When Freya woke up again, three more days had passed.

Her back wound was very itchy, and her whole body felt sore, making her want to cry.

Bradley came in with a bowl of soup and saw her restless in bed. He swiftly came forward and asked.

"What's going on? Are you feeling unwell again?"

"It was very itchy", she admitted, tempted to scratch the wound but held back, worried about causing scars.

Bradley reassured her, "I'll get Ella here. Don't just scratch randomly."

Ella arrived promptly upon hearing the call.

Freya was sweating from the intense itchiness.

Just three days ago, she felt feverish, and now this unbearable itching. What in the world was this One Leaf Needle-like thing?

Gripping Bradley's hand tightly, she pleaded softly through tears.

"Ella, can you check why it's so itchy, please?"

Ella gestured for Bradley to assist and carefully turned Freya over.

Freya wore a backless top, making it easy to apply medicine to the wound on her back, which was wrapped in bandages.

Ella carefully unwrapped the bandages, revealing a scabbing wound that still looked unsettling.

After examining it closely, she remarked, "The wound seems to be healing quickly, which could be why it's itchy."

"No, it feels more like something's biting me," Freya insisted.

Tears streamed down her face as she squirmed uncomfortably from the itching.

Ella reached out and gently pressed on the wound, saying, "It appears fine, but if the itching persists, I can massage it for relief."

However, the moment her hand touched the wound, Freya cried out.

"Ella, stop it quickly!"

With that touch, it felt as if something was crawling around the wound, causing intense itching.

Ella quickly withdrew her hand, alarmed, and turned to Bradley, "Bradley, this isn't normal."

Bradley also noticed.

While assisting Freya with a massage earlier, Ella noticed a lump forming on the wound.

Upon closer inspection, he discerned a black dot that appeared to be in motion.

"Take a look, what's this?" she asked,

Upon hearing this, Ella leans in for a closer look. "I didn't notice this dot before, it looked like a mole," Ella observed.

She grabbed a cotton swab and gently pressed on the dot,

Suddenly it moved and create a lump.

There's something inside!

Ella exclaimed.

Bradley furrowed his brows and inquired, "Can it be removed?"

Ella grimaced, "It can be done, but it means cutting the wound open without anesthesia. It's going to hurt a lot."

"Ella, go ahead. I can take it."

Freya insisted. Anything was better than this relentless itch.

Besides, she was curious about what was causing it.

Ella glanced at Bradley,

seeing the pain in his eyes.

Considering he had been taking care of Freya non-stop these past few days, he got super tense at the slightest hint of trouble.

Making him witness Freya's suffering once more is really troubling him.

"Let's do it."

Finally, he spoke with a deep voice.

Ella quickly got the surgical tools ready since Bradley didn't allow Xavier in, leaving only Ella to do the surgery.

Before long, they took out the object from Freya's wound.

Despite having her mouth stuffed with a towel, Freya couldn't help but scream because she wasn't given anesthesia.

The pain even made her pass out.

Her body was drenched in sweat, as if it had been soaked in water.

Inside the wound was a blood-sucking midge, round and black, with transparent wings like a larva.

Its appearance resembled that of a larva, with a round black body and transparent wings.

Ella collected the blood from Freya and sent it to Xavier for examination.

Fortunately, although the insect was a blood-sucker, it wasn't poisonous.

"It seems that One Leaf Needle was coated on the hidden weapon, and the One Leaf Needle had been contaminated with midge eggs, which then parasitized Freya's body."

Ella explained, letting out a heavy sigh.

"Mm," Bradley's voice was weak.

His eyes revealing a profound sense of care.

He glanced in a specific direction and said in a deep tone, "Freya, please look after yourself. I need to leave for a while."

"Of course, go ahead."

Ella headed to the bathroom to fetch warm water and assist Freya to clean herself.

Bradley swiftly left the room with the bottle containing the midge.

Xavier waited in the lobby below. Seeing Bradley coming down, he rushed to ask, "How's Freya?"

Bradley squinted and replied, "She's resting, nothing serious."

After speaking, Bradley handed the bottle in his hand to Xavier.

Xavier's expression immediately shifted upon seeing it.

"What's this?"

"It's a midge, removed from Freya's wound."

Upon hearing this, Xavier's expression turned even more unpleasant.

He was aware that the York Kingdom's people were skilled in using poison, but he hadn't anticipated their ruthlessness in tampering with hidden weapons and fostering toxic insects inside the human body.

"Take it back for research, I'll go see Steve."

Having said that, he made a swift exit.

At the dungeon.

Bradley stood outside the dungeon, gazing up at the sky.

Before the Newman family downfall, there hadn't been any conflicts between them and the York family.

Now, Steve had dared to target his woman on multiple occasions.

This man deserved to die!

Squinting his eyes, he called out, "Shadow!"

A black figure darted forward, appearing behind the man.

"Get more plum blossom hidden weapons made, coat them with One Leaf Needle's poison, and put a maggot egg on top. Send him one daily, let him experience the torment of intoxication and delusion until he meets his end."

Shadow agreed with a nod.

Bradley remained silent.

Initially planning to confront Steve in the dungeon, but with the plum blossom hidden weapons not yet prepared, he opted to head to Wolf Mountain instead.

To prevent a recurrence of the prior incident, he stationed numerous covert guards in the villa, each a skilled expert.

Freya was roused from sleep by pain in the middle of the night.

As she awoke, remnants of her dream battling Steve lingered in her mind.

The plum blossom hidden weapon had pierced her skin, causing her to break out in a cold sweat from the agony.

When she opened her eyes, the room was empty, Bradley was nowhere to be seen.

Ella strolled in, holding a bowl of traditional medicine and a pot of blackfish soup cooked to a creamy color.

Blackfish was good for healing wounds.

In addition with Ella's herbs, it was packed with goodness.

But there was no seasoning in the soup, and Freya couldn't help but grimace after a sip.

"Ella, who eats soup without salt?"

She quipped, a touch of disdain in her tone.

"This thing was already fishy on its own, without adding seasoning, the taste became even more unpleasant."

Ella shrugged her shoulders and advised, 'If you want the wound to heal quicker, lay off the salt. Just bear with it for a few days until the scab forms, then I'll whip up anything you're craving."

Being a doctor herself, Freya knew the drill.

However, she really couldn't bring herself to drink this soup.

In the end, she blocked her nose and compelled herself to swallow it.

Even after rinsing her mouth, that fishy taste lingered.

"By the way, where's Leonard?"

Ella replied, "He left shortly after the surgery."

Freya understood that he was occupied with important matters. Given all the planning happening these days, he couldn't afford to be careless.