Wandering along the path she took yesterday to find herbs for quite some time, Ann Vaughn only found the last two herbs and didn’t spot any wild fruits around, so she turned back.
When she returned to the shelter, she saw that somehow a fire had been started there, and the aroma of roasting meat was in the air.
Cyrus Hawthorne sat behind the campfire, his cold and stern face softened slightly by the firelight as he focused on turning a stick to roast a rabbit.
"Cyrus, where did the rabbit come from?" Ann Vaughn ran over, squatting beside him, and looked at the pile of red wild fruits on the ground, smiling joyfully at the rabbit meat in his hands.
"Found it in the woods," Cyrus replied in a soft voice, not even lifting his gaze.
"I went around for quite a while and only found two herbs. You’re amazing," Ann Vaughn praised generously, casually wiping a fruit and offering it to him.
Expecting him to take it, she was surprised when he just glanced down and then bit the fruit from her hand.
Her fingertips held some warmth, and feeling a bit uneasy, Ann wiped them on her skirt and tossed a fruit into her own mouth.
The rabbit meat was soon cooked, and Cyrus handed her one piece while he slowly and leisurely ate the one in his hand.
Ann Vaughn took a few bites of the rabbit meat. Though it lacked seasoning, it wasn’t unpleasant; rather, it retained the original flavor of the ingredients, with crispy skin and tender inside, very flavorful.
"Did you learn this medical skill from your grandfather?" Suddenly, Cyrus asked casually.
"Yes," Ann Vaughn’s brows arched with fond memories of her grandfather, "He was truly skilled in medicine; no matter how difficult the ailment, it was hardly a problem for him. Wherever he went, he was greatly respected, not the countryside quack you might imagine." Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs ɴo(v)elFɪre.ɴet
Her parents were the typical ones who looked down on traditional medicine, even going so far as to move away from their hometown so no one would know their family started with traditional medicine, and they hadn’t contacted her grandfather for many years.
The only time was when they left her in his care.
But her parents, unaware due to her grandfather’s secrecy, didn’t know their ancestry wasn’t simply a traditional medicine family; her grandfather was a descendant of a royal court physician.
Seeing her vivid and admiring expression, Cyrus quietly acknowledged her words, indicating he was listening.
"Actually, my grandfather was very strict with me. If I couldn’t recite herb names, I’d get my palms smacked, and I had to have medical books thoroughly memorized..." Ann Vaughn nostalgically said, "It was only when I grew up that I truly realized everything my grandfather did was for my own good."
It wasn’t just about passing on his legacy to her.
Unknowingly, Ann talked about amusing anecdotes she heard while traveling and practicing medicine with her grandfather in her childhood, inadvertently finishing off the rabbit meat in her hand.
For Cyrus, it was his first time hearing such interesting experiences, and he couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows, asking her, "Did you save someone when you were a child?"
Although she merely mentioned it in passing, it still piqued his interest.
Ann Vaughn hesitantly hummed a response, her voice soft, "He was the first person I saved on my own, even though... he doesn’t remember me anymore."
Seeing her somewhat lost expression, Cyrus didn’t ask further and instead changed the topic, "Cynthia and you grew up together, but I’ve never heard you mention her. Why?"
Cynthia Vaughn grew up with her?
Ann Vaughn was a bit stunned, seeing that Cyrus’s expression didn’t seem to be joking, and she couldn’t help but feel a little puzzled.