"My lord, what are we going to do now? That man must have joined his team already." One of Damien's shadow guards informed him.
"Tell Jorick to check the room that the young man had stayed in. I need to know more about that man."
"Yes, my lord."
The shadow guard did not waste time and went to see Jorick right away.
It had been hours already since Zenia left the inn. The old man knew that nothing bad happened to her, but he had a hunch that she was deployed immediately to her post. Several new faces entered the inn. They were dressed lavishly, and the old man knew that they came for one purpose – hire some mercenaries.
He was about to approach the group when he heard voices coming from the kitchen. The inn just finished serving lunch, and the servants should be taking a break already. No one should be left in the kitchen.
Although he was old, his hearing was way better than the younger generation. No one would suspect that he was eavesdropping on the conversation in the kitchen.
"His highness wants you to inspect the room of that young man, and see if you can find something interesting." It was the shadow guard that Damien sent.
"He's still alive?"
"He should be. We saw Sark's body floating on the river just now. We have a hunch that the young man did it."
Jorick gasped and couldn't believe his ears. The old man smirked and knew then that Zenia was accepted by the burly leader's master. The old man knew that the burly leader had a real master behind him – someone more powerful than the Ninth Prince. The old man stayed in Lunaria for an extended engagement when he caught wind that another power wanted to do something despicable in Tissuria.
"He's stronger than Sark? How could it be? He looks so… puny," Jorick couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Just do what the master has said. I know that you and Sark are like brothers, but the dead can't contribute anything anymore. Don't fret over it and move on." The shadow guard turned and left without a trace.
Jorick trembled uncontrollably when he heard what the shadow guard had told him.
'The dead can't contribute anything anymore. Don't fret over it and move on.' These sentences kept resonating in Jorick's mind.
He slumped on the floor and the tears that he was trying to hold back, poured like rain as he muffled the sound of his grief. He already witnessed the cruelty of the Ninth Prince and his people, but he still believed that Damien cared for them. He was always grateful that Damien took him in when he had no one and nowhere to go.
He never recovered his memory even though the doctor that the Ninth Prince had assigned to look after him was one of the best in Tissuria. He never missed taking his medications, but still could not remember anything. He stopped taking it before, but his head hurt so much that he remained unconscious for a day.
The old man wanted to console Jorick, but he also knew that it would be a foolish thing to do. He took the chance to visit Zenia's room and check it out himself. Jorick was still trying to compose himself and remained that way for a while. He did not think that someone heard them. The old man had decided to clean the evidence in Zenia's room.
The old man turned the key to Zenia's room and moved as fast as he could. She did not leave anything of value. The old man noticed a set of woman's clothing and some accessories – nothing out of the ordinary. The old man folded the dress neatly and made it appear like it was a gift for someone. He placed the dress neatly on the desk.
The old man took the rest of Zenia's belongings before he locked the door and went downstairs. He quickly hid Zenia's backpack behind the counter and went to greet the new faces.
"Good afternoon gentlemen. To what do we owe the honor of your presence?" The old man gave them a warm welcome.
"Good afternoon, sir innkeeper. We just happen to lose our way and ended up in your inn. May we see the menu?" The gentleman with a purple coat was the one who mentioned the secret code.
The old man was certain that the gentlemen were there to do some business. The old man continued entertaining them and tried his best to appear focused on the guests. He already felt Jorick's presence behind him as he made his way to Zenia's room. Jorick believed that the old man did not notice anything.
When the old man heard the creaking sound of the opening door, he knew that Jorick already entered Zenia's room. He smirked as he kept talking with the guests.
'You can turn that room upside down but you will never find anything useful to report to your master.'
Jorick hurriedly searched the room and found nothing. He noticed the neatly folded dress on the desk and unfolded it. There was nothing. It was like the young man had never been in that room. He remembered that the young man seemed to be carrying a sort of bag when he arrived, but it was also possible that the content was the dress.
He did not want to be the bearer of bad news, but he had no other choice. He could be wrong about the young man. There was nothing suspicious in the room. The young man did not seem to have an accomplice.
Jorick knew that Elliot was clean. He just couldn't help to suspect the young man and decided to report to Damien right away. The young man was clean, and somehow he realized that he was the one who led Sark to his death.
* * * * *
At the Anisen Manor, Renaria and Ovid were already preparing for their departure. Renaria did not tell Ovid and Zander that they would stay for a while at Roma Inn.
"Mother, are you all set?" Zekiah rushed to his mother's room and saw that she already packed everything that they would need in the journey.
"Zeze, you're a big boy now. Don't go barging in like this in our room." Ovid roared when he saw his youngest son entered their room without knocking.
'Big boy? I'm a grown man!'
"Ovid, stop it. Did you check everything with Zander? Go there now and make sure that everything is okay."
Ovid just gave his wife a disapproving look. He stood up and walked toward the door. He turned and glared at his son before he went out. He knew that the mother and son could be plotting something.
"Remember what I told you, mother. Stay a day or two at Roma Inn."
"Okay."
Zekiah gave his mother a kiss on the forehead and left the room. Renaria was having second thoughts about the plan, but she knew that someone may do something to stop them from reaching Tissuria safe and sound.
Ovid saw Zander at the stable choosing the horse for the carriage.
"Which horse?"
Zander was a bit startled when his father questioned him.
"I'm thinking of using two. One is Thunderbolt."
"Zenia may not approve, don't use Thunderbolt. Why else would she leave her steed behind?" Ovid knew his daughter quite well.
Thunderbolt was famous for his speed and could easily attract attention. He knew that his daughter did not want to attract unnecessary trouble.
"Thunderbolt had saved her countless times. I can only feel at ease when I know that her horse is with her all the time."
"You have a point, but I don't think your mother will agree."
Zander whispered to his father.
"I met someone who can change the color of the horse without using a dye. I'm not sure about his technique, but the effect lasts for six months."
Ovid's eyes grew wide and gave Zander a beaming smile.
"I think that will work."
"With Thunderbolt taking charge, you will be in Tissuria ahead of schedule."
* * * * *
Sure enough, a carriage was waiting for Zenia and the burly leader at the end of the path. It would take them to the North Gate in two days. The carriage looked sturdy and wide. The horses seemed fast, but not as fast as Thunderbolt.
Zenia couldn't believe her eyes when she saw that the carriage was packed with the things they would need for their journey. The master of the burly leader really thought of everything.
"Is everything satisfactory?"
"I can't believe I can get to travel this way, boss. I have never seen such a huge carriage before and it's practically a house!"
"Ha-ha-ha, you've never seen everything yet, young man. My master is the best on the whole continent." The burly leader was obviously proud.
"I say, this master of yours is truly something."
The burly leader boarded the carriage.
"Come on hurry up young man. We don't have all day!"
"As you wish, boss."
The carriage moved right away as soon as Zenia boarded it. One by one, the shadow guards appeared, and all of them were looking at the direction to where the carriage was moving.