Kissing Hellfire: Marry Me, Evil Lord
Chapter 177: Be My Bride

Chapter 177: Be My Bride

"Soulmates? If you are trying to humor me, I suggest you try harder because I don’t find it funny."

Simon laughed. He pointed his forefinger at Lauren while laughing. "Your feisty attitude really amuses me. I wasn’t trying to humor you, though. Watching people acting proud and trying to resist their oppressors even when they know they don’t have the upper hand—that is my kind of humor, Lauren."

"What exactly do you need from me? I know you lured me here for a purpose, and I’d rather you tell me what you want right now than prolong this boring and worthless chitchat."

Simon’s fingers stopped tapping the armrest of his chair. "Of course, I have a purpose for bringing you here. But why are you so impatient anyway? It is our chance to have a heart-to-heart talk for the first time and you are so eager to leave? For what?" He smirked cruelly. "So you can go back to your bastard of a husband?"

"Speaking ill of your king is treason. Do you expect you could still go back to your noble life after this?" Lauren shook her head with disinterest. "How dare you call the king like that. I could only hope your ancestors wouldn’t smother you in your sleep because you ended your noble bloodline in disgrace."

Simon only grinned. "That is so thoughtful of you. My heart fluttered when you expressed your worry."

Lauren stared at him blankly, her mind turning gray with all the dark thoughts filling her head. She was trying her best not to submit to the dark side, but here she was, thinking about the pleasure it would give her if she fed on Simon’s energy. She had no plans on doing that again because she felt different every time she did it. It was as if she was being possessed by some despicable evil, but in the face of annoying people like Simon, dark fantasies such as wrapping her hands around his neck haunted her.

"I’m sure you don’t know a lot about your condition, but I do, and I can help you."

What Simon said caught Lauren’s attention. Her eyes squinted, suspicious of the whole ordeal.

"And why do you know a lot about my condition? Who are you?"

He chuckled. "Why are you asking me who I am? You already know me. Simon Lancelot. I work for the council as a senior councilman. I am a vampire mage and I live in—"

"I’m not interested in what kind of lowly being you are. Answer my first question."

"You are so uptight. Why don’t you loosen up a bit and talk to me casually? The way you look is like you are standing before your greatest enemy even when I did nothing to you."

"You did nothing to me, really?" Lauren snickered; annoyance was glimmering in her blue orbs. "You are one of the rebels working with the black mages. It means you are also responsible for what happened in the Haystone’s mansion. I was there when the guests turned into deranged humans. I was also attacked, and you are claiming that you did nothing to me?"

"Well, for that one, it was Jennifer’s idea, and I didn’t know she invited you. I just heard what happened while I was in the council, so you cannot use that against me." He smiled victoriously as if he had won, and it only annoyed Lauren more.

"Should I thank you for that?"

"No, that’s not what I want. Why don’t you be my bride instead?"

Lauren sighed. She wasn’t sure how far she could stretch her patience. The man had some serious problems in his head.

"If you will be my bride, I’ll tell you a secret that will save you from your illness."

"I’m afraid I’d have to refuse your generous offer," she said bleakly. No matter if it was true that he knew how to cure her illness or not, she would never choose to marry anyone else, and definitely someone from the enemy’s lair.

Lauren looked down at the ring on her finger. The corners of her lips rose bitterly. Yes, she wanted to extend her life as much as she could, but if living meant abandoning the reason why she wanted to live so badly, then wouldn’t it be worthless?

"Even if you seek help from all the experts in this world, no one can give you the answer that you want. They will tell you the same. It is always either you feed on people’s energy to extend your life for a few years, or you die in a few months."

Her brows furrowed. She was dying to know how Simon happened to know all of that.

"You’re probably planning to just die in a few months instead of feeding on people’s energy for years, but I’m telling you, Lauren, denying your true nature won’t do any good. Can you imagine a dangerous beast being deprived of food for a long time... that is what you are doing to yourself. The beast within you is growing because you kept it starving and unsatisfied. Once it gets fed up, it will break free, and by then you will lose your soul. You won’t run wild like ordinary black mages, yes, but you will lose your heart. Before you die, you’d feel no emotion. You will stay sane but everything you do is just to satisfy your insatiable hunger. You know what that means? You’d only hurt the people around you."

Lauren swallowed hard. Her insides were shuddering, twisting, as if her system were in turbulence. Simon successfully evoked the emotions he wanted her to feel. She knew all he said was possible, because she, too, had been thinking about it. And imagining the people dear to her getting hurt because of her... she found it hard to breathe.

"If that is the case, I would leave before that happens. Why would I need to submit to your whims? I’d rather kill myself."

"Why would you rather die when you are given a choice to live?" Simon snickered, shaking his head. "I don’t understand. All your life you lived in your sisters’ shadows. It is only now you get to live a free life where you can have everything you want. Why would you waste such an opportunity?"

"You forgot to mention that I need to marry you and side with the rebels to have that opportunity you are talking about."

"What’s there to lose? Our party plans to stage a coup d’etat and overthrow the monarch. At the end of the day, you’d still be a queen, only that you will have to change your king..."

Lauren’s jaw tightened. "So it all boils down to that. You want to be the king and you think I can help you."