Chapter 262 - Gathering the Forces (Part 1)

"Greetings, grandfather," Odette stood up upon seeing the approaching Left Minister and curtsied.

"What brings you here, my granddaughter?" He greeted back with a smile and motioned for her to sit down.

If it was the Ninth Prince, the Left Minister wouldn't show that kind of face to his grandson. Currently, it was Odette who could provide him with great benefits. She is, after all, the first daughter of the King of Prazia. She could inherit the throne someday since King Odhran did not appoint any of his wives as the Queen of Prazia. There was no legitimate heir, and the first-born child would naturally fill up that position.

Odette told the Left Minister the content of the report that Damien was supposed to get. The Left Minister sneered, and then laughed out loud.

"Based on the report, victory will soon be ours."

"Are you going to take back what's rightfully yours, grandfather?"

The Left Minister gave his granddaughter a mocking smile and uttered, "I will not only take back everything that originally belongs to me, but I will also conquer the whole Maecaea. I can give Vaughn the Kingdom of Tissuria when he agrees to marry you."

Odette could not believe what she heard, and her eyes widened. She stood up, walked to her grandfather, and hugged him.

"Thank you so much, grandfather. I know you love me the most."

The Left Minister hugged her back while thinking, 'That's because you're the most useful to me right now.'

Odette sneered and thought, 'Grandfather, I will soon know what you have been keeping from me. I will do anything for you as long as you can promise me that I can truly become Vaughn's beloved wife.'

* * * * *

Vaughn and Zenia stayed in their room at the Royale Palace Inn. They received reports from Redivo that some suspicious individuals had been spotted, and the direction they were taking seemed to be Lunaria. Damien's men were not alarmed at all. They must've thought that those people were clients of Luna Inn. They were short on funds, and they hoped to get a big client that would provide them with the needed money. 

Zenia smiled and knew that General Dietrich was on top of things. General Dietrich already knew where to place the men and what they needed to do. Vaughn was mesmerized by Zenia's smile.

'I think I know what this little devil is thinking.'

He did not ask Zenia about it, and they continued reading the report. She already got her needle launcher and prepared the poisoned needles. They were just waiting for the appointed day to fetch the crossbows from the shop of the Master Weaponsmith.

* * * * *

There was an urgent message from General Dietrich, and Zander reluctantly received it. His eyes widened when the message began with a call for reinforcements to help the Junior Commander.

Odessa was at Zander's side and read the message.

"Zenzen…" She gasped.

She did not finish reading the message and stood up quickly. She was about to run when Zander stopped her.

"Where are you going?"

"I need to prepare our things. Zenzen might need our help. We need to depart for Tissuria right this minute."

Zander felt warm inside and somewhat jealous of his little sister. There was no pretense in the reaction of his wife. She had been taken by Zenia's cuteness.

He rubbed his chin and thought to himself, 'Yes, I should not blame my wife or my little sister. No one will be able to resist my Zenzen's charm.'

"Calm down. This General Dietrich is sometimes a worry-wart. He did not even say that Zenzen is in danger. He just wants me to send reinforcements now because he fears that many soldiers of Tissuria already betrayed the king."

"Still, we can't just sit here and do nothing. I know that Zenzen is strong but if your General is already asking for back-up this early, aren't you curious?"

Zander sighed, "I know. I will go there and lead the way, but you must stay here to prevent Mother from worrying. No one must know the reason, although I doubt if we can really hide anything from mother."

"I know what to do. I will keep Mother busy," Odessa assured her husband and then went to her things.

She rummaged through her medicine kit and smiled when she found what she was looking for. She went back to Zander and handed him a small vial.

"What's this?"

"It's a special cure-all elixir that my teacher once concocted. Please give that to Zenzen. She might need that, just in case."

The bottle was already old, but Odessa did not seem to have opened it even once. He looked at his wife lovingly.

Odessa joked, "What? You think it's an aphrodisiac?"

Zander flashed a mischievous smile and went closer to his wife and whispered in her ear, "I will go help Zenzen now, but you need to be ready once I get back."

Zander seized Odessa's lips and gave her a passionate, endearing kiss. He only stopped when she began to gasp for breath. He kissed her forehead and walked out of the room.

