681.Chapter 681
Adeline quietly returned to the Marquis’s estate. Instead of releasing the eyeball spider right away, she went back to her room to check on Dale, who was still bedridden,
recovering from his injuries.
“My love, I’m back.”
Adeline knelt by the bedside, clutching Dale’s large hand tightly. Her eyes were red, and her voice trembled as she called out to him, barely holding back her tears.
Hearing her voice, Dale slowly opened his eyes. Seeing her tear–streaked face, he weakly squeezed her hand in reassurance. “Don’t worry about me,” he murmured. ” What did you find out?”
Adeline nodded but hesitated. Eliza’s warnings about the parasites echoed in her mind, making her instinctively glance around the room as if searching for hidden threats. Leaning close to Dale’s ear, she recounted every detail of her conversation with Eliza at the Padilla family’s residence.
Dale’s expression darkened as he listened.
As a high–ranking official, Dale had encountered far more than Adeline could imagine. He had access to information and insights that most people couldn’t fathom.
The pieces fell into place, and the truth hit him like a hammer.
‘Sophie is an outsider!‘ he thought. ‘The Duke of Mowbay let her infiltrate Hasen City, and even marry into our family!‘
Suddenly, Dale coughed up blood, his face twisted in fury. “Gabriel! That bastard, how dare he do such a thing!”
Adeline panicked, quickly supporting his head and wiping the blood from his lips. Tears streamed down her face as she pleaded, “Honey, please calm down! You can’t let this get to you!”
Though she didn’t fully understand the situation, Dale’s reaction made it clear that Gabriel was involved in their estate’s downfall. For the first time, resentment toward
her brother bubbled up in her heart.
‘What has Gabriel done? What is he planning? The Duke’s estate already holds so much power–what more does he want? Was ruining the Padilla family not enough? Does he have to destroy us too?‘
“I’ll go find Benedict! I’ll go right now!” Adeline exclaimed as she moved to get up.
“No, honey!”
Dale grabbed her arm firmly, his face pale and weak. “It’s no use going to your brother now. Even if he comes, there’s no guarantee he’ll help us.”
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681.Chapter 681
After all, if the matter of colluding with outsiders were exposed, the entire Duke’s estate would be doomed.
With Gabriel’s ruthless nature, he,might even side with Sophie, turning everyone in the Marquis’s estate into mindless puppets controlled by parasites. That’s the only way he‘ d feel secure.
“Then… what are we supposed to do?”
Adeline’s voice trembled, her mind struggling to process the harsh reality.
If even her brother would side with that wretched Sophie, was there any hope left for the Marquis’s estate?
Dale forced a faint smile, pulling her closer to calm her down.
Once she leaned in, he lowered his voice and said, “The Holy Lady has already shown you the way. Since we have no other choice, trust her and follow her instructions. Do you understand what I mean?”
Dale’s words were meant to guide Adeline to place her trust in Eliza.
He knew she was truly terrified this time, hesitant to trust anyone but him. But that
wouldn’t work.
If they wanted to save the entire Marquis’s estate, they had to seek external help.
And Eliza was their only lifeline.
Dale needed Adeline to trust Eliza, follow her guidance, and cooperate fully.
Even the slightest mistrust could lead to catastrophic mistakes at a critical moment.
The ultimate price would be the lives of everyone in the Marquis’s estate. Adeline took a deep breath, finally letting go of her doubts. “I understand. Don’t worry, Il save you and our son, no matter what!”
With that, Adeline left the room.
Pretending to use the restroom, she quietly released the eyeball spider Eliza had given her in a shadowy corner.
In a flash, the eyeball spider scurried into the shadows, disappearing from view in an instant.
“Eliza, if you can save my family, I’ll do whatever it takes, even if it means serving you
forever!”
Adeline silently prayed in her heart.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Sophie drew a clean, precise line across Caleb’s abdomen with her blade, and blood immediately poured out, soaking the sheets beneath him.
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681.Chapter 681
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Unfazed, she tipped the jar in her hand, letting the parasite eggs spill into the wound. With steady hands, she threaded a needle and began stitching the gash closed, sealing the eggs inside.
Caleb’s eyes remained open, his gaze unfocused but still conscious. He didn’t scream, didn’t flinch, not a single sound escaped him. It was as if the pain didn’t exist.
But if one looked closely, they’d notice the faint tremors running through his body, a silent betrayal of the agony he was enduring..
When Sophie sprinkled an unknown powder over the freshly sewn wound, Caleb’s body convulsed violently, his muscles spasming uncontrollably as if trying to escape the searing pain.
Standing tall by the bedside, she looked down at him with cold disdain, her voice dripping with venom.
“You pathetic waste of space,” she sneered. “You’d better hold it together. If you ruin my breeding ground and waste the parasite eggs I worked so hard to cultivate, I’ll make you wish for death a thousand times over!”
But her threats seemed to fall on deaf ears. Caleb’s body continued to tremble, wracked with pain he couldn’t suppress.
Sophie’s eyes narrowed, her lips curling into a cruel smile. “Fine. If you can’t handle it, I‘ Il just find someone else to take your place. Your dear mother has been acting up lately, hasn’t she? If you fail me, I’ll plant the rest of the eggs in her instead!”
At her words, Caleb’s eyes widened in horror, his body freezing mid–convulsion. Every muscle locked up as he forced himself into stillness, swallowing the unbearable pain.
Caleb looked lifeless, but deep down, a faint trace of awareness lingered.
He caught every word Sophie said, fully grasping the dire situation he was in. He couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, couldn’t fight back.
But that didn’t mean he didn’t want to fight back.
He wanted to–desperately.
He wanted to kill her with his own hands.
Marrying her had been the biggest mistake of his life. He had invited a wolf into his home, and now the entire Marquis’s estate was in ruins because of it.
He felt like he had failed his mother and father, failed them completely.
Was there anyone out there who could save him and save his parents?
But as he thought about it, despair hit him like a wave. He had wasted years with useless friends–none of them could help now.
Regret and self–loathing consumed him.
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681 Chapter 681
Just as his vision grew dimmer, he thought he saw something–a shadow darting
across the beam above, quick and fleeting.
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