Chapter 689
Rafe stood off to the side with a smug expression that could light up the room. Anyone who didn’t know better would’ve thought Eliza had just praed him.
Sophie shot Rafe a murderous glare, deaf to Eliza’s words.
‘That wretched servant isn’t leaving here alive. He’s dying today. As for that bitch Eliza, I’ll take my time torturing her, slowly and excruciatingly, Sophie thought viciously. ‘Only when she bows to me, begging in unbearable agony and wishing she were dead, will I finally feel avenged.
With that thought in mind, Sophie ordered, “Go and invite Lord Dale and his wife to the main hall.”
Sophie didn’t act immediately because Eliza had arrived unexpectedly, and her King Parasite wasn’t with her now.
But she was in na hurry.
‘After all, that wretched girl and her insolent lackey have already come to the Marquis’s estate. There is no way out for them now, Sophie thought.
Sophie then led Eliza and the others to the main hall.
Before long, Adeline and Dale finally arrived.
Adeline still looked nervous, but when she saw Eliza seated at the head of the table, her eyes instantly lit up with joy.
“Dale…” Adeline clung to Dale, barely containing her excitement as she tightly gripped his sleeve.
‘It’s Eliza. She’s come to save us,‘ Adeline thought excitedly.
Dale gave her hand a reassuring pat and whispered, “Steady now.”
‘Since Sophie is still here, the danger to the Marquis’s estate is far from over. I wonder what the Holy Lady will do next,’ Dale thought.
7
“Adeline, Dale. So, you’ve arrived? Please, take a seat. The Holy Lady has come especially to see you today. I do wonder what for. By the way, Adeline, didn’t you go out recently? Surely you must know the reason. Why not share it with me? I’m ever so curious.” With a sweet but insincere smile, Sophie walked to Adeline and Dale.
Her words dripped with false concern as she slipped her arm intimately through Adeline’s.
Adeline’s body stiffened abruptly. In that instant, she felt like a wraith had coiled around her, freezing her in place with terror.
“I… I have no idea. I don’t know anything.” Adeline stammered.
She suppressed the fear in her heart and gave Eliza a quiet look as if asking for
help, but forced herself not to tell the truth.
“Do you not know, or are you deliberately withholding from me?” Sophie asked my life.‘
she sneered inwardly. ‘If I still can’t see through this now, I’ve wasted
Because of her past attempts to sow discord, the relationship between Adeline and Eliza, aunt and niece, became very strained.
So when she heard Adeline’s story, she believed Adeline. She thought Adeline had gone to the Duke’s estate to beg her father for help.
‘Who would’ve guessed that, instead of asking my father for help, she went crawling to that wretched bitch Eliza.
‘What a meddling bitch Eliza is! Since she’s already changed her surname and joined another family, can’t she obediently be the so–called head of Padilla family and mind her own business?‘ Sophie thought.
Adeline stifled a pained gasp as Sophie, still clinging to her arm in a show of false affection, dug her nails mercilessly into Adeline’s flesh, venting all her anger on her.
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Chapter 689
Adeline blinked back the tears and managed a strained smile for Dale, who was worried about her.
‘Dale, hold on. We must hold on. Eliza has already come to rescue us. Once she gets Caleb out, too, our whole family will be able to survive this, Adeline
thought.
Dale also understood it all too well.
But it was precisely because he understood that he now hated his helplessness even more bitterly,
Dále bowed to Eliza and said, “Your Grace, I humbly pay my respects. May you be blessed with enduring wisdom and grace.”
Adeline followed suit. “It’s my honor to see you, Your Grace. May your light shine eternally.”
“Rise,” said Eliza.
She had caught every one of Sophie’s subtle maneuvers.
But she chose not to say a word to stop her because she still needed to stall for a bit longer.
She needed to buy time for her precious poisonous parasites to encircle the Marquis’s estate so that, at her command, they could eradicate every last parasite without missing a single one.
‘As for Caleb,‘ Eliza thought, ‘killing the parasites inside him would be easy, but keeping him alive through it? That’s the real challenge. Sophie has turned his body into a breeding ground for those parasites. Now, he and those things share the same life force.
‘So, there’s only one way left. Vexara must tame the parasites inside him, drive them out of his body, and then nurse him back to health, at least to the point where he can survive the trauma of severing their life link. Only then will he have a chance to live.
‘It’s complicated, but there’s no better alternative for now. Maybe Mary would know what to do. I’ll ask her when I return to Saint Grace Nunnery.‘
Thinking of this, Eliza instinctively reached for the coffee cup.
But as her gaze fell on the liquid inside, she wrinkled her nose in distaste and handed it off to her ever–loyal “lackey“.
Her ever–loyal lackey Rafe grinned as he took the coffee without hesitation and downed it in one gulp.
Watching him drink so readily and without suspicion, Eliza felt her resolve waver again. ‘This guy… Does he trust me that much? Isn’t he worried there’s something dangerous in there? How can he drink it immediately after I handed it to him? Doesn’t he care if it’s poisoned or something?‘
“Your Grace, why aren’t you drinking the coffee I made for you myself? Or do you think I might have put something in it?” Sophie asked.
While threatening Adeline, Sophie never lost sight of Eliza out of the corner of her eye.
So she naturally noticed it when Eliza handed Rafe the cup of doctored coffee she had prepared.
Hearing that, Eliza cast a cool sidelong glance at her. “This is no mere suspicion. The coffee bears witness to your tampering.”
At those words, both Sophie and Rafe froze.
Sophie hadn’t expected her to be so blunt and was left speechless.
On the other hand, Rafe was stunned because he never expected Eliza to put him in danger like that.
