Chapter 265 - The Dreadful Day (Part1)

"That was fast. It's much earlier than I anticipated. Do you think his secret soldiers are here?"

Vaughn waved his hand to dismiss Mathilda before answering his wife.

"I think they have."

"But, Redivo or General Dietrich did not send any report. Do you think they just arrived?"

"It's possible," Vaughn held Zenia's hand and led her to their room and added, "It's not convenient to talk here. Let us head upstairs to our room."

Before that, Vaughn beckoned Mathilda to bring their meals to their room. Mathilda nodded and went to the kitchen immediately.

Zenia removed her coat and decided to take a quick bath. Vaughn simply removed his coat and went to the table to clean it. He knew that Zenia was already hungry. He had been with her for a long time and already well-acquainted with her stomach.

Mathilda knocked on the door and opened it when she realized that it was already unlocked. She saw that the table had been cleaned, but Zenia was nowhere to be found. She smiled and knew that Vaughn was the one who cleaned the table.

The maids put the dishes on the table. The appetizing scent caught Zenia's nose, and she wore her comfortable clothes quickly after taking her bath.

When she got out of the changing area, Mathilda and the maids had already left. Vaughn was already sitting by the table and preparing her food.

"You've finished bathing? Come and eat while the dishes are still hot."

She smiled at her husband and sat beside him. She ate happily and did not notice that Vaughn was looking at her. He was thinking of how easy it was to please his wife. Good food and drinks plus not hiding anything from her were enough to make her happy.

'Oh, she also likes to travel. I should tell Redivo to find good places to visit so I can take her to those places after we finished dealing with the Left Minister.'

"I am thinking of visiting Redivo later and teach your men how to use the crossbow. We can proceed as planned. It's not that difficult to learn how to shoot and reload the crossbows."

"Do you plan to teach them all even though not all of them can use it?"

Zenia nodded her head when she answered, "Yes, each of them should know how to use the crossbow. We will add that weapon in your arsenal along with the other weapons that I plan to design."

"Aren't you nervous? We are clearly outnumbered when the battle begins. We saw the number of secret soldiers that the Left Minister is keeping in Prazia."

"I am a bit nervous but not afraid to face them. Somehow, I feel like help is on the way."

Vaughn looked at his wife and wanted to see whether she was only saying those words to make him feel at ease. What he saw was a confident woman who believed that help could be on its way. Even if Zander would give a helping hand, it would still be too late. It would take days to travel to Tissuria, and the Left Minister would be visiting the Main Palace again tomorrow.

"Did you think Azer used his teleportation spell to bring the secret soldiers here?"

"It's possible. I wonder what happened to them before."

"You mean when the portal suddenly closed or why they couldn't step out of the portal?"

"Both."

Zenia shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Beats me, but it's not longer my concern. I am thinking about how we can go home without being detected."

"We can make it appear like Royale Palace Inn is making a food delivery. We used to order some food here and make Mathilda deliver them. No one will suspect anything."

Zenia's eyes twinkled when she heard it and suddenly got slightly mad, and she tapped Vaughn's shoulder using the back of her hand.

She frowned slightly when she uttered, "Why didn't you mention that before? We could have used that excuse any time."

"I forgot…"

They have decided to use the excuse of delivering food to the Palace of the Crown Prince. They used the carriage that had a secret compartment beneath the floor. The carriage still looked like any ordinary carriage from the outside but inside the passengers need to bend their knees a bit to sit. It was a little uncomfortable, but Zenia and Vaughn could manage.

They dressed like workers from the Royale Palace Inn and joined Mathilda. Damien's men thought that it was the usual delivery. They did not find anything odd with the behavior of the people who boarded it and the carriage itself.

When they reached their destination, the guard led the carriage to the area where none of the Ninth Prince's spies could see. The guards were told that the carriage from the Royale Palace Inn must be escorted inside. The spies did not think that something was wrong and did not check on the carriage anymore.

