Chapter 134 - A Flawless Diversion

Vaughn and Zenia changed their clothes immediately. They both covered their faces. They both knew that they should get going right away. They had no idea how fast the Ninth Prince's men would reach the villa.

Ruvin was about to knock when Vaughn opened the door.

"I have gathered all the servants in the hall, and they are being interrogated right now. We will know in a couple of hours who leaked the information." Ruvin informed Vaughn quickly as soon as the door was opened.

"When you find out who did it, take care of that person accordingly."

"Yes, Your Highness." Ruvin turned around and started walking away.

"Wait!" Zenia suddenly called out for Ruvin to stop.

The Crown Princess' action brought confusion to Ruvin. During their stay together it seemed she wanted to kick him out as soon as he entered the room. Now, she actually stopped him from leaving.

"What is it Zenzen?" It was Vaughn who asked her.

"Don't kill them if you found out who the spies are."

"Spies?"

"Yes, spies! I don't think one person can act alone in this matter."

"What made you think so, Crown Princess?"

"Intuition." Zenia's eyes sparkled.

Vaughn knew that his little devil may have discovered something but did not want to tell them, or did she?

"What do you want to do with them?"

Zenia gave Vaughn a meaningful smile and walked out of the room. Vaughn followed his wife to the hall where the servants were gathered. 

When they reached the hall, Vaughn and Zenia saw that the servants were lined up. There were a total of fifteen servants maintaining the villa. Everyone looked so tensed and anxious. The servants had no idea why they were called in the hall. All of them were present, including the newly hired ones.

The residence was not that big but the garden required a lot of work. There were four gardeners working in the garden. They were required to remove the weeds each day and make sure that the rare plant of the Madam, the deceased mother of Ruvin and Redivo, was properly taken care of.

"Who among you have been hired recently?" Ruvin asked on the top of his voice.

Four servants stepped forward. Ruvin, Vaughn, and Zenia studied the four servants - two men and two women. They were all sweating and nervous. Zenia looked at the women, one middle-aged and the other one looked like only fourteen years old. She then looked at the men, both were in their twenties.   

They were already pressing for time. They knew that the Ninth Prince's men would arrive anytime soon. They should be able to point out the spies within the limited time that they had. They should not spend a couple of hours to find out who the spies were. By then, it would be too late to escape.

Zenia whispered something to Vaughn. He nodded his head.

"Ruvin, go see if your old servants are still loyal to you." Vaughn's command seemed like thunder in everyone's ear – everything became clear to them.

The servants, old and new were trembling in fear. The old ones were clear on the price they had to pay for betraying their masters. Although they may not be the spies, they feared that they might get implicated or someone would implicate them.

"Follow me," Ruvin commanded the old servants of the villa and took them in another room.

"Say your name, position, and day when you got hired in the villa. Say who recommended you."

"I am Concha, Your Highness. I am the laundry lady and got hired last month. It was the old steward who told me that the villa needed a laundry lady."

"M-My name is Romina, Your Highness. I am the new kitchen helper. I am here for a week now. I was just lucky when I applied here. Their kitchen helper did not return, and they urgently need one."

Zenia noticed that one of the men seemed displeased with the young girl's reply. She kept quiet and continued observing.

"I am Lucio, Your Highness. I am a gardener in the villa. I got hired three weeks ago. The gardener who retired told me about it and got the job because it became vacant."

"I am Rudolf, Your Highness. I am the maintenance man. I fix any broken things in the villa, including pipes and carriage wheels. I have been here for two months."

Zenia looked at each of them one more time and whispered to Vaughn.

"You need to interrogate Lucio and Romina further. They are the most likely suspects."

Vaughn nodded his head and whispered back, "Why the young girl? Don't you think she's too young?"

"Precisely! They thought no one would suspect her."

After half an hour, everything was settled. They couldn't have done it without Zenia's careful observation and analysis. 

* * * * *

The carriage of the Crown Prince took the usual route going to the capital. The Crown Prince did not join the Crown Princess inside the carriage. Damien's men saw the Crown Prince riding his majestic steed at regular speed. They confirmed their hunch that the Crown Prince was not in good terms with the Crown Princess. They sneered and thought that their job to eliminate the Crown Princess had become much easier than before.

Inside the carriage, everything was quiet. The Crown Princess could be sleeping. An attendant was sitting with the Crown Princess instead. Damien's men kept following the carriage, jumping from tree to tree. They were fast and agile. The Crown Prince's men remained vigilant and knew that they were being followed, but they pretended that they knew nothing.

When the carriage made a turn to a seemingly secluded area, the Ninth Prince's men made their move. 

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

There were at least fifty men who attacked them. The entourage of the Crown Prince had a total of seventeen men, including the Crown Prince.

The carriage did not stop even though there were so many men trying to stop them. The guards defended the carriage with all their might. The Crown Prince was sneering behind his mask.

'Let's see what you got.' The Crown Prince drew his sword and joined in the fight.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The incessant clashing sounds of the swords broke the deafening silence of the night. If the master swordsman heard the clashing swords, he would know that the blow being exchanged were powerful and swift. Either side refused to be defeated.  

"Aaaah!"

"Aaaah!"

The cries of the fallen men added to the nerve-wracking noise that could send shivers to anyone who heard them. The Ninth Prince's men were keen on killing the Crown Princess. Every guard of the entourage tried their best to defend their Crown Princess from harm.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Soon, more of the Ninth Prince's men joined in the fun. The Crown Prince and his men were overwhelmed and outnumbered. Prolonging the fight would only be disadvantageous to the Crown Prince and his few men. According to the plan, their safety was the utmost priority.

When the Crown Prince saw that the guards were injured already, he had decided to call it off and retreat.

"We need to go now!" He roared as he gave the command.

The guard inside the carriage did not hesitate to slash the throat of the Crown Princess before he leaped out of the carriage and joined the Crown Prince. The coachman jumped on the horse of the other guard, and they all escaped. They left the carriage and the band of assassins behind.

The Ninth Prince's men were confused at the display of the behavior of the guards and the Crown Prince. They left the Crown Princess all alone in the carriage without even caring for her life.

They did not follow the escaping party. They already had the person they needed to take care of. The leader of the mission opened the carriage door and got in. He was surprised to see the Crown Princess, who was still wearing her face veil, bathing in her own blood. He removed the face veil and recognized the face of the supposed to be Crown Princess – it was Lucio.

* * * * *

Zenia and Vaughn left the villa half an hour after the entourage left the villa. She had a hunch that the Ninth Prince's men could already be waiting for them to leave. They should be following the carriage already. It would be safe to leave half an hour later.

Zenia was hoping that Quicksilver would be able to track Vaughn back to Ruvin's family villa, but he did not come. Vaughn was wishing beyond wish that his horse would be sensible enough not to come so that he could still share a ride with his wife.

They were moving slow and taking their time to reach the tunnel. They would like to make sure that they were not being followed.

"What made you suspect Lucio and Romina?"

"Just a lucky guess."

"I don't believe you."

"Suit yourself."

"Zenia, I'm serious. What made you suspect them?"

Zenia remained silent for a whole five minutes before saying, "If I tell you, then I have to kill you."

Vaughn gasped when he heard her say the words in a serious tone. Zenia noticed Vaughn's stiffness. She sighed.

"I'm just kidding. It's a really unique talent. I really just guessed and observed their movements. I found it odd, especially the young girl."

Vaughn was about to say something when Zenia noticed some movements up ahead. She stopped Vaughn from talking and nudged Thunderbolt to hide behind the trees.

The movements were getting closer, and they both held their breaths as they braced themselves for a possible attack.