The Slave Queen - Chapter 83: Chapter 83

However, a single misstep had unravelled everything for Julia.
In the end, not only did she utterly ruin her own reputation, but she also ended up playing right into Raelynn's hands.
At that moment, Julia was in no state to comfort Ian. Her entire body trembled uncontrollably, like a leaf in a storm.
Cecilia was the first to notice that something was amiss with Julia.
Instantly, Cecilia clutched Julia even tighter, her voice choked with tears as she cried, "Julia, don't scare me like this.
"Julia, your face is so hot and red!"
Cecilia touched Julia's face and burst into tears. "Gabriel, hurry. Julia's burning up. How could this happen? Fetch the family physician immediately,"
Gabriel replied, "Right away, Mother!"
Upon hearing that Julia was ill, Gabriel's urge to lecture her instantly vanished.
All he could think about was Julia trembling in despair. He wondered why he was so harsh with her just now.
At that moment, all of Gabriel's lingering displeasure with Julia vanished, his blame shifting entirely to Raelynn instead.
Gabriel thought with annoyance, 'Why couldn't she have just waited until we got home to talk about this?
'Why did she have to humiliate Julia in front of everyone?
'It's just a philanthropic reputation. If Julia wanted it, just give it to her. Why did Raelynn have to call her out in front of everyone?
'After all, whether Julia was the philanthropist or not, wouldn't the credit still go to the Duke's estate?
'Raelynn, you really never listen.'
Gabriel hurried off to fetch the estate physician.
Little did Gabriel realize that a mere minor illness from Julia was enough for him to forgive all her misdeeds.
Raelynn, who was his blood sister, had always treated him with all her heart.
In the end, she was merely met with disdain at every turn. She even ended up being abandoned by her entire family.
Soon, the estate physician hurried in to examine Julia.
The estate physician simply stated, "It's a stress-induced fever. Just have her take some medicine to bring the fever down and let her rest. She'll be fine."
Hearing this, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.
The room fell into an eerie silence as everyone stared at Julia lying on the bed. Her delicate face flushed scarlet with fever, and her eyes were tightly shut in discomfort.
Isabel had already taken the estate physician's prescription to prepare medicine for Julia.
Katherine, on Julia's orders, snuck off to Lunebloom Hollow.
After giving Vania some instructions, Katherine hurried back.
Upon her return, Katherine found everyone in the Lennox family already gathered. Not daring to utter a word, she could only wait quietly outside the door.
Gabriel cast a sympathetic glance at Julia before turning to Ian. "Ian, I know you're concerned about Julia, but she's in no condition to receive visitors right now. Why don't you head home for now? You can come back to see her in a few days when she's feeling better."
Gabriel had no idea that Ian had come to demand answers.
Gabriel just assumed Ian had heard Julia was ill and had come by out of concern to check on her.
Up to now, whether Ian was Raelynn's fiancé or Julia's, Gabriel had always been quite satisfied with Ian as his future brother-in-law.
Besides, he and Ian had grown up together, sharing a deep bond since childhood.
Ian nodded in agreement.
He thought to himself, 'Seeing Julia like this, there's no way I'll get any answers from her today.
'I'll come back another day to get to the bottom of this.'
After all, he still trusted in Julia's genuine feelings for him.
Besides, Gabriel had just said that Verda had instigated things, prompting Raelynn to announce the engagement publicly.
So, Ian felt that Verda's feelings for Julia weren't as genuine as they seemed.
Ian wondered, 'Does that mean Julia doesn't actually have feelings for Shawn after all?'
A glimmer of hope rekindled in his heart. After bidding farewell to Hugo and the others, Ian left the Duke's estate with Gabriel's escort.
While Hugo deeply doted on Julia, his reputation and political powers ultimately held more weight in his eyes.
After Julia had brought such disgrace upon the entire Duke's estate today, Hugo harbored simmering resentment toward her.
Still, his anger softened somewhat when he saw her condition.
Turning to Katherine, who was cowering timidly just outside the door, Hugo commanded, "You, come in. You must attend to Julia properly throughout the night. Understood?"
Katherine hurried forward nervously before bowing her head as she replied, "Yes, Lord Hugo."
After giving instructions to Katherine, Hugo turned to Cecilia and said gently, "My dear, Julia has already fallen asleep. Let her get some rest."
It was clear that Hugo was effectively telling Cecilia to leave.
However, Cecilia couldn't possibly leave.
By now, Cecilia was a sobbing mess, tears streaming down her face.
Cecilia gently held Julia's hand with one hand, while with the other she softly dabbed Julia's feverish face with a cool, damp cloth to bring down the fever.
She said, "Julia's ill, this is exactly when she needs her mother most. How could I possibly leave her now?
"My lord, why don't you go get some rest first?"