Hiding Behind Her Superficiality novel Chapter 351
“You didn’t have to be so harsh; you know? Look at him walking away with resentment.” Arthur smirked.
“Don’t bother yourself with that. Either way, I’ve already said yes. You better treat my mother soon.” Elspeth lowered her head and took a deep breath as a sliver of sadness laced her empty eyes.
Arthur thought he would be happy after hearing her words, but instead, he actually felt a little upset, and he asked with mixed emotions, “So you’ve only agreed to marry me to save your mother, right?”
“Don’t you think this is a stupid question?”
Pfft. Do you expect me to fall in love with you when you treated me with that kind of attitude and even threatened me with it later?!
It was a long-foreseen answer. The last sliver of hope in Arthur’s eyes faded away, and he said, “Alright, got it. I will treat your mother immediately right after our engagement.”
“She only has one month left!” Elspeth turned anxious. She could agree with all of Arthur’s conditions, even severing ties with Callum, just to treat her mother as soon as possible. However, Arthur kept delaying it again and again.
“When do you propose our engagement be held then?” Arthur felt his heart growing stuffier by the second when he saw her staring at him with frosty eyes.
“Three days. That’s enough for the necessary preparations.”
Since they would be engaged, she had to give Arthur the proper respect as well.
After all, Arthur wasn’t only representing himself but the Blue Family.
…
Soon, the whole town heard about Arthur’s engagement with a random woman. On the day of the engagement, Arthur suddenly barged in when Elspeth was doing her makeup in her room.
He was dressed in a gray tailored suit that fitted his perfect figure, and the smile in his gaze deepened by the second when he looked at the young woman sitting at the vanity. “I’ll give you one last chance. Are you sure you won’t regret it?”
Elspeth, on the other hand, only finally directed her attention to the man after she finished applying her lipstick. “At this point, it doesn’t matter if I regret it anymore.”
Arthur shrugged in response as if accepting the answer. “In that case, let’s go downstairs.”
She nodded expressionlessly, and Arthur extended his arm like a gentleman, leading her downstairs.
Their engagement party was held inside Winthrop Residence, and as Arthur had gradually become a benchmark in the high society of this place, many naturally showed up for his engagement.
Soon after Arthur led Elspeth downstairs, he had no time to look after her anymore as a group of people surrounded him.
Elspeth was happy to be left alone as well. She headed to a corner and started snacking away while sitting casually on the couch.
In no time, she finished an entire plate of snacks, and it was only when her fitted dress felt a little snug that she stopped eating. At that, she looked toward the glass of red wine next to her.
However, someone else took the glass of adult juice just as she reached for it.
“Are you really sure you should be drinking when you’re pregnant?” Elspeth asked unhurriedly while looking at the person in front of her.
“So what? He’s not going to be welcomed anyway? So, what does it matter?” Ginna took a gander at her and down the entire glass without a second thought.
“What’s wrong?” Elspeth asked in bewilderment. “Did Gilbert not find you?”
“How can he find me when I don’t want him to?” Ginna took advantage of her tipsiness to release her long bottled-up frustration but hurriedly halted when she realized she seemed to have let on a little too much to Elspeth. “Alright, don’t think about fishing for any information for me, and you can also forget about telling him.”
“Nah, this has nothing to do with me. This is between you two. Deal with it yourselves,” said Elspeth nonchalantly as she reached for the other glass of liquor and savored it.
“Aren’t you two close?” Ginna was surprised. “And as far as I know, he still can’t get over you.”
“Whatever relationship it is you think he and I are in, we’re not.” Elspeth frowned, not wanting to talk about it.
At that, Ginna ridiculed, “Oh, Elspeth. I never thought a smart woman like you would have a dumb moment!”
“So?” Elspeth tucked away her impatience. “What’s your point in saying this now?”
Ginna stopped laughing abruptly and put on her resentful look. “You think I really want to talk about this? If it isn’t because I found out your picture is living in his wallet, why do you think I’d run away while pregnant just to find out whether he loves me?”
Elspeth was stumped. She didn’t think Ginna had such a lowly side.
After coming to herself, she advised, “But you’re carrying his child still. Why don’t you just go back to him.”
