Prince Vaughn of Tissuria

King Tarendino learned that Zenia Anisen was not willing to be married off to the Kingdom of Tissuria. She had not seen Prince Vaughn even once and seemed to be keen on rejecting the proposal. King Tarendino could not suppress his anger upon learning Zenia's thoughts.

"How dare she refuse the marriage with Vaughn! Even though she's Ovid Anisen's daughter, she's still nothing but a mere woman."

"I wonder why Vaughn insisted on marrying that daughter of the Anisens. Is she a rare beauty?" The queen asked teasingly.

"Who knows? Not many people knew what she looks like. She is not fond of attending banquets. According to the report that I just received now, only a few people have seen her."

"Sigh, I only hope that her face is not disfigured. I can't think of any reason why a young woman would hate attending the banquets. Maybe she already has someone in her heart." The queen got worried upon realizing such possibility.

"No, she doesn't even have any marriage offers or prospects. I am starting to believe the rumor that the daughter of the Anisens is disfigured and has no talent."

"Did Vaughn really want to marry that kind of woman? I think Princess Jemilla is still the most suitable wife for Vaughn." The queen was getting anxious and feeling distressed.

"Don't you know your son at all? Once he set his eyes on a certain goal, nothing and no one can change his mind. I admit that this time, I don't know what he's thinking when he suggested marrying Ovid Anisen's daughter instead." King Tarendino replied dejectedly.

It was Ovid's idea to hide the identity of Zenia as the lead military tactician of Ishelon. Only the Royal Family of Ishelon and the military knew the war-god-like identity of Zenia in their kingdom, other than being a part of the medical team and the daughter of Ovid Anisen.

Everyone else in Ishelon knew that Ovid had outstanding sons and daughter who gave their all for the people of Ishelon. To the people outside of Ishelon, they thought that Zenia Anisen was an ugly woman with no talent.

Somehow, Vaughn was able to uncover the hidden identity of Zenia. He did not dare divulge such a valuable piece of information to his father or anyone else. He was able to gather intelligence reports, but none of them explicitly said that Zenia was the head tactician.

Vaughn just intelligently deducted everything. He had experienced how vicious Zenia's mind could work even as a child. He still could not figure out if he had ever offended her somewhere when they first met.

He regretted underestimating her abilities just because she was very young back then. He never thought that his 'little deception' was nothing compared to the unpleasant memory that Zenia had given him when he too was still a child.

Vaughn wanted to forget that chapter in his life, but he could not dare forget that little girl who occupied a large part of his heart. The image of that little girl kept him company as he studied hard to reach his goals. That image seemed to urge him to move forward and pushed him to go beyond his limits.

Vaughn quickly understood the worries of his mother and father when he caught the recent conversation between them. He wanted to tell them the magnificence and brilliance of their daughter-in-law as the lead military tactician of Ishelon. He wanted to boast of her beauty, but he knew that the proper time to reveal everything was not that moment. It was too risky to let them know about the real Zenia Anisen.

"Don't you want to put an end to this senseless fighting? Ovid Anisen's daughter is the one who can help us all." Vaughn informed them as he walked to his father's table.

"Your Son greets imperial father and mother." He greeted politely as he bowed his head to show respect. He touched the silver mask that he never took off ever since they returned from Ishelon.

The Kingdom of Tissuria's Crown Prince, Vaughn Pernell, grew up to be an outstanding young man. He went through a lot of difficulties before he obtained the approval and recognition of the people of Tissuria. Unlike King Jarod, King Tarendino had many sons and only three daughters.

King Tarendino had many concubines who bore him lots of sons. Prince Vaughn was the Seventh Prince and the only biological child of Queen Mina. She adopted the Ninth Prince, Damien, and his sister Princess Odette when their mother Concubine Jayda died from a mysterious illness.

Vaughn was never close to his adopted siblings. Vaughn knew that Concubine Jayda's father, the Left Minister of Tissuria, had been trying to coerce the other ministers to strip off Vaughn's title as the Crown Prince of Tissuria. However, their efforts were futile because no one was able to match Vaughn's achievements. The people of Tissuria loved Vaughn and would not let anyone replace him as their Crown Prince.

"Vaughn, you're here!" Queen Mina greeted him warmly. Her heart ached a bit when she saw the mask that Vaughn was wearing.

