Chapter 143 - Inviting the Crown Prince

After they had their breakfast, Zenia excused herself and returned to their room. Vaughn immediately gave an order to put guards in all areas of the entire palace. He gave strict instructions to place the elite guards in the kitchen area.

When Zenia returned to the room, the maids who interacted with Verone's maids in the morning were already there. Zenia inspected each maid and caught a whiff of the enchantment powder in their hair.

"You all should not get close to Verone's maids for the time being. They are using enchantment powder that can hypnotize people to do their bidding. Mirza, Serra, Luvinda, and Corinne will be transferred to other areas for the time being. You four have traces of the powder. Continuous exposure can be dangerous.'

"Your Highness, how long should we stay away from here?"

"When the courtyard is ready, you all can go back to the main residence. All of you should stay away from Verone's maids for the time being. Act with caution and don't let them suspect that all of you are avoiding them. I will go to the Royal Apothecary later to ask the Head Pharmacist for an antidote."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The servants went back to their stations and pretended that nothing happened. Verone and her maids remained oblivious of the recent development in the Palace of the Crown Prince.

Zenia was vying for time. Looking at the way the Left Minister's group was moving, they were pushing their plan ahead of time. She already thought that the coming of a second wife was inevitable to happen, but it was still too early. Even her mother accepted the fact that the Crown Prince would soon take in a second wife and some concubines for the sake of building his power.

King Tarendino had many sons and each of them could be coveting the throne. Zenia had a hunch that the other aspiring heirs were just waiting for the proper time to strike – when the Ninth Prince or the Crown Prince had eliminated the opponent. They should be thinking of a way to scheme against Vaughn or Damien so they could snatch the throne. She had decided not to tell Vaughn about her hunch so he could focus on the things that he needed to do first. 

Right now, Verone was still hoping to get in touch with the maid spy. She had no support within the Palace of the Crown Prince. She had already tasted some difficulties in the hands of the Crown Princess.

Zenia looked out the window and whispered, 'Zeze, please hurry up.'

* * * * *

Zekiah and Ruvin were on their way to the Palace of the Crown Prince. Some of the Ninth Prince's men caught up with them earlier. Zekiah suggested for them to split up to create confusion, and it worked. The Ninth Prince's men chased after the guards of the Crown Prince. That allowed Zekiah and Ruvin to return to the palace quickly.

"Is this the fastest that your horse can go? Hurry up!" Zekiah was already frustrated.

It was still uncertain whether Zenia reached the Palace of the Crown Prince safely. They were not sure if they lured all of the Ninth Prince's men to follow the carriage when they were leaving Gretia.

"This horse can run faster if I'm the only one riding it. Why do you complain so much? You're just one of the secret guards." Ruvin could no longer take it.

'Just one of the secret guards? Boy, don't look down on secret guards. I can beat you up and ride this horse alone to get to Zenzen if I know where to go.'

"Quit yapping and concentrate on making this horse go faster."

Ruvin had a strange feeling that he had the same sort of conversation before with the Crown Princess.

'Why does this fellow feel like he's the Crown Princess from before?'

* * * * *

"Any news from Verone?" Damien roared so early in the morning.

They had an agreement that Verone should send a message at night regarding her first day in the Palace of the Crown Prince. She totally forgot to comply due to exhaustion and anxiety. She never thought that the Crown Princess was someone so difficult to deal with. She fell asleep without sending any message.

"To answer, Your Highness, we still have not received any message from Ms. Verone. The Crown Prince has ordered to tighten the security of his palace. It is possible that Ms. Verone is having difficulties sending a message."

"What about the remaining spy?"

"It's the same, Your Highness. The last message she sent us was about the ongoing renovations that Redivo was delaying on purpose."

"Hmm, it is possible that Vaughn gathered information from his vacation and discovered something that can help him strengthen his defenses. Keep monitoring and try to get hold of some information on what's going on in Vaughn's palace."

"Yes, Your Highness."