At that, Ginna chuckled wryly. “Why should I? I want him to love me for me, not to trap him with a baby. If he doesn’t love me, he can forget about ever seeing the baby and me.”
Elspeth was somewhat shocked by her words.
Comparatively, Emma was really far beneath her little sister.
That said, Ginna seemed to be in a terrible mental state, and she might do something extreme that would affect the baby in her belly.
After all, the child was Gilbert’s and also related to her to a certain extent. So, she still tried to advise Ginna. “Take good care of your baby. You’ll affect its growth if you get too emotional.”
“It’s none of your business!” Ginna took a deep breath. “We still haven’t settled our score yet. You don’t have to pretend to comfort me.”
What score? Emma? Elspeth gazed bafflingly at Ginna, and sure enough, hatred flashed across the latter’s eyes. “I will certainly come after you two for what happened to my sister.”
The other person she was referring to was naturally Callum.
“Why don’t you do some digging about your sister instead? Find out what she’s really like,” suggested Elspeth as she drank the last bit of wine. It seemed that Ginna wouldn’t listen to whatever she had to say anymore.
As much as Ginna didn’t like her sister, they were still related by blood, and she would always lean toward Emma no matter what.
Thinking about that, Ginna snorted disdainfully. “I will naturally seek justice from you once I get to the bottom of it.”
Then, she placed the wine glass back onto the table and walked away.
…
Three minutes later, a cry for help came suddenly from another corner not far away.
“Help! Someone’s losing a lot of blood!”
“Don’t just stand there. Call the ambulance!”
For a moment, chaos enveloped the party.
Using her medical experience, Elspeth believed Ginna was likely suffering from a miscarriage. With that, she immediately dialed 911 and then felt her breathing.
It’s clear that she’s suffering from a miscarriage, yet she’s showing signs of poisoning!
“Elspeth…” Ginna called out to her with slightly narrowed eyes while fighting her consciousness.
“What is it?” Elspeth leaned her ear against Ginna’s lips to hear better.
“Please, save my child. Please, I beg you…” Ginna pleaded as she reached for her belly.
“Everything will have to wait until we reach the hospital and hear what the doctor has to say. I can’t do anything right now.”
After hearing Elspeth’s words, Ginna seemed unable to hold on anymore as her eyes gradually lost focus, and she passed out eventually.
The ambulance arrived soon after, and Elspeth and Arthur couldn’t care less about the engagement party anymore. What was important right then was sending Ginna to the hospital.
Just like that, the engagement was postponed.
…
After they arrived at the hospital’s emergency room, Elspeth stood guard anxiously at the door.
Arthur, on the other hand, was rather impassive. “What are you so worried about? It’s not like that’s your child in there,” he said, looking at Elspeth while leaning against the bench.
However, it only annoyed her further when it seemed that he wanted bigger drama.
“If something bad happens to the child, given Ginna’s vengeful personality, she’ll be bound to do something again.”
To that, Arthur crossed his leg and fiddled with his phone while saying, “If she wants to seek revenge, then let her be. You don’t have to worry. If she does anything to you, I won’t let her get away with it. You’re my fiancée now, after all.”
Sure, making sarcastic remarks is going to help with the situation.
Having done talking to him, Elspeth directed her attention back to the lit-up ‘in operation’ sign above her head.
Very quickly, the light switched off, and a doctor walked out. “Is the patient’s family here?” he asked after sweeping his gaze across the space.
At that, Elspeth came forward. “Her family’s not here at the moment. I can represent them for now.”
The doctor sighed and shook his head when he saw how anxious she looked. “I’m sorry. The child’s gone.”
“Is there really no other way?” Elspeth’s heart sank.
“She was poisoned with a deadly substance, and its toxins had already spread to her uterus. If you forcibly keep the baby, he will be born with the toxin, and worst, he might be born deformed.”
Elspeth locked her brows into a tight furrow in response. Seconds later, she said firmly, “Got it. Thank you, Doctor.”
Ginna, on the other hand, had been transferred to the general ward when her condition improved after receiving treatment, and a nurse was feeding her medicine when Elspeth visited her.
As she looked at the poor young woman’s now flat belly, a hint of pity flashed across her eyes, and when she placed the fruits she had brought onto the table, Ginna swept it all away before she even had the chance to set it down properly.
