Chapter 190 - Meeting You Again

Duke Gordon looked at Rodham before he sipped his coffee. In Prazia, coffee was the most preferred drink of people. Prazia also served the best coffee in the whole continent. Visitors who were used to drinking tea did not like the bitter taste of the coffee.

"You may not recognize that couple, but I can. I did not imagine that I will be able to see them here."

"What couple Young Duke?"

"That couple over there," Duke Gordon pointed to the direction of Vaughn and Zenia, "They were the ones that we encountered in Solaria."

"You mean the Young Madam that you are interes…" Rodham suddenly covered his mouth with his hands.

The thing about Duke Gordon's attraction to Zenia was a taboo subject that must not be mentioned in front of him. He had a clear understanding of that attraction when the man he had a meeting in Prazia explained everything to him. He was also beginning to feel the power of dark magic. His ability to recognize a person's origin and true appearance had increased tremendously.

"As I said before, I know now that I was not attracted to the Young Madam as a person. I was attracted to her spirit's purity – nothing more, nothing less. When her husband left through the window that night, I sensed the purity of her spirit more clearly than before. That being said, I hope you will not spout nonsense to my family again. In this life, it is my destiny to grow old alone."

"I understand Young Duke. I promise that I will never leave your side even you are too old to walk."

"Rodham, you are much older than me. It would be you who will first find it hard to walk, and I might be the one to help you."

"I forgot that I'm older than the Young Duke. With your intelligence and insights, I sometimes think that I am talking to an old fella."

"Should I take that as a compliment?"

"Of course, of course, Young Duke. I am your loyal servant forever. Should we go over the table of the Young Madam and her husband?"

"How can you tell that the man is really her husband? He could be her bodyguard."

"You don't know this, Young Duke, but I have this ability to see whether the relationship between a man and woman is real or not. Right now I can tell that the man and the Young Madam are real husband and wife."

"If you have such an ability, why didn't you detect it before when we were in Solaria? You even told my old man about it."

"He-he, my power does not work every time, but this time I'm sure that those two are husband and wife. It's a good thing that Your Grace is not really attracted to the Young Madam."

"I wonder why they keep pretending to be someone else. Are they criminals or spies?"

Duke Gordon observed the couple while Rodham began eating his meal. The dishes that Vaughn had ordered finally arrived. Zenia's eyes shone with delight.

She did not wait for Vaughn to put food on her plate and began digging in.

"Let's hurry up. We might be late, and I don't want to keep Madam Bisset waiting."

"Slow down, you might choke. Here, drink some water," Vaughn handed her a glass of water, which she took immediately.

Zenia coughed lightly to clear her throat. She almost choked on her food. She began eating again as soon as she cleared her throat. But, she began to feel annoyed by the intense gaze of the Duke.

"Ahh!" Zenia finally lost it and slammed her eating utensils on the table.

She rose to her feet, and her action surprised Vaughn. She did not say anything to her husband when she walked to the direction of the Duke's table. Duke Gordon smirked. He did not expect that the Young Madam had sharp senses.

Zenia stood high and mighty in front of the Young Duke.

"Sir, I don't want to be rude, but you have been staring at us for a long time now. It bothers me," Zenia had decided to say it directly.

Vaughn followed Zenia. When he saw Duke Gordon, he had a feeling that the man was someone he should not underestimate. Even though he did not feel any ill intent from the Duke, he knew that he should be on guard.

"I did not know that Young Madam could have such a straightforward personality." Duke Gordon flashed a friendly smile.

"I'm sorry, sir, but have we met before?"

"You don't need to be so guarded against me, Madam. Please be seated since you're here already," Duke Gordon turned to face Vaughn, "You too, gentleman, please be seated. I think I owe you an explanation. You must've guessed who I am."

Vaughn thought that Duke Gordon's smile was blinding, "Yes, if I'm not mistaken, you're Duke Gordon."

"That is correct. Please take your seats. I can assure you that I am not your enemy."

Zenia took her seat and commented, "But, we're still not sure if you are a friend." Zenia turned to Vaughn and asked, "Is he the one who sent the message in Solaria?"

"Yes."

"Since you have guessed that we are wearing a disguise, may I ask how you were able to tell? Our disguise can be considered flawless. Even my mother did not recognize me."

Rodham did not like Zenia's words and seemingly lack of respect for Duke Gordon. He was about to give her a piece of his mind when Duke Gordon stopped him.

"You can say that I have the ability to see the origin and real face of a person. I'm sure that the gentleman had already investigated my background. I believe in science, but I am also fascinated by dark magic."

"Why?"

"What do you mean why, gentleman?"

"Why do you want to learn dark magic?"

"I have to admit that I was only curious at first and that curiosity led me to read more about the subject. But, I was so enthralled by what I read and wanted to know more. I went to Prazia because I learned that there are people who practice dark magic. But, I failed for so many times to meet someone who could teach me more about it."

"Is it before or after you met us in Solaria?" Zenia was getting more and more interested.

"When I saw you in Solaria that day defending a young man, we've just returned from Prazia. Fortunately, I finally met someone who explained the things that had been bugging me ever since I learned about dark magic. I had already lost count of the number of times that I visited this kingdom. Some kind of force seems to pull me back here time and again, and here I am once more." Duke Gordon looked at Vaughn and sighed.

"This may sound like something that a frivolous man would utter, but I was drawn to the Young Madam's purity. The man who explained everything to me about dark magic told me that I may encounter someone with a pure spirit and I will be drawn to that person. All people who practice dark magic have the same tendency. I was supposed to return to the capital when I received a very urgent message telling me to go to Prazia. I knew then that it was from the man who gave me a proper introduction to dark magic. He was also the one who explained that the reason why I was drawn to the Young Madam was because of her pure spirit."

"Are you saying that you are not really attracted to my wife as a woman but because of her pure spirit?"

"That is correct, gentleman. You don't need to worry about me snatching your wife for I am not such a person, although I must admit that the Young Madam is a very beautiful and charming woman. She could easily attract a man of noble background. I may know your face and the kingdom you truly belong to, but I can never guess who you really are."

Vaughn somehow felt annoyed when the Duke said that he was not attracted to Zenia as a woman, 'My Zenzen, not attractive? She's the most beautiful woman on the entire continent!'

But as soon as he thought of that, he suddenly realized that it was a good thing that Duke Gordon was not really attracted to his little devil. The sudden change in Vaughn's expression and disposition did not escape Zenia's discerning eyes. Just a while ago, her husband seemed to be getting ready to pounce on someone.

"Are you here to meet someone?"

"Actually, I am trying to escape from the man that explained dark magic to me. He sought my help because he knows that I can combine science and dark magic. That man wants me to help them improve the strength-enhancing elixir that a certain local pharmacy had developed. They tried imbuing the elixir with dark magic to make the effect of the pill permanent, but something went wrong. The test subjects began to display disturbing behavior similar to that of a rampaging beast. I witnessed it with my own eyes."

"How can they put dark magic in the elixir?"

"He said that there should be someone who must be sacrificed. That person must possess a pure spirit, which they would trap in a sort of array created by magic."

"Did they able to?"

Duke Gordon nodded his head, "They did, but they must have done something wrong in their execution. They were able to infuse the dark magic in the pill, but the recipient of the pill turned into something similar to a monster. The test subjects retained their human features, but their behavior is worse than a ferocious beast."