Elliot returned to the inn and met Zenia when she was about to go to the burly leader's place. Elliot was always polite despite his appearance. Actually, he could've looked a bit better if he could treat the scars on his face, trim his unruly hair, and change the way he dressed. At close inspection, Zenia found out that Elliot's teeth just need some serious dental works. He should also consider shaving his beard and mustache. He could get a girl too if he would just take time to bathe himself and scrub off all the dirt and filth.
The putrid smell of blood seemed to have seeped to his bones and his entire body was emitting an indescribable stench. Zenia could tell that Elliot had been in his kind of business for a long time already. He may have known that people found his smell and appearance repulsive and they stayed away from him. When they were traveling, Zenia already noticed that Elliot was keeping his distance from her.
"Good day, sir. In two days, my comrades and I have some business to do first. Thus, I cannot accompany you yet. I promise to return here after two days."
"I understand. I will see you in two days then. Should I give a part of the payment to you now?"
Elliot shook his head. "No, sir. The horse that you have given me is enough payment for the work. I will not receive anything from you anymore."
"Well, if that's what you want, then I won't be polite anymore. Thank you."
"I will take my leave now, sir." Elliot bowed a little and took his leave.
The old man heard them talking and was studying Elliot for a while.
"That young man seemed to be talented. You have a good eye. You will benefit a lot if you will be able to rope him in." The old man gave his honest opinion.
Zenia nodded. "I think so too, but I should do it a little at a time. He is no different from a wild horse that should be tamed." Zenia rubbed her chin with her thumb as she said the words and smiled mischievously.
The old man felt nervous when he saw Zenia's expression. He had been with her for almost two days, and each encounter was like meeting a different lady. With a lady like Zenia in his grandson's harem, Vaughn should truly not consider taking in other women. The old man was afraid that the other women may not be able to stay even for a day with Zenia around.
'Those old farts who insist on letting their daughters, nieces, and granddaughters join Vaughn's harem will certainly beg the king to let them take back their women after Zenia takes care of them.'
"Grandpa if there's nothing, I will go see the leader now." Zenia turned around and walked to the door.
"Wait! I will accompany you." The old man insisted as he called for someone from the kitchen to man the counter in his absence.
"You don't need to accompany me, grandpa. I know my way." Zenia waved him goodbye and headed to the direction of the burly leader's place.
The old man noticed that Vaughn's shadow guards followed Zenia. He sighed and returned to the counter.
"You can go back to work now." The old man told the one he assigned to man the counter.
The man nodded and left the old man. Before he returned to the kitchen, he looked at the direction that Zenia had gone to. He knew where the path would lead to. He had been with the Ninth Prince ever since he was a child. He had no recollection of what happened to him and his family. The Ninth Prince found him and took care of him. The Ninth Prince gave him the name Jorick and swore his loyalty to his benefactor.
When Jorick saw Zenia came with Elliot, he became suspicious and reported it immediately to the Ninth Prince. He had a hunch that Elliot was one of their hired assassins, but he had doubts about Zenia. He looked so decent to be one of the men they hired to be an assassin. He became more suspicious when the old man accompanied her to see the burly leader.
Jorick had doubts about the loyalty of the old man ever since the head innkeeper took him in just because he looked pitiful. The old man had no family and they already confirmed it, but it was possible that the old man did something terribly wrong that made his family abandon him. It was also possible that the old man had always been a secret informant for the enemies of the Ninth Prince.
He immediately informed the Ninth Prince when he confirmed that the old man and Zenia went to the burly leader's room. He had no idea regarding the reason behind the meeting. He was also doubtful about the loyalty of the burly leader, whom the Ninth Prince regarded as his brother. He hoped that the Ninth Prince would be able to do something as soon as possible.
Zenia headed to the burly leader's room for their meeting. She never brought the old man with her even though he insisted on tagging along.
Zenia flashed a smile when she saw the burly leader outside the room.
"Greetings, boss. I hope I'm not late for the meeting that you have to wait for me here."
"Ha-ha-ha, I just want to take some fresh air. Come join me for a walk."
Zenia nodded and walked with the burly man. She just followed the man while having a casual conversation. She was itching to ask about the mission but she did not want to arouse suspicion.
"What does your family do in Venetia?"
Zenia was surprised with the first question of the day that the burly leader threw at her.
"Boss?"
The burly man coughed a little and repeated his question.
"What does your family do in Venetia? You don't look like you belong to an ordinary family with your bearing."
Zenia suddenly realized the flaw in her disguise. She forgot that the noble family of Venetia was way too different from the common people. She happened to be in the company of the nobles whenever they visited Venetia. She adopted the ways of the nobles. She also knew that the nobles of Venetia were not taught the ways of the sword.
She grinned secretly. 'Looks like I need to fabricate another story.'
"Can I trust you, boss?" Zenia looked straight at the burly man's eyes.
The burly man's face turned serious and he tapped his chest with his fist. "You can trust me, lad. I need to know who you really are."
Zenia sighed and began her (fabricated) story.
"I'm an illegitimate child of a prince. My mother and I lived in a beautiful house near the sea. My father visits us once in a while when I was young. He taught me how to act like a proper noble. He never revealed his face to me and my mother refused to tell me who my father is. When I was thirteen, my father stopped coming. I don't know if he is still alive. It was my uncle who taught me how to fight."
Zenia was a good liar and could easily convince anyone, even herself, about her identity. Those close to her, like her family and Vaughn, and those who were good at detecting lies, like the old man, were the only ones who could easily detect her lies.
There was no flaw in the story. There were lots of princes in Venetia that had illegitimate children and had their side families live in a beautiful house near the sea. What Zenia told him was the usual story of an illegitimate child of a noble in Venetia. The fathers never revealed their faces to their illegitimate children and the mothers were threatened to keep the secret. The burly man had no idea that it was the case. He had been in Tissuria more than half of his life.
"I understand now." The burly leader patted Zenia's shoulder.
She noticed that the path they were walking seemed to be different from before. She had no idea when they made a turn. She was negligent. The burly man's intention for allowing her to tell such a story was to divert her attention. She became tensed and vigilant. She could not allow any mishap now.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
A lot of masked men wearing black clothing came down from the tree and surrounded them. Zenia could see that even the burly man was surprised.
"Boss, what's the meaning of this?"