“Get out!” she screamed, startling the nurse, causing the latter to jolt and nearly drop the medicine.
Ginna’s anger was through the roof, and when she saw Elspeth, it was like she had found a target to vent it all out. “I said scram!”
“I know you’re upset because you’ve lost your child,” Elspeth said plainly. “But it has nothing to do with me.”
“You’re still denying it even when it has come to this?! Elspeth Lynwood, do you even have a heart?!” Ginna’s hatred blew up like a balloon as she felt her belly. “You must’ve drugged me to kill my child because you can’t stand seeing me live a good life!”
She couldn’t think of anyone else apart from this woman who’d want to harm her.
“Tell me then. What’s my motive?”
Motive…
“You have so many! You must be livid because I said I want to get back at you guys because of my sister. Besides, you like Gilbert too, do you not?!”
Elspeth was visibly taken aback when Ginna brought Gilbert up, and the latter turned malicious suddenly as though she had gotten leverage on Elspeth. “I knew it! You love Gilbert. That’s why you killed my child!”
For some reason, Elspeth found it amusing. “I’ve long gotten over him. Yes, I used to like him; I admit that. But he’s already history to me.”
However, Ginna had already let hatred consume her a long time ago. There was no way she could listen to Elspeth’s reasons.
“Who knows if you’re lying or not?! So many men circle around you every day. Any man you like suddenly has a baby with another woman, and that’ll deal a blow to your ego. That must be why you retaliated against me.”
At that, Elspeth rolled her eyes. That’s it. She’s a gone case! She’s behaving like someone has slammed her head with a brick.
“I take back what I said about you being smart. Your imagination sure is wild. Are you sure your cranial nerve wasn’t affected by your pregnancy? You should get it checked.”
Ginna was already in a terrible mood when she had just lost her child, and how after hearing Elspeth’s words, she directed her firepower at Elspeth even if it wasn’t the latter’s doing.
“You just have to be insufferably arrogant, don’t you, Lynwood?! Alright, fine, go ahead and kill me if you’re so capable, or I will come at you for the rest of my life!”
Great, she’s gone nuts now!
Elspeth knew the young woman would only loathe her even more if she continued to stay. Hence, she ignored Ginna’s words and turned to leave.
“Hey!” Ginna suddenly called out to her, and Elspeth turned around, asking placidly as she gazed into Ginna’s eyes, “Yes?”
“Don’t tell Gilbert just yet.” Pain flashed across Ginna’s eyes as she felt her belly.
As much as Elspeth felt bad for the young woman, the whole incident had nothing to do with her, and she didn’t need to feel bad for Ginna either.
“This is your issue. I won’t go to him about this.” With that, Elspeth left the ward.
Arthur was waiting at the hospital’s main entrance, and seeing that she didn’t look right when she came out, he asked, “She gave you a hard time again, didn’t she?”
“Why do you care?”
None of this would’ve happened if it weren’t for the stupid engagement party. Hence, Elspeth felt vexed even just looking at Arthur’s face.
“You’re my fiancée. Of course, I have to stand up for you if she bullies you.”
It was like he didn’t care about her tantrums as he ruffled her hair as he pleased. Of course, his hand was swatted away with disdain.
“Alright, I’ll let you in on a little secret.”
“What secret?” Elspeth glanced side-eyed at him.
“Actually, I was the one who poisoned the baby in her belly,” said the man with a creepy grin.
It was evident that Elspeth had a hard time registering what she had just heard as she only appeared shocked after a long time. “Why would you do that?!”
Arthur and Ginna had no personal grudges. In fact, he even used to like her sister Emma…
Arthur pulled an inexplicably baffling and amorous smile at Elspeth, who held her breath and said, “Tell me.”
“It’s a secret!” With that, the man walked away resolutely.
Then, something seemed to have hit him as he turned back around. “That reminds me. Our engagement party was ruined. We’ll have to redo it in a couple of days. You better get ready for it again.”
Elspeth had just lost interest in why he would poison Ginna, and now he threw this bomb at her.
“Can’t we just leave it as it is? We’ve already done it once, and everyone already knows.”
All things aside, just having to wake up at 5.00AM to get her makeup done was already torturous enough.
