The Nymph Wants to be Plundered - Chapter 186

Just as Cassis was a knight of the blackthorn tree, it seemed Iel kept and cared for his own tree at his own home. Evelyn was so fascinated that she quickly pulled out the fertilizer stones from her pocket and held them out.

“Then please take them quickly. Uh… when I came out from here last time, I was carrying a basket, so did this tree speak to you then too?”

“Hahaha!”

Iel burst into loud laughter at her guess.

As a smile brighter than the acacia flowers that symbolized him spread all at once, it matched marvelously with his dazzling silver hair and revealed Iel’s charm without reservation. He was a thousand-year knight who didn’t smile often, but he was undeniably one of the five most handsome men in Jupiter. Soon, dark black eyes—rarely seen among elves—gazed at her.

“That’s right. It was making a fuss asking for some too, but I cleanly ignored it.”

“You should take good care of it…. Oh, I misspoke.”

Evelyn shrank her shoulders, worried that her carelessly spoken words sounded like reproach and might offend him. But rather than being displeased, Iel maintained a satisfied expression throughout.

“Haha, it’s fine. Seeing how you like flowers and trees, perhaps being a tree nymph was your true calling. I do hope a miracle happens for you….”

“Pardon?”

When she asked back, not understanding what he meant by his last remark, Iel cut off his own words.

“Never mind. Hmm, you must have eaten by this time. Would a cup of tea be alright?”

“Of course!”

She nodded without thinking further. Having skipped all the desserts and walked while concentrating on not missing any flower beds, her hunger had subsided somewhat. So she could easily manage a cup of tea and more.

Iel took the fertilizer stones from her palm and tapped three or four of them near the roots, then climbed the tree with one arm and placed the remaining one in the gap where several large branches split off before coming back down. To finish climbing the tree so easily without even taking off his heavy shin guards! Evelyn clapped her hands softly in amazement.

“Wow… That’s amazing.”

“Can you not climb trees?”

“…No.”

For someone who had lived in the countryside, Evelyn was full of things she couldn’t do. The things she could do, she somehow managed to make up for through effort, but the things she had been hopelessly bad at from the start never improved no matter how hard she tried. When her complexion darkened, Iel quickly turned his back. It was a considerate attitude, as if trying to cover her embarrassment.

“Shall we go now?”

She came to the same reception room as before and was being served refreshments when a maid pushed in a cart loaded with something, causing her to glance over casually and be surprised.

What filled the tray wasn’t some unfamiliar new pastries or teapots. At a glance, small trees that looked incredibly fresh were planted one each in flowerpots.

As she put down her porcelain teacup and craned her neck to examine them, Iel made a very satisfied expression and gestured to place them closer. The maid pushed the heavy cart further so the flowerpots could be seen well, and Evelyn admired the small trees whose names she didn’t even know.

“They’re all wonderful. I don’t know what to say… Even in the village where I used to live, I saw plenty of grass and trees, but after coming here, everything feels moving.”

Come to think of it, inside the Hall of Glory, apart from the World Tree that stretched its branches here and there, she seemed to have hardly seen any other plants or flowers. Even recalling the old days when she used to keep a geranium pot or so by the window, it was a bit strange. In reality, if she just went outside the hall and turned her head, there were flowers, grass, and trees everywhere.

Sir Iel’s mansion and the Hall of Glory have a different feeling.

When her gaze showed signs of drifting from the flowerpots before her to other points, Iel had the maid dismissed. Only after the footsteps had completely disappeared did his question fall.

“What were you thinking about?”

Evelyn raised her head and answered readily.

“Yes! Well… I was thinking that there were few areas in the Hall of Glory with such fresh flowerpots like these. I saw quite a few vases, and flowers… were…”

The flowers that boasted all sorts of colors and fragrances were a happiness that Cassis often gifted her, but she was somewhat reluctant to spill out everything that had happened in front of Iel. Fortunately, he maintained the courtesy of not catching her trailing words and asking further.

“It’s because it’s the Hall of Glory.”

“Yes…?”

“You yourself are living on the energy of the World Tree that His Majesty the King bestows, so you would know well. The Hall of Glory is a space overflowing with sacred energy, so there’s no need to place many other plants and flowers, and it’s better that way. It’s a space that can maintain peace without drawing unnecessary attention.”

Is that so?

Evelyn unconsciously nodded her head. It was an action she took because there was no particular reason to object to that explanation, but Iel, pleased about something, even hummed a tune while lifting up several flowerpots to show her.