The Como Tree's Secret
“It’s a forest full of monsters. It could be dangerous. Absolutely not.”
No matter how important the territory’s development was, Chloe had no intention of sending Red Bear into mortal danger just to fetch Como trees.
Whether he was a real person or a fiction created by the status window, she had gradually grown fond of Red Bear, who showed her boundless loyalty. The same was true for the other characters.
She had told herself over and over not to get attached, but after living alone for so long, she couldn’t push away people who genuinely worried about her and devoted themselves to her care.
“We’ll return from the forest before sunset.”
Chloe shook her head.
“There has to be another way.”
If they couldn’t find Como trees, they could simply complete a different quest.
At Chloe’s firm refusal, Red Bear clenched his jaw and pressed his lips tightly together. Until now, he hadn’t realized just how deeply the young lord cared for their safety. He quickly drew in a breath to steady the sudden sting in his nose.
“It’s true that monsters live in the Black Forest. But no matter how dark it is inside, they never come out during the day while the sun is still above the trees. Even if they did, we can handle them.”
Red Bear had been unable to properly fulfill his role since arriving in Grace Territory, so he refused to let this opportunity slip away. If he completed this mission successfully, he could prove himself invaluable to the young lord.
“We won’t overdo it.”
Chloe listened quietly to Red Bear’s repeated assurances, then stared intently toward the Black Forest with a troubled expression before lifting her gaze to the bright sky. Meeting his eyes directly, she gave a firm order.
“Even if you don’t find any Como trees, you must return before sunset.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll bring the men back safely.”
Red Bear was genuinely moved by the lord’s worried expression.
Chloe still couldn’t feel at ease despite his promise. She was about to order them not to go at all when Handsome quietly spoke up.
“My lord. If it’s Como trees you need, there are several growing in the castle garden.”
Handsome had been silently listening to their conversation.
“What?”
“Forgive me. I shouldn’t have interrupted while you were speaking…”
Handsome assumed Chloe had raised her voice because he had dared to cut into the conversation between the lord and the knight commander. He quickly bowed at the waist.
No matter how recently he had been promoted to butler, this wasn’t his place to speak.
“No, not that. You’re saying there are Como trees in the Grace Castle garden?”
Handsome realized a beat late why the lord was surprised. He smiled brightly and nodded, his voice gaining strength at the thought of being useful to her like everyone else.
“Yes? Yes! There are. The previous lord had a great interest in plants, so he cultivated several species from the Black Forest in the garden. Most of them withered and died, but the Como trees survived. There’s a separate garden near the castle walls for shade-loving plants like the Como trees.”
“I’ve never seen that garden before.”
“There’s a recessed area along the eastern wall. The previous lord turned it into a shade garden. It’s enclosed on all sides with a roof, so you might not have noticed it. The gardeners only go in once a month.”
“Once a month?”
“Yes. Como trees can survive on very little water no matter how large they grow, so they only need watering once a month.”
Chloe finally understood why she had never noticed the strange-looking trees in the garden.
To think she would feel genuine gratitude toward a father she had never even met!
She looked at Handsome with approval for remembering something so important at the right moment.
“Lead the way. We’ll postpone the trip to the Black Forest.”
First, she needed to figure out the relationship between Como trees and Tiese Stone.
❖ ❖ ❖
“Whoa.”
When they arrived at the place Handsome led them to, Chloe couldn’t help but gasp in admiration.
She had expected a small shed, but the space was far larger than she had imagined.
The brick greenhouse, solidly built with red bricks, had only small ventilation openings in the walls aside from the entrance. It seemed designed to keep shade-loving plants in the darkest possible conditions.
Creaaak.
When the large wooden door opened, it let out a loud, groaning sound as if protesting the intrusion.
She had expected the air inside to be stale since it was almost completely enclosed, but it was surprisingly cool. There was even a faint minty scent in the air that felt refreshing.
“Wow!”
Even though almost no sunlight entered, the inside of the greenhouse was quite bright.
It didn’t take long to find the source of the light.
Chloe looked around and pointed at the plants emitting a faint glow in various places.
“What are these?”
“They’re luminous moss.”
“Luminous?”
“Yes. They’re called that because they emit light in dark places. They’re excellent for treating headaches.”
“Oh!”
The name was a bit odd, but at the mention of its effectiveness for headaches, Chloe reached out toward the moss with a curious expression. Just before her hand touched it—
“Don’t touch it!”
“You mustn’t!”
Voices from both in front and behind her shouted out in alarm.
“Ack, you startled me!”
Startled, Chloe curled her fingers into a fist. Handsome, who had been walking ahead, quickly approached and examined her hand.
