Chapter 243 - Journey to Ishelon

Damien and his men waited the whole day, and they did not see the Left Minister - not even his shadow. In anger, Damien spent his time drinking bottle after bottle of alcohol to drown his frustrations. When he got drunk, he went to the Left Minister's estate and caused a ruckus.

The people in the estate, especially the Left Minister's concubines, were terrified when the Ninth Prince began to smash things. He was so drunk that no one could stop him from destroying anything in his path. Olvido just watched him and sneered. It would be more favorable to Princess Odette if the Left Minister learned how the Ninth Prince trashed his place.

Odette already knew that there was a change in the Left Minister's arrival date, but she told Olvido not to let any of Damien's men take hold of the information. Olvido reported what happened in the Left Minister's estate, and Odette had a good laugh.

"That fool will never know where he went wrong even if he tries to figure things out. He can only blame himself for all his misfortunes. He is probably the most stupid person of intellect that I have known. He puts his trust in the wrong people."

Odette looked at Olvido, who bowed his head. He knew that Odette still doubted his loyalty toward her. After all, he betrayed the Ninth Prince to serve Princess Odette. Olvido was uncertain whether Odette knew that he had feelings for her.  

The Left Minister reached Tissuria two days behind his scheduled date of arrival. Everything in his estate had returned to how it used to be. It did not seem like Damien did something despicable to the estate. Odette ordered the immediate cleanup, which moved Damien. He thought that his little sister cared so much about him. 

Odette was already certain that the Left Minister had already thrown Damien to the side. She made sure that the incident wouldn't reach the Left Minister's ears. She specifically told the Left Minister's concubines and servants to shut their mouths. She was not doing Damien a favor. She just didn't want the Left Minister to waste time in reprimanding Damien and delay their plan further.

As expected upon his arrival, the Left Minister ordered his men not to disturb him because he wanted to sleep longer for a few days before resuming his post. Queen Mina and King Tarendino already knew that he had already returned to his estate.

King Tarendino clenched his fist upon learning the Left Minister's return. He wanted to go there immediately and let him sample a knuckle sandwich a la king. Queen Mina tried her best to quell the King's anger.

"He's the reason why I and my son had a bad relationship, why can't I take care of him myself?"

"Taren…"

"I know, I will not do anything that might leak our plan. I don't think he will resume office right away, especially if he knows that he has a lot of time to relax while I'm still sleeping."

"I'm sure he will act immediately."

King Tarendino shook his head, "He will first gather all his supporters and allies. They will plan how they will takeover Tissuria. I'm sure that Vaughn and Zenia will be here already by the time the enemies had decided to make their move. He had been planning that for a long time now. I wonder what stopped him from making his move before."

"Did he find something that could give him better benefits?"

King Tarendino looked at his wife and began to wonder.

* * * * *

Zenia and Vaughn did their best to be good hosts for their guests. Vaughn would sometimes help Zenia in the kitchen, and Jorick was there too. He wanted to learn how to prepare some of the dishes that Zenia served to them. Rodham and Duke Gordon were the ones responsible for delivering the ingredients that Zenia would use.

Richaem recognized Vaughn, and they talked about the pure spirit thing.

"Sir, from what I understand, a person with a pure spirit, like yours, can help the Marquis open the barrier and explore the other continents. We are actually imprisoned within the barrier that prevents us from exploring other places."

"What about the connection with the secret soldiers?"

"They are developing some kind of drug that should be imbued with the life essence of a person with pure spirit using dark magic. But, I think it's not conclusive. But, the Marquis will indeed use the life essence of the person with pure spirit for some other reason. Sir, you need to lose the purity of your spirit."

"How?"

Richaem looked at Vaughn and blushed a bit.

"I heard that you need to be tainted."

"Tainted? How?"

"This… I am not really sure how, but I often hear the others would tease a member who came of age to have been tainted after he went to the brothel."

Vaughn almost choked on his saliva when he heard it. Zenia was listening not far from them and heard everything loud and clear. She almost cut off her finger.

