Zinnia and Cassian stared at each other intently; the tension between them was palpable until, finally, Cassian relented with a long sigh.
“We have to go check out the Lume River right away,” Cassian said.
“You go by yourself. My head is spinning just thinking about this,” Zinnia replied, waving her hand dismissively, telling Cassian to go on his own.
“How can I go check out that river by myself? Wasn’t it you who was told to do it by Old Bailey?!” Cassian immediately protested.
This time, Zinnia glanced at Cassian out of the corner of her eye, then gave a faint smirk.
“Uh… Aren’t you my bodyguard? It’s up to me if I want to give orders to my subordinate,” Zinnia said with a smirk that grew wider on her lips as she looked at Cassian mischievously.
Hearing that, Cassian’s body, still covered in bandages, visibly trembled as he held back his anger.
He clenched his fists, trying to restrain himself.
Cassian realized that Zinnia was indeed annoying, but he couldn’t lose control because he had his own reasons for investigating this matter.
Slowly, Cassian exhaled softly, then spoke calmly.
“Actually, that might be possible, but I’m afraid people will get suspicious of me if I go to the Lume River alone. You’ll get into trouble too if people suspect me,” Cassian explained, shrugging his shoulders.
“Huh? Could that really happen?” Zinnia frowned, clearly displeased.
“No one has ever seen me here, so of course people will get suspicious if I don’t come with you. Especially since the locals already know you,” Cassian finally replied, his natural manner making it impossible for Zinnia to refuse his request.
“Ugh! You’re really making things difficult for me!” Zinnia gritted her teeth in annoyance, shooting him a withering glare.
Cassian’s lips curled up slightly.
“In that case, I’ll have someone else check the river,” Zinnia replied, still unwilling to go.
“No! We have to go check it out ourselves,” Cassian retorted quickly.
Zinnia glanced at Cassian in surprise, not expecting him to react so quickly.
“So what? They’ll report back to me anyway, and we’ll find out what’s going on at the river,” Zinnia replied casually.
Cassian clenched his fists, thinking fast to make a decision.
“…I’ve heard of a similar case in another region…” That was all Cassian could say for now; he hoped Zinnia understood what he was afraid of.
Zinnia fell silent upon hearing this; she thought for a moment before finally rising from her seat.
“Anna!” Zinnia called out, looking for Anna.
It didn’t take long for Anna to appear after hearing Zinnia call her.
“I’m going with Cassian; take care of the Manor while I’m gone. If I’m not back by nightfall, please tend to my plants,” Zinnia explained seriously, making sure at the end of her sentence that Anna understood exactly what she meant.
“Yes, Miss. I’ll take care of your plants with all my heart!” Anna nodded in understanding.
Zinnia patted Anna on the shoulder proudly, then turned toward Cassian, who was still on the sofa.
“Why are you still there? Let’s go!” Zinnia urged Cassian impatiently to hurry up.
Cassian got up and followed Zinnia as they walked away from the Manor.
The Manor was located on higher ground than the villagers’ homes.
From what Zinnia had heard earlier, the Lume River wasn’t far from the Manor.
However, they still had to enter the forest to reach the riverbank.
“I didn’t expect the path to the Lume River to be this difficult,” Zinnia said, clearly struggling with the dress she was wearing.
Cassian, who was leading the way, tried to slow his pace when he heard Zinnia’s voice coming from far behind him.
“You okay?” Cassian turned around, extending his hand toward Zinnia.
Zinnia stood still, looking up at Cassian with suspicion.
Seeing that Cassian’s expression hadn’t changed, Zinnia finally took his outstretched hand.
With Cassian’s help, Zinnia was able to navigate more easily through the bushes and branches blocking her path.
It was then that Zinnia realized the vegetation around the forest was starting to look dry; even the wildflowers appeared wilted, and many were already dead.
It took them a full 30 minutes to finally make their way out of the wooded area behind the Manor.
The sound of flowing water began to reach their ears; Zinnia was the first to hear it.
“I hear water! The river is close by,” said Zinnia, her spirits lifting.
