All previous sacrifices had been similar. The elderly slept a lot, and the injured ones frequently lost consciousness until their very last breath. He wanted to say that becoming more sleepy was normal, but he didn’t want to bring up the topic of being a sacrifice to her.

After seating her on his lap, Weed blew on the soup gently before bringing it to her lips. Hana, apparently quite hungry, accepted and ate what was offered, chuckling softly.

“Umm. This is delicious.”

“Really?”

Hana continued to smile, seemingly in a good mood. Had her earlier anger been due to hunger? Weed was relieved to see her mood improve and thought he should remember to provide meals more regularly from now on.

Hana took the spoon and bowl of soup from Weed.

She savored the soup slowly, and Weed couldn’t help but feel proud. He wanted to shower her forehead, cheeks, and lips with kisses but restrained himself, not wanting to interrupt her meal. Instead, his gaze drifted to her ankles, which dangled limply on the floor.

Weed waited for Hana to swallow her food before asking.

“Was it difficult to get back up after you fell?”

“Ah, yes…”

The poison was working effectively. Her senses were likely numbed by now. Her feet had become as hard as a stone up to her ankles.

“May I examine your condition today?”

Hana didn’t hide her joy. Her face lit up with a radiant smile, and she nodded so vigorously that she ended up receiving an uncontrollable kiss from Weed.

“…But Weed, is that person named Kalden still here?”

Just after a pleasant kiss, another person’s name popped out of her mouth. Weed felt an inexplicable tightness in his chest.

“That… human you mean.”

Normally, after a kiss, Weed would continue to nuzzle her forehead and cheeks with more, but now he looked down, finding it difficult to maintain eye contact.

‘That guy, was it Kaldenos?’

His memory was fuzzy, perhaps because his attention had been solely on Hana at that time. He had only caught a glimpse of the human. A man with short jet-black hair and eyes as red as flames. He remembered feeling uneasy about the way that man looked at Hana.

Hana slowly nodded.

“We agreed to talk about what happened when we were together.”

“Ah, yes… That’s right.”

“Right before I went to sleep.”

Though her tone was slightly reproving, Hana’s voice was cheerful. Her hunger had been satisfied, and it seemed to make her feel better.

“Weed.”

“Yes.”

“Umm… Weed, it seems like you get distracted by other thoughts when you’re with me.”

“That’s…! That’s absolutely not true.”

Weed felt unjustly accused. The idea that his mind wandered to other thoughts was absurd.

When he was by her side, he found it impossible to think of anything else. He endlessly followed her gaze, wanting to see what she saw, especially if she had anything she liked. He wanted to present them to her.

He wanted to discover what made her smile and taste the same things.

It was natural, considering he had promised to treat her well during her stay. This time, Weed realized something new he could do. Instead of relying on a priest, he thought about expanding the variety of dishes he could cook himself.

What caught her attention, even for a moment, had become Weed’s greatest interest lately.

Weed couldn’t take his eyes off her. If her clothes were wrinkled, he wanted to smooth them out; if a strand of her black hair was out of place, he wanted to fix it himself. Even that seemed like a bad thing for her.

The same went for her legs. He needed to know where she stepped and if her expression changed even slightly because she shouldn’t feel any pain or discomfort.

Still, it wasn’t just that. The golden eyes reflected in the mirror, belonging to someone else and not him, were fascinating and even wondrous to him. It was the first time Weed found something truly awe-inspiring. He felt he could spend all day just holding her face and gazing into those eyes.

He wondered why her nose was so pert, why her lips were so red and glossy, and how her hair could be so finely textured. He constantly wanted to ask if all people from her world were like this, if they were all soft to touch and smelled so pleasant.

It made no sense that he thought otherwise. In fact, it was because of her that he couldn’t have other thoughts. Ever since she arrived, he had spent all his time consumed with thoughts of her.

“See? Your mind is wandering again.”

‘But it’s not…’

As Weed was lost in his feelings of injustice, she asked with a laugh in her voice.

“Anyway. About that person. He helped me when I lost consciousness in the forest. He’s still here, isn’t he? I saw him following.”

“…Actually, I was planning to let him stay here for a while.”

“Oh, that’s good. He said he had something to ask of Ligna.”

“Hmm… Normally, we don’t readily welcome humans here…”

Indeed, as Rutis had mentioned, it seemed that this man was a guest of Hana’s. Nonetheless, Weed was displeased. He expressed his intention, albeit indirectly, that humans didn’t belong here and that the man should be sent away promptly.

Even if the man wanted something, Weed didn’t want to grant it. Was there any reason to? After all, Lár de Ligna Initia wasn’t a welcoming space for anyone other than its priests.

“As expected… is that so? But that person asked me, in exchange for saving me, to arrange a meeting with Ligna. I don’t really like him much, but without his help, I might have died.”

“I will consider discussing it.”

Weed changed his mind immediately. If she spoke of it that way, the circumstances were different. Above all, the fact that she didn’t like the man eased Weed’s earlier discomfort somewhat. And there was something else that satisfied him.

It seemed Hana enjoyed the soup he had made for the first time.

Her spoon movements became faster and did not stop until the soup was completely finished. After placing the empty bowl on the bedside table, Hana looked up at Weed while still sitting on his lap. He cherished this moment.

Weed hugged her, barely suppressing the urge to crush her in his embrace.

“Weed, then I’ll tell you what happened. I have something I want to ask, too.”

“Speak while you eat. The priests will soon bring more food.”

He smiled at her gently.

It was a comfortable afternoon. The mood had been good from the moment they woke up, with only minor emotional ups and downs.

The place was quiet. The only sound, aside from Hana’s soft voice wanting to talk, was the cool breeze.

After the priests brought the meal, the clinking of utensils was the only noise for a while. During the conversation, she repeatedly murmured how delicious everything was.

Weed, too, felt pleased to see her satisfied and smiled.

Hana shared with him the events that had occurred to her step by step. The strange voices, losing consciousness due to running, meeting the royal family of Eatinte, and how there was no lack of provisions while staying in the cave.

She also mentioned being slightly concerned about the princess who was ill. Weed had always been curious about the voices she claimed to hear.

“It said it’ll grant me one wish in exchange for coming to it.”

“The voice… from the void? It would grant you what you desire?”

“Yes. And it might possess a power comparable to yours, Weed. What do you think?”

Hana referred to it as the voice from the void. Since arriving here, she had been having strange dreams and hearing someone speak inside her head. The message was always an invitation to come to the voice.

She and the priests speculated that this voice was what called her to this place.

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