Chapter 179 - Next Stop - Ishelon

Redivo went to see Vaughn and Zenia in the old king's courtyard to remind them of their departure to Ishelon. He was surprised when he saw how well-behaved his younger brother was. Ruvin was so focused on the task assigned to him that he did not notice his brother at all.

"Your Highness, what's wrong with Ruvin?"

"Can't you see that he's behaving so well?"

"That's exactly why! He had never behaved like this before. I no longer expect that I will ever see the day when he becomes well-behaved. Even the military training did nothing much to discipline him."

Redivo kept looking at his brother who was earnestly taking notes. Zenia was also observing Ruvin and making sure that he was taking notes. She would sometimes point out something to him and would get back to work immediately.

"I never imagined my Zenzen to be so strict when it comes to disciplining unruly soldiers. If I have known this, I should've let Ruvin meet her earlier."

Redivo knew that Zenia was the Junior Commander of the military unit of Ishelon, but he did not tell Ruvin. He also knew that his younger brother had nothing but pure admiration for the Junior Commander. He thought that his younger brother might lose interest in being a soldier when he learned that the Junior Commander that he admired was a woman.

"Is the Crown Princess fine with it? We decided not to tell anything to Ruvin anymore because it's too tiresome to explain things to him. He doesn't listen anyway."

"Zenzen is enjoying it. I think she had always wanted to teach Ruvin a lesson, and she finally got that opportunity. Look at how she scolds him, and he doesn't seem to mind. Does he know that he's older than Zenzen?"

"I don't think he does. Let's keep that one a secret for now. It might totally crush his ego when he learns that the one he looks up to is actually younger than him by a few years."

"Have you collected everything that I told you?"

"There are still some doc.u.ments and records that I need to inspect. I will surely hand them all to you upon your return. Should I inform Ms. Verone that you've left for Ishelon for a few weeks?"

"Just tell her that we've gone to Ishelon and nothing else. Give her something to do in her courtyard to keep her mind off from going out. We cannot let her meet anyone."

"How about making her do some embroidery work? It should be something for you like a cape, perhaps? It usually takes a month to complete a whole cape with intricate design. That should be enough to stall her time and not think of anything else."

"Hmm," Vaughn turned to Zenia and asked, "Zenzen, how long does it usually take to embroider a cape?"

Zenia looked at her husband and replied with a question, "What do you mean? I don't even know how to hold a needle properly."

The men in the room all looked at her as if they heard something outrageous.

"You're a woman yet you don't know how to do embroidery? What kind of teachings do parents in Ishelon give their daughters?" Ruvin shook his head.

"Hey," Zenia poked Ruvin's head and added, "I am an exception in Ishelon, but my other self could do all of that without any problem. You can ask him to give you a sample of his work – that is if he agrees."

Redivo and Vaughn looked at each other. They almost forgot that Zenia and Zekiah used to trade places for their respective lessons. Zenia learned swordsmanship and Zekiah learned the arts.

"You have a twin?" Ruvin got excited, and then he realized that Zenia used a male pronoun and added dejectedly, "Oh, you mean your brother."

"What do you mean by that? What's wrong with Zeze? He can do lots of things that I can't do. He's an epitome of a perfect wife," Zenia's eyes beamed when she talked about Zekiah and remembered something, "He could do everything that any wife can do, except cooking delectable dishes."

Zenia went on to describe the wonderful things about Zekiah. The men in that room had to bear it for a whole hour. They did not dare interrupt Zenia for fear that it may only prolong Zenia's litany.

Somewhere in Ishelon…

"Ouch!" Zekiah suddenly blurted.

"What happened?" Zander asked quickly as he hurriedly joined Zekiah.

They were climbing one of Ishelon's most treacherous mountains. Zander was amazed at Zekiah's improvement in two weeks, and it made him decide to give Zekiah a more challenging task.

"I bit my tongue."

"Someone must be speaking ill of you," Zander chuckled as he gave Zekiah a signal to hurry up.

Zander wanted to improve Zekiah's stamina first before starting with a new course of training. He was afraid that Zekiah may not be able to have enough endurance to finish the course.

"Big Brother, is Zenzen really coming here in four days with the Crown Prince and that decoy?"

"Well, I assumed that the decoy you mentioned would come along as well. She's going to fetch you to pose as her again while she and that brat will go somewhere to investigate something."

