At the End of the Hidden Greenery - Chapter 274

“This… you transferred the tree’s illness into your own body, didn’t you?”

“So you recognized it?”

“Helka went through something similar before.”

“It’s similar, yes. Though rather than saying I transferred it…This would be a more accurate explanation. Wizards borrow power from the trees, so when a tree falls ill, the effects can sometimes spread to us as well. It’s nothing serious, though. If I had to compare it to something, it’s more like the tree catching a cold.”

So it wasn’t that he had deliberately taken the illness upon himself. As someone who drew upon the tree’s power, the condition had naturally spread to him.

“What should I do? Do I have to go to your tree and heal it again?”

“No, no. It’s quite far away, and it would be unreasonable to ask you to travel all that distance…”

The distance certainly wasn’t short, and since Jiwoo still wasn’t used to traveling through the forests, the journey was no small undertaking.

“I’m the only one who’s been affected, so simply holding my hand will do. Even touching the back of my hand is enough.”

“If that’s all…”

Jiwoo placed her hand over the back of Asilion’s. The blackened skin oxidized as though it were burning away, crumbling into ash before disappearing.

The treatment was over almost instantly.

As Jiwoo withdrew her hand, Asilion’s gaze lingered on her fingertips, following them with unmistakable reluctance.

“This isn’t just an excuse to get close to me, is it?”

“I won’t claim it isn’t.”

Asilion smiled gently. Even so, he made no attempt to touch her first, not even as a joke.

“To be honest, since I compared it to a cold… this actually happens fairly often. So it wouldn’t be wrong to say I simply wanted to see you again after such a long time.”

“…If it’s just a cold, doesn’t it heal naturally?”

“Oh, my apologies. That was mostly a joke.”

Jiwoo narrowed her eyes at him, and Asilion chuckled again.

“It does heal on its own… eventually. It only takes about sixty years. I figured it would be better to ask someone capable of helping than spend sixty years living with the inconvenience.”

Only then did Jiwoo begin to understand that explanation

A cold that lasted sixty years…

Perhaps, because his race lived so long, sixty years was something he considered tolerable. If it had been Jiwoo, though, she would have been desperately searching for help.

Still, she could tell Asilion had explained it that way because he didn’t want her to feel pressured.

“You don’t have to worry so much. It’s not as though you only accept one tree’s power. In any case, thank you. I should be going now.”

With that, Asilion simply inclined his head in gratitude and rose to leave.

‘Not as though you only accept one tree’s power?’

After seeing him off, Jiwoo found herself turning those words over in her mind. What exactly had he meant? Did he mean people usually bonded with only a single tree? That didn’t seem quite right…

Lost in thought, Jiwoo noticed something resting on the table.

It was one of the ornaments Asilion had been wearing on his arm. He must have removed it to show her his wrist and forgotten to put it back on.

Picking it up, she hurried after him. Fortunately, he hadn’t gotten far. She quickly spotted his back and called out.

“Asilion! You left something…hah.”

Jiwoo was so startled she almost dropped his stuff.

“…!”

Someone had Asilion by the collar.

Jiwoo was stunned, but she immediately recognized who it was.

“Qu, Quillon?”

“…!”

The moment she called his name, Quillon jolted as though he’d just been caught committing a terrible crime. His entire body went rigid, and he instantly let go of Asilion’s collar.

“Cough… cough…”

Freed at last, Asilion coughed violently as he struggled to catch his breath. There were already bruises and fresh cuts across his face likely from several hits. Jiwoo could hardly believe what she was seeing.

‘Surely Quillon wouldn’t…’

She had never imagined him capable of something like this.

Quillon reminded her of a canna flower.

With his vivid crimson hair and striking features, he possessed an almost flamboyant beauty. His hair, which fell well past his waist, spread in every direction like petals blooming in uneven clusters, yet around his shoulders it was meticulously groomed, making him one of the more fashion-conscious among the children of Ellandos.

Perhaps the comparison would be considered rude by their standards, but whenever his hair fluttered in the wind, Jiwoo often thought it looked like dancing flames.

His sharply upturned eyes gave him a fierce edge that matched his beauty. He rarely smiled, and his expression was almost always heavy. Even when looking at Jiwoo, his ears usually drooped, making him seem quietly troubled or dissatisfied.

Yet appearances were deceiving.

Though his expression was stern and he seldom wore his emotions openly, Quillon treated Jiwoo and the other husbands with impeccable courtesy. Regardless of age, he addressed everyone with respectful speech, and toward Jiwoo he was so unfailingly polite that it almost made her uncomfortable.

She knew he was quite old, though he had never revealed his exact age himself. The younger husbands had told her instead. Whenever Jiwoo tried speaking to him formally in return, he seemed terribly embarrassed, while he appeared much happier when she spoke casually, so she’d gradually gotten used to doing that. Even so, Quillon wasn’t one of the husbands she talked with often.

“What… were you doing just now?”

“…”

She simply couldn’t believe it. Unless her eyes had deceived her, Quillon had just grabbed Asilion and used violence on him.

“He suddenly grabbed me and started hitting me…”

Asilion rubbed at the scratches on his cheek, sounding thoroughly aggrieved.

Why does this man keep ending up getting beaten by someone from her group…?