His Highness's Second Wife
His Highness’s Second Wife Chapter 57

Zen jumped over the wall, landing soundlessly in the low grass. He waited for a moment, holding his sword close to his body to avoid hitting it on anything and causing unnecessary noise. When he was sure there was nobody nearby, he got up to his feet and picked his usual route, following the wall.

He walked for a couple of minutes in a straight line, avoiding bundles of fallen leaves and big bushes, and stepping on protruding roots and green grass instead. These quiet, dark places had become so familiar in the past few months that he could navigate them with his eyes closed.

Zender stopped, pressing himself to the nearest tree just a few seconds before the two guards appeared in his view. ‘Right on time,’ he thought, waiting patiently as they moved with slow, unhurried steps. Once they were far enough, he stepped from his hiding place and continued on his way.

The night was clear and quiet, so he could see and hear better than usual. It was so easy to sneak in now; he could literally stride into the Main Palace and nobody would even notice him. Well, maybe there was somebody.

Realizing Kassian had a separate unit of agents that operated from the shadows hadn’t taken long.

Once the first one started following them, it was easy to turn the chase around and replace out where they went to report. Knowing they existed, Zen could avoid them. He had spent his lifetime avoiding assassins, so evading the ones that didn’t even dare make contact was child’s play. Still, shaking them off with Raena as deadweight was another story.

She was so naive and careless, it was almost laughable. Or was it that she trusted him wholeheartedly that he would make sure they were not followed and keep her safe? Having her complete trust was a good – a great thing! He didn’t think it was going to be that easy to obtain it, but with her being so desperate for allies, she probably didn’t have much of a choice. And he had made sure he never gave her a single reason to doubt him – he had been quiet, obedient, protective. He didn’t care that he had to bow and kneel and speak respectfully to people of no consequence. As long as he got what he wanted, he was ready to crawl through the mud and speak any lie.

Survival was the only way to win. The last person standing was the winner, not the ones with the most power or money or strength. He was going to win and build the future his mother envisioned for him. He had been patiently waiting for almost two decades for the perfect opportunity and even though it wasn’t going exactly as he expected, he wasn’t going to let this chance pass.

Zen stopped again, flattening himself against one of the walls surrounding the North Palace while waiting for the patrolling guards to pass. One of them dropped the handkerchief he was blowing his nose with and stopped to pick it up. Zen held his breath as the other one turned to look at his partner. The shadows falling over the wall and the nearby tree hid him, but the moon was bright and the sky was full of stars, so if any of the guards were to look carefully around, they could probably spot him hiding.

“She turned him away again?” the one standing up asked, looking around as if scared someone might overhear.

“That’s right,” the one crouching replied, getting to his feet after dusting his handkerchief. “His Highness left no more than five minutes after he came. He didn’t look happy, I’m telling you.”

“Well, with what I’ve heard happened in the Concubine’s palace… The two of them continued on their way, their voices fading into the night. Zen turned around and headed for the small wooded door at the back of the mansion, which Kara had shown him some time ago. He had returned the key to her as instructed, but not before making a copy for himself. Going through a door was much easier than climbing walls or disguising himself. He had even oiled the hinges to make the old thing move more smoothly without piercing the night with its woeful screeches.

Zen turned his key in the keyhole, slipping inside. He checked the windows on his side of the mansion for light or moving shadows, and when he found none, he sprinted to the servant’s entrance.

He hid his wig in one of his pockets next to the letter that bastard had given him.

Making his way to the second floor, Zen barely hesitated as he headed for Raena’s room. He stopped in front of the door, knocking. She was probably asleep at this time, but on the off chance she was not, he wanted to see her. He hadn’t been in her bedroom since that night, and he thought it might be the perfect time to take the next step.

No answer came from inside. He hesitated for a moment, but then let himself in. The room was dark and quiet, with no traces on the bed that anyone had gone to sleep there.

He stepped back into the corridor before somebody could see him, heading toward Kara’s room. Raena had promised to sleep in her own bed from now on, but it seemed she had crawled back to her maid’s side. What was so important about Kara, anyway? The two seemed friends regardless of the difference in their status, but apart from Kara’s imprudent behavior as a servant, he never saw them act like friends. From what he had heard when they talked, it was usually about documents or the restaurant, or some other business. He had seen women talk to women who they called their friends, and it was usually about gossip, clothes, books, politics, or other mundane things. Not work.

Not chores. Was he missing something? He knocked on Kara’s door and waited. The door finally opened and a small, chubby face appeared in the gap, blinking sleepily at him.

“Nola?” He frowned as the little girl finally opened her eyes. “ls Ra.. the Mistress in there?”

“No,” the girl mumbled, letting the hand that was rubbing her eyes fall to her side. “She is in her room, isn’t she?”

“Alright. Go back to sleep.” Zen forced a smile on his face and she immediately blushed, closing the door abruptly. He let his smile drop and headed toward the end of the corridor where Raena’s office was. He stopped in front of the big double doors, preparing to knock for the third time. He changed his mind before his knuckles brushed against the wood and just let himself in.