"What about my training? I cannot possibly finish this in four days. How can I go through the Cave of Fire without having proper training first?"

"We just have to postpone that for now if you still don't want Zenzen to know that you have been training here ever since you came here. Anyway, you can still train your body when you are in Tissuria. I heard that Zenzen re-designed the Crown Prince's training course. She should've copied it from our own."

"I will go train in Tissuria then, although our kingdom provides a more suitable training ground."

"That's true, but it's still better than nothing. Let's hurry so we can cover more grounds."

"Hmm."

* * * * *

Zenia felt good when she talked about Zekiah in front of others. As a treat, she had decided to prepare something in the kitchen before they leave. Ruvin's face turned pale when he heard her.

When Zenia left the room, Ruvin went to Redivo and whispered, "Big Brother, let us escape from here before she returns."

Ruvin pulled his brother, but Redivo did not budge. He already sampled one of Zenia's dishes, and he liked it very much.

"Why don't you just go if you want to go. No one is forcing you to stay," Vaughn spoke coldly to Ruvin.

"Humph, my own brother does not want to go with me and Your Highness is letting me off – you two are suspicious. Is there something that you are hiding from me?"

Ruvin looked at Redivo and then at Vaughn. Neither of the two was willing to have eye contact with him. They just wanted Ruvin to leave and the best way they knew how to do it was to keep quiet. They hoped that he would decide to just go away before Zenia's return.

"Okay, I will sacrifice myself just this once. Who knows what will happen to the two of you when you eat the food she prepared. Don't blame me if anything happens to both of you."

Soon, Zenia arrived with a tray of sandwiches and drinks. Vaughn's eyes beamed when he saw that Zenia prepared his favorite sandwich and drink. Zenia put the tray on the table. Vaughn and Redivo pulled out their own chair and took a seat. Zenia made the sandwich for Vaughn before, and he liked it so much. The two were enjoying themselves as Ruvin looked on.  

Zenia noticed that Ruvin was not eating and asked, "Why don't you get one? Are you not hungry? When we set off later, you may not be able to eat properly in the carriage when you get hungry."

Ruvin shook his head, "I am not fond of eating sandwiches."

Zenia shrugged her shoulders and got a sandwich for herself, "Suit yourself."

Everyone kept eating their sandwiches as they read through a book or doc.u.ment. A delicious scent wafted in Ruvin's direction. His stomach suddenly grumbled. He looked at everyone, who was still busy with their own sandwich and reading material.

'Phew! It's a good thing that no one heard it.'

He looked at the delightful faces of Vaughn and Redivo. They seemed to be enjoying their food. There were still so many sandwiches on the tray, and Ruvin had decided to give it a try.

He reached out for one and went back to his spot. When he took a bite, his eyes widened and looked at the bunch of people who were eating happily. He finished the sandwich in one go, and he decided to take the rest of the sandwiches. He ate three sandwiches in a matter of minutes.

He also took a glass of drink and found that it was refreshing. The flavor of the drink blended well with the taste of the sandwich.

Vaughn reached out to get another sandwich from the tray without looking. When his hand landed on an empty tray, he put down his book and saw Ruvin licking his finger.

Zenia felt an ominous aura beside her. When she looked to her right, she saw Vaughn's dark face. She noticed the empty tray of sandwiches and knew the reason for his menacing aura.

She stood up and picked up the tray.

"I will get some more."

Vaughn glared at Ruvin when Zenia was no longer in sight.

"I thought you don't want any."

"Brother Vaughn, I was wrong. I promise not to say anything against sister-in-law again. I will be a good soldier from now on."

"You better remember that."

Zenia let them eat a few more sandwiches and packed some for their travel. It would take days to reach Ishelon, and the two men with her would surely be hungry. Although she had a big appetite, she could still suppress her hunger.

Vaughn prepared a big carriage that would be pulled by four horses. He brought along some gifts for his in-laws. Ruvin started to warm up to Zenia.

"Sister-in-law, is Ishelon beautiful?"

"Are you really asking about how beautiful Ishelon is or how are the beauties in Ishelon?"

Ruvin scratched his head and laughed lightly, "Can I say both?"

Zenia shook her head and went inside the carriage with Vaughn. They closed the door of the carriage the moment they went in.

"What about me?" Ruvin tried to open the carriage door.

"Go sit with the coachman."