At the End of the Hidden Greenery - Chapter 269

30. Like a Tree

Marron smiled gently and his manner toward Jiwoo was as thoughtful as ever. 

But now that Jiwoo could sense the subtle pretense in her husbands’ actions, she was amused to catch the faintest hint of ‘What took you so long?’ in his demeanor.

Jiwoo kissed Marron on the cheek, then glanced around.

“But why is Marron the one here? Isn’t this usually Helka’s job?”

This time, Helka was watching from a distance, as if he’d purposely yielded the spot to Marron.

“…Helka lost a bet.”

Tevon, who ran over and grabbed everyone’s luggage, chimed in.

“What kind of bet?”

“Who would get to greet you if you came back before the festival. If I’d known it would be like this, I never would have lost. By the way, Jiwoo, can you travel through the trees now? That’s so cool. How did you do it?”

Apparently, this was a much grander entrance than simply walking home.

“There was quite an adventure. It’s too much to explain now…”

“Great! That means you can tell us all about it during the festival.”

So, as Jiwoo’s safe return was celebrated, her husbands each took their turn with a kiss on her cheek, nose, or the back of her hand. With thirty husbands, even just coming home was an event in itself.

Marron was the first, followed by Callan and Enci. Jiwoo found herself wondering how the order had been decided, especially since Enci was notorious for losing bets. Not that she mentioned it.

She got her answer from Callan.

“What was the bet this time?”

“Last time, remember? We said whoever found a flower closest in size to your hand would go first.”

“Oh, that?”

She’d thought the ‘youngest competition’ had ended in a draw, but evidently they’d sorted out the ranking themselves. Enci lifted his chin proudly.

“I don’t make mistakes in measurement. Anyway, good thing you made it back before the festival. You should rest while we prepare. You can tell us your story later.”

Naturally, those with sharp eyes and delicate hands came out on top.

But… was Helka last?

When Helka’s turn for a kiss finally came, Jiwoo wondered if he had acted big-brotherly in this situation.

“Did you lose on purpose?”

“….?”

Helka’s sad expression made it clear she hadn’t guessed right.

“You don’t look well, Seo Jiwoo. You should get some rest.”

Even Helka had immediately sensed that Jiwoo wasn’t feeling her best after such a long journey.

“You’re late! I thought you weren’t coming back!”

Night complained, sulking.

The others said Marron and Night were still so young they tended to focus on their own wants, and that it might take a few more years to grow out of it.

Luckily, there was an easy way to placate them.

“I was late because I was getting your presents. Here…”

Night’s ears perked up as she started rummaging through her bag she almost lost.

Jiwoo pulled out the gifts she’d picked up for her husbands. Each one was thoughtfully chosen, even if she’d ended up spending nearly all her money, despite it being sold for cheap.

Coral-carved combs and pearl hairpins were hard to find here. It felt especially fitting for husbands who wore their hair long. And they loved it even more when Jiwoo brushed their hair for them.

“You were right, they really are talented. Look at what they can make.”

“They said that?”

So her husbands did care about such things…

“Yes, they did.”

Though Jiwoo suspected the comment carried other meanings, she decided to let it slide.

As Jiwoo handed out presents, she glanced around the village. It was already decorated for the festival as the preparations were in full swing.

The festival marked the real start of spring. It was a time for singing, dancing to wake the hibernating animals, and enjoying mead and fruit wine saved up all winter. 

But while this was much like any other celebration, one tradition stood out to Jiwoo.

During the festival, the children of Ellandos scattered all kinds of flower seeds around their trees. By the end of the festival, the tree would bloom them all at once, transforming the area into a field of flowers and ushering in the real spring.

Usually, the children of Ellandos prepared their seeds on their own, but this year, Jiwoo wanted to take part with her husbands. She’d even brought seeds from the beautiful flowers at the beach that were gifted to her because the locals refused to sell them.

Jiwoo kept just those seeds and the black compass for herself, handing everything else to her husbands. But even that was almost too much as her head spun.

“Whoa… I feel a little dizzy.”

“You might have overdone it this time.”

Lanceil supported Jiwoo, placing a hand on her head and murmured that she felt a bit feverish.

“Mmm…”

“Come on, let’s go inside. Leave the preparations to us and get some rest.”