Kissing Hellfire: Marry Me, Evil Lord
Chapter 95: The Missive

Chapter 95: The Missive

"Milady, a new letter has arrived."

At the center of eight lands, a tall castle towered everything in its surroundings. It was the Supreme House’s castle where the higher council resided.

A young woman stood at the tower watching the vast lands in her view when a servant came. She held her head high with elegance as her deep sea-green eyes darted at the servant. She carried an air similar to that of a queen.

She reached for the letter and dismissed the servant. When she was left alone, she opened the sealed envelope.

Her eyes narrowed darkly when she read what was written in it.

"And here I thought he was not interested in acquiring more power yet look at him now, stirring chaos just for the throne. How troublesome," she muttered under her breath while shaking her head subtly. One corner of her lips tugged up, wondering what changed the man’s mind.

"Care to tell me what news you have there?" A man with blonde hair suddenly appeared a meter away, holding a glass of blood. He smirked at the cold glare he received from the woman.

"Outsiders are not allowed here. I hope you didn’t kill the guards just to get in."

The blonde man shrugged. "I heard it is getting a little chaotic in Evardin. I won’t be surprised if the letter in your hand contains news about it. Another work for you, I suppose?"

The woman’s face remained bleak. Her fingertips played with the paper on her hand with her crimson-colored nails in stark contrast against the off-white paper.

"You are right. King Martin wants to nullify a royal decree and strip his son-in-law of his title as the crown prince. The third princess was also accused as the murderer of the young prince who died a week ago. Another mess the Supreme House needs to clean."

A crease formed in the man’s forehead as he inched closer to the woman.

"The third princess of Evardin... the one who has a bad reputation, right?" He nodded to himself. "Perhaps the coldhearted Alec Everston was touched by her divine beauty as I heard she is a very beautiful young woman. Or maybe he’s just using her to get the throne. But don’t you think he should have chosen one of the elder sisters?"

The woman rolled her eyes as if the topic was boring her.

"I don’t care about that man’s love life, Fallon. Why are you even discussing this with me when you are not a member of the Supreme House? You better leave. Should father see you hanging around here again just to catch a glimpse of me, he would think so lowly of you."

"Hah," Fallon scoffed. "You are too proud of yourself, Amber. I just love hanging around here because the Supreme House receives all kinds of news from different lands and I love to gossip."

Back in Evardin’s castle, the King was infuriated when he heard how Alec ruthlessly killed two royal guards like a brute. They were the same guards who dragged Lauren to the dungeon.

Martin wanted to confront Alec but the man had left the castle by the time the news reached him. Right that day, he called for a court meeting and informed the ministers that a trial for Lauren and Alec would take place two days later.

The ministers were shocked by the news of Lauren being the mastermind of Casper’s death, but most of them were thinking twice if the King should strip Alec of his title brashly.

"I believe a thorough investigation should be done first, Your Majesty. Princess Lauren is your daughter. The servant’s confession might be misleading you," Minister Samuel said. "Prince Alec is a big asset to our kingdom. It would be a waste if you will cast him away for a misunderstanding."

"I know it is not just a simple misunderstanding," the King said firmly, which made the minister shut his mouth.

"That man is disrespectful towards me. He brought his soldiers in the castle without my permission and even killed two of my royal guards brutally. It’s clear that he wants to gain power over the court and now that he is the crown prince he thinks he can have his way. He is going against his king! Isn’t that enough reason to take back the position I granted him? I believe it is!"

The ministers turned silent at the King’s potent anger. Most of them knew that Martin was the kind who never liked being inferior to anyone, especially if he was the one who granted the person the status.

However, the ministers thought that if Alec was determined to steal the throne from the King, it would be hard for the current monarch to defend his crown. Alec was a vampire warlord, a cruel one who had his own twisted ways of dealing with things. He could act noble sometimes, but in truth he did not honor the laws nor anyone’s word.

Hearing Alec’s leave, Queen Thalia went to meet Lauren to verbally assault her because she was too angry, but Alec’s soldiers guarding the room’s door blocked her way before she could push the door. She was taken aback when they did not heed her words as if they didn’t acknowledge her as the Queen. She yelled at them but like statues, they remained cold and unresponsive, sparing her no respect.

Her nostrils were flaring when she went back to her chamber.

"If this continues, soon Alec will take over the castle, Martin. His soldiers did not even spare me an ounce of respect! Crowning him is a big mistake. And look how he just killed our people as he pleased!" Thalia exhaled exaggeratedly as she continued her laments while fanning herself with her hand. "He is treating the castle as his playground just because he is the crown prince!"

"I have received a missive from the Supreme House. As this case concerns the death of our son and the crown prince’s position, they will be the ones to hold a court trial. With Alec’s recent actions, I don’t think the Supreme House would tolerate his impudence. He shall get what he deserves," Martin said while sitting on his chair.

"What about Lauren’s crime? Her maidservant is dead." Thalia realized that they shouldn’t have killed the maid yet. But at that time, she thought there would be no court trial and sparing the maid wasn’t necessary.

"Other servants could stand as witnesses for the maid’s confession. We can also attest to it. Besides, the poison used in the weapon that killed Casper was found in the maid’s belongings. I will attest to the maid’s words myself."

As the two continued to talk about the upcoming court trial, Lauren remained in the room and thought about leaving the castle to meet Darius. But at the moment she was being accused as the mastermind of Casper’s murder, which the court officials must have already heard from the King. She was antagonized and leaving the castle would make her look like an escaping criminal.

Combing her hair in front of the mirror, Lauren remembered Sally and felt heaviness in her chest. She heard Sally had been executed while she was tortured. She hated the maid for not trusting her enough, but it did not mean she would not get to the bottom of it. There must be a reason why Sally chose to admit the crime and point her as the mastermind.

Lauren just asked a maid to bring her food and did not bother going downstairs. She wasn’t in the mood to see the Queen and Cassandra’s faces.

While she was eating, a hawk came by the window. Her eyes drifted to the hawk’s leg with a small rolled paper tied to it.

It was Darius’ way of sending her a missive.

She stood and got the rolled paper from the hawk. Reading what was written on it, her face turned hard. The information caught her off guard.

Darius and Julian were helping her uncover the secrets of the royal family that she could use against them. There was no news about Jasper Owens and the Queen’s relationship yet, but another news left her dumbfounded. She couldn’t fathom how someone could be so evil.

The sun was setting when Alec returned and he found Lauren standing by the balcony who seemed to be drowned in deep thoughts. The situation in the castle started to become dire and he left to make some arrangements. He knew a court trial held by the Supreme House was inevitable.

"Are your bruises fully healed now?" He asked while leaning at the balcony’s door behind Lauren.

She turned to face him but instead of answering his question, Lauren said with a serious expression, "I know who killed Casper."

Alec raised his brow. He didn’t care about the young prince’s death but finding out who was the real murderer would help them prove Lauren’s innocence.

"Who?"

"It was Cassandra," she answered quietly.