Chapter 213 - Uncertainty

"I could read your thoughts earlier, but I cannot read anything from you right now. Maybe, this new power has its limits."

"You can now see your past, even though you lost your memory. You can see glimpses of the future. Now, you can even read minds… Lad, just what are you?"

"I really don't know, grandpa. I'm sure I'm from Herzegova if I will rely on the information that the Young Duke had told me. Now that I'm analyzing it, I think only one of my parents is the bonafide citizen of Herzegova. But, who between the two of them was from Herzegova?"

"Hmm, do you already know why your dream led us here in Venetia?"

"I still don't have a clue, grandpa. I wish I can dream about it some more, but I never did. Also, I kept seeing a golden flame in my dream ever since we arrived here in Venetia. Perhaps, there is a place here with a golden flame?"

"I don't know if there's something like that here. In all my years, I have never heard of a place in Venetia where you can find a golden flame. Are you sure it's a flame and not some kind of light?"

Jorick tried to recall his dream and answered, "It's not some kind of light, but it looks like a wave of golden strands with a streak of reds in them. It resembles the flame but not quite. I'm not even sure if it's the past or the future."

"Hmm, these things that you can see in your dream are beginning to get on my nerves. I want to go to Prazia immediately and look for my friend who might be able to help you regain your memory. That could be our best option here, don't you think?"

"Let's try to explore Venetia first and see if we can find the place with a golden flame. It is possible that its existence is something new here in Venetia and not yet known all over Maecaea."

"Can you try to read thoughts once more? What am I thinking right now?" The old man gave Jorick a mischevious grin.

He shook his head, "Grandpa, although I can't read your thoughts right now I know that you are thinking something despicable."

The smile on the old man's face quickly disappeared when he heard Jorick's reply.

"This brat, I wish I can turn you back to how you were before. I miss the old you."

Jorick just let out a light chuckle.

* * * * *

Prazia, in the middle of the night, when everyone was fast asleep…

Four shadowed figures carefully made their way into the abandoned, forbidden land. No one would dare go there, but King Odhran's soldiers were patrolling the place. To be precise, they seemed to be guarding the place.

"Why are they guarding it when no one will come? They are only making it look more suspicious. They don't even look like they are only patrolling." Zenia whispered, and she couldn't hide her annoyance.

"Don't talk too much. The soldiers might hear us." Vaughn reminded his wife.

"Young Madam, I suggest you heed your husband's reminder so that my Young Master will not be disturbed and keep his focus." Rodham interrupted them and pointed at the Young Duke.

Beads of sweat were already forming on Duke Gordon's forehead as he tried to channel his dark magic power to the invisible barrier that kept the secret base well-hidden from the common sight. It was the first time that the Young Duke had tried opening the barrier using his dark magic. He was thinking of doing it before, but he lacked the motivation to do so. It was thanks to the Young Madam that he finally found the will to proceed.

After trying for half an hour, the Young Duke had only managed to create an opening as small as a peep-hole. But, Zenia was already glad that he was able to do it on his first attempt. However, the Young Duke was not satisfied with the outcome.

"Let me try once more. I think I will be able to create a bigger hole when I apply science. Let me look for the right angle to channel my dark magic."

"Okay…" Zenia had no idea what the Young Duke meant.

The tiny opening that Duke Gordon had created remained open. It was like looking at the door's peep-hole. They could see only a few people walking to and fro. Everyone must be sleeping already and only a few guards were awake to guard the base. There were King Odhran's soldiers outside the barrier and the Left Minister's secret soldiers inside the base.

"What do you think Duke Gordon meant when he said he's going to use science," Vaughn whispered in Zenia's ear.

"Beats me, I just said okay because I thought it was the most proper response at the time."

"Shhh, please be quiet for a while," Rodham tried to remain calm as he reminded the couple.

Duke Gordon spread the tools that would aid him in his calculations. Zenia thought that they looked strange.

"Does your Young Master always carry that with him wherever he goes?" Zenia whispered when she asked Rodham.

