“H-Honey.”
Cassia fumbled in panic the moment Zester stirred awake from his uncomfortable doze. A brief silence passed.
“Eek!”
Blinking dumbly, Zester stared at her as blood trickled freely from her nose then scooped her up without hesitation. She didn’t even have time to protest.
“Honey! Wait! Hold on a second!”
Cassia hurriedly tried to stop him, foreseeing exactly where he was about to run to, but it was futile. Zester, now fully awake, was moving purely on instinct.
Thud, thud, thud.
Heavy footsteps, waking everyone from their deep sleep, echoed through the quiet inn.
Even in the midst of this, Zester didn’t forget to wrap his coat tightly around Cassia’s small frame. He acted like a man with tunnel vision. A large shadow sprinted ceaselessly through the dark, unlit streets of the capital’s dawn.
Bang, bang!
He pounded on a locked door for quite some time, as if he meant to break it down.
The capital doctor came out with a deep frown, ready to unleash a string of curses at the disturbance but one look at Zester’s ferocious expression made the man fear a blow more than the disturbance, and he hurriedly ushered them inside.
After personally wiping away the nosebleed that refused to stop and serving her warm tea mixed with mild herbs to help clot the blood, the doctor slowly began to diagnose Cassia’s condition.
While he asked about her condition and checked her pulse, performing basic diagnostic steps, Zester didn’t stop babbling for even a second.
“Why is she bleeding?”
“It’s not some serious illness, is it?”
“Why is it taking so long to check?”
“There is something wrong, isn’t there?!”
“Did she eat something bad? Why is this happening?!”
Zester only quieted down after Cassia, unable to tolerate the fuss, snapped at him.
“Honey! Stop it! Anyone watching would think I collapsed and was carried in here dying!”
No, rather than quieting down, he simply switched from making a fuss with his mouth to making a fuss with his face. Staring at Zester’s eyes, nose, and mouth twitching with worry made Cassia feel like she was the one about to suffocate from embarrassment, so she shook her head and averted her gaze.
Honestly, Cassia was just as uneasy as Zester was. If she hadn’t known she was fated to die ten years later, she would have brushed this off. But that wasn’t the case. Hadn’t she received a terminal diagnosis after similar ominous symptoms appeared before?
She tried to reassure Zester by telling him not to make a fuss, but it would be a big problem if the doctor gave a vague diagnosis saying he didn’t know the cause. Cassia was worried.
‘I thought I would die in ten years, obviously, but surely, I can’t be dying already, right?’
The middle-aged doctor, having thoroughly checked Cassia’s condition, scratched his balding head and laughed awkwardly.
“You don’t need to worry too much. It appears to be a nosebleed caused by overwork.”
“What?!”
“It seems the lady has been pushing herself too hard lately, perhaps she hasn’t slept much recently….”
“That’s exactly true!”
“ Then that explains it. Overwork drives blood upward and causes nosebleeds. I often have patients come in for that reason. I don’t think there’s a need to write a specific prescription. I’ll just give you some herbs to relieve fatigue; please steep them in tea and have her drink it.”
“Phew….”
“Seriously, damn it!”
The reactions of the noble couple who had banged on the door and barged in at dawn were polar opposites.
The doctor blinked his wide eyes.
Cassia swept a hand over her chest in relief at the diagnosis that it was nothing serious, while Zester, seemingly dissatisfied with the diagnosis, couldn’t contain his anger and let out a string of curses.
Only then did the two of them look at each other, their expressions also completely opposite.
“He says it’s nothing serious, so why are you getting angry?!”
“How can I not be angry?!”
“What’s making you so angry?!”
“You really don’t understand how I feel, not even a little bit!”
“How am I supposed to know if you don’t tell me?!”
Zester, who had been looking at Cassia’s face as if this was ridiculous, put his hand on his forehead, tilted his head back, and let out a long sigh.
“Does it make sense for someone to push themselves until they start bleeding?”
“What’s the big deal? You had a nosebleed the other day too, didn’t you?”
“Is that the same as this?!”
She knew it wasn’t. Despite knowing that, Cassia wanted to treat it like it was nothing. Just thinking about Zester getting agitated and overprotective was already giving her a headache.
However, contrary to her wish that he would just accept it as simple fatigue, Zester spoke with cold determination.
“I’m sorry, but from now on, you are to do absolutely nothing. Until the day we enter the Imperial Palace, sitting at a desk is forbidden, and holding a pen is naturally out of the question. As for that damn pen and ink bottle, know that I’m going to smash them to pieces the moment we get back.”
Cassia, who had a habit of scribbling with a pen whenever she worked, had been practically glued to her desk and chair since things got busy. Regretting that he hadn’t stopped her sooner, Zester trembled his clenched fists.
“That’s unreasonable!”
“Right, think whatever you like. You can call me every foul name under the sky and spit on my name but I won’t listen to you this time. Don’t even dream of sitting at a desk until you’re fully recovered.”
The way he cut her off so mercilessly, seemingly immune to any sweet talk, reminded her of the Zester from her past life who would just toss out his words and be done with it.
Even the way he picked up the struggling Cassia again was firm. He truly seemed determined to confine his wife to the room and prevent her from doing anything at all.
* * *
Gulp. James swallowed dryly and knocked on the door where Cassia and Zester were.
Knock, knock.
“…Who is it?”
