Chapter 210 - A Whirlwind Courtship (Part 2)

"Is there anything that we can present as proof that the Left Minister was the one who gave the King that hypnotic powder?" Zander knew that Vaughn was having a hard time convincing his father King about the Left Minister's misdeeds.

"Even if I testify, it may not be enough to convict the Left Minister. It is also possible that he still has the King under his control."

"But, he can't control the King completely, can he?"

"I suppose not. Otherwise, he should be the King of Tissuria now."

"Doctor Hugo, please make the antidote. We need to keep the King alive until Vaughn and Zenzen get here."

"I will try my best, but I cannot guarantee that it will give the desired effect."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm not exactly sure how long the King had been taking the hypnotic powder and how frequent. I don't know the dosage that the Left Minister had administered either. I will just do my best based on my estimates."

Odessa was a bit confused with Doctor Hugo's last remark, but she still nodded her head.

"Then I will trouble you, Doctor Hugo. I will tell my superiors that Lewis has agreed to concoct the medicine for them."

Odessa looked at Lewis, who pointed at himself and asked Odessa, "Me?"

"Yes, you! Who else should concoct the medicine but the Head Pharmacist?"

"Oh, right."

"I'm sure Zenzen does not want anyone to know that Doctor Hugo is staying here. Make sure that your people won't leak a thing."

"I promise to keep their mouths shut."

Zander just watched and did not say anything. He had no idea that Odessa was that fond of Zenia. Everything she did was in consideration of Zenia.

"I shall take my leave then."

She walked to where Zander was standing and took his arm. They walked side by side as they went out of Lewis' office.

Lewis sighed, 'It won't be long, and I will hear the wedding bells.'

Odessa invited Zander to ride with her in her carriage, and Zander gladly accepted the offer immediately. He instructed the coachman of the carriage that the Royale Palace Inn had provided for him to follow behind.

"Did you come to find me?" Odessa was smiling sweetly.

Zander looked away from Odessa and put his fist near his mouth as he coughed a bit. He did it to cover his blushing cheeks. He nodded his head and faced Odessa once more when he finally calmed himself.

"I went to see you in your manor, but Bar…Aunt Aggy told me that you went to the Royal Medical Clinic early in the morning. I decided to follow you there and wait by the gate, but I saw you in your carriage and followed you here."

Zander scratched his head. Just now, he seemed like a stalker. He hoped that Odessa did not mind it.

"Is there something urgent that you need me for? What is it?"

"I just realized that I've been visiting you in your home, but I haven't brought a gift. I went there to deliver it this morning and would like to ask you if you have a free schedule this week or the next. I want you to meet a couple of people."

"What is the thing you brought? Who are you going to introduce to me?"

Zander looked at Odessa and wanted to say, 'Your in-laws.'

Fortunately, he was able to stop his mouth from spouting something outrageous.

"I brought you a bolt of Ishelon silk. You may share it with Aunt Aggy. As for the people that I will introduce to you, just wait until you meet them in person."

Odessa looked at Zander suspiciously, but she did not find any abnormal reaction or awkward expression. Zander was just being…Zander.

"Okay. I will let you know as soon as I confirmed my schedule with my superiors. Thank you for your gift. I've really wanted to buy Ishelon silk for a long time now, but I want to go there personally to buy it."

"I hope you will like it. I don't know if your preference had changed. I chose the one with the same color as your ribbon."

Odessa knew that Zander used her ribbon to wrap around the hilt of his sword. He told her that the ribbon had provided a good grip, and it was durable.

"Young Miss, we are here already," the coachman notified Odessa when they reached the Royal Medical Clinic.

"Wait for me here. I won't be long." Odessa smiled sweetly at Zander, who was surprised at what he saw before she got off the carriage.     

Odessa went to the Royal Medical Clinic to report to her superiors. She told them that the Head Pharmacist would be able to concoct the antidote.

"However, it may not cure the King completely in one go. We need to make the King undergo a strict diet to help his body recover. The Head Pharmacist said that it may take weeks before the poison would be flushed out completely."