“You didn’t get burned, did you?”
“Huh?”
Chloe gave him a puzzled look, not understanding.
“Luminous moss releases intense heat the moment it comes into contact with human skin. Plenty of people have been burned after touching it without knowing.”
“I had no idea.”
Chloe stared blankly at her clenched hand.
“You must always wear thick gloves when handling luminous moss.”
Handsome’s worried voice sounded as if he were scolding a younger sister.
“Got it.”
For some reason, she felt the urge to act spoiled. Chloe deliberately answered in a stiff tone.
Handsome glanced back at Chloe, who was busy exclaiming in wonder and looking around, then continued walking with his shoulders slightly hunched. Walking ahead of the lord felt strangely like he was committing a sin.
“We’re almost there, my lord.”
Handsome deliberately spoke in an even more respectful tone. It had been so long since he last came here that he couldn’t remember the exact location of the Como trees either. His head moved busily as he scanned the surroundings.
Just as he was worrying about what to do if he couldn’t find them, Chloe’s lively voice rang out.
“Is this a Como tree?”
It looked the most similar to what she had heard described, so Chloe stopped and asked. Handsome turned around, realized he had walked right past it, and answered with a flushed face.
“Yes.”
Since it was a tree brought from the Black Forest, she had expected something massive and gloomy. But the tree Handsome pointed to had a thick trunk and stood only as tall as Chloe herself. Its round, coin-sized leaves—about the size of a 500-won coin—gave the Como tree a rather cute appearance.
From a distance, it looked as if every branch was covered in green coins.
Moreover, the leaves were quite thick. When she gently touched a branch, the leaves clacked against each other, making a sound like a pony trotting.
“It would be pretty noisy if grown outside.”
If a Como tree were in the garden, the constant clattering in the wind would probably keep her awake at night.
Chloe nodded and strode over to the tree, grabbing one of the branches and snapping it off.
“My lord!”
“Don’t cut it!”
Red Bear and Handsome shouted at the same time.
Chloe soon understood why they had reacted that way.
A thick, honey-like liquid oozed from the cut surface of the branch, dripping down with a foul smell.
“Ugh! It smells like poop!”
Chloe plugged her nose with her clean hand.
Fortunately, the smell didn’t linger long.
Staring at the sticky Como tree sap, Chloe suddenly seemed to remember something. She poured the Tiese Stone powder she had brought onto the ground and mixed it with the dripping sap.
Without a proper tool, she stirred it with the broken branch, but the more she mixed, the more certain she became.
This is it!
The gray Tiese Stone powder dissolved into the sap, and soon the two substances hardened into a dark gray mass.
“Cement?”
She had really hit the jackpot!
What the Tiese Stone powder and Como tree sap had created was clearly a hardened lump of cement.
Status window, sorry for calling you a scammer!
Chloe’s voice trembled with excitement at the unexpected windfall.
“Red Bear. Hit this with your sword.”
Chloe placed the hardened Tiese Stone on the ground and spoke.
Red Bear, looking confused, did as instructed and struck the hardened Tiese Stone with his sword.
Clang!
Instead of shattering as he had expected, the Tiese Stone lightly deflected Red Bear’s sword with a clear ringing sound.
Feeling his sword vibrate in his hand, Red Bear’s eyes widened as if they might pop out.
“My lord, what kind of magic did you use?”
Handsome asked in a dazed voice, staring in shock.
❖ ❖ ❖
The sap had been so sticky that even after returning to the castle, Chloe spent a long time scrubbing the Tiese Stone and Como tree sap off her palms.
It had given her some pretty useful information.
She hadn’t tried anything else yet, so she couldn’t be sure, but it felt like quite valuable information.
Feeling satisfied, she was leisurely sipping her tea when a knock sounded from outside.
“Come in.”
It was Anna who opened the door and entered.
Ever since receiving the bread as a gift, Anna’s face had been lit with a constant smile. But now, for some reason, she stepped inside hesitantly, glancing around nervously.
“What’s wrong?”
The tea Delma had brought suited Chloe’s taste quite well.
It was a blend with both herbal and floral notes that grew more appealing with every sip.
“Young Master Ray has arrived.”
“Who?”
Chloe asked casually, bringing the teacup to her lips once more.
“Young Master Ray. Your fiancé.”
“I have a fiancé?”
Oh my god!
Chloe set the teacup down on the table with a clatter, her eyes wide.
Well, someone this pretty wouldn’t be without a lover.
Ah… She had thought she might die working every day, but was spring finally coming?
