Chapter 255 - Paying the King of Tissuria a Visit (Part 2)

Vaughn was about to send a signal to the guards of the gates when Zenia stopped him.

"We still don't know if the Ninth Prince has no secret spies around. Let's go in without notifying anyone. I'll just let Thunderbolt go through the main gates. Your guards should be able to understand everything."

Vaughn smiled and agreed, "Let's do that then."

"Have you mastered the light-foot technique?"

"I guess. I haven't tried it yet, but I already grasped the principle behind it. I should be able to pull it off," Vaughn tilted his head up and smiled smugly at his wife.

"Pah! Let's see about that," Zenia sneered at him and jumped to the wall while Thunderbolt was still running.

Vaughn was caught by surprise but recovered quickly. He chuckled and followed suit. He had a hard time keeping up, but Zenia found it impressive. He just learned it not too long ago, and he could do it without much effort.

They landed on the balcony of their room. No one noticed their arrival or no one dared to investigate since Thunderbolt was there. Vaughn's men already knew the mischievous side of their Crown Princess.

Redivo came running to the couple's room. Before he could knock, Vaughn already opened the door.

"Well hello there, Redivo!"

"You br… Your Highness, you're finally here," he was supposed to say the word 'brat' when he noticed that Zenia was also in the room.

"Come in, and let's discuss what happened here."

Redivo entered the room, and Vaughn did not bother switching on the lights. Yes, there was already electricity in the Capital of Tissuria using their latest technologies while Ishelon was still relying on their hydro-electric power. The provinces of Tissuria still relied on their wind power to supply them with electricity. They had no choice but use their lamps at night when the wind was not as strong as it should.

It took them almost five hours to discuss the things that happened in Tissuria while Vaughn and Zenia were away. They combined the reports that Redivo received and the information that General Dietrich had gathered. Vaughn and Zenia looked at each other and nodded – they should pay King Tarendino a visit and see for themselves.

Outside, Damien's men were monitoring the Palace of the Crown Prince. They did not notice the arrival of Vaughn and Zenia, but they saw Thunderbolt. They thought that Thunderbolt was one of the horses in the Crown Prince's stable.

"I will call the maids to attend to you," Redivo suggested.

"No need. It's best if they knew nothing. I still need to go out for a bit."

"Where are you going?" Vaughn did not expect that Zenia would say something like that.

"Oh, I just want to inspect something. By the way, is Verone behaving well while we were away?" Zenia turned her head and asked Redivo.

"That… I put her and her maids in the dungeon."

"The dungeon? What did she do?"

"She kept asking about the Crown Prince's return, and she was being difficult. I had no other way but to put her there to make her shut up."

"Hmm, what is she doing now?"

Redivo took a deep breath and continued, "I gave her something that would calm her down and make her sleep almost through the day."

"And her maids?"

"I gave them the same thing."

"Well, if it works, then I don't find anything wrong with that," Zenia smiled at Vaughn.

"If you say so," Vaughn turned to Redivo and added, "Continue the treatment until we've decided what to do with her."

Zenia smiled and did not say anything. She was satisfied with Vaughn's decision. He said 'we' and that means she was a part of the team that would decide Verone's fate.

Honestly, she thought Verone was amusing. She hated Verone but not to the point that she wanted her dead. She could deal with her enemies easily, what could a mere woman like Verone possibly do to her?

Zenia walked to Vaughn's wardrobe and looked around. She remembered seeing a black shirt and pants that were about her size. She had a hunch that Vaughn wore them when he was a teenager. Zenia pulled them out and looked at them. The pair of pants was shorter than she imagined, but she did not mind. She planned to wear her riding boots.

Vaughn dismissed Redivo and walked to where Zenia was. She took out another outfit and was satisfied with her choice. She gave the second outfit to Vaughn.

"What's this for?"

"We will go to the Main Palace early in the morning, and you need to wear something ordinary."

"But, you're going in that riding outfit. How come I need to look ordinary?"