"Yes."

Rodham did not say anything further, and Zenia did not bother anyone anymore and just watched. Duke Gordon looked so serious in what he was doing. He would sometimes create some gestures that Zenia would find funny.

After making sure that his calculations were correct, he began to try channeling his dark magic into the barrier. He hoped that his calculation regarding the right angle to strike was accurate.

At first, there was no reaction. Zenia noticed that the tiny opening was getting bigger and bigger. When it was big enough for them to pass through, Duke Gordon stopped what he was doing.

"We only have half an hour to explore the base. Otherwise, we will be trapped inside. I can only hold it to remain open for half an hour, so hurry!" Duke Gordon urged them to walk fast, but they should remain quiet.

Zenia was about to say something when Rodham looked at her and shook his head. She decided to shut her mouth and ask questions later.

There were guards everywhere, but they did not seem to be guarding anything. They were patrolling while yawning.

Zenia smirked, 'These guards are not doing their jobs properly.'

She talked to Vaughn using Ishelon's hand language. Vaughn could understand a little, and they did not really need to utter anything between them whenever they were on a mission. They could understand each other perfectly. She signaled that she would be leaving them for a while and would be back quickly. Vaughn nodded.

Rodham was keenly observing the couple and shook his head. The couple knew each other very well. Rodham trusted Vaughn's ability to understand Zenia and sat with him in their hiding place as they waited for Zenia's return.

Duke Gordon was trying to stay focused on his task as he waited for the others to return. He could only stay outside to keep the doorway of the barrier to stay open.

Rodham was amazed at how fast Zenia disappeared. He remembered the figure that jumped out of the window of the Young Madam when they were in Solaria. That figure and the Young Madam just now were eerily similar.

'Could it be that the one who went out that night was Young Madam?' Rodham looked at Vaughn who was sitting beside him.

Vaughn could feel Rodham's intense stare but decided to just ignore it. Rodham was beginning to doubt his Master's initial assumption that Zenia was the one who had a pure spirit. No matter how he looked at it, the Young Madam was not someone with an una.d.u.l.terated mind. 

Zenia surveyed the surroundings and created the map of the place in her mind. She tried to move fast as she drew the map of the place in her memory. It was not as complicated as she first thought. In fact, it was so easy to remember. She hid behind a tree when she sensed that some people were coming.

She could not find anything special about the patrolling guards.

'Aren't they supposed to be strong? How come they look so…ordinary?'

The guards stopped near the tree where Zenia was hiding. They chatted for a while.

"What do you think happened to the batch that the Left Minister had ordered to be taken to the laboratory?"

"Shhh, it's best if we don't discuss it anymore. Remember the last batch that was sent to the laboratory?"

"Hmm, what about it?"

"I heard that only one of them returned, and he became useless."

"What do you mean?"

"No one can understand his words. It's like he's speaking one of the ancient languages."

"But, the entire Maecaea had agreed to use only one language, and the agreement happened two centuries ago. There's no way that he would know the ancient language."

"That's why I'm telling you not to mention it anymore."

The guards went on their way, and they were greeted by one of the Dark Magic Lord's men.

"Did you make your rounds already?"

"Yes, sir!"

The man's voice sounded familiar. Zenia took a look at the man and recognized him immediately. It was Azer. He must've sensed that someone was looking at him and gazed at the tree where Zenia was hiding.

"Is something wrong, sir?" One of the guards asked and turned his head to where Azer was looking.

"It must've been my imagination. I thought I saw something. Return to your posts."

The patrolling guards and Azer did not stay for long. Zenia did not waste another minute when they left. They needed to get out of there immediately.

She reached Vaughn and Rodham after a few minutes. She signaled them to hurry up. It was fortunate that no one noticed them as they ran to where Duke Gordon was waiting for them.

'Please hurry up. I don't think I can keep this open for another minute.'

Duke Gordon was already sweating profusely as he tried his best to hold on. They were already five minutes late.