Chapter 188 - To Prazia (Part 2)

Zenia and Vaughn already learned that the Left Minister had finally set sail for Prazia. On the second day of the Left Minister's departure from Tissuria, Vaughn and Zenia began to prepare to travel to Prazia from Ishelon. The makeup for their disguise was almost flawless, even Renaria could not recognize her own daughter when she looked at Zenia with her own eyes.

Ovid and Ruvin left early for the military camp to train. Ovid knew that Ruvin might say something unpleasant to Zenia once more and ruin his daughter's mood. Ruvin had yet to learn to control his mouth.

"Zeze, remember to keep the gifts that mother will make you bring along all the way to the Palace of the Crown Prince. Don't let anything to happen to it, got that?" Zenia talked to Zekiah as if she was talking to a child.

"Zenzen, you don't need to worry about it. I will make sure that they are safe."

"Brother Gustof will also give you the Mortelium plant. Ask Ruvin to accompany you to the Royal Apothecary to give the Mortelium plant to the Head Pharmacist. It is important to deliver the Mortelium to the Head Pharmacist. You need to be careful. The Mortelium plant is a precious commodity. If you encounter any problem in Tissuria, there's Redivo…"

"Zenzen, I got this. You just need to focus on your mission. I got this, really. Even though Ruvin is annoying to the core, I know I can depend on him."

Zenia smiled and nodded. She turned to her mother next.

"Mother, I will always come home every now and then. Please keep yourself safe and healthy."

"I will, Zenzen. Make sure to keep yourself safe too." Renaria turned to Vaughn, "Son-in-law, please keep my daughter safe and make sure to keep yourself safe too."

"I will, Mother. Don't worry about a thing."

Zenia whistled, and Thunderbolt came forth. Vaughn had always been amazed every time he saw it. The master and beast were in sync with each other.

They boarded Thunderbolt and dashed out of the Anisen Manor. They should reach the pier before noon. If they could board the first trip, they would be able to set foot on Prazia's soil in two or three days.

Vaughn and Zenia were hoping to get ahead of the Left Minister and would just wait for his arrival in Prazia. There was only one pier in Prazia. The guards must check each and everyone who would enter their kingdom. If someone should travel by land using Venetia as the entry point, each entry had a gate being guarded by some kingdom knights and two people who knew how to use magic. There were seven gates that visitors of Prazia could access.

Of all kingdoms in the continent of Maecaea, Prazia had a few people who could do magic and chant magic spells. For some unknown reason, the people of Tissuria and Ishelon had the ability to resist their magic. Some said that it must be due to some special qualities of the island that the two largest kingdoms occupied. But, none was certain if the people from Tissuria and Ishelon could deflect dark magic.

The current King of Prazia could not do magic, unlike his third brother. The Third Prince was also an advocate of science. The people of Prazia wanted the Third Prince to succeed the throne because most of them believed that the Third Prince could unite the two opposing factions in Prazia. The supporters of the Crown Prince at the time and the supporters of the Third Prince would almost always clash whenever they encountered each other.

When their father the King died, the entire kingdom became chaotic. To prevent the number of casualties from increasing, the Third Prince Joram had decided to leave Prazia. No one knew where he went. Everyone suspected that Prince Joram left the island and went somewhere far away.

There were still people who kept waiting for the return of the true king in their hearts. It had been so many years, and they did not waver. They did not dare defy the laws of their kingdom. They knew that Prince Joram sacrificed his status and chose to leave Prazia to save everyone from experiencing more devastating aftermath of the war.

"It's a good thing that we rode Thunderbolt and made it on time. I did not expect that they changed the schedule. I guess even Big Brother did not know." Zenia was talking to Vaughn while boarding the ship.

Zenia took Thunderbolt in the stable at the bottom level of the ship. She took note of the facility, and she was satisfied. Even Thunderbolt had no complaint. Thunderbolt neighed once and then rubbed his nose against Zenia's cheek.

"Do you think the Left Minister arrived in Prazia already?" Vaughn asked as they returned to the deck of the ship.

