Chapter 138: Living World’s Devil

"If you think it was Minister Haystone’s daughter’s doing, why did you let her go?" Alec asked while he and Lauren were walking in the alleyways of the castle’s underground dungeon. "I will send some men to bring her here for a thorough investigation—" Before he could finish, Lauren cut him off.

"I don’t suggest that. There is no concrete evidence and Minister Haystone might use it against you. We caught the maid, for sure we can do something to make her spill the beans," she said sternly.

Doing rash actions wouldn’t do them any good. Jennifer might appear airheaded for trying to poison her and being obvious with her crime, but the situation might not be as simple as it seemed. Who knew if Jennifer was connected to the rebels and hiding other schemes under her sleeves.

"Are you afraid that Minister Haystone can ruin me?" Alec smirked, bemused. He tilted his head to look at Lauren while they were walking side by side, but Lauren’s eyes remained in front.

"Minister Haystone is smart. Don’t underestimate him."

When they entered the dungeon, the guard opened the cell where the servant was imprisoned.

The servant was a young female human. She was on her knees, trembling, and looking down. Lauren could sense her raw fear when she and Alec stepped inside the cell.

"Let’s see what we have here..." Alec sounded a little playful but it wasn’t enough to cover the darkness in his tone. "I heard you dared poison the Queen?"

The servant did not say anything and trembled more. Being caught in a grave crime, only a fool would not know what kind of death was waiting for her.

"How did you get into the castle? I don’t remember we lack servants here and we weren’t hiring anyone," Lauren said, thinking that the servant might have received help from the people in the castle apart from Jennifer’s support.

"Answer me."

The servant refused to say a word and Lauren was about to say more when the servant was suddenly thrust up in the air abruptly and a ring of blue fire was around her neck, throttling her until she could barely breathe.

"You belong to this state and you are refusing to answer your Queen? Since your tongue is useless, should we just burn it?" The glowing blue fire around the servant’s neck reflected in Alec’s cruel eyes. Not an ounce of mercy could be seen in his orbs that now appeared to be fiery blue.

The servant’s eyes gleamed with tears. It was like she was seeing the devil incarnate in front of her dressed in a king’s luxurious royal suit.

"You must be scared," Alec hummed. One corner of his lips rose. "Don’t worry, I don’t intend to kill you right now. I don’t send my enemies to hell... I burn them in my own hell. It means I’d slowly burn you, limb by limb, so you would feel how it is to receive the ire of the living world’s devil."

With every word Alec said, the fear in the servant’s eyes grew bigger and bigger. Lauren knew that Alec’s way of getting information from a prisoner was crueler than her ways, but she didn’t stop him. In this situation, she could not afford to waste time. More enemies were surrounding them and they should take action.

"But if you tell us what we want to know, I will spare you some mercy. That depends, of course, if I am satisfied with your answers," added Alec which brought tears to the servant’s face.

"P-please, Your Majesty... I-I was only forced!"

Alec’s grim expression did not falter, not caring if she was forced to do it or not. The bottom line was she attempted to kill Lauren, something he could never forgive.

"For sure you were forced to do it because you were offered a huge sum of money you cannot refuse."

Years of solving criminal cases for the council had gained Alec many experiences in the field of interrogating law offenders. Many people serving the upper class dared overstep their bounds for monetary benefits.

Some were even promised status in the society which the servant class could only dream of, the reason why most of them were willing to risk their lives just for an opportunity to prove their worth to their masters.

"Was it the Haystones?" Alec questioned at the same time the band of blue fire tightened around the servant’s neck.

Although it wasn’t physically burning the servant’s skin, she could feel the pain in her mind. It was how Alec usually force people to speak since it wouldn’t kill his subject right away.

"Are you sure you are not killing her?" Lauren asked hearing the servant’s painful shrills and looking at her red face sweating bullets as if she would pass out anytime soon. She then reminded Alec, "We can’t get information if she dies."

"If she dies, we can just secretly abduct Jennifer Haystone and squeeze her for the information we need," Alec said playfully which made Lauren’s eyes narrow. When he saw how serious she was, he took back his jest, "I have no plans in killing her right now, alright."

Alec then went back to the servant who seemed to be dying in burning pain but was actually completely fine.

"Still have nothing to say?" The way his brow arched hinted that he was losing patience with her.

"Please spare me! I-I will say everything!"

After the servant said that, the band of blue fire in her neck disappeared as well as the force keeping her in the air. She held her neck to see if her skin got burnt when she fell back into the cell’s dirty ground.

"That is great. It would be too foolish of you to keep your mouth shut at a time it’s needed the most," Alec dusted his suit because the dust flew up after the servant fell on the ground.

Lauren stepped forward. The servant was looking down and she felt the urge to pull her face up, but she remained standing. The cell’s floor reeked with old blood and she wouldn’t squat in front of some maid just to pull her face.

Besides, the servant was someone who attempted to kill her, so in her eyes, the maid was one of those worthless people she should not bother to touch. She believed it was a filthy practice.

"Tell us. Who ordered you to poison me?" Lauren asked in a voice full of authority.

"I-it was—"

"Look at me as you speak," she cut her off coldly. She wanted to have a clear view of the maid’s face to see if she would dare lie in front of her face.

Trembling, the maid raised her head. In contrast to the fiery pain she received from Alec earlier, this time when she saw Lauren’s icy blue eyes, she felt chills run through her spine. The couple emitted different auras, but she could feel they were similar in one way—both seemed to be dangerous.

"It was L-Lady Jennifer..."

Lauren wasn’t surprised. She already knew it had something to do with Jennifer. What she wanted to know was if her father took part in it, and who else she worked with.

"How did you get into the castle?" Lauren tilted her head. "Did you receive help from the servants?"

The maid shook her head. "I arrived in the castle as Lady Jennifer’s maid, then I changed into the royal maid’s uniform which she gave me back in the mansion... that was how I got in."

"Is Minister Haystone aware of her daughter’s plan?" Lauren probed. She believed the minister would have aimed for Alec instead of her, but she still had to check.

"I-I don’t think so..." The maid swallowed hard before she continued, "Lady Jennifer told me to be careful and not to alert Minister Haystone."

Lauren leaned forward, her eyes narrowing darkly. She knew it. A man like Minister Haystone would most likely resort to a smarter way of dealing with someone. She also knew the ministers believed she was a good-for-nothing queen and killing her wouldn’t bring them great gain. If it was Alec who was almost poisoned, she would believe the minister took part in it, but she was the target.

"Do you have an idea why your mistress wants to kill me?" Lauren knew that most of the time people did not tell their servants for what reason they were asked to fulfill a task, but she hoped the maid had something to share.

The maid wiped the sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand. She swallowed hard and blinked a few times as she tried to remember things in the past. Lauren could see how she was trying her best to be useful as she could in fear of being killed.

"She did not tell me... but..." The maid hesitated for a moment before she added, "I-I heard her once talking with a friend that she likes King Alec, and if given a chance, she would want to be his concubine."

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read