His son decided to hide his face from the world to avoid another assassination attempt. When they were about to return to Tissuria from Ishelon that time, they encountered a formidable group of assassins. He was separated from King Tarendino, and it was Ovid Anisen who rescued him.

"Mother…" Vaughn uttered lovingly.

There was no doubt that Vaughn and Queen Mina shared deep affection as mother and child. Vaughn was fully aware of the struggles that his mother went through to keep her position while protecting her son.

King Tarendino's harem was full of beautiful, poisonous snakes that would not hesitate to take the life of their Queen. When Vaughn turned thirteen, he had seen the ugliness of the harem and he vowed that he would only keep one wife and remain devoted to her for the rest of their lives. He immediately thought of Zenia and he became more determined to have her only as his wife.

Vaughn was fifteen years old when Queen Mina had decided to adopt Concubine Jayda's children. Vaughn rejected the idea immediately. He knew that the Left Minister was someone untrustworthy and would not hesitate to eliminate them when given an opportunity.

"Vaughn, accompany me to the garden." King Tarendino motioned his son to follow him. He stood up and walked to the direction of the imperial garden.

Vaughn bobbed his head to his mother, and then followed his father. It was only a short walk, but Vaughn felt that each step he took was adding another mile to reach their destination. It was the longest short walk that he had ever taken in his life.

As a Crown Prince, Vaughn gave his allegiance to the King and the entire kingdom. He respected King Tarendino with all his heart. As a son, he could only thank his father for giving birth to him. The father and son did not have a loving, close relationship of a parent and child. It was more like a master-subordinate relationship.

"Vaughn, why did you choose Ovid Anisen's daughter?" King Tarendino could not hold back any longer.

Vaughn was quite surprised at his father's direct question. He secretly smirked before he gave his answer.

"I cannot tell you now, but I assure you that we will benefit a lot from this marriage." Vaughn was haughty and confident when he answered.

King Tarendino saw it all and he began to laugh.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha! I know that you are really planning something. I already told the Left Minister that we have nothing to worry about." King Tarendino was elated as he tapped Vaughn on his shoulder.

Vaughn's face darkened when he heard his father mentioned the Left Minister. They would benefit a lot when he and Zenia became a couple, but it also meant fulfilling his innermost desire.

"You don't need to worry about anything my King. Ovid Anisen's daughter may have a hideous face, but her father and brothers pamper her so much that she's even better than a princess. They can easily take over the whole of Ishelon if they want to, does Princess Jemilla hold such power?"

"Hmm, it makes sense. No wonder you wanted to marry her. Worse comes to worst, you can always get a concubine if she's really ugly. No need to go to bed with her. After we used her, you can divorce her." King Tarendino laughed once more, but Vaughn found it unpleasant.

"Divorce her? In your dreams! I have waited for a long time to pin that girl down. Every inch of her belongs to me. I will never let her go!" Vaughn thought to himself.

"If there's nothing else my King, I will take my leave." Vaughn bowed and King Tarendino waved his hand while laughing.

"Your majesty…" It was the Left Minister who hid earlier as instructed by King Tarendino.

"Did you hear what the Crown Prince said earlier? Do you still doubt his intentions?"

"I heard it all, but I still don't think that Ovid Anisen's daughter is that formidable." The left minister was trying his best to discredit Vaughn.

"You don't need to worry about anything. You must have not heard this but Ovid and Zander dote on Zenia very much. If we can rope the father and son to our side, our kingdom will rise to great heights."

"Then I no longer have an opinion Your Majesty."

Vaughn's face was as dark as a bottom of the pot. He knew that someone was listening when he talked to his father. He had a good hunch that it was the Left Minister.

He knew for a long time now that the Left Minister wanted his biological grandson, Prince Damien, to be the Crown Prince. Unfortunately for him, King Tarendino was not as muddle-headed as he hoped.

"Crown Prince, the gifts for Ms. Zenia are on their way. It's expected to arrive in three days." Redivo reported to him.

"Good, report her reactions to me when she sees the gifts. Her wedding dress is there too." Vaughn's dark aura dissipated without a trace as he pictured Zenia's reaction upon seeing the wedding dress. He did not inform the Anisens that the wedding dress was already made.

"Yes, Crown Prince." Redivo shook his head as he took his leave.

Vaughn looked up the starry night sky and closed his eyes. He remembered the day he went to Ishelon for the first time. He remembered the young Zenia and the event that changed his life forever.