Chapter 114 - Difficult Times

Vaughn had been staying in the Anisen Manor for a few days now. Zenia kept giving him cold shoulders and refused to talk to him. Renaria told everyone not to intervene, especially Zander and Ovid. She told everyone to let Zenia and Vaughn resolve their issues. Her son-in-law must be treated equally as Zenia in the Anisen Manor. It was a clear warning for Ovid and Zander.

Vaughn put it upon himself to deliver food to Zenia's room since she refused to go out. At first, he would leave it at her door and later he tried knocking on her door. Zenia tried to ignore him, but he kept going…

"Zenzen, Zenzen, Zenzen. Your food is here, please open the door."

Vaughn kept saying those words while knocking at her door. In the end, she finally opened it and just glared at him. She did not speak a single word. But for Vaughn, it was good enough to see her face. It always annoyed Zenia that she had decided to leave the door open to stop him from knocking and disturbing her.   

"Zenzen, I hope that you will talk to me soon."

Zenia, who was reading at the time, closed her book and stood up. Vaughn thought that she was going to hit him. She passed by him and went out of her room. Vaughn felt like he was nothing but a wisp of smoke in her eyes. He did not try to stop her and simply looked at her departing figure.

Renaria saw her daughter went out of her room and trod the path leading to the stable. She had a hunch that Zenia could be taking Thunderbolt for a ride, and she was right.

After some time, Zenia finally reached the military camp.

"It's the Junior Commander!" All the men had gathered to welcome her.

Zenia had always regarded each and every soldier of Ishelon as her brother. Each and every soldier in Ishelon's military unit regarded Zenia as their rightful Junior Commander and sensible brother . Zenia was the sole female soldier in their military unit. No other woman in Ishelon was interested to learn the art of war. Zenia truly was the most unique woman in Ishelon.   

"I am back, brothers."  

Not far from them, Gustof observed how the soldiers welcomed her. He finally saw Zenia Anisen's true face. He had seen Zenia's portrait in Zander's private quarters and knew then that Zenia had always been a beautiful woman. The woman who was being surrounded by the military men made the woman in the portrait looked somewhat shabby.  

Zenia noticed that someone was looking at her direction. When she saw the figure she waved at him with delight.

"Brother Gustof!"

Gustof walked to where Zenia was.

"It's good to see you again, Junior Commander. I thank you for all the things that you have done for me and my family. In this life, I am at your disposal." Gustof bowed his head to Zenia and never dared lift it.

Zenia and the rest of the men were lost for words. They did not expect Gustof to be emotional at the moment. Zenia remembered how Gustof loved his family and how worried he was for their safety.

"Brother Gustof, you are among friends and family. Please lift your head up."

Gustof slowly lifted his head and saw the smiling faces of everyone. For the past few months, these men showed the true meaning of brotherhood among loyal comrades. The woman before him was the one who brought him there.

"I am glad that I am a part of this circle. Please continue looking after me, my brothers, and I shall do the same."

It was a promise that Gustof uttered from the heart.

Zander made his way to the crowd and motioned for Zenia to follow him in his office. He knew that Zenia went there for a reason.

"Zenzen, what brings you here?"

"Big Brother, I've been delayed for days now, Zeze must be worried. Can we inform him now?"

"They must be on their way to Solaria now. I will make sure to send the message when they reached Solaria Inn. We can't send the message to the Royal Family villa because it was too risky at the time. The Ninth Prince's men surrounded the place, and we had no way of knowing whether the guards were Ninth Prince's or the Crown Prince's men."

"I'm sorry for being impulsive Big Brother. I let my emotions collude my judgment when I suddenly returned home that day. But I…"

Zander hugged his younger sister, "You don't need to say anything Zenzen. No one is blaming you. Remember that you always have your family to back you up no matter what decision you make. We will always support you."

It was rare for Zander to act like a proper Big Brother that he should be, but Zenia felt that he was his most sincere at the time.

Zenia hugged her Big Brother back, "Thank you Big Brother."

Zander flashed a faint smile while hugging his little Zenzen who had grown into a fine woman right before his eyes – a woman who had already fallen in love with her husband. He knew from the way that she hugged him that it could be the last time that she would give him that kind of hug. 

He would surely miss the days when the little girl used to follow him around and gave him lots of trouble. He thought that he should only wait for a year before Zenia would return home to Ishelon. He had been thinking lots of different reasons to pressure the King of Tissuria to allow his sister's divorce after the mission was accomplished.

'I guess I should stop thinking of ways that can help Zenzen divorce that prince. She won't be returning to the Anisen Manor and that brat won't allow her anyway.'

* * * * *

Zekiah's entourage had been traveling for a few hours already. They had a smooth stay at the villa and the renovations had been completed before they left.

"How long do we need to travel before we reach Solaria?" Zekiah was getting impatient because he still had no idea about Zenia's safety.

"It may take another day to reach Solaria, Crown Princess. We cannot go faster than our current speed." Ruvin was getting more annoyed with Zekiah.

"Did you receive any report before we left the villa?"

"There was none. I guess everything is fine in the Palace of the Crown Prince."

Zekiah took a deep breath and would like to hit Ruvin who did not show concern for the safety of the missing people. He thought that Ruvin was either too confident about the abilities of the Crown Prince or too dumb to realize that their prince could be in danger.

"I suggest you tell the coachman to hurry up even more. I have a feeling that we will receive an important message when we arrive at the Solaria Inn, which the King has included in the itinerary."

"As you wish, Crown Princess."

* * * * *

After five days, the dreadful Royal Decree was finally handed to Redivo who was the rightful representative of the Palace of the Crown Prince. Redivo read it and couldn't believe what he just read. The Left Minister was still able to convince the King to allow Verone to enter Vaughn's harem as his second wife. The wedding would take place a month after the couple had returned from their honeymoon.

Redivo's hands trembled and the scroll fell to the ground. He could not think of a proper way to inform Vaughn of the misfortune that would welcome them upon their return.