Chapter 209 - A Whirlwind Courtship (Part 1)

Zander did not know when he fell asleep, but he felt rejuvenated. He had a hunch that something big might happen soon but before its arrival, he must act quickly or he might lose his chance once more.

He got up and did not waste any more time. He called out one of his men and gave an order.

"Send a message to my mother…" Zander was not able to finish what he was supposed to say when his subordinate interrupted him.

"The Madam and not Master?" The one receiving his order could still not believe what he heard.

Zander massaged his forehead. He was expecting such a reaction. There was no need for him to hide anything. He knew Higgs must have confessed already. Zekiah was right all along – they wouldn't be able to hide anything from their mother.

"Yes, my mother, Madam Anisen, the Big Boss of our household. Send a message to her that she and Father should go to Tissuria to meet their daughter-in-law. She should do everything in her power to make sure that she will be bringing home a daughter-in-law. Tell my father to bring along Zenzen's private army. He can decide how to bring the private army along."

"Yes, Commander."

After eating breakfast, he went to see Zekiah. He had been visiting Odessa for quite some time now, but he never brought her anything. He was hoping to find something from the gifts that Renaria had prepared previously.

"Do you think this one is the best?" Zander asked Zekiah when he rummaged through the gifts.

"How should I know? I have never given a gift to a girl before. I only received gifts but never gave one." Zekiah declared proudly.

Ruvin rolled his eyes as he listened to the conversation between the Anisen brothers. He noticed some bolts of fabric and knew immediately what it was – the famous Ishelon silk. Renaria must have liked Odessa based on Zenia's description. Besides, Zenia liked the junior tigress very much. The bolt of Ishelon silk already cost a fortune, and Renaria threw in three of them.

The brothers must be used to seeing Ishelon silk in their manor that they forgot how much the silk worth outside of Ishelon. The silk was already expensive in Ishelon, and its price was tripled outside.

" Erhem , why don't you just give a bolt of that Ishelon silk for a start," Ruvin could no longer take it and made a suggestion.

The brothers looked at each other and found it silly. Why did they not think of the famous Ishelon silk? Even their mother gifted it to Queen Mina, who was so happy in receiving it.

Zander went to get the bolts of silk. He gathered the three bolts and was about to carry it when Ruvin stopped him.

"Elder Brother, what do you think you're doing?"

"I'm bringing these bolts of silk to Odessa. They are hers anyway."

Ruvin shook his head.

"A bolt of that costly silk will do. You look like you're flaunting your riches if you bring in three bolts at once. We all know how expensive one bolt of Ishelon silk is."

"But we can afford to buy this type of silk, and it is not that expensive when you buy it in Ishelon."

'Not expensive, my foot! That's because you don't need to worry about money.'

"I know you can afford it, but the young tig… I mean Doctor Odessa might misunderstand. She's not someone materialistic after all."

"Is that so?" Zander turned to Zekiah and threw the two bolts to him.

Zekiah was caught by surprise and tried to catch the bolts of silk thrown to him.

"Hey, my body is not as sturdy as yours," he couldn't help but complain to his Big Brother.

"You have been training well. I know that you can handle that."

Zander walked away from the two men. Ruvin yelled after him.

"Make sure to wrap it nicely before you give it to her."

Zander just waved his hand and continued to walk away from them.

"Do you think he will wrap it himself? I hope he will see the gift shop and get someone to wrap it for him."

Zekiah just shrugged his shoulders. "If he failed to get Doctor Odessa, Zenzen might beat him to death," Zekiah sneered as he imagined Zenia beating their Big Brother.

Ruvin shook his head and decided to visit Redivo in the Palace of the Crown Prince. Before he went on his way, he turned around and asked Zekiah.

"Do you want to tag along?"

"To the Palace of the Crown Prince?"

"Yeah."

"As me?"

"If you don't want to go as you, wear your prosthetics."

"Nah, go ahead. I think I need to be somewhere else."

Ruvin could not understand what he meant and just shrugged his shoulders. He went back to the Royale Palace Inn and told Mathilda to prepare a horse for him.

