Vaughn was startled when Zenia suddenly slapped him, but he couldn't complain. He just looked at Zenia as if he had just woken up from a trance.
"Are you back? You seemed to have drifted to a different world just now." Zenia looked at her hand that went numb and felt pitiful. 'Why is this guy's face so thick? Still, no one can beat Big Bother Zander when it comes to having a thick face.'
"I'm sorry I slapped you. I'm afraid you wouldn't come back anytime soon. It's quite effective, don't you think?" Zenia gave him a wide grin.
"Y-yes I suppose so. I'm fully awake now." Vaughn couldn't find a reason to get angry since Zenia apologized quickly.
"You have the same look as my Big Brother Zanzan when he drifts to Lala Land."
"Lala Land?"
"Oh, it's a place where only the mind can travel to. Big Brother Zanzan would go there whenever he wants."
'Big Brother Zanzan? He must be Zander Anisen.' Vaughn shook his head and imagined Zander's reaction the moment he learned that Zenia gave him such a name.
Then again, Zander may not do anything at all since it was Zenia who called him that way. Sometimes, Vaughn cringed at the thought that Zander doted on Zenia so much to the point that every marriage proposal or love letter was successfully intercepted by him.
It just took a few minutes, and Vaughn already recovered from Zenia's slap. He thought about Zander's reaction upon learning that Zenia received his love letter and Zander failed to seize it. That one was the first ever love letter that Zenia received, and he was the one who gave it to her. He grinned.
"So, what's this thing about Noir?"
"I think someone stole him from one of the Crown Prince's stables."
"My hus…ky! Who would do such a brazen, brave, and outrageous thing?" On Zenia's forehead, beads of sweat began to take form. She nearly blurted out the word 'husband'.
Vaughn caught it and smiled. He was glad that Zenia accepted the fact that he would be her husband.
He looked at Zenia and wondered if it was the best time to reveal everything. They could start working since Damien and the Left Minister already made their move. But, the wedding was yet to come.
"Zenzen, I think it's about time to tell you the truth." Vaughn took a deep breath and continued. "Actually I'm one of Prince Vaughn's trusted aides. You may call me Shadow 1." Vaughn wanted to kick himself for being so creative.
Zenia's face darkened and quickly drew her dagger. Vaughn was taken aback. He did not expect Zenia to make such a move. He did not have ill intent, so why did she…
He forgot an important fact – Zenia was a part of the military. No one should trust an unconfirmed report or identity of a person. His admiration for Zenia took a notch higher.
"Speak, who are you?" Zenia did not confirm or deny her connection with the Prince of Tissuria.
"I am telling the truth. I am one of Prince Vaughn's trusted men." He felt like his nose would grow longer anytime soon. Just like the wooden boy in one of the stories that he had read when he was just around three or four years old.
"Show me proof." Zenia was still pointing her dagger at Vaughn, ready to slice him when he made a false move.
"I don't have anything with me to show, but I know the content of the secret letter."
"Say it."
Vaughn blushed, which Zenia failed to notice. He looked at Zenia in the eye and began saying the content of his love letter to her. He was pouring his heart out with every spoken word. The letter was his true feelings. Those were the words that he had kept in his heart for a long time – words that he had never thought he had a chance to utter himself.
[My Dear Zenia,
I don't expect you to believe every word I am about to say to you but know that this letter contains all my sincerity. I cannot wait for the day that we will spend the rest of our lives together.
I vow to only have you as my wife and woman, and I will never take in any concubine. You will be the only one in my harem and the only one who will bear my children. I promise to give you the best possible life, although I cannot be certain that it will always be smooth. I will never allow anyone or anything to harm you.
We've met before, although you may not remember it. If I'm not mistaken, we've already met thrice and all of them were accidental encounters.
Let me be honest with you. When we met for the first time, you have already taken my heart. I did not waste any time to come find you and know more about you. I know that the honorable Ovid Anisen and the great Zander Anisen tried their best to conceal everything about you, including how you look.
Forgive me for being straightforward and brazen, but I admit that I took advantage of this political marriage to fulfill my life-long desire and that is to marry you. I intend to pursue you seriously after I solved our kingdom's conflict, but this opportunity came knocking at my door.
If ever you are not satisfied with me after being together as a married couple, I will personally ask my King to allow us to divorce. I will definitely regret it, but your happiness is more important to me.
