Weed ~The One’s Gardener~ - Chapter 19

Chapter 19

“Hana, what kind of rude things did they do…”

“Ah, Weed.”

Weed belatedly saw her face, and he felt his heart drop.

Her hair was meticulously styled, adorned with delicate golden leaf ornaments. Though they were mere leaves, they appeared as resplendent as the flower crowns of Lár de Ligna Initia or the intricately crafted jewels made by skilled human hands.

It was even the leaves of Weed’s body. They were small in size, but in this land, only Weed was allowed to possess such vibrant foliage. The aura surrounding her confirmed his certainty. There was no doubt that she was adorning herself with some of his.

Weed’s gaze fixated on her exposed shoulders, slender waist, sleek bare legs, and feet that remained untouched by any footwear.

The fabric below her waist consisted of thin chiffon and georgette, lending a sense of richness and ethereal flutter. Conversely, her shoulders were completely bare, covered only by a sheer shawl. The shawl was tastefully embroidered with a leaf pattern along the shoulder and collarbone, resembling the symbol of Lár de Ligna Initia.

Apart from that, her attire appeared plain, devoid of embellishments on the neck, arms, or ankles.

Perhaps if he had arrived a bit later, he might have witnessed a more captivating sight. A sense of disappointment settled within him, particularly as he yearned to adorn her neck or the finger he held with something beautiful.

“Weed, no, they weren’t rude at all. I just hurt myself, and Hensis tried to heal it.”

“…Hensis?”

Hana laughed lightly as if she had heard a joke.

“Ahaha. That’s his name, Weed.”

One pointed at one of the priests.

Weed barely saw him.

A priest with short silver hair and light pink eyes was glancing at Hana and him alternately with a very surprised face.

Priest Hensis of the World Tree.

He was just about to kiss Hana’s hand. If that was the act of healing a wound, trying to smear his saliva on it, and it wasn’t wrong.

“Hensis.”

When Weed narrowed his eyes and called for him, Hensis shook his pale pink eyes wildly and showed even more embarrassment.

“Tha-that, that’s right, because she was hurt. I, I, Hensis… was going to treat it, Weed.”

He stammered a lot in a thick voice that did not match his appearance. Soon, as if he could not stand the embarrassment, he bowed his head and hurried out.

“I, Lu-Lutacea, will also leave.”

“Me, too, Ku, Kurtavi is leaving.”

The other priests did the same. She couldn’t understand what was so embarrassing. They hurriedly greeted and left the room, as if they had been found guilty. In an instant, only the two remained.

Hana asked, tilting her head.

“Weed, did you not know their name? Hensis says he’s been here for quite some time. I don’t think… why are you so flustered?”

“…What were you doing?”

“Oh, I woke up today, and no one was there… They brought me food, so I asked for something to wear. When I woke up, I had nothing to wear.”

Weed took a deep breath. He took off her clothes last night while trembling, and after wiping her and after cleaning her, he had left her in that state. Come morning, he had paid no heed to her meal or changing her clothes.

It was not the priests’ fault for approaching her without caution. Rather, it was he who deserved to be punished.

Still, he was worried so he asked Hana.

“Have they not done anything rude?”

“No, not at all. Rather, they were very polite and courteous. They brought me pretty clothes like this.”

Weed had no choice but to agree with that. He was trying hard to turn his gaze, which was trying to scan her whole body, to her eyes. Moreover, her headdress made him want to reward them.

“Didn’t he recklessly put his mouth on your hand?”

“He was trying to heal it, right? Just like Weed always does.”

“That…”

“Is it not?”

“…You’re right. I will do it for you.”

As if to prove his words, Weed clasped her hand with both of his and tenderly pressed a kiss to the back of it. She remained seated, her arms hanging comfortably, while he knelt before her, fully focused on the gentle sensation of her hand.

He had been informed that she had pricked her finger with a pin. Though the bleeding must have ceased by now, he couldn’t discern which finger had been injured exactly, but it didn’t matter to him. He decided to attend to all her fingers.

With utmost care, he took all five of her fingers into his mouth and gently rolled them with his tongue.

Strangely, he felt an impulse to bite down. To mend her wounds or alleviate her pain… It was something he could do effortlessly, a promise he had made. It was fortunate that she accepted it so willingly.

‘If that’s the case, she must be thinking that way about yesterday.’

Perhaps that explained why she regarded him with such serenity. At least Hana wasn’t uneasy about it.

Still, Weed felt a profound sadness.

Even if it was for the purpose of healing her, he couldn’t help but feel disheartened by the ease with which she offered her arm to another priest.

“Weed, I saw a mirror here for the first time today.”

“Yes.”

He confirmed that her wounds had healed, but he continued to lick her palms and listened to what she had to say.

“There are no mirrors in the bathroom, there are no mirrors in this room, and I thought there was no need to look in the mirror…”

“Is there any problem?”

“My eye color has changed.”

At those words, Weed raised his head and faced her. Her face flushed slightly as she gazed down at him.

“Wasn’t it originally gold?”

“No! Originally, it was a bit pale, but it wasn’t this mysterious gold color. It was more like a normal brown or black.”

It was the first information Weed learned about.

In this world, gold held a sacred significance. Even the noble tribes of the forest were no exception, for they were akin to ordinary trees. The color gold was reserved solely for Weed, whose body embodied the essence of the ancient World Tree.

All beings summoned from the other realm possessed golden eyes, with the exception of those whose eyes were elusive and hard to discern.

Regardless of their species, size, or gender, the mark of gold served as proof of their origin from a higher dimension.

No one here treated these beings from the other world with indifference upon witnessing their eyes. It was believed that they were aligned with the will of the gods or were esteemed individuals who hailed from a realm loftier than this one—a divine world.

For the longest time, Weed couldn’t communicate with them. It was only when she, a human herself, arrived that he came to realize this truth.

“Has it changed since coming here?”

It was a guess she had made, but she had to agree with Weed as well.

“Perhaps, it seems so.”

“Then, did Weed cross the dimension too?”

“It’s not like that.”

“Really?”

Hana was glancing down at him with curious eyes.

Regardless of what she said, he found great pleasure in conversing with her. However, he pondered how to explain his thoughts to a stranger from a distant place. While she demonstrated quick understanding and effective communication, it remained uncertain whether she would grasp the intricacies of this particular tale.

In truth, Weed struggled to concentrate on Hana’s words.

“Rather than that, Hana, can I get you something to wear on your feet? There is a shoe rack.”

His gaze remained fixated on her toes, lightly touching the floor as she idly played with the indoor grass.

Adorned in a meticulously crafted dress and shawl, he deliberately kept his eyes lowered, afraid that he might become entranced and inadvertently drool while gazing at her in awe. Nonetheless, even when he shifted his focus to her feet, he found it impossible to avert his gaze.

“Ah, it’s okay. Over there…”

Hana gestured toward the back, where an assortment of shoes lay scattered on the floor—high-heeled shoes, low-heeled shoes, comfortable everyday shoes, and even those that seemed more decorative than practical for walking.

Several pairs of shoes were strewn about on the floor.

“Actually, Lutacea brought it to me.”

At those words, he glanced over her shoulder and looked at Hana again.

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