At the End of the Hidden Greenery - Chapter 135

‘What are they all doing together?’

Worried that they might be fighting, Jiwoo tried to get closer, but the men noticed her and perked up their ears. They all quickly closed their mouths and turned their heads in her direction.

It seemed they had been engaged in a serious conversation, and it was a shame she missed the chance to overhear.

“What are you doing?”

Jiwoo’s husbands bowed their heads in greeting, while the two gifts stood upright in the center, smiling like a painting. However, their ears drooped, suggesting they had realized the situation regarding their arrival.

Though she felt a bit guilty, it was probably better than causing discomfort in various ways here.

“I think you already know, but this happened because I’m not very familiar with the culture here. I’m sorry. I hope you can leave without any bad feelings.”

The two exchanged glances for a moment before turning their attention back to Jiwoo.

Even though she knew it was rude to stare at someone’s appearance, Jiwoo couldn’t help but be drawn to them. Their obsidian-black skin absorbed light, almost pulling her gaze in.

“Do we not meet your expectations?”

“….That, oh my.”

Jiwoo momentarily paused, ready to deny it.

It was due to the language they were speaking.

It was truly a fluid and smooth version of her native tongue.

The pronunciation was so clean that it could easily be considered that of a native speaker, and their voices were unrealistically pleasant, almost reminiscent of an echo.

When the female spoke, she had used words that were easy for Jiwoo to understand, and Jiwoo had forced herself to accept that it was because the female was capable of such speech.

“How did you say that?”

“I inherited that knowledge from her.”

Lofrel had mentioned that these two men were well crafted, but she had no idea they could excel in this manner as well.

“…….”

Jiwoo covered her mouth with both hands. Overwhelmed by their charm, she lost her words, and the two men smiled, their eyes narrowing like foxes.

“Well. That’s quite trivial.”

“We can show you even more amazing things. What do you think about going below?”

They even guided Jiwoo’s gaze with skilled gestures. As her eyes slowly drifted from their faces downward,

“Wait a moment, Seo Jiwoo.”

Enci, who was nearby, pulled Jiwoo away from the two men.

“Sending them back… What does that mean? You weren’t planning to accept them as gifts?”

“No, no. I received them without really knowing. I’m going to refuse.”

“Hmm…”

Enci covered his mouth with one hand.

He looked very displeased, which was quite unexpected, given that she had seemed to anticipate a positive reaction from them.

“Besides, even if I accept those two, it wouldn’t be a big deal?”

“What, what?”

Given Enci’s personality, Jiwoo thought he would immediately deny it, but he frowned and responded irritably without outright rejecting the idea.

His reaction seemed like he didn’t like the situation, so why was he acting this way?

At first, Jiwoo thought they weren’t jealous. But as time went on, she realized they had their own subtle feelings of jealousy. They hadn’t denied it either.

For instance, if Jiwoo kisses one of her husbands one day, the next day another husband might casually lean in while giving her a massage, or if she spends the night with someone, the following night, they might knock on the window with sweet treats or drinks.

From Jiwoo’s perspective, it seemed harmless and rather cute, but it was clear that it wasn’t just an innocent gesture. Plus, she had no idea how much was happening out of sight.

Even among the brothers, it was like this, and previously, when another group approached, they had even gotten into a physical altercation with their leader, Asillion. Jiwoo thought they would hate the idea of adding a new man whose origins they didn’t even know.

Yet, when she recalled the scene of them gathering and chatting just a moment ago, it didn’t seem like a bad atmosphere at all.

Had she misjudged the situation?

Lofrel had said there was no need to consider the men’s feelings, and perhaps there was no reason to worry about hurting their feelings.

“Do you think it would be better if I accepted those guys?”

“No, what? Hah!”

Enci scrunched his face even more, letting out a scoff of disbelief. His ears perked up momentarily before drooping again.

After a while, he replied,

“…I thought they might be useful.”

“Useful?”

“…….”

Enci crossed his arms and briefly fell silent. From the droop of his ears, it seemed he was quite displeased to say this.

“Generally, auditory stimuli penetrate deeper into the mind. They’re the most stimulating and tend to stick in your memory.”

This was also the reason why the children of Ellandos had tried so hard to pronounce Jiwoo’s name correctly when they began to seduce her.

And just now.

Seeing Jiwoo’s reaction to hearing the familiar language, it seemed she had been somewhat swayed.

“…Ugh. I was trying to learn quickly because of that.”

Enci bit his lip in frustration.

“But I’m teaching you that, too. You hardly use that language anyway…”

With his arms crossed, Enci gazed down at Jiwoo intently. Then he rolled his eyes upward and sighed.

His expression was quite cold, so when he remained silent while acting like this, it was easy for others to misunderstand. It looked like he was irritated and forced to respond with a sigh.

But as Jiwoo understood, this behavior of Enci’s was a way for him to take a deep breath before saying something he felt nervous about.

Once he seemed ready, Enci finally spoke.

“Jiwoo-ssi, how about spending the night with me?”

“…….”

Jiwoo was left speechless, covering her mouth with both hands.

“See? It’s different, right?”

Nodding at the following statement, she felt the contrast.

It was just one sentence, but it sounded entirely like something someone from her original world would say.

When Jiwoo had taught him before, he hadn’t been this flawless. Whether it was due to the person teaching or something else, the feeling was vastly different.