I’ve Become a S*ave Bride - Chapter 63
Perhaps because it was early dawn, there was no one passing by the herb garden. Thanks to that, she was able to enter without any interference.
Lenette, having entered the garden patch that sat isolated like a lonely island, spoke to Kuz.
“Kuz, look at this.”
Crouching down, Lenette pointed to a plant with white flowers.
“This is Gambaek-cho, isn’t it?”
It wasn’t as if Kuz, a beast, would answer her, but she continued speaking anyway.
“Oh? This looks like Cheonsul. Do you happen to know what Cheonsul is? If you place it on a wound, the bleeding stops quickly.”
Naturally, there was no way Kuz would know. Even humans, let alone animals, rarely recognized it. She knew this, yet she intentionally kept murmuring.
The next plant Lenette approached had leaves that spread out jaggedly, as if they had been hacked at with scissors.
“This looks like Cheongun-cho.”
Lenette brought her face close and inhaled its scent.
“I was right. It’s Cheongun-cho. I was confused because I’ve only ever seen it dried.”
The names she recited were in Tazetran, not Ecaron. These herbs were not cultivated in Ecaron, so she had previously only obtained them with great difficulty through merchant guilds or encountered them solely through texts and illustrations.
It was truly fascinating. This was her first time seeing them in their “raw” state rather than dried.
“Is that Samgung-cho?”
Her voice, voicing her curiosity, began to drip with genuine excitement.
“To think I’d get to see something this precious.”
She hurried over in a single bound. Even then, she moved carefully, dodging left and right to ensure none of the herbs were harmed.
“It really is Samgung-cho!”
Exclaiming thus, she plopped down into a crouch and craned her neck low to observe the Samgung-cho.
“So, the scent is originally this lovely.”
Just then, a voice as thin and tremulous as an old musical string drifted from behind her.
“It does tend to give off a foul stench once it’s been dried.”
Lenette jumped to her feet, feigning surprise, and turned toward the source of the sound. There stood an elderly woman in comfortable attire, stepping into the garden patch. In her hand, she held a small hand hoe; she was clearly the owner of this field.
It’s the Markhal.
Lenette bowed her head deeply.
“I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have, but I came in without permission.”
“At least you know that much.”
Her tone was grumbling, but contrary to her words, the old woman’s face didn’t seem particularly displeased. Lenette asked cautiously:
“All these herbs here… did you grow them yourself, elder?”
“Why else would I be standing here with a hoe?”
In her response, Lenette saw a familiar shadow.
‘I wondered who Kazen took after… I guess blood doesn’t lie.’
“What are you just standing there for?”
“Ah… I’ll leave. I’m sorry.”
Lenette bowed as if she had committed a great discourtesy and made a move to leave with Kuz. But the Markhal caught her.
“You have to pay for the tour. Where do you think you’re sneaking off to?”
Turning away, the corners of Lenette’s mouth lifted ever so slightly.
It worked.
It is human instinct to want to chatter and debate with passion about the fields one loves. Lenette had bet that the Markhal would feel the same, which is why she had boldly stepped into this field and kept up her deliberate muttering.
“I was so flustered I forgot even the basics. What can I do for you?”
When Lenette turned back and asked, the old woman gestured toward a corner of the garden with her chin.
“Do? What could you do? You’d probably just bruise my precious herbs by meddling with things you don’t know.”
“I’m actually quite good at harvesting herbs.”
“Talk is cheap; anyone can say that.”
“I’m serious.”
“Forget it. Just sit down beside me and recite what you know.”
“About the herbs?”
“Of course. Did you think I meant about men?”
Truly, the more she saw of her, the more she was reminded of Kazen.
“I understand.”
“So, out of all of these, which one looks the most tempting to you?”
Lenette pursed her lips in thought before reaching out to point at a long-stemmed weed. the Markhal’s eyes widened slightly.
“Do you even know what that is, pointing at it like that?”
“Is it not ‘Myeonggwang-cho’?”
This, too, was the Tazetran name. In Ecaron, where she came from, it was called ‘Luminous.’ During the day, it looks like a plain wildflower with its blossoms closed, but at night, a subtle light flows from the gaps in its leaves. It isn’t bright enough to illuminate the surroundings, but rather a peculiar quality of the plant’s texture that occasionally reflects the moonlight. Because it looks as if the grass is generating its own light, it is called Myeonggwang-cho, the “Light-Brilliant Herb.”
“I suppose you’ve heard stories that it shines at night.”
“I didn’t just hear about it; I’ve seen it myself.”
“What?”
The Markhal’s eyes, which had returned to their normal size, widened once more.
“You’ve seen it yourself?”
“Yes. I happened to come across it once while I was out gathering herbs.”
