Chapter 136 - The Great Plan of the Foolish Woman and the Impish Lady

"Speak of the devil!" The old man roared in frustration. "Why is that despicable woman here at this hour? Does she want to move now and sleep in a tent?"

"Master, calm down. We still need to see what she wants. I don't think she will move in at this hour. She knows that she has nowhere to stay here."

"Hosh posh! You and I know what she wants and what she intends to do. If we become accommodating, she will surely move in before I can finish reciting your academy's creed."

"But there are only five words in there."

"Precisely! She will move in before I can even start reciting it."

Redivo shook his head. He stood up and walked out of the room. He trod the path leading to the gate.

"Good evening, Ms. Verone. It's so late at night, what brings you here?" Redivo greeted her with utmost politeness.

"Is this how you treat your guest? Won't you even let me in to sit?" There was arrogance in her voice.

Redivo took a deep breath. The woman before him had yet to become the official second wife, even though there was already a Royal Decree that ordained her as one. But, as far as the people of the Palace of the Crown Prince were concerned, she could only be their official second mistress when she entered the palace. Redivo braced himself for the coming word war.

"May I remind you, Ms. Verone, that you are a woman visiting a palace full of men in the middle of the night, and the master of this palace is not here at the moment? If you don't care about your reputation being tarnished, we are keen on keeping the reputation of this palace. Allowing you to enter may start nasty gossips, and we don't want that to happen."

Verone's face darkened. Redivo was uncertain about the real motive of Verone. He had decided to stand firm about his decision of not letting her get passed the gate.

"You are being rude just now. Wait 'til I officially become your second mistress."

"I am not being rude. I am just stating the facts. As long as you are not yet the official second mistress, my main concern is the reputation of the Palace of the Crown Prince. There's nothing wrong with that."

Verone sneered and mockingly said, "You are just a mere servant, do you want me to tell the King how you treated me tonight? Your Crown Prince will be displeased with your behavior right now."

"Ms. Verone, you can go and complain to His Majesty the King about this incident, but I can assure you that His Majesty will agree to what I just said."

Verone's face turned red with anger. Redivo could guess that Verone came to the palace on her own volition and no one dictated her. The Left Minister was not that stupid to know that it would smear her reputation. More than that, Redivo would not give Verone a reason to bad mouth the people of the Crown Prince.

Once he let her enter, she could say that she was not treated properly or even maltreated her just because she went there on unofficial business. She might even say that she only wanted to check if the Crown Prince had arrived already.

Verone had already made a plan to stay there for the night once she gained permission to enter. They could never let her out. She could think of ways to threaten them by spreading false accusations. She had some of her servants with her, and they would strengthen her claim of maltreatment.

Now, things had gone sour. Her plan was falling apart. Random people who were passing by could see that she was out there. Her maids, who were standing behind her, were embarrassed by the actions of their Young Miss. They kept reminding her earlier that the Left Minister might get angry when things did not go according to plan.

"I will remember this and teach you a good lesson when I'm there already. Inform your people that I will return at sunrise and make sure to have proper accommodations for me." Verone turned around and boarded her carriage.

Redivo did not utter another word. He knew that such a day would come. He wished that the Crown Prince and Princess would arrive soon.

* * * * *

Before Vaughn and Zenia carried out their plan, they already pulled out the spies among the servants. They were the newly hired gardener and kitchen helper. Zenia noticed their odd behavior during the interrogation. Romina would look at Lucio from time to time before the questioning even began. Lucio gave the young girl a stern look and seemed to be mouthing something. The young girl slightly nodded her head, but it did not escape Zenia's discerning eyes.

Zenia began to explain her plan to Vaughn, "Lucio will ride the carriage taking the usual route and pose as bait. We will escape through the tunnel. That way, the Ninth Prince's men will follow the carriage. When they attack, our men will naturally counter. If there are too many to fight with, they can kill the spy posing as me before they flee for safety."

Ruvin was shocked when he heard the things that Zenia had said. He felt like he was talking to a different Crown Princess, but he was certain that it was the same woman. It was the same built, height, and eyes…

Ruvin looked at Zenia's eyes once more and found them especially gleaming. He could not remember that her eyes were that dazzling. The Crown Princess before him was lively, unlike in the past few weeks. Ruvin could see her emitting a dark aura during the last few weeks that they had been together.

Lucio and Romina knew that one of them would pose as the Crown Princess as bait. He was confident that it would be Romina since she was a girl. She was also too tall for her age, but she was still much shorter than Zenia. He thought that if he confessed everything he knew, they would go easy on him and let him off. He thought that by winning the Crown Prince's trust, he could go free. By then, he would be able to return to the Ninth Prince's group and reveal the information he gathered.  

Lucio confessed that he got hired earlier. When the entourage of the Crown Prince arrived, he found out that he couldn't do the job alone. He needed someone who could get in and out of the villa without being suspected. It was hard for him to send a message.

Lucio killed the kitchen helper whom everyone thought had eloped with her lover. When the head steward ordered him to buy some supplies for the garden, he was able to meet his immediate superior. He told the immediate superior to let a young girl be a kitchen helper who could deliver his message without arousing suspicions.

It so happened that the leader gave an order that a bonus would be given to anyone who could kill the Crown Princess. Lucio further confessed that he ordered Romina to tell his close comrade in the Ninth Prince's assassins group about the current location of the Crown Prince and Princess. He waited for his comrade to come, but he failed to show up after so many days. Zenia was certain that he was one of the assassins that she took care of that night.

Romina and Lucio were taken to a room where the servants changed their clothing according to Zenia's specifications. Lucio was to pose as bait, while Romina was taken under the protection of the Crown Prince. Lucio protested, but he had no privilege to negotiate. He was thinking that he could escape once chaos had erupted. They cut off his tongue. Before he boarded the carriage, he was gagged.

Harnen took the young girl back to the Palace of the Crown Prince ahead of time. They went through the secret tunnel. He also needed to inform Redivo about the arrival of Zenia and Vaughn.

*  * * * *

At the far end, the secret tunnel was split into two. One end would lead directly to the capital and the other one near the Palace of the Crown Prince. Vaughn would like to take Zenia to the capital to see the night view, but he also knew that it would be dangerous. They were not covering their faces at the moment.

When they got out of the tunnel, they were only a few kilometers away from the Palace of the Crown Prince. It only took them merely hours to get back. They were riding fast horses after all.

As soon as Vaughn caught sight of the palace gate, he took out the token of the Crown Prince and raised it up. It gave off a different kind of light, and the guards of the gate quickly recognized it.

They opened the gate without making any announcement. They knew that the Crown Prince's had an unscheduled return. They bowed their heads and dared not look at Vaughn's bare face. When the second horse passed by, one of the guards could not help but look. He was dumbfounded when he saw Zenia.

'Is that the Crown Princess?' The guard continued to look and could not believe what he just saw.