Chapter 179 - Act Like One

Zaos was trying to focus on his research. Still, the two blockheads inside the carriage were making things difficult for him. Drannor was more excited than usual, and even Ameria was having a hard time not grinning all the time despite the fact that lately, she has been trying to act like a composed princess. As if things weren't troublesome enough, Zaos was feeling that someone else that was really annoying was looking at him from outside the carriage. After a while, he couldn't help but look at the captain of the ten guards that were with them.

"What?" Zaos asked.

"Excuse me, sir Zaos," The captain of the guards said. "But you…"

"Spare me your fake politeness," Zaos said. "Talk to me like I am any other brat that you know. I am sure you are itching to treat me like all the other brats."

"Very well… you were hired to be a bodyguard of our kingdom's princess," The captain of the guards said. "You might as well start acting like one right now."

"I am acting," Zaos said. "Unlike you who ignored the three horsemen that passed by us five minutes ago, I made sure to keep an eye on them since they looked at the carriages for quite a while. Even though they looked like common travelers, they had knives hidden behind their shirts."

"That was a good one," The captain of the guards smiled.

"If you think I am joking, then how do you explain that I know that four of your nine men are in front of us and the rest are behind the second carriage? Also, three of the five maids inside the second carriage are sleeping."

The captain frowned but went to check that, and as it turned out, Zaos was right. Even for a wild guess, that seemed too suspicious. When the captain of the guards returned, Ameria decided to talk with him.

"Please forgive this arrogant kid, captain," Ameria said. "He is maybe arrogant, unfriendly, and many other bad things, but he takes his work seriously. Also, don't complain with the maids. They spent the night working in the final preparations for this trip."

"Yes, ma'am," The captain of the guards nodded and then resumed his position.

"You could have tried to at least be a bit polite, Zaos," Ameria said. "I am sorry that you had to come with us, but there is no reason to lash your anger onto others."

"I can accept any kind of complaints if I fail on my duties, but not before that," Zaos said. "Anyway, there is no need to apologize. Mom was the one who asked me to come. I knew neither of you would have the nerve to try to stop my research."

Zaos was a bit annoyed because he has been feeling that annoying presence since they left the capital. It was the same presence he felt when the kids went to play in the lake. If some sort of assassin could follow them even without using a carriage, why was he there? It was because his mother offered that alternative. Still, the king, Laiex, and Drian knew that it wasn't necessary, and yet, they refused to tell Ameria and the others that.

"I heard that you started to sell magic books," Drannor said. "I assume that your research has been working for a while. I went to check the magic books, and they teach spells that were unknown until now."

"And?" Zaos asked.

"Nothing, I was just mentioning," Drannor said.

Although Zaos decided to come, as expected, he wasn't in the mood for chit-chat. Since he could, he would use all his free time to do his research. While Drannor and America would be the two airheads that they are and enjoy the trip like it was a real vacation.

"Not like I am complaining or anything, but it isn't weird that you were invited to that birthday party?" Drannor asked. "Do you know anything about this girl that invited you?"

"While they know a little bit about our history, I am pretty sure that this family that rules Vezar actually can only see the royal family as their equals," Ameria explained. "They probably know about Seres and Sielders families, but they think that you two come from just some sort of servant's families. Your families made your names through military might, but they made their names using their intelligence."

"I guess I can see why they wouldn't respect our families," Drannor said.

"As for the daughter who invited me, I have no clue who she is," Ameria said. "Still, we can think of this as some sort of diplomatic mission."

"Well, I am not suited for that kind of work, but I don't really care since this is the first time that I am leaving the kingdom," Drannor said. "It seems that we are going to use their ships to travel for several days. I am looking forward to it."

"Me too," Ameria smiled.

Zaos wished that he could be that happy-go-looking. While he was preparing for the trip, he made sure to look for some maps in his home that showed him how the geography of Vezar was, and he couldn't help but frown while looking at it. The country had hundreds of islands, and despite that, the people between could easily travel to other islands since they were pretty good at making ships and boats. However, the real issue was the islands' position. They stayed in a sort of triangular area, and the main island was right in the back of that region. While the other islands weren't as big as the main one, they could be used to protect the main island due to their positions. If they want to wage war after capturing Ameria, it would be pretty hard for her to be rescued since they would have to face many small fleets on their path. To make matters worse, they were heading for there… to the main island. The most secure place of that country that had never been attacked before.