At the End of the Hidden Greenery - Chapter 139
Jiwoo felt relieved that Akarna could take the place of the others, and she understood why they did not reject Akarna as a different species.
Noticing a slight change in Jiwoo’s heartbeat while he listened closely, Enci asked tentatively,
“What’s wrong? Do you hate it?”
“Hmm? No, it’s not that…”
Though he tried to sound nonchalant, his ear was still turned toward her. He was clearly concerned about her response.
“To be honest, it seemed to me like people who would bring a marriage certificate the day after just holding my hand.”
“…What’s a marriage certificate?”
“Oh, right, you don’t have those here.”
While it was a concept from her old world, it wasn’t too difficult to explain. As Jiwoo finished her explanation, Enci suddenly sat up straight.
“I want to do it too.”
He said this and returned with a piece of paper and a pen from somewhere. Jiwoo took the pen and exchanged glances between it and the blank sheet multiple times.
“How am I supposed to write it if I’ve never seen one before?”
“Just write something. Even a rough draft will do.”
Jiwoo looked down at the paper, thinking for a long time. She felt like she had to do it or he would sulk. But since she had never seen a marriage certificate, she had no idea what to write.
Having some experience with documents, she hesitantly began to jot down the introduction.
[This document is to certify the marriage between two individuals.]
What she wrote resembled more of a contract than a marriage certificate.
She questioned whether this was correct as she wrote. If she had known this would happen, she would have at least glanced at one beforehand.
After drawing a space to write their names and still feeling unsure, Jiwoo set the pen down.
“I really don’t think this is right…”
As Enci watched her intently, his ears drooped down.
“Does that mean you don’t want to write a marriage certificate with me?”
“It’s not that. I really just don’t know the format.”
“Hmm.”
“Still, I’ll try. Just wait a bit.”
Jiwoo thought back to the empire she had lived in before. It had been quite some time, but she didn’t feel as much of a jolt in her heart as she used to.
Instead, she quickly rummaged through her memories of how the nobles had conducted marriages.
They were those who wielded power using false God. For the powerful nobles to have a blessed marriage, they needed permission from the temple and the imperial family. Amusingly, Jiwoo had witnessed a few noble marriages as Akarna herself.
During those ceremonies, the family name, title, and names were declared before God as they pledged a lifetime of devotion. Remembering this, Jiwoo wrote down her last name and first name separately on the paper.
Right, they would need witnesses as well.
After some thought, she decided not to write a witness section and muttered quietly.
“….If I had known this, I should have asked Lofrel as a witness before she went.”
“It’s not strictly necessary. The wedding has already been done. This is just about creating the document.”
That was true, but Enci, while being stubborn in odd places, was surprisingly practical when it came to this.
“But why do you leave a space between the names?”
“To separate the last name.”
“The children of Ellandos don’t have last names.”
When Jiwoo looked at him expectantly, Enci explained lightly.
“Last names originally exist to indicate one’s origin. Among us, we can sense which tree we live around just by looking at each other.”
“Then should we not write it?”
“Since I’m married to you, shouldn’t I just use yours?”
“That’s how it works here in the empire, but in the place where I originally lived, people usually don’t marry within the same last name.”
“Then just add something else. Something common.”
Finding his suggestion cute, Jiwoo giggled and quickly came up with an answer. It wasn’t something difficult to think about.
“Kim is the most common surname.”
“Then I’ll be Kim Enciertes? Is that how I write it?”
Is that how names work? What an odd combination. Jiwoo shook her head, trying to hold back her laughter.
“Um… usually names have three syllables…”
“Then just Kim Enci?”
Enci, ever the researcher, quickly adapted to phonetic symbols and neatly wrote down the characters. Soon, their names were lined up on the paper:
Seo Jiwoo. Kim Enci.
…Is this right?
Unlike Jiwoo, who hesitated, Enci seriously scanned the paper he had just written. His expression was calm, but with both ears pointed toward her, he seemed very pleased.
“Great. I’ll go with Kim Enci.”
“Puhuh.”
Jiwoo couldn’t hold back her laughter any longer.
It was cute how Enci insisted on writing the marriage certificate with that name.
As she burst into laughter, Enci merely rolled his eyes in her direction.
“Why are you laughing?”
“No, hahaha, it’s because I’m happy…”
Unable to contain herself, Jiwoo pulled him into a hug. The fresh mint scent filled the air from his warm embrace, and she could feel his heart racing against her cheek.
They considered their keen hearing a point of pride, but in truth, they weren’t the only ones who could hear each other’s heartbeats. Listening to his heartbeat quicken, Jiwoo smiled again.
“Hmm. Is it so good that we’re writing a marriage certificate?”
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t just that, but she didn’t want to deny it either.
“Yes. It’s really good.”
She felt happy.
Happier by the day.
That even such trivial things could bring laughter.
* * *
Jiwoo leaned back in the bathtub, surrendering her body to Enci.
Thinking back now, it felt like a distant memory. But the time when they suddenly proposed and mentioned how she could receive this kind of care every day after marriage crossed her mind.
Yet, thinking back, it wasn’t strictly necessary to be married for them to act so politely after s*x.
Perhaps it was just her feeling, but today it seemed especially tender as he washed her.
“It smells nice…”
Enci pressed his lips between her brows, and from that moment on, the sweet scent of mint wafted around them.
“…But, Seo Jiwoo.”
“Huh?”
As Jiwoo lifted her head to look at him, Enci hesitated before speaking.
“Did you really send them off? Those two gifts….”
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