“That won’t fly. I’m a man of principles; everything needs to be done through and through.” Arthur shook his head with a frown. It seemed that he cared a lot about this matter.
In the end, he still left after he said everything he wanted to.
Elspeth didn’t have anything important to see to either. Then, it suddenly occurred to her that she hadn’t given Isabel the medicinal herbs she had brought back the other time. Hence, she decided to buy a few other medicinal herbs from the hospital to mix with that batch after reaching home.
However, there were too few medicinal herbs in hospitals abroad. Even if the hospital she was in had the city’s largest medicinal herb dispensary, she couldn’t enter as she pleased, let alone obtain those medicinal herbs.
Still, she went with a glimmer of hope.
Just as she arrived at the entrance, the middle-aged man guarding the medicinal herb dispensary stood up and cautioned gravely, “Persons concerned only, miss. Please leave.”
“I’d like to purchase some medicinal herbs. May I please speak to your person-in-charge about it?” Elspeth asked politely.
“But…” Seeing that a stunning, polite woman pleaded to him, the middle-aged man started hesitating.
At that, Elspeth began imploring and talking her way into it. Coupled with her impeccable smile, the man gave in immediately. “Alright, alright, let me check.”
With that, the man left and returned with a Damorian guy, whom Elspeth thought looked familiar but just couldn’t quite figure out where she had seen him.
As the latter was also from Damoria, he lowered his guard immediately after seeing Elspeth, and he asked, “May I know what you’ll be doing with these medicinal herbs, miss?”
“I have a friend seeking medical treatment,” she answered euphemistically, “and I happened to specialize in traditional medicine, so I’d like to buy some medicinal herbs.”
Hearing that she specialized in traditional medicine, the man narrowed his eyes slightly, and he sized her up arbitrarily with his piercing gaze. “You look like you’re just in your early twenties, and you say you specialize in traditional medicine?”
Elspeth suspected that the man doubted her because she said she ‘specialized’ in the study, so she backtracked her words at once. “Well, not really. I just know a thing or two.”
“Know a thing or two, and you already dare treat someone else so casually. Are you not worried you’ll cause your friend misfortune?”
The man was displeased no matter what she said.
“Yes, I only know a thing or two, and I’m not skilled enough, but my mentor’s a master in traditional medicine. Nothing will happen to her.”
At that, the man became even more skeptical. “You have a mentor? What’s his name?”
Anyone with a good temper would’ve long become annoyed after so much questioning, let alone Elspeth.
“This doesn’t have much to do with my wish to purchase medicinal herbs, does it?” Elspeth’s gaze turned cold.
“Of course, it does. If something bad happens to your friend after consuming the medicinal herbs you got from us, people will come to us after finding out the source of those herbs. So, to avoid any unnecessary issues, I have to get things straight.” At the end of the day, the man was just doing his job. “I only have some trust in you and asked so many questions because you’re also from Damoria. If it were someone else, I’d have shooed them away immediately.”
“I’m really sorry. I can’t tell you my mentor’s name. But I can most certainly treat my friend’s illness.” Elspeth realized her overreaction might have upset him.
“In that case, you can forget about purchasing any medicinal herbs from us.” The man’s expectant gaze dimmed at once.
After all, how could anyone bet on a person’s life so easily?!
“Well, can I please have a private moment with you? I’ll tell only you,” Elspeth negotiated, seeing that the man wanted to leave.
He stopped at once, and he looked side-eyed toward the foreign man next to him. The latter understood at once and walked away acquiescently, as unwilling as he was.
“Alright, tell me.”
Now that it was just the two of them, Elspeth answered frankly. “He’s Sonny Schwartz.”
The man’s expression stiffened at once. “Are you sure that’s his name?”
“Yeah. Do you happen to know him personally?” Elspeth’s heart skipped a beat, and an inexplicably ominous feeling crept up to her, for his expression wasn’t one of the joys of encountering a friend but the repulsion of meeting a foe.
Sure enough, the man turned grim at once. “I can’t sell my herbs to you then.”
The next second, he turned and left angrily.
With that, Elspeth went up to him and grabbed his wrist in desperation.
She had such a firm grip on him that he couldn’t break free at all. For a moment, he didn’t know what to say. “What are you doing?”
