At the End of the Hidden Greenery - Chapter 240

23. A Wound Poorly Healed

The clothes here were plain and lacked decorations, unlike the ones the husbands had made for Jiwoo back home.

When Jiwoo came out after changing, only Kaman and Skiass were waiting outside.

Skiass was busy making something and didn’t even notice Jiwoo had come out, so only Kaman greeted her warmly.

“Where did everyone go?”

“Lancet and Arven went hunting for a while. I asked them to. Oh, and Solmih said he’d check out a good spot. After all, it’s a date, so we can’t just take you anywhere.”

“Ah…”

Soon after, there was a knock at the door. When it opened, two members of Tyrinos’ group were there, handing something to Jiwoo.

“Here’s the item you requested.”

“This is parchment?”

It was blank parchment, along with some sheets of paper and writing tools. Even to the touch, the material felt quite stiff, suggesting careful craftsmanship.

It seemed Kaman requested it, not Jiwoo.

Surprisingly, El Ragneil could produce high-quality paper. There were plants suitable for paper production rather than wood, and occasionally wood was used.

Since paper was easier to make than parchment, this was a rare item.

“Well then.”

“Please rest.”

After handing over the items, they bowed politely and left.

They weren’t unfriendly, but compared to other groups who freely flirted even when her spouses were around, these people were very reserved. They avoided eye contact and only spoke when necessary. Especially after seeing the beach group, the difference was striking.

“Understand, thank you.”

Even Kaman, who had been tense around this group, seemed calmer after receiving the goods.

While Kaman was organizing the items, Skiass sat at the desk, fully focused and without looking back.

“What’s Skiass up to?”

“He said he wants to do something. Ask him later.”

Kaman lightly tapped the beast’s hide beside him.

“Let’s rest here for a bit.”

As Jiwoo sat down, Kaman glanced at the paper and quietly asked.

“I heard you were curious about Helka’s old face.”

“Ah, yes.”

“It’s the same as now, just shorter hair. Oh, and the hair was silver like moonlight back then.”

Kaman muttered that it wasn’t pure white like Enci’s, but a subtle silver, and took up his pen.

The fine pen tip danced across the paper. At first, it seemed like random lines, but soon a form took shape. He quickly outlined and filled in the details, and Jiwoo soon recognized what Kaman was drawing.

“Helka!”

“You recognized it right away?”

“You’re good at drawing from the start. It’s almost like a photo.”

“If I used other materials, I could make it even more colorful. Add colors too.”

The pen drawing, done with confident strokes, clearly showed Helka’s features. His thick eyebrows and furrowed brow gave a serious impression that was unchanged from before. 

But his hair was much shorter, and notably, he had bangs covering his forehead.

Although it was clearly Helka, he looked much younger.

Reading her thoughts, Kaman playfully added.

“If he looked like this, maybe people would complain less about us getting old?”

“Haha, yes.”

Jiwoo scooted closer to see better, sitting right next to Kaman. He offered his shoulder like a lean-to.

“By the way, why hasn’t he been cutting his hair lately?”

“Solmih used to cut it, but since he got busier, he stopped. After that, Helka tried cutting it himself but wasn’t good at it, so he gave up.”

Watching Helka shell chestnuts, it was clear he wasn’t very handy.

“Why doesn’t he ask someone else to cut it?”

“Helka really hates others touching him.”

“Really?”

“Yes? Didn’t you know?” 

“Helka always asks me to touch it…”

“How clingy.”

Kaman quickly finished the drawing of Helka and moved it aside.

“Anything else you want to see?”

“Enci.”

“As expected, he’s still the handsome one.”

Kaman smiled lightly as if he expected that answer.

But Jiwoo lowered her voice to a whisper, barely audible even to Skiass.

“…When he was wearing the eye patch.”

She actually thought it suited him well but was disappointed he took it off quickly.

He didn’t like it so she could never ask him to put it back on.

“He is cute.”

“You like that?”

“Enci’s personality is actually cute.”

His overly handsome face sometimes got in the way of his cuteness. The eye patch fit him better.

“Yes, we find him cute too. But if I draw this, only you can see it. If Kim Enci finds out, it’ll be chaos.”

Kaman began drawing Enci’s usual sulky expression, and Jiwoo laughed at it. She was sure Enci would get annoyed if he saw it.

Jiwoo’s laughter was met with Kaman’s gentle chuckle.

Skiass kept making clattering noises, mixing liquids.

The scratching sound of the pen on paper, occasional dipping of the nib into ink, and Kaman’s warm shoulder. Surrounded by these sounds in the quiet room, Jiwoo nodded off briefly.

“Tired?”

“A little.”

“If what they say is true, it must be really tiring. You’re doing the work of the trees.”

Rubbing her eyes, Jiwoo eventually fell asleep, lulled by the relaxed atmosphere.

***

After a short rest, Jiwoo again found herself falling into that distant darkness.

She looked up toward what she felt was the ceiling, and sure enough, those eyes were staring at her.

“Eyes?”

It was something like a sphere shaped like an eye.