The Prince’s Runaway Bride - Chapter 321

Roland was back in Venetia after an hour. He was quite pleased with himself. He was able to master the art of teleportation on his own. The Dark Magic Lord had not known it yet, although the men in his Dark Magic faction were already capable of teleporting at short distances.

Roland discovered that the entire island that Tissuria and Ishelon had inhabited was actually being protected by a barrier that could repel magic. The barrier had somehow imparted some of its properties to the people inhabiting the island. Those from Tissuria and Ishelon were not affected by magic at all, except during teleportation.

Roland found out that only those with strong magic, such as himself, could perform teleportation magic in Tissuria. He tried his other magic powers in Tissuria, but he failed.

Roland had a hunch that he would be able to find a rift in the barrier. He did not want to inform the Dark Magic Lord about his plans. He should first make sure that he would be able to take Zenia away before the Dark Magic Lord would begin his invasion.

He closed his eyes and imagined the face of the young woman who smiled at him warmly during his trip to one of the markets in Venetia. He believed that the young woman felt at ease with him, and they got along well. He met her a few more times after that.

She was with the delegates from other kingdoms at the time. She gave him a different name at first, but he noticed it. In the end, she told him that her name was Ainez Nesina from the Kingdom of Nolehsi. Roland could still remember their last conversation.

“Where is that? That’s the first time I heard of that kingdom.”

“It’s too far from here and too small that no one had heard of it before.”

“I will visit you in your kingdom one of these days.”

“You do that.”

After that, he learned that she left the following day at dawn. No one heard of her name, and no one knew where the Kingdom of Nolehsi was.

He spent too much time trying to locate that kingdom. But, all his efforts were for naught. It was too late when he realized that she must’ve given him a false name and kingdom.

When he met a young man in Lunaria, he thought that his eyes were very similar to that of Ainez Nesina. He had the identity of the Masked Man in black back then. He confirmed that the young man was actually a woman disguised as a man. She was the one he had been looking for. She was Ainez Nesina – no, it was more appropriate to say that she was Zenia Anisen.

Roland knew that Vaughn was going to marry the daughter of Ovid Anisen to fulfill a political marriage to end the conflict between the people of Tissuria and Ishelon. Roland thought that reason was too shallow and was confused about why the Anisens would agree quickly. Then, he learned about the Left Minister’s ploy and was convinced that catching a rat was the real purpose of the political marriage.

He collaborated with Damien and tried his best to stop the wedding from happening, even at the cost of Ovid and Renaria’s lives. He would not dare do something to Zenia, but he could sacrifice her family. He did not tell anyone about the young man’s true identity. He did not expect that Gustof would betray him.

He searched for Gustof and his family almost everywhere, but he did not find him. Someone reported that they met a freak accident, but he did not see his cadaver. After searching for so long, he convinced himself that Gustof and his family had died. He would not be able to survive without anyone supporting him. In Roland’s mind, it would be impossible for Gustof to find someone who would be willing to take him and his family.

When he received a report that the Crown Prince and Princess of Tissuria’s marriage was nothing more than a play, he was relieved. But, he noticed that something had changed in Vaughn and Zenia’s relationship – they were acting more like a real couple.

“Midan!”

A secret guard suddenly appeared in front of Roland.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Follow the movements in King Odhran’s palace and inform me of any development. Assign a group to monitor Odette’s villa and make sure that she will not do anything stupid that may affect my plan.”

“What if the princess…”

“Stop her at all costs. Detain her if you must.”

“But, it may affect your grandfather’s relationship with King Odhran if we detain his daughter.”

Roland looked at Midan and walked to him.

“Detain her if you must.”

Midan turned pale and could hardly breathe when Roland spoke each word of his sentence slowly. Midan had been with Roland for as long as he could remember and knew exactly the temperament of the master he had been serving.

“Y-Yes, Your Highness. I understand,” Midan answered with difficulty as he tried to breathe.

Roland released him, and the oppressing aura that surrounded them had dissipated instantly.

“Don’t make me repeat myself next time. You only need to follow my orders and nothing else. Because of the years of service that you rendered, I can release you from my side, and you can choose to follow the Dark Magic Lord if you want.”

Midan could not believe that Roland was thinking that he would like to follow the Dark Magic Lord.

“Your Highness, Master, I have no intention of leaving your side. I only thought that King Odhran and the Dark Magic Lord will be of great use to you.”

Roland sighed.

“I know that the Dark Magic Lord wants you to remind me to always have a good relationship with King Odhran, but you need to remember that he was not there with me and my mother when we needed him the most. For me, he is nothing but a tool that can help me propel to great heights. He is not worthy of being called my grandfather. I have my own plans, and we don’t need them to interfere.”

“I understand, Your Highness.”

* * * * *

Vaughn did not return to his study to discuss things further with Redivo. Instead, he spent the rest of the evening with Zenia. He thought that he must’ve neglected his little devil and became mischievous once more.

Zenia had no complaints. In fact, she found a good opportunity to tell Vaughn about what happened earlier.

“Vaughn, grandpa took me to a fishing village. It is a good place, how come you have never taken me there even once?”

“The fishing village near the outskirts of the capital?”

Zenia nodded her head and continued, “But, I find it rather odd that not everyone seems to know about it. Only a few people were there when it’s such a good place.”

“I heard of that fishing village but never went there. It’s not as good as you think. No one will cause trouble there because the men frequenting that place will make sure that the security remains tight and there should be no reason for authorities to visit that place.”

“Shouldn’t you become more suspicious? I mean, why should they keep it that way? Aren’t you afraid that some groups gathered there to plan something bad?”

“That place is where most nobles and wealthy businessmen go to have some fun with their mistresses. Only members can enter that place, and the members are nobles and wealthy businessmen. Ordinary business owners are not allowed in that place. Only those with mistresses will go there frequently.”

“Really? But, it seems like grandpa is a frequent visitor to that place. Everyone seems to know him there. Did he keep a mistress before?”

Vaughn almost choked when he heard her question. But, it also made him think. Why would Wolstan go there frequently?

“No, grandpa did not have any mistress, and I don’t think he keeps one or will want to keep one.”

Vaughn already gave the answers to the questions that Zenia might ask. He did not want to discuss anything about mistresses, concubines, and other women in front of Zenia. He was afraid that her imagination might run wild again and would start accusing him of crimes that he did not commit and had no plans of ever committing them – not now and definitely not in the future.

“How about two or three mistresses? I won’t be surprised if grandpa has those women. He had been a widower for a long time already.”

Vaughn looked at Zenia, and she was not kidding. Whether she was trying to tease him or being serious, Vaughn had decided to make it clear with Zenia.

“Great-grandpa is not someone frivolous like King Tarendino. He did not touch any of his concubines in the harem. He had them because he lacked the support of nobles and being affiliated with a strong noble family was his only option to gain strong supporters. I don’t need anything like that, and you can be certain that I will not take any concubine to make me more powerful.”

“Oh, I already know that. The Anisen family is all you need to gain a strong, sturdy foothold,” she flashed her mischievous smile.

Vaughn kissed her on her forehead and hugged her as they lied down on the bed. He gathered her in his arms and closed his eyes. The exhaustion was starting to kick in.

“Have you discovered something while you were there? Knowing you, I’m sure that you learned something.”

Zenia giggled and hugged him back tightly.

“I sure did. I heard two men talked about Azer being held in the dungeon. He must know something about the plans of the Dark Magic Lord.”

Vaughn suddenly opened his eyes and got up.

“Azer! Why have I forgotten all about him?”