Vaughn did not waste any more time and went back to check on Zenia. When he saw her sleeping soundly, he walked out of the room and closed the door quietly. He began searching every room on the third floor trying to locate Damien's voice. He did not receive any report that Damien would be in the Principality of Ismund. Does he want to rope in the First Prince?
Vaughn smirked. 'It looks like the Left Minister could not wait any longer. How will I reward Zenia after this? If she did not go to the Principality of Ismund, I will never know that Damien is here.'
When Vaughn entered another room, he clearly heard Damien's voice. It was a good thing that he was able to book the entire third floor, and no one was occupying any of the rooms when they arrived. It was also because of Zenia. He shook his head and grinned. 'Looks like I owe my wife yet again.'
"Speak, why did you send me an urgent message? This better be good or I will slash your throat myself. I've told you that my being here is unknown to anyone. I got too drunk last time that I gave in to your seduction. It did not mean anything to me. Don't think too highly of yourself." Damien was so furious that he could only kick himself for being careless.
The woman bit her lip. She only did that because she thought that the Ninth Prince was someone pure and loyal. She already gave herself to him when she learned that he had so many concubines, and all of them were fierce. She thought that what happened between them was out of their own volition.
She may have looked like a seductress at the time, but he willingly accepted her. She did not move provocatively or even spoke sweet words to entice him. Yet, he was blaming her for seducing him?
After he took away her innocence, the Ninth Prince did not say anything about marrying her. He just sent her priceless gifts. When she demanded more, the Ninth Prince did not hesitate to fulfill her wishes. But, she should never tell anyone about what happened to them that night, and she agreed.
Elida thought that Damien was only trying to protect his reputation. Spending the night with someone who had no impressive background could be used against him by his enemies. She believed that Damien fancied her, and she could ask for anything from him, including finding that young master.
"Ninth Prince, I met a young master with extraordinary ability. I think he can help you in the future when you take the throne."
Prince Damien glared at Elida when she mentioned about the throne.
"I will cut off your tongue if you mention about the throne again or if you're lying. You're lucky that it's safe to talk here."
Elida turned pale as she backed off a bit. She always believed that the Ninth Prince wouldn't do anything to her. But on that moment she felt the killing intent emanating from the prince.
"I am not lying, Ninth Prince. The young master that I met earlier was truly remarkable. He was able to topple down so many men using some kind of special ability. It was the first time that I saw someone using such ability."
"Humph, listening to you now I can sense that you are interested in that young master." There was disdain in the tone of Prince Damien's voice. He knew that the young lady was a scheming one.
Elida thought she sensed a hint of jealousy in Prince Damien's tone. She sneered. 'Why don't you just admit that you are jealous?'
Damien sensed that something was off. He believed that the young lady must have a few screws loose. He only agreed to her demands to keep her from exposing what happened that night. Damien did not fancy her at all. Elida was delusional and too ambitious for her own good.
"I admit, my prince, that I admire that young master. But, no one can be compared to you." She looked at the Ninth Prince coquettishly.
Damien wanted to puke when he met Elida's eyes. The young lady was not only delusional but totally insane.
Vaughn felt nauseous upon hearing Elida's words. Although he could not see her, he knew that she was a young woman with a mental problem.
"The young master is a beautiful man that has a delicate face. He has a gentle and warm smile. He was afraid to take me with him because he was afraid that it would be inconvenient for me."
Damien sighed and resigned to his fate. He knew that the young lady's way of thinking was truly unfathomable. Explaining or arguing with her wouldn't work. All she wanted was to get her way.
"Who is this young master?"
"That… I don't know his name. I don't know which family he belongs to."
"When was the first time you met him?"
"It was a little past midnight at the night market."
Vaughn became suspicious. 'Was it Zenia?' He sneered. 'Zenzen, you little devil. You managed to attract another lunatic.'
"Are you telling me that you only met him today and you both agreed to be together?"
"Yes!"
"Where is he now if he really wants to take you with him?"
Elida was not able to answer immediately. She could not tell the Ninth Prince that the young master escaped from her.
She began to sob. "The men in the night market must have misunderstood something, and they chased him away. I tried to stop them, but they wouldn't listen to me."
Damien's eye twitched. She was obviously telling a lie. He knew that if he tried to extract the truth from her, it would take a long time and she still wouldn't admit to anything.
"How will I be able to search for him if you can't give me enough information? He could be returning to his rightful place right now."
'Rightful place? His wife-to-be's place? No, I must convince the Ninth Prince to start searching now before it's too late.'
"He said he's looking for a business opportunity here in Tissuria. But, I don't think that's the real reason."
