Instead of responding to Anna’s words, Zinnia seemed to be walking toward the gate.
Seeing Zinnia’s strange behavior, Anna quickly stopped the young lady.
“Miss, where are you going?” Anna asked again, confused.
“Huh?” As if realizing what she was doing, Zinnia blinked a few times.
“Come on, let’s go back to the manor; you need to clean up,” Anna replied, narrowing her eyes in annoyance.
Zinnia grimaced slightly, but her eyes remained fixed on the gate.
Seeing this, Anna pulled Zinnia’s arm toward the Manor.
“Don’t worry, he’s not some weakling you need to worry about,” Anna said, turning to look straight at Zinnia.
Zinnia’s grin widened, and she scratched the back of her neck gently.
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. Come on, let’s head back to the Manor. I need to try out what we got today right away,” Zinnia replied, immediately slinging her arm through Anna’s.
As they walked back toward the Manor, the sound of the gate creaking could be heard.
Zinnia immediately turned around and saw Cassian walking through the gate.
“I thought you weren’t coming back today,” Zinnia said as Cassian walked toward them.
“You think I’d be crazy enough to spend the night by the river?” Cassian rolled his eyes lazily, not taking Zinnia’s remark too seriously.
“Who knows,” Zinnia replied, shrugging indifferently.
Although her words were sharp, Zinnia’s eyes didn’t look cold; instead, they curved with a hint of relief.
Before actually entering the Manor, Zinnia and Anna each carried a bucket of water in their hands and brought them inside.
Cassian, seeing this, could only furrow his brow in puzzlement, not understanding what the two of them were trying to do.
“Heat this water and call me when it’s ready, do you understand?” Zinnia cautiously warned Anna.
“Of course, Miss. I’ll do exactly as you instructed earlier,” Anna replied seriously, taking every order Zinnia gave her very seriously.
Seeing that the two of them were acting strangely, Cassian approached Zinnia.
“You’re not planning anything dangerous, are you?” Cassian stared intently at Zinnia.
Even now, Cassian still sometimes didn’t understand how Zinnia thought, so he chose to ask her directly to make sure everything was all right.
However, Zinnia just chuckled softly with a strange smirk curving her lips, sending a chill down Cassian’s spine as he watched her.
“Don’t worry, you’ll find out later. If I succeed this time, we’ll make a huge profit!” Zinnia turned to Cassian with a look full of ambition.
“Tsk!” Zinnia shot Cassian a look from head to toe, then turned away and walked off.
Without realizing it, Cassian curled the corners of his lips as he shook his head, then decided to return to his room.
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“Miss, everything’s ready!” Anna reported immediately after finishing her task.
“Then it’s time for me to test it myself!” Zinnia looked completely determined at that moment.
“Are you sure this is okay, Miss? What if you end up hurting yourself?” Anna looked anxious as she fidgeted with her fingers.
“I have to do this to find out if it’s safe for others to use. If not me, then who else can do it?” Zinnia turned to look at Anna seriously.
Anna fell silent when she met Zinnia’s gaze; she knew her young mistress had made up her mind.
“I can do it for you,” Anna replied softly.
Zinnia let out a soft sigh, then gently patted Anna’s shoulder.
“I know you’re worried, but don’t worry, I’ll stop if the water really is dangerous for me,” Zinnia finally replied, adding a warm smile.
Anna’s eyes widened upon hearing Zinnia’s words, and she finally nodded in understanding.
Zinnia smiled broadly and went into the bathroom to wash off all the dirt that had caked onto her body after a day of working in the soil.
Zinnia had previously tried filtering water from their well, and she decided to taste the filtered water herself.
[Water Quality: Poor]
Zinnia winced when she saw the quality of the water before her, and fear began to creep into her as she realized this.
“But I already filtered it; I even boiled it first. But the quality is still poor,” Zinnia muttered, gently rubbing her chin.
Even so, this was actually an improvement, since previously the water quality at the Manor had been classified as Contaminated.
“At least I have to try it first,” Zinnia said, trying to reassure herself.
Zinnia swallowed hard as her hand reached out to touch the water.
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Meanwhile, Anna was pacing back and forth in front of Zinnia’s door, looking anxious.
Her brow remained furrowed, and the aura around her felt suffocating; Cassian, who noticed this, grew even more puzzled. The source of this chapter is g.com.
“What’s going on? The young lady hasn’t come out of her room yet; has something bad happened? Should I go in to check on her?” Anna began muttering to herself.
It had been over 30 minutes since Zinnia had taken her bath, so Anna thought it was time for her to go inside and check on her young mistress.
However, before Anna could do so, she heard the sound of Zinnia’s bedroom door opening from the inside.
Anna’s eyes widened in surprise; she hurried over to Zinnia and examined her, turning her body this way and that.
“Are you okay, Miss? How do you feel after using that water? Does your skin itch?” Anna frantically fired off a barrage of questions at Zinnia.
Zinnia chuckled softly at the barrage of questions from Anna; she wasn’t angry.
In fact, her heart felt a little warmer seeing how worried Anna was about her.
“I’m fine. Even though the water quality is still poor, at least it’s safe enough for us to use,” Zinnia replied.
“Are you sure, Miss?” Anna still looked at Zinnia with a skeptical expression.
“Of course. See for yourself, my skin is still smooth, isn’t it?” Zinnia winked.
This left Anna speechless.
“…”
“Never mind. I’m hungry,” Zinnia said, then began walking downstairs.
Anna blinked briefly, then quickly followed Zinnia, who had already gone ahead.
Downstairs, Cassian was already waiting for Zinnia and Anna.
Then, they had dinner together.
“How’s things going at the Lume River?” Zinnia asked Cassian casually.
“Everything’s going smoothly, but we still have to monitor the results later once all the preparations are complete,” Cassian replied.
“This is just a temporary solution. No matter what, we still have to find the root of the problem,” Zinnia said.
“You’re right. The filters alone won’t be enough to restore the Lume River to its original state.”
“Have you seen those strangers again?” Zinnia’s expression turned serious.
“Not yet. I hope they haven’t noticed what we’re doing; I’m afraid they might attack the village if they find out,” Cassian replied, looking slightly troubled by the thought.
“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of. It’s just that the only clue to this problem lies with them,” Zinnia replied, letting out a soft sigh.
The atmosphere at the dining table grew a bit heavy after that conversation.
Without anyone noticing, something lurking in the darkness began to move, trying to ambush anyone who came near it.