“I really need the herbs. I hope you can overlook the grudges between you two and sell them to me,” Elspeth entreated anxiously, causing a chuckle of anger to escape the man. “You think I have a grudge against him? Do you even know the backstory?”
Elspeth was rendered at a loss for words for a moment. “But you turned me down as soon as you heard my mentor’s name. Is there no grudge between you two?”
The man hurriedly wrested his wrist free while she was distracted. “Alright, fine. You’ve proven your point. You really have to buy them, don’t you?”
“Of course.” Elspeth nodded.
“In that case, you have to pass my test.” The man felt his chin before continuing, “As long as you pass this test, I can give it to you for nothing.”
Have I just hit the jackpot?
“Alright.” Elspeth nodded. “What’s the test?”
“You can use all the herbs in this dispensary. I will specify a sickness, and you have to dispense it. As long as I am pleased with your results, I will give you the herbs for free.”
Well, it wasn’t a difficult task, but it wouldn’t be easy either.
Back when she was living with Sonny, the old man would force her to dispense medicine every day. With time, she would know what herbs have been dispensed for certain medications without even having to look at the prescription.
“But if I’m not happy with the result… You will have to leave immediately.”
The man understood her thoughts at once when he saw her hesitating, and he hit the roof. “Do you think I am that kind of person?!”
At that, Elspeth chuckled awkwardly while musing, Haven’t your words just now proven whether you’re that kind of guy?
But of course, she dared not say it upfront, seeing how livid the man was. So, she cleared her throat. “Of course not.”
Finally, the man hmphed with content, then led Elspeth into the massive dispensary. With that, the young woman swept her gaze across the place, wondering, “This place is massive. They should have what I’m looking for, right?”
“Alright, dispense a prescription for typhoid fever.” At that, the man checked his watch, and as the minute hand arrived on the fifteenth minute, he said, “You have half an hour.”
“Thirty’s a little long. Let’s do ten minutes.” Elspeth was aware that he wasn’t putting her in a tight spot at all, but she didn’t want to waste too much time doing boring stuff like this, either.
As a result, the man widened his eyes with incredulity. “The thirty minutes includes the time for you to find the herbs and distinguish them. But you want to shorten it to ten? Don’t tell me you want to tank now before even starting?”
Tank… That’s pretty fresh slang. Elspeth genuinely didn’t think she’d find someone who’d know the term on the other side of the world.
“I really don’t need thirty minutes. That’s too long.”
“Since you’re so confident, I won’t say no, then.” The man nodded with peace of mind at that. “Very well. Ten minutes it is. I’ll inspect your findings later.”
“I want medicine that will give the best result. Don’t go around thinking you can fool me with a common prescription,” he added, worried she’d be somewhat lofty.
Common? Sonny would probably flip out if he heard what this guy said. That man constantly rambles about how everything he produces is the best of the best. But if this guy doesn’t make much of Sonny’s prescription, I’ll sever our mentor-mentee relationship with him.
That said, that would be a story for another day.
…
The countdown began, and the man sat down on the chair aside. As he sipped on the tea that had been pre-prepared, he sized up the young woman busying away with his peripheral vision.
Meanwhile, Elspeth’s eyes lit up after her gaze swept across the dispensary storing thousands of medicinal herbs.
She had thought she’d have a hard time finding the herbs with how they were organized, but it turned out that the arrangements were nearly identical to Sonny’s.
Can it be…
A bold notion came to her, but she quickly suppressed it. The most important thing right then was dispensing the medicine.
As she searched through the dispensary, she inadvertently grabbed a few herbs, and every time she did, the man would quirk his brows.
All else aside, this girl really knows what to pick out. All of them are rarities that I’m reluctant to use.
At that, his gaze finally turned from skeptical to admiration. However, Elspeth didn’t notice it. She was picking out the herbs while recalling what Sonny had taught her, which honestly had long been seared into her mind.
When the time came to eight and a half minutes, Elspeth placed a box of medicinal herbs on the table beside the man. “I’m done.”
The man hadn’t even finished his tea when he saw her standing confidently aside, waiting for him to inspect her prescription. At that, he quirked his lips.
This girl managed to get the prescription ready in less than ten minutes?!
