Chapter 155 - Meeting Sister-In-Law

Vaughn and Zenia spent their days happily in grandpa's courtyard. She would still work in the kitchen as usual, but Mara always sent her on an errand to wait on the Crown Prince. Zekiah continued to torment Verone every day. 

"Where is Leyna? Why hasn't she returned here yet? I cannot carry out my plan if she's not here. It's been three days since I was supposed to drink the last dose of elixir, and where is the Crown Prince?"

"Your Highness, the head cook sent Leyna on so many errands and could barely return to the kitchen. The Crown Prince is not staying in the main residence any more. It looks like the cold war between the Crown Prince and Crown Princess has gotten worse."

"Is the Crown Princess coming over again?"

"Her maid, Rosalie, did not notify us. Maybe she won't come."

"It is best if she won't. Where is the Crown Prince now? Even if Leyna is here, how am I supposed to carry out the plan when the Crown Prince is not even here?"

"We heard from the talking maids that the Crown Prince has been staying in the old courtyard, but we don't know where it is."

Verone threw the cup and hollered, "What are you all waiting for? Find out where it is!"

The maids panicked, and they all went out of the room leaving Verone alone. She massaged her temple and sat on her favorite chair. She couldn't get over the fact that someone else sat on her favorite chair.

'Zenia Anisen, I will surely make you pay for all of these.'

"Achoo!"

"What's wrong? Do you want me to call the royal doctor for you?" Vaughn's tone was full of worry.

Ever since Zenia went to Tissuria, it was the first time that Vaughn heard her sneezed that hard. 

"I'm fine. Somebody must be cursing me."

"Your voice sounds hoarse, does your throat hurt?"

Zenia tried to clear her throat.

"A bit. It was a little chilly last night."

Vaughn grinned and whispered, "I tried to hug you closer, but you refused."

Zenia glared at him, "It's okay to hug if you just…"

She could not finish her sentence as her cheeks turned crimson right before Vaughn's eyes. She was angry and agitated. The rogue Crown Prince hugged his wife.

"I promise to behave, so don't get angry anymore." Vaughn kissed and coaxed her.

"That's enough! Call Doctor Odessa for me." Zenia stood up and tried to clear her throat once more.

Vaughn could tell that Zenia could be coming down with flu. She was not used to working in a kitchen, but she said she must do it to complete the mission.

He carried Zenia who protested, "Put me down! I still need to check something in the kitchen."

"What do you need to check there? The head cook is very capable. You only need to give her the instructions once, and she knows what to do."

"Verone's maid could be looking for me already. She must have finished taking the elixir that Doctor Odessa had given her."

"You're already burning, and you still want to complete your mission? Don't test my patience, Zenia! We agreed that you will follow me obediently, and right now your health is of utmost importance."

Zenia wanted to say more while Vaughn was putting her down on the bed. 

Blag!

The door was pushed open, and Harnen rushed in.

"Your Highness, Young Master Zekiah is terribly ill. He is burning up!"

"What happened to Zeze?" Zenia was huffing as she tried to sit.

"Go lie down, I will take care of this. Seriously, what's wrong with the two of you? Falling sick at the same time…" Vaughn shook his head.

"This is the only time that it happens again. When we were young, we used to suffer from the same illness at the same time. But, it never happened again when I turned thirteen."

Vaughn gave Zenia a puzzled look, "What could've triggered it?"

"Perhaps, it's because we are in a different place? My body is still adapting to the environment and climate of Tissuria."

"Hmm. Call for Doctor Odessa and take her to see my brother-in-law. Don't tell anything to her, and then take her here to check Zenzen."

"Yes, Your Highness."

* * * * *

"Zenzen…" Zekiah was burning up, and Rosalie must give him a sponge bath to bring his temperature down.

She was surprised when she opened Zekiah's dress and found out that he was a man. But, he looked exactly like the Crown Princess. Rosalie and the rest of the servants in the main residence already knew the real face of Zenia. 

'I've always thought that the Crown Princess suddenly changed. This must be her younger brother.'

Rosalie blushed as she ordered the other maids, "Get out and ask the kitchen to prepare some porridge. Leave me here alone with the Crown Princess."

The other maids were puzzled, but they still obeyed Rosalie. When the maids were gone, she busied herself and wiped Zekiah's body. She worked fast and was able to change his dress in no time.

The fact that Zenia did not tell her maids anything about her mission was enough for Rosalie to understand the situation – the Crown Princess did not want the servants in the main residence to know anything. She decided to keep mum about it and continued wiping Zekiah's forehead.

'Where is the Crown Princess now?'

Over at the old man's courtyard, Zenia kept asking if the doctor already arrived. 

"Don't be so anxious, my people are capable. I'm sure that the maids assigned to you are already doing their best to help brother-in-law."

"What if they found out that…"

"They won't tell anyone."

Zenia remembered Mara and the way she covered for her.

"Hmm." Zenia nodded and finally calmed down.

Vaughn sat by her side and held her hand.

"Zekiah will be alright."

"He had always been frail, and he was fussy whenever he was sick. Mother used to put the two of us in one room where she could attend to both of us. I was always the one who would recover first. It was as if he was absorbing my illness and trying his best to bear it. I just want to be with him right now. He must be suffering."

