Chapter 206: The Riddle of the Vision

"The whole night, I want you to stay in our bedroom. I will take care of everything else but promise me you won’t do anything nasty," Alec said seriously.

Lauren didn’t seem to like the idea of hiding while everyone else was fighting the rebels.

"Alec, I understand your concern. I may have been weaker these days, but I am still capable of protecting myself. I can’t bear to lock myself in a room while all of you are out there risking your lives. Do you seriously believe I can stop myself from worrying about you?"

His eyes remained fierce and resolute, but one corner of his lips rose.

"What is there to worry about? I have been to the worst battlefields, Lauren. I know what I’m getting myself into."

"Of course, I trust that you can fend for yourself, but that does not mean it won’t bother me. We don’t know what else our enemies are capable of. If they are so confident to stage a big attack, it means they have trust they can take us down."

Lauren took a deep breath as she continued, "You know me. I am a rulebreaker. Would you rather have me out of your sight?" She raised a brow, challenging him.

Alec’s expression turned grim. He seemed to be weighing her words.

"Fine," he finally said. "You will stay with me wherever I am, but let us be clear with this. You won’t fight. You will stay on the sidelines. Do you understand me?"

"What if someone attacks me? Won’t I defend myself?"

"I won’t let that happen," he sounded very certain as if he knew how to cheat the future. "Even if you are capable of fighting, I won’t risk it. You are in a delicate situation right now. You cannot strain your body. Besides, there is no need for you to worry about the rebels. We have enough people to defend the castle."

"And you have me..." he added, which made Lauren smile.

She knew the discussion was not up for negotiation now. At least Alec was letting her stay by his side where she could see him. There was no need for an argument. She could always devise an alternative plan depending on the situation.

"Hey, lovey-dovey couple, might you spare me a minute of your precious time?"

Lauren turned to Vincent who was making his way toward them. He stopped by the pillar of the shed, and she could feel the weight of his serious eyes despite the smirk plastered on his face. It seemed like something was bothering him.

Lauren got back on her feet and asked, "What is it?"

"Let’s talk inside," Alec said and held Lauren’s waist.

As they headed to the tearoom, Lauren sensed the unspoken words between the silence of the two men. Something was going on and she was getting nervous.

Alec dismissed the servants after they were served tea.

As if the matter could not wait, Vincent spoke without any prelude, "Something has changed. Dimitri sent me a missive. He saw another vision."

"What is it?" asked Alec.

Lauren held her breath for a second. She was worried if it was worse than the first vision.

"His vision has changed. This time, he did not see bloodshed during the lunar eclipse. There was no battle."

It sounded like a good thing but the weight in Vincent’s expression told Lauren it might not be as simple as it seemed.

"Perhaps the rebels knew that we found out what they were planning so they changed the plan. Did Prince Dimitri see something else?"

Vincent nodded. "He saw a masked woman in the main hall of the castle. But that was all he saw."

"His visions are subjective," Alec explained when he noticed Lauren’s confusion. "It can change when people change their decisions, so you must be right. They thought they could stage a perfect surprise attack but since we have prepared our defense, they changed their plan."

"So what do we do now?"

Lauren watched Alec and Vincent exchange serious glances. None of them spoke as if they were thinking about what they should do with the situation. Lauren lowered her gaze to the untouched tea in front of her, her forehead creasing.

As she gave it some thought, she lifted her gaze back to the two men.

"What if Prince Dimitri’s vision is before the fight happens? His vision might be at a different angle or at a different time from the first vision."

"He only saw the masked woman inside the castle, no one else was with her. The rest of the people are royal guards and soldiers." Vincent paused as he recounted his cousin’s long missive. "Ah, he also mentioned that the woman said she did not come to start a fight and referred to her presence in the castle as ’visiting’."

"That woman must be the one with the ruby and emerald rings. She kept on showing up before, but she always kept her distance. We concluded that she is the mastermind of the rebels," Lauren said. "But why would she show herself in the castle alone? That is equal to asking for her death."

Vincent leaned back and crossed his arms. "Now that is the riddle of the vision."

"Maybe she is someone so powerful that she doesn’t worry about her being surrounded by Evardin’s best warriors?" The assumption didn’t sound right even to Lauren’s ears so she shook her head. "No, we are missing something here."

"Unless she has an ace up her sleeve," Alec muttered quietly. The change of plan did not surprise him. With how Simon knew about Lauren’s condition, he knew the rebels were quite resourceful. "This is getting interesting," he said without humor.

Vincent nodded with a smirk. "I agree."

A bunch of ants threatening to overthrow his reign sounded ridiculous to Alec. He would have enjoyed dealing with them at some point, but with the limited time he had to solve Lauren’s condition, an unwelcome interference was the last thing he wanted right now so this whole thing was getting on his nerves. He couldn’t wait to have the mastermind on his hands and end this bloody game.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read