Chapter 174 - Fostering Friendship and Brotherhood

Lewis' assistant took Doctor Hugo and Meredith to their temporary residence. Vaughn, Zenia, Odessa, and Lewis talked about the roles that each of them should play to help Doctor Hugo.  

"If there is nothing else, I shall take my leave. We need to be careful from now on," Odessa packed her things and headed to the door.

"Let me send you off," Zenia volunteered happily and walked side by side with Odessa.

Lewis looked at their backs as they walked further away from them.

"If you don't talk to her now, you may never have the chance to clear things with her," Vaughn reminded Lewis.

Lewis looked at Vaughn and suddenly ran after Odessa and Zenia. Vaughn shook his head and walked behind Lewis. He knew that his wife might get the wrong idea.

Lewis had always thought that Odessa would never speak to him again. But what did he do earlier? He refused to meet her eye to eye. He had no idea what Odessa may have thought, but he knew that he should clear any misunderstanding between them. 

"Odessa!"

Both women turned around. Zenia frowned when she saw Lewis running toward them.

'What does he want to do now? Did he suddenly realize that he had always been in love with sister-in-law? Not a chance!'

Zenia was about to block Lewis from approaching Odessa when Vaughn suddenly called her, "Zenzen, come over here. I have something to say to you."

She shook her head, but Vaughn continued to wave at her to come. She glared at Lewis, who did not see her at all. She saw that Odessa was looking at Lewis.

Vaughn walked hurriedly when his wife still did not budge. He took her arm and pulled her away from Odessa and Lewis.

"What are you doing? That man might snatch my sister-in-law," Zenia whispered to Vaughn.

"He's not going to. He's just patching things up with his brother. Lewis did not see Odessa as a girl, he had always regarded her as his brother," Vaughn whispered back while trying to convince his wife and avoid making a scene.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Let us watch from a distance. If you see that something is off, you can beat him."

"I will really beat him."

"Yes, yes, beat him to your heart's content. Right now, it's best if they can clear any misunderstanding between them. It's easier to work with someone that you are comfortable to be with."

Lewis walked slowly to Odessa and just looked at her without uttering a single word. Odessa patiently waited for what he wanted to say. She had always known that Lewis was not good at communicating with others. She let him hang out with some male friends because she thought that it would help him expand his circle of friends and develop his interpersonal skills.

She knew that his so-called friends were teasing him when they learned that he was engaged to Odessa since they were born. In Tissuria, it was too humiliating for a man to cancel the engagement. Only women could do that. 

The members of the Royal Family and some nobles were the only ones who were not allowed to follow that rule. They could only get married by virtue of a Royal Decree. Some members of the Royal Family were lucky enough to receive a Royal Decree to marry the person they loved.   

"Brother, I missed you."

There were so many things that Lewis wanted to say to Odesa, but he couldn't find the right words to say. Every time he tried to open his mouth to say something, he could not say them out loud.

Odessa only learned about his trouble, which began after she announced the cancellation of their engagement, when she came back after so many years. She felt guilty for not making it clear to everyone. She also did not expect that their expedition would take so long to finish. 

"I missed you too, brother."

Odessa extended her hand and Lewis clasped it. Their bodies nearly touched as they held each other's hand near their chests and patted each other's back – just like brothers. None of them uttered another word. An explanation was no longer necessary. They were connected once more, just like in the past. They would always be brothers by heart.

Zenia did not find anything odd with their gestures because she also did it with her brothers in the military. She understood that the bond between Odessa and Lewis was similar to that of brothers. She smiled and remembered her own biological brothers who loved her dearly. She missed them…

Zenia's expression became serious. "What do you think about the thing with the Left Minister that Doctor Hugo told us?"

"I think the woman was Concubine Jayda, and the daughter was Odette. We could ask Mother about this when we get home. When I was young, I remembered that there was a delegate who would often visit Concubine Jayda. The King allowed the meeting and thought that it would be good in fostering friendship with other kingdoms."

"Is your King selling his concubines as well?"

"Who knows? It's none of my business anyway as long as he does not sell my mother. Let us talk about this when we get home. Right now, let's enjoy the show."

"What show? I think they have finished already. They made up."

"How come? They only said  brother ."

"Ahh, naïve young prince, you will never understand even if I explain it for a hundred times. I bet you did not experience having a true brother."

Vaughn kept looking at his wife as she nudged him to walk back to Lewis' office. There was nothing more to see, and she had faith in her sister-in-law.

* * * * *

After deliberating for a long time, Zekiah finally obtained their mother's approval. Renaria specifically ordered Zander to stop the training when Zekiah began to show signs of fatigue. She also wanted him to accompany Zekiah inside the Cave of fire. Ovid explained to his wife that a man could only go through the Cave of Fire once and only once. Renaria wanted to retract her approval, but she saw the determination in his youngest child's eyes.

