Chapter 69 Loyalty And Service (2)

It seems that she is thrilled by having to kill the one that murdered her child. And it didn't seem that she ate all of Knight Camille's corpse, which means, the other half of the Knight's body is currently floating somewhere at the corner of the ocean.

Although I couldn't blame Toothless for leaving her meal unfinished in disgust, I made a mental note to be wary of magically empowered aquatic juggernauts with a heavy, overprotective parental instinct.

"Roar!!"

A low thunderous roar, accompanied by the thick screams of frightened men made its way to my ears as we descended towards the lower decks.

"Captain" Mad John called out to me, glancing backwards in worry.

"Don't worry, they will be fine" I replied, rubbing my nose as Toothless mentally informed me that 'the cowardly weak were literally climbing the walls of the ship and should be in it soon'. Her exact words, not mine.

"Omm" I voiced out.

Mad John stayed rooted in his spot when he heard me call out his name.

"So your real name is Omm right?" I responded.

"Yes, Captain. Mad John is just my alias"

"But why Mad John?" I inquired.

"I go by that name now because of some situations which happened in the past. I will tell you the story when you are well rested and willing to listen" He replied, with a wry smile arching itself on his lips.

"Alright" I nodded my head in understanding. It seems like I will hear a tragic back story or an amusing one later, which would help me in some way understand some things about this world and know more about the people around me.

"Although you raised your hands when I called out your name, you still haven't told me your choices you would".

He stared at me briefly before a short noisy stream of hot air flowed out of his nostrils.

"You already know my answer, Captain. For now, until my slave contract terminates, I will serve you willingly and provide you with the advice befitting to the best of my abilities"

"For now?" I repeated, pointing out the out word in his sentence.

"Yes. Until my slave contract with you is over, I will then be given the choice to continue following you or leave and go my way"

"What if you die before then?"

"Then I will blame it on my terrible luck"

"What if you stay even when your slave contract expires?"

He shook his head at my question.

"You are asking a little too much from me, Captain. Whether I choose to stay or leave, only the future will tell. There is still a lot of time for drastic or minute changes to take place" He replied.

"You are right" I nodded my head in approval.

Nodding his head, he turned around and continued walking forward.

"You know, I wouldn't make absurd decisions if you give me the right advice beforehand" I said.

A frustrated almost silent grunt escaped Mad John's lips.

"I can't read your thoughts Captain, you will have to converse with me first to let me know your thoughts before taking a decision".

I snorted at his remark.

You wouldn't have been troubling your Captain if you knew how petty he was.

….....

".....Shhh!! Drip!!!"

His pen slid across the paper he was writing on, destroying its pages as ink dripped on it mistakenly.

"Did he really do that?" Captain Crimson eye said, removing his eyes from the irredeemable mistake that would require him to tear out the page to rectify the error.

"Yes, Captain. I saw the scene myself with the other crewmen since it had happened within our range of view" The man stated.

Captain Crimson eye dropped his pen down. He raised his arms and rested his elbow on the table, interlocking his fingers together, he rested his chin on them and stared out with a lost and wondering look in his eye.

'Why?' Captain Crimson eye thought.

It was already clear that he didn't underestimate Prince Wyatt anymore. No, he couldn't even afford to underestimate him.

But yet, 'Why?'.

Why couldn't he think of the right reasons for Prince Wyatt's action?

His crewmen had come to inform him what had taken place across Prince Wyatt's ship an hour ago. But no matter what or how he tried to think outside the box, he kept coming around to the same point.

Of course, he knew that he couldn't read all of a person's thoughts since he wasn't a god. However, the info that he gathered from Prince Wyatt after talking with him didn't in any way conclude that he was an irrational guy who threw caution to the wind and walked without watching his steps.

Throwing the slave contracts of your sea slaves into the sea all because they revolted, wasn't that a little too much?

If any of them had mistakenly died, how would he handle the ship until it reaches land?

Well, now that their slave contracts are no more in his possession, how will he stop them from running away if any of them wanted to?

The more he thought about it, the more his train of thoughts tangled among itself like a ball of yarn.

Had it been any other situation, he would have to make a plan or understand what was going on based on the most reliable information at hand.

But in this case….. Sigh!!

"Tell the Prince that if he wants he can keep his ship anchored with ours. And if he asks why? Tell him this is the best way we can provide security for him against any sudden threat" Captain Crimson eye said.

"His ship is also damaged after all' He thought.

Prince Wyatt was a wild card whose competent and threat level had been shooting through the roof since the first time he met him.

"You can leave" He said "But one more thing, check if Annabelle is awake and tell her to come to see me"

The crewman nodded his head and walked out of the room.

To control a wild card like Prince Wyatt wasn't a good decision. Experience and understanding had made that clear to him. The only thing he needed to think of, instead of trying to dictate the First Prince's life or control him is to find a person that could easily infiltrate Prince Wyatt's personal space and become part of it.

He needed someone that would keep an eye on the First Prince so that he would be able to plan ahead instead of trying to predict it and failing miserably in the process.

Someone that would tell him every single detail of the First Prince's everyday life. Someone that is loyal to him and wouldn't betray him even if the storms in their heart were heavy.

Someone?

Staring at the ceiling of his room, he hoped that somehow, Annabelle would be able to fill in that gap for now. And become that someone!

He shook the worrisome thoughts away from his head and quickly ripped out the inky-flooded page from the book in front of him.

Dipping the pen into the inkstone beside him, he started afresh.

For now, he needed to deal with the case of the so-called Miracle Queen and see what she is up to.

…...

"Ahhh!!!"

She could still feel her muscles turning sore from her rampage that consumed almost all of her magical energy.

"Mmhh" A soft painful moan escaped her lips.

She had gotten used to fighting many weak opponents ever since she joined the Crimson Black eye crew.

A flash of her battle against the famed Prince passed through her mind.

She had also gotten used to fighting many stronger opponents. Most of which she had prepared for, and others which she had overwhelmed with only strength and might alone.

She was a summoner after all. A mage rank ascendant who could summon spirits from across the veil to do her bidding.

She didn't need to plan against another ascendant who was in the same circle as her but with a lower path because she could easily beat them to bits.

She only needed to be wary of those who were at a higher circle, but with a lower path than her because with enough strength, she could escape from the battle to safety or eventually overwhelm her opponent.

Her rank allowed her to go toe to toe with those who were circles above her, but against those within the same rank as hers, such a blessing was useless.

The upper hand she held against many opponents was useless against Prince Wyatt who had proven to be several circles higher than her, within the rank but had chosen the beast-tamer path.

She shook her head and sighed.

She wasn't weak, the incompetent Prince was just too strong.

"Knock! Knock!!"

Someone was knocking on her door. Did the Captain perhaps want to see me?

"Are you awake yet? It's me, Jerry" A loud familiar masculine voice bounced into her ears.