Mathilda did not stay too long and left with the carriage. Vaughn told her to return in the morning to fetch him. He would make it appear like he just got to Tissuria through an unusual route. Zenia would follow him to the Main Palace later.

"Your Highness," Redivo greeted them at the front door of the main residence.

"Tell me everything about what you know regarding the Left Minister's plan for tomorrow."

Zenia's maids were also there and each of them was happy to see their master. Zenia excused herself and told her maids to prepare the dining hall that they rarely use. They would be having a meal together.

Vaughn told Redivo to assemble his men on the training ground. Before that, he ordered the assassination of all the spies surrounding the Palace of the Crown Prince and nearby areas. They already identified each and every one of them, but they did not want to alert the Ninth Prince.

The crucial time had arrived, and they could not afford any leakage. Verone and her maids were given extra doses of the sleeping pills to keep them snoring.

"Are we clear on the stations that you need to guard?"

"Crown Prince, what about the others? Do the soldiers in the Main Palace know this already?"

"There's no need for the soldiers in the palace to know anything. It will only compromise our position. You all know that most soldiers of Tissuria seem to favor the Left Minister. A small group from Ishelon will aid us."

The men tried their best to keep their thoughts to themselves. They knew how powerful the Ishelon soldiers were, but a few men from Ishelon may not be enough. They just hoped that everything would turn out fine. Most of them felt helpless already even before the fight had begun.

"Another thing… The Crown Princess will demonstrate to you all a weapon that can help us a lot. Make sure to learn it by tonight and tomorrow we will go into battle."

The men roared with delight, and their fighting spirit had increased by a hundredfold. They already knew Zenia's ability and had forgotten for a moment that they had a formidable Crown Princess by their side.

Zenia's maid went to the training ground and informed Redivo that the Crown Princes had prepared something to be shared by everyone. Redivo relayed the message to Vaughn, and they all went to the huge dining hall. Everyone enjoyed their meal. After an hour, they went to the training ground where Zenia showed them how to use and reload a crossbow.

It only took a couple of hours for the men to get used to handling the crossbows. They were amazed at the power of the new weapon. Vaughn explained the things that he and his wife had discussed at Royal Palace Inn.

"Everyone rest well. Tomorrow, we face a battle that we need to win. The safety of everyone in Tissuria depends on us. We cannot let the Left Minister and his supporters win. Tissuria will surely perish in their hands if we allow it to happen."

The crowd roared to show their support, and they dispersed quickly after that. They should be in the best condition by tomorrow.

Vaughn and Zenia went to their room and discussed their plan once more.

"General Dietrich must've talked to the Isehlon soldiers, including the members of my private army. You don't need to worry about a thing. They know what to do."

Zenia reassured Vaughn. She knew that Vaughn was a bit nervous. They still had no idea regarding the exact number of loyal soldiers in the Main Palace. She had a hunch that he must be worrying about his mother's safety.

"I know I can depend on you."

Vaughn pulled Zenia closer to him and hugged her tightly. All his worries and apprehension practically disappeared when he caught a whiff of Zenia's calming scent and felt the even beating of her heart.

* * * * *

"Left Minister, the secret soldiers are already stationed to the areas that you said. We will soon reap our victory, ha-ha-ha," Azer told the Left Minister with confidence.

The Left Minister tried his best not to show his disgust in front of Azer. He had no idea how Azer managed to bring the entire secret soldiers in Tissuria without alerting anyone. He was thinking of turning Azer into a loyal subject.

He noticed that the Dark Magic Lord was not giving Azer any valuable things. He surmised that the Dark Magic Lord did not know how to take care of his people. He smirked. With Azer on his side, the Left Minister thought that he would be able to gain more things and power beyond compare. He looked at Azer from head to foot and concluded that the man was easy to manipulate.

"It's all thanks to Leader Azer's help."

The Left Minister gave a signal to his right-hand man to bring in the gift that he prepared for Azer. It was a small chest, but anyone could tell that its content should be very valuable.

Azer's eyes glimmered with glee when he saw the expensive-looking chest. The Left Minister pushed the small chest to Azer's direction.