"I don't think so. We will stay in an inn near the pier. If we can land jobs near the pier, that would be great. We can monitor the activities from there and familiarize ourselves with the place and the people."

"What kind of jobs are you thinking? I can be a guard."

"We need to keep a low profile, silly." Zenia flicked Vaughn's forehead and laughed, "I can be a cook, and you can be a groom for the horses. That way, you can still attend to Thunderbolt's needs."

Vaughn looked at his wife and felt like she was trying to con her. It was obvious that wanted to make sure that Thunderbolt would be comfortable and cared for.

"I will follow whatever it is you want to do."

Zenia smiled at him and wrapped her arms around his arm. The ship had sailed, and they both looked at the vast sea and gorgeous sunny sky.

"Dear, look at that couple. They are already old, but they still look so sweet. I hope we can be like that when we finally reached that age."

"I'm sure we will."

* * * * *

In Ishelon, Zekiah resumed his training as soon as he knew that Zenia and Vaughn had boarded the ship and sailed away. Ruvin was with Ovid the entire time for his training. He was pressing for time. They must return to Tissuria the soonest. Zander received a message from Redivo asking for the Mortelium plant. The Head Pharmacist and Doctor Odessa were already asking for it to save Doctor Hugo. They said that it was urgent.

'Odessa… It sounded similar to Odeka's name. I wonder how she is now and where is she?'

Zander ran his finger on the ribbon that was wrapped around the hilt of his sword. He searched the whole Maecaea for her, but he did not find her. He met her in one of his expedition when he was still a young general, and she was still a medical student. He told her that she was from Prazia but when Zander tried to find her there, no one knew her at all. He looked for her in every medical school in Prazia, but he did not find even her shadow.

Their teams were supposed to go together to another village when her team was ordered to return. Zander did not pay attention when the medical team from a certain kingdom was introduced to them. A young, beautiful woman with a rather fierce personality caught his eyes. She helped him bandage his wound when the medical team encountered a ferocious beast. It was Zander who saved them. The young woman looked so fierce, but she was so gentle when she bandaged his wound. He knew that she would be an amazing doctor someday.

He could still remember when he told her to be his maid, and she got so angry that she cursed him. But, Zander thought that the way she cursed was so cute. She was trying to investigate a case that was similar to Zenia and Zekiah's condition at the time. He wanted to help her when she learned that his siblings got a similar case, but he couldn't help teasing her.

She never talked to him again and when he had decided to make peace with her, none of her team was left in their quarters. All he found was the ribbon that she used to wear on her hair. He picked it up and wrapped it around the hilt of his sword. Surprisingly, he found it easier to hold his sword with the ribbon.

He thought that he had given up on her a long time ago, but he never gave an order to stop looking for her. The men that he assigned to search for her did not stop searching for her. Zander gave them paltry data to work with. Her first name was uncertain, Zander did not know her last name, he did not know to which school she belonged, it was possible that she gave him the wrong kingdom where she came from, and her age was unknown. Even the sketch of her face, which Zander described, did not help at all.

The men went to different kingdoms hoping to find the first and only woman that Commander Zander ever liked, apart from his mother and sister. Zander kept the thing about the search from his family. He knew that they would only make a fuss over it. But lately, his mother was giving hints that she wanted to fill the Anisen Manor with Zander's biological children. Adoption was out of the question.

The search team followed every lead they got for the past several years, but they did not get anything when they reached the place. The age of every woman they thought to be Odeka did not match the age that the woman should be in, which was based on Zander's description. Only five of them were doctors and those five were way too old for Zander.

"Commander, the team that you assigned for the highly-confidential search sent a message that they have unverified information of the woman's whereabouts." Higgs came rushing to Zander as soon as one of the search team told him the news.

Zander looked at Higgs and asked impatiently, "Where?"

"Tissuria."

Zander smirked. Even if it was unverified information, he could check it out himself.

"Tell the team that they don't need to check it for me. It looks like I need to make a trip to Tissuria much earlier than expected."

Higgs looked at Zander and just scratched his head.