Chapter 127 - Don’t Come Near

The men sneered as they eyed Zenia. Even though she dressed plainly, her beauty still shone. 

"Little beauty, I suggest sticking your nose to your own business and don't go poking around someone else's. Otherwise, we won't be polite." The tallest man among the group approached Zenia.

Vaughn was about to act when Zenia gave him a signal to stand down. He stopped and knew that his little devil might have something up her sleeves.

"These honorable brothers, I only fear that the patrolling authorities over there might think that you are beating someone without a reason," Zenia pointed at the direction where some officials were currently talking to some people.

The tall man looked at the direction she had pointed and seen some officials. Zenia had no idea what the officials were doing there and just used their presence when she jumped to interfere. It was too late for her to retreat when she realized that she was to keep a low profile. Luckily, there were some officials near the scene at the time.

The tall man bowed to her and said, "This young lady, we thank you for the warning. Please treat this incident as if it did not exist."

The tall man signaled his minions to back off, and they walked away. Vaughn saw everything and walked to where Zenia was standing.

"What happened? What did you tell them that made them stop and just walk away?"

Zenia gave Vaughn a meaningful smile and pointed to the direction of the officials.

"I saw some officials over there and told them that the officials might see them beating someone, and they will be in trouble."

Vaughn looked at the officials and laughed hard. Zenia was confused at Vaughn's reaction.

"Those men are not officials." Vaughn was almost teary-eyed from laughing hard.

"They are not? But, they are wearing the uniform of officials."

"I can guarantee that they are not. You see, there are traveling performing troupes that often wear their costumes outside of their performance to promote their plays. Although the style is the same as the uniform of the officials, the color of the collar is different. Most people who do not go to the capital that often will not notice the subtle difference."

"So it's like that… I guess I'm really lucky," she gave Vaughn a mischievous smile.

Vaughn shook his head and braced himself for turbulent days ahead. When he told Zenia about avoiding dangerous things, he knew that it was only his wishful thinking. But, he hoped that he had knocked some sense into her head, and she would choose to avoid dangerous situations.

Zenia looked at the man who was lying on the ground. He was breathing sporadically. Vaughn and Zenia helped the young man to a more comfortable position. She looked at his wounds and saw that they were not fatal. He seemed to be undernourished. It could be the reason for his lack of strength.

After a few minutes, the young man began to stir. He opened his eyes slowly and saw two friendly faces. He frowned.

"Who are you, people?" The young man sounded unappreciative that irked Vaughn and Zenia.

"Is that the way you talk to your benefactor? If we did not come to your rescue, those men might have beaten you to a pulp. I guess you're the one who instigated the beating. With your attitude, even I would like to beat you right now." Zenia was so mad that she no longer cared that the young man was injured.

The young man looked at Vaughn and Zenia with suspicion, but he could not deny that they truly helped him. They looked like an ordinary couple.

"T-thank you, Madam and Sir. I am new in this place, and I have been a target of ridicule and harassment for the past few days. Don't blame me for behaving like this."

"Judging from the way you talked to us earlier, I am guessing that's how you usually interact with people around you. Don't be surprised when people treat you that way. You're no different from a prick. Also, you're still young yet you look lethargic like an old man."

The young man was stunned at the things that Zenia told him. No one had spoken to him in such a way. He did not like it at all, but he also knew that it was the Young Madam who really rescued him earlier. He saw and heard her before he fainted.

"This one will be on his way. Thank you again for your help." The young man stood up and went to the direction of Solaria Inn.

The couple looked at the young man and just shrugged their shoulders. They held hands and followed the path to the shopping area. Little did they know that there was someone in a nearby café that witnessed everything from the start. He was fascinated by Zenia and thought that the Young Madam was not an ordinary woman.

"Rodham, investigate that woman who helped the young man earlier."

"Young Duke Gordon, may I know the reason so I can have a proper guide as to what kind of information to gather?" 

"Know her name and origin. I don't think that the man who's with her is her husband."

Rodham was a bit confused. The man and woman were obviously husband and wife. They even held hands when they left the scene.

"May I ask if you are interested in the woman, Your Grace?"

The Duke flashed a meaningful look at his subordinate and smiled. Rodham couldn't believe that after so many years, his master was finally showing interest in a woman. He should report it immediately to the Old Duke. Hopefully, the woman was not married to the man.

When Zenia and Vaughn went back to the inn, they heard the manager reprimanding someone.

"What's with you lad?! I told you to avoid getting in trouble, and you return looking like this again? You must be clear on the reason I hired you here, don't make me lose face to your benefactor when I fire you." The fury in the voice of the manager was undeniable.

"Please, sir, don't fire me until the end of the agreement. I promise that nothing like this will ever happen again."

"I am telling you now, Jorick, I have very limited patience. Don't make me act harshly. There were lots of regular customers who asked for the dishes you make and you're nowhere to be found. Do you have any idea of the things I must go through just to appease the anger of my customers and make them stay?"

Jorick just shook his head. The manager sighed and could not find the right words to say to make him understand. He knew that Jorick is much younger than he looked.

"I can forgive you this one last time. The business needs to gain some profits. Our salary depends on the profit that the business makes. If we can't produce more earnings for the owner, this establishment might close down soon. This is not the first time that our loyal customers got angry because you're not here."

Jorick clenched his fist as he tried to suppress his anger. He would try to hold on for a bit more. He prayed that the Ninth Prince would take him out of that dreadful place.    

Vaughn and Zenia looked at each other and nodded their heads at the same time. They went to their room and locked the door immediately. They both pulled out a chair from the desk and took out some papers and a pen.

"I think that the young man that we saved earlier was that Jorick guy. No wonder he seemed like a prick," Zenia rubbed her chin when she uttered the words.

Vaughn just looked at her and did not comment.

"If he is the newly hired kitchen helper, he must be the spy that the Ninth Prince had planted. Luckily, he did not suspect us."

Vaughn tapped Zenia's nose, "That's why I told you earlier not to put yourself in dangerous situations."

Zenia just looked at her husband and did not say anything anymore. 

'What situations are considered dangerous? I just helped someone being beaten, how would I know that he's connected with the Ninth Prince?'

They were busy discussing their plan that they forgot to eat their supper. When they felt hungry, Vaughn ordered for dishes to be delivered in their room. It was already dark when they finished eating their meal.  

Zenia was sweaty and felt uncomfortable. She did not bring a change of clothes and decided to let the manager handle it for her. 

She stood up and said, "I will talk to the manager and ask if it's possible to bring us some change of clothes."

Zenia went out of the room and closed the door behind her.

Whoosh! Thud!

An arrow with a message got stuck on the wooden pillar of the room. Vaughn thought, 'Could it be from Redivo?'

Vaughn took out the arrow and unfurled the note. Vaughn's eye twitched when he began reading the content.