Kissing Hellfire: Marry Me, Evil Lord
Chapter 112: Soothed by his warmth

Chapter 112: Soothed by his warmth

Now in the king’s royal suit and wearing the tassel chain pin of Evardin’s monarch, Alec stepped into the castle’s main hall with Lauren’s hand on his arm as the newly hailed King.

"All hail the new King and Queen!"

Everyone in the hall bowed to the new rulers. Although some were doubting the sudden turn of events in the castle, none dared speak about it. Now that the kingdom had hailed a new king, all they could do was support the new monarch. For the high society, it didn’t matter what kind of person was sitting on the throne. Gaining the favor of the one ruling the hierarchy was more important for them.

The celebration was attended by the richest and most important people in the kingdom. Even some royalties and nobles from other lands attended. With how Evardin was the center of atrocities these past days and weeks, the other lands were curious about the rise of the new king who wasn’t a main descendant of the former ruler, but only a son-in-law.

From the sea of people, Lord Vincent managed to get through a bunch of young ladies blocking his way and successfully reach Alec and Lauren who were surrounded by ministers and councilmen.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty."

When Lauren saw Vincent, she was reminded of his last visit to the castle which was the night Alec came to ask her hand in marriage. The lord was in his dashing suit befitting his royal status. He didn’t have a title of a prince but everyone knew that he was the Acheron King’s nephew, an elite vampire mage, and respected as royalty. The man smiled at her, the same wicked smile she remembered he had the last time she saw him.

"It’s a surprise you have time to come here when I heard King Sebastian gave you a lot of tasks," Alec took a few steps away from the ministers to speak with Vincent. With the casual tone he used, it was evident the two men could be called friends even though none of them would admit of having such relation.

Lauren remained by Alec’s side. His hand was on her waist.

"True, I have a lot on my plate these days since I’m helping Dimitri. Unfortunately, one of the tasks Uncle gave me was to attend your coronation. Did you seriously believe I came here just to congratulate you?" Vincent smirked. His gaze fell on Lauren.

"You look more beautiful than the last time we met, Prin—Queen Lauren rather. Am I right to assume that it’s because you have a happy married life?" Vincent clicked his tongue. "Ah, now I’m starting to think if it is time for me to find someone to marry. Do you think it is a good idea, King Alec?"

"With your noble status and appealing demeanor, it should not be a problem finding a woman of your preference to marry, Lord Vincent," said Lauren.

"Appealing demeanor... so you find me handsome, Queen Lauren?"

Alec’s icy gaze was directed to Vincent, but the lord acted oblivious of his piercing eyes ready to burn the man alive.

"My wife was only being modest. Don’t be too full of yourself. King Sebastian should have sent Dimitri instead of you. A more valuable talk could have transpired between us," Alec deadpanned before pulling Lauren away.

"Weren’t you being too rude," Lauren asked in a small voice but Alec didn’t bother to answer. His attention went to the older members of the Supreme House heading towards them. After the ceremony in the royal court, some members of the Supreme House chose to stay for the celebration while the others left.

Alec and Lauren entertained them. They talked about the recent happenings in the castle and none of the Supreme House members felt awkward talking about the grim events that transpired in Evardin lately despite them being on a joyous occasion. Alec and Lauren remained calm and answered their questions with eloquence despite the elders tackling the rumors about their possible involvement with the former King’s death. Normal people would have felt nervous in the face of the intimidating members of the higher council, but the royal couple was far from normal. They knew well what to do and what to say under different circumstances.

Lauren eventually got bored with the topic and excused herself telling them that she needed to go to the bathroom. But the truth was, she only wanted to search for Ethan and Vivian whom she soon found dancing with other couples.

While waiting for Ethan and Vivian to finish the song, noble ladies hovered around Lauren and showered her with greetings and praises as if they never backstabbed her before. But like an elegant queen with a pure heart, she smiled and offered them humble words.

In high society, a beautiful mask mattered more than a beautiful face. It was sickening, but for people raised to be pretentious for the sake of social norms, it became a part of their everyday life.

When Lauren saw Ethan and Vivian were done with their dance, she excused herself and left the ladies’ ton of questions answered. Not that she would have answered them if she stayed. They kept on asking her about nonsense things, like how Alec treats her as his wife, if she would allow him to have consorts, and the worst, if they were expecting a child soon! It gave her a headache.

"Your Majesty." Vivian chuckled as she curtsied along with Ethan who gave her a small bow.

"Did you have fun dancing? I am surprised I didn’t find you bickering," Lauren gave the two a suspicious look. "Perhaps are you planning to get married soon?"

Vivian coughed at the latter question. "Of course not!"

Lauren raised a brow at Ethan. She wasn’t dumb. She had known all along that Ethan was talking about Vivian when he said he already had someone in mind to marry. The three of them had been friends for years and she was too observant to fail to notice the affection they had for each other even though they bickered most of the time.

Alec who was surrounded by officials darted his eyes to the crowd to search for Lauren. It didn’t take him long to find her smiling with the duke’s son and her female friend whom he remembered to be the brothel owner. While he continued to talk with the officials, his eyes remained on Lauren as if he’d lose her if he paid less attention.

"I won’t be surprised that you got bored talking with those old men," Ethan said when Vivian went to get them drinks from the table of refreshments. "Your husband keeps on staring at you by the way. It’s rather creepy and ominous, but I would likely do the same if my woman is talking to a handsome man such as myself."

"Handsome man like yourself?" Lauren scoffed. She turned her head sideways to see if Alec was really watching and the shameless man didn’t even bother batting an eye even when she caught him staring at her like an obsessed stalker.

"Perhaps is he thinking of smothering me?" Ethan grinned. "You should clarify to His Majesty that I don’t harbor malicious intentions towards you. I don’t want to walk in the town street with the fear of being shot by a blazing bullet or being stabbed by a random passerby. It would be a shame for a notable man like me to die in vain."

"Notable man?" Vivian caught Ethan’s last words. She brought refreshments for Lauren and herself. "Did I hear you right, Sir Sullivan?" Her tone was sarcastic and Lauren knew it was another session of their endless bickering.

After finishing her glass of refreshment, Lauren went to the bathroom. When she went out, she didn’t expect to see Alec waiting for her.

"You startled me." Her palm flew to her chest. "Weren’t you talking with the officials? You shouldn’t have left them."

Towering over her, he tilted his head as he observed her face with a serious expression.

"You look paler than usual. Do you feel sick?" He touched her cheek with the back of his hand and his brows were pulled together when he felt her skin was a little cold.

"Ah, it must be the cold weather. Winter is coming which made the temperature drop drastically," Lauren said and smiled at him, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes.

"Are you sure?" He asked suspiciously. "Isn’t it because you are still sore?"

"Of course not!" She barked, wide-eyed. She hurriedly darted her eyes on both sides to see if someone heard Alec’s words.

He smirked and grabbed her cold hands. He held each of them and Lauren felt how warm his hands were against hers. She looked at him with a calm expression as he transmitted heat to her hands which traveled to her body. Only a mage with the ability to manipulate fire could do it, but the warmth would only stay for a certain period of time.

Still, it felt nice to have her cold nerves soothed by someone’s warmth.