The Nymph Wants to be Plundered - Chapter 182

Soon, the nymph held a fertilizer stone from the basket and bent down, beginning to place them one by one in the very center of the flowerbeds. As he watched her carefully insert the pointed part into the soil as he had instructed, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.

Surely, she won’t prick her finger on the corner of that stone.

The person who had been assigned this task before the nymph was his direct subordinate. That fellow had gone to escort Lya to the Island of Solitude and hadn’t returned yet. For that guy, such excessive worry was, of course, something he’d never experienced.

But a knight’s thick, strong fingers and a nymph’s are, of course, bound to be different, aren’t they? Even from where he watched, the way she held up that seemingly weak and delicate waist looked quite precarious.

‘Hmm….’

After placing fertilizer stones in several flowerbeds, the nymph moved towards the Hall of Glory. Iel followed at a suitable distance, watching until the very end to see if she completed the task properly.

Twenty-two. Exactly right. A careless person might miss a few in the middle, but that didn’t really pose a big problem. Even if the flowerbeds disappeared entirely, there would be no issue for the World Tree. In short, this task was an act of pure reverence for the World Tree, a small ritual of sorts, hoping that both the residents and the World Tree would enjoy the lingering fragrance from the flowers and leaves.

So, she could have just done it roughly and gone inside.

Placing the basket on the flagstones of the Hall of Glory, the nymph began to count on her fingers again, one by one.

“One… two… three… four… five….”

As she did so, she stretched her neck out and peered towards where Iel was hiding, causing him to quickly duck behind the wall. It was a moment that made him feel a deep sense of self-reproach, wondering why he was acting this way when he hadn’t done anything wrong.

‘If our eyes met by chance, I could just say I was watching to see if you were doing well. What is this absurd behavior?’

However, such thoughts were useless after he had already hidden. She seemed to have finished the task he had given her, and he could have just gone out confidently and told her she did well, yet somehow Iel couldn’t.

“Whew! Done. Hmm…. I need to go back quickly and mark next month’s dates on the calendar. Ah! And a week from now. And….”

What is she rambling about?

The nymph, who had been chattering excitedly, suddenly fell silent, muttering something with her small lips. Then, she smiled to herself and entered the Hall. She didn’t forget the basket she had set down, holding it carefully.

Iel watched her disappearing figure until she was completely out of sight before turning around.

One headed to the Hall of Glory, the other to the barracks. Long after their paths diverged, someone appeared, their steps faltering.

Countless golden spores of the World Tree descended as if to soothe his clenched fists, but uncharacteristically, he shook his wrist, batting them all away at once.

His murderous glare, which had been fixed on the barracks for a long time, soon turned towards the Hall of Glory. By then, the corners of his eyes had softened considerably.

***

As he sat opposite Cassis, eating, the clinking sounds grated terribly on Evelyn’s ears. She tried her best to avoid hitting the tableware with her utensils, but the sounds kept coming from unexpected places. The tip of her fork piercing soft fish, the bottom of her spoon after scooping soup, even the faint scrape of the lace edge of her coaster when she set down her glass—tiny noises persisted.

Why was it only her? The person across from her made no such sounds at all.

The more she tried to remain composed, the more impossible it became to close the gaps in her mistakes, and they widened further. Like a cracked wall that, no matter how many times it’s patched, will eventually crumble when it rains, it just won’t work….

“Evelyn.”

“…!”

Called by her name, she flinched and lifted her head.

Her eyes were wide with fright, her lips trembled uncontrollably, the tip of her nose drew in shallow breaths, and her shoulders twitched uneasily. She looked terrified to anyone, yet she didn’t avoid his gaze. That gave Cassis a slight sense of relief, yet it also frustrated him.

Why wouldn’t she smile brightly like a spring flower, as he wished?

The dining table was specially set with only the menus that Evelyn had previously responded well to. Contrary to her words that she hadn’t eaten well when living in the countryside, there were fish dishes that she always cleaned, salads with less oil, soft bread that tore easily with just two hands, all kinds of fruits, and….

A three-tiered afternoon tea tray was prominently placed so she could choose her favorite desserts directly. However, throughout the meal, Evelyn didn’t even glance at the colorful cakes and pastries. Instead, she focused only on eating the food on the nearest plate in front of her. The raspberry-laden tart, which she had made such a fuss about, praising it as nostalgic and so on, she didn’t even look at it.

Cassis’s Adam’s apple twitched with dissatisfaction, but he said nothing else throughout the meal. He worried Evelyn might get indigestion otherwise.

He couldn’t do this, nor that. He suddenly wanted to tear off the shoulder strap that neatly encased his shoulder, twist off all the cuff buttons, and throw them to the floor. Even though it probably wouldn’t make him feel relieved, everything around him displeased him.