Chapter 132 - Sneaky, Sneaky, Sneaky

Vaughn and Zenia rode non-stop, except when they ate their packed food. Vaughn's admiration for Thunderbolt had risen once more. He never slowed down and did not show signs of fatigue even though two people were riding him. Thunderbolt and Zenia had a strong connection and the beast knew that his master was pressing for time. His loyalty to his master was beyond anyone's imagination.

They reached Gretia in just five hours. It was already lunchtime, and they ate all their packed foods on the way. Zenia's stomach was grumbling, and Vaughn hoped that the meal had been prepared upon their arrival in Ruvin's family villa.

"Wait!" Vaughn stopped Zenia when she was about to barge in.

"What?" 

"You're wearing a dress right now, and you don't look like a guard at all."

Zenia looked at her self and sighed, "Oh, I forgot about this. I guess we should sneak in and find Zeze so I can change my clothes. I can bring him his change of clothes later."

Vaughn sighed, "I'll just follow your plan."

Zenia left Thunderbolt in an inconspicuous area before she and Vaughn leaped the wall of the villa. It was not heavily guarded and the Ninth Prince's men had not discovered the place yet. Zenia let out a sigh of relief.

'I guess those three were the only ones who knew.'

Zenia and Vaughn nodded to each other and surveyed the place to know where Zekiah was. Ruvin and most of the guards that went with them had no idea that Zekiah was posing as Zenia. Vaughn and Zenia had agreed earlier that it would be best to keep it that way. The fewer people knew about the arrangement, the better. 

It did not take long before Zenia found Zekiah's room. Vaughn also went on his way to meet Ruvin.

"Zenzen," Zekiah ran to his sister and hugged her.

"You're suffocating me."

Zekiah let go of Zenia. "What happened to you two? Why didn't you return and did you go to Ishelon?"

"Well… It's a long story that I will tell you some other time. Right now, we need to return to the capital. Did you receive any message from the Palace of the Crown Prince?"

Zekiah shook his head, "We have not received anything. I'm afraid that something bad must've happened."

"Hmm, we thought so too. We really need to go back to the capital. We suspect that the King must've issued a Royal Decree that will allow Verone Rocca to be the second wife."

Zekiah almost flipped the table in anger. "SECOND WIFE?! What is that King thinking? You just got married to the Crown Prince!"

Zenia tried to calm Zekiah down. She couldn't blame him. She had the same reaction when she heard Vaughn's hunch. She even wanted to exterminate Verone.

"It's still a hunch, and we are not certain if it's true. But, we need to brace ourselves for the worst."

* * * * *

"What's the deal with you and your guard? Why did you return only now?" Ruvin asked incessantly while looking around as if looking for someone. 

He continued his barrage of questions. "Where is that guard anyway? Why don't I see him? Did he return together with you?"

Vaughn felt like he was having a headache. Ruvin could be too much sometimes. But, he was one of his few good friends. He knew that both brothers were loyal to him.

"Something came up, and I need to take care of it first. I have no means of sending you a message," Vaughn answered Ruvin in a casual tone.

"Is that so? By the way, your Crown Princess is always being difficult. I can't stand to stay in the same room as her. Luckily, we are staying in my family's villa, and no one will know that we are staying in separate rooms. I'm sure you don't want to stay in the same bedroom as her." Ruvin gave Vaughn a grin.

Vaughn's face darkened when he heard that Ruvin made an arrangement of sleeping in separate rooms.

"Retract that order now and let me sleep in the same room as my wife."

Ruvin was surprised that Vaughn really wanted to sleep together with Zenia.

"Are you sure?"

Vaughn just shot daggers at him. He had long been waiting for the moment to hug his wife to sleep and Ruvin was ruining that chance for him.

"You won't blame me later when you realize that you don't want to be in the same room as her?" 

"Why are you so annoying today with so many questions than usual. Do you want me to send you somewhere far away?"

Ruvin began to sweat profusely when he remembered the day that Vaughn got angry with him. He was sent to Grezina's Peak where he stayed for a couple of weeks. It was a cold and desolate place, but it was a good place to observe the whole of Tissuria. They already developed a long-range telescope, which helped them accomplish the task without trouble.

