"Is that what you supposed to say to your savior? You were about to be tossed out of the sea if I didn't put this shield up, and you don't even know about it," Jorick bickered a bit, but he was relieved that he made it on time.
"I could've been tossed?" Zenia looked at Vaughn who just shrugged his shoulders.
The couple and the rest of the people in the ship did not have the slightest idea that they were in grave danger just now. All the people in that ship did not know anything, except Captain Dumont. Jorick's timing was impeccable.
"Yes, and you did not know about it. Well, none of you would know," Jorick commented smugly.
He felt proud of himself, especially when he came at the right time. If he was a bit late, Zenia may have been swallowed by the sea. He looked at Zenia, who was pouting at that moment.
"Yes, yes, it's all thanks to you that I am still in one piece."
Vaughn remained silent through it all. He had guessed that Jorick was boasting intentionally to annoy Zenia. He kept hiding his left hand behind him, and Vaughn saw traces of blood. He did not find any injury on his body and the blood was already partly dry.
Vaughn suspected something and took a glance at Jorick's mouth. He saw a faint trace of blood. He must've coughed out blood earlier and was just quick enough to wipe it out. He felt the sudden emergence of a powerful aura earlier and did not say anything when Zenia seemed to be unaffected by it.
Vaughn wondered why he felt it and thought about the Cave of Fire. He had decided to train his body once more. He neglected his training due to the many things that happened to them. He always felt that something big might happen soon, and they all should get ready for it. He would find a way to tell Zenia about his hunch later.
"Since I'm here, I will take the two of you to teleport back to Tissuria."
Zenia's eyes widened when she heard Jorick's bold declaration.
"You can do that on your own without the Duke's help?"
"Of course! I've been taking Spartan lessons from that guy. How do you think I got here? My power has increased tremendously. You won't be able to imagine the things I'm capable of doing right now."
Zenia retorted something back, and they seemed like a pair of bickering siblings. Captain Dumont saw that scene when he arrived at the place where he detected Prince Joram's aura. It turned out that it was his son. Captain Dumont was certain because Jorick resembled his father.
Captain Dumont heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Jorick with Vaughn and Zenia. The Captain did not sense any ill-intent from the couple. In fact, they seemed close to the heir of Prince Joram.
Captain Dumont remembered Vaughn as the gentleman who requested something from him before. He had a hunch that Vaughn was a member of a Royal Family, but he could not say the same with Zenia. But, he sensed a strong aura from her. She had a bearing and demeanor of someone who had been in the military for a long time.
He had been staying in the ship ever since he arrived in Shadora and became the Captain after years of training. He did not care about anything, except gathering bits and pieces of news regarding Prince Joram. Unfortunately, what he gathered did not help him much. He tried to leave the ship before, but he was nearly nabbed by King Odhran's men in Shadora. Ever since then, he refused to leave the ship again.
The crew of the ship thought that everything had been caused by the storm and the sudden appearance of the whirlpool. The passengers thought the same. None of them had suspected that it was due to dark magic. None of them could detect magic.
He was left with no other choice but to approach Jorick. He had no idea if he would believe him or not, but he knew he got to try.
"Excuse me, gentlemen," Captain Dumont joined the trio.
"Ah, it's you, Captain. What can we do for you?"
Vaughn had a demeanor of someone who was used to dealing with things with diplomacy. Jorick was startled when he felt Captain Dumont's aura.
"You are someone from Prazia," Jorick suddenly blurted out.
"Yes, I am. I will not beat around the bush and get straight to the point," Captain Dumont turned to Vaughn and Zenia, "Please, excuse us for a while." He then put a barrier around them so that no one would hear and see.
Captain Dumont surmised that Jorick did not tell his companions about his true identity. He respected that, and he decided to put a barrier around them.
"Where did they go?" Zenia blurted out when Captain Dumont and Jorick disappeared right before her eyes.
"They must be here somewhere. It looks like the Captain knows Jorick."
