Zenia's heart thumped so hard that she felt like it would jump out of her rib cage. She never felt this excited before as she hurriedly went to her desk and picked up what seemed like a slab of blue ink.
She sat down and spread Vaughn's letter on her desk. She placed the blue slab on top of the paper, and she began scrubbing the paper with the blue slab. The whole paper turned blue. The shadow guard who saw what Zenia did to Vaughn's letter began to frown.
'She does not need to do that even if she hates the Crown Prince. It must have been too taxing for my lord to write that letter, and yet she did not hesitate to smear it with that blue thing.' The shadow guard thought to himself. Somehow he felt disappointed. He never thought Zenia was so heartless.
Zenia stopped what she was doing and stared at the paper for a long time. After two minutes, her brows scrunched up. Nothing happened. The paper was completely covered in blue. Vaughn's letter was completely destroyed in Zenia's hand.
'Am I wrong?' She asked herself as she lifted the blue slab and stared at it. She turned it around as if trying to find something special about it.
'If I remember correctly, the old man said that this blue slab should reveal the secret in the letter.'
She lifted Vaughn's letter. None of its content was visible with all that blue stuff covering it. The shadow guard heard the sound of his breaking heart. It was shattered into pieces. His lord was so sincere and even wrote her a letter, but this Miss was just too cruel.
The Crown Prince of Tissuria had never written a letter to a girl before. It was a first for him, and this missy just ruined it without batting an eyelid.
Zenia ran her fingers on the paper. 'This is the special paper that the old man talked about. Too bad when I bought this set that time, my paper all flew away when I stuck them in my pocket. All I have left is the blue slab.'
At first, Zenia did not think about the kind of paper that Vaughn had used for the letter. She recognized the blue pigment on the paper and that was the time she became suspicious. She remembered the texture of the paper that she bought together with the blue slab, and she decided to test it.
Suddenly, letters in gold ink begin to appear on the paper. Zenia's eyes widened, and the shadow guard couldn't believe his eyes. He could see the glimmering gold letters, but couldn't read the content from that distance. He knew that it was a secret letter that Vaughn sent to Zenia. But, how did his lord know that Zenia would figure it out?
The resentment of the shadow guard toward Zenia was replaced with sheer admiration. Their Crown Princess was truly remarkable. No woman in the whole Maecaea would be able to match his lord but this young miss of the Anisens.
Zenia could still not believe her eyes as she stared at the real message in the letter. She was expecting to see the secret letter, but she was still so excited to read it. The thumping of her heart was stronger than before.
Zenia did not waste time and read the message that was revealed.
[My Dear Bride,
I am truly looking forward to your arrival in Tissuria. Everything that I have written in the letter is true. I need to do this to make sure that you will arrive safely on our wedding day.
I already have a hunch who the enemy is, but I still need proof. They might do something to you while you are on your way to Tissuria. I suggest that you have someone replace you in your carriage when you begin your journey to our kingdom. Disguise yourself and come here in secret.
I have arranged some shadow guards for you so you don't need to worry even if you travel alone. You will stay in one of the inns that I own, I already prepared your lodging. You need to look for Mathilda, she'll know what to do.
I wish I could be the one accompanying you, but there are things that I need to prepare here first. I hope you won't dislike me because of this.
I know you have a lot of questions right now. Trust me, I will answer all of them in due time. For now, be safe and know that my thoughts are always with you.
--m ---rs F---v--]
Zenia was not sure if the last part of the message was intentionally erased or not. She could not decipher what the seemingly coded letters meant. She shrugged her shoulders and folded the letter neatly before she tucked it in the last drawer of her desk.
She stood up and walked to her bed. She lifted the lid of the box and saw the dress that Vaughn had prepared for her.
'Is this the wedding dress that women in Tissuria wear?'
Zenia's mouth began to twitch when she lifted the dress out of the box and saw its entirety. It was a red and black long dress that hugged her figure. Now her eye also twitched. She felt like she would look like a seductress when she had worn it.
The size was truly hers, except for the bust area. It was too big to fit her. She slowly cupped her breasts with her two hands and frowned. The shadow guard quickly covered his eyes and started chanting something to calm himself down.
'I did not see anything. I did not see anything. I did not see anything.'
Unlike most maidens of Ishelon, Zenia was not endowed with a rich bosom. She did not mind it at all since she was practicing swordsmanship and martial arts. Having large breasts would definitely be disadvantageous for her. Besides, she was content with her size.
Looking at the dress that Vaughn had given, she could not find the proper words to say.
'What in the world was he thinking?' She threw the dress on her bed and looked at it with fury in her eyes.
Although the shadow guard could not see Zenia's expression at the time, the seemingly black aura emanating from her back was enough to tell the shadow guard that she wanted to shred the dress into pieces.
The shadow guard's sweat began trickling down his face. What should he report to his Highness Vaughn? But, the prince told him to report every reaction that Zenia had when she saw the dress. What about when their Princess Consort began seizing her bosom? The shadow guard closed his eyes and gently caressed them. He was certain that he could say goodbye to them the moment he finished saying his report to Vaughn.