“Ahem. Lord Baron, it’s James.”
“State your business.”
“Er, um… well…”
Originally, the plan was to visit the Crab Merchant Guild with Cassia to see how much progress had been made. However, since Cassia had been imprisoned (?) in the inn room for two days, he had no choice but to go alone to meet the guild master, Colli.
Having returned with the progress report, James trembled in fear even though he had come to the room thinking he should at least tell Cassia. Yesterday, Zester had exploded in anger simply because his adjutant, Gregory, was being noisy while drinking on the first floor. The reason was that he disturbed the ears of the Madam, who needed absolute rest.
He had heard from Clara the Madam had started bleeding from her nose due to overwork the night before last, which explained the sudden overprotectiveness.
Zester brought all three meals to the room and fed her with his own hands, and forbade anyone from coming or going from Cassia’s room freely. It was overprotection that made even those watching feel suffocated.
“I went to the Crab Merchant Guild, and I thought I should inform the Madam of the progress….”
“Oh, right, James! Come in!”
“No need, just summarize it in one sentence and get going!”
“Honey!”
James shook his head at the bickering coming from inside the room.
“Mr. Crab has recorded the progress in detail himself, but if I ask the Madam to read this, I don’t think the Lord will let me live….”
“You know well. But you’re talking too much. Summarize it in one sentence!”
“Oh, honey! Seriously!”
“Right, Right! Madam so, to give you the conclusion: Mr. Crab is proceeding with the work smoothly! It seems there is nothing big to worry about!”
“Good job! Go on now!”
“Yes, Baron!”
James quickly left the area in front of Cassia’s door. Cassia, who had been sitting quietly on the bed, looking wistfully at the door and slumped her shoulders in disappointment.
“Why are you acting like this, honey? It’s already been two days…”
“You need to rest properly until today. We originally agreed that you would rest until we went to the palace, but we compromised on this much, didn’t we? If you made a promise, you have to keep it.”
“That was a promise you practically forced me to make!”
“Yes, yes. I’m the worst bastard alive. Feel free to curse me more after you’ve rested up. Even if you beat me to a pulp, I’ll take it.”
“Haa…”
Aside from a little nosebleed, she was perfectly fine, yet she wasted two whole days doing nothing. Of course, it would be a lie to say that she hadn’t regained a considerable amount of energy during this time. She felt like she would get moldy from keeping her butt glued to the bed all day, but there seemed to be some good sides to it.
But this was enough. Lounging around is fine for a day or two, but now her healthy body needed no further rest, and was itching to go out for a walk. It felt like a waste to only watch the bustling capital streets through the window, and she was concerned about the various tasks she had pushed aside.
The biggest worry was…
“You said they still haven’t found Pia, right?”
At Cassia’s question, asked with a darkened expression, Zester avoided her gaze and shrugged.
“We filed a report with the capital’s security force, and our guys are searching hard every day. Don’t stress yourself out thinking about it.”
“How can I not? So many people have disappeared; why is the imperial family keeping quiet about it?”
“That’s not a problem for you to worry about.”
“Still.”
“Do you have some compulsion to take on headache-inducing tasks everywhere you go? What do the disappearance cases in the capital have to do with you? Cassia, please. Remember what you told me when you first came to Greze.”
Recalling it immediately, Cassia’s cheeks turned red.
“…Please do just that. I’m begging you.”
The declaration she had confidently made that day, saying she wouldn’t work at all. Of course, she was failing to keep it entirely.
But as she always said, when one is used to surviving on something, they can’t force themselves to survive on something else. Even during her two days off, Cassia’s mind was filled with endless thoughts and worries.
Most of it was about the ‘Order of Remiel,’ which she had zero information about, even after traveling back ten years in time. Cassia decided she needed to investigate the Remiel religion a bit more before entering the palace.
Cassia leaned loosely against the headboard and peeked at Zester, who was sitting staunchly beside her. She had to acknowledge his stamina. Except when sleeping next to her, he had guarded her side in this same position for almost two days.
Was guarding all he did? When it was time, he brought meals and fed her by hand. It was so embarrassing, considering she wasn’t even terminally ill yet.
“Honey.”
“Mn, no.”
“Haah…I came to enjoy a festival but look at me. I’m the only one not having fun. Everyone else gets a festival.”
“…Liar. You said you came to have fun but you worked the whole time, didn’t you?”
“Yes, and I regret it. I only worked, and now when I actually want to go out and enjoy the festival, you have me locked up tight in this room. I’m fine now. In fact, I’ve been sitting so long my body is aching.”
“….”
“Honey, you know…”
Cassia smiled sweetly, her blue eyes crinkling slightly.
Damn it. Cursing inwardly, Zester vowed that no matter what seductive words came out of her mouth, he would absolutely not nod his head.
“Shall we… go on a date. Just you and me. I want to go enjoy the festival. Hm? Hmmm?”
Hm? Hm?
Her fragrant silver hair swayed as she tilted her head to the left, then to the right.
A date.
“Haa….”
Zester dragged his hands over his face in a struggle. A long sigh escaped through the palms covering his face, drifting into the air.
- Honey, I’m Going on Strike – Chapter 82 - February 26, 2026
- Honey, I’m Going on Strike – Chapter 81 - February 26, 2026
- Honey, I’m Going on Strike – Chapter 80 - February 26, 2026