Chapter 158 - The Banquet of Sinister Schemes (Part 1)

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The old man followed Jorick to unfamiliar territory. He moved in a rather odd way, which the old man copied. There were guards all over the place. The old man knew that they worked for the Ninth Prince.

'Why would Jorick hide from them?'

The two men were able to get inside a building without being detected. Jorick was so focused on infiltrating the place that he only thought about the guards that he needed to avoid and did not suspect that someone could be tailing him.

He went to the room where the Ninth Prince had taken him when they first met. It was still the same. In fact, it seemed no one touched the room for so many years. The large build-up of dust could tell him that. He rummaged through the cabinets and drawers to find some clues.

The old man waited by the door. He could hear the loud noises that Jorick made while searching.

'What'w wrong with this brat? He went through the painstaking effort of avoiding the guards only to make noises now. I can get in trouble when the guards check on him.'

After a while, footsteps could be heard from outside the building. The guards must have come to check the noise. The old man was left with no other choice but to barge in.

"You brat, keep quiet!" the old man tried his best to whisper in a low voice.

Jorick was surprised to see the old man who pulled him to the cabinet to hide.

"Old man, why are you…"

"Shhh, don't speak. The guards are already here."

Both men tried their best not to make any noise. The guard opened the door, scanned the room, and quickly left when he did not see anything suspicious. Jorick was about to get out of their hiding place when the old man stopped him.

Another guard entered and walked around the room. He sat for a while as if waiting for someone or something to come. The two men who were hiding could feel the pounding of their hearts. The old man was beginning to unsheathe his sword in case the guard would suddenly open the cabinet.

A strong wind blew the tree branches, which tapped on the windowpane and startled the guard. He looked out the window and ran hurriedly out of the door. The two men could hear that the other guards seemed to follow the one who ran out of the room.

When it was safe to come out, the men took the opportunity to escape from the place. They were both panting when they finally decided to take a rest for a while.

"You brat, what are you doing there?"

Jorick just looked at the old man and asked, "Why are you following me?"

The old man looked at him innocently and gave an innocent reply, "I saw you, I followed you, and that's that."

Jorick knew that he would never ever get a sound reply from the old man. The conversation that they were having should never happen in the first place. He always regarded the old man as someone who might do something bad to the Ninth Prince, but he never really disliked him.

"T-Thank you."

"What's that? I didn't hear you clearly." The old man was obviously teasing.

Jorick frowned. "If you didn't hear it, treat it as I did not say anything."

"This brat… Well, you're welcome. Where are you going? Take me along with you. It's been ages that I traveled with someone."

"No."

Jorick kept walking while the old man tagged along.

"I am a good traveling companion."

"No."

"I can still protect you even though I'm already old. I don't think you can protect yourself properly."

"No."

"I can…"

It went on and on. It was too late when Jorick realized that they were already traveling together. Keeping a company could drive away boredom anyway, and the old man had lots of stories to tell.

* * * * *

"Everything's been settled. Count Eduardo Camarillo already sent the invitation to the Crown Prince. I hope you will be able to do your part without a single flaw."

The Left Minister talked to Damien as if he was a subordinate rather than his grandson. The position of the Ninth Prince was nothing in the Left Minister's eyes. To him, Damien was nothing more than a tool for his revenge.

Damien gritted his teeth and tried to calm himself first before giving an answer. He knew that the Left Minister had always treated him as a regular minion, but he kept fooling himself. He could only take so much. He should make his move…soon.

"I know grandfather. The invitation is only for the Crown Prince and his Second Wife. Do you think Zenia Anisen would insist to come along?"

"She's a shameless woman, she will come along. I also doubt the invitation would embarrass her. It is possible that it made her furious. You know what to do. It's best if she doesn't show up at the banquet, but I doubt it."

"Rest assured grandfather that every prince and princess will attend the banquet. If she comes, we will expose the truth about Zenia Anisen and humiliate her in front of the nobles, royals, and influential families in the whole Tissuria. She will never dare show up in front of anyone again."

Verone already knew that an invitation came, and her name was especially mentioned as a guest to the banquet. She knew that the Left Minister was cooking up something.

"Prepare my dress. Choose the one that highlights my beautiful features. Is the Crown Princess coming?"

"We don't know, Your Highness. But we heard that the invitation specifically mentioned you."

Verone smirked and dismissed her maids.

'Zenia Anisen, are you shameless enough to come along when the one holding a banquet does not regard you as the true Crown Princess?'

She sipped her tea and thought that it was the most delicious thing that she ever tasted in the Palace of the Crown Prince.

