Chapter 186 - I Found Big Brother a Wife!

"I said I found a wife for Big Brother."

"Is this for real?"

"Mother, do you think I will joke about something like this?"

Renaria got excited when she saw Zenia's serious expression.

"What does she look like?"

"She's like a tigress." Zenia's eyes sparkled, and she was beaming with pride when she said those words.

Renaria was dumbfounded, "How can someone who looks like a tigress be a good match for your Big Brother?"

Zenia shook her head, "You misunderstood, Mother. She is Odessa Munchefort. She is a royal doctor, and she was the one who attended to me and Zeze when we got sick last time."

"You and Zeze got sick? Why didn't you notify me at all? Am I still your mother?"

Zenia hugged Renaria, "It's not a biggie, and I don't you to worry too much about us. She has a strong personality and can't easily be trampled. She's smart and diligent. She's a great doctor. Above all, she's beautiful. I'm sure that Big Brother will like her."

"The question is, will she like Zander?"

Zenia looked at her mother and realized that she had forgotten an important part of courtship. Renaria shook her head when she saw her daughter's expression.

"I did not think that she might not like Big Brother at all. I never asked her what she was looking for in a man." Zenia put her hands on her head and panicked.

"You saw her, and you have decided that she will be your sister-in-law – well, that's not how things work."

"Mother, what will I do? I really like her a lot. I don't think I can find someone like her anywhere else."

Renaria flinched when she heard her daughter uttered those words.

"Why does it sound like you're the one who will be courting her? There's nothing we can do if she does not want to be with Zander."

Zenia's mood became gloomy. What her mother told her was right, but she could not simply accept defeat before the battle even began. She suddenly thought of something.

"I will tell the King to issue a Royal Decree allowing Big Brother and Odessa to get married. That will work," Zenia rubbed her palms together and sneered at her plan.

"Marriage must not be forced."

"But Big Brother agreed to marry me off in Tissuria."

Renaria looked at her daughter and raised her eyebrow, "Are you doing this to get back at your Big Brother for agreeing to marry you off?"

"Of course not! I do have a wonderful marriage now, don't I? All the things that happened were supposed to happen, including his marriage to Odessa. I don't blame Big Brother anymore for marrying me off. In fact, I was glad that he did. If he did not, I will not be able to meet Vaughn again. I'm actually returning the favor."

Renaria sighed, "Tell me everything about this Odessa that made you like her."

"Okay."

Zenia began telling her mother about Odessa. Renaria was beginning to like Odessa more and more. She knew that Zenia was not exaggerating in her descriptions. Renaria just wished that Zander would like to have Odessa for a wife.

"Should we send a proposal to Odessa's parents already?"

"We should not. I think we need to send gifts to her first. I also think that the proposal must be sent to Baroness Munchefort since she was the one who practically raised Odessa. I forgot to take her feelings into consideration. I guess it's only right for us to give her a proper courtship. But, I can't take no for an answer."

"Okay, I will prepare the gifts now. When do you want me to send them?"

"I will let Big Brother send them to Odessa personally. I will trouble Mother to send the gifts to the Palace of the Crown Prince first. I will tell Zeze later to handle them well. I think Big Brother had a plan to go to Tissuria and have a vacation. I will take that opportunity to introduce them to each other. I'm sure that Big Brother will come and visit me after I finished my business in Prazia."

"Let's do that then."

The mother and daughter grinned and held hands. Zander was still oblivious of the devious plan that her beloved women were plotting behind his back.

* * * * *

"Lad, just where do you plan to go? We've been away for far too long."

The old man kept complaining. He knew that Vaughn was not worried about him even though he had been away for so long. His great-grandson was already used to it. He wondered what was happening with them.

"I am not even forcing you to go with me, yet here you are. Why are you tagging along anyway?"

The old man smacked Jorick's head.

"If I did not come along, you had been sold to the slave traders already. Did I not stop them, single-handedly, from taking you away? Seriously, you're still young yet you're no different from a ninety-year-old man. You also keep talking to suspicious people."

"You are also someone suspicious. Even if you're an old man, I won't be so polite. I know that you are the Crown Prince's man."

The old man gave Jorick another smack on the head.

"Who told you I'm the Crown Prince's man? I'm his superior!"

Jorick was dumbfounded with the old man's remark.

"What nonsense are you spouting again?!"

The old man sighed and tapped Jorick's shoulder.

"Let me get straight to the point, lad. I know that you will not go back to the Ninth Prince's side – you'd be a fool if you still want to go back – why not go with me? I can guarantee your safety."

Jorick looked at the old man as if he heard a joke.

"You're old… How can you protect me?"

"This stinky brat… I may be old, but I can still pack a punch. You really should not judge a book by its cover."

The old man started to walk away from Jorick and acted like he was hurt by what the young man had said.

'One, two, three, four…'

"Old man, I'm sorry I was wrong. Please accompany me."

The old man stopped and turned around. He was grinning.

"If you are like this from the start, we could have reached the place that you want to visit. Where do you want to go anyway? I've been following you, but I don't know where you want to go."

"To tell you the truth, I don't know either. Fragments of memory are slowly coming back to me, and I just follow the lead of the fragments that I recovered. I went to the places that I've seen in the fragments, but I still did not find the answer I'm looking for."

"Is that why we seem to be going in circles? We just keep going without a particular destination. Can you tell me the fragments of memory that you see?"

"I don't know how to describe them, but I am certain that the Ninth Prince was not the one saved me. I saw the silhouette of the figure from the fragments, and it did not match the physique of the Ninth Prince. I don't know his reason for making me believe that he is my benefactor. What does he want from me?"

"Did you not think that the Ninth Prince might be responsible for what happened to you?"

Jorick looked at the old man. He already thought of it because the person, who set his family on fire and kept appearing in his dream, was the Ninth Prince. He had a hunch that the Ninth Prince kept him by his side to make sure that he wouldn't remember anything. He should thank Duke Gordon when they crossed paths again. If he did not tell him from which kingdom he came from, he would continue to blindly follow the Ninth Prince.

"I did, that's why I left."

The old man no longer uttered a word when he saw the sadness in Jorick's face. The truth must've hit him hard but the only thing that could set him free was the truth. He finally broke free from the shackles that had been preventing him from finding his true self. Jorick hoped that when he recovered his memory, he would be able to go back home.

* * * * *

Zenia and Zekiah were busy perfecting the prosthetics that they made. The smell was already tolerable, and Zekiah estimated that it would be ready the following day. However, they should still test it. They prepared two sets for each part and only one set for the one that Zenia would use for her body.

Vaughn joined Ruvin and Ovid when they returned. Ovid reminded the two men to always be vigilant and taught them an effective technique to do it. Vaughn and Ruvin learned so many things from Ovid just by listening to him.

Renaria was busy the entire afternoon thinking of the gifts to prepare for Odessa. She used Odessa's personality as a reference. She wanted to impress her would-be daughter-in-law. She knew that Zander would not be able to prepare the most suitable gifts to give.

"Mother, what are you doing? Why are you preparing so many gifts?"

Renaria looked at her son and replied, "I will send this to Tissuria and let Zenzen handle it when the time comes. You will be thankful for it."

Zander gave his mother a puzzled looked. He did not ask further and just nodded his head.

"Okay."

"When do you plan to go to Tissuria?"

"A day after Zenzen's return."

"You mean you will leave Ishelon a few days before Zenzen's return so you can be there on the day after she returned in Tissuria."

Zander gave his mother a kiss on her forehead, "That's why I love you so much, Mother. You know how my mind works."

'Let's see if you can say that again when you reach Tissuria and Zenzen makes her move.'