Vaughn and Zenia finally reached the Crown Prince's palace. Ruvin was the current Crown Prince stand-in that day. No one in the Crown Prince's palace thought that Vaughn might come together with Zenia.
"Is this the Crown Prince's palace? Is it okay for you to bring me here right now? The Crown Prince and I are yet to be married!"
Vaughn detected a trace of panic in Zenia's tone. He grinned.
'My little devil did some research about the marriage custom in Tissuria. She knows that we should not meet at least six months before the wedding day. But, it's too late for that because we already did.'
"It is the Crown Prince who wanted me to bring you here."
"Oh."
Zenia did not say anything anymore.
"Sir Redivo, the prince just came!" One of the few men that knew the real appearance of Vaughn rushed to where Redivo and Ruvin were staying. They were currently discussing what to do with Verone.
An intel informed them that Verone had already arrived in Tissuria and would be asking the king for an audience. They knew that the Left Minister would try to convince King Tarendino to let Vaughn marry the second wife first. At the moment, Vaughn had no idea that his other "bride" had arrived as well.
"Don't get so excited. He comes and goes – no big deal." Ruvin stated his thoughts calmly as he put down the pen after forging Vaughn's signature.
"He came with the Crown Princess!"
"What?!!" Both brothers shouted at the same time.
They were about to rush to the main door to welcome Vaughn when Redivo stopped Ruvin in his tracks. Ruvin was excited to know what Zenia looked like. His ears hurt from listening just how good and beautiful Zenia was while Vaughn rattled on. Now, he would finally meet the infamous beauty.
"You stay here," Redivo told Ruvin sternly.
"But, why?!"
"It is to protect the image of the Crown Prince."
"But, why?"
"The Crown Prince should not appear so eager to meet his bride and should maintain his dignified appearance."
"But, Vaughn will certainly welcome his bride with open arms at the front door if he's the one waiting in this room right now."
Redivo lost his cool and inched his way to Ruvin. "Just. Do. What. I. Told. You. To. Do."
Ruvin took a step back each time Redivo uttered a word until he was pressed against the wall.
"Do you understand?" Redivo sneered.
Ruvin was already sweating profusely as he nodded his head. He knew that he touched his brother's bottom line at that time.
Zenia was telling Vaughn something and was not paying attention to the people up ahead. Vaughn suddenly realized that a lot of people were waiting for them at the main door. He intentionally blocked Zenia from seeing the people in front
"Why are you all here?" Vaughn's tone was nowhere near pleasant.
He knew that all of them came to gossip about his wife. What were they thinking? Luckily, Zenia was behind Vaughn and could not see the people in front. Those people were the only ones who knew Vaughn's real face. Vaughn gave Redivo a warning look telling him to do something about the situation. Redivo understood immediately.
"Crown Princess, the Crown Prince is inside. I will be the one to escort you there." Redivo always had a demeanor of a true gentleman and did not show any sign of disgust upon seeing Zenia dressed that way.
"Lead the way, good sir."
Redivo noticed that Zenia was busy at being curious. He also noticed that the relationship between her and Vaughn seemed good. Everyone also followed behind them as they made their way to the Crown Prince's receiving hall. Then a thought suddenly struck Redivo.
Vaughn and Redivo walked side by side. They were whispering with each other. They kept their tone down so Zenia wouldn't hear. At the moment, Zenia was so amazed at the things in Vaughn's palace that she did not pay attention to anything else.
"She finally recognized you as the boy she met when she was a little girl?" Redivo whispered softly in Vaughn's ear.
"Yes."
"Were you able to tell her who you really are?"
"No."
"What would she think when she found out?"
Vaughn looked at Redivo.
"I really have no idea."
"She might hate you forever."
"You know what, I think you need to train hard. Go to the training ground and train with your men."
Vaughn left Redivo who was lost for words. He then pulled Zenia near him to walk together shoulder to shoulder. Redivo shook his head and still followed behind Vaughn and Zenia.
Ruvin felt like he was waiting for eternity.
'How beautiful is sister-in-law? What did she do to make that icy Crown Prince fall head-over-heels?'
Not long after, the door flung open. Vaughn and Zenia walked together, followed by Redivo and the rest of the welcoming party.
Ruvin gawked and could not believe that he was excited about nothing. What beautiful woman? That was a man! Even if she was in disguise, she still looked very ordinary. She was not far off from being labeled as ugly.
Ruvin shook his head and could not believe that exalted Vaughn's aesthetic preference could be so low. Even if Zenia excelled in something, he wouldn't dare keep such a woman to accompany him.
"Welcome to Tissuria, my bride-to-be. I hope that you did not encounter anything troublesome."
Zenia felt that something was off. She looked at Ruvin for a long time.
'Did the Crown Prince eat the wrong medicine? Why do I feel like there's something off about him?'
"Thank you for your concern and protection, Your Highness. I indeed encountered some mishaps, but still able to come here in one piece." Zenia gave an awkward smile that it made everyone's eyebrow twitched.
'My God, even her smile is so ugly. What did Vaughn see in her?'
Vaughn felt the awkwardness in the air and decided to take Zenia out of the room.
"Your Highness if there's nothing else, I will take Ms. Zenia Anisen to her room as you arranged earlier." Vaughn's voice held a commanding tone that made Ruvin gasped.
He knew that Vaughn was angry, and he was wondering what he did wrong. No matter how he looked at Zenia, he could not see her good points.
"Carry on."
Vaughn turned to Zenia and gently told her, "I will take you to your room."
"Hmm." Zenia nodded and walked side by side with Vaughn.
Everyone looked at the departing duo. They never thought that Vaughn had such a gentle side to him. They were all wondering whether the man who left with the Crown Princess was their real Crown Prince.
When they were out of everyone's sight, Zenia slowed down her steps.
"Big Brother Vaughn, can I ask you something?"
"Hmm, what is it?"
"Why does the Crown Prince seem different?"
"What do you mean?" Vaughn asked nervously as he feared that Zenia may have noticed something.
"Well, he is way different than I imagined as I think about the person who wrote me the letter."
"What about that person who wrote the letter?" Vaughn's heartbeat was already going berserk as he waited for Zenia's explanation.
"I can't tell the exact difference, but there's really something weird about the Crown Prince I just met."
Vaughn sighed, he too saw the flaw in Ruvin's impersonation. Perhaps, he was just too excited to meet Zenia that he showed his true self instead of mimicking Vaughn's ways and actions.
"He could be one of his stand-ins."
"Where's the real Crown Prince?"
"Who knows?" Vaughn shrugged his shoulders and continued walking.
Zenia no longer asked questions, and Vaughn was trying his best to remain calm and stop himself from revealing anything to Zenia. The proper time to let her know his identity would come.