Kissing Hellfire: Marry Me, Evil Lord
Chapter 137: Crimson Lily

Chapter 137: Crimson Lily

Dr. Hale smelled the tea and tested it with the things he brought. After a minute, he straightened up and looked at Lauren who was standing close to him as if he was ready to answer.

"I believe the tea is mixed with the extract of a poisonous plant from the west called crimson lily, Queen Lauren."

"And what exactly is that?"

She had encountered almost all kinds of poison but she didn’t memorize their names so she wasn’t sure if she had encountered it in the past. However, she was convinced that for some reason all poisons just don’t work with her.

"It is a poison that will slowly kill the organs of a person, may it be a human, mage, a vampire, or anyone. This poison won’t work in a matter of hours but in a few days. However, there will be symptoms to tell if someone is poisoned with crimson lily. Nausea, fever, headache... those are only a few, but in some cases, there is no symptom at all."

Lauren nodded. So Jennifer wasn’t planning to kill her on the spot. Of course, she wouldn’t be too dumb to do that.

"If I may I ask, was the poison... used for you?" Dr. Hale’s voice toned down at the last words as if he knew such information should be confidential.

"Yes, but I am still investigating it. I hope you don’t say a word to anyone, Dr. Hale."

The young doctor smiled. He was about to bid his farewell when the door suddenly opened and Alec stepped inside. His dark gaze fell on Dr. Hale right away as if the man was a dirt one should immediately notice in the room.

Julian who was guarding the door outside also went in. He lowered his head and cleared his throat.

"Pardon me, Queen Lauren. You told me not to let anyone in while you are talking with Dr. Hale but King Alec insisted to see you."

"Your Majesty," Dr. Hale gave Alec a curt bow. Then he turned to Lauren.

"If you wish for my service, I shall make sure to help you with everything you need, Queen Lauren. I’ll go ahead."

"Thank you, Doctor. Julian, please send Dr. Hale outside. Lend him the royal carriage."

When the two had left the room, Lauren’s gaze drifted to Alec whose eyes were looking at her suspiciously.

"I thought you were having a meeting with the council? Done with it?" She asked and poured back the tea from the teacup to the kettle. It would be dangerous if any of the servants would take even one sip of it.

"Yes. That man is familiar. He’s one of the workers in the royal laboratory?"

"Yes, I asked him here."

Alec glanced at the kettle on the table where Lauren was. Just a few strides and he was in front of her.

"You served him tea yourself?"

Lauren’s brows knitted. She raised her chin to meet the gaze of the vampire towering over her.

"No. I’m not a servant."

"Why did you ask him here? What was so private with your talk that you had to let your henchman guard the door?" His tone was calm but she sensed something else brewing at the back of his mind.

She did nothing wrong but with how Alec was staring at her she was getting nervous.

"Because we were talking about a confidential matter. I was planning to tell you later but since you are here, I guess we better discuss it now."

"Tell me, then." His grim expression remained.

"When I met the Haystones an hour ago, someone dared to poison me."

His eyes flickered to red and his jaw clenched. His gaze fell to the kettle beside Lauren and opened it. He smelled the tea inside and after a second, he put it down as if he, too, immediately knew that there was something else on the tea.

"Crimson lily," he muttered.

"You know this poison?" Lauren was surprised. "I had to ask someone from the royal laboratory to check what kind of poison was mixed with the tea. That was what Dr. Hale and I talked about."

He looked at her sharply as if he got more annoyed.

"Did you drink it? The extract of crimson lily is a rare poison that will take a few days before killing the person who took it. There is no antidote." Despite the anger, the gleaming worry in Alec’s eyes was too visible for Lauren to miss.

’What if I drank it? I am dying anyway...’ Lauren wanted to say but she held herself. There was no use in telling him such information.

Even if Alec’s feelings for her ran deep and even if he tried to solve her problem, she doubted if there was a cure for her illness. She didn’t want to trouble him, or to hurt him... if ever he was really in love with her.

So far, her plans were going as planned, only that time was her enemy. Her illness was progressing with each passing day and she might not have enough time to help Alec subdue the rebellion.

"I did not."

"Why didn’t you inform me right away? The moment you knew your tea was poisoned, you should have sent someone to the courtroom to inform me."

Her brow shot up. "Why would I do that? You were in the middle of an important meeting. Besides, it wasn’t something I could not handle. I can take care of myself, Alec."

His lips twitched evilly. "Yeah, you always say that you can take care of yourself. But don’t you often end up in trouble?"

She sighed. There was no point in arguing with him.

"I think it was Jennifer. The servant who served me tea is in the dungeon. I will go there and interrogate her now."

"I’ll come with you."

"Don’t you have other things to do? I suppose there is." She subtly glared at him before walking to the door.

Alec still followed her though and she just let him. With their situation right now, she doubted if she would leave her alone with her matters, especially if it concerned her safety.