Vaughn had a team of experts that solely devoted their time to developing innovative gadgets and equipment. No one knew about it, not even the King and Queen of Tissuria. However, the team usually spent years in developing new  things  and could only present one invention every five or so years.

"I will arrange for you to sleep with your wife right away. Geez, you don't need to be so hard on me." Ruvin left Vaughn in a hurry and immediately inform the steward to carry out the arrangement.

* * * * *

Zenia told Zekiah about their Big Brother's plan to infiltrate the enemy camp. They planned to do it slowly to prevent arousing suspicions. 

The men who were supposed to gather only some information should also study the ways and characteristics of each assassin in Luna Inn. It was a very taxing and challenging task, but they need to do it. The success of the infiltration was dependent on their ability to study each assassin.

They had no idea whether the men in Luna Inn knew each other personally, but they seldom remove their masks. Most of them were there to earn money at the cost of someone's life. However, Zander told them to bring each assassin to Ishelon – alive. They had no idea what was going on in their Commander's head, but they still need to obey.

Zenia and Zekiah were not clear on how their Big Brother and his men would carry out the mission, but they knew that their Big Brother must have acted already as they spoke with each other.

When it turned dark, Zenia called for Harnen to bring in a change of clothes for Zekiah and accompany him out of her room. This should prevent any nasty rumor from spreading. Zenia was not familiar with the servants and some guards in the villa.

"Goodnight, sister. I will see you tomorrow." Zekiah changed into a man's clothing and went out of the room together with Harnen.

The steward brought Vaughn's things into the bedroom. Zenia felt her cheeks were getting hot. It was not the first time that they would be sharing a bed together, but she still felt nervous.

A few minutes later, Vaughn entered the room wearing a mask. Zenia felt that he was smiling behind that mask, and she was right.

"Do you want to eat dinner now or do you want to take a walk around the villa?"

"A walk would be lovely," she smiled and wore her face veil before she took Vaughn's arm and walked out of the room.

* * * * * 

Back in Solaria Inn, Jorick kept asking if Vaughn and Zenia had returned. The manager was getting annoyed with him but tried his best not to offend the young man.

"No, they still haven't returned. They will probably return tomorrow."

Jorick did not say anything anymore. 

'I'll just try to sneak into their room later when there are no more people around.'

"Young Duke, I have not seen the Young Madam and her husband from morning until now. They have not checked out of the inn yet. They are probably visiting other places in Solaria or nearby areas."

Duke Gordon's face darkened. Based on what he witnessed last night, the Young Madam's husband was not someone ordinary. His martial arts and lightfoot technique were remarkable. He looked like he was walking on air when he left, and he returned in the same manner with ease.

The Young Duke was wondering where the husband went at such an hour. Now, both of them had not returned. Duke Gordon felt ill at ease. He was interested in the Young Madam, but now he was more curious about their identities. He feared that those people were not as simple as they seemed.

"Let us check their room later when there are fewer people around."

"Yes, Young Duke."

* * * * *

"Where are they now?" Damien roared as soon as he got back to his palace.

He was about to visit Luna Inn that day because someone informed him that three of his men failed to show up. He was beginning to doubt the loyalty of his subordinates and wanted to carry out  internal weeding .

"Your Highness, we received a report that they are on their way to Gretia. But, we lost them."

"How can you lost an entire entourage?!" Damien's voice was even louder than before.

"My Prince, the men who were following them were all killed. We are still investigating if it's the men of the Crown Prince who did it. The manner of killing was different."

"Are you telling me that someone is secretly helping them?"

"I-I'm not sure what to say, Your Highness. It seems that a group is really helping them."

"What nonsense are you spouting? Find out now! Don't let grandfather know of this."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Damien was too furious that he could no longer think straight. One more mishap and he knew that the Left Minister would never trust him again. He was so close in uncovering the secret hideout of the Left Minister's private army.

'You can never defeat me, Vaughn. I'll make sure that I will be the one to sit in that throne.'