I hope you will like my present and I can't wait for the day we get married.]
Zenia was speechless as she kept looking at Vaughn's eyes. She laid her hand, holding a dagger, slowly at her side. Her heart was thumping so hard, and she felt her cheeks turning crimson. Vaughn was no better. He tried covering his face with his fist as he pretended to cough. He stopped and went back to his original position. Zenia did not know what to do and just kept looking at him.
They remained rooted in the same spot for a period of time. They stared into each other's eyes. None of them dared break the silence between them.
"Stop! Thief!" Roared someone outside and the sound of galloping horses broke the silence.
Both of them seemed to wake up from their stupor. Zenia pointed her dagger at Vaughn once again.
"Not that letter, the other one!" She demanded in an authoritative manner.
"Oh, it's that one." Vaughn cleared his throat and began reciting the content of the secret letter.
[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.
I'm Yours Forever]
Vaughn intentionally uttered the last remarks that he tried to erase in the letter. After pouring his heart out, he felt light and became more brazen. He smirked when he saw that Zenia blushed once more.
Zenia put her dagger down, "Y-you're really one of Prince Vaughn's trusted men. I don't think he would write such a letter in front of just about anyone. I will trust you… for now."
Zenia inserted her dagger into the scabbard at her side. Vaughn heaved a sigh of relief. He thought he might spar with Zenia. Frankly speaking, he had no idea regarding Zenia's fighting skills. He knew that she could fight, but he did not know her fighting skill level. It would be good if he was better than her, what if she was way better than him?
They pulled a chair by the desk and sat across each other. Vaughn knew that Zenia was trying to intimidate him.
"Should I call you Shadow 1 now?" There was still a trace of anger in Zenia's tone.
Vaughn's eye twitched. He did not expect that it would be the first question that Zenia would ask after making everything clear.
"You can still call me Big Bro…"
Zenia raised her palm prompting Vaughn to stop. "I don't think I can call you that. You still betrayed me no matter how you look at it."
Zenia's words pierced through Vaughn's heart. He forgot that Zenia put her complete trust on anyone she got close to, but would definitely not forgive that person once the trust had been broken.
"I hope you can turn a blind eye on this one for once. I really had no choice back then. I was supposed to just escort you and make sure that you're safe."
Zenia found it laughable. "You shouldn't have gotten that close to me. You should've maintained a safe distance. Even though you're his trusted man, you're still his subordinate who should follow him. I am going to be his wife, your Crown Princess, and you tried to be so close to me. You even made me call you Big Brother."
Vaughn could not find the right words to say. Everything fell apart when he told her that his name was Shadow 1. He looked dejected and sad. He felt he was becoming dumber and more stupid the longer he stayed with Zenia. He couldn't think straight and his mind was filled with thoughts of her even though they were always together.
Zenia watched his reaction and knew that he was sincere and loyal. She sighed and decided to forgive this foolish man.
"I hope this never happens in the future." Zenia stood up and headed for the door.
"How are we going to act now?"
"We act as nothing happened and continue where we left off. For all we know, someone could be monitoring our every move right now. But, I won't be calling you Big Brother Vaughn anymore. It feels awkward."
"Can I still call you cute brother?"
Zenia just glared at him and walked out of the room. Vaughn flashed a mischievous smile and followed behind Zenia.
* * * * *
"Boss, we bought so many!" Karmja Pikmees was so excited when he uttered the words.
"Yes, yes, we can do this again when we get the payment." They suddenly looked at each other and had a tacit understanding to run quickly to the location of the stables.
'Damn it! I forgot that we still had a mission and got carried away shopping.'
'I hope the boss won't blame me if we missed the owner of the horse.'
They were thankful that the black stallion was still in the stable. It looked like it wouldn't leave anytime soon.
"Let's have a meal in the inn. I heard before that the dishes they serve are truly scrumptious."
The dining area of the inn was full of people. Zenia already missed her breakfast and ordered more dishes than usual.
"You will pay for all the dishes as compensation." She shamelessly informed Vaughn.
"Yes, that is already a given. I hope with this meal you can forgive me completely." Vaughn flashed a weak smile.
"I'm not that cheap."
Vaughn just nodded and began eating his meal. At the corner of his eyes, he could see that Zenia was enjoying her food.
'My dear wife, even if you spend all my money, you won't hear me complain.'