While caressing Furry and Fluffy, Rayna lifted her eyes to stare at Curtis. “Is it difficult to look into the herbs that Cassidy uses?”
“Well, it's not as if we can't find something similar. As long as it grows on this planet, Cassidy can't be the only one who knows about it,” Curtis replied calmly.
When Rayna saw that Curtis was exchanging looks with the two creatures, she reached out and covered their eyes, breaking the stare down.
Curtis looked away. Leaning his body against the couch, he then turned his gaze to the window and stared at the darkening skies outside.
“It's been raining here. Looks like it's going to be a heavy downpour again,” Rayna murmured as she followed his gaze. The sky, which had been eye-blisteringly bright earlier, was now completely covered by dark clouds.
“Yeah.”
The two of them quietly rested on the couch in the bedroom. Soon after, Rayna detected a faint medicinal scent.
“Is Cassidy preparing the medicine?” Rayna asked Curtis.
Curtis took a sniff and realized that the smell wasn't the same as it was before. The scent was incredibly pungent, and it did not seem that it had wafted in from somewhere else. He deduced it must have come from the courtyard.
“I think so,” Curtis replied uncertainly.
Rayna could hear the doubt in his tone. “Isn't this the scent you smelled when you went over earlier?”
“Yes,” Curtis responded.
“It's quite an interesting herb, isn't it? It's almost like a perfume with its top notes and base notes.”
Compared to Rayna's nonchalance, Curtis was feeling the opposite.
It was a herbal concoction that was new and untested, and perhaps Rayna would become the first test subject since there were no previous studies.
Because of this, the suspicion in Curtis' heart could not be quelled until things were finally affirmed.
It was apparent that the other party was after Rayna, and they clearly had plans that involved her.
Curtis and Rayna were unaware of the other party's true identity and motives.
Presently, the only suspect they had was Fernando's godfather, Andrew Zeller, yet they did not know much about him.
A lot of their information was from hearsay, and they did not have solid evidence.
“Were you the one who made lunch today?” Rayna suddenly recalled that they currently did not have a chef.
“Do you not like it?” Curtis turned away from the window to look at Rayna tenderly.
“No, I was just curious,” Rayna replied with a smile. “I certainly don't mind if you continue to prepare our meals.”
Curtis' cooking skills were not terrible. In fact, his skills weren't too shoddy when compared to a professional chef's.
“I'll continue to cook for the next two days since we haven't found a suitable chef,” Curtis said in a low voice.
He could no longer trust the people in Jayfort.
An hour before lunchtime, Rayna followed Curtis and headed downstairs.
The moment they set foot in the living room, they smelled a pungent herbal scent. The herbal scent carried with it a hint of an unknown floral fragrance.
It was overall a pleasant fragrance.
Curtis entered the kitchen with Rayna and the two creatures at his heels.
“I want to watch you cook,” Rayna said as she grinned at Curtis.
“It's rather smoky in the kitchen.” Curtis was unwilling to let Rayna stay in the kitchen because of the inevitable smokiness. The kitchen currently did not have a kitchen hood installed and the smoke could only exit through the window.
“I don't mind,” Rayna said as she leaned against the door to watch Curtis.
Curtis had no choice but to let her be.
After some time, Rayna asked, “Where are Cassidy and Yasmin?”
Curtis pointed somewhere outside the window. “They are in the dispensary in the backyard, not the front yard.”
Rayna strode over to the wooden window frames. Narrowing her eyes, she stared out of the windows and coincidentally spotted Yasmin who had just exited the building.
“Yasmin!” Rayna called out.
Yasmin turned toward the voice and saw Rayna standing by the window. She went up to the latter and said, “Ms. Belle, Ms. Cassidy says the concoction will be ready after lunchtime.”
After nodding in response, Rayna asked, “Do you also know how to prepare the medicine?”
“Of course,” Yasmin replied. “Ms. Cassidy is teaching me, but I'm having a hard time using the furnace.” She scratched her head in embarrassment.
“I think you're doing great!” Rayna praised. “I won't even know where to begin.”
Just as the two were chatting, Cassidy came out of the building holding a metal ball of sorts. Upon noticing the item, Rayna asked curiously, “What's that?”
Yasmin followed her gaze and saw the steel ball. “Oh, that's used to get a better quality extract from the herbs. I don't know the name, however. No one told me, and I never thought to ask.”
“Didn't Cassidy tell you?” Rayna's curiosity was piqued.
What is that item that Cassidy would even keep the name a secret from Yasmin?
“Nope. But it's probably because I never thought to ask,” Yasmin replied indifferently. “Maybe Ms. Cassidy doesn't know what it's called either.”
“What makes you say that?” Rayna was puzzled.
“Ms. Cassidy's parents passed away all of a sudden and they weren't able to teach her everything that was passed down from the Gilroy family. It seems that there are some age requirements to pass down the secrets of the Gilroy family from one generation to the next,” Yasmin explained.
“I see,” Rayna murmured understandingly. “How did Cassidy's parents pass away, though?”
“I heard it was a car accident in the mountains. By the time Ms. Cassidy arrived at the hospital, her parents had passed on. The police could not tell her the specific cause of death.” Yasmin recalled what she knew of the incident. “However, one of the nurses said that Ms. Cassidy's parents were left outside the hospital. By the time they were found, they were barely hanging on.”
After listening to that, Rayna came to an understanding.
So that's why they weren't able to discover the cause of death. It seems that the police did not carry out a proper investigation and only gave Cassidy a perfunctory excuse the hospital gave.
But why didn't Cassidy push for a further investigation? Is it because she already knew the answer? If that's the case, based on what I know of her personality, I don't think she's someone who will endure it just like that.
Rayna withdrew her gaze and turned around to see Curtis washing the vegetables. “Let me do it,” she said as she reached out and grabbed the half-cleaned vegetables from him. “You can do something else.”
Curtis hesitated for a moment before deciding to let Rayna help out in the end.
After showing Rayna the rest of the vegetables that needed to be washed, he went over to the stove and prepared to cook.
Yasmin stood in front of the window, smiling faintly as she watched the scene before her in a daze.
She felt as if she had witnessed a similar scene before. A man and a woman in a kitchen preparing food.
However, she had no idea if it was a dream, a fantasy, or even something she had seen on television. It had somehow left an impression on her mind.
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