Damien fell silent. He did not wish to continue the conversation. He should have slit her throat a long time ago and problem solved.
Thinking of the many intelligence reports that she imparted to him in the past, she can be considered as a valuable informant. Elida had an innocent, beautiful face. Her eyes seemed to gather the starts in them and they could mesmerize anyone. Men lusted after her perfect, alluring body.
When he had taken her innocence, Damien suspected that someone orchestrated that event to happen. He went out of control and gave in to his fleshly desires. Someone was waiting for him to commit a mistake. Although he had gone to brothels and sometimes flirted with the different women, he never slept with any of them.
He decided to transfer Elida in the Principality of Ismund to monitor the activities of the First Prince. He had tried to convince Prince Roland to join his faction, but the first-born child of the current king of Tissuria refused to be involved in the power struggle.
"Ninth Prince, please help me find him and I will make sure that he will serve you well too." Elida pleaded to Damien. She really wanted to be that young master's wife.
Damien looked at Elida and just wanted to dismiss her. Help him? How could he believe such an outrageous statement?
"Alright, I will do my best to find this young master and bring him back to you. For now, continue monitoring the First Prince and report to me immediately when he meets someone from the Crown Prince's side."
Elida's eyes sparkled with delight when she heard Damien's words. She always believed that the Ninth Prince would not renege on his promise. But Elida had forgotten to take note of a very important thing – Damien never promised that he would definitely bring back the young master.
"Thank you, Ninth Prince. I will continue to monitor the First Prince." Elida stood up and made her way to the door.
She was about to unlock it when she remembered something that she saw yesterday.
"By the way, I saw a black horse being sold in the local stables. It looked like one of your horses, but I could be wrong. It was such a fine horse." She unlocked the door and went out without looking back.
"Did you hear that?" Damien suddenly asked out of the blue.
"Yes, my lord." From an inconspicuous corner, a shadow guard appeared.
"Investigate it immediately. It could be the horse that we have been looking for. Continue to torture that man until he admits his connection to Vaughn."
The shadow guard disappeared immediately and Damien was left all alone. He was thinking whether the young master that Elida had spoken of truly had such abilities. She could be exaggerating to pique his interest so he would look for that man. But, he got more pressing matters at hand. The black stallion must be found at all costs.
Vaughn sneered. 'Damien you still have a long way to go before you can defeat me.' He did not linger for a minute more and decided to return to Zenia's room. He was feeling a bit angry because Zenia went out without him. What if she got into something that she would not be able to solve by herself?
He got a lot of answers to extract from his little devil. If he found an unsatisfactory answer, he would put her in her cage immediately. She would wait there until their wedding day.
Zenia had already freshened up when Vaughn reached her room. She was sitting on the window sill and enjoying the view.
"You're awake! What happened to you last night?" Vaughn did not give Zenia a time to compose her thoughts and asked immediately.
"Oh, the guest below my room was snoring loudly that my ears nearly detached themselves to hide somewhere else. So I decided to take a walk and get some fresh air." Zenia was not afraid and told the truth.
"So you went out without informing your Big Brother?" Vaughn walked to where Zenia was sitting and looked at the window.
"You're too tired and seemed to be sleeping soundly. I don't have the heart to wake you up and disturb you." Zenia gave Vaughn a playful smile.
'This little devil really knows how to appease my anger without even realizing it.'
"Someone was looking for you."
Zenia looked at Vaughn with eyes that had full of questions.
"I don't think that I offended some… Oh, I get it." Zenia's expression became dark. "There was this crazy woman who wanted to be my wife, but I was able to leave unscathed. I don't think she will be able to trace me that easy."
"She and the Ninth Prince had a talk earlier."
"You've eavesdropped," Zenia teased while flashing a mischievous smile. "I did not see that coming. I never thought that you're such a person Big Brother Vaughn. Really, it's surprising." She continued to tease Vaughn.
"Well, it's a good thing that I did and I learned that they are looking for your horse," Vaughn said calmly.
"My Noir? What do they want him for? I did not bring him along when I visited the night market."
Vaughn shook his head. "No, they are already looking for that horse before you even bought it. We need to leave him here."
"No! I want that horse and I love him." Zenia protested, but Vaughn no longer cared.
'She said she wants me and loves me.' Vaughn had been transported to Lala Land.
Zenia noticed that something was off. Vaughn's mind seemed to be somewhere else, and it annoyed her. He got the same looks as Zander's when they were discussing something at the camp last time.
"BIG BROTHER VAUGHN!" She yelled and gave Vaughn a slap.