The heavy, ragged breathing and the stifled pain.
Hubert, dragged by the guards, had escaped to the eastern dock. Leaning against a rope post, he stared at the turbulent, rushing river, sighing helplessly.
“You don’t need to protect me anymore. Go, quickly,” Hubert said to the last guard who had stayed with him.
His injuries were too severe. There was no chance of escape, and he didn’t want to be used as leverage against his daughter.
He had decided to die here, in this river…
Hubert said, “Father, I’m useless. I can’t avenge you… Wait, I’ll join you soon.”
Hubert gritted his teeth, about to throw himself into the water.
But the guard behind him grabbed him, saying, “No. Lord, please don’t. You can’t die. Miss needs you. I won’t leave. I will get you out of here.”
Just as the guard spoke, something caught his attention. He suddenly turned to look behind.
“What a deep bond between father and son, and between master and servant.”
Rikkert clapped slowly and indifferently, then said coldly, “But it’s all in vain. None of you are leaving here today.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he darted forward, extending his hand to grab Hubert.
The guard desperately shoved Hubert aside, but the next moment, he was pierced through by Rikkert’s sword.
“Quick… Run!”
“Stefan!” Hubert’s eyes went red in an instant.
He looked at Rikkert, walking toward him, and shouted angrily, “No matter who you are, even if the Baker family is down to one person, we will fight to the death with you!”
After saying that, without hesitation, he rolled and plunged into the river.
“Hubert… Diana, she…”
“Hubert, wake up… Come save…”
As he sank into the river, Hubert thought it was the end.
But he didn’t regret it.
This was the one thing he could do for his daughter, Diana, at the very end.
But he couldn’t stop worrying.
His daughter would now have to walk alone.
Hubert thought with deep sorrow as his consciousness began to fade.
But in his dazed state, he didn’t know how long he had been submerged when suddenly, a faint sound reached his ears.
Hubert’s consciousness stirred as the sound pulled him awake. The next moment, an overwhelming sensation of suffocation as he struggled against the water jolted him, and his eyes snapped open.
“Hubert? Thank goodness, you’re finally awake.”
Hubert coughed up water as he turned to look, and he saw Eliza, her face full of concern.
Once he regained his composure, he stared at her in surprise and said, “Child, how did you end up here?”
Eliza, having grown up under Hubert’s watch, was almost like a second daughter to him due to the bond between the Padilla and Baker families. He had told Diana not to come, but never imagined that Eliza would come instead.
“You… You’re now the Holy Lady. How could you leave Hasen City so easily? Go back, quickly, go!”
Hubert had already heard what Eliza had gone through the previous year, so he understood her situation well.
At Vaughn’s place, it was much easier, and it didn’t take long before he brought the medicine over.
Vaughn said, “Hubert, drink this while it’s hot. Your injuries are severe, and now you’ve fallen into the water. If you don’t stabilize yourself, your injuries may worsen.”
Hubert, who had no way of refusing Eliza’s care, sighed in resignation.
Seeing Vaughn bring the medicine, he sighed and said, “Alright, I’ll rest now. But if something happens, and I tell you to leave, you must listen, understood?”
Eliza didn’t respond to that, instead changing the subject. “Alright, Hubert, Vaughn said there’s poison in your wound. After you drink the medicine, I’ll take a look at it.”
Hubert, carefully blowing on the hot medicinal soup, looked at her with confusion. “You can detoxify?”
Eliza nodded. “I had a master after I became a nun and learned a little bit about it.”
Hubert smiled. Whether it was real or not, the important thing was that Eliza cared. Naturally, he couldn’t refuse her. “Alright, I’ll wait.”
A moment later, Eliza saw the large purple knife wound on Hubert’s abdomen.
Eliza said, “It’s definitely poisoned, but it’s not too serious. They didn’t intend to kill you directly, so the poison on the blade is just a slow–acting toxin designed to worsen the wound. But if left untreated, in seven days, you’ll die.”
Eliza quickly took out a centipede venom and placed it near Hubert’s wound.
Honestly, the centipede venom was quite large.
When she placed the centipede near Hubert, even he, a big man, couldn’t help but turn pale. “What… What is this? How can it be such a big centipede?”
“Don’t worry, Hubert. These are my pets. They can help you absorb the poison, and it won’t harm you.”
Hubert was shocked. “You raised this centipede? It’s that powerful?”
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Lady Nun Seeks Justice (Eliza Stonor)