His name was Ray? What kind of adorable name was that, like a compact car? Surely his sibling’s name wasn’t Morning, right?
While Chloe was spinning ridiculous fantasies, Anna continued.
“Yes. You became engaged a year ago.”
There was a strange sigh mixed into her voice.
“Why? Don’t you like Ray, Anna?”
At Chloe’s question, Anna flinched in surprise and waved both hands frantically.
“H-How could I possibly speak ill of my lord’s fiancé? It’s not like that at all.”
Chloe softened her voice even more, sensing that Anna was overly frightened. From Anna’s tone and expression, there was clearly something unsettling here that she couldn’t just ignore.
“You think I’m too good for him?”
When Chloe guessed correctly with her sharp intuition, Anna finally nodded with a troubled expression.
“Anyone can see that you’re too good for him. Young Master Ray is a noble, but…”
“But?”
Anna glanced around nervously, wondering if she should say it, then answered in a shrinking voice when Chloe smiled at her.
“Aside from his face…”
“Hic! I’m sorry, my lord. I spoke out of turn. Please forgive me.”
Anna bowed hurriedly as if she had committed a grave sin.
“It’s fine. If I agree that I’m too good for him, then it’s just a compliment to me.”
At Chloe’s cool response, Anna relaxed and smiled comfortably.
Now that the atmosphere had softened a bit, Chloe asked more questions. Since she knew nothing about Ray, she needed to gather whatever information she could.
“Did Ray fall for me?”
Anna found it strange that the lord spoke of her own engagement as if it were someone else’s affair.
And to say something so absurd on top of that.
She must have been overworking herself with territory matters lately and something was wrong with her body.
Suppressing the emotions rising in her throat, Anna continued in a calm voice.
“Pardon? Ah, no, that’s not it.”
“Then?”
“You fell for Young Master Ray at first sight…”
Even as she spoke, Anna trailed off, watching Chloe’s reaction.
No matter how much the lord had changed, this was about her fiancé.
Moreover, the previous Chloe’s obsession and love for her fiancé had been so notorious that everyone in Grace Territory—and even neighboring territories—knew about it.
“I did?”
“Yes.”
Anna answered awkwardly, unable to read the lord’s expression as she stared at her in disbelief. She couldn’t tell whether Chloe was being serious or joking.
“With this face?”
“Pardon? Yes!”
This wasn’t the development she had expected.
But there was no rule saying a woman couldn’t make the first move.
She was certain that a man named Ray would have fallen for Chloe not just for her appearance but for this side of her as well.
That aside, a fiancé.
Even though she didn’t know his face, the mere fact that she had a fiancé made her heart race and her cheeks flush with heat. She wasn’t the type to obsess over men, so this reaction must be a remnant of Chloe’s old habits.
Chloe had really loved her fiancé.
Suddenly, a pang of pity for the Chloe who no longer existed made her nose sting.
“Tell him to come in.”
Chloe straightened her clothes and spoke. Her heart was pounding unfamiliarly fast.
Too busy just surviving, she had never dated or even fangirled over a celebrity. She took a slow, deep breath to steady the strange emotions stirring in her chest.
Besides, if he was her fiancé, he would know more about Chloe Grace than anyone else. If she spoke carelessly, he might realize she wasn’t the real Chloe.
A person with someone else’s soul inside her body.
In this era, that was the perfect condition to be accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake.
‘I should avoid talking as much as possible.’
If anyone said she seemed different, she planned to use the excuse of feeling unwell.
A moment later, when Ray entered the reception room, Chloe immediately understood why the old Chloe had fallen for him at first sight.
He was the very picture of a flower boy.
Beautiful golden hair, forest-green eyes, a straight nose that looked as if it belonged at the center of the world proclaiming love, and plump, glossy red lips.
Wow, he’s ridiculously handsome!
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he was the most handsome man Chloe had ever seen.
“Ray?”
Chloe called his name, then quickly shut her mouth at the embarrassingly shaky sound of her own voice.
Calm down, calm down.
Ray didn’t seem to notice anything strange. He walked in leisurely, smiled radiantly at Chloe, and sat across from her.
Please! Stop! I’m going to go blind!
A halo seemed to shine behind him.
Someone this perfect was her fiancé? All that suffering on Earth had been worth it.
Chloe gazed at Ray, who sat across from her with an easy grace, her eyes filled with awe.
“Chloe, have you been well?”
Even his voice was captivating.
Listening to a voice that sounded like it could whisper “good night” in the deep of night, Chloe nodded.
No matter how hard she tried to stay focused, the feeling of her mind going blank was unavoidable.
Ray was a seductive creature.