Even his mentee spent an entire two weeks just memorizing his dispensary, but this girl picked out the herbs like this was her dispensary!
That said, he still couldn’t trust her judgment so simply just yet. At that, he checked the herbs she picked out thoroughly, and by the end of it, he turned grim.
Everything was fine until he saw the last two herbs, which evidently conflicted with the other herbs earlier. The patient will probably get seriously sick from this prescription.
“Are you sure you haven’t mixed up your dispenses?”
“Impossible.” Elspeth looked innocently at him. “This is exactly it. Do you not know the prescription?”
“I think I still know a cure for an illness as basic as typhoid when I’ve been in this field for forty years.” The man turned grim at once, surprised that she would question his ability.
At that, Elspeth burst into a chuckle. “Then it must be that you haven’t updated your knowledge for a while. You probably haven’t come up with new innovations for a while either, have you?”
Great, she’s challenging my authority now!
The man turned grimmer by the second. “Impossible. I’ve also added these herbs in the past, but none of them are usable!”
“Then, the problem probably lies in the way you make them.” Elspeth spread her hands out, not looking nervous at all.
The man narrowed his eyes and stared bewilderedly at her at that. “You’re saying you’ve achieved success using this prescription?”
Oh, how Elspeth had a say in this topic. “My mentor would always use this prescription to treat me whenever I was down with a cold back then. I had so much of it that I can even point out what herbs have been used as soon as I taste it now.”
That is so outrageous… yet common. The man couldn’t help but sigh as he looked at how confident the young woman was. “You really can’t overlook the young ones.”
How can such a wonderful young lady be Schwartz’s mentee?!
The thought of Sonny had him gritting his teeth in anger and his expression turning from admiration to deploring.
“So… Have I passed the test?” Elspeth wasn’t sure what he was thinking when she saw how quickly his countenances shifted.
At that, the man cleared his throat. “I… If you want to pass the test, I have one more condition.”
“What is it?” Elspeth grew bewildered as she looked at his awkward expression.
“You… I’ll give the medicinal herbs to you for free if you agree to sever your mentor-mentee relationship with Schwartz.”
Elspeth was stunned. It would be even better if I could just become his mentee! That way, I’d inherit the entire dispensary. That mentee of his he mentioned sounded incompetent anyway…
“You won’t get a second chance at this. Once you pass up this offer, this is it!” said the man with beaming eyes while devising his plan.
Elspeth, on the other hand, couldn’t make out what the man had in mind. Sure, Sonny was quite annoying, but she still wasn’t very willing to sever her mentorship with the old man.
“This demand’s a little imposing, don’t you think? I refuse.”
With that, the man snorted and said, “Alright, so be it then. Please leave.”
How exasperating. The mentee-to-be right in front of him, gone, just like that.
However, Elspeth suddenly smirked icily. “But… since you’re not going to play nice, we’ll do it the hard way then.”
“Nothing, of course.”
Sure, that was what she said, but Elspeth still rotated her wrist while approaching the man.
“I’m warning you, you better not touch me. I’m—” the man cautioned in panic and nearly revealed his identity, but he quickly shut up, his face dark.
“You’re what?” Elspeth was rendered stupefied, and during the moment she zoned out, the man’s countenance shifted multitudes. “No, nothing. I’m no one. Alright, what do you propose?”
Lo and behold, Elspeth clasped his wrist the next second, and it was only now that he realized her grip on him half an hour ago was already considered loose. Now, not only could he feel a sense of restraint but even intimidation.
At that, he gulped, suddenly realizing this young lady wasn’t someone he could mess with.
“Do as I say. Be a good doctor and hand me the herbs I want.”
“Ptui! Dream on!” the man cussed.
“Right now, you’re in my hands, and there are only the two of us here.” Elspeth shrugged. It seemed that she wasn’t afraid at all. “What makes you think I will listen to you?”
The man sneered in response. “I’m warning you—there’s a trap in here…”
At that, Elspeth moved to his back and yanked the button out when she felt it by his feet. Then, she dangled it in front of him and asked him with feigned innocence and shock. “What trap? You don’t mean this thing, do you?”
The man’s smile disappeared instantly, replaced with disbelief. “How did you know that was it?!”
