After leaving the Earl's mansion, Anna put all the troubling matters behind her. In this strange world, at least her family remained lovable.

As she approached Pomegranate Lane, she saw Mark standing in her way, holding a bouquet of flowers and grinning. "Anna, these are for you!"

Anna replied in confused, "You don't need to give me flowers!"

Mark looked puzzled. "When did you say that?"

Just as Anna was about to respond, she suddenly had a realization. "Were the flowers left at my door earlier not from you?"

Mark shook his head, still confused.

Anna suddenly understood. The flowers delivered to her house in recent days, without anyone showing up, were probably from Little Tim. Since Mark had previously given her flowers, she assumed they were from him. But Mark always delivered flowers in person, not hiding and leaving them at her door, which was more in line with Little Tim's shy personality.

Anna accepted the flowers from Mark and smiled. "Thank you this time, but please don't send me flowers anymore."

Mark grinned. "You don't like these? I can bring you different ones next time."

Anna shook her head. "I mean, don't waste your time on me. I'm still young and not planning to get married anytime soon."

Mark looked disappointed but scratched his head and thought for a moment. "I'm young too, no rush to get married... But when you decide to marry, would you consider me?"

Anna chuckled at his straightforwardness and found it somewhat endearing. She nodded, "Okay."

Mark smiled broadly, satisfied, and left.

Anna's good mood faded when she returned home and saw the worried look on Gayle's face. She immediately asked, "Mom, what's wrong?"

Gayle looked at Anna with concern, sighed, and said, "Bobby came over today."

Bobby? The butcher in their neighborhood who beat his wife to death?

Anna felt a sinking feeling. She looked at Gayle, waiting for her to continue.

Gayle, looking troubled, said, "He wants you to marry him."

Anna didn't show any extreme emotion, knowing that Gayle would never agree to such a thing.

"Mom, you refused him, right? What else did he say?" Anna sat beside Gayle.

She realized the potential danger in this situation.

Gayle nodded. "He... he said he will marry you, no matter what. Let's discuss it together when your father comes home."

Anna had no other immediate solutions. She played with Adele and Little Evan for a while, then took a nap. She got up when her father, Evan, came home from work.

Evan was a silent, honest man. Because of his work hours, Anna rarely saw him, let alone talked with him.

With Jem, Adele, and Little Evan sleeping in the room, Anna, Evan, and Gayle sat in the main bedroom.

"Goddess, why does Bobby have his eyes on Anna?" Gai was full of worry.

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"Bobby went to the tavern earlier," Evan said.

Both Anna and Gayle looked at him as he continued, "He said if we don't marry Anna to him, he'll make me lose my job."

Anna took a deep breath to keep her anger.

Bobby, the wife-beater, was evidently a scoundrel. Anna had once tried to stop him from hitting his children, only to be pushed down herself. Violence seemed ingrained in Bobby's nature. He habitually used violence to solve problems, hitting his wife and kids, and now threatening Evan with violence.

"Don't worry, Anna. Your dad and I won't be intimidated by Bobby," Gayle reassured Anna.

Anna nodded. "I know, Mom and Dad are the best."

After a pause, Anna continued, "Even if Bobby manages to get Dad fired, it's not a big deal. I still have my job as the maid at Earl's mansion, and my monthly salary is enough for us to live on."

She wasn't panicking.

Evan and Gayle were both worried about Bobby, but Anna's words brought them some comfort.

As long as Anna kept working at the Earl's mansion, the family’s livelihood was secure. Bobby might be able to get Evan fired, but he couldn't extend his reach to the Earl's mansion.

The three of them didn’t come up with a concrete solution but reached a consensus to wait and see. Anna’s job gave them some confidence.

However, Anna had an underlying concern—the more maddening and dangerous demon in the Earl's mansion. She wondered if it would affect her job.

The next day, before Anna even left Pomegranate Alley, she was stopped by Bobby, who had clearly been waiting for her for some time.

Bobby was a burly man in his thirties with a fierce look. As he approached, the stench of alcohol emanated from him.

When Bobby saw Anna, his eyes lit up and narrowed as he drunkenly said, "Little Anna, I never noticed before, but you've grown into a beautiful young lady. , I can't wait to marry you!"

Anna took two steps back in disgust and coldly said, "Get out of my way!"

"Oh, you've got quite the temper," Bobby laughed, but his expression suddenly turned sinister, "A temper like that just needs a good beating to set it straight."

Anna was utterly repulsed. If only she had a weapon, even a rock would do.

At that moment, a door nearby creaked open, and Mark stepped out, holding a massive blacksmith's hammer, glaring at Bobby. "Stop causing a drunken ruckus at someone's doorstep this early in the morning!"

He casually swung the huge hammer, making it seem as if it could fly out and smash someone at any moment.

Though Bobby was burly, he paled in comparison to the young and muscular Mark. He could bully a young girl, but against Mark, he stood no chance. Furious, Bobby glared at Mark before slinking away

Mark watched Bobby leave. He hid the large hammer behind his back and gave Anna a smile. "Don't worry. I'll be here every morning when you go to work."

"Thank you!" Anna said gratefully. She paused before adding, "Can you wait for me here at 7:30 tonight?"

Mark didn't ask why she wanted him to wait, agreeing readily.

Anna didn't have any particular plan. She simply wanted to buy something nice to eat for Mark as a token of appreciation with the copper coins she had saved. It was common courtesy to treat a colleague to a meal when they helped you out at work. Of course, she excluded the demon's malicious "help."

As she arrived at the Earl's mansion, the matter of Bobby pressuring her into marriage weighed on her mind.

Bobby could be so brazen because they were all commoners. But if she became a noble… no, even if she were discovered to be a Holy Light body or have natural elemental affinity, Bobby wouldn't dare act so recklessly.

Anna spent most of the morning troubled by these thoughts. When she delivered breakfast to Parish, she was unsurprised to find the demon-possessed Ulysses present.

"My dear Anna, you look even more radiant today than yesterday," Parish complimented.

Anna silently grumbled, "Are you blind?" While arranging the plates, she gave a perfunctory thanks, "Thank you, Master Parish. You look more handsome today as well."

With his chin propped on his hand, Parish watched Anna's swift movements. His radiant smile made his handsome face even more attractive. Just as he raised his hand to touch Anna's hair, she seemed to inadvertently turn her body, avoiding his hand, and then stepped aside.

—After realizing how much of a pervert he was, Anna naturally prepared for this.

Anna knew that Parish's behavior, in this era, was far from being considered perverted and could even be described as dashing.

But she had to act according to her own standards.

Rothgar observed Anna's actions without speaking.

He was now curious to see what exactly she was up to.

Parish assumed Anna had just accidentally avoided his hand and didn't mind. He continued chatting with Rothgar while enjoying his exquisite breakfast.

Once breakfast was finished, Anna swiftly cleaned up, all the while keeping a wary eye on Parish, and then left with the food box.

Rothgar had no interest in developing any sort of friendship with Parish. His two visits were solely to observe Anna. Once she left, he too stood up to leave, ignoring Parish's attempts to stop him.

As Rothgar walked into the small garden, he saw Anna's solitary figure waiting and smiled knowingly.

So, waiting does pay off. She can't resist making a move, can she?