those rules.

“I feel like I’m finally liking myself a little.”

True love meant loving not just the other person but also oneself.

“So… how was it this time?”