“Eh!” Zinnia, who felt herself lurching toward Cassian, widened her eyes in surprise.
“Do you think Count Vermillion can handle this problem?” A deep furrow appeared on Cassian’s forehead as his eyes fixed sharply on Zinnia.
As if sensing Zinnia’s true feelings, she could feel the anger rising within her when Cassian spoke of Count Vermillion that way.
“What do you mean?” Zinnia’s voice was filled with rage, trembling slightly as she struggled to control herself.
“Even though the Fox Tribe isn’t the strongest in the empire, we’re not that weak compared to other Beasts! Don’t you ever underestimate us, let alone belittle my father!” Zinnia hissed menacingly.
The aura around Zinnia began to shift; red sparks started to emerge from the tips of her hair.
Her maroon tail, usually relaxed, began to sway menacingly.
Zinnia could feel anger taking hold of her; she could even unconsciously feel the fangs in her mouth beginning to grow because of it.
Cassian didn’t seem worried when he saw Zinnia starting to react aggressively toward him; he just sighed softly and patted Zinnia’s shoulder gently.
At that moment, Zinnia was too angry to realize that Cassian’s voice had softened as he spoke to her.
“That’s not what I meant. It’s just…” Cassian slowly pulled something out of his pants pocket.
Still with her piercing gaze and deadly aura, Zinnia glanced at the object Cassian had pulled out with absolutely no interest.
“What are you—” Before Zinnia could finish her sentence, she realized something when she saw the symbol on the piece of wood.
“Wait! Don’t tell me!” Zinnia’s eyes widened in complete surprise when she saw the symbol.
Zinnia remembered that piece of wood; they’d found it while exploring a cave in the mountains.
But at the time, Zinnia had been too anxious, and the lighting inside the cave was so poor that she hadn’t noticed the symbol on the splinter.
“You remember where we found this splinter, right?” Cassian made sure Zinnia recalled it.
Slowly, the red aura surrounding Zinnia began to fade, until it finally disappeared completely.
“Of course. You found it in that cave, right? But that symbol…” Zinnia could feel a sense of dread creeping inside her.
“W-who in this empire doesn’t know that symbol!” Zinnia shouted in a panic, hurriedly looking around her.
Then, Zinnia quickly covered Cassian’s hand with hers and pressed it against her chest.
“Hide that thing fast, damn it! We could be in danger if anyone else sees us find that emblem!” Zinnia frantically ordered Cassian.
Realizing just how panicked Zinnia was upon seeing the family crest, Cassian gripped both of Zinnia’s hands with one of his own.
Feeling Cassian’s touch on her skin, Zinnia snapped out of it and looked up at him.
“Calm down. I’ve made sure no one’s around the manor,” Cassian whispered softly, trying to calm Zinnia down.
Only then did Zinnia come to her senses and slowly take a deep breath before exhaling gently.
“There’s no way the Wilhelm family crest would be there,” Zinnia murmured softly.
Now she realized why Cassian had asked if her father could handle this matter.
If this issue was connected to Archduke Wilhelm, then even Count Vermillion would be powerless.
As a reader of the original novel set in this world, Zinnia was, of course, familiar with the crest on that piece of wood.
In fact, it could be said that Zinnia knew it very well because Archduke Wilhelm of the Whale Tribe played a significant role in the main storyline.
As one of the families that founded the empire, Archduke Wilhelm is frequently mentioned in this world’s original story.
That’s why Zinnia recognized it immediately upon seeing the emblem.
Zinnia fell silent, her gaze vacant, as she realized this; she hadn’t expected they would cross paths with a family wielding such immense power in Greenmarch.
“Why did they come to Greenmarch? Isn’t this place just a barren border region?” Zinnia still didn’t understand why these powerful people had come to her territory.
“I don’t know. I still don’t know what they’re actually looking for here,” Cassian replied, sounding dissatisfied.
“But it’s not certain that the Wilhelm family is behind all this chaos, is it? It’s impossible for us to defeat that monster!” Zinnia could feel her voice catch as she spoke those words.
Cassian remained silent; he wanted to think that way too.
But it was hard for him to believe that the Wilhelm family really had nothing to do with this matter. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
After all, there’s no way the Wilhelm family crest would have been left behind in that cave if they hadn’t played a part in this.
“What are we going to do?” Zinnia pulled away from Cassian, then began pacing back and forth while biting her fingernails.
“Tell me what you told Count Vermillion,” Cassian said finally.
“Now I’m actually regretting my decision to contact my father.” Zinnia felt like crying right then.
Now she was worried that her family might be in danger because she’d decided to contact them.
“So tell me what you told them!” Cassian walked over to Zinnia and gripped her shoulders firmly.
Tears were streaming down her face like a waterfall; Zinnia had no choice but to tell Cassian what she’d written in her letter.
“I just said that the river in Greenmarch is in bad shape and I need help. I asked Dad to send some people here to help me,” Zinnia explained obediently, her eyes cast down listlessly.
“You really didn’t mention the ambush?” Cassian was shocked; he hadn’t expected Zinnia to actually cover up what had happened to him.
“Huh?! Do you think I’m some kind of coward who goes back on her word? I promised you I’d keep everything about you a secret!” Zinnia glared at him this time, refusing to accept such a baseless accusation.
“Okay, okay, I get it. You don’t need to yell like that,” Cassian said quickly, covering Zinnia’s mouth.
No matter how long it took, it seemed Cassian would never get used to Zinnia’s loud voice, which often shouted at him like this.
“Humph!” Zinnia crossed her arms over her chest, lifting her chin haughtily.
“It’s safe enough, right? They won’t target my family, will they?” Zinnia continued hesitantly.
“Let’s just hope so. The problem now is making sure the people your father sent here don’t find out what’s going on,” Cassian replied seriously.
“You’re right. I have to watch my mouth so I don’t spill too much information to them,” Zinnia agreed with Cassian’s words.
“Then…” Zinnia glanced secretly at Cassian.
Cassian raised an eyebrow when he noticed Zinnia’s gaze on him.
Zinnia let out a sigh, then said, “So the ones who attacked you were Archduke Wilhelm’s men?”