Chapter 138 - I’m too Exhausted Last Night

Zenia woke up when she heard noises outside. Everyone was busy tidying up the room that Verone would use for her temporary accommodations while her courtyard was being renovated. It was Zenia who suggested it.

Vaughn opposed the idea because that would mean Zenia would not be able to remove her face veil when inside the main residence. He knew that she did not want to wear a face veil.

She told Vaughn earlier, "Keep your friends close, your enemies closer."

Vaughn could only sigh and accept Zenia's suggestion. He had no idea what she was planning to do with Verone. He could only pray that Zenia wouldn't go overboard.

When she woke up and saw that the sun was up, she asked the attendants from before to help her with her dress and makeup. As the Baroness once told her, makeup had always been a woman's weapon and shield when going to a battle with the b*tches. She should not neglect it even though she would be wearing a face veil. The attendants did their best to make Zenia looked like a proper princess that she ought to be.

As soon as everything was finished, Zenia walked hurriedly to where Vaughn was and saw that Verone was trying to stress her position. Would she allow her? Not a chance!

"Greetings, Crown Princess. It is too much for me to accept being called your sister," Verone said in a rather sarcastic tone.

"Oh, should I call you my new servant then? After all, I am still the Crown Princess and the main wife. Anyone beneath me in this palace can be considered as a servant, is it not?"

Verone did not expect that the Crown Princess had a sharp tongue. They, the Left Minister and the Ninth Prince, told her that Zenia Anisen was a good-for-nothing.

'Is she doing it on purpose or just being stupid?'

"The Crown Princess must be joking. How can I be a servant when I am also a wife of the Crown Prince."

"So, are you a Crown Princess too?" Zenia looked at Verone with innocent eyes.

"N-No, there can only be one Crown Princess and that is you." Verone looked at Vaughn coquettishly.

She was not certain whether he had seen her, but Vaughn turned his head away from her. She thought that the Crown Prince was just being careful in front of the main wife. Would he visit her in the evening and spend the night with her. She smirked. She couldn't wait for nightfall.

"If you're not a Crown Princess, then you are beneath me. If you are beneath me in this palace, you are a servant."

Verone's eye twitched. She had no idea about the inner workings of the Crown Princess' mind. Vaughn, on the other hand, tried his best to suppress his laughter.

'Ah, my wife is a piece of art.'

Verone was beginning to get frustrated for Vaughn's lack of reaction. Shielding her once in front of the Crown Princess was not too much, was it? Why was he unwilling?

"I am also a wife of the Crown Prince, and we will have a proper wedding ceremony in…"

"Wedding ceremony? What are you saying? A second wife of a Royal Family does not have any privilege to have a wedding ceremony. She's no better than the concubine. My teacher, Baroness Munchefort told me that. Are you saying that she's wrong?"

Verone quivered when she heard the Baroness' name. The Baroness was famous for being a tigress. She heard that even the King couldn't argue with her. She was a famous etiquette teacher. She knew the old traditions and customs of Tissuria.

"But I was promised to have a wedding ceremony."

"Who promised you? Could it be that you want to marry that man instead? But, it's too late to back out now since the Royal Decree has been sent."

"I'm not backing out! I am very thankful to the King for bestowing me this marriage."

"I hope you can still be thankful later on."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing, it's just random rambling. So, are you going to be my obedient sister or my loyal maid?" Zenia gave Verone a sinister look.

Verone wanted to slap Zenia, but she knew that nothing good would come out of it. She looked at Vaughn who remained focused on his wife. It was as if there was no one else there but the Crown Princess. Were they wrong when they thought that the Crown Prince hated his wife?

"I c-can be your obedient sister." Verone's voice was almost inaudible.

Zenia walked closer to Verone. She reached out her hands and tapped Verone's cheeks.

"That's better. If you are my sister, you are higher than the ordinary servant."

Verone looked at Zenia. Although what she said seemed pleasing to the ears, something was still off. Verone couldn't put her finger on it, but she knew that there was something wrong in Zenia's sentence.

Vaughn found a perfect time to butt in, "Eherm, if everything is fine now,  let Redivo take Ms. Verone to her room."

"Y-Your Highness, aren't you going to accompany me, your second wife, to my room?" Verone tried to look pitiful in front of Vaughn.

Zenia was looking intently at the ongoing play.

'What is this woman up to now?'

"Why should I? There are so many things that I need to do." Vaughn's tone was devoid of warmth, which Verone did not expect to get.

"It's my first day here, aren't you suppose to accompany me for a whole day?"

"Sister be obedient and don't bother His Highness too much. Do you think that a Crown Prince only sits and waits all day? Even I don't have such a privilege to spend time with him for a long time." The annoyance in Zenia's reply was very obvious.

'You are not favored, why should he accompany you?'

"I will accompany you some other time. Right now, I have more important matters to pursue. Shall we go, Crown Princess?"

Zenia nodded and added, "Yes let's get going. I still need to catch up with some sleep. I'm still too exhausted from last night."

'Last night?!' Verone remained rooted to her spot as her imagination ran wild.

Zenia did not allow her to display a small protest. She was not able to insist that Vaughn should stay with her. She bit her lip and swore that she would snatch the position of the Crown Princess someday.

The couple returned to their bedchamber. Vaughn locked the door immediately and removed his mask. Zenia did not remove her face veil. Vaughn was confused by Zenia's behavior.

"Don't you want to take off your face veil? What's this thing about last night?" Vaughn gave Zenia a playful smile.

"I'd like to keep my face veil on. The thing about last night was just to frustrate her."

"So, you're really implying something about last night?"

Zenia blushed but did not answer Vaughn. He wanted to continue teasing his wife, but he saw that she was already embarrassed. Pushing her more could lead to an unfavorable outcome for him.

"Why don't you want to remove your face veil?"

"I just don't feel like it."

Vaughn suddenly flipped Zenia's face veil, and it just fell off. Zenia was surprised because she did not feel anything at all when it was removed.

Her face with full makeup on was revealed. Vaughn was stunned, and then he grinned.

'That's why this little devil does not want to take off her veil.'

Vaughn, with a grin on his lips, inched closer to Zenia who slowly backed away. Somehow she knew what her husband was planning to do.

Vaughn whispered in her ears, "You're always beautiful, with or without makeup."

Zenia gawked at Vaughn and felt like her heart stopped beating for a second. Her cheeks slowly turned crimson and could not move at all.