Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The bottle of medicine still hidden in his pocket was particularly intrusive. This was not a white lie. It was not even a lie. Didn’t he say he would take care of her? He wasn’t just speaking, he never lied. Didn’t she like it in the first place? She also liked that there were no side effects.

Weed felt very good. He was overjoyed that he could be of help to the otherworldly beings he had always willingly borrowed their strength from.

While Hana quietly ate the bread, he bit and sucked her lips dozens of times inside his head, imagining how she would be more pleased.

Then, all of a sudden, a question arose.

“Hana.”

“Yes?”

“…May I ask why you are taking the medicine?”

She did not answer right away, even after being asked that. It wasn’t that she didn’t hear it or that she was ignoring him, pretending not to hear the question. She wasn’t even being rude. As soon as she heard the question, she met his eyes and looked down for a moment, lost in thoughts.

There was no need to rush. It wasn’t urgent. He also had a long meal time to share with her.

Weed sat still and waited for her to speak.

Today was a very good day. Through the large open windows, the evening sunset was already setting. A calm wind blew outside. Should he have left the door open, watching as the wind blows her straight hair?

Brush.

She heard Hana tickle her toes on the grass on the room floor. She looked quite fond of this meadow. It was probably amazing since humans couldn’t plant grass like this indoors. Did she know that flowers could bloom here as well?

Weed wanted to show off right away that he could do infinite things beyond simply giving pain relief.

He didn’t mind the silence. As he put her in front of him and was thinking about this and that, the simple soup she had ordered earlier had already come up.

Why did the time go so fast?

After waiting for the priest who delivered the food to return, Hana confirmed that the door was closed, and she quietly opened her mouth.

“I’m pretty, right?”

“Yes.”

Weed reflexively nodded his head before he got embarrassed.

“Ah, that. I—”

Did he get caught watching her the whole time? It was a bit of an odd question. He felt ashamed that he immediately nodded his head without even thinking about it.

Hana curled her eyes finely and laughed aloud.

“I know. I’m pretty. I’ve heard a lot of questions about whether I’m mixed race.”

“Mixed?”

“Yes. Where I used to live, not many people looked like this—sharp noses and deep eyes—mixed-race children, which are rare, look like this. Or a foreigner.”

He didn’t understand why she was talking about this, but she would explain soon so he listened silently.

“Still, my parents weren’t… Well, I couldn’t even say that they were pretty and cool with empty words. Especially my father. He was short. So, aside from that, people around me always joked about how pretty the child was and jokingly asked if I wasn’t their real child.”

“He must have been proud of you, how beautiful you are.”

Hana snorted and laughed.

“No. He said he was suspicious.”

“Suspicious?”

“Yes, my father. He said I didn’t bear any resemblance to him, and he suspected my mother of cheating on him. He even secretly checked it. Ah, where I live, there is a paternity test…”

He seemed to understand even with Hana’s clumsy explanation. Even the humans here often regarded it as a serious problem.

There was a descendant of a certain country’s royal family that came to the sanctuary because of that problem and at some point, even developed a magic that separated bloodlines. There were also societies here that placed great importance on lineage.

None of them seemed to come from that place.

“However, it turned out that he wasn’t the real father.”

“Then…”

“What’s funnier? She wasn’t even my real mother.”

Weed tilted her head to one side.

Then, who were her real parents…?

That question came naturally.

“It seemed like the baby was swapped by another mother’s.”

So did she find her biological parents? Did they get their child back? He didn’t ask questions like that. He had a hunch that perhaps the end of this story was not good.

“It was clear that the child had been swapped, so they tried hard to find it. Lawsuits are filed, and a lot of money is spent. They have to find their real child quickly before time runs out, right? Because I was not their biological child.”

“Who has been taking care of you all this time?”

Hana raised her head after carelessly touching a blade of grass that caught on her toe. He looked surprised, and his eyes wide open were cute. As he covered his mouth and blushed, she felt strangely sorry.

“Oh, wow. This is the first time someone has asked such a question…”

Hana took a sip of water as her throat was burning.

“I was just… neglected. The two of them were originally very good… then my mother’s condition started to get worse? So slowly, things get upsetting. My father was going to stay with my mother because even though she wasn’t pretty, at least she was sincere and kind… though he doubted that she slept with someone because the child was pretty, and even secretly tested it. Even though he earns so little money, he said profusely that he would be looking for an ugly person who looks like her. Besides, what was the wind, my mother was innocent. In the end, their relationship got worse…”

Hana was overly aware of what her mother was thinking. Perhaps her mother poured out all her negative emotions on her.

When she spoke again, Weed could see that his predictions were right.

“So, did they like me? Perhaps they hated me the most. Initially… it was bearable.”

“…Did you stab your hand?”

“Ahaha, that would have been fine. I almost died. The 11th-floor apartment… I fell from a very high place. My mother said that her mental illness was getting worse, and she pushed me without realizing it.”

“I’m glad… you’re safe.”

She said, gently stroking the blades of grass that adorned the floor of her room with her toes.

“Because there were a lot of trees down there, they said the impact was softened by several bumps into tree branches. The ground was overgrown with grass. So I guess I lived because of that. However, I suffered from aftereffects… My legs and pelvic bones were completely shattered, which made me suffer for a while. It’s not that I’m constantly sick, but sometimes I get sick, and then I need medicine. Especially if I don’t move my body after a long time, it hurts when it rain…”

“I will keep it in mind and pay attention.”

When Hana came over here, she was unconscious for about three days. She hasn’t moved her body for a while, so maybe that was the trigger for this pain. He said she’d be weak for a while, so that was probably why she was worried.

In fact, he didn’t want to let her outside as much as possible.

It was obvious that the priests would approach her if she went outside. Still, in this condition, it would be better for her to move her body, even if he had to ignore the priest.

Weed looked out the window for a moment.

As he thought before, wasn’t it a good day? She could have a great view indoors though he thought it would be even better if they went outside, and he showed her what a beautiful place Lár de Ligna Initia was.

A sanctuary where all plants, all flowers in the world grow…

He was excited at the thought of boasting one of the best beauty on earth. Weed took care of this place. He thought she would be amazed. She would definitely like it too.

“Weed.”

“Yes, Hana.”

“My grandmother raised me.”

“Is that so?”

Weed noticed something odd.

Hana didn’t show any emotion at all, even though she was telling a pretty dark story. Since she had an aloof attitude, even he took it lightly. However, she reacted greatly to the question about who took care of her, and she seemed a little nervous when she answered that question.

“Yes, my mother’s condition has been known since then. She was the one who took care of me when I was young…”

“Yes.”

“The other day… you said you’d take care of me for about two months, right? You said you would return me before then…”

“…Yes, it was.”

—