Chapter 142 - Into the Kitchen

Zenia and Rosalie made their way to the kitchen, and no one suspected them. Everyone was busy doing the tasks assigned to them. Zenia just realized that the ones working in the kitchen could be the busiest people in the palace. They were practically working non-stop. They couldn't even spare some time to look at the people who came to the kitchen.  

The kitchen workers must be up early in the morning to prepare the breakfast of the Crown Prince and Princess. They were also tasked to prepare the food of the guards and other people in the palace. They should also prepare snacks, lunch, and dinner. If there were guests, they had no other choice but to work more.

"All of these people are kitchen workers?" Zenia whispered to Rosalie.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Is there any kitchen worker doing an errand somewhere?"

"As far as I know, everyone is here."

Zenia looked around and took mental note of the workers in the kitchen. None of them were suspicious. She remembered that she met a maid named Leyna when she went out together with them to town.

"Where's the girl named Leyna?"

Rosalie looked at Zenia, "Your Highness, I don't think there's someone in the kitchen that goes by that name."

Zenia tried to remember the day when she first met Leyna. She looked friendly and easy to get along with. At the time, Zenia did not think that she could be a spy.

"Ask the head cook if she knows any girl named Leyna. She should at least know the names and faces of her workers no matter how busy she gets."

Rosalie nodded and went on her way. Zenia observed how they worked in the kitchen and found it surprising. Tissuria was famous for utilizing advanced technology, but they were following a sloppy system in the kitchen. She discovered the cause of the occasional delay in delivering the meal.

There were workers doing the same task, which could be easily accomplished by a single person if that worker would follow a more efficient way to do things. The main problem was the incorrect distribution of work. Certain tasks could be done in three easy steps instead of seven.

There was no one guarding the kitchen. Zenia thought that she should tell Vaughn about the lack of security in the kitchen. Anyone with ill intent could easily put poison in the food of the Crown Prince. Now that Verone had come, she would surely do something despicable. The kitchen could be accessed by anyone in the palace, including Verone and her maids.

"Your Highness, the head cook said that there a girl named Leyna working here. But, she asked the head cook for an emergency leave due to her mother's illness. The head cook is expecting her to return tomorrow."

"I see. Let's go back to the main residence."

Verone had four maids. Two of them had a friendly conversation with the maids of the main residence when Zenia and Rosalie went out earlier. When Zenia returned, another two of Verone's maids were being friendly with the main residence's maids. They were busy convincing the main residence maids about something that they failed to pay attention to Rosalie and Zenia when they walked by.

Zenia confirmed her hunch that Verone ordered her maids to get the good side of the maids of the main residence. She also smelled a faint scent of the enchantment powder in the air. She should do something about it immediately before Verone's maids administer another dose of the enchantment powder.

When they reached the master's room, Zenia changed her clothes and put on her face veil.

She ordered Rosalie, "Find out the palace maids that Verone's maids talked to earlier. Bring all the servants of the main residence to my room without alerting Verone and her servants. Tell the kitchen to prepare breakfast for me and the Crown Prince. Bring it in the study when it's ready."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Zenia followed the path leading to Vaughn's study. Vaughn's man was guarding the front door. When the guard saw Zenia, he immediately let her pass. Vaughn gave explicit instructions that no one could go directly to his study except his men and the Crown Princess.

"When Rosalie comes with our breakfast, let them in," Zenia instructed the guard on duty.

"Yes, Crown Princess."

Vaughn was currently looking at the different invitations that he received when he heard the footsteps outside his study. He smiled. He knew that his wife had come.

Zenia stepped into the room, and she was greeted by Vaughn's warm smile. He was not wearing his mask. Zenia frowned.

"Why are you not wearing your mask? I told Rosalie to bring in breakfast and instructed your guard to let them in."

Vaughn walked to Zenia and planted a kiss on her forehead. "I will wear it in a while."

He led her to a couch where they both sat.

"I know the spy. Her name is Leyna, and I talked to her before. She seemed friendly when she talked to me, and I did not detect any ill intent."

"You are acquainted with her? When was that?"

"It was during the time when I joined the maids' carriage for a trip to town to meet my family."

"We still did not know that she was a spy back then."

"It's lucky that I met her that day. It will be easy for me to mimic her. I will test it tomorrow in the kitchen."

"In the kitchen?"

"Yes, I will disguise myself as her and work for a while in the kitchen. Zeze will arrive today. I will make him pose as me so I can carry out my mission."

"Why do you want to be in the kitchen?"

"I think Verone and her maids will make their move soon. They will surely look for the spy and will try to get in touch with her." Zenia flashed a mischievous smile at her husband.

"You will pose as that maid…" Vaughn remembered that Zenia knew how to cook and asked, "Are you going to cook something for me?"

Zenia could practically see a wagging tail behind Vaughn. She shook her head and decided to whip something for him when she started working in the kitchen. She just felt that she should do it.

"I will see what I can do. You also need to put some guards in the kitchen to watch out for suspicious movements."

"I forgot to tell you that Harnen took the girl in one of our secret bases for debriefing. We need to know how much she knows about us and their organization. We may need to detain her for a while and train her."

"It's good. Just don't put her behind bars. Let her stay in a room with good ambiance and suitable for a girl her age."

"I will send a message to my men now to do that."

"I saw Verone's maids talking with our maids earlier. I need to call for a meeting after this and make it clear to our servants about the enemy's intention. Verone's maids seemed to be using a type of enchantment powder. I have already developed immunity against it. I will trouble you to accompany me to the Head Pharmacist later for the antidote."

"What does this enchantment powder do?"

"The usual effect is making someone do the bidding of the one who administered it – like they are being hypnotized to follow. I have seen it before when an envoy from Prazia presented one to us. He said that most of the other kingdoms have them, and they come in different varieties. Ishelon and Tissuria are the only ones that did not try to develop such a thing."

"Is it a trend among kingdoms nowadays?"

"I don't know. But, King Jarod ordered the doctors of Ishelon to come up with a universal antidote and made the military men take them. The envoy also told us that there are also different poisons being developed by the other kingdoms almost every day. The military men of Ishelon were also forced to take something against all types of poisons. We somehow developed a sort of immunity to all of these."

"How did you know that they are using the enchantment powder?"

"The enchantment powder has the same scent no matter who made them. I can smell it, but you probably won't be able to. To make the effect lasts longer, it should be administered little by little. The idea is to prevent the body from getting used to it. Once the body got used to it, the powder loses its potency. Before it becomes ineffective, the one who administered it had already completed his mission."

"How did you do it in Ishelon? I mean, how did you develop the immunity to the powder?"

Zenia looked at Vaughn. "Believe me, it would be better if your Head Pharmacist can come up with a better solution. It was the most unpleasant experience that I went through so far. I had colds for two months."

Vaughn could imagine how Zenia and the military men of Ishelon had been through to get their bodies to resist the effect of the powder. They must've been made to inhale the powder until they were able to control their consciousness and their bodies counter the effect.

"We need to start now while Verone's spirit has not yet fully recovered. They seem to be in a hurry to execute their plan."

Vaughn shuddered when he saw the evil grin on Zenia's lips.