"Either you come as my attendant or my mistress – choose one."

"I will gladly become your attendant," Vaughn smiled sweetly at Zenia as he snatched the outfit.

"I will not go there in my riding outfit. I will dress as a young merchant offering different types of herbs," Zenia winked at Vaughn.

"Are you going to the Royal Apothecary now?"

"Yup."

"The Head Pharmacist may still not be there," Vaughn reminded Zenia.

"Lewis."

"What?"

"Lewis, the Head Pharmacist's name is Lewis Cordove. Seriously, you need to remember and call people by their names and not by their profession."

"Then Lewis it is! Lewis must be in Solaria by now. It would take a couple of days to reach the capital if he is riding a fast carriage."

"Doctor Hugo is there. He can help me gather the medicinal plants to present to the Royal Doctors. I'm sure they won't be able to resist the plant called Mortelium."

Zenia changed her outfit and jumped from the balcony of their room. Vaughn sighed and knew that his wife would do more than just visit Doctor Hugo.

* * * * * 

Zenia and Vaughn got up before the sun had risen. They used their light-foot technique to leave the Palace of the Crown Prince. They left Thunderbolt behind. They went to the Royale Palace Inn and met Mathilda, who arranged for the carriage that they were supposed to ride. The assigned coachman was one of the stewards of Royale Palace Inn.  

Zenia, disguised as the young master of a merchant family, and Vaughn, disguised as the attendant, rode a carriage that most merchants would use. Zenia even put fake beard and mustache on Vaughn.

When they reached the gates of the Main Palace, a guard stopped them. Vaughn recognized the guard as one of Damien's men. Vaughn smirked and waited for the kind of drama that his wife would play.

"Everyone is forbidden to enter the Main Palace. You need to go back, young sir." The guard was keen on sending Zenia and Vaughn back to where they came from.

"That's too bad. I heard that the Royal Doctors are looking for Mortelium plant, which my merchant family has been cultivating recently. What we have may be enough for the Royal Doctors' requirement."

Zenia stressed out the name of the plant that she wanted to present. The guard's initial demeanor changed slightly when he heard the name of the plant.

"Did you say Mortelium plant?" The guard became more interested than before.

Although he was serving the Ninth Prince, the guard's loyalty was with the Left Minister. He knew that his true master had been looking for that plant for a long time. He did not know what the plant looked like, and he decided to let Zenia and Vaughn enter the Main Palace. He would send out a word to the Left Minister once he verified that the plant was real.

"Young Master, can you show me the plant?"

"Gladly."

Zenia took out the box of Mortelium plant and presented it to the guard. When the guard opened the box, he was surprised to see that it contained the plant similar to the one they found in the forest of Solaria. But, the pharmacist of the Left Minister told them that it was not the one they were looking for. The plant bore similarities with Mortelium. Only an expert in distinguishing the difference between the two plants could point it out.

"You just need to follow this path, Young Master," the guard pointed the way and continued, "and you will reach the office of the Head Royal Doctor. He should be able to tell you whether they would be interested in buying your plants."

"Thank you, sir. I will never forget your kindness." Zenia tossed a gold coin to the guard who accepted it happily.

There was nothing wrong with Zenia's action. Every merchant would do that each time they would be given an opportunity to do business with the Royal Family. At that moment, the guard just allowed Zenia to earn some money.

"I couldn't believe that you even know how to act like a true merchant," Vaughn teased Zenia.

"My dear, I am a true merchant. I used to travel the whole continent looking for some good materials. I know the ins and outs of business deals." She sounded arrogant when she said those words, but Vaughn was not offended when he hears it.

"Are you really going to sell the Mortelium plant to them?"

"Of course! How else can we weed out the traitors among those doctors?"

"You also think that there are traitors among them?"

"It's impossible that there's none. I think there are more traitors than loyal supporters of the King."

Vaughn kept quiet and did not say anything anymore. He was really glad that he met Zenia that day when they were still very young. He was glad that he did not give up on her and decided to spend his life with her forever.