The Crown's Seduction
Chapter 191: The Codex

Chapter 191: The Codex

Mineah chuckled as she looked at her husband’s disguise. It was ingenious, but it still looked funny to her as she watched him squirm as if his current clothes wouldn’t work as intended.

"I can’t believe I’m doing this," he shook his head as he murmured.

"Well, you are now," Mineah chuckled as she fixed his hood. Eventually, she clicked her tongue as she knitted her brows at him. "This won’t do at all. You’d still obviously outshine anyone despite your current look. You should look more like a commoner," she grumbled. "Hmm... Maybe it’s best we use magic instead?"

There was no use even trying to put basic clothes on him. He was simply too handsome and eye-catching that even if she put an ordinary hood around him, he still stood out like a sore thumb.

"Look at you mumbling in dissatisfaction," he chuckled as he adjusted to his clothes. "Have you seen what you look like in your disguise?"

Mineah scoffed, knowing full well that she at least looked her part with what she was currently wearing. It wasn’t the first time she did this, after all. Even back in Ebodia, she would always go out with her shadow maidens in disguise to hunt for wild plants, often also being disguised as a man. Still, even then, Niran would usually fix her appearance with magic since they said she still looked too eye-catching.

After a few more minutes of trying to make things work, Mineah gave up with a shrug. "Let’s just go out like this," she snorted. "We’re already dressed as commoners anyways, and we also have our hoods to cover us, so no one will probably recognize us. At least, I hope so."

"So adorable," Nikolai smirked as he playfully cupped her face till her lips puckered. He then leaned closer and gave her a resounding kiss.

Surprised, Mineah blushed and in turn, she pinched her husband’s cheeks gently in retaliation. "You look very cute as well, you know!" She then wrapped her arms around his neck and said, "Come now. I’m sure Laura is excited to meet you."

"Hold on tight then," Nikolai remarked. "You know the drill."

Mineah let out a small breath as she held onto her husband tight. From their bedchamber, they traveled in his mist form, making their way outside the Palace Gate where one of his shadow knights was waiting with their chosen horse.

"Your Majesty..."

"Thank you," Nikolai nodded as he took over handling the horse, taking his spot in the saddle as he took control of the creature.

Taking her cue, Mineah took her spot behind him, making herself comfortable as she made sure to look every bit of the commoner that she was supposed to be. From there, she and her husband made their way to the capital city.

Entering the city streets, she did her best to put her head down as her husband did the same by her side, their ride being one of cautious alertness as they both made sure that they wouldn’t be spotted and also took in the sights in front of them.

"This is the first time you’ve done this, right?" Mineah couldn’t help but ask her husband.

"I usually had my men do this for me," Nikolai explained, his voice low to make sure that he wouldn’t be recognized. "They kept tabs on the populace and their opinions in my stead, but I must admit that I’m finding this to be a rather interesting experience."

Indeed. Mineah smiled as she noticed how much more attentive her husband was now around their citizens. He was clearly listening to what was happening around them, and she couldn’t help but admire that about him.

Eventually, however, they reached their destination. Nikolai got off the horse first, allowing himself to assist Mineah down before they entered the tavern where Laura agreed to meet them. Entering the floor, she kept a keen eye on the guests as Lai made sure to keep himself close to her. Walking into the tavern proper, the tables were filled with guests, and she would’ve almost had a hard time spotting Laura if it weren’t for her knowing exactly how her shadow maiden operated.

Leading Nikolai by the hand, Mineah followed what looked to be a path towards one of the back rooms. There, they saw Laura as she waved them into her room.

"In here."

Mineah smiled as both she and Nikolai sat in front of Laura. Obviously, she was also in disguise as a man, but with the privacy of the back room, she could at least use her real voice to greet them.

"Welcome," Laura greeted them with a curt nod. "I have much to discuss."

"It’s exactly as my wife said then," Nikolai vaguely hummed. "Have there been any developments?"

Laura visibly turned her gaze to Mineah, to which Mineah herself simply replied with a knowing look. She was giving her permission to speak freely with her husband to share information.

"Very well, I’ve located what seems to be an underground den for illegal activities right beneath the capital city," Laura began as she pulled out a codex of her findings. "I recorded what I can before I got discovered, but I’m pretty sure that what I did find would be incriminating enough to launch a raid on its location."

Mineah noted how Laura pushed the codex toward her direction. Taking the ledger into her hands, she quickly parsed through its pages before promptly giving it to Nikolai for his convenience. He was going to be the one to launch such raids following the investigations anyway, so he might as well know what she found.

"This is... This is outrageous," he growled, his anger growing with each page that he flipped through. "Thank you for sharing this with us. It would be for the betterment of our kingdom should this information prove to be correct."

"I do my best," Laura bowed, making sure not to call them their proper titles. "If that is all, then I best be on my way."

"Wait," Mineah called out to her. "We still have one more thing to discuss."

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