Kissing Hellfire: Marry Me, Evil Lord
Chapter 127: Tea party at Haystone’s mansion

Chapter 127: Tea party at Haystone’s mansion

"Queen Lauren!"

The moment she entered Haystone’s mansion, the ladies in the main hall turned to her. Lauren smiled at their welcoming gestures despite being in a bad shape. Even though it wasn’t obvious, she was feeling sore all over her body after the long night she shared with Alec.

He was not exactly gentle, but he wasn’t too rough either. She knew he could be violent, but like the first time they did it, he was very cautious.

She could still feel his lips on her skin every time she closed her eyes.

Despite being away for years, Lauren recognized the vampiress who stepped forward. She had a smile on her lips now and her eyes had no hostility in them unlike how she looked at her when they were young.

"Lady Jennifer. Nice to see you again."

The woman bowed curtly.

"It is an honor to have you here with us, Queen Lauren."

Most people didn’t change no matter how hard life struck them. Lauren’s scrutinizing eyes watched Jennifer, trying to see if she could see any trace in her face that would suggest hostility, but she found none. Perhaps the vampiress had truly changed for the better? Her father, Minister Haystone, looked like someone not to be trusted. So, Lauren thought that she should still be wary of Jennifer. There was no harm in being cautious.

She was given a seat and was immediately surrounded as if she carried a hot topic everyone wanted to gossip about.

She looked around, glancing at the ladies’ hands subtly. The mysterious woman must be among the elites. How else could she have great power to start a rebellion? And she was even present when Alec was crowned as the crown prince.

The finest gentlemen in the town were also present. It was, after all, a tea party hosted by the daughter of a respected court official. The Haystones bloodline was rich and very much respected in Evardin, especially because they were pureblooded vampires.

Sipping on her tea while the ladies kept on humoring her, Lauren spotted someone familiar that caught her attention.

Jasper Owens.

The man did not fail to charm some ladies with his warm smile. He looked harmless and dashing, like a hero straight from love novels.

She smirked at the thought. Although she just met Jasper once, it wasn’t hard to see through his gentle facade. Now that they were in a bright place unlike that night they first met, she noticed he had the same brown eyes as Thalia had.

She had no evidence yet, but she was sure he was someone who shared a very close bond with her stepmother. Maybe he was her son or brother.

As Jasper was a vampire, if she was his son, she must have had an affair with a vampire man before marrying the late king. Or if he was her brother, they could be half-siblings.

After a while, Lauren found a way to leave the table filled with ladies thirsty for information about her married life. She went to the far balcony which wasn’t very visible to the guests.

When she felt someone’s presence behind her, she instantly knew it was Jasper. Their gazes met earlier and she knew he had recognized her as the masked woman he met at the ball.

"I did not know a woman like you was capable of tricking me, Queen Lauren."

She turned to him, leaning on the rail of the balcony. His broad shoulders covered her from the people in the hall. There was a smirk on his lips but he was looking at her with fury in his eyes. Must have heard Thalia’s helpless state in the castle.

"They call you a good-for-nothing princess back then, but seeing how you managed to seize the throne, I figured you are good at pretending."

"Isn’t that what makes up this world? Pretensions..." She traced the rim of her champagne glass with her index finger. "Most of the people in our society wear masks, Mr. Owens. You shouldn’t be surprised."

He chuckled humorlessly.

"But I must say, you nailed it."

She raised her glass as though she was offering him a toast. "I will take that as a compliment."

"Looking back, now I understand why you appeared in that ball to entice me. By now you must have known my relation to the Queen Dowager."

His last statement caught Lauren’s attention. She planned to make him spill the beans, but she did not expect he would admit their connection right away.

"She is my sister," he said.

Her brows knitted. "Why are you telling me this so easily?"

He smirked and inched closer. She did not falter and remained to stare at the vampire intently, wondering what he had under his sleeves to confidently tell her the information she could use against Thalia.

Jasper held the rail beside Lauren, his other hand was holding a glass of wine.

"Because I like you?" He caught a locket of her hair and brought it to his nose. He closed his eyes as he inhaled her sweet scent.

"Insolent!" She slapped his hand away.

"I am your Queen. You are ought to give me some respect, Mr. Owens."

He laughed like a madman.

"I am really intrigued by you, Your Majesty. I thought you were a simple girl who was an easy prey but turns out I am wrong."

"And it turns out you are nothing but a scum."

She sighed and sipped on her champagne.

"Seeing that you don’t mind telling me your little secret, I assume you don’t care about your sister as she does to you."

She saw a sharp glint in his eyes and knew that he somehow cared for Thalia even when he was acting like he didn’t.

"I am planning to reveal her dirt to the people one of these days and grant her a public execution. Would you come to witness it?"

"Should I?" He sounded indifferent, but the flicker of rage in his orbs did not go unnoticed.

She shrugged and was about to walk away from him but he blocked her way. Chills of horror ran down her spine when she heard what he said.

"Guess how many human hearts will stop beating today?"

A loud shattering of glasses echoed in the hall which was followed by screams.