Chapter 126 - Tissuria, We’re Back!

Vaughn felt like his life force passed before his eyes. He thought he would never see the light of day again.

"Ha-ha-ha, isn't this exciting?" Zenia turned around and saw the seemingly lifeless Vaughn.

She stopped Thunderbolt and tapped Vaughn's face lightly.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Zenia was a bit annoyed when she saw the sorry state of her husband.

When Vaughn did not reply, Zenia panicked.

"Hey," she tapped his face using a bit more force. "Hey, are you okay?"

She got off her horse while preventing Vaughn from falling off. It was the most terrifying episode of his life, and Vaughn was frozen stiff. Zenia helped him off the horse and let him rest against a tree.

"Breathe, ooh-ooh-ahh, breathe," Zenia continued to chant the phrase until she saw a response.

Vaughn inhaled deeply and then exhaled. He repeated his actions a few more times. He looked at Zenia with angry eyes. He remembered that when she jumped off the cliff during the time he was chasing her, she landed on the other side like she did not do something dangerous. Had she been doing the same stunt over and over again?

Vaughn held Zenia's shoulders tightly, "Don't ever, ever do that again. You may have escaped mother-in-law's punishment, but you won't escape mine. I will teach you to behave like a proper lady."

Vaughn was huffing when he finished saying those words. He could no longer imagine how Zenia lived her life doing dangerous stunts. She may have been very lucky during those days, but luck would not accompany her all the time. 

He couldn't imagine how he would live his life without her. Why couldn't she behave like a normal lady for once? He did not want to change her, but she should learn how to stop doing dangerous antics.

Zenia somewhat understood his fear, and she felt guilty. She knew that she should learn to control her actions. Their lives were not solely theirs starting from the day that they got married. 

She hugged him, "I'm sorry, okay? I will not do anything like that again if it isn't necessary. But you see, we are already pressing for time and it's a short cut. Please don't get angry. I will try my best not to jump from that cliff again."

Vaughn felt warm, but somehow he also felt that something was off. However, the sweetness of the moment had captured his heart and mind. He decided to set aside whatever it was that he thought and hugged Zenia back.

"Don't do dangerous things again."

"Okay."

'Define dangerous, something may be dangerous in your opinion but not from my point of view.'

"I forbid you to wear any disguise, except when I'm with you."

"Okay."

"You should not play with different weapons anymore."

Zenia's eyebrow twitched and pushed Vaughn away from her, "Are you looking for a beating? I gave you an inch, and you want to take a mile? Let's just divorce now!"

Vaughn turned docile almost immediately, "My wife, I'm only joking. The first two things that I've said earlier are enough."

'Later, I will make sure that you will not be able to counter and refuse everything I tell you, my wife.'

"It's good that we understand each other. Are you okay now? Let's keep going so we can reach Gretia right away."

Zenia stood up and extended her hand to help Vaughn. He shook his head but did not refuse Zenia's help. He looked at her and thought about letting her know about his hunch regarding the Royal Decree. In the end, he decided not to tell her anything. Why disrupt their peaceful time together?

They rode Thunderbolt once more and followed the path leading to Solaria. Zenia tried to decrease Thunderbolt's speed to avoid attracting unnecessary attention. She knew that the Ninth Prince's men were scattered all over Tissuria. They could rest for a bit in Solaria.

When they reached Solaria, they decided to book a room in Solaria Inn. They left Thunderbolt under the ostler's care. Jorick was still there disguised as a kitchen helper. 

Zenia was the one who ate most of the food that Renaria packed for them. Her stomach still grumbled when they reached Solaria Inn.

"My wife, how big is your appetite?" Vaughn teased Zenia who was obviously embarrassed.

"You already know how big it is, don't ask. Humph!" She walked in the direction of the dining area.

Vaughn ordered the dishes that he knew Zenia would like. After spending time with her, he was able to acquire a good grasp of her likes and dislikes. He was careful in choosing the food to give to her.

"Are you still going to call me Big Brother Vaughn when we are out?"

"If you insist Big Brother Vaughn, I can call you that way."

"Hmm, I am fine with it but call me hubby when we are out." Vaughn gave her a naughty smile.

"You wish!"

The dishes came in one by one as the waiter introduced each of them. 

"My, you also have these dishes! I never thought I will ever taste it again."

"Why have you tried them before somewhere else? Each inn in Tissuria has its own set of dishes that can never be found anywhere else."

Zenia thought for a while and decided that it would be safe not to disclose anything to Vaughn at the time. She also thought that it could be different from the ones that she had tasted in Luna Inn.

She picked up her spoon and tasted the dish. She couldn't believe that the taste was the same as the one that she had in Luna Inn. She tried to act as if there was nothing wrong.

When the server returned with the additional dishes, Zenia did not hold back and asked the server.

"These dishes are so delicious. I don't recall that you have these dishes on your menu before. Are they new?"

Vaughn almost spurted his drink when he heard how convincing Zenia was when questioning the server. She seemed like a regular customer of the inn when in fact it was the first time that they had been there. They stayed in another inn when they first visited Solaria.

The server smiled, "You are right Young Madam. We just hired a kitchen helper who knew how to prepare these dishes. When the manager sampled them, he had decided to include them on our menu. The helper informed us that the dishes can never be found anywhere else. Otherwise, we will not include them in our menu."

"So, you have a new kitchen helper. May I ask when you hired her? My husband and I have been away for a few weeks."

"The new kitchen helper is a he, Young Madam. We hired him a few weeks ago. Most of our guests like the dishes that he makes."

"Please send my appreciation to that person," Zenia gave a gold coin to the server.

"Consider this gold coin delivered, Young Madam."

The server went back to the kitchen, and Zenia's eyes followed him. She was hoping to see the face of the newly hired kitchen helper.

Vaughn thought that his wife was acting weird, but he did not dare to ask her right away. Zenia went back to eating her meal when she could no longer see the server. She was certain that the dishes came from Luna Inn and the one who prepared them was the same person who made them in Luna Inn. She knew that the Luna Inn was owned by the Ninth Prince. 

After eating their meal, they had decided to take a walk for a bit. When there were only the two of them, Vaughn did not hesitate to ask Zenia.

"What's wrong with the dishes earlier?"

Zenia looked at him and answered with all honesty, "I tasted those dishes before in Luna Inn. I'm sure that they were made by the same person. It is possible that the Ninth Prince sent his kitchen helper to spy on us. I wanted to see the face of that person."

"Have you seen the kitchen helper in Luna Inn?"

"No, but I will be able to determine whether he is one of the Ninth Prince's men or not. His men have some weird body markings on them. I can't describe it, but I'll know when I see it."

"Why is he still here? Ruvin and the rest are probably in Gretia already. What is he waiting for?"

"Perhaps, he is waiting for the next order of the Ninth Prince?"

Blag!

Vaughn and Zenia stopped walking when they heard a commotion not far away from where they were standing.

"You stubborn fool! Tell us why the manager is favoring you so much, what did you do?" An angry voice of a man broke the silence.

"I did not do anything. I told you that I'm just looking for work and the manager hired me." It was the voice of a young man.

"Do you think we will believe you?"

The men started kicking the young man who groaned in pain. Zenia had heard enough and could not standstill. Vaughn was a step too late to stop Zenia. She ran toward the source of the noise and glowered at the group. 

"Stop it! What gives you the right to beat him up?"

The men suddenly stopped what they were doing and looked at Zenia. They saw that the woman who shouted was a beautiful lady who looked frail and slender. 

They smirked and decided to abandon the young man who lay limply on the ground. They shifted their eyes to Zenia and marked her as their next prey.