Vaughn opened the door when he was certain that Verone's maid had left. He already removed his mask. He saw that Zenia's face was as dark as the bottom of a cauldron. He knew that his wife was very angry.
Zenia stepped inside the study room, and Vaughn locked the door quickly. He had no idea what kind of thoughts were running in Zenia's mind. Whatever they were, he was certain that they were not good.
He was sure that his little devil had been thinking of ways to dispose of Verone since day one, but she also knew that it was a foolish thing to do. She wouldn't dare disturb the snake in the grass – at least not until she had acquired the information that she wanted from Verone.
"What brings my wife here? Did you detect that someone's scheming behind your back?" Vaughn smiled and teased Zenia using a flirtatious tone.
"It was pure luck that I chanced upon that maid, and I'm here to remind you about our visit to the Royal Apothecary." Zenia used a matter-of-factly tone.
Vaughn's facial expression suddenly became serious. After spending time together with Zenia, he already understood her moods and character. The Zenia in front of him was someone who was seriously plotting something. Each move should be precise and each blow should leave no room for recovery.
"What do you think?"
"About Verone's evil scheme?"
Vaughn smirked and replied, "Yes, about her evil scheme."
"Her evil scheme is only so-so. It's nothing compared to my devious plot." Zenia answered with a poker face.
Vaughn could still not guess what was on Zenia's mind. It looked like he wouldn't be able to get a straight answer from her unless he asked for an explicit answer.
"What do you plan to do with her?"
"I can play with her for a bit until I get some substantial information from her. She is not someone who will easily agree to be used by someone if she can't get benefits and advantages. The Left Minister and the Ninth Prince must have promised her something, which she thinks are beneficial to her. She wants to seduce you even though she believes that you are ugly. Why do you think?"
Vaughn looked at Zenia for a few minutes as if waiting for the right answer to appear on her face. Suddenly, the answer he was looking for struck him like a bolt of lightning.
"S-She wants to bore me an heir?"
"Correct! She wants to go to bed with you and do the act of copulation. If she succeeds, she could get pregnant within a month. She will surely try so many times until she succeeds. I think…"
Vaughn could no longer listen to the things that Zenia was saying.
'C-copulate? Doing acts of intimacy with someone? How can Zenzen say these things easily as if she's an expert on the subject?'
He looked at his wife who was busy explaining things to him, but he was not listening anymore. To be precise, he could no longer hear anything that she was saying. He was busy processing the fact that his wife already knew about…the thing that should only happen between a married couple. Did he miss anything about her?
Zenia noticed that Vaughn turned pale. She stopped talking and asked him, "Are you okay? Do you want to vomit?"
Vaughn looked at her who did not seem to mind that she said something outrageous a while ago. He gathered his courage and braced himself for whatever answers that she might give him. They agreed to be honest with one another, and she would surely give him a straight answer.
"Zenzen, how can you discuss about the bed matters between husband and wife so easily? Do you know what you're saying?"
Zenia gave him a puzzled look and answered, "Do you mean copulation? Before you can become a medical staff in the military unit of Ishelon, you need to study everything about the human body. Don't you do that here in Tissuria?"
The corners of Vaughn's lips turned up into a curve, and he laughed so hard that he became teary-eyed. Zenia got more confused.
"Yes, the medical staff of Tissuria also studied those stuff. I'm just thinking too much, please continue and don't mind me."
He forgot that Zenia must study the human body and everything related to it when she had decided to be a part of the medical team.
"As I said, she will try to seduce you every day until you give in. She believes that you will abandon me immediately as soon as she bedded you. Don't eat or drink anything that she gives you in case you two meet in the hallway. For all we know, she might add aphrodisiac in your food or drink."
Vaughn gave her a naughty smile and got closer to her.
"If she put aphrodisiac in my food or drink, won't you be the beneficiary of that plan?"
Zenia's cheeks became hot, and she glared at Vaughn.
"You're being shameless again, don't you know?"
"Only to my wife," he hugged and kissed her after saying it.
Zenia gently pushed him away and extinguished his fire completely when she said, "There's a kind of aphrodisiac that only allows the victim to copulate with the one who gave it to him."
"There's really such a thing? How can that be?"
