The Slave Queen - Chapter 73: Chapter 73

Margot's voice rang out clearly. "After I recovered, Raelynn invited Dr. Coventry to prepare medication to ward off illness for people. She prayed for my well-being and hosted charity events to share the blessings with the public.
"Dr. Coventry was deeply moved by Raelynn's heartfelt sincerity, which was why he volunteered to stay and offer free medical services.
"How dare anyone claim credit for what was clearly Raelynn's doing?"
With that, her aged eyes—once clouded with illness—suddenly sharpened like a hawk's as they locked onto Julia's gaze.
Julia's mind exploded with shock.
The world spun wildly, and her vision blurred completely.
Unable to keep her balance, she fell straight backward.
Isabel and Katherine hurried to support Julia, but without Margot's permission, they dared not make the decision to escort Julia home.
Lark had been standing right behind Julia.
The instant Julia's body began to collapse toward her, she quickly took another step back.
She refused to let even a trace of contact taint her as if Julia's misfortune were contagious.
Lark glared at the unconscious Julia with undisguised revulsion, her fingers itching to slap her across the face.
She thought, 'How dare she take someone else's credit and drag me into this disgrace!'
When Lark looked up again, her eyes unexpectedly locked with Trina's.
Back in their childhood, Lark and Trina had a spat over a flower and never really got along after that.
But now, as fellow victims, they found an unexpected kinship.
Each could see the same regret of having been deceived reflected in the other's eyes.
Lark sidled closer to Trina.
Fuming, she leaned in and whispered, "I always knew Julia was two-faced, but I never thought she'd stoop to outright impersonation! After all these years, she hasn't changed a bit. No, she's even more vicious now!"
Trina nodded and fully agreed with Lark.
After all, she had kept her distance from Julia years ago because she sensed Julia wasn't someone to trust.
She would never have thought that after all these years, Julia had only grown even more vicious.
However, some onlookers remained unconvinced.
After all, Julia had quite successfully cultivated her sterling reputation in Hazond City over the years.
Only those noble ladies who were especially close to her could sense something was amiss.
However, since they were brought up with impeccable breeding, they would never speak of it lightly in order to avoid a feud between their families.
As for those young gentlemen from noble families who had never been close to Julia, they naturally remained unaware.
Indeed, some young men from prominent families had even been completely taken in by her act.
They had long since come to firmly believe that Julia was the true philanthropist behind all the charitable deeds.
To them, Margot's words were simply an attempt to claim Julia's reputation for Raelynn.
At once, Grant Weber rose to Julia's defense. "Mrs. Lennox, with all due respect, you are mistaken. If Lady Raelynn did all these things, why didn't she clarify it from the start? Who in Hazond City doesn't know Lady Julia is the one who did all this?"
When mentioning Raelynn, Grant couldn't help but grit his teeth.
He knew full well about Raelynn's offense against the noble consort and how she was punished to serve as a maid.
'How could such a vulgar maid possibly deserve to be called 'Lady'?' he fumed inwardly.
Yet, since Margot was an elder, he had no choice but to address Raelynn as such.
Margot burst into laughter as if she'd just heard a ridiculous joke. "You're the son of Lord Matthew Weber, right? Raelynn has been personally serving food to people at the Reformed Church these days. Every townsfolk knows her. If you don't believe me, why not go out there and fetch any random citizen?
"Let's see whether they will thank Raelynn and Julia."
As Margot spoke her final word, she couldn't quite hide the lethal edge in her voice.
Margot seethed inwardly, 'That wretched girl is truly a menace!
"There is not a drop of the Duke's blood running through her veins. She's just an ungrateful viper.
"She's snatched every bit of glory that wasn't hers.
"Today, even if I must humiliate myself, I will see justice for Raelynn.
She asked, "Would someone truly devoted to good deeds really have the time to go around bragging about their virtue all day long?"
That final rhetorical question hit everyone like a ton of bricks.
The charity event at the Reformed Church only ended yesterday.
Yet Julia's virtuous reputation had already spread throughout Hazond City a full week before the event even concluded.
No one here was born a fool.
In that instant, the entire hall fell into stunned silence.
However, Grant still refused to believe it.
He ordered his attendant to go outside and bring in a few townsfolk who had received treatment at the Reformed Church, so they could identify the real benefactor.
He considered Julia as an otherworldly goddess, and he refused to believe that she would ever stoop to such despicable acts.
Julia had actually regained consciousness long ago.
In fact, the moment Isabel and Katherine reached out to support her, she was already wide awake.