Vaughn held Zenia in his arms and stayed that way while waiting for Doctor Odessa.

* * * * *

"Your Highness!" Johana shouted while walking in large stride.

She just returned from the kitchen to get Verone's meal and a few extra requests from her mistress.

"Slow down, where are your manners?" Stella reminded Johana who immediately walked to her usual pace.

"What is it?" The annoyance in Verone's tone was obvious.

"I heard that the Crown Princess is sick, and the Crown Prince did not even bother to visit her."

Verone sneered, "The Crown Princess is already paying for her arrogance. Who told her to treat me this way? Once I meet the Crown Prince and spend some time with him, I'll make sure that he will throw out Zenia Anisen from the palace."

Verone was enjoying her moment of victory when Doctor Odessa came to the main residence. They did not notice the arrival of the good doctor who went straight to the room of the Crown Princess. Harnen was accompanying her.

Rosalie just finished changing Zekiah's clothing. Odessa saw the woman lying on the bed with a face veil on. Odessa was about to remove the face veil when Rosalie stopped her.

"Our Crown Princess does not wish her face to be exposed. I hope you understand, doctor."

Odessa admired Rosalie's loyalty to her master and respected her.

"Although that may be the case, we are dealing with an urgent situation here. It is uncomfortable to have a face veil."

Odessa snapped the face veil and was stunned. No wonder her aunt always told her not to believe the rumors about the Crown Princess. Looking at Rosalie's expression, she already knew what the Crown Princess looked like.

Odessa sighed and began her examination. She took Zekiah's pulse, and her eyes widened as she looked at Rosalie who remained calm as if everything was normal.

Odessa did not say anything and just wrote a prescription and handed it to Rosalie.

"Follow the prescription and the Crown Princess will recover in three days."

"I understand, doctor."

"What about the annoying woman? Did she drink the elixir?"

"I doubt it, doctor. But, I always have it delivered on time."

"Well, it's her loss if she did not drink it. Her memory becomes better when she drinks it. She must drink it directly. Otherwise, the elixir loses its potency."

Odessa walked to the front door, and Verone and her maids remained oblivious of the doctor's visit. When Harnen saw her walking out, he escorted her to the old man's courtyard. The good doctor already knew that she would be treating two patients.

"Your Highness, Doctor Odessa is here."

Odessa saw that a woman was sleeping on the bed. She frowned.

'Is the Crown Prince keeping a mistress?'

She shook her head and walked to the bed. The woman was sleeping soundly although she would sometimes twitch her eyebrow. Odessa looked at the woman and felt a sense of familiarity. She remembered what her aunt told her – the Crown Prince loved his wife so much. 

The woman lying on the bed had the same facial features as the Crown Princess that she checked earlier. Her face suddenly brightened and sneered when she looked at Vaughn's direction.

She was right all along. The person posing as the Crown Princess was a man, and the real Crown Princess was the woman lying on the bed. 

'Are they fraternal twins?'

Zenia slowly opened her eyes and saw a woman feeling her pulse. 

'This must be Doctor Odessa.'

"Hello doctor, I'm sorry that we have to meet this way." Zenia's voice was hoarse, but Odessa understood every word.

"Greetings, Your Highness, I will do my best to cure you immediately."

"Hmm, thank you," Zenia uttered in a low voice.

Vaughn just looked on and kept quiet. He knew that Odessa was someone they could trust.

"Your Highness, the one in your chamber is your brother?"

"Uhuh."

"Your twin brother?"

"He's younger by a year, but we do look so much alike." Zenia giggled slightly.

Vaughn thought that the fever was making his wife a bit crazy.

"Do both of you always fall ill at the same time and with the same symptoms?"

"Yes, when we were little. Now is the only time that we got sick at the same time ever since I turned thirteen. Why?"

"I'm just curious. I've seen cases like this when I was still a student doctor, but I can't find the link. I gave up on the idea of exploring it further when I met a young general who was pompous and ill-mannered. He told me that his siblings were similar to the patients that I was studying. When I ask him if he can help me, he said I should serve him as his personal maid for a month."

"What an egotistic man!" Zenia slightly chuckled.

Vaughn just kept listening. He could tell that Zenia was enjoying her conversation with Odessa. It made him somewhat annoyed.

"I hope that I will never meet that man again."

Odessa stood up and made Zenia assume a prone position. She made a thorough check-up as if testing something.

"What's wrong with my wife, doctor?" Vaughn thought that it was futile to hide Zenia's identity since she exposed herself from the very beginning.

"Compared to her brother, she is much better."

"What about Zeze?" Zenia began to worry again.

"You don't need to worry. I already gave him the medication. Your maid is very capable. If I'm not mistaken, you don't want your servants to know that you switched places. I think she already knew since she was the one who gave him the first aid. She must've wiped his body to bring down his fever."

Zenia let out a sigh of relief, "Thank you, doctor."

"Call me Odessa, Your Highness."

"Thank you, Odessa. I will pay you a visit soon."

"I will look forward to it."

Odessa handed the prescription to Vaughn and bid her goodbye.

"What do you think about Doctor Odessa?" Vaughn asked out of curiosity.

"My hubby, I think I just found my sister-in-law." 

Zenia flashed a wide grin while Vaughn only looked at his wife.