Chapter 273
Chapter 273
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 273
Chapter Title: Mary (1)
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"...Why... why didn't you come."
Mary muttered plaintively, as if blaming me.
A murmur spread through the crowd around us. I scratched the back of my neck and stepped forward to her.
There was a confidentiality clause, so the rumors wouldn't spread online, but these stares still made me uncomfortable.
"A mere human... why won't you listen to me."
Her voice was thick with tears.
I looked at her with emotionless eyes.
I was too flustered to know what expression to make. I'd never even thought about adjusting my face.
Seeing my blank gaze, Mary trembled even more sorrowfully.
She probably thought I'd completely cut ties with her long ago.
-Drop.
Moisture gathered in her eyes, forming large teardrops.
"If it was hard... you should've just said it was hard..."
If I'd said that, she would've screamed that a human brat was whining like a baby.
That had been Mary's personality until just recently.
She'd summon me at every opportunity—for massages, root care, watering, fertilizing. All tasks I handled alone, things she could never do by herself.
They required considerable skill; without my high potential, it'd have taken decades of experience.
For her to tell a guy like that I lacked grit, calling me human—it was bound to piss me off.
Even anticipating the insults didn't help.
-Drop, drop.
Teardrops fell onto the floor tiles.
Even amid it all, her gaze on me was intense.
While tending to her, I'd often thought she acted like a spoiled princess who treated manners like yesterday's trash. Her hairstyle and looks only reinforced it.
It felt like someone had pulled the Mary from their imagination and made her real.
"Who's that guy?"
"You don't know? Lee Si-heon. From El Academy, with Jeong Si-woo..."
First things first, I needed to quiet the commotion.
I unlocked the door, punched in the code quickly, and said to Mary, who was staring at me intently beside me.
"Come inside for now, Mary."
She sniffled and nodded.
Was this a tree or a cousin who cried at the drop of a hat? No wonder things felt leisurely today. Even breakfast had tasted better.
I let out a sigh.
*****
As Mary padded barefoot into the living room, tiny footprints marked the floor.
Seeing those small prints, like a puppy trotting around, stirred an unexpected cuteness.
Bits of dirt fell onto the tiles.
She clutched the hem of her pristine white mourning dress in both hands, following me.
"Please sit on the sofa. I'll brew some tea right away."
"......Okay."
She sniffled but sat on the sofa as if it were her due.
I took premium tea leaves from the cabinet and said to her,
"Humanizing, though? Didn't you hate humans?"
It came out a bit sarcastic unintentionally. It was a genuine question on my part.
I hadn't expected Mary, who despised humans so much, to take on a body so similar to theirs without complaint.
"You wouldn't come. I kept calling. You ignored every single one."
Did she misinterpret my intent?
Her face crumpled into tears again as she sat on the sofa.
-Pour.
As I filled the teacup, watching her keep glancing at me, an indescribable emotion welled up.
What to call it?
I'd tried to charm a girl like this.
The thought kept surfacing, making me feel like trash for targeting a girl with a child's build.
Of course, at twenty-eight, she was older than me, but impressions follow appearance.
I handed her the brewed tea and some snacks.
Standing awkwardly a step away from the sofa, she asked cautiously,
"Hey..."
"Yes."
She extended a slender index finger, pointing at the spot on the sofa in front of her.
"Aren't you... gonna sit?"
Me? Sit where she was permitting?
This was the Mary who'd said not to breathe within ten centimeters of her.
What had she said? Even breathing my exhaled carbon dioxide disgusted her.
Hearing such sharp insults for the first time had hurt.
'Her attitude has definitely softened a lot. What the hell happened?'
I sat on the sofa, lowering my mask. I softened my expression into a gentle smile, as always.
"So, what brings you here?"
She didn't answer my question for a long while.
Was she here just to see my face, without a clear purpose?
No, it seemed she hadn't sorted out what to say yet.
Whatever. What could I do against a kid like this?
With my new charge as the World Tree of Healing, I'd treat coaxing her as part of the job.
I sat quietly, smiling, waiting for her to collect her thoughts.
Leisurely, for a long time.
"You."
As the teacup cooled against her fingertips.
Mary parted her lips hesitantly.
"What did you mean last time...?"
"Last time?"
"When you said you couldn't satisfy me..."
Couldn't satisfy her.
She must mean what I'd said when I pretended to storm out of her room in anger.
"Oh, that."
It had all been an act.
To straighten her out a bit.
What backlash would hit if I said it now?
I held back, turning it over in my mind.
She'd been lied to from start to finish.
"......"
Her eyes shook with anxiety.
-Tremble.
Her clenched fists shook too.
Having humanized, she couldn't control her senses or emotions properly.
Were these side effects of humanization?
It was like a puppy brought to an unfamiliar, scary place.
-Blink.
Why did those red eyes look so innocent? Why were her fists clenched so cutely?
Seeing her as human—not a tree, but a child—threw me off.
Age didn't matter; a kid was a kid. Shaking off the thought, I racked my brain for words.
