Kissing Hellfire: Marry Me, Evil Lord
Chapter 186: What’s in the Basket?

Chapter 186: What’s in the Basket?

When Lauren woke up, it was already morning. She found herself comfortably leaning on Alec’s chest with his ironclad arm around her shoulder. She moved her head slowly to see if he was sleeping. Peeking up, she was met by his steely gray eyes in a brighter shade, his lips curling into a half smile.

His voice was a cool baritone when he said, "Good morning."

"Good morning."

She leaned back on his chest, and she felt him place a kiss on the top of her head which made her smile.

"What time did you go home last night? I didn’t notice when you arrived."

"I promised you I’d be home by midnight and so I did. You were deep asleep and I didn’t have the heart to wake you up so I moved stealthily. It’s a vampire’s skill, you shouldn’t be surprised," he answered while playing with the lockets of her hair.

Silence took over them for what felt like a long minute. Lauren thought about the dream she had about Eleanor. She couldn’t believe that the spellbound ship Alec accidentally discovered years ago was the ship made by the great priestess who cast the Capewell curse. She wondered why she and Alec could freely enter it when Eleanor never got the chance to visit the ship because like she said, the ship disappeared on the surface of the waters after the great priestess died.

The fact that Lauren was a descendant of the Capewell bloodline looking for a way to end the curse made it seem more than a big coincidence. Was she destined to meet Alec because he held the key to her curse? She never believed in destiny—she rather liked to think that it was people who paved their own path instead of believing that fate had set an unchangeable life for them and they could never choose to walk away from that fate.

But with what she just discovered, she couldn’t help but think that this unfathomable force of nature somehow pulled Alec and her together because he was the only one who could help her fight her curse. Alec could make portals anywhere, an ability not seen for ages and not even recorded in history books, and she had a feeling that his discovery of the spellbound ship was due to the nature of his powers.

"You seem to be in a deep thought. What are you thinking?" Alec asked, breaking into her trance.

"I had a strange dream. I’ll tell you about it later. First, what happened last night? Did you do something? I got a strong feeling that you went out to hunt Simon."

She was sure, though, that Simon didn’t show himself. That man was cunning. He must have his ways of knowing what was happening around the castle. He had people doing all sorts of sorcery behind him, after all. If he was able to find out about her condition, then getting news in the castle shouldn’t be too hard.

"I did try to hunt him, but he was neither in his mansion nor in the council, so I had a few people track his traces. I figured out he’d try to hide, temporarily at least, but I was so pissed I had to start the hunt myself. It wasn’t just my sole reason for going to the council though. I also talked to Lionel to check if he’s on my side. You see, traitors are everywhere. One should be wary of everyone at crucial times like this."

She had seen the council chief only a few times and he seemed to be a reliable man, but thinking about how she failed to see through Simon Lancelot’s facade, she realized she couldn’t fully trust her judgments now.

"What happened? Do you think he is also one of the rebels?"

"He is not," he sounded sure, and she had faith in his confidence. "But some of the councilmen who are under Lancelot’s supervision seem suspicious."

Lauren sighed, and once again she fell silent. Enemies were surrounding Evardin and they didn’t know how many traitors were still out there pretending to be their allies. The rising rebellion was difficult enough to deal with, and then there she was with her condition. After her talk with Eleanor in her dream, her hope was rekindled. But what if she would fail?

"The world is your responsibility now..." Alec’s voice suddenly echoed in her mind, reminding her that she shouldn’t be thinking negatively and instead strengthen her will.

She couldn’t allow herself to fail. Yes, that’s it. She shouldn’t fail. It wasn’t because Alec would do evil things if she died. It was because she didn’t want him to waste his life and live miserably. She couldn’t give him such a punishment.

The thought of him with deep, sullen eyes darker than ever, despair marring his perfect face, all alone in the darkness... even though it was only a fragment of imagination, it hurt her like knives in her heart. She couldn’t do that to him. She couldn’t give up on this life and leave him broken beyond repair.

"So how was the dream?" Alec asked once they were seated in the dining hall an hour after they got off the bed.

Lauren was about to tell him that they would talk later once they were in a private space, but before she could, the doors of the dining hall opened and a young man wearing a soldier’s black armor, his body ramrod straight, entered.

She recognized the man as one of Alec’s trusted commandants. Matthias held the first position, Colton was the second—the man who just arrived, and Edith was the third. It was only Matthias she often saw in the castle because the two did more fieldwork and seldom stayed in the castle.

"Your Majesties," Colton paid his respects.

It wasn’t long before the door opened again and more people arrived. It was Julian and Edith. However, what caught Lauren’s attention wasn’t the arrival of the two, but the baby basket Edith was carrying.

Once they were done with the formalities, Alec asked everyone to take a seat. His gaze went to the basket Edith put in the chair next to her, and although he couldn’t see the child, he could hear its soft heartbeat.

Alec’s eyes narrowed at Edith and Julian who sat side by side. "Don’t tell me you decided to get married and have a child while on a mission?"

Lauren was also curious. She knew, though, that Alec was just being sarcastic since it was impossible for anyone to bear and give birth to a baby in just a matter of few weeks.

The usual calm and diplomatic Edith was suddenly horrified and panicking. "Of course not, Your Majesty. Heaven forbid!" She glanced at Julian over her shoulder, her teeth clenching.

Julian raised one brow cockily, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips.

"Then why is there a baby?" Lauren asked, slightly rising from her seat to peek through the basket. She saw the baby’s ribboned dress and figured out it was a beautiful baby girl. "She looks really young. She’s barely a year old, isn’t she?"

"It was my decision to bring the baby," Edith admitted. "We got her from the north district. A lot of people died there including the parents of this baby. The whole village is in chaos and the residents are currently undergoing a relocation," she sighed and glanced at the child, "She doesn’t have any relatives and I thought of bringing her to the town’s orphanage, but I remembered Isobel has been wanting to adopt a child of her own, so I thought of letting her take care of the child," she said, referring to the head of the royal maids. "I am also reluctant to leave her in the orphanage with everything that has happened recently."

"But you cannot bring every orphaned kid you come across, can you?" Alec asked rhetorically. "Besides, how do you think Isobel can take care of a child when she’s busy managing the castle?"

Edith turned silent. She already expected her master would disagree with it, but she still wanted to try regardless. For some reason, she felt a bond with the child when she saw her helpless state, remembering how her mother left her in the middle of a battlefield where she was taken by a generous soldier.

"Alec, taking care of a child may not be as hard as you think. Perhaps Isobel can raise the baby without affecting her work," Lauren said.

Alec’s lips twitched. "You sound like you have raised a child yourself. Are you starting to feel a motherly instinct because you want to be a mother soon?"

Of course it was another tease. Although Alec would love to have Lauren bear their child, it wasn’t the right time for that. Lauren was having a hard time surviving alone, how much more if she was with a child? It would only make things harder for her.