Hana let out a small laugh, feeling tears welling up but trying to hold them back. She sat up, feeling like she had the energy to face the day.

“Weed, those words.”

“Yes?”

“Those words are usually said during a proposal.”

“A proposal?”

“Yes, like ‘I will make you happy for the rest of your life.’”

His face turned bright red. Hana averted her gaze, knowing he must be flustered.

“Hana, I… that is…”

“Yes, I know. If I die as a sacrifice, or if I try to, you’ll be in pain.”

Weed clamped his mouth shut, unable to respond. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something but then stopped. He fidgeted, clearly wrestling with his thoughts.

Hana sat on the edge of the bed, feeling the grass with her newly healed feet.

She couldn’t believe how wonderful it felt to be free of pain. The sensation of the grass under her feet was so delightful.

Just as she considered taking a few steps, Weed grabbed her arm.

“Hana.”

Weed didn’t get to say more. There was a knock on the door.

“Hana, Weed, may I come in?”

“Yes, come in.”

Weed remained silent, so she answered.

After a moment, the door opened, and Rutis stepped in. The door swung open, and the short-haired redhead priest walked in briskly.

Rutis bowed to Hana first and then addressed Weed.

“Weed, the humans are preparing to leave soon. They said they’re returning to the kingdom.”

“Alright.”

Weed responded indifferently.

Aside from Hana, there were only two other humans here. Hana had almost forgotten about Calden and his sister, Inis. She wondered how Inis was doing after drinking her blood and temporarily recovering.

The priest looked between Hana and Weed before speaking again.

“I was thinking of accompanying them.”

“You too, Rutis?”

Rutis nodded to her puzzled look.

“Yes, you’ve heard about the situation in the kingdom, haven’t you? There are some matters I’m interested in, so I decided to go.”

“They’re leaving without a goodbye?”

“You can see them now if you’d like. They wanted to meet you too, but you haven’t been able to get up until now.”

“Oh, really?”

Hana stood up immediately, eager to meet them. She stood beside the bed and examined herself.

Her feet were in remarkably good condition. The chronic aches were gone, and there was no odd grinding sensation in her bones when she stood straight. The ticklish feeling of the grass underfoot was astonishing, but standing up felt even more incredible.

How long had she been lying down?

It felt like about a week, but she suspected it might have been longer. She had no idea how much time had passed. She remembered drinking Weed’s saliva whenever she woke up, eating the easy-to-digest food he made, and then falling back asleep.

Rutis, noticing Hana’s contemplation, answered her unspoken question.

“You’ve been bedridden for about fifteen days.”

“Fifteen days?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Hana scratched the back of her head, feeling a bit awkward. Her cheeks turned a little red. Her only memories from that time were of lying in bed with Weed and occasionally bathing together.

“I can’t believe I was lying down for so long…”

Yet, her body felt fantastic. Despite being bedridden for so long, her hair was light and shiny, her mouth wasn’t dry, and her body didn’t feel sticky or smell bad. In fact, she exuded a pleasant fragrance and felt better than usual.

The only issue was her attire.

She wore a simple dress that barely reached her knees, looking more like sleepwear. While she didn’t mind being dressed like this around Weed or the priests, she felt a bit uneasy about meeting other humans in such an outfit.

“Would you like to freshen up before meeting them?”

“Oh… yes, please.”

While talking to Hana, Rutis kept glancing behind her, subtly watching Weed. It was noticeable enough for Hana to pick up on it.

Rutis cleared his throat and spoke.

“Weed, you had something prepared, didn’t you? Now that Hana is up, it might be a good time to show her.”

Hana turned to look at Weed. He smiled as their eyes met. Weed had mentioned preparing something for her before the treatment. She couldn’t remember exactly when, but she did recall being led by him to try on something that felt like the touch of newly sprouted leaves on her feet.

That alone had thrilled her, and she hadn’t expected anything more. Still, hearing there was more, she grew curious.

“Weed, really?”

Weed nodded, sensing Hana wouldn’t want to meet guests in her current attire either.

“Yes, Hana. I’ll be right back.”

Before leaving the room, Weed gently hugged Hana and kissed her forehead.

The gesture was so natural, even in front of someone else, given how they had spent so much time alone together. He left the room energetically, paying no mind to Rutis, who only pressed his lips together without showing much reaction.

Nevertheless, Hana felt her face flush at being left alone with Rutis. She fanned herself with her hand and spoke up.

“Rutis, what did you want to talk about?”

“Pardon?”

“You sent Weed out because you wanted to say something to me, didn’t you?”

Rutis nodded readily.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Agreeing, he stepped closer to Hana. Though not as tall as Weed, he was still tall enough for her to have to look up. After a moment’s hesitation, Rutis knelt down, startling Hana.

“Why, why are you doing that? Please get up!”

“To be at eye level with you. Don’t worry about it.”

“But…”

Rutis shook his head.

“It’s a sign of proper respect, Hana. This is how it should be.”

Hana remained silent at Rutis’s insistence.

According to what she’d heard from Calden, the beings known as Ligna, the incarnations of the tree, were proud and rarely showed respect to other races. Seeing one kneel seemed out of character. However, preventing him from doing so might offend their pride even more.

They had always been exceedingly courteous.

The way Weed treated her, for instance. She couldn’t fathom what significance an outsider like her held for them. Was it because, as they’d once said, she was truly from a higher world? Or was it because she was to be a sacrifice for their world?

As she pondered, Rutis pulled something from his pocket and showed it to her. It was a dried yellow flower.

“What’s this?”

“A flower that mimics states. You’ve seen it before, haven’t you?”

Hana nodded, remembering it.

Rutis handed her the flower. Its petals felt fragile, ready to crumble at any moment, yet it seemed to emit a subtle glow. Despite its condition, it retained the beauty of a flower in full bloom.

However, it was undeniably wilted.

Before Hana could say anything, Rutis spoke.

“This flower mirrors your condition exactly.”

“It’s withered.”

“Yes, it has wilted.”

Rutis added one more word.

“It’s dead.”

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