* * * * *

Verone got up late and skipped breakfast. She was having trouble falling asleep and only finally got a shut-eye at dawn.  She had dark circles around her eyes when she woke up. Her maids did not have the heart to wake her up earlier, and the Crown Princess did not seem to mind. They knew that their mistress encountered some trouble trying to sleep.

Verone cursed Zenia while looking at herself in the mirror. Her makeup wouldn't be able to conceal the dark rings around her eyes. She was looking forward to visiting the Crown Prince in the morning to give him a greeting.

She wanted to strip off Zenia's face veil and reveal her ugly face to the world. That would stop her from acting high and mighty.

'Such an ugly wench yet she dared to make things difficult for me.'

She was confident that the Crown Prince would not be able to resist her beauty. She was planning to spend some time with the Crown Prince no matter how busy he may be. But, she couldn't do that anymore unless…

She put on makeup that would make her look pale. The rings surrounding her eyes added to the effect that she wanted to achieve. She did not want to go out and let the whole palace feast on her hideous appearance. 

"Inform the Crown Prince that I'm sick, and I need to see him right now."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The maid left the room in a hurry and went to Vaughns's study. The guard stopped her.

"Hurry, inform the Crown Prince that the Second Wife is sick. It's his responsibility as the husband to attend to his wife who suddenly fell ill after a day of stay here."

"Are you saying that I neglected my duty as the Crown Princess and host of this palace and caused grievances for the Young Madam Verone?" Zenia's voice roared like thunder in the hallway, she spoke as she walked to where the maid was.

The arrogant young maid shuddered when she saw Zenia's sharp gaze. She felt that there was murderous intent in those eyes.

"T-That's not what I…"

Zenia did not let the young maid finish what she was supposed to say.

"When we got separated yesterday, your Young Madam was still fine. I allowed her to sleep even though it's late already, and you have the audacity to demand the Crown Prince to visit your mistress? What is happening to the world? What power does a mere concubine hold that she can tell the Crown Prince to attend to her when she is sick? The Crown Prince is not even a doctor or a mage, how can he cure her?"

"Your Highness, it's…"

"Isn't it more appropriate to come to me first before you bother the Crown Prince? Do you know the proper protocol or do you need me to teach you from scratch?"

The young maid could no longer take it and kneeled before Zenia and bowed her head for so many times.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, I am just worried about the health of the Young Madam."

"Stop, now! Help her up!" The annoyance in Zenia's voice was obvious.

Zenia's maids helped Verone's maid. Vaughn was listening to the commotion behind a closed-door – he was smiling.

'This little devil is obviously angry. Poor maid…'

The maid was trembling and couldn't stand straight. She never thought that the Crown Princess would suddenly visit the Crown Prince.

"Send in the female royal doctor and let her check the Young Madam. Give her everything that the doctor prescribes and make sure to do everything properly," Zenia instructed Rosalie and gave her a stern look.

Rosalie understood what Zenia wanted her to do. She should stay with the doctor during the check-up and just listen to what the doctor would say.

"Yes, Your Highness. I will fetch the female royal doctor right away."

"Did you hear that?" Zenia turned to the young maid and added, "You can go back and tell your Young Madam that the doctor is on her way. The Crown Prince won't be able to cure her and should not visit her while she's sick. He might catch whatever illness she has and that will bring trouble to the palace."

"Y-Yes, Your Highness."

The maid returned to Verone's room in a hurry. Verone thought that Vaughn was with her maid.

"C-Crown Prince, thank you for…"

"Your Highness, I'm sorry I did not bring the Crown Prince," the young maid answered in a trembling voice.

Verone suddenly sat up and shouted, "You useless thing!" She threw the nearby vase, and it shattered into pieces near the young maid's feet.

The young maid gathered her last ounce of courage and began to narrate what happened. Verone's face darkened when she learned that Zenia foiled her plan once more.

"Why is that b*tch always spoiling my plan? She wanted war, I will give her war."

Verone gritted her teeth and clenched her fist.