Kissing Hellfire: Marry Me, Evil Lord
Chapter 175: Throne of Thorns

Chapter 175: Throne of Thorns

Lauren’s hands trembled; her mouth was agape. First of all, it was a big question for her why someone else knew about her illness. Only three people knew about her condition: Darius, Alec, and Anthony. And it was impossible for any of them to disclose the information. Although she had only met Anthony once, the man seemed decent and trustworthy. Alec trusted him and she was under the assumption that Alec’s judgments never failed him. Everything he did were calculated and precise, and he wasn’t the type of person to fail to see one’s true nature.

She looked at the piece of paper again and noticed one more thing that fueled her ire. Black mages were mentioned, which meant whoever was behind this was connected to the rebels. However, the latter part confused Lauren. ’From your beloved admirer’? She tried to think of anyone who pursued her seriously before she married but no one crossed her mind.

Lauren fisted her hand as she crushed the paper on her palm. She checked the shoes to know what store they came from. The design and trademark of the shoes reminded her of a small store downtown. It wasn’t famous but Vivian loved buying shoes from them.

Pacing back and forth, she contemplated if she should tell Alec about it even though she was clearly warned not to tell anyone. She didn’t know what kind of means that person had to know if she’d tell a soul or not, but she was scared that she might make a wrong move and put Vivian’s life in danger.

After almost half an hour of contemplating, Lauren decided to go alone. Alec was in the courtroom and he’d probably be busy with the attack that just happened in the north district, so she chose not to tell him. Besides, if the person behind this was indeed one of the rebels, it meant the enemies knew her secret, which was the most dangerous weapon they held against her and Alec. For now, she thought it was best to do what was in the missive.

* * *

Wearing a cloak, Lauren stepped out of a hired carriage in front of a shoe store downtown. After paying the coachman, she took a deep breath as she walked towards the store. The ’closed’ signage was hung by the door, and fewer people were seen around the area. No town officers were roving, unlike how it was in the main town, which made Lauren think that should anything happen, help would take some time to arrive.

She knew Alec would surely call her stupid and careless for biting a trap and would be very angry, but in this case, she believed she had to face this herself. She didn’t know if the person who sent the missive wanted her to believe that he could help her with her illness to lure her, or if he really knew how to cure it, but reading between the lines, Lauren had this strong feeling that he wasn’t planning to kill her... at least not today. Perhaps the rebels wanted to play with her... to use her.

It was dangerous to walk into the enemy’s trap, but even if she faced danger, Lauren knew she was capable enough to save Vivian all by herself. If she had to use her evil powers to save her friend, she would.

When she entered the two-story store, the dangling beads by the doorway created soft sounds when she walked through them, disturbing the eerie silence inside. She shut the door behind her and paused, her gaze darting from one side to another. The smell of leather filled the air like how it was in every shoe store. She looked around the first floor, her heart hammering her chest, but she found no one.

Lauren walked in between the tall shoe racks until she reached the staircase leading to the second floor of the building. With all her senses alert, she wondered why there wasn’t a single noise. Was she fooled? Or was there a surprise waiting for her upstairs?

When she took her first step on the stairs, she paused for a second when she stepped onto something. It was a tossed cigar that still had a little smoke. Seeing this, Lauren was convinced that someone else was in the building. She failed to notice the faint smell of cigar earlier because of the strong smell of leather.

Worried about Vivian’s state, she hurried upstairs. There were two doors on the second floor and she chose to open the first one, but when she did, she only found a small storage room with shoe materials and nothing else. She didn’t waste time and went to the second room where she was met by endless darkness the moment she entered.

Lauren gasped. She looked around but couldn’t find the door where she came from. There was empty darkness surrounding her, and she was sure she wasn’t in any part of the shoe store. She could sense a spell’s energy around her, which told her that her mind was under someone’s influence. She was trapped in an illusion.

"Where are you?" She gritted her teeth. "Why don’t you show yourself to me instead of using cheap antics?"

A laugh echoed at the same time a light shone before Lauren. A man sat on a throne full of thorns, but the throne’s position was facing north, so she could not see who the man was.

She walked towards him, but after a few steps, she stopped when their distance remained the same. He was in full control of the illusion they were in because it was made by him.

"Learn to be patient, Queen Lauren. You don’t have to be so eager to see me. Of course, I will show myself to you."

That voice... Lauren was sure she had heard it before. As she tried to remember to whom that voice belonged, the man rose from the throne and turned around.

Lauren’s jaw dropped when she saw who it was. His lips curled into a gentle smile just like the one he always gave her on the few occasions they had met. However, she couldn’t see him the same way now. He was then a man who had a gentle demeanor and carried a princely air with him, but when she saw his empty, dark eyes when he smiled just now, she realized she was blinded by his gentle aura and failed to notice the vile darkness lying beneath his orbs.

"Lord Simon Lancelot..." she muttered under her breath.