* * * * *

After a few more days, Verone finally moved out of the main residence and into her new home. She was quite satisfied with her courtyard and thought that the Crown Prince took notice of her interests and incorporated them in her courtyard. She might vomit blood when she learned that it was Zenia who had decided for the things to put in her courtyard. Zenia believed that Verone would make less trouble if she was satisfied with her surroundings.

Zekiah had recovered completely, but Odessa paid a visit once more to check on him. Zenia was back to being the Crown Princess and not wearing a face veil in the main residence. She would retire the character "Leyna" after visiting Verone for the last time after the banquet.

"Your brother has fully recovered, but he still needs to finish consuming the bottles of tonic that I prescribed." She turned to Zekiah and ordered, "Do some light exercises but don't do more than you can take. Call me if you feel anything…funny."

"Thank you, sis…Doctor Odessa. We appreciate your concern." Zenia flashed her most beautiful smile, which creeped out Zekiah.

Odessa bid them goodbye and went on her way.

"Spill it, what are you planning?"

"Spill what?"

"Come on, Zenzen. Do you think I don't know what you are thinking? You nearly say sister-in-law back then. Are you trying to match her with Big Brother? If you are, you better think again."

"Why not? She's fun to be with, and she doesn't look like she's romantically involved with someone. She's a good match for Big Brother."

"She will die of boredom with Big Brother. I mean, did you see Big Brother with a woman before?"

"Yes! Lots of women flocked around him in the brothel. I saw it when the others took me there for the first time."

"Those women were spies, and you know that."

"Well, some of them were not. But you're right. I have never heard that Big Brother was interested in a woman before."

Zenia suddenly gasped, covered her mouth with her hands, and looked at Zekiah.

"What are you thinking about now?"

"Could it be that Big Brother is interested in men? Oh no, what will we tell Father?"

Zekiah wanted to smack Zenia on the head.

"What nonsense are you spouting?! Do you remember the ribbon that Big Brother used to tie around the hilt of his sword?"

"Oh yeah, he scolded me big time when I took it. That was the first time that he scolded me. I wonder what's with that ribbon anyway."

"Zenzen, I sometimes wonder if you are just clueless or not interested in dealing with simple things. That ribbon obviously belonged to a girl. Big Brother must have taken a liking to that girl but did not meet her again."

"If I remember correctly, he was still a young general back then. After he returned from his expedition, that ribbon was already wrapped around the hilt of his sword."

"Right, so don't interfere with Big Brother's affairs. He could still be searching for that woman."

"Humph, I don't care. I want Odessa to be my sister-in-law. If he finds that woman and I think she's fine, I will no longer interfere. But if that woman is someone vicious, I will chop her in front of him."

"I also think that Doctor Odessa is a fine lady, but we should just let nature take its course."

"Are you interested in Odessa?" Zenia asked teasingly.

"No way! That woman is way older than me. I want someone my age or younger. Right now, getting married is still far from my mind."

"We need to help Big Brother find a wife soon. What will happen to the Anisen clan if there are no heirs? We should do something about it. Do you think Big Brother has a love child somewhere?"

"Zenzen, go back to your room and sleep already or eat. You must be hungry or you need to have a proper rest. I think there's something wrong with your brain. Why don't we call Doctor Odessa once more so she can give you a thorough check-up?"

Zenia glared at her brother and ruffled his hair. She stood up and walked out of the room. Zekiah combed his hair with his fingers and shook his head.

'Big Brother, you poor unfortunate soul.'

* * * * *

"Achoo!"

"Commander, do you want to call the doctor over? You must be coming down with the flu."

"It's nothing. Someone must be talking about me behind my back. How's the infiltration mission?"

"Commander, we replaced 50% of the Ninth Prince's men in Luna Inn. We plan to slow down for a bit to avoid suspicions."

"What about the remaining assassins that attacked us?"

"We already silenced them. You don't need to worry about anything."

"Send a coded message to Zenzen and Zeze, and tell them how to identify our men in case the Ninth Prince deploys them to do something to Zenzen."

"Yes, Commander."

"What about Zenzen's private army? When can we deploy?"

"The soldiers are training non-stop, but they are given enough time to rest by General Higate. We may be able to deploy in two months."

"Before we deploy them, the mission infiltration must be completed first. I don't want any mishap."

"Yes, Commander!"

Zander looked at the report he received a few days ago. He knew that Zenia and Zekiah fell sick at the same time, but Zekiah was the one who suffered a lot. It had been a long time since it happened again. He should thank the good Doctor Odessa for treating his siblings.

'Odessa… Why does it sound so familiar? Where did I hear that name before?'

Zander pondered for a while and shook his head. He decided to pay the good doctor a visit and thank her personally. She had done a lot for his lovely siblings.

'What kind of gifts should I give her?'