Chapter 199: 199: Believe Or Not
Morning came without warning, and Adrian was the first person to wake up in bed.
Sunlight from the window pierced into the room and flashed over his face. He furrowed his eyebrows as he slowly opened his eyes, placing his hand over his face.
Adrian felt energized. For someone who was wasted last night, he didn’t feel any pain anywhere. Instead, he felt like he had slept all day—a long, comfortable sleep.
He slowly sat up in bed and felt a hand over his own. Someone was holding onto his hands tightly, and as he looked to his side, he was shocked to see a familiar face.
Eden.
Adrian was beyond confused. He wondered how Eden ended up here. He could clearly recall himself from last night—or vaguely—because now it struck him that he was probably drugged.
Panicking, he instantly brushed his hands free from Eden’s grip and moved backward in bed. He got out of bed while staring at Eden, who was slowly waking up.
He was alert.
Eden raised his head as he stretched with a yawn. Still sitting, he looked around and then saw Adrian standing at the side, glaring at him like he was a ghost or something.
He blinked. "You’re finally awake?" He ran a hand over his eyes. "That’s good then. The side effect wasn’t death."
Adrian glared at him. "What are you doing here? How are you here...?" He looked around. "Where am I... how am I here...? What did you do?"
Eden rolled his eyes. "You really do have a lot of questions. But you should at least be glad that you’re still alive."
Adrian said nothing for a while. He was still staring at Eden, who got up now, stretching himself out. "What did you do? What are you up to?"
Eden stared at him and smiled. "For your sweet information, I’m not the one who wants you dead. But everyone out there does—your dear Marquis friends."
Adrian paused.
Eden continued, "Poor you. I wonder what you did to deserve such hate. Everyone wants you dead. They even drugged you and sent some girls to have your head. You really are lucky to meet someone as sweet as me to save your ass. Otherwise, you’d be journeying to the underworld by now."
Adrian stared at him, confused. "What do you mean by that...?"
Eden sighed, staring at Adrian as he narrated all that happened. He didn’t mention Mr. Hugo.
"So... you’re saying... you saved me?" he questioned.
"Exactly."
Adrian didn’t believe he would do so easily. "Why? Why did you save me...? What do you want from me...? And how am I even supposed to believe that you saved me?"
Eden smiled. "You have no choice but to believe it. Besides, I saved you because you already looked pathetic enough with your terminal illness story. I couldn’t watch you die at the hands of those jerks."
Adrian blinked. "How did you know about that...?"
He shrugged. "Like I said, I heard it from them."
Adrian hesitated, wondering if he should even believe Eden. The wizard of El had been known for scheming, so it would be a risk in itself to trust him.
"You can either choose to trust me and live, or you can just choose to leave here and have yourself killed by the Marquises or even your butler."
"My butler? What do you mean?"
"Oh. I forgot to tell you." And so Eden narrated to him all Mr. Hugo did behind his back and how he was connected to all of this.
Angered, Adrian glared at Eden. "How dare you speak such slanderous words about him? Do you even know who he is?"
Eden smiled. "Sure. He’s a father figure to you—the person you trust the most, the one who has been with you all these years."
Adrian hesitated.
"But he’s also the bastard who wants you dead." Eden folded his arms. "Think about it. You never had drinks or anything from the others but only took what he gave you. Yet you ended up drunk and almost killed off at the hands of some ladies. If I wasn’t here, do you even think you’d still be alive?"
Adrian was silent, thinking about what Eden said. He really had only taken what Mr. Hugo had brought him. And Mr. Hugo had promised him it was safe. But he ended up drugged.
"Maybe there’s more to it..."
"Then you can go and get yourself killed in his arms. Then you could confirm. Or you could play it smart and confirm it yourself," Eden said. "At least I’ve already done my part of goodwill by saving your ass."
He spoke as he turned. Just then a knock came on the door.
There was silence as Eden smiled. "Well, look who we have here."
The knock came again, and Eden said to Adrian, "It seems they’re already here for you. It’s now up to you to know if you’ll let them have your head or if you’ll be the one leaving here triumphantly."
Adrian was silent, his eyes on the door as the knock came again.
Eeden walked to the floor and picked up one of the swords left by the dancing ladies. He turned and threw it to Adrian, who caught it.
"Use this. I suck at swords; otherwise, I’d have used it for my defense." He knew they would also come after him the moment they opened the door, so he had to have a backup plan. And his backup plan was Adrian, who was skilled in the arts of fighting.
Now Eden turned to the door. "I’ve told you all you need to know. It’s up to you to wisely choose what to believe. You are clearly surrounded by enemies, so at this point you should be smart enough to tell allies and enemies apart," Eden said.
And immediately, the door was pushed open by the guards outside, and Marquis Dean walked into the room, appearing into sight.