Chapter 112 - You’re Awake, Son-In-Law

Damien finally reached the Left Minister's estate. The steward received him and took him to where the Left Minister was. 

"Greetings, grandfather. Why did you need to see me? Did you receive important information that you need to discuss with me?" Damien immediately asked his grandfather after his greeting.

The Left Minister did not like Damien's tone and manner of questioning. Although he was the Ninth Prince, he was still one of his pawns. Without him, Damien had no power. No one would be willing to follow a nobody like him.

The Left Minister let it slide and pointed at the chair. Damien pulled out the chair and sat.

"In three days, the King will issue a Royal Decree allowing Verone to enter the Crown Prince's palace with the identity of a concubine. We can only settle with this title for now. When Vaughn finally kicks out the Crown Princess from his palace and put her to her new residence, we can persuade the King to bestow the title of a second wife to Verone. She should try her best to get pregnant with the Crown Prince's heir."

"Why can't father issue the Royal Decree now? The earlier Verone gets in the Palace of the Crown Prince, the better."

"We can't rush it. Remember that the Queen is still there to monitor the activities. I just hope that the King will be able to issue the Royal Decree smoothly."

Damien gritted his teeth. He forgot that Queen Mina would surely do everything in her power to stop the King from issuing the decree. 

"What else do you want me to do grandfather?"

"Be always prepared. No matter what happens you need to make sure that your men are ready."  

* * * * *  

Vaughn woke up at the break of dawn. He got up and sat on the bed. He looked around and knew that he was inside the Anisen Manor. He was unclear of what happened, but he remembered calling out Zenia's name and receiving a reply before he passed out. 

A faint smile flashed on his lips knowing that Zenia did not totally abandon him. Even though she may have accommodated him, she still left him all alone in the room. 

He sighed, 'I have a long way to go. What can I do to appease her anger? But at least she allowed me into her maternal home.'

He looked at his shirt and pants. He immediately guessed that the clothes he was wearing must've been Zander's. He wanted to cry. 

'My wife, do you want me dead? What will your dear Big Brother do the moment he learns that you let me wear his clothes?'

He had decided that he would send some wine and a few fine horses to Zander later. It was already too difficult to please the big ape, and he added more reasons for Zander to hate him. Vaughn knew that Zander did not like him since he was young, and just took care of him because of his father-in-law.

The room was illuminated by a tiny lamp on the side table. Vaughn looked around the room once more and felt its warmth. The room was simple but cozy. He felt so relaxed even though he was in a different place and an unfamiliar room.

His stomach grumbled. He got off the bed and walked slowly to the door. He opened it slightly and hesitated whether he should get out or just wait for someone to come. He was hoping that Zenia would check on him, but he also knew that it was farfetched.

"You're awake, son-in-law!" 

He looked at the direction of the voice and saw Renaria carrying a tray that contained a pot of jasmine tea. He stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him.

"Hello, mother-in-law," Vaughn smiled at Renaria and slightly bowed his head.

At that moment he did not think of himself as the Crown Prince of Tissuria. His identity at that moment was the son-in-law of the Anisens and nothing more.

"Since you're already up, you can join me."

"How about father-in-law and… the rest of the family?"

Renaria knew that Vaughn might be feeling awkward.

"They are still fast asleep. We had a family meeting last night, and we finished it at midnight."

Renaria could not tell Vaughn that they had a family argument last night because of his sudden appearance.

"Mother, it is only right to make him suffer for a bit. It's his fault that Zenzen had to suffer a lot."

"How did you know that Zenzen suffered a lot? Did she tell you? In my recollection, Zenzen had always stayed in her room ever since she came home."

"My wife, please understand us. We only want to take a bit of revenge for Zenzen."

"Everybody, please calm down. Big Brother, please don't meddle in my affairs. He is my husband whom you agreed I should marry. Let me remind you that you did not even stop it from happening. Whatever fight we may have, I will handle it. I am the only one who should decide on his punishment. Father, you don't need to worry about me. I am way stronger than he is, you should know that by now. I always thought that I was a weakling when I was in the military so I trained hard to be strong. But no matter how much I train, I'm still weaker than most of my brothers in the military. During my stay in Tissuria, I found out that I'm actually way stronger than most of them. I am stronger than Vaughn. Mother thank you so much for teaching me all of those things. I know now what to do. Rest assured that I will be fair. I am a soldier after all."

"Zander, you know what to do as punishment."

"Mother, I did nothing wrong."

"You bullied the weak, do you think that's correct?"

"I… yes, mother I will go there now for my punishment."

Renaria had always been strict and just. Sometimes she felt guilty for being domineering. She knew that her family loved her so much, and they were careful not to make her suffer. She was a weak woman, unlike her daughter. Her family was afraid of her because they did not want her to suffer from pain and disappointment. 

Her children had always been careful around her. It was partly due to Ovid's teachings and constant reminder. He kept telling their children that Renaria should not suffer from any humiliation, disrespect, disappointment, and other things that could bring her sadness.

"Son-in-law, accompany me to the garden. I always go there this early morning to invigorate my body."

Vaughn thought that his mother-in-law's statement was rather odd. How could a visit to the garden invigorate her?

"Let me carry the tray for you, mother-in-law." Vaughn took the tray from Renaria's hands.

Renaria liked her son-in-law more and more. He had no air of arrogance around him, and she could feel that he truly loved her daughter.

When they reached the table in the garden, Renaria ordered some maids to bring in some food for Vaughn. She pulled out a chair and Vaughn did the same.

She poured jasmine tea in the two cups. She handed a cup of tea to Vaughn.

"Thank you, mother-in-law." 

Vaughn took a sip and felt like the weariness on his body was starting to disappear. The light, sweet scent of the flowers in the garden calmed his nerves.

"Give Zenzen some time. Don't expect her to see you yet. She personally supervised taking care of you while you were sleeping."

Vaughn bowed his head, "I already consider myself fortunate that she allowed me to stay here. I know I'm wrong, mother-in-law. I should've followed your advice earlier and took action right away, but…"

Renaria sighed, "What's done is done. Even if you want to turn back the time, you can't. You can only move forward and try not to commit the same mistakes again. Zenia had always been a sensible child, but these things that are happening to her right now are foreign to her. I have a hunch that she prefers to figure things out on her own. This is her way of getting herself familiar to the new things she encounters."

The food that Renaria told the maids to prepare for Vaughn finally arrived.

"You better eat first."

Vaughn nodded and started eating. He did not notice that in the far corner hidden by the shadows of the trees, a svelte figure was watching him.