The people kept coming at the gate of the palace. They were hoping to see the bride before the actual wedding. They heard different rumors about the Crown Prince's bride, but someone told them earlier that he saw the bride, and she was so beautiful.
Vaughn became suspicious when he heard the discussions among the crowd. He was certain that they were not talking about Zenia because she was dressed as a man and beautiful was not the right word that could describe her at the time. It was obvious that someone deliberately spread the rumor about this bride of his. Vaughn's face turned dark when he thought of…
… Verone.
He went back to his palace hurriedly to confirm his suspicions. Redivo greeted him immediately once he reached the front door.
"Report!"
"The Left Minister and Verone are currently discussing with the King and Queen the marriage between you and Verone. The Left Minister was trying to convince the King to set it within two weeks. The Left Minister told the King and Queen that the alignment of the stars signifies good luck. If you two can get married within the next two weeks, the entire Kingdom of Tissuria will be blessed." Redivo tried his best to be as concise as possible, and without missing any important details.
"Did my mother say anything?"
"The Queen refused the proposal."
"And the King?"
"He told the Left Minister that he will think about it."
"They are still talking until now?"
"The Left Minister and Ms. Verone did not show any sign of giving up. Ms. Verone said that she had loved for you a long time now, and even cried when she recalled how you helped her before." Redivo almost puked while narrating Verone's affection.
"What a good woman! She had the gall to say such atrocious things when she tried to hit on me in front of my wife." Vaughn smirked when he recalled the things that Zenia did to Verone back in Solaria.
"And just when did I help her? I am not insane to help other women even if they are dying in front of me. What will my wife think of me when she learned that I touched other women? I only need to hold and touch my wife!"
"What should we do now, my Prince?"
"Your Highness, the King asks for your presence in the Palace's Main Hall."
"I understand, you may go now. Tell the King that I will be there." Vaughn's face and everything around him turned dark, and Redivo knew that nothing good would happen.
* * * * *
"Ovid, why are there so many people at the gate?" Renaria asked her husband while looking at the window.
Ovid shook his head. After so many years of marriage and three children, his wife still called him the same – just his plain, old name, not even "dear husband" or something like that. But, he couldn't really complain. His wife was not like other women, and he liked that so much about her. He knew that no other woman could love and understand him like his wife.
"There must be something in King Tarendino's Palace. We can go to an Inn first before we meet them. They have no idea that we are here already."
Renaria looked at her husband in disbelief, "Their intel is that bad? No wonder the Crown Prince was the one who sent his shadow guards to protect us earlier."
It was Ovid's turn to look at his wife in disbelief, "How did you know that it was the Crown Prince's shadow guards?"
"It's because…" Renaria couldn't continue, and she looked at Ovid still waiting for her reply.
"I just know, okay." She kept quiet and did not say anything else.
Renaria couldn't tell Ovid that it was because the Crown prince cared for Zenia so much. He might have known that Zenia would try to protect them with her own hands. She did not see her daughter during the ambush, but the shadow guards came instead. If she was correct, Vaughn took Zenia away and promised her to provide protection for them. There was also that man Gustof.
Renaria smiled. Her daughter was truly amazing. In such a short time, she was able to meet a dependable ally. Renaria knew that her daughter had gained so much from her adventure.
"Gideon, ask a passerby for the best inn, and we will stay there."
"Aye, sir."
The one that Gideon asked pointed them to the Royale Palace Inn.
* * * * *
"My King, I don't have any intention to be the main wife. I only ask to be married first because the Oracle predicts that the next two weeks are the best days to perform the wedding ceremony. Ms. Zenia Anisen is yet to come."
Vaughn was about to enter the hall when he heard the way that Verone had addressed Zenia. Did she think that his Crown Princess was her equal? Even if Zenia was inferior to her in terms of looks, she excelled in every aspect. Verone's only redeeming feature was her beauty, which Zenia crushed completely.
"Insolent woman! Who gave you permission to address your Crown Princess by her name? She is the woman that my son has acknowledged!"
Vaughn stopped on his tracks. It had been ages when he heard his mother used the same tone. He smiled and knew then that his mother already liked Zenia, even if she had not met her yet. Even King Tarendino was surprised by the Queen's behavior.
"Forgive me, my Queen, I did not mean it that way." Verone kneeled down on both knees before Queen Mina, and she cursed the Queen for making her do such a thing.
Queen Mina stood up and commanded, "Tell my son that there's no more reason to come here. I will excuse myself, my King, these people are straining my eyes. This marriage of the second wife, I will not approve it. But, to appease the people I would like to meet this Oracle, and let him explain everything to me."
Vaughn heard everything. He turned around and walked to the direction of his palace. Queen Mina left the main hall, and the King did not stop her.
"We will talk about this some other time. For now, you may rise up niece of the Left Minister." King Terendino looked at the Left Minister and waved his hand to dismiss them before leaving the main hall.
The Left Minister clenched his fist. He did not expect the Queen would intervene and still hold such a power. He should be careful. He knew that the Queen had a strong family backing her.
"Quit crying. You will be the main wife soon. That Zenia Anisen is a good-for-nothing ugly woman. No man would be able to stand seeing an ugly woman every day."
* * * * *
Ovid and Renaria reached the Royale Palace Inn. Ovid sent someone to notify King Tarendino for an audience in three days. Judging from the number of people that gathered at the gate of the palace, two days should be enough to settle everything that the king had to settle.
They were given their keys, and Renaria just wanted to take a nap after all of the things that happened to them. They were lucky that her son-in-law was so attentive and considerate. She just hoped that her daughter would be able to see her future husband's affection.
Renaria went upstairs first, while Ovid gave some instructions to his men. It had been ages since the last time that he and his wife spent time together away from Ishelon. The time they had in the carriage was not included.
Zenia just got out of her room when she saw a familiar figure.
'Mother? Mother!'
Zenia ran quickly to where Renaria was and slowed down when she remembered something. She tried her best to contain her excitement and walked slowly. She tapped her mother's shoulder.
"You're here, mother." She greeted politely.
Renaria turned around and uttered, "Zenzen!" She hugged her daughter tightly and tears fell from her eyes.
Renaria had always been wondering how Zenia was doing, and she kept worrying about her safety. Now that she had her daughter with her, she could no longer keep her emotions in and let her tears fall.
Zenia missed her mother's warmth and hugged her tighter. Ovid saw this scene and felt warm inside. He knew how much his wife loved their daughter. Now that his daughter was here, he could only say goodbye to the days that he could spend alone with his wife. He too felt like crying.