Kissing Hellfire: Marry Me, Evil Lord
Chapter 39: Contract Violation

Chapter 39: Contract Violation

"I simply want to know what you are hiding down your mansion because a maid just died. If you are doing something against the law, as your wife wouldn’t it implicate me?" Lauren’s face was marked with disdain as she spoke, her eyes holding not an ounce of fear while meeting the fierce eyes of the man walking toward her.

Alec stopped a foot away, the way his lips were sealed on a line spoke about his impatience.

"That isn’t something you should worry about, princess. Do you think I am a careless fool who will ruin myself?" He shook his head once, the light from the torch illuminated a side of his face while the other remained in the shadow.

"I’m sure you heard many rumors about me which mostly are not very pleasant to hear. But despite the filth I have in my hands, I’m still standing here you see. Why? Because I know how to play my cards well. So rest assured my personal interests will not implicate you in any way."

Right. He wasn’t some nitwit who would fall for his own trap. But she couldn’t fully trust someone as cunning as him.

"I’m just trying to be cautious. After all, the world we live in is full of schemes and deceit."

"Is it being cautious, or are you feeding your curiosity?"

Instead of answering him, Lauren inquired, "Why are you keeping him here?"

His eyes narrowed at her, not pleased with how she was stepping over the line. "That is not yours to know. Get out of here. Now."

"He isn’t a black mage, is he?" Lauren knew that if the man was a normal black mage, there was no point in letting him live. Alec must be investigating what this new creature was and where it came from since in the past, nothing like this had surfaced.

"How did you know that?" It caught Alec’s attention.

Taking a breath, her face turned hard remembering how she had to kill the poor little girl. "I encountered a little girl this morning. She looked like a black mage but I know she isn’t. Killing her brain didn’t work, putting a stake in her heart did. She was faster than a normal black mage and she only wanted to kill, not to suck a person’s soul."

"You fought with her?" Alec’s eyes briefly scanned her, searching for a trace of assault but he found none.

However, he took a pause when he noticed something. He could smell a faint reek of blood from Lauren, only that it wasn’t her blood. He failed to notice it sooner because the dungeon reeked of blood from the prisoners he held captive in the past days.

With Alec inching to her, Lauren frowned and was about to take one step back when he held her small waist to stop her from backing away.

"What are you-" Lauren stopped mid-sentence when she felt his hand leave her waist and went to her dress’ pockets as if it was his clothes and not hers.

"What is this?" Alec asked, holding the hairpin wrapped with a bloody handkerchief that he got from Lauren’s pockets.

"Why are you curious?" Lauren returned the question and snatched the thing from Alec’s hand.

She unwrapped the hairpin for him to see.

"This is the hairpin I used to kill the girl I was talking about. I want to have it cleaned before using it again so I wrapped it with my handkerchief. I didn’t fight with the girl though, Officer Devitt arrived but he was a little sloppy so I lent him a hand."

"And where is the girl’s body?"

"It was sent to the inspection house. I went to the council earlier for my statement. You weren’t there?"

"I had other matters to deal with."

"Like this little secret of yours?" Sliding back the handkerchief and hairpin to her pocket, Lauren glanced at the prisoner and then brought her gaze back to Alec. A smile tugged on the corner of her lips. "The administration doesn’t know about this, don’t they? You are working on your own. I wonder why..."

"Again, this matter doesn’t concern you," Alec said with a firm tone. "I will let this pass but next time, I won’t let you off the hook easily."

But as stubborn as she was, Alec’s words didn’t sway her. "I want to know what you found out about the man."

"Why are you so stubborn, princess?" His icy tone and eyes growing darker by the minute told her he was close to throwing her out. "This is out of your game, Lauren. You have no right to meddle with it."

"I might be of help."

He tilted his head, giving her a mocking look. "And why would you do that? You don’t seem to be someone who does charity work."

Lauren smirked knowing he was right, her blue eyes shining in the middle of the dirty and dark dungeon that lacked colors.

Alec stared down at her as he waited for what she had to say and noticed her hair was on the loose like that rainy night when she came to his doorstep. The rich color of her auburn hair looked darker due to the lack of light, emphasizing the stark contrast between her pale skin and the dark shade of the waves and curls around her face.

"What can I say, my husband seems to know me the best," Lauren teased.

"Stop the tease. I might change my mind and give you punishment for violating a rule in our contract."

The way he mentioned "punishment" crawled under her skin, making her frown at him. But she did violate a rule in their contract, so she shouldn’t be pushing the buttons of such an impatient man.

Lauren cleared her throat. This time she looked serious.

"Someone is planning a rebellion and using the black mages as pawns to raise havoc. The rise of these new creatures who had turned to savages seems to be connected to it."