"Young Miss the madam had been waiting for you for a long time now." The maid reminded Zenia.
"I will go now." She dashed out of her room but returned quickly before she reached Renaria's quarters.
She snatched the dress off her bed and brought it along with her.
* * * * *
Renaria had been waiting for a long time. She was curious about the content of the box. She knew that it should be a dress, was it a wedding dress? As far as she could remember, she did not send Zenia's measurement over. How did Vaughn know?
She had a hunch that Vaughn had been monitoring Zenia and their manor for a long time now. She was grateful for the concern that her future son-in-law was giving, but she was also creeped out by his actions.
Renaria had no idea that Tissuria had an internal conflict, and some people in Ishelon were also involved. She knew there was a conflict, but she did not know how grave. She had a hunch, but it was far lighter than the real situation. She had been looking for the right partner for Zenia for a long time now, and the proposal was a perfect one.
Vaughn's valiant deeds and meritorious achievements had already reached Renaria's ears. She was confident that Vaughn was a perfect match for Zenia. Ovid simply told her that it was Prince Vaughn who personally requested his father to send the marriage proposal. In Ovid's mind, the proposal was just to convince everyone that Vaughn had fallen deeply to Zenia. In Renaria's mind, Vaughn had been in love with Zenia for a long time.
Ovid did not divulge anything to Renaria and decided to keep her in the dark. Ovid and Zander knew that Renaria would never agree to the plan of marrying off Zenia to Tissuria just to capture the real enemies. The father and son knew that it may put Zenia in danger, but if they refuse now, their entire kingdom would suffer as well. They had no idea who the true enemies were. They did not know the extent of their abilities.
"Mother, here I am." Zenia greeted Renaria politely. Zenia did not fear Ovid or the king, but she could not offend her mother. If there was someone in Maecaea that could make Zenia submits, it was Renaria.
"You're here, what took you so long?" Renaria simply asked.
When Zenia heard it, she froze. In her mind she seemed to hear Renaria asking her, 'You have guts now that you kept me waiting for a long time?' She quickly kneeled before her mother.
"Forgive me mother for making you wait for a long time."
Renaria sighed and blamed the men in her family. If they did not spoil her daughter too much, she would not be so stern to her.
She stood up from where she was sitting and helped her daughter up.
"Don't do that, I'm not angry at all."
Zenia looked at her mother and saw her gentle, warm smile. She felt at ease. Renaria led her to sit. She noticed the dressed that Zenia clenched in her hand. The shadow guard had no visual.
The room that the mother and daughter were currently in had no windows near the trees. The windows were placed in an open area with lush greeneries, but no tall trees.
"What's this?" Renaria gently unclenched Zenia's hand and took the dress that she was holding so tightly.
Renaria spread it and she gasped when she saw the dress. Zenia saw her mother's expression and she began to worry.
"Mother is it bad?"
Renaria could not believe her eyes. Tissuria was known for having too many traditions when it comes to courtship and marriage. That particular wedding dress was actually something that a bride should change into when consummation was about to take place.
They believed that the man should give it his all at such a crucial time. It was a way to show his bride that he belonged to her and only her. It was the groom who would prepare such a wedding dress to express his sincerity to his wife-to-be. It was the first time in the history of Tissuria that a Crown Prince prepared one for his bride.
Renaria wondered if Vaughn knew that a bride of Tissuria, especially a Princess Consort, must wear different types of wedding dress to complete the ceremony. In this case, Zenia must change into four wedding dresses. She had already prepared Zenia's wedding dress a long time ago, even though she was not certain when that time would finally come. The wedding dress that she prepared for her daughter would fit her perfectly even if she turned fat or thinner than she already was.
Zenia had to wear baggy pants underneath a long dress during the journey to Tissuria. Upon reaching the palace, she will change into the proper wedding dress for the exchange of wedding vows. She should change into a veiled wedding dress while sharing a meal with the guests and greeting them. Finally, the wedding dress that Vaughn sent her should be worn before their consummation.
Renaria examined the wedding dress and smiled. The wedding dress really highlighted Zenia's beautiful figure. Its purpose was to tempt the groom and get him in the mood. Renaria looked at the inside of the dress and found that within the breast area there were pads to cushion the woman's breasts. Zenia could take out some of the pads to fit her size.
Renaria smiled at her daughter and knew that Vaughn truly loved Zenia for a long time now.
"Zenzen, this is something that a bride of Tissuria should wear before consummation." Renaria tried to explain as gentle as she could. Knowing her daughter, she should be getting the reaction that she had been expecting.
"Consu-consummation? Aahhh!" Zenia jumped off from her seat. "That perverted prince!"
Although the shadow guard could not see her reaction, he could hear her loud and clear shrill. In fact, the whole household heard Zenia called Vaughn a perverted prince. What perverted thing did his lord do to the young miss? He had never known that the Crown Prince had such side to him.
Renaria sighed. Zenia's reaction was a bit more than expected.