If I played it right, I might shake off her tree supremacist views.
I decided against scolding her emotionally.
Explanation first.
"Well..."
Mary squeezed her eyes shut.
Like a kid bracing for a scolding, her body stiffened, mouth working silently, unable to swallow.
What was the best thing to say now?
I thought steadily as I continued.
"Because you hate me, Mary. No matter what I do for you... it'd just make you feel worse."
The insults I'd heard were razor-sharp, bordering on personal attacks.
"I thought it was better to just fail out."
The moment I finished, she spoke.
"...Then why didn't you come? I called you..."
Same thing.
"If I went, you'd just curse me as a human again... and it'd stress you out."
"Did I? Did I ever say I was stressed? I never—"
"You did."
"......"
That wasn't all.
"You insulted my parents who bore me. My future lover. My abilities—everything."
Mary averted her gaze.
Her pursed lips seemed less defiant, more at a loss for words.
Did she not even remember what she'd said?
Always spewing harshly, she only thought of how to hurt more, forgetting her own words.
That was Mary. Scheming insults, she blanked on the details.
"...That's because you're human."
A childish whine slipped out.
"It's... natural..."
"Mary."
"Hic..."
Why see it as natural?
She wasn't brainwashed by other trees. Enduring wounds alone, yet bristling like a hedgehog—I couldn't understand.
Mary gave up looking at me again.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
"Mary."
I called her name once more.
Only then did she finally lift her eyelids to meet my eyes.
Her shoulders jerked irregularly, with a hiccup sound.
My walking pheromones were active, in case tension wouldn't ease.
"Honestly, I don't get it."
"What..."
"You're a tree, Mary. A higher rank than humans."
Sounding like I acknowledged her words somewhat, she regained a bit of spirit and replied.
Her voice still trembled.
"Right, I'm higher... so it's natural... even if I insult you, you—"
"Higher up?"
She clamped her mouth at my words.
"Mary. Can I ask one question?"
"......"
Nod.
"How did the humans you'd met react?"
Like handling a child gently.
Voice as soft as possible, to ease her.
I let a bit of mana flow, warming the room's air.
"......They tried to flatter me."
"Because it's natural?"
"Yeah."
"But how did it end?"
"They badmouthed me behind my back or ran away."
Switching the question slightly.
"What about me?"
"...You're the same."
"Then why come to me?"
"You didn't curse me like the others... You just apologized. Even though you didn't need to..."
She knew.
She was aware she treated humans cruelly.
Yet she did it anyway. There must be a reason.
I couldn't grasp it yet. More talk needed.
After the questions, I fell silent for a long time.
I just gazed at her steadily.
She trembled violently. Seemed distracted, wanting to flee, avoiding my eyes.
"Why... aren't you saying anything?"
"Why do you think?"
Question for a question.
I waited long. The minute hand ticked several times.
Setting the stage for her to open up emotionally.
"...You too."
Finally, she spoke.
"You hate me too?"
I answered curtly.
"Yes."
Thud. My heart sank.
Clutching her tearing chest, Mary blinked.
The more she tried to dry her wet eyes, the more tears burst out, dripping onto the sofa fabric.
"Most humans probably would."
"...Hic. Sniff."
What the hell were these World Tree brats doing without educating their kids?
Without humans, their honor and power meant nothing.
In this cradle of trees, treating humans like stray-eating dogs—what were they thinking?
...Or maybe.
Mary was just a worthless tree needing no education.
The World Tree of Healing had received much training since arriving.
So Mary was like that—fringe nobility.
No redeeming qualities, filling inferiority by putting others down.
"...Sob, ugh."
Mary held back her sobs.
Round teardrops kept falling.
"All... the same..."
"Pardon?"
"...Only with me... only me..."
Another whine.
I masked my weariness with a kind smile.
Yeah, she's a tree.
Mental age might be younger.
"I said I'd graduate... every day, cursing me..."
"Is that so."
"Because I'm not a proper World Tree... growth immature, always..."
Oh no.
Meant to shock, but it was a critical hit.
I smiled bitterly.
What now?
Shiba said hugging a sulky cousin was best.
I stood silently and approached Mary.
She didn't notice, bawling her eyes out.
When the mind breaks this much, options are few.
Keep hammering the faults.
Or empathize, soothe first, then persuade slowly.
Unsure for Mary, but I followed my instincts.
"I wasn't done talking."
I knelt and hugged her.
She tried to pull away a little, but soon clung, squeezing out more tears.
"I know it's tough. Everyone curses you, so you curse back. But snapping at everyone will make them hate you, naturally."
"...Hic, sniff, waaah."
Sigh, can't even respond now.
I sighed, patting her back steadily.
"So, reach out your hand. Then people might like you."
No idea if she heard.
But planting it might soften her attitude.
Even those who saw her as a bug might change their view.
"Waaah... hic, sniff, sob."
When would this end?
I felt the grueling kid-soothing from ages ago again. Long time no see.