"You thought it's just a rumor? Before the giver put the aphrodisiac to the food or drink of the victim, she must add a drop of her sweat. The aphrodisiac in the body of the victim will only begin to react when he caught a whiff of the giver's scent. He will continue to feel hot and uncomfortable unless he copulates with the giver and no one else."
"You mean, as long as the victim stays away from the giver, he won't feel uncomfortable and hot."
"Technically, yes. However, a faint scent from the giver can instantly trigger the aphrodisiac within the victim's body. Once it initiated, it could never be stopped unless he copulates with the giver. I am sure that Verone will use that type of aphrodisiac."
"Why do you know so much about these things?"
Zenia lightly tapped his nose, "Because I used to travel a lot and meet so many people. You can learn more new things when you travel than reading a book. It's different when you are actually there."
Zenia's face was beaming when she talked about traveling. Vaughn had always known that Zenia loved to travel. It always surprised him each time she talked about traveling with a beaming face. He looked forward to the day when she talked about him with the same glow on her face.
* * * * *
After having their lunch, Vaughn and Zenia went to see the Head Pharmacist.
"Welcome, Crown Prince and Princess. What brings you to my humble office?"
"Head Pharmacist, I'll go straight to the point. Do you have an antidote for all types of enchantment powder, poison, and aphrodisiac?"
The Head Pharmacist looked at Vaughn who only shrugged his shoulders.
"How did you know about the enchantment powder, Crown Princess? We just discovered its existence recently, and I am still trying to concoct the antidote for it. As for the aphrodisiac, what type?"
"In Ishelon, we already know the existence of the enchantment powder. An envoy from Prazia once introduced it to us. As for the aphrodisiac, I need an antidote for Lotharia. I'll give you time to develop an antidote that can be used for all types of poison."
The Head Pharmacist gawked at Zenia. He never expected that the next visit of the Crown Princess would require him to do so many things.
"Crown Princess, you are requesting something impossible to achieve. No one is capable of concocting the antidotes for those."
Zenia looked at Vaughn, "That's why I told you that I need to stay in Ishelon and finish the tasks that my teacher has given me. He promised that he will teach me how to concoct the different types of antidotes as well as different types of elixirs."
"If I may ask, who's that teacher that you are referring to, Your Highness?"
For some unknown reason, the Head Pharmacist's heart thumped hard. He felt excited for some unknown reason.
"It's Doctor Lufei Zhung. He just decided to settle down in Ishelon. I'm not sure exactly where he came from."
The Head Pharmacist couldn't believe his ears. The esteemed doctor that he had been searching for was in Ishelon all along.
"I promise you, Crown Princess, that I will find a way to concoct the antidotes that you want. Can I ask for a favor from you?"
Zenia and Vaughn looked at each other.
"What kind of favor?"
"If I finished the antidotes that you need, I want to meet Doctor Zhung." The Head Pharmacist's eyes sparkled in delight as he said those words.
"Let's see what…"
"No!" Vaughn quickly protested.
He knew that Doctor Zhung would not let Zenia off.
"W-Why not?! Hey, Crown Prince, I am doing you a favor here. After years of friendship, this is the only time that I have asked for a favor. I really want to meet Doctor Zhung. I have searched for him all over Maecaea, and I even thought that he's already dead."
They continued bickering until Zenia could not take it anymore.
"ALRIGHT! Will you two please stop already! I will ask Big Brother to take the Head Pharmacist to meet Doctor Zhung. That way, I can avoid meeting him."
Vaughn thought for a while and nodded his head, "Okay, just as long as you don't meet that teacher of yours again."
The Head Pharmacist looked at the couple and scratched his head.
* * * * *
The royal doctor arrived half an hour after Zenia and Vaughn boarded the carriage. Before that, Verone's maid saw them together when they left.
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince and Princess boarded the carriage together." One of the maids informed Verone.
"When?! Why did you not stop them?" Verone roared in anger when she learned it.
The maids looked at each other. How could they stop the Crown Prince and Princess from leaving? They were nothing but mere servants.
Verone was planning to coerce the royal doctor to tell Vaughn to come to check her because she contracted a grave illness. She gritted her teeth and smashed a plate on the floor.
"ZENIA ANISEN!!!"