The Scarred Queen's Rise (Athena) novel Chapter 393

Eloise’s heart ached at the sight of Willow’s pitiful state.

Eloise stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the trembling Willow. Turning to Nicolas, she said, “I raised Willow myself. Don’t you think I know her better than anyone? She wouldn’t hurt a fly; she can’t even stand the sight of a chicken being killed, let alone harm someone! How could you suspect Willow based on nothing but baseless accusations?”

Eloise’s brows furrowed deeply. She ached for Willow, yet simmered with frustration at Athena. “She’s my own flesh and blood. How could my daughter be so at odds with her family?” The thought weighed heavily on her.

“This is my fault–I failed as a mother,” she admitted to herself, guilt washing over her. Eloise didn’t even need to say anything–Nicolas was already drowning in guilt, unable to lift his head.

“What was I thinking?” he berated himself. “How could I have doubted Willow just because of a few words from Athena?”

His hatred for Athena only deepened. Nicolas gently stroked Willow’s head. “It’s my fault,” he said softly. “Get some rest.” Nicolas gently stroked Willow’s head. “It’s my fault,” he said softly. “Get some rest.”

Inside the room, Athena found her grandmother lying on the bed, her face ghostly pale.

Athena rushed forward in quick strides and dropped to her knees by the bed. “Grandma,” she whispered urgently, “Grandma, please wake up.”

The woman on the bed, Margaret, remained still. It felt as if a knife had sliced through Athena’s heart. The pain was so sharp it left her gasping for breath.

Athena quickly checked Margaret’s pulse, a look of shock spreading across her face. “Who would… who would poison Grandma?” she gasped in horror. Margaret wasn’t critically ill. She had been poisoned.

Athena turned to Gwen. “Did Grandma eat anything unusual?”

Gwen thought for a moment before replying hastily, “Yesterday, the kitchen sent over some mushrooms. Her Ladyship found them so fresh and tasty that she ended up eating more than usual.”

“Are the mushrooms still here?” Athena asked urgently.

“Yes, they’re still here,” Gwen replied quickly.

Gwen hastily retrieved the remaining mushrooms. Athena leaned in for a look, her eyes widening as she spotted quite a few white death caps still in the large bowl.

Now that she knew exactly what kind of mushroom poison it was, Athena felt a sense of calm settle over her.

Athena immediately began administering acupuncture to her grandmother, then quickly wrote out a prescription and handed it to Gwen. “Hurry, take this prescription and prepare the medicine!” she urged.

Gwen took it, acknowledged, and hurried out. She thought to herself, “I wouldn’t dare entrust the preparation of the medicine to anyone else.”

Thirty minutes later, Athena carefully removed the acupuncture needles from her grandma’s body. Margaret, who had been unconscious for a long time, suddenly coughed up a mouthful of dark brown blood. Athena swiftly grabbed a spittoon to catch it, then gently wiped her grandma’s mouth with a cloth.

All her efforts finally paid off. Before long, Margaret’s eyes slowly fluttered open.

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Chapter 393

When Margaret finally recognized the person in front of her as Athena, she managed a faint, weak smile and whispered,

Athena… is that really you?”

Athena let out a breath she’d been holding, her eyes welling with tears as she nodded. “Yes, Grandma, it’s me.”

“Don’t cry,” Margaret whispered weakly, struggling to lift her hand to gently wipe away Athena’s tears.

Athena immediately grasped her hand and said softly, “Grandma, you’ve just woken up. Please rest now.” Athena took an antidote pill from her embroidered pouch and gently fed it to Grandma.

Margaret willingly opened her mouth and swallowed the pill.

Just then, Gwen came in with the freshly brewed medicine. The moment she saw Margaret awake, Gwen burst into tears.

“My Lady, you scared this servant to death! Thank heavens Lady Athena’s masterful medical skills brought you back.”

“Well, I’m not dead yet, am I?” Margaret gave a self–deprecating chuckle, her heart heavy with bitterness. “Living like this, barely clinging to life… Death would be more peaceful. At least then I wouldn’t be holding Athena back.” When Margaret saw Athena standing by her bedside, an indescribable mix of emotions filled her.

Chapter 394