“But before that, are you sure you don’t want to go back to the capital? Don’t you like… Prince Lionel?” Count Vermillion cleared his throat softly, glancing at Zinnia.
Silently, Zinnia rolled her eyes; she had already expected her father to ask her this.
Zinnia had come prepared; it wasn’t without reason that she’d said her parents would agree this time.
Instantly, Zinnia’s indifferent expression changed to one of such heartbreak; she squeezed out a single tear, then clutched a letter to her chest.
“I… realized that Lionel never liked me… huhuhu…” Zinnia did her best to look pitiful in front of her father.
She even stole a glance at her father to make sure his reaction was what she wanted.
Count Vermillion and his assistant exchanged glances, as if they understood why Zinnia had suddenly changed her mind like this.
“It seems Miss Zinnia can’t accept Prince Lionel’s rejection, Count.”
“You’re right. It doesn’t seem like a bad idea to send her to one of my territories to calm down,” replied Count Vermillion in a soft voice, nodding his head.
Zinnia continued to wipe away her tears, occasionally glancing at her father.
She waited patiently until her father agreed to her request.
“All right, as I said before. I’ll give you Greenmarch to manage, Zinnia. At least that territory is safer than the others.” Finally, Count Vermillion agreed to Zinnia’s request.
Ding!
[Welcoming Quest Completed!]
[Farmland acquired: Greenmarch (1/1)]
[Reward: Farming Guide Books + Farming Tools]
[Reward has been sent to Mailbox.]
“Really?! Thank you, Father!” As if she no longer cared about her earlier act, Zinnia immediately jumped up and ran to hug her father.
“Trust me, I’ll make our region prosperous in return!” Zinnia declared, expressing her enthusiasm.
Count Vermillion was too happy to see his only daughter so delighted, so he didn’t give Zinnia’s words much thought.
“Get some rest; life in Greenmarch will be quite difficult,” Count Vermillion said afterward.
“Okay!” Zinnia agreed.
She didn’t want to make her father angry and cause him to change his mind, so she quickly hurried out of her father’s room.
Count Vermillion watched Zinnia leave, then spoke to his assistant without turning around.
“Was my decision the right one? Life in Greenmarch will be very difficult, considering that region has long been abandoned.” Count Vermillion let out a sigh.
“Greenmarch is the only region along this border that’s safe enough, Count. Besides, I’m sure Miss Zinnia won’t last long there.”
“Right?” Count Vermillion, for some reason, sounded a little uncertain as he said this.
.
.
.
Zinnia didn’t want to delay any longer.
This morning, she was already preparing to move to Greenmarch.
“Zinnia, are you sure you want to move to Greenmarch? Over there—”
“Mom, you don’t need to worry. Don’t you know who your daughter is?” Zinnia grinned widely as she said that.
Her mother looked at her uncertainly because she knew exactly what Zinnia was like, which made her even more worried.
“Come back if you can’t stand it there. We’ll always welcome you back here,” Zinnia’s mother finally said.
Seeing the sadness in both her parents’ eyes, Zinnia’s tail wagged a little reluctantly.
Before leaving for good, Zinnia decided to hug her father and mother.
“I’m leaving, Mom! Dad!” Zinnia waved her hand, then turned to get into the carriage that had been prepared for her.
Zinnia left the Vermillion County Mansion with Anna because her mother wouldn’t let her go to Greenmarch alone.
“I can go by myself; why do you have to come along?” Once inside the carriage, Zinnia shot a cynical glance at Anna, whose face remained expressionless.
“Miss, life in a remote area isn’t easy,” Anna reminded her.
Zinnia let out a soft sigh, feeling that these people were underestimating her.
“What’s so hard about living in the countryside, anyway? I’m sure I can survive just fine,” said Zinnia, resting her chin on her hand by the carriage window.
At that moment, Zinnia couldn’t wait to be welcomed into a beautiful, cozy summer villa, to listen to the soothing murmur of the river, and to enjoy her days in the flower garden she planned to create.
Anna could only shake her head.
Seeing just how prosperous Vermillion County was, Zinnia believed that the manor she would be staying at in Greenmarch would be like a modern-day vacation villa.
Before her transmigration, Zinnia had enjoyed the slow pace of life in the countryside, so she was confident she wouldn’t have any trouble living in Greenmarch.
Zinnia had already imagined a relaxed and peaceful life in Greenmarch; she just needed to start farming to fill her days, and she was even considering raising livestock.
However, Zinnia’s beautiful dream was immediately shattered by a harsh reality.
Only the chill of the wind greeted their arrival, and the atmosphere around the manor felt gloomy and oppressive.
“What on earth is this? You’re sure this is the Vermillion family’s Manor, right, Anna?!” Zinnia’s eyes widened in shock.
The reason was that the Manor standing before her was truly pitiful, nothing like the summer villa she had imagined.
A crooked fence on the verge of collapse, vines covering the fence, and thick grass filling the Manor’s grounds.
Zinnia was so incredulous at what she was seeing that she even dropped the suitcase she was holding without realizing it.
“Of course, Miss,” Anna replied with absolute certainty.
“I-it can’t be… my ‘slow living’… has already failed.” Zinnia felt her body sway.
“We’d better go inside right away, Miss,” said Anna as she helped Zinnia get back on her feet.
Zinnia swallowed hard, but she nodded in agreement.
Anna took out a key and unlocked the gate to the manor.
Slowly, Anna pushed the gate open.
Zinnia could hear the creaking sound of rusty metal.
With great caution, Zinnia stepped into the manor’s grounds.
The path leading to the manor was difficult to navigate because of the thick, overgrown grass.
“Oh my gosh, we have so much work to do to clean up this manor,” said Zinnia, feeling dizzy just thinking about it.
“Looks like we’re going to need some help with that.”
That was when they arrived in front of the manor, and Zinnia was stunned.
“What do you mean, a summer villa? This is more like a haunted house!” This time, Zinnia literally collapsed to the ground, feeling helpless.
And no wonder: the manor’s roof had several holes, the paint was peeling, and some of the window panes were even broken.
“I told you, living here isn’t as easy as you think, Miss.” Anna stood patiently behind Zinnia, letting her young mistress face the harsh reality of her new life.
.
.
.
That night, Zinnia and Anna slept in the manor as best they could; they would begin cleaning up only today.
“Go to the village square to find workers who can help us fix this place up,” Zinnia ordered.
Zinnia couldn’t just give up; as the manor’s new mistress, she had to quickly restore the place to a livable condition.
“All right, Miss. But are you sure it’s okay for me to stay here alone?” The antenna on Anna’s head twitched.
“Don’t worry about me, go on.” Zinnia waved her hand gently.
Anna nodded and sauntered off to carry out Zinnia’s order.
Zinnia watched Anna leave; she still couldn’t get used to Anna’s antennae.
As a member of the Ant clan, Zinnia never expected to see one in human form.
Slowly, Zinnia shook her head, trying to shake off her silly thoughts.
“I have to clean up this front yard right away,” Zinnia muttered reluctantly.
Fortunately, the System had provided her with farming tools, so she didn’t have to worry about cutting the grass that was overgrowing her yard.
For the first time in her life, Zinnia held a sickle in her hand to mow down the grass.
“At least I don’t have to worry about the original story’s plot. My enemy now is you!” Zinnia pointed at the swaying weeds with her sickle.
Still full of enthusiasm, Zinnia crouched down and swung the sickle in her hand with all her might.
However, it seemed she’d used too much force, causing her body to stagger.
“Eh!” Zinnia’s eyes widened in disbelief.