Chapter 187 - To Prazia (Part 1)

In the following day, Zenia and Zekiah tested the prosthetics. The smell was almost gone. Zenia dragged Vaughn to test the prosthetics with her. They only made slight changes in their facial features, and they looked like they were in their forties. Zenia was satisfied with the result. She also made Vaughn wear a mustache.

Vaughn thought that Zenia's belly was a bit bigger than he expected. She looked like she was pregnant.

'Pregnant, hmm…' He rubbed his chin and looked at Zenia's belly once more.

"Your stomach is a bit big, don't you think?" Zekiah asked her with concern.

"No. This is just right. I hid two daggers in here so I can come clean during the inspection."

"Inspection?"

"Oh, before the authorities in Prazia will allow us to enter their kingdom, they will conduct a body search. Men can bring along their swords, but women are not allowed to have any weapon with them."

"Why?"

"I heard a rumor once that a crazy woman attacked King Odhran as soon as she saw him when he was just a Crown Prince. Ever since then, the King of Prazia gave an order that no woman is allowed to carry a weapon."

"Do you believe that story?"

"No. But the fact remains that women are not allowed to carry any weapon."

Vaughn fixed his mustache and showed it to Zenia.

"How is it? Did I master the art of wearing a disguise?" Vaughn grinned at Zenia.

Zenia gave him a thumbs-up and smiled back, "My husband is so capable," she tapped his cheek and pinched his chin.

"Whoa! Zenzen, don't do that in front of me."

"What did I do?"

"You're both middle-aged couple acting lovey-dovey – it gives me the creeps."

Zenia glared at Zekiah, "Come on, let this auntie give you some spanking."

Vaughn shook his head as the siblings ran all over the Anisen estate. Zander smiled as he observed them from afar.

* * * * *

Ruvin continued his training under Ovid and stayed with Ovid most of the time. He even went with him in the military camp and would only go to the Anisen Manor at night. He made sure not to meet Zenia or Zekiah to ease the tension between the three of them. He took Ovid's advice and tried to avoid speaking harshly.

Late at night, Zenia and Vaughn were discussing the doc.u.ments that Ovid gave to Vaughn the day before. They did not have the chance to discuss it properly in the last few days due to their busy schedules. Zenia and Zekiah were trying to improve the disguise that Zenia and Vaughn would wear in Prazia. Vaughn had always been with Zander at the time.

"What do you think?"

"Hmm, I've always thought that there's something in Prazia. Remember the envoy that I told you about?"

"The one who introduced Lotharia to Ishelon?"

"Yes, and it is not just Lotharia. He had so many poisons and medicinal elixirs that we have never seen before. But thanks to him, we were able to come up with an effective way to counteract the effects of the poisons. Unfortunately, we still need further study to come up with the most effective way to counter Lotharia."

"Is there something else about Lotharia?"

"My teacher had a hunch that Lotharia could also be used to control someone. But after years of studying that aphrodisiac, my teacher found nothing. Whenever he felt that something was off with a certain concoction, he was always right."

"I don't believe that dark magic exists. But after reading the doc.u.ments that Father gave us, I'd like to think that it does exist. I don't believe anything unless it is backed by science."

"I don't believe in dark magic either, but I also think that modern technology that science has created can bring more harm than good. That's why we, the people of Ishelon, are still following the traditional means to do things."

"Somehow I begin to see the harm of relying too much on modern technology. We use chemicals and modern equipment. Even some of our foods in Tissuria contain preservatives that can harm the body in the long run. We also don't move much and it makes the body weak."

"Due to our lack of modern means and equipment to do our work, we depend on our own strength to finish our tasks for the day. If you ask me, I never want to change how we do things. We can still keep up even though other kingdoms are using modern technology."

"I can't argue with that. I have been here for only a few days, and I can feel that my strength has doubled."

