Chapter 203: 203: Why..?
Eden blinked. "Why?" He guessed Adrian didn’t want to kill him after all.
"Yes. Why?"
He hesitated, searching for the perfect words to use in explaining himself without getting his head cut off. "What if I tell you it’s because I found you pitiful? Would you believe me?"
Adrian hesitated, staring at Eden. Eden was sure he was already confused about the morals of the wizard of El.
"I couldn’t stand by and watch you get betrayed and killed at such a young age. It’d be a waste. So I decided to save you," he explained, forcing a smile now.
"You have a motive behind it. You saved me to get something from me..." Adrian was certain, since that was the only explanation he could make of this. "So what’s it...?"
Eden hesitated, smiling. "I’m not that pathetic. So don’t worry, I don’t need anything from you at all. All I want from you is to be careful with people around you. Especially your so-called butler."
Adrian stared, clearly in disbelief that he didn’t have an ulterior motive. He most certainly found it hard to believe.
"He can’t do that..." Adrian said, still not believing that his butler was all Eden claimed. "He’s someone I’ve known for ages... he would never betray me."
Eden stared at him, feeling a pinch of pity. He could tell Adrian was in denial.
Growing up in such a dangerous environment, Adrian had learned to lack trust in the people around him, so trusting Mr. Hugo was all he had.
And now it had become hard to believe Mr. Hugo would do anything like this at all.
"I’m sorry it has to happen to you. But he betrayed you. Like I told you, he poisoned you, and that’s why your illness only got worse after you got here, even after taking the medicine he served. He also worked with them and drugged you to carry out their plan..." Eden explained, wishing there was some sort of phone he could have used to record all this. It would save him more time.
Adrian stared at him. His eyes wavered as he struggled to even believe the words he spoke. He couldn’t bring himself to accept it.
"How are you going to prove that...? You can’t just spill such rubbish and expect me to believe it..." he said.
Eeden sighed, knowing it was hard to believe. "You know what? Use whatever means you can to test him and check his loyalty, okay?" he demanded as he ran a hand through his hair. "Okay?"
Adrian said nothing. "Why would I do such a thing because of your words?"
Eden ran a hand through his hair again. He didn’t know how to convince him anymore.
And while he struggled to find another way, Mr. Hugo walked into the room.
Mr. Hugo entered from behind, so quietly that neither Eden nor Adrian even noticed him coming up behind Adrian.
He approached with a dagger, ready to attack Adrian.
"I saved you. You should at least believe me for that..." Eden said.
Adrian hesitated. "I still have to be sure of the real reason why you saved me... that doesn’t have to do with believing your words against my butler."
Eden rolled his eyes. "I saved you because you were about to be killed. Is that too hard to believe?"
Adrian hesitated, staring at Eden. He was still battling with his mind, trying to decide whether to believe that Eden had genuinely saved him.
And while he did so, Eden casually caught a glimpse of someone coming from behind. He saw Mr. Hugo creeping up for an ambush.
"Hey, behind you—" Eden announced, but his body reacted faster than his words.
It was a subconscious act, one that his brain felt he needed to carry out. And so, even after warning Adrian of the danger behind him, Eden stepped forward.
He grabbed Adrian by the hand and pulled him away from the spot where Mr. Hugo was about to stab him.
It was an abrupt scene: Eden pulling Adrian from where he stood and finding himself in the very position where he had pulled Adrian from. And as a result, the dagger ended up stabbing him instead.
Eden felt a sharp pain burst through the side of his stomach—a pain that quickly left his body numb, only to grow worse as blood began gushing out.
The scene was quick, but Adrian was smart enough to figure out what had happened. He could tell there was an attack from behind. And as soon as the dagger stabbed Eden, he pulled his sword and blindly struck at the person who had ambushed him.
He didn’t care to see who it was. He only let his sword do the talking. And so his blade dug into Mr. Hugo’s stomach, shocking the Marquis who stood behind.
The atmosphere turned silent, broken only by a sharp gasp from Mr. Hugo, who fell to his knees, Adrian’s sword left in his stomach.
Adrian stared at him in utter shock. The familiar face of Mr. Hugo sent a wave of broken realization through his mind. It forced him to recall Eden’s words while shattering everything he believed he knew.
His whole trust crumbled in a matter of seconds at the sight of the person who had come to ambush him from behind.
But the thought disappeared the moment he saw Eden falling to his knees in pain. It was slow—Eden struggling to hold himself upright as his knees met the ground and his hands pressed against the bleeding wound at his side.
Adrian couldn’t even process why his own body moved the way it did. He didn’t have time to think. He simply fell to his knees, forgetting Mr. Hugo, and reached for Eden.
Eden was on his knees as Adrian too sank down beside him. He held onto Eden firmly, almost in an embrace, his hands circling the petite figure that had been stabbed in his place.