Chapter 296 - Striking Up a Deal

"I understand. Judging from the way you look, although you are wearing our traditional clothing, I can tell that you are from another kingdom. The contraceptive that I will give you is the one that's currently popular among women in Shadora. But, the pills come with a high price. You only need to take one pill on the last day of your period in each month to keep you from being pregnant. If you fail to take it, there is a high possibility that you will get pregnant when you have intercourse with your husband whether you are supposed to be withion yoru safe zone."

"In other words, once I start taking the pill I should take it every single month or else I'll get pregnant immediately when we do it."

Zenia was thinking about Vaughn's behavior ever since they consummated their marriage. She could not refuse him time and again just because she still did not want to get pregnant yet. 

"Yes, that's how it is."

"How much do I need to pay for twelve pills?"

In her estimate, it would take at least a year before Vaughn would ascend the throne. King Tarendino was already hinting that he wouldlike to pass the throne to Vaughn. If the ascension would not happen in a year, they could always return to Shadora to get some pills again.

"I can give it to you for ten gold nuggets."

"That's too expensive!"

Zenia almost shouted on the top of her voice. She was not certain if the pills would truly work. She just chose to believe the doctor, but it did not mean that she would agree to everything that she suggested.

"Madam, it took me and my team years of research to concoct the pills I am offering you, and you won't find them anywhere else. We don't export these pills to other kingdoms. They are expensive because the plants that were used in creating the pills were hard to find."

Zenia's eyes glemed with delight when she heard about the difficulty of obtaining the plants. She already had various hard-to-obtain plants being kept in the Royal Apothecary.

"May I ask what plants do you need? Don't get me wrong, I'm not interested in knowing the formula of your pills. I just happen to be able to propagate some of the most difficult plants to nurture. We might be abl to strike up a deal. What do you think?"

The doctor looked at Zenia from head to foot. In the doctor's eyes, Zenia was emitting an aura of a greedy businesswoman – just like her. She smiled and couldn't believe that she would agree.

"If I'm not mistaken, you want me to give you the pills at a very low price and supply me with the materials that I need at low prices."

"That is correct. Let me guess some of the plants that are hard to find. Mortelium, Osage Milkweed, and what else?"

The doctor's eyes widened when she heard Zenia mentioned Mortelium.

"You really have lots of Mortelium plant? Are you sure that you have the real one? There's this plant that resembles Mortelium but does not yield the same effect as the real Mortelium plant. My team and I did not know it before and a merchant who brought large quantities of what we thought were Mortelium plants scammed us."

"I can guarantee that I have genuine Mortelium plants and other rare, hard-to-find plants that you may need."

The doctor looked at Zenia once more and tried to read her thoughts and actions. She did not find anything wrong.

"Okay, I believe you. I can give you the twelve pills for five gold nuggets. If you can deliver the goods, I'll see if I can lower the price even more. When can you deliver?"

"How much do you need? Do I only need to give you the Mortelium plant? If you need them right away, I can send a message to my men to arrange for it."

"I still have some plants in my storage, and you don't need to hurry. From the looks of it, you must be the newly weds whose marriage was officiated by Chief Elder," the doctor grinned.

The people of Shadora were truly rumor mongers. The scary part was that the rumors could be always true. She wondered how much of the rumors were truly rumors?

"Our initial plan was to return to our kingdom after three weeks, but that's impossible now. I want to grab this opportunity to explore different places while we are still on vacation. When we return, we will be very busy."

"Hmm, my supply will last until next month. Do you think you will be able to give me the plants by then?"

"I can. Let us draft a contract, and I will drop it you tomorrow. For the meantime, is it safe for me to consume the pill now?"

"It should be fine, but next month make sure to eat it on the day that your period ends."

"It's four nuggets for twelve pills you say?" Zenia gave the doctor a warm smile.

"You're really…okay. But, make sure to deliver the goods to me on time. I'm Doctor Lizbeth."

Zenia took the pills and handed her payment offour gold nuggets. She popped a pill into her mouth and swallowed it without water. 

"I'm Zenia, Doctor Lizbeth. I will see you tomorrow."

She left the office of the good doctor, who was trying to recall where she heard the name before.

Zenia held Vaughn's hand immediately, and they went out of the clinic. Vaughns sensed that Zenia was happy.

"What did the doctor say?"

"Oh, she's sure that I'm not pregnant and gave me some contraceptive pills that can only be found in Shadora."

Vaughn somewhat felt relieved and regretful at the same time. However, he knew that it was still better that Zenia was not yet pregnant. He did not tell Zenia that he always felt that something big might happen. The Dark Magic Lord was making him anxious. He hoped that Redivo would be able to extract something from Azer.

"Where are we going next?"

Zenia flashed a mischievous smile and said, "I told you… Let our feet take us to amazing places."

He did not say anything anymore and let her drag him anywhere. He had no idea what she was looking for, but it was enough for him to be just beside her.

* * * * *

"What is this? Why does it look like something that the temple's cook has prepared?"

Chief Elder complained when he saw his lunch. Ever since morning when he woke up, he was looking forward to sampling the new dishes that the Madam had prepared. But, the dishes in front of him seemed so ordinary. 

After sampling Zenia's dishes, Chief Elder's demand for quality food had reached another level.

"The Madam and her husband went out early in the morning and told the Captain of the guards that they would be back late in the afternoon."

The Lead Maid declared confidently as she stood by Chief Elder's side.

"Why didn't you inform me earlier?" Chief Elder reprimanded the Lead Maid.

"Chief Elder, you can't blame me for this. If you recall, I went to you in the morning to report something when you told me not to disturb you."

Chief Elder stopped complaining when he remembered that something like that did happen earlier. His young apprenctice was telling him an update on the two men that were associated with the Dark Magic Lord. They already left, and the spies saw them using a sort of teleportation array similar to the one that Master Mardox had created in the waters that Shadora shared with Tissuria.

Chief Elder feared that the Dark Magic Lord had already discovered how to use the teleportation technique. He wondered if the Dark Magic Lord had found a way to remove the seal surrounding Maecaea. 

Chief Elder knew that there were other continents aside from Maecaea. But, the one who sealed Maecaea believed that they would be safe if they remained unknown to the rest of the world. At a glance, Maecaea seemed to be a colossal prison cell that entrapped all of them in one place. In reality, it was a gigantic fortress that served as the primary shield against invaders.

Master Mardox did not know who sealed Maecaea, but he thought that it was good thing to do. Chief Elder also believed that it was the best thing for them. It was the very reason why he tried to destroy the indestructible other half of the Sphere of Destiny. There was another way to unlock the seal, but Master Mardox already passed away before he could even tell Chief Elder about it.

Chief Elder believed that the people from the other continents were savages that would only covet Maecaea's riches and wealth once the seal was broken. The Dark Magic Lord's heart was as vicious as his master. He was willing to sacrifice the entire Maecaea just to explore the other continents and, perhaps, even form an alliance with any of them.

Chief Elder massaged his temple and ordered the Lead Maid, "Leave me alone and bring me some wine."

The Lead Maid was surpeised but did not say anything. She nodded her head and left the room to retrieve the wine from the cellar. It had been years since Chief Elder drank alone. The only time that he would drink by himself was when he was worried about the possible destruction of Maecaea. 

The Lead Maid had been serving him since she was a young girl, and she had never seen any sign of destruction that Chief Elder was worried about. But, she knew that it was something that she must not take for granted.