Of course, Vaughn wouldn't admit that Zander was also helping him train his body when they were together. Zander noticed the lack of improvement in Vaughn's strength and asked him if he was neglecting his training.

The Cave of Fire could help him clear the impurities in his body to enhance his strength, but he should also work hard to maintain his strength. A man could only go through the Cave of Fire just once and only once.

They continued to analyze the doc.u.ments hoping to discover important leads that could help them cut down the time that they should devote to investigating the matter.

* * * * *

The Left Minister was spending his time leisurely and enjoying the first-class accommodation in a renowned inn of the area. The owner of the ship had no other choice but satisfy the caprice of the Left Minister. It was a small price to pay if it meant letting them continue doing business in Tissuria at peace. The famous business owners in Tissuria were aware of the Left Minister's unscrupulous methods, but none of them dared to speak.

Everyone in Tissuria knew that the King was kind to the Left Minister because of Concubine Jayda. The king respected the Left Minister as his father-in-law. In fact, the King had never shown the same level of respect to the Queen's father.

Most people of Tissuria pitied the Queen, but they also knew that the King would not do anything to harm the Queen. It was also one of the reasons why most of them were supporting Vaughn and did not want anyone else to have the title of the Crown Prince.

"We are going to depart within the day, Left Minister." The captain of the ship personally informed the Left Minister.

Everyone was careful in the way they treated the King's father-in-law. The Left Minister took advantage of the things being offered to him.

"That's quite fast. I thought we can only depart tomorrow. Are you sure that your ship can bring me to my destination in one piece?"

"I assure you, Left Minister, that you will reach Prazia with your body intact and still breathing. Our business won't be able to afford the cost of losing you in case something happens. I promise to keep you safe from harm while aboard my ship."

'If someone tries to assassinate you as soon as you stepped on Prazia's soil, it is no longer my concern.'

"I know that you will not let anything happen to me," the Left Minister smiled at the captain and waved his hand to tell the captain that he may leave.

The captain bowed his head and walked out of the door.

* * * * *

"Ninth Prince, even Princess Odette does not know that the Left Minister had decided to go somewhere. But, she suspects that he will be heading to Prazia. We have reasons to believe that the problem in Prazia is bigger than just taking care of his pharmacy business. We suspect that he is keeping his private army in Prazia."

"Hmm… Grandfather had always been closed to the King of Prazia even when he was still the Crown Prince at the time. I had seen him visiting my mother regularly. I was still a child back then and did not understand the meaning of the servants' words. Looking back to that day, I think my mother had an affair with the Crown Prince of Prazia during that time."

"We also gathered the information that Princess Odette may not be King Tarendino's biological daughter."

Damien was no longer surprised when he heard it. He had always wondered why his sister had no resemblance to King Tarendino. She looked more like…the current King of Prazia.

"Ha-ha-ha, Grandfather really thought of everything. He had already chosen Odette over me from the very beginning. I bet that he gets more benefits from the King of Prazia than Father. Odette is the King of Prazia's first child and rightful heir to the throne."

"What do you mean, Your Highness?"

"In Prazia, the first-born child is the rightful heir to the throne whether that child is a boy or girl. A woman is allowed to rule over the entire kingdom provided that she passed the qualifications of the righteous heir. I don't think Odette knew this. The people of Prazia are also against any illegitimate children of the Royal Family, especially that of the King." Zander sneered as he thought of a plan to ruin his own sister.

Once the people of Prazia learned that Odette was an illegitimate child of their King Odhran, her bright future would soon turn dark. Even the Left Minister's ambition would get affected.

"Gather everything you can about my sister's birth and make sure to get proper doc.u.ments that will serve as proof. I will present those to Father and let the people of Prazia learn the whole truth."

"Yes, Your Highness."

'Little sister, don't blame me for being ruthless. You and Grandfather started this.'

Damien smirked and drank the wine in a glass that he was holding. Soon, everything would be his. Vaughn would never know what hit him.