"Prepare my horse!" Zander shouted to one of his men.

Zander walked to the direction of the training ground where Ovid was. He decided to see his father first while Odessa was left all alone in their room with crimson cheeks.

Ovid was supervising the training of the new recruits. They decided to separate the training ground of the new soldiers to prevent them from comparing their skills with the veterans. Zander explained to Ovid everything.

"Does your mother know?"

"No, I think it's best if she doesn't know anything. She will eventually find out for sure, but for now, let us hide this from her."

"Hmm, she might even force me to go there and save her only daughter. I am willing to do that, but Zenzen is already married. Vaughn's pride might get trampled on. He's a man after all. It is something that your mother might never understand among us men."

"Right, father. That brat is indeed very capable, and he loves our Zenzen very much. I hate to admit it, but we may never get our Zenzen back. I don't think Vaughn will agree to divorce."

"I also think Zenzen will not allow it. She already acknowledged him as her lawful husband. When will you go?"

"As soon as I gathered the men I need."

"How about your wife?"

Zander sighed, "She's the one who is eager to go, but I told her to do something about mother."

Ovid laughed, "She and Zenzen really have a good relationship."

"Yes, she's Zenzen's first girl friend. She treats Zenzen as her own biological sister."

"That's good to hear."

"I'm taking my leave, father."

"Be careful out there. I guess Zekiah will tag along as well. Take care, all of you."

Ovid patted Zander's shoulder before he left.

Zander surprised everyone in the camp. They thought that their Commander would never abandon his wife for his little sister – they were wrong. Their admiration for the Junior Commander went a notch higher. They thought that their Commander would become a henpecked husband once he got married. Their admiration for their Commander also went a notch higher for keeping his wife to her proper spot and never touched the spot that the Junior Commander occupied in Zander's heart.

"Commander, what brings you here? We can handle this on our own. You're still on your honeymoon." It was Higgs who asked and teased Zander.

The gallant Commander glared at Higgs and proudly announced, "My little sister could be in trouble, and I need to be there with her at times of trouble. Besides, my wife told me to go."

Everyone's heightened admiration for their Commander went down a couple of notches. They admired their Junior Commander even more. She captivated even her sister-in-law!

Ruvin and Zekiah were in the camp and went to see Zander as soon as they heard that he arrived.

"Ruvin! It's great that you're here. Tell me about the soldiers of Tissuria."

"What about them?"

"In your estimate, how many of them will remain loyal to your Crown Prince?"

"Hmm, less than half of the entire military camp."

"How many guards are there in the Palace of the Crown Prince, including the shadow guards and spies?"

"At least one-third of the entire military camp of Tissuria," Ruvin answered anxiously and couldn't help but wonder when he added, "May I ask, Commander, why do you want to know all of these?"

Zander handed him the message along with the report of General Dietrich. He looked at Zander in disbelief.

"On the enemy's side, you also need to add the Left Minister's secret soldiers and the Dark Magic faction of Prazia. We don't know if the remaining loyal soldiers of Tissuria plus Vaughn's men would be enough to defend the kingdom in case the Left Minister tried to revolt. Zenzen's private army may not be enough, although each soldier of the private army can easily handle twenty men in the enemy's side."

"Are you going to lead your troop there?" Ruvin's eyes sparkled with delight.

"My sister needs me, of course, I have to be there."

"Yes, the Junior Commander needs us. We need to be by Junior Commander's side," everyone in the tent uttered simultaneously.

Ruvin did not expect that Zenia held a very powerful and important position in the Military Unit of Ishelon as well as in every soldier's heart. Otherwise, they wouldn't utter such words of loyalty.

"Let me join you, Commander Zander, I can help too."

"Zeze, are you going?"

"Of course! We don't know what Zenzen is planning, and I'm sure that I can be of help."

Zekiah had a hunch that Zenia might need him to disguise as her.

"Then it's all settled. Higgs, gather all the men that could easily subdue the enemies."

"Yes, Commander! I will go with you too."

"You can't!!" Zander and Zekiah answered simultaneously.

"Why? If I do not participate, I might continue to rust and become invalid."

"Who's going to take care of things here?"

"I will."

Everyone turned their heads to the source of the voice.