“Which way is it?” Cassian began to look around them.
Just as Zinnia was about to step away from Cassian, her body was held back and pulled toward him.
That’s when they realized they were still holding hands.
“Let go of my hand, you idiot! How am I supposed to find our way if you’re holding me back like this?!” Zinnia growled sarcastically, glaring at him.
“Sorry, I forgot,” Cassian replied briefly, then slowly released his grip on Zinnia’s hand.
“Humph!” Zinnia turned away and began walking off.
Only after she was no longer facing Cassian did she feel her cheeks grow hot; she didn’t know why she felt that way.
“Stop thinking about such silly things, Zinnia.” Zinnia gently patted her cheek to snap herself out of her foolish daydream.
“Looks like we’re heading in the right direction, I’m starting to hear the sound of flowing water, too,” Cassian said.
The two quickened their pace, following the sound.
Throughout their journey, Zinnia observed the ground beneath their feet and noticed a clear difference between the two areas.
“The closer we get to the river, the harder the ground becomes and… unhealthy?” Zinnia muttered softly as she took in her surroundings.
Zinnia could feel a sense of foreboding in her heart; ever since she’d heard Cassian’s words at the Manor earlier, she’d felt uneasy.
And now that feeling was growing stronger.
It didn’t take long before they finally found the Lume River they were looking for.
The river was quite wide with a fairly strong current, but unfortunately, the water flowing along it wasn’t the clear water Zinnia had imagined she’d see.
Even Cassian, who usually appeared calm, couldn’t hide the look on his face; he was so stunned by what he was seeing.
The water of the Lume River was no longer clear.
Its color had turned a murky yellow, with a thin, oil-like film moving across the surface.
Some parts of the river even looked darker, while yellowish-white foam gathered among the rocks.
“Ugh! That smell could literally kill me!” A moment later, Zinnia immediately covered her nose.
Zinnia’s expression turned to horror as she inhaled the stench from the river; she couldn’t stand the odor wafting from the Lume River.
As a member of the Fox Tribe, Zinnia had a keen sense of smell, and this pungent stench was truly enough to kill her.
“What’s really going on here? I thought the river was just dirty or something,” said Cassian, still unable to believe what he was seeing.
“I don’t care what’s going on; can we leave now? I really can’t stand the smell,” Zinnia whined.
Cassian turned to look at Zinnia, who looked pale; it seemed the pungent smell from the Lume River was truly bothering her.
“Come here,” Cassian said softly, motioning for Zinnia to come closer to him.
Zinnia stared at Cassian suspiciously.
“What do you want?!” she snapped, glaring sharply.
Seeing this, Cassian rolled his eyes slightly; he didn’t respond to Zinnia’s outburst, choosing instead to pull her hand.
“Ehh!”
Zinnia, being pulled, had no choice but to move closer to Cassian; she shot him an annoyed glance but remained silent and let him do it.
Cassian took something from inside the black vest he was wearing, a piece of cloth.
‘
At first, Zinnia was confused, but she finally understood when Cassian brought the cloth up to his face and tied it around his nose.
“This is my magic cloth, don’t you dare lose it!” Cassian’s voice was sharp, clearly warning Zinnia.
“Pfft!” Zinnia still scoffed at Cassian, but she nodded slowly, understanding what he meant.
Whether it was truly a magic cloth or not, Zinnia was no longer bothered by the pungent smell from the Lume River.
Naturally, they began searching for clues; Zinnia could see that the aquatic plants around the Lume River had died.
She couldn’t even see any signs of life in the Lume River.
And Zinnia spotted something that caught her attention in the river; just as she was about to step into the water, she felt her hand being held back.
“Let me get it. What do you see?” Cassian asked seriously.
“Look at that, those rocks don’t look like the kind you’d find in a river,” Zinnia said, pointing at something in the river.
Cassian then picked up a twig and pulled the rock Zinnia had mentioned closer to them.
It was a small rock, grayish-black in color with a red line running down the middle.
They both looked at each other, realizing that it wasn’t a rock that should have been in the river.