"Zenia, what happened to you?" Jorick whispered when he saw Zenia suddenly stood still.

"It's nothing, go back to work."

"Zenzen, are the dishes ready yet?" Wolstan asked without a care in the world.

Roy wanted to hide somewhere and denounce their friendship. Even though Zenia was his great-granddaughter-in-law, she was still considered as the hostess. He should stop acting as if he owned the ship and everything.

"Grandpa, in a while I will serve them," Zenia answered politely.

"Okay, I will make us some drinks."

"Drinks?"

"Grandpa knows many delicious drinks. When we were in Luna Inn, the guys would often request for one of his concoctions."

"Oh, that would be lovely then…" Zenia smiled at Jorick and went back to work.

* * * * *

The day that the Anisens should return to Ishelon had finally come. Zander and the rest of the Anisens were getting ready. They promised Baroness Munchefort and Odessa that they would pick them up and be on their way.

Renaria asked them to bring along a few important items that would make their stay in Ishelon more comfortable. She assured them that they did not have to worry about other things. Queen Mina, who was given permission by King Tarendino, had assigned a few Royal Guards to the Munchefort estate. Odessa requested for it.

Baroness Munchefort was afraid that Odessa's stepfather might return and do something to their manor while they were away. He kept arguing that his wife also had rights to the Munchefort Estate. The Baroness already explained to him that it was her, the Baroness, who acquired the estate by her own hands, not her brother. It was not even an ancestral property. It was also one of the reasons why Odessa had decided not to reconcile with her mother.

The Anisens finally arrived at the Munchefort Estate, Ruvin was also there. Zekiah was surprised to see him there but did not say anything.

"Greetings, Master." Ruvin bowed his head slightly to Ovid when he saw him.

"Is it really okay for you to join us?"

Zekiah was not able to control himself when he suddenly asked, "You're coming with us? You don't have any business there."

"Zeze, don't be rude. Ruvin is your elder brother since your father had decided to take him in as his student." Renaria rubbed Zekiah's head lightly.

She knew that Zekiah had not totally warmed up to Ruvin. She could tell that her youngest child was already beginning to accept Ruvin, but he could still be holding back because of Zenia. Zekiah knew that Zenia did not like Ruvin, but she could still tolerate Ruvin's presence. Renaria had no idea how to explain everything to Zekiah without causing any misunderstanding.

Ruvin smiled at Renaria and said, "It's fine, Madam Anisen. I know I still have a long way to go."

Ovid could tell that Ruvin had changed a lot, and he was beginning to act more his age. He also looked more responsible and there were no traces of his past irresponsible self.

"Odessa, is it okay to leave King Tarendino already? We can stay for a bit more if you want."

Odessa shook her head.

"Didn't you say that you already received a report that Zenzen is already on her way to Ishelon? I can't wait to see her reaction when she sees me," Odessa chuckled, and Zander found it very cute.

He gave a signal to his secret guard to come and whispered, "Send a message informing the people in the manor and the camp not to tell Zenzen about the woman I'm going to marry. They only need to say that I'm going to get married."

"Yes, Commander."

Zander grinned just by thinking of the possible ways that Zenia might do to his bride. She still did not know anything about his upcoming wedding.

'Imagine her surprise…'

* * * * *

Zenia was lying on their bed; face down, when Vaughn entered their room.

"Tired?" Vaughn asked his wife and planted a kiss on her head.

"Not really, but I want a massage," she uttered absentmindedly while keeping her eyes shut.

Vaughn smiled and began massaging Zenia's shoulders. Zenia was startled and tried to get up, but Vaughn stopped her.

"Don't move. Let me give you a massage. I know that you're always tired. Preparing all those dishes is hard. Let me do this for you."

She no longer argued and let him massage her.

"Vaughn, I love you…" She uttered those words before she dozed off.

Vaughn was surprised and smiled. He kissed Zenia's cheek before he continued massaging her.