Kissing Hellfire: Marry Me, Evil Lord
Chapter 87: Tricked

Chapter 87: Tricked

When Lauren opened her eyes after playing a song, she met Alec’s gaze and a shiver run through her when she saw his dark eyes staring at her intently as if he had been doing that the whole time.

"How was it? I hope it’s not bad," she said with a light tone to cover up her uneasiness.

"You have good taste in music."

She put back the violin on the desk and went to the table of wines in front of him. She poured a glass of wine and walked across the room to check the books on the shelf.

"The books on that shelf are all about flowers and botany," Alec informed.

"Perhaps the creator of this ship is a devoted botanist?" She let her fingers run through the neatly piled books, wondering if the ship was really created by a powerful mage. Although it wasn’t impossible, creating such a huge beautiful spellbound object was not easy. If it was, she could have met someone who had done it, but so far she knew none.

"The ship might be not created by someone. What if it is just part of the ocean and the couple in the portrait were the ones who found this ship first? Perhaps this became their favorite place and they lived here for some time in the past," he said, making her ponder more about it.

But then, they could never be sure. Unless someone showed up who knew the truth or there was a way for them to know the past. Neither of the two sounded possible.

They went back to the deck after Lauren checked the other rooms. There were beds in some rooms while most didn’t have. One was filled with different kinds of wine, another was filled with women’s accessories, then there was one that was filled with paintings. She also randomly touched things to check if something would happen, but the place remained calm, it didn’t even feel like they were in the middle of a vast ocean.

"Is this part of the ocean always as calm as this?" she asked while standing near the bow of the ship with her glass of wine.

Alec who was beside her answered, "It was always calm like this every time I visit, so it’s probably a yes."

"But I think it is a little dangerous to go down there when you don’t know what kind of magic this ship is made of. What if one of the rooms would trap a person? Or there is a relic like the soul-eating mirror. It would surely be hard to get out alive without using spells or special abilities," it was only then the realization hit Lauren. She didn’t think about it when she went down earlier because Alec said she would be fine.

"It is indeed dangerous." He looked at her. A glint of mischief crossed his eyes.

"I lied though. It wasn’t true when I said we can’t use special abilities down there."

Her lips parted. "You... you tricked me!"

He smirked and leaned his back on the rail.

"You devil! You made me believe that it would be fair because you couldn’t make use of your heightened senses! And you even made me play violin for you because you won?"

Lauren could not believe that she was just tricked into playing a silly game he devised just so he could order her at his bidding.

"You shouldn’t feel bad. I only asked you to play a song for me. That is too easy for a task. Besides, did you seriously believe I’d let you go down there if that was the case? Last time your recklessness brought you inside a dangerous relic. I stepped into the mirror without hesitation because I know I can escape any place with my portal. If it was really true that going down the ship would strip off one’s special abilities, I won’t gamble and let you take a step inside where things are uncertain. I can’t get my useful wife killed, can I?"

"So, you want me to say thank you then? How doting of a husband you are, caring for the welfare of his wife," she said sarcastically. "But that doesn’t change the fact that you tricked me. You took advantage of my ignorance and I don’t think that sounds fair enough."

"Are you upset?"

She eyed him sharply. "Should I be honored that I got tricked by you, milord?"

He drank the remaining wine in his glass with one gulp and put it on the wooden table.

He stepped in front of her. His hand was on the rail on her side while his other hand grabbed her glass and finished her wine before putting it down.

The way his Adam’s apple moved with his every violent gulp made her feel a tickling heat around her nape.

When he brought his attention back to her, he licked his lips to wipe off the trace of wine.

"How shall I make it up to you then?" he asked with his deep voice, like a seductive devil asking his victim how she would like to be killed. Dangerous yet... enthralling.

"You don’t have to," she said breathily. "I just want to go back to the castle right now and rest."

"Trying to escape, are we?"

He leaned closer and she noticed how he was staring deeply into her eyes like he was searching for something.

"Do you know you have the most beautiful pair of blue eyes?"

She heard the same thing countless times before. Most people she came across took note of how striking and deep her blue eyes were. She used to love it every time she received the same praise from her mother. But when she got older and wiser, she realized it wasn’t her eyes that her mother saw, but the eyes of the man she loved.

The man who never loved her back.

"If you like it so much, you can have them. Just replace it with a different pair," Lauren said without humor.

"I don’t think I should do that. It wouldn’t look as beautiful anywhere else."