"Hmm, that is better than we expect. Did we nail it? I mean, did we list down the complete ingredients?" The head doctor was beaming when he asked Odessa.

She did not tell them that it was Doctor Hugo who would be concocting the antidote. She sighed and decided to come clean regarding the ingredients.

"The Head Pharmacist told me that he will add some more ingredients to make the antidote. Luckily, he has everything that he needs in the Royal Apothecary."

"What extra ingredients?"

Odessa looked at her seniors and answered, "I don't know. He did not tell me."

Well, she did not actually lie because Lewis did not mention it. However, she had a hunch that the missing ingredient was the Mortelium plant. They all knew that the Royal Apothecary had no Mortelium plant in the inner garden, and the last batch in storage was already used.

It was difficult to obtain the plant because it resembled a completely poisonous plant. Only those who were knowledgeable in identifying the different species of the plant could pick it without making any mistake. The doctors in the Royal Medical Clinic had no such skill. They could concoct medicine since each plant was properly doc.u.mented, and they were familiar with the effect of each one. But, the doctors had no ability to identify or classify the different plants when they see them for real.

The doctors relied on the expertise of the Head Pharmacist and his team when concocting the elixirs and pills. They would usually give the prescription, and the Royal Pharmacists would concoct it as given or would try to improve the formula. Likewise, the Royal Pharmacists could not diagnose the illness of a person. Doctor Hugo was one of the few doctors who could diagnose an illness and concoct the needed medicine.

"Oh, that's unfortunate. If we know the additional ingredient, it will help us a lot in our research."

The senior doctors wanted Odessa to ask the Head Pharmacist about the additional ingredient when they looked at her all at once. Odessa pretended that she did not notice anything.

'You stopped my promotion just because the King fell ill and now you all have the gall to help you with your work? Dream on!'

"I have done my part, please excuse me, seniors. I have a guest waiting for me."

Odessa did not wait for them to answer and just left the place. When she reached the gate, Zander could tell that she was in a hurry. He opened the door of the carriage immediately and helped her to get in.

"Coachman, let us be on our way," Zander was the one who gave the order.

"Yes, Commander," the coachman answered politely, and he couldn't help but smile.

'Ah, young lovers…'

* * * * *

Zander's message reached Renaria in record time. She read it immediately and gasped. She chuckled.

"Betina," Renaria called one of the maids, "Go to the storage and choose the finest tea set that we have. Pack it nicely, and I will give it as a gift to the aunt of my daughter-in-law."

'What do you know? It truly is the young lady he met before. Zenzen would be delighted.'

Renaria became solemn upon remembering Zenia. she sighed, 'I hope Zenzen and Vaughn are doing okay.'

"Madam?" Betina thought that she heard incorrectly.

In her recollection, neither Zander nor Zekiah had someone they planned to marry. In fact, in all of the years that she was staying with the Anisens, she never heard that the Young Masters had love interests.

Renaria laughed and just said, "There's nothing wrong with your ears. Zander will be bringing home a wife anytime soon. I will prepare a fine set of jewelry for my daughter-in-law."

"What daughter-in-law? Which son of yours?" Ovid's voice rang loud and clear.

Renaria kissed his cheek, a habit that she never failed to do. It was her way of welcoming Ovid home.

"It's your eldest son," Renaria put her arm around Ovid's waist and waved to Betina to be dismissed.

"Zander? I did not know that he has a woman he likes." Ovid put his arm around Renaria's shoulder

The couple walked side by side and trod the path to the garden.

"Remember the lady that Zenzen and I talked about?"

"What about her? I think she's a fine woman. She comes from a good family, and she's a doctor. Zander might be better off with her."

Renaria chuckled, "Silly father. The woman that he likes and the lady that Zenzen wants to introduce to him are one and the same."

Ovid stopped from walking and faced Renaria, "Really?!"

"Yes, it's true!"

"Imagine that… What a fortunate coincidence."

"That's why we need to hurry and go there at once."

"Hmm, we will bring along Zenzen's private army with us. They are ready."

"We can stay at the Royale Palace Inn for the time being. I will just send a short message to Queen Mina and tell her that we are on the official business of winning a daughter-in-law."