Unlike other plants, this herb grew regardless of the climate, so it could occasionally be found even in Ecaron.
“It’s not an herb that shines as brilliantly as its name suggests, though.”
“Ho-ho.”
As Lenette added her explanation, a spark of genuine interest flickered in the Markhal’s eyes.
“But why do you covet that Myeonggwang-cho? There’s the Samgung-cho, which you were so surprised by just a moment ago.”
It was a question anyone with extensive knowledge of herbs could answer. However, the Markhal didn’t seem to expect such an answer to come from within the palace—especially not from the woman set to be her grandson’s wife.
“If it were me, I’d choose the Samgung-cho, which is far more difficult to obtain.”
She was subtly testing Lenette, throwing a wrench into her choice to see how she would react. Lenette looked at the Markhal and let out a light, amused laugh. When the Markhal saw that “you-already-know-the-answer” smile, her eyebrows twitched.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Because someone who has successfully grown such healthy Myeonggwang-cho—a plant that thrives easily in the wild but is notoriously difficult to cultivate artificially—would know exactly how precious it is in its raw state. It made me happy to be asked such a question by you, so I laughed.”
At that, the Markhal let out a clicking sound with her tongue and spoke.
“It seems you aren’t just some amateur who knows a few scraps about herbs.”
Lenette had passed the Markhal’s test. It was clear from the way the corners of the old woman’s mouth curled upward with newfound intrigue.
“By the way, why is it ‘enjoyable’ that I asked such a question?”
“How could it not be a joy to converse like this with someone who possesses such deep knowledge of precious herbs?”
The Markhal stared at her as if she were a bold, saucy girl, then suddenly burst into a hearty laugh.
“Hahaha! You’re an interesting child. Quite deep in your herb-lore for someone of this age.”
“It wasn’t my primary profession, but there was a time when I worked as a physician as well.”
“A physician? A woman like you?”
It was the exact same reaction Kazen had shown a long time ago. Through him, Lenette had learned that in the Tacetran Empire, the roles women were permitted to hold were extremely limited.
So, she explained to the Markhal in detail.
“In the Kingdom of Ecaron, we do not set limits on a woman’s profession.”
The old woman’s eyes flashed, her curiosity growing even stronger. She leaned in closer to Lenette, clearly intending to ask something more.
At that moment, a frantic voice suddenly cut between the two.
“Our apologies! It was early morning, and we failed to maintain a strict perimeter!”
A group of warriors rushed in and dropped to their knees as if they had committed a capital offense. They knelt so forcefully that a dull thud echoed.
Soon, Kazen made his appearance as well.
“Lene!”
He ran toward them, his face unusually pale with anxiety. Spotting him, Kuz let out a welcoming mya and dashed over. However, Kazen didn’t give Kuz even a glance; he ran straight to the Markhal and dropped to one knee.
“I greet the Great the Markhal.”
The old woman gave a short laugh and tucked her hands behind her back.
“It seems you are capable of running, after all.”
“……”
She spoke as if referencing the fact that he had never shown such a hurried side within this palace.
“I offer my greetings only now.”
“Fine. Get up.”
The Markhal clicked her tongue a few times before shifting her gaze back to Lenette, who was watching the two of them.
“Seeing as you aren’t surprised, I suppose you knew who I was?”
Lenette gave an awkward smile. At that, the Markhal asked with a look that said, ‘Look at this bold little thing’:
“Since you knew, should I assume your entry here was an intentional approach?”
“I did not know that the master of this place was the Markhal.”
“Then?”
“I simply entered out of curiosity because I saw familiar herbs, and I happened to encounter you by chance.”
“Which means you only realized then that I was the Markhal?”
“I wasn’t certain, but I had a vague suspicion.”
“Why?”
Lenette shared the observation she had made earlier—specifically, that the clothes the Markhal wore were unusual.
“The design is similar to what common women wear while working, but the fabric used to make them is not something an ordinary woman could afford.”
“You are a child with keen observation.”
“One must have at least that much observation to distinguish herbs properly.”
“Hahaha! Even your retorts are quite bold.”
Though the Markhal spoke those words, she didn’t seem displeased. Kazen and the warriors stared back and forth between the Markhal and Lenette with bewildered faces.
Suddenly, the Markhal’s scolding thundered once more.
“How long do you intend to sit there! Get lost already! Stop ruining my precious herbs and withdraw at once!”
“……My apologies.”
The Markhal had returned to being the cranky old woman. Lenette almost laughed in spite of herself but held it in.
I’ve unintentionally ended up in the Markhal’s good graces.
She didn’t know why, but Lenette had always gotten along better with elders than with her peers. At any rate, it’s a relief.
She didn’t know exactly what kind of person the Markhal was yet, but since she was a power player in this palace, it was best to stay on her good side.
