CHAPTER 47: HUGGING THE WRONG MAN AT THE WRONG TIME

Rosalia — POV

I woke up feeling as though my entire body had been completely drained.

Every muscle throbbed with pain and exhaustion.

But at least... the heavy ache in my heart had vanished entirely.

This remaining physical pain felt similar to what happens when someone pushes their body past its limit—leaving them utterly worn out.

I was a little disoriented at first, but my memories quickly returned:

How I Utilized Mary’s Healing Ability...

How I saved Henry...

and most importantly...

I remembered the kiss—no, the two kisses—I shared with Cassel.

Oh God... Rosalia, are you insane?

How could you kiss the villain so easily—worse, how did you actually enjoy it?

God, this is utterly shameless.

How am I supposed to look him in the face from now on?

While I held my face in both hands, sighing in pain and embarrassment, I heard the sound of an argument coming from outside.

Finally, I had the time to look around.

I was still inside the car, wrapped in a soft, warm blanket.

But I was the only one there.

I glanced out the window and saw a group of people standing some distance away from the vehicle.

I was almost sure I spotted Cassel’s back among them.

I lowered the window, and their voices became clearer—I could finally distinguish their conversation.

"Cassel, are you kidding me? First, you let in a family with a child under ten, a pregnant woman, and two elderly people—and now you’re saying you want to take responsibility for a man in a coma and three little kids? Do you think our convoy is some charity shelter?"

"Yes, yes, we know the child has powers, but the fact remains that his parents, grandparents, even his newborn sister—they all need care, food, and shelter. We’re sorry, but we can’t keep dividing our supplies among every person you bring in."

"Cassel, being the boss here doesn’t mean you can control everything and bring in whoever you want."

From the flood of objections and complaints, I gathered the general idea:

Everyone was against letting the triplets and their father join us.

These bastards never learn their lesson.

Even though more capable people were speaking this time...

Yes, many of them worked hard fighting zombies and gathering supplies; it was technically their right not to share what they collected.

But that didn’t give them the right to throw anyone out of the convoy—especially when almost all these vehicles, the equipment, and most resources belonged to Cassel anyway.

Then, finally, I heard Cassel’s voice—

I would never mistake that cold, winter-like tone, the kind that felt like an icy bite capable of freezing everyone in place.

He spoke quietly, but his voice carried an unquestionable authority.

"Since you disagree with my policies, I’ll establish new rules for this convoy. First: every family or group capable of getting its own food will do so itself. Starting today, I will no longer distribute supplies collected by my subordinates to any family that has able-bodied men. Go gather your own provisions."

"What?"

"Are you joking?"

"How are we supposed to gather food on our own? You and your team are trained fighters—we’re just regular civilians! Most of us have never even killed a hog, let alone a zombie!"

Cassel didn’t accept their complaints.

It seemed he shot the speakers a sharp look because the entire group suddenly fell silent.

"I don’t care how you do it. Since you refuse to share your food with others, I also have no obligation to share mine with you. I’m not responsible for feeding you—you are not my people, nor my family."

"And let me say this one last time: this convoy, these vehicles, and my men—they follow my orders alone. Meaning... whoever I choose to accept or reject is not your concern and never will be yours to decide."

"If you understand, good. If not, the road is right there. This will be the last time I discuss this matter. If anyone brings it up again, I will remove everyone who has nothing to do with me."

Cassel’s voice held no hesitation, no emotion.

It was clear to everyone that he was absolutely capable of carrying out his threat without even blinking—and because of that, aside from a few murmured complaints, no one dared raise their voice again.

A group of selfish people who thought Cassel was weak and easy to control if they united against him... they really didn’t know my favorite villain at all.

He didn’t care about them, or their shouting.

He wasn’t some frightened chicken unable to flap its wings.

I bet that the next time something like this happens, Cassel will split the convoy, take all his people and belongings, and leave those stray dogs alone to die under the claws of the zombies.

...Claws?

