It was a long and sultry day.
Whether to appease Mura or not, it turned out to be overcast, with the sun completely hidden.
The air temperature had indeed dropped a bit, but the muggy heat made it almost suffocating, adding to everyone's discomfort.
By mid-afternoon, the members of the caravan were already drenched in sweat.
Melissa, sitting in the carriage, had also become listless.
Emi tried several times to cheer her up with jokes, but Melissa, in a bad mood, rebuffed her attempts.
Sitting in the carriage, Melissa closed her eyes for a long while, then opened them again.
Seeing the caravan continue forward, she couldn't help but turn her head towards Mura, who led the caravan ahead, and shouted loudly, "Uncle Mura, when are we going to stop for a rest?"
"It's still early, at least another two hours until evening."
"But I feel like we've been walking for a long time already," Melissa frowned, then suddenly asked, "By the way, Uncle Mura, how far have we traveled?"
"Uh, well…" Mura hesitated, knowing Melissa could read the simplified route map of the caravan.
He couldn't hide the distance—once Melissa had doubts, a glance at the map and a quick calculation would expose everything.
Seeing Mura's hesitation, Melissa's eyes flashed as if she understood something, and she asked, "Have we already gone over forty miles?"
"Um…"
"Tell me, Uncle Mura!"
"Yes," Mura sighed in response, "We've already covered nearly fifty miles."
Upon hearing this, Melissa raised her eyebrows and immediately exclaimed, "Then what are we waiting for? Didn't we agree yesterday to only walk forty miles and then stop for a rest?"
"But…" Mura struggled to continue.
"But what, Uncle Mura!" Melissa furrowed her brow and shouted, disregarding everything, ordering the entire caravan to stop.
Seeing the caravan halt, Mura couldn't help but sigh. He turned to Melissa and said, "Miss Melissa, yesterday I promised that young nobleman, Richard, that we'd walk sixty miles today."
'How could you, Uncle Mura!' Melissa frowned deeply, unable to contain her anger.
She waved her hand dismissively, "Forget it, it's not your fault. It must be that Richard guy pressuring you. But we agreed on forty miles, so forty miles it is—we stop here, and we won't budge. If that Richard guy has a problem, tell him to come to me!"
Melissa's tone was resolute, but Mura was overwhelmed.
Turning to look ahead on the road, Mura's expression grew even more grim.
He sighed and said, "Miss Melissa, that Richard has already arrived."
Richard rode towards the caravan with a slight frown.
The caravan had been performing reasonably well today, but suddenly coming to a halt raised suspicions; he needed to figure out what game they were playing.
Speculating on various possibilities, Richard approached the caravan and saw Melissa standing up abruptly from the carriage, glaring at him defiantly.
"What's the meaning of this?"
Richard blinked, showing an inquisitive look as he faced Melissa.
Without hesitation, Melissa retorted sharply, "Hey, you're Richard, right? You threatened Uncle Mura yesterday to walk sixty miles! Let me tell you, Caravan isn't your household. We only walk forty miles a day, not a step more."
"Why?" Richard asked, wanting a reasonable explanation.
He looked at Melissa calmly and said, "I'm not interested in who owns Purple Blossom Caravan. What I want to know is why you suddenly aren't sticking to what was agreed upon yesterday."
"Ha?" Melissa's voice raised with frustration.
"On such a hot day, walking too long can make people dizzy, even sick. I don't want anyone getting sick, can't you understand that?"
"Dizzy? Sick?"
Richard scanned the entire convoy quickly, noting many sweaty workers but none seemed unwell.
Turning back to Melissa, Richard spoke, "Dizziness could be due to insufficient blood supply, and sickness might relate to viral issues. Heat can cause discomfort and rapid sweating, leading to mild dehydration, but as long as there's enough lightly salted water to drink, there shouldn't be a problem. I don't see anyone in your caravan dizzy or sick right now—they're all fine."
"Well, I am!"
Melissa angrily retorted, defending her dignity, and shouted at Richard, "I get motion sickness! I get dizzy from sitting too long in the carriage. Anything more than forty miles a day makes me dizzy. I'm very dizzy right now, and I demand we stop for a rest, okay?"
Richard didn't immediately respond, just shook his head inwardly. He now fully realized Melissa was causing trouble: someone who could sail across the sea from Muren to Prum wouldn't get dizzy from carriage bumps. It was clearly a lie.
Since Melissa intended to cause trouble, there was no need to be polite—even if Mura had called her the daughter of the entire business team.
Richard made a quick decision.
The next moment, he stared directly into Melissa's eyes, expressionless, and asked, "Are you sure you're motion sick? Carriage sick?"
"I'm sure, absolutely sure!"
"Do you know the principle behind motion sickness?" Richard asked.
Melissa looked puzzled, "What... what principle?"
Without looking at Melissa again, Richard spoke plainly, "Many people believe the body's balance is linked to the cerebellum. So when people drink too much, become intoxicated, or anesthetize the cerebellum, their bodies lose balance and they walk unsteadily."
Melissa widened her eyes, showing complete incomprehension.
For her, terms like cerebellum and anesthesia were completely unfamiliar.
While she could vaguely understand alcohol intoxication, she couldn't understand how it related to motion sickness—wasn't that about alcoholics?
"You... you..." Melissa stared at Richard, but couldn't find words for a long time.
Finally, she snorted indignantly, turned her head, and lay down on the carriage, ignoring everyone.
Meanwhile, Richard addressed the caravan members, speaking softly, "Does anyone else have objections now? If not, let's continue our journey."
"This..." The members of the caravan exchanged glances, unsure how to respond.
Eventually, Mura, the manager of the caravan, cautiously stepped forward.
First, he glanced at Melissa lying on the carriage, then gestured discreetly to the others, signaling for the caravan to resume its journey forward.
Feeling the carriage bump again, Melissa didn't say anything, just pursed her lips in dissatisfaction.
Deep down, she knew there was nothing she could do to stop it.
Damn Richard!
At that moment, Melissa truly hated Richard.
Richard, however, was unfazed.
Seeing the caravan moving again, he turned the horse's head and resumed leading the way ahead.