At first, he didn’t see her, but as he moved closer to the lone candle on the desk, he noticed the small form slouching in the chair by the desk. Zen frowned as he moved closer until he was standing by her side. She was wearing her nightdress already, but she had wrapped a heavy shawl over her shoulders. Her bandaged arm was resting next to her head. Her face looked pale and tired under the dim light, but she slept soundly as if she didn’t have a single worry on her mind.

Zen crouched next to her, pushing a strand of hair out of her face. She let out a quiet sigh, but didn’t wake.

“So pretty.” he whispered, running a finger over her temple, then her cheek until its journey finished to her mouth. Her lower l*p was bruised again, probably from biting it too much as she stressed over this thing or the other. He had told her not to and when she didn’t listen, he had wanted to bite those lips himself and show her there were much better ways for her to get hurt if she wanted. She probably would have gotten scared and pulled away again. For a woman who boasted about being free and eager to enjoy life’s pleasures, she really tended to overthink things. He sometimes wondered if that confident act disappeared in bed.

He wouldn’t mind being the one giving orders for a change.

He leaned his head on the desk, staring at her relaxed face.

She was probably the prettiest woman he had ever met, but what was behind that gorgeous face was much more interesting. When she bought him that night, he thought he’d just follow her home and fool around for a bit until he found someone more suitable for his plan. But as they reached the giant mansion and he overheard the guards mentioning the third prince’s name, he realized luck was finally smiling on them.

Watching her play for fools royals, nobles, and servants alike, watching her raise a business from the ground up, watching her scheme and plan and risk and dare with frightening confidence, it wasn’t long before he started longing for her. Despite her fragile appearance, she possessed astute intelligence rivaling only his late mother’s.

She was perfect for him.

Zen gently gathered her in his arms, her golden hair spilling around her face and filling the air with the scent of flowers and soap. It was an odd mix of smells, but he had quickly grown to love it since if he could smell it so clearly, that meant he was close enough to touch her. Developing feelings for her wasn’t part of his plan, but they had enough wiggle room to accommodate this new development.

Making her fall for him worked great for filling the time when he had nothing to do.

As he closed the door of her room, he strode to her bed and gently placed her on it. She muttered something in her sleep, her hands lying by her sides while her chest rose and fell in slow, even breaths.

Zen sat next to her, unfastening the shawl around her shoulders. He slid it off, tossing it at the foot of the bed before turning back to look at her.

No wonder the third prince started playing a different tune the moment he laid his eyes on her. If it wasn’t for her silly charade, that murdering bastard would probably be all over her in this instant. But it was too late now, because…

“..you’re mine.” Zen finished out loud, caressing her smooth cheek. He let his finger run over her lips for a moment before pulling his hand away. She might have not accepted him yet, but it didn’t matter. Soon none of it would matter – her marriage, her title, her restaurant, even this place.

Once he reached his goal, he was going to take her away from this place. It was going to be better if she accepted him by then, but it wasn’t entirely necessary. He didn’t mind taking his time with her.

She’d have no one else to turn to but him anyway.

Zen pulled the sheets to cover her and got up. He was just about to leave when he heard her whispering something. He turned, half-expecting to see her awake and startled by his presence, but she was just talking in her sleep. Zen tensed to hear what she was saying since she seemed to be repeating it again and again.

“He is going to die if I don’t do something. He is going to die…”

Zen frowned, staring at her distraught face, trying to figure out whose death got her so upset. A few seconds later, her face relaxed and she stopped mumbling, turning sideways in bed and hugging her pillow. As much as he wanted to stay and watch her some more, it would be bad if somebody caught him doing that.

Closing the door as quietly as possible, he took a step back, preparing to head to his room when he felt somebody’s eyes on him. He instinctively reached for his weapon, but his hand froze above the hilt when he recognized the person leaning casually against the nearby wall.

“You’re back later than expected,” Elene said with a scowl. “Any problems?”

“Nothing l couldn’t handle,” Zen replied, looking up and down the corridor.

“Where is my brother? I thought he was coming back with you,” she asked, pushing herself off the wall and letting her hands fall by her sides.

“He needed to stay behind at the restaurant” Zen replied with a hint of annoyance. “Move.” He stared at her, waiting for her to move out of his way, and eventually, she did, her expression growing even darker. “He’s fine, stop glaring at me like that.”

“You should take a bath,” she said suddenly, moving past him. “You reek of b***d.” She didn’t wait for an answer as she disappeared around her corner, her steps quickly fading away. Zen looked down at his hands and clothes but didn’t see any signs of b***d – he had been very careful not to get any on him and discarded anything that did.

Sighing, he headed for his room. He needed to do something else before taking that bath.

As he stepped inside the accommodation that was given to him, he locked the door and moved toward the small table in the corner, quickly lighting up the candle on top of it. As the flame grew bigger, he took the letter from his pocket and carefully slid his knife underneath the seal, opening it without damaging the paper itself. He unfolded the paper and let his eyes slide over the three short paragraphs.

The first two were some stupid gossip about the second prince and some other noble that got somebody else’s wife pregnant. The third paragraph made Zen smile coldly.

“Oh, Marden, Marden,” Zen murmured, moving the fake report over the flame and watching it as it slowly caught on fire. “You should have kept your suspicions to yourself. You are forcing a hand”.