Oh God—Henry.

Henry isn’t here.

He should’ve recovered by now—I need to see him.

With that thought, I opened the car door.

The first thing my eyes landed on was a handsome face with deep blue eyes.

For a brief moment, it felt like those blue eyes were looking at me strangely—with emotions I couldn’t identify.

But the feeling vanished quickly, replaced by Henry’s loud, charming voice.

"Oooooh~ my little bunny! You finally woke up! Are you okay? Do you feel comfortable? Sick? Do you want something to eat? Just tell your big brother and I’ll get it immediately!"

I was stunned by how much Henry could say in one breath.

But I smiled anyway.

Quickly, I reached out and hugged the man leaning against the car door.

"I’m glad you’re okay. Don’t scare us like that again, Henry."

The body I hugged froze for a moment, then a laugh sounded above my head.

A gentle hand patted my back.

"It’s alright, Rosalia. I’m fine."

After we pulled away, Henry added:

"All thanks to our beloved little bunny here. The moment I saw you, I knew you’d be our lucky charm—and I wasn’t wrong."

His mischievous, teasing smile returned.

And once again, I felt the urge to punch that handsome face of his—just enough to leave a nice bruise on his cheek.

Before I could act on it, a deep, harsh voice sounded behind Henry.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Ah! Boss!"

Henry jumped back as if electrocuted, retreating several steps away from Cassel.

"B-boss, Rosalia just woke up, so I came to check on her, that’s all."

"Go deal with the matter of the children and their father. Bring the doctor. And do your job instead of wandering around."

"Y-yes, boss! See you later!"

Henry didn’t even give me a last glance before disappearing as quickly as he came.

"Are you alright?"

"Uh... y-yes. I’m fine."

I avoided Cassel’s eyes as I spoke.

I couldn’t look at him—not without remembering that kiss...

I knew—without a mirror—that my face must have been as red as a ripe tomato.

What do I do? What do I do?

Lost in my panicked thoughts, I felt a warm hand land on my forehead.

"W-what... what are you doing?"

"You don’t seem to have a fever. Does anything else hurt?"

"N-no... I just feel tired and sore... I can’t move much."

"Probably because you used a healing ability."

Cassel placed both hands on the sides of my head and tilted it up so I had to meet his eyes.

His voice turned serious—dangerously so.

"No one must know about this ability. Understand? Avoid using it as much as possible. A power that harms your health isn’t a good thing, no matter how miraculous it is."

I was genuinely surprised at Cassel’s concern—at how he thought of my well-being first, instead of thinking about how to exploit my power.

If it were someone else, they’d probably try to use me to cure the zombie virus, maybe even sell me to some research institute.

But Cassel?

My beloved villain?

Cassel wasn’t like anyone else.

And that’s exactly why he was special.

I smiled at him and nodded.

But Cassel still didn’t move his hands away.

I mean—this position was uncomfortable and strange...

One more wrong move and it would look like we were about to kiss again.

Rosalia, you perverted demon!

Why do you think like this all the time?

"Cassel, I—"

"Boss! You’re here! I was looking for you. Everything is ready—we’re waiting for your orders."

It was Frederick’s voice.

Cassel turned his head toward him, leaving me free again.

It felt like Cassel held some kind of grudge against Frederick.

Which made no sense.

Why would Cassel be angry at Frederick just for asking about work?

And judging from Frederick’s guilty, terrified expression—like a dog being scolded by its master—he seemed to be thinking the same thing, even though Cassel hadn’t said a single word to him.

"You’re not fully recovered. Don’t get out of the car. Wait for me—we’ll move soon."

After leaving those words behind, Cassel walked away with his subordinate.

I left the car door open to get some air, even though the world’s air was no longer as fresh as before the apocalypse—it was still better than the suffocating air inside the car.

But when I saw who was walking toward me...

I immediately regretted it.

I could endure anything in this world.

I could adapt to anything.

Anything except one person.

The heroine.

What the hell was she doing here?