The old man continued, "I said you're right about those men."
Zenia became more confused. The old man had seen her puzzled look and sighed.
"Those men are assassins that the group of Ninth Prince had commissioned to assassinate the Anisens who are supposed to come at Tissuria any time soon."
"Why are you telling me these things? Aren't you afraid that I might be one of them?"
"Young lady, you may be able to deceive a million people, but you can never ever deceive me." The old man winked at her.
Zenia's face turned pale, and her heart thumped so hard against her ribcage. No one had seen through her disguise before, not even her own father.
"H-how did you know?"
The old smiled once more. "I need to know these things because of my beloved grandson."
"What do you mean?"
"You will know in time." The old man turned around and retrieved a key, and handed it to Zenia. "Take the stairs and turn right, it's the second room from the end of the hallway. Check it out first and let me know if it's to your liking. I can always change it. There are lots of rooms here."
Zenia decided to follow the old man's suggestion and went up. The old man was very pleased with Zenia. His grandson had a good eye ever since he was young. He had to ask for a huge amount of money from his grandson when they meet again.
When Zenia reached the room, she used the key and opened it. She was surprised to see a beautifully decorated room fit for a young lady. It was getting darker, and it would be night soon. Due to fatigue, she laid down on the bed and immediately fell asleep. She did not notice that someone had entered her room.
The old man shook his head and tucked her in. He already noticed that Zenia seemed lethargic when they arrived at Luna Inn. He followed her for fear that she might suddenly collapse from exhaustion.
He had been working there for a long time doing menial jobs. He sometimes posed as a substitute innkeeper when there was no one to man the counter. Even his grandson had no idea that he was working there. The money he earned from working was more than enough for him. He also had a chance to spy on the enemies.
Luna Inn had been the most sought after place for mercenaries, assassins, and contractors in Maecaea during the past few years. The old man had known this and decided to infiltrate the place by posing as a vagabond who only wanted to survive.
The innkeeper took pity on him and recommended him to do menial labor. The Ninth Prince found nothing wrong with the identity of the old man. It was true that he had been a hobo for as long as he could remember. Even if the Ninth Prince's party would start investigating him, they would never find anything.
'Young lass, don't leave my beloved grandson's side. You already occupied a large part of his heart for a long time already. I don't know how he will survive if you leave him.'
The old man looked at Zenia for a long time and smiled. His grandson had always been determined in taking the girl for his wife. Ever since he returned from Ishelon, he would almost always mention the little girl to his grandpa. Somehow, the old man already knew who Zenia Anisen was.
It was already dark when Zenia woke up. She suddenly sat up and discovered that she was tucked in properly to her bed. She was confused and tried to recall whether she did it herself. After a while, she no longer bothered with it.
She got up and blindly headed for the door. It was too dark to see anything. She turned the knob and got out of the room. She was going down the stairs when her stomach began to make growling sounds. The old man clearly heard it and laughed out loud.
The eyes of the old and Zenia met, she turned away and blushed. She knew that the old man heard her grumbling stomach.
"Come, I will show you the dining area. I had already prepared the food and kept it warm for you."
"Thank you, grandpa." She smiled so sweetly that it warmed the old man's heart.
She sat down and wolfed down her food. The old man couldn't believe that we would witness a day when a woman would lack the elegance to eat properly due to hunger.
'This lass can really eat. I need to tell my grandson to make more money. Otherwise, they will starve to death.'
Zenia stopped eating when she noticed that the old man was watching her.
"Grandpa, why don't you eat too? This is too much for me to eat alone." Zenia offered while blushing.
The old man was dumbfounded. 'It doesn't look that way. Young lady, in my opinion, you will be able to finish all the dishes in less than an hour. It takes three people to finish that amount of food in an hour, and you alone can do it in less than an hour.'
"I really prepared all that food for you. I know that you will be starving when you wake up."
"Thank you so much, grandpa."
The old man smiled even more. He liked to be called grandpa by Zenia so much.
"Who's the man you were with when you came in earlier?"
"Oh, I met him in Solaria and knew that he would be heading this way. I need to be here in Lunaria and work as an assassin." Zenia told the old man everything while drinking her soup.
She felt comfortable around the old man and knew that she could trust him. She had a feeling that the old man was one of Vaughn's confidantes.
"Why do you need to do that?"
"My mother and father will be coming here, and I heard that someone will harm them."
"Do you know who to talk to if you want to be an assassin?"
Zenia just shook her head. "I was hoping that Elliot can bring me to him, but it looks like I need to find another way."
"I can bring you to him."
Zenia almost choked when she heard what the old man had said.
"Come again, grandpa?"
"I said I can take you to the person responsible for hiring the assassins to join the group."
"Can we see him tonight? I really need to be chosen for the mission."
"I will take you to him tonight. Finish your meal and I will fetch you later."
* * * * *
Zenia was thinking of a way to deal with the assassins before the arrival of Ovid and Renaria, but it might arouse suspicions. She could not afford any mishaps or the plan would be ruined.
After an hour, the old man took her to meet the leader of the assassins assigned to take care of Ovid and Renaria.
"How confident are you about your fighting skills?" There was a hint of worry in the old man's voice.
"I can manage to win them over when they see my moves. Is that good enough?"
The old man looked at Zenia and thought she was only bragging. 'This young lady, does she know what she's saying? She looks so thin and seems to have no power at all.'
"I'm just going to take you there and the rest is up to you. Whether the boss accepts you or not will depend on your ability."
"Hmm." Zenia nodded and they went on their way.
They made a few turns, and the old man stopped in front of a room.
"What brings you here old man?" A fierce-looking, burly man greeted them as soon as they stepped in a huge, well-decorated room.
"Sir, I have someone here who wants to join your group."
The burly man looked at Zenia from head to toe. Zenia was five foot, seven inches tall – smaller than most military men, but taller than most women. He circled around Zenia and thought she was lean and lacked muscles. She seemed weak and the leader wanted to reject her right away, but when he gazed into her eyes he saw the unfazed determination of a young man.
"Alright, let's see what you got." The leader walked in the side of the room and picked a long, heavy weapon.
He threw it to Zenia on a whim. He did not turn around and just waited for the sound of a weapon hitting the ground. He suddenly turned to look when he did not hear any sound of dropping metal.
The old man did not expect that Zenia would be able to catch the weapon with ease and in an elegant manner. The leader of the assassin was amazed when he saw that Zenia was holding the weapon steadily in her hand.