He had never told anyone—even his mentee—about the trap in here. So how was it possible for a young woman, who had just entered his dispensary in less than half an hour, to know about the trap he had set up?!
His bafflement grew by the second, but Elspeth made nothing of his paranoia and only asked with discontent. “You were… going to call for help?”
It was only now that the man realized the young woman standing in front of him wasn’t only artful but also devious.
She’s too devious! Just like Schwartz, that old fart!
The man was thin-skinned, yet he couldn’t force himself to say no, so he ended up grumbling, “Can you let go of me first? I’ll try and find you whatever it is you want.”
But Elspeth couldn’t care less about how he was feeling. She pulled a rope out and tied him securely to the chair before turning to the dispensary.
“Thank you, but no trouble. I’ll do this myself. I’m quite familiar with it, you see.” Elspeth smiled at him with a tilted head before disappearing into the dispensary in two shakes.
Then, about then minutes later, she came back out with a bag—from who knew where she got—full of stuff.
When Elspeth brought the medicinal herbs to the man, she failed to hold back and guffawed when she saw his grim look. “Sorry.”
On the other hand, the man’s heart twinged painfully as though someone had lacerated it when he looked at all the herbs she had bagged up. Then again, he had lost to her, so he couldn’t flip out. But of course, his countenance had shifted multitudes in the last couple of seconds.
“Alright, you already got what you came for. Can you release me now?”
To that, Elspeth shook her head. “I’m afraid you’ll have to stay tied up for a while longer.”
She was no fool. He would certainly catch her if she released him now. He should wait until his subordinate came and saved him.
At that, Elspeth pulled an enigmatic smile at him, then waltzed out of the medicinal herb dispensary, leaving the man shouting for help to no avail.
Oh, how he rued the day!
Then again, the young woman stuck to her words, for the foreign man came in a couple of minutes later, only to be freaked out by what he saw. “What happened to you, Doctor?” the foreign man asked.
To that, the man gestured with his eyes for the foreign man to untie him while gnashing his teeth in anger.
Finally realizing what he should’ve been doing, the foreign man hurriedly released the man. “Why are you tied up, Doctor? I thought you were looking for me? The lady said you wanted to see me here.”
The man glared disappointingly at the foreign man before saying, “We’ve both been duped!”
“What?”
“She’s not whom she appears to be. She’s a skilled fighter and is even well-versed in traditional medicine. Too bad…”
Too bad she was Schwartz’s apprentice.
He still felt unfortunate even at this point.
Meanwhile, the foreign man burst into anger after hearing the man’s words. “What do you say, then, Doctor? Should I gather a few guys to teach her a lesson?”
The man shook his head. “First, you’re no match for her. Second, I will beat you into a pulp if you dare ruin such a rare talent.”
Sure, he was upset about being tied up, but he still knew what was more important.
As assertive as Elspeth was, she was genuinely a rare talent for traditional medicine’s future development. Hence, it was why he let her take whatever she wanted instead of activating the second defense system.
As if there could only be one trap in this massive medicinal herb dispensary! He merely let her go intentionally.
Wonder if the girl will understand that she now owes me a favor. The man sighed as he stroked his beard.
The foreign man, on the other hand, was baffled. Why do I end up being scolded and threatened when the woman was the one who stole our medicinal herbs?!
…
Meanwhile, Elspeth returned to Winthrop Residence with the bag of medicinal herbs, and she found Arthur cooking as soon as she entered.
She came to realize the man loved cooking. Though he looked enigmatic, who’d have thought he was actually a foodie deep down, especially after he returned home. The animosity that shrouded him would disperse completely.
Right then, he was wearing an apron, cooking up a vegetable stir-fry in the kitchen, and oddly enough, Elspeth couldn’t hate him at all.
She stretched, and as soon as she yawned, the man in the kitchen turned around, saying, “Go and wash up. Dinner’s almost ready.”
For some reason, another person came to mind when she saw him smiling at him with a spatula in his hand.
Wonder what Callum is doing now… Would he have already left the city and gone back to Damoria in devastation after knowing how heartless I was? What if he encounters a gentle young woman, falls in love with her, and the two end up marrying? Ah! Touch wood! What are you thinking, Lynwood?!
Elspeth shook her head to get rid of the ridiculous thoughts.
