Chapter 204: The Last blow

Chapter 204: 204: The Last blow


Eden gasped in pain, a teardrop escaping down his cheek as he clutched Adrian’s hands, which were wrapped firmly around him. He gripped them tighter, as if the pressure could somehow ease the stabbing ache coursing through his body.


Adrian stared at Eden, now cradled in his arms, his own expression clouded with shock and confusion.


He couldn’t comprehend it. He didn’t understand why Eden had gone to such extremes to save him. It made no sense at all.


First, Eden had saved him from those who wanted him dead. And now he had saved him again—by taking a blade meant for Adrian.


The act left Adrian questioning every belief he had ever held about Eden.


"Why would you do that...?" he heard himself ask, his voice low but edged with disbelief. "Why did you take the stab for me? It makes no sense..."


Eden was already pale with pain, but still he forced a faint smile. "Maybe... it’s because you were too handsome to watch being stabbed...?"


He tried to tease, to lighten the moment, but Adrian wasn’t fooled. He could see straight through the flimsy humor to the agony beneath.


Adrian exhaled sharply, still grappling with the madness of it all. Instead of pressing for answers, he tore a strip from his own clothes.


"Stay still and stop talking rubbish," he ordered, using the cloth to clean and tie Eden’s wound with quick, practiced movements.


As he worked, a flicker of motion caught his eye. Mr. Hugo was stirring, slowly pushing himself upright. Adrian hadn’t noticed him for a while, too focused on Eden.


Now he glared at Hugo, who staggered with the sword still lodged across his chest.


Mr. Hugo gave a low, almost casual laugh—the sound of a villain in his final moment. "I guess it was all for nothing..."


Adrian’s eyes narrowed. "Why? Why did you do it? I trusted you..."


Hugo chuckled, bitter and cold. "Trust? Worthless. I don’t need that. I needed to secure my own future. I can’t live and die as your servant. I can’t live and die beneath you. I needed my own standing, my own power in society."


He continued, voice rough but steady, "It’s already humiliating enough. So why should I keep pushing through it?" He shook his head. "I needed to survive too..."


Adrian stared, disbelief etched across his face. "But I treated you as more than that. You were family..."


"Family, my foot. That wasn’t going to change my position. Not at all. I needed to find a way to climb higher," Hugo spat, a cruel laugh escaping.


Adrian’s chest tightened. "So... you decided to betray me? You used my weaknesses against me when I trusted you alone with them...?"


"Why not? Anything to get you off the list. Anything to get me higher. Don’t you see? How could you be so naïve, thinking I’d stick with you till the end? To me, you were never family. You were only a tool, a step to the top. And I almost had it... I almost made it..."


Adrian clenched his fists, the words slicing deeper than any sword. He couldn’t believe that Mr. Hugo—of all people—would betray him so completely.


Without another thought, he reached out, yanked the sword from Hugo’s stomach, and drove it back in—again and again.


It was brutal, a relentless series of thrusts even as Adrian knelt with Eden in his arms. The savage blows drove Hugo down to his knees, and this time he did not rise.


"Since you wanted the glory," Adrian said coldly, eyes like steel, "you should meet Marquis Dean in the afterlife and take the glory he promised you."


Blood gushed from Hugo’s stomach and mouth as he toppled to the side. The room quickly filled with the metallic scent of blood.


Adrian hadn’t hesitated. He was that ruthless in destroying anyone who revealed themselves as his enemy. There was never a second thought when it came to eliminating a threat.


As Hugo lay lifeless, Adrian turned his attention back to Eden, who was already looking dangerously pale. He held him close against his chest, trying to share his own warmth, his eyes cutting toward the Marquis who still stood frozen nearby.


"Go and get my carriage ready," Adrian ordered sharply, "unless you wish to meet your doom as well."


The servants scattered instantly, running to obey.


Adrian looked down again at the fragile figure in his arms. Eden was curled up like a cat dragged from icy water—cold, trembling, and too quiet. Adrian sighed and muttered under his breath, "I’m certainly not used to this quiet side of you..."


For as long as he had known Eden, the man had been a talker—always with something to say, always quick with a retort or a laugh. Seeing him so silent was unnerving.


Adrian didn’t hesitate. He gathered Eden more securely in his arms and strode from the room, every step firm and deliberate.


---


He emerged into the gray light outside the grand hall, ignoring the crowd that had gathered in the street. Whispers rippled through the onlookers as they caught sight of him.


He was covered in blood—his dark clothes soaked, his cape heavy with it—yet his eyes never wavered. People stared in open confusion, wondering what tragedy had unfolded within the Grand Hall that morning, but Adrian didn’t so much as glance their way.


His focus was solely on Eden. Every step toward the waiting carriage was driven by a single thought: Eden must live. He would make certain of it.


---


The ride was silent except for the steady clatter of hooves. Adrian held Eden close, like a child stricken with fever, wrapping him tightly in his cape and keeping him pressed against his side. He could feel the faint rise and fall of Eden’s breath and clung to it like a promise.


After what felt like an eternity, they finally reached Avalon—its familiar streets dim beneath the morning haze—and soon the gates of Adrian’s mansion loomed before them.


Adrian wasted no time. He leapt from the carriage with Eden still in his arms, his movements swift but careful. Maids and guards rushed out, their faces a mix of alarm and curiosity as they caught sight of their blood-soaked master carrying an unconscious man.


But Adrian said nothing. He simply strode past them, his jaw tight, his mind fixed on the single, urgent goal of keeping Eden alive.