'My Zeze has truly grown into a fine man.'

"You two," Renaria pointed at Ovid and Zander, "Make sure that my Zeze will not suffer."

Zekiah was standing behind Renaria and facing Ovid and Zander. He nodded his head and mouthed that they should nod their heads to stop Renaria from complaining too much. Ovid and Zander just nodded their heads at everything that Renaria wanted them to do.

Zekiah knew that it would be impossible for him not to suffer a bit. He also knew that he must sacrifice something to gain better benefits.

Zander did not waste another minute after that and began Zekiah's training right away. He felt that Zekiah would also leave the nest soon – just like Zenia. He felt that their manor seemed to be expanding. When Zenia and Zekiah were both in the Anisen Manor, their home seemed small due to his siblings' ruckus. They would often chase each other around the manor even when they had all grown up.

'Should we adopt a child or two?' He shook his head and found his idea absurd.

* * * * *

"Your Lordship, the Crown Prince and Princess were seen in the Royal Apothecary just now. There were just two of them."

"So they left Verone in the Palace of the Crown Prince. Does the Crown Prince want to imprison his second wife within the palace walls? He does not allow her to go out nor have visitors, while he lets the Crown Princess' brother stay with them before. Find out what they need from the Royal Apothecary." The anger in the Left Minister's tone was obvious.

"Yes, Your Lordship."

Before she went to the Royal Apothecary, Zenia already instructed Redivo to spread some news about her to the entire Tissuria. She told Redivo to spread that the Crown Princess was envious of the Second Wife's beauty that she decided to meet the Head Pharmacist to concoct Ishelon's secret formula for beauty. 

Ishelon lacked the important ingredient, and she found out that the Royal Apothecary had it. They should expect the Crown Princess to frequent the place until the concocted beauty product had satisfied the princess. She wanted to prevent the people, especially their enemies, from thinking of other things. She knew that the poison for her needles may take time to create. She never expected to meet Doctor Hugo along the way.

In due time, the information that Redivo had spread would be picked up by the Left Minister, Ninth Prince, and the rest of Tissuria. Zenia was already thinking of marketing and selling different beauty products to earn money. Zenia came to know that the people of Tissuria put so much value on beauty. She knew that the beauty products would be a smash hit among women of Tissuria.

Damien had decided to visit his band of assassins in Luna Inn. Half of them were already Zander's men. They finally had a chance to meet the Ninth Prince and the main boss of Luna Inn. 

"Listen up, we will not accept any job for a while, and I will try to convince my grandfather to allow all of you to join his private army during training. I want you to report to me the whereabouts of the camp and other important things. All of you must do your best to win grandfather's full trust and favor."

The one that Zander had designated as a leader gave a signal to his men to meet at their secret hideout. In just a few months, they already knew that ins and outs of Tissuria like the back of their hand. It was a good thing that the assassins group of the Ninth Prince did not have formal military training. 

Zander was meticulous when making body replacement. It should be the same height and built to prevent arousing suspicions. They imprisoned the Ninth Prince's men in Ishelon. Even if they managed to escape from their prison cell, they wouldn't be able to get passed the beasts guarding the gates. The whole prison area was surrounded by water, which contained flesh-eating sea creatures of different sizes.

They were allowed to bask in the sun and train their bodies from the very first day that they were transferred to the Prison Island. In fact, they were more like taking a vacation than being prisoners. Their meals were always delicious and there were desserts. Most of them would cry because the people of Tissuria were never fond of eating sweets.

Their beds were stuffed with hay, but it was the most comfortable bed that they ever had. They were allowed to take a shower every day and they were provided with everything that they could ever need. They had also undergone a thorough physical examination. Those who had illnesses were given high-grade elixirs.

They lived in ease and comfort that none of them ever thought of escaping from Prison Island. Most of them had no families to return to. Those who had families waiting for their return had no plan to go back to Tissuria.

They were required to take care of some farm animals and a vegetable garden. Whatever vegetables they harvested would be their meal together with the meat of farm animals. The ingredients would be transported to the military camp's kitchen where the kitchen crew would prepare their food.

Zander's men were confused at his actions. Although it was the first time for them to keep prisoners from another kingdom, they knew that they were not supposed to treat them like they were guests.

Each time they asked Zander about the reason for the good treatment he would give the same reply such as, "You will know the reason soon."

It had been months, and they still did not receive a proper answer. But, they began to mingle with the prisoners and shared stories about their customs and traditions. The Ninth Prince's men were envious of the military men of Ishelon for having a wonderful commander.

"Big Brother, do you think the prisoners will volunteer the information that you want to hear?"

"They will; just wait and see."