A Replacement Bride

Chapter 273

Chapter 273

She was extremely sincere as she uttered those words, while Katherine pursed the corners of her lips, falling silent. Her cold gaze swept over the woman's sickly face as if trying to see through her, and she only withdrew her gaze unhurriedly after a long pause.

Seeing this, Marcus was about to plead on Patricia's behalf again, but before he could open his mouth, he was stopped by Katherine.

"You don't have to speak anymore."

At her words, Marcus felt his heart skip a beat while Patricia's face turned ashen with regret.

Unexpectedly, Katherine gave Lexie a cold glance and said in a deep voice, "What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and take Mrs. Fraser back to her room."

After hearing this, Lexie froze for a moment before her expression turned somewhat embarrassed.

Katherine sensed her concern and revealed a smirk at the corner of her lips. "What's wrong? Are you afraid? I heard that your master treats you well, but why are you so afraid now that they are in trouble?"

Her words were full of sarcasm, causing Lexie to freeze with embarrassment and distress, but she eventually gritted her teeth and stepped forward to assist Patricia in walking back.

On the other hand, Marcus' eyes lit up as he asked expectantly, "Miss Cornell, does that mean…"

Katherine lifted a hand and straightened her cuffs, saying in a languid and breezy manner, "The Fraser Family's condition can't be delayed any longer, especially Mrs. Fraser, so we'll proceed with the treatment now."

Hearing that, Marcus was instantly elated, nearly clapping his hands in glee. "That's great! Miss Cornell, you really are the kindest person in the world!"

"Kind?" She weighed her words before letting out a detached scoff. "That's the first time someone has described me that way. Marcus, you've misjudged me."

Kind was not a word that existed in her book; she felt that it was not something she deserved to be described with yet.

Just then, Joaquin raised his hand and caressed her hair with a soft smile. "In fact, Kathy is the greatest person in the world."

He did not describe her as 'kind,' but used the word 'great' instead. However, as it was a broad term that covered many different merits, Katherine had no idea which part of her he was referring to.

Still, she didn't ask any questions. Instead, she swatted his hand away and pursed her lips before swiveling around to go back in. "Let's go."

Behind her, Joaquin watched her retreating back and couldn't help but shake his head with a smile.

Marcus, who was standing by the side, couldn't help but move over when he saw this. He rubbed his chin, his tone rather sour as he commented, "Mr. Levisay, you've truly lucked out to be able to marry Miss Cornell."

Joaquin did not refute his words, his bright eyes glinting as he unexpectedly nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, you're right. I am lucky."

To be able to meet her by chance and cross paths with her, even happily tying the knot with her, he must've used all the luck he had.

As she had previously requested, Katherine remained alone in Patricia's room. First, she used acupuncture to put Patricia to sleep before repeating the same technique to remove the man-faced curse from her body. She then opened the secret parchment scroll passed down to her by Jennifer and followed the steps and methods recorded on it to completely cleanse the curse that was hidden in Patricia's body.

As it turned out, once the man-faced curse had been in the human body for a long time, it would develop a form of poison that was deeply hidden in the muscle. Even if the man-faced curse was removed, it would be difficult to eliminate the poison completely.

Although Jennifer had recorded a way to remove the poison in the parchment scroll, it was somewhat out of line with the current medical technology as this method was invented a long time ago. If Katherine was not proficient in ancient medicine, she would have had difficulty even with this secret parchment scroll.

Two hours had passed when Katherine emerged from Patricia's room. She was drenched in sweat, and her damp hair stuck to her face, which caused her to feel uncomfortable. When Joaquin, who had been waiting outside, saw her come out, he hurriedly rushed over and whipped out his handkerchief to help her wipe her sweat, and tucked her hair behind her ears.

Compared to everyone else, he was more concerned about her well-being. When he noticed the fatigue in her expression, he couldn't help but frown and ask, "How was it? Are you tired? Do you need some rest?"

On the other hand, Marcus was more interested in knowing the situation in the room. The moment Joaquin finished speaking, he asked urgently, "How is Mrs. Fraser now, Miss Cornell?"

Katherine first shook her head at Joaquin, indicating that she was fine, before looking at Marcus.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

"She's out of the woods now. Go and gather the medicine listed on this prescription. Remember to gather more. Once you have the medicine, boil it for six hours on low heat, then feed it to them."

As he heard her mention the word 'them,' Marcus' expression brightened and he took the prescription from her before asking, "Miss Cornell, are you saying that the Frasers can be cured today?"

Katherine nodded, but Joaquin's eyebrows immediately furrowed deeply in disapproval at her words.

"You've spent so much time and energy just from saving one person. How would your body be able to cope if you try to save two more this soon? You should rest a little."

As he spoke, he held her hand to bring her to a guest room to rest, but Katherine declined and grabbed him instead, shaking her head at him.

"They aren't in good condition right now. If I drag things on, the poison might infiltrate their body even further, making the cleansing process even more difficult and time-consuming later. It'd be better to start as early as possible."

"Poison?" Joaquin echoed in confusion. "What's that about?"

"I'll explain later. I'm going back in now. You haven't fully recovered yet, so you don't have to wait by the door. Get some rest in a room for a while, and I'll look for you once I'm done."

As soon as she finished, she headed straight into Cyndi's room next door. Joaquin was aware of her desire to save the lives of others and was not in a position to stop her, but he was still worried for her. Hence, instead of leaving to get some rest himself, he continued to wait at the door.

About five hours later, by the time Katherine walked out of Myles' room, she was so exhausted that she nearly collapsed. Her body was coated in several layers of sweat, nearly soaking through her clothes that clung damply to her body, and she looked as if she had been fished out of a pool of water.

"He's alright now. I've gotten some nurses to watch over him. Let me know if anything comes up." After she had given Marcus the necessary instructions, she asked, "How's the medicine coming along?"

Marcus was overjoyed as the burden on his shoulders had finally been lifted, and he nodded profusely. "Just as you requested, it's still simmering on low heat."

"Okay." Katherine nodded. She was just about to turn around to say something to Joaquin when her vision turned black and her mind went blank.

As Joaquin watched her sink to the ground before his eyes like a withered leaf, he reflexively caught her by the waist and brought her into his arms, nearly going mad with worry.

"Kathy! Kathy…"

Alas, Katherine could no longer hear anything at that moment. Saving three people had consumed too much of her energy, and she collapsed from exhaustion.