Captain Dumont suddenly removed his necklace and handed it to Jorick. The pendant was the emblem of the Third Prince of Prazia, and Jorick recognized it right away. Only those loyal to the Third Prince could retain the emblem within their bodies. No one else would be able to touch it. Each emblem had a drop of blood from Prince Joram and his loyal subject. It served as proof of their loyalty to the Third Prince and someone close to Prince Joram.
All of Jorick's doubts disappeared when he saw the pendant. His father told him about it before, and he knew the secret behind it. He knew that Captain Dumont was someone he could trust.
Captain Dumont kneeled down and bowed his head before Jorick, "Heir of Prince Joram, I am Byron Dumont. I served the Third Prince Joram as his Foreign Minister."
"Please, get up kind sir. Right now, I am just the son of a farmer named Joram Healy and a simple housewife named Richael Cullen. We live a humble life, but we are happy."
"Healy?"
"Ah, my father served as a Minister of Finance in Herzegova. The King gave him the surname Healy."
Captain Dumont was surprised, "In Herzegova? If I'm not mistaken, the surname Cullen belongs to the Royal Family of Herzegova."
Jorick gave him a faint smile, "That is correct. My mother is the King's relative, but she chose to marry my father and relinquished her title to live a simple life. My father quit being the Minister of Finance and decided to be a farmer. I'm glad that they both decided to live an ordinary life. We have a simple life, but we never lacked anything."
Captain Dumont replied proudly, "Prince Joram will never let anyone by his side to suffer, especially his loved ones. I always believed that he was safe somewhere when we got separated that day. How is he now?"
Jorick became solemn and Captain Dumont somewhat felt that something must've happened. Jorick began telling him the things that happened in his family and how he lost his memory and regained it back. He also told the good Captain that he had a younger brother, and he believed that their parents were still alive and safe somewhere.
Captain Dumont told the whole story of what happened in Prazia that day. Prince Joram did not say much about his Royal Family in Prazia and just told Jorick that he and his brother must avoid going to Prazia at all costs.
Jorick gritted his teeth when he learned the hardsh.i.p.s that his father had endured in the hands of his own brother. He knew bits and pieces of what happened in Prazia, but Jorick did not expect that it was something more horrible than he imagined.
"Did you sense the dark magic earlier, Young Prince?"
Jorick nodded his head. He told Captain Dumont time and again to not call him Young Prince, but he kept insisting. He said that it was only right because Jorick was the true heir to the throne now. Captain Dumont could also tell that Jorick had immense magic in his body.
"I sensed it, and I know that the Dark Magic Lord is targeting Zenia. I just don't know why."
'Zenia? So that's the name of the woman earlier.'
Captain Dumont thought that he heard the name Zenia before, but he couldn't remember.
"Perhaps, Zenia did something that displeased the Dark Magic Lord?"
"As far as I know, she never met him even once. Did he sense your presence in this ship?"
"I doubt, but it alerted him that someone in this ship knows magic."
"I'm afraid that he will go after you. Can you conceal your aura and magic?"
"I can try. I can always go somewhere to hide."
"If you can't find a suitable place, look for me at the Palace of the Crown Prince of Tissuria."
Captain Dumont's admiration for the man in front of him had gone a notch higher.
"You know the Crown Prince of Tissuria, Young Prince?"
"You already met him. He's the gentleman I was talking to earlier, and the woman named Zenia is Ovid Anisen's daughter."
"Really?!"
"Really. Uncle Byron, you need to go out and update yourself regarding the things that have been happening around you. It's not good to stay in the dark."
"You're right, Young Prince. I'll try it once and see what happens."
They finished their talk, and Captain Dumont lifted the barrier. Zenia was startled once more.
"Whoa! You come and go as you please. Don't do that, it's not good for my heart."
"We just had a long, nice talk."
"Long? You've been gone for only five minutes."
Jorick looked at Vaughn, who nodded his head in agreement with his wife, and to Captain Dumont.
The good Captain scratched his head, "Time manipulation is also one of my abilities. But, I can only manipulate time to a certain degree. I cannot always do it."
"Can you teach me how?"