Chapter 105: Cut me off some slack

A group of councilmen arrived in the castle after the royal messenger sent a missive to the council. They investigated King Martin’s disappearance the whole day but sunset came and they had yet to find anything.

With the clothes and shoes of the King all intact and Queen Thalia’s testimony, it was assumed that he was dragged out of the bed in the middle of the night and was abducted by unknown people.

"Do you think he planned all of this because he wants to hide?" Lauren asked while sitting on the bed. Alec was busy at his desk.

She was in the middle of reading a book when she was disturbed by thoughts about her father.

"I don’t think so, and I believe you think the same. With how furious King Martin was after the court trial, I was sure he would do something out of rage. I was expecting him to get us assassinated last night or do something outrageous. Your father is simple-minded so it’s easy to read him. I’m certain he didn’t plan this mess."

Lauren also doubted if it was the Queen’s doings. Thalia knew that without her husband, she would be nothing, so she wouldn’t dare harm the King.

But what if...

"What if it is the Queen’s plan? Perhaps she thinks that with the King nowhere to be found and is assumed to be abducted, the Supreme House will delay the verdict. The King and Queen could be conspiring about this."

"The Supreme House won’t delay the verdict even if the King is missing. It’s the law. If they think of it that way then they are fools," Alec said in a bleak tone.

Right. If that law existed then her father must be aware of it... thought Lauren as she stared at the page of a book with her mind somewhere else.

"Why? Are you worried about him?" Alec asked grimly.

She looked at him. "I’m not. I just thought it would be hard to punish him for his crimes if he’s nowhere to be found."

Worrying about her father who never treated her like a daughter sounded ridiculous.

Lauren sighed and put down the book she was reading because she lacked focus.

"Where are you going?" Alec asked when he saw her walking to the door.

She paused to answer him. "I will get a glass of milk. The maids are probably sleeping now so I have to get it myself."

"I’ll get it. I will also get some wine," he said and stood.

"Alright."

When Alec left the room, she went back to bed and picked up her book. After reading a few lines, she stopped. She forgot what the scene was all about because she was reading absentmindedly earlier.

So she didn’t continue and just walked across the room.

She stopped by Alec’s desk. Her gaze darted at the bunch of papers and her brows furrowed. It must be all about court affairs and council work.

Out of curiosity, she was about to pick up a paper to see what it was all about but because a lot of papers were scattered, she pulled the wrong one with its edge under the inkwell so when she picked it up, the ink spilled into the paper.

Lauren’s eyes widened and immediately picked up the paper with spilled ink to prevent the ink from spreading to other papers.

What the hell did she just do?

She swallowed hard while looking at the paper that seemed to be a case report. How could she explain to Alec what happened to it?

Lauren laid the drenched paper on the desk far from the other files. Thankfully it was made of thick and high-quality paper that won’t easily shred. However, she doubted if what was written on it could still be read.

She cursed her own recklessness and went to put the inkwell properly and wipe off the small amount of ink on the table.

She was relieved to see that only one case report got spilled with ink.

Still, looking at the paper with most of its parts painted with black, Lauren was a little nervous about how Alec would react. He seemed to be a meticulous man who didn’t tolerate mistakes. And how could she even defend herself if she intentionally went to the table to satisfy her curiosity and ended up doing a mistake?

She put her palm above the paper and tried to take out the ink through a spell.

She was able to drain the ink out of the paper and the writings were now readable, but the trace of gray mark all over it was still there.

She sighed and put her hand down. There were really some things that magic could not do.

In the middle of contemplating how she should explain it to Alec, Lauren jolted when the door burst open.

Alec who was holding a glass of milk and a bottle of wine in each of his hands caught how Lauren jolted when he entered.

"Why are you standing there?" He asked as he walked towards her. Halfway, his eyes dropped to the paper on the edge of his desk that seemed to be covered with dry ink.

"What did you-"

"I’m sorry. I did not mean it, alright! I was just looking around out of curiosity but you placed your inkwell over the paper and when I picked it up, the ink spilled on it!" Lauren blurted out fastly as if she needed to explain everything in three seconds.

Alec put down the wine and the glass of milk on the desk to check the paper.

It was the case report he needed to submit to Lionel tomorrow which he wrote himself, but with its state right now it needed to be rewritten.

If it was a mistake done by a subordinate, he could have fired the person on the spot or done something worse, but when he saw Lauren’s flustered face when she was explaining herself, he didn’t know if he should be mad or be amused.

"I tried to take out the ink through a spell but that’s all it can do... well, at least it’s readable now?" She croaked with her hands clasped together on her back as she tried to maintain a straight face despite the loud beating of her heart.

Alec’s eyes narrowed darkly at how she looked like a child denying her mistake even when the evidence said it all.

"Is it important?" She asked, trying not to be affected by Alec’s intimidating look. As if she did a grave crime, right? She only spilled ink on a paper accidentally. She shouldn’t feel too bad for a trivial matter.

"Everything in my desk is important, Lauren. I wrote this case report for a high-profile case and the council chief needs it tomorrow. I have a lot of reports to read and I don’t have time to rewrite it. What do you think should you do, hmm?"

His sweet yet venomous tone made Lauren shiver.

"Should I call someone to help you rewrite it? Perhaps one of your soldiers who are guarding outside?"

Alec leaned closer to her. She tried hard not to flinch, but her treacherous heart somersaulted. She cursed at her mind. Why was she being too sensitive around him these days? She felt like she wasn’t herself.

"Why don’t you do it yourself since you are the one who spilled the ink, my dear wife?"

She frowned. She didn’t like the idea but what else could she do? It was her fault.

"Fine. I’ll rewrite it for you," she said.

He pulled a chair to his desk beside his seat and got her a blank paper.

Now they were seating beside each other on his desk. She carefully put the ink quill near her to avoid doing the same mistake.

"Should I follow your handwriting?" Lauren asked as she looked at the case report.

She noticed the writings were written neatly. She had always assumed that only women could have such neat handwriting, but with how Alec meticulously wrote the case report, her previous belief was proven wrong.

"Yes, I want it to be exactly the same."

She turned over her shoulder only to be taken aback by how Alec’s face was so close to her. His eyebrow flicked up when he saw her blue eyes widen a bit.

"But..." For a moment, she forgot what she was about to say.

"But how can I possibly copy your exact handwriting? I never copied someone else’s handwriting before. I’m sure the council chief won’t notice it. I know I did a mistake, but cut me off some slack, will you?"

"I’m already cutting off you some slack by letting you make up for your mistake. If you aren’t my useful little wife, do you think you are still breathing after you ruined the case report I wrote?" He eyed her darkly. "There’s a reason why my men are very disciplined, Lauren."

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read