* * * * *

Odessa went to see Lewis in the Royal Apothecary. A steward from the Royal Medical Clinic was sent to see her early in the morning. Baroness Munchefort had to wake her up ahead of time. It was still too early for Odessa to get up, but she had no choice.

The senior doctors instructed her to meet the Royal Pharmacist and see if he could concoct the medicine for King Tarendino. The senior doctors had discovered the poison in the King's body. It was deeply embedded in his bones. They finally decided to conduct a different type of test after Odessa voiced out her hunch a few months ago.

Odessa was not interested in gaining fame, but the senior doctors were too proud to admit that they made a mistake in judgment. They sent Odessa to the Royal Apothecary with their written prescription.

When Odessa looked at it, she knew that it was missing something to make it more effective. 

'What is missing in this prescription?'

Lewis was administering Doctor Hugo's medicine when Odessa arrived in the Royal Apothecary. Doctor Hugo was starting to get better, and his color was returning to normal. Meredith was with him.

"How is Doctor Hugo? Is the elixir effective?"

"Of course! Doctor Hugo made some modifications," Lewis held his nose up high while saying those words.

Odessa paid him no mind and ask Doctor Hugo directly, "How are you feeling, Doctor Hugo?"

"I never felt better in years," Doctor Hugo answered with vigor and noticed the prescription that Odessa was holding, "What is that?"

Odessa showed him the prescription, and Doctor Hugo's eyes widened.

"This is an incomplete prescription for an antidote."

Odessa and Lewis looked at each other.

"Antidote for what?"

"The hypnotic powder."

"Who will give the King a hypnotic powder?"

"What hypnotic powder?" Zander suddenly barged in.

Lewis looked at him and felt annoyed, but he could not simply tell him to go out. The guard outside must have known that he was Zenia's brother and the Commander of the Ishelon Military Unit. The guard let Zander in.

Doctor Hugo looked at Zander from head to foot. "It's you! I remember you. When you visited me before with your father, you were still so young."

"Hello, Doctor Mion. How are you now?"

"I am fine now, thanks to that young lady."

"Young lady?"

"Oh, I mean the Crown Princess."

"What's this about the hypnotic powder?"

"I once worked in the Left Minister's pharmacy business in Prazia. Franco and I developed that hypnotic powder. I knew that the Left Minister will use it for his criminal activities."

"Are you saying that the Left Minister is the one responsible for poisoning the King?" Odessa asked in disbelief.

She knew that the Left Minister was capable of employing unscrupulous means to achieve his goals, but she did not expect that he would poison the King. It was a slow-acting poison. 

Doctor Hugo nodded his head. "What are the symptoms of the King's illness?"

Odessa told Doctor Hugo about King Tarendino's behavior and symptoms. Doctor Hugo would nod his head every now and then. He was expecting such behavior and symptoms. Doctor Hugo explained further. 

The Left Minister is the only one who can administer it to the King. The Left Minister did not produce it commercially because he wanted something untraceable. The hypnotic powder's sole purpose was to hypnotize someone and obey the giver's orders. 

I warned him that he should not use it for a long time and must be given in low doses. The powder must be inhaled to make it effective. The residue of the powder sticks to the bones, but it usually disappears after a month. The residue can be flushed out of the body.

If the body of the host failed to flush out the residue, it turns into a poison that targets the energy source of the body. The host will soon feel lethargic and his mind keeps having different thoughts.

The King must've inhaled larger doses of the powder frequently over the years. His body may have managed to flush out the residue before, but it is different now. The amount of residue was too much for his body to handle. He must take the antidote immediately.

"Can you make the antidote, Doctor?" Odessa was worried about the King's health.

Even though Zander was not telling her anything, her gut feeling was telling her that Zenia and Vaughn could be in danger. When the King suddenly died and Vaughn couldn't be found, the Ninth prince might usurp the throne. Among the remaining princes, Damien was the only one with the capability to take the throne. Plus, the Left Minister was his grandfather.

Odessa wanted to keep King Tarendino alive for Vaughn and Zenia's sake until they returned. After that, King Tarendino could just die. He was not a good King anyway.

"I can try, but I cannot guarantee if it will work. The poison has already spread, and I am not sure about the damage caused by the poison."