“Huh?! W-what do you m-mean?!” The mysterious man’s eyes widened in surprise; he hadn’t expected to hear something like that from Zinnia.
“Miss, have you lost your mind?!” Anna even ran into the room and stood between Zinnia and the man.
“What’s going on? You’re reacting as if I did something weird,” Zinnia said, feeling offended by their reaction.
Anna was still glaring and shaking her head, then she leaned in and whispered something.
“How could you say it like that? That guy is going to think you want to spend the night with him, Miss.”
“Huh?” Zinnia put on a dumb look when she heard Anna’s whisper.
After all, she’d never meant it that way… thinking about it now, Zinnia could feel her face growing hot.
“I mean, I need you to work here.” Zinnia tried to clarify what she meant, but she still felt her words sounded ambiguous.
“The point is, I want you to work for me. My manor needs workers!” Zinnia said firmly, trying to shake off the embarrassment she was feeling.
A sigh filled the room.
The man finally let out a sigh of relief, though he was now more wary of Zinnia.
“Since I owe you my life, I don’t mind becoming your worker.” The mysterious man nodded in agreement.
Realizing that Anna was still there, blocking her view, Zinnia stood up and pulled Anna away from there.
Slowly, Zinnia walked toward the man; she could see him pulling back.
Zinnia extended her hand, intending to shake his.
“So, are we in agreement?” Zinnia asked, tilting her head slightly.
Hesitantly, the man extended his hand as well, though his eyes glanced at Zinnia with anticipation.
Once they had shaken hands to seal their agreement, Zinnia asked.
“What’s your name?”
The man fell silent for a moment, as if considering whether he should trust Zinnia with his name.
“Cassian.”
“Zinnia. Now go back to rest; you can call Anna if you need anything,” Zinnia replied, then released their handshake after learning the man’s name.
Cassian certainly didn’t look fully recovered yet, judging by how pale his face was right now.
Even his body, covered in bandages, made it difficult for him to move.
“It seems the potion I made wasn’t very effective for you. Well, considering I’m not a Beast who specializes in healing,” Zinnia said with a soft sigh.
“It’s a miracle he was able to wake up after drinking your potion, Miss,” Anna replied with a serious expression.
Meanwhile, Cassian, upon hearing this, began to shudder with dread; he couldn’t imagine what those two had done to his body while he was unconscious.
“Hey, you two are talking as if you’d poisoned me!” Cassian glared at them uneasily.
Cassian shot her a deadly glare afterward.
“Well, I wouldn’t let you die. So, just relax,” Zinnia continued, waving her hand dismissively.
“Get some rest!” With that, Zinnia turned and strode out of the room, dragging Anna along with her.
Only after making sure they were far enough away from Cassian’s room did Zinnia release her grip on Anna’s arm.
“Do you think there’s a Healer in this village? I can sense that her life force is very weak right now,” Zinnia said in a soft voice.
“It’ll probably be hard for us to find a Healer in this village, Miss. You know most of the villagers here are elderly,” Anna replied thoughtfully.
Zinnia began biting her fingernails while placing her hands on her hips, racking her brain for a way to heal Cassian.
She had a bad feeling that if she didn’t heal the man’s internal injuries soon, something terrible would happen.
“There’s no harm in looking around. If you don’t mind, let’s head to the town square, Miss!”
Seeing how anxious Zinnia was, Anna couldn’t help but try to calm her young mistress.
Zinnia chuckled at Anna’s words, realizing she wasn’t alone right now and didn’t have to figure this out by herself.
“All right, let’s go to the town square!” With a grin on her face, Zinnia decided to trust Anna’s words.
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When Cassian opened his eyes again, he could feel his body was refreshed, even though he could still sense that he was weak.
The injuries he had sustained this time were quite severe; he could feel his life force growing weak.
“Who exactly ambushed me back then? Judging by how badly they injured me, they don’t seem like ordinary people.” Cassian muttered softly, occasionally groaning in pain.
“Damn it! They intended to kill me,” Cassian hissed angrily.
He was furious at his situation and at himself for being so helpless now.
It was then that he realized the Count Vermillion Manor where he was staying felt eerily quiet; he could only hear the sound of crickets in the forest near the manor.
“That woman… She can’t really be Zinnia Vermillion, can she?” Now that he thought about her, Cassian immediately realized who she was.
Rumors about Count Vermillion’s only daughter, who was spoiled and always causing trouble, were all the rage throughout the Empire.
That’s why Cassian couldn’t believe he’d run into Count Vermillion’s spoiled princess in a remote backwater like Greenmarch.
From the light streaming through the window, Cassian realized it was already late afternoon, so he assumed the other residents of the manor were out.
Just as Cassian was about to get out of bed, he narrowed his eyes upon hearing a sound coming from outside the manor.
In an instant, Cassian went on high alert and prepared to attack anyone who tried to ambush him.
The sound of footsteps grew closer until finally Zinnia appeared from behind the door of the room he was staying in.
“Oh? You’re awake! What a coincidence,” Zinnia said, slightly surprised to find Cassian awake.
Slowly, Zinnia approached Cassian, intending to say something to him.
“You should thank me for this; I found a Healer for you,” Zinnia said with a smirk. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
However, contrary to what Zinnia expected, Cassian reacted harshly to her actions.
Cassian yanked Zinnia’s arm so hard that she nearly fell on top of him.
Fortunately, Zinnia braced herself with her other hand, preventing them from ending up in an embarrassing position.
“What the hell is this?” Zinnia’s voice had now turned cold and sharp.
“Who asked you to bring a Healer for me? I don’t want anyone to know I’m here,” Cassian hissed just as sharply, his eyes narrowing menacingly.
That was when Zinnia realized Cassian was serious.
But she rolled her eyes in exasperation at his attitude, then tapped her head lightly.
“Would you rather have someone die? I don’t want anyone dying in my manor,” Zinnia replied firmly, then pulled her hand free from Cassian’s grip.
“Grandma, I’m sorry. Can you check on him for me?” Zinnia said in her sweet voice.
An elderly woman who had been standing by the door rolled her eyes in exasperation.
Zinnia just chuckled softly, still maintaining her seated position at the edge of Cassian’s bed.
When the old woman reached for Cassian’s arm, he pulled his arm away, unwilling to let her touch him.
Seeing this, Zinnia glared at her menacingly.
Resigned, Cassian allowed the old woman to examine him.
“His condition is truly critical. I can’t heal him right away,” the old woman said calmly.
“That’s fine, as long as he’s not in immediate danger,” Zinnia replied quickly.
The old woman nodded and began chanting a spell.
It was the first time Zinnia had witnessed the magical power of the Beasts, and she was truly mesmerized by the glow emanating from the old woman.
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“Thank you for helping me, Grandma,” Zinnia said sincerely.
“I didn’t heal him, so you don’t need to thank me like that. Here, take this to aid your recovery,” the old woman replied, handing Zinnia a piece of paper.
After chatting for a moment, the old woman excused herself.
Zinnia then asked Anna to escort the old woman back home.
Zinnia turned to enter the manor and walked toward Cassian’s room; she needed to check on him.
However, Zinnia was shocked when Cassian cornered her the moment she entered the room.
Cornered against the wall, Zinnia began to panic when she realized that Cassian was holding her against the wall from behind; she could feel his heavy breathing on her neck.