At this point, what happened to Callum was no longer her business. After all, with her health, it was likely impossible for her to live forever with him. So why not find the best of both worlds…
Meeting Isabel’s pure and innocent smile, Elspeth suddenly felt much better. “Oh, nothing. I was just wondering why today’s cooking smells so terrible.”
The next second, a chili hit her head, and Elspeth looked in the direction the chili came from to find Arthur wearing a half-smile, looking grimly at her not far away. “What was that, Elspeth?”
The young woman immediately realized she had spoken too loudly just now, and she hurriedly shut up. At that, she took a gander at Isabel, and the two smiled at each other.
“Actually, I think the cooking today’s not too bad…” Isabel sniffed the air in bafflement, leading Elspeth to ruffle her hair with a smile. “Alright, I was just joking. Wash your hands and get ready for dinner. I’m heading to my room. I still have something to attend to.”
“Is it the medicine? Have you made progress with it?” As brilliant as Isabel was, she guessed it immediately when she saw the glow on Elspeth’s face.
“Shh. Don’t say it even if you’ve figured it out, or it wouldn’t be a surprise anymore.” Her words upset Elspeth, and the latter ruffled the young girl’s hair with a moue.
“Thank you, Elspeth!” said Isabel, so overwhelmed with joy that her voice was shaky as she felt her somewhat mottled face.
“Aww, this is nothing.” Elspeth felt somewhat sentimental. “This is all for you. You wouldn’t have suffered this injury if you hadn’t saved me.”
Isabel nodded and scratched her head bashfully. “Well, I’ll wait for your good news.”
“Sure.” With that, Elspeth returned to her room in a brilliant mood.
Her phone rang just as she entered her room.
At that, she pulled her phone out and immediately saw the caller ID.
Gilbert?
Though doubtful, she still answered it.
“Elspeth, where are you right now?” It sounded more like an order rather than a question.
“Well, excuse your temper. I don’t recall owing you anything,” the young woman retorted with feigned anger.
“Don’t go around doing stuff behind my back. Where are you?” Gilbert was beyond exasperated. He was worrying here, yet the person on the other line was behaving nonchalantly and even fooling around.
“I’m in Eden. Treating my Mom’s illness.” Well, she wasn’t exactly lying.
Gilbert narrowed his eyes in response. “I already found out Arthur has taken your mom away for medical treatment and coupled with what you said just now… Does this mean you’re with Arthur right now?”
Just as Elspeth wanted to explain, her phone was taken away. At that, she looked up reflexively and found the man in question answering Gilbert with a smile. “Yeah, I’m right next to her as we’re speaking.”
Instantly, Gilbert’s worry instantly vanished. “Arthur, I’m warning you, drop whatever you want to do to Elspeth. You’re not worthy of her!”
Alas, the threat did nothing to affect Arthur. Instead, the latter countered with a fatal question. “What about you? Do you think you’re some kind of saint?”
This time, not only was Gilbert stumped but even Elspeth was alarmed.
“What do you mean?” asked the man on the other end of the line.
A thought suddenly came to Elspeth, and she frantically hinted with her gaze at Arthur not to say anything.
However, the man made nothing of it and blurted out, “You say I’m not worthy of Elspeth, so are you, someone who shirked their responsibility after impregnating another woman.”
Great, he said it. Operation prevention failed.
“What does this have to do with you?” Gilbert felt somewhat humiliated, and his heart twinged painfully. After all, it was said in front of Elspeth.
“And what does whether Elspeth and I are together have to do with you? Straighten your own problems first. To think a father like you is still hiding in Chars when your child is already gone.”
Arthur’s words couldn’t get any harsher, and Elspeth was certain Gilbert had never suffered such humiliation in the past twenty-plus years of his life. But for some reason, the man fell silent, deadly silent.
A long while later, when Elspeth thought Gilbert was surrounded by the pain of losing his child, he suddenly spoke up. “Where is she?” To her surprise, there was a sliver of relief in his voice.
“Oh, so it has finally occurred to you that you should look for her? You really are a wuss, Payne. As if you can’t even find a pregnant woman with your large connection.” Arthur didn’t answer his question and hung up the call immediately, causing Elspeth to glare daggers at him. “How dare you hang up my call!”
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