Chapter 530 - True Potential
Horace and Sigma shared a glance at each other and shook their heads.
Of course, they had met men who were stronger than themselves.
The two Dukes of the Kingdom, Duke Maldock Brodie, and Duke Obinn Tanner fell under this category.
These were just the ones they were aware of and had seen using their powers frequently.
Their Master's elder brother, King Ophire was also added to this list.
In fact, the man with the highest level of skill that they had seen until now was the King who ruled over the Kingdom of Rosenhyde.
However, King Ophire rarely revealed his true potential as he was too lazy and the men around him would not be able to bear the aura that would be released once he displayed his true powers.
They knew that there were more people who had a higher level than themselves but they had never thought that this man, Sevenz Oca would be one of them.
They had checked this man's background when he had first gotten close to their Master.
After all, they could not let any suspicious person get acquainted with their Master lest he tried to harm the young prince in any way.
From their covert investigations, they had found that Sevenz Oca was the son of a businessman from a foreign kingdom and had arrived at Rosenhyde to expand his business.
Horace had been suspicious of Sevenz but no matter how much he tried to dig into this man's family's circumstances before he entered Rosenhyde, he did not gain much success.
All he came up with was that he was the current heir of the Oca family and that Ocular was the fruit of their family's hard work and efforts.
After revealing these details to their Master, Draco had asked to stop all investigations as Sevenz was a trustworthy man in his eyes.
He had already learned more about Sevenz through their conversations than what Horace had found after numerous investigations.
Thus, the men under Prince Draco had halted all attempts of figuring out the secrets hidden behind the identity of the man named Sevenz Oca.
So now when they realized that their Master's friend had sensed their presence was enough to make them suspicious about his strengths once again.
Their thoughts were obvious on their faces that it made Sevenz scoff and roll his eyes.
In the next instant, an overwhelming aura filled the room, surrounding Horace and Sigma as it had been aimed at them in the first place.
This aura reeked of bloodthirst and made it difficult for them to even breathe followed by the urge to vomit as they felt their stomachs churn.
However, within a single second, that bloodthirst faded away as though it had never existed and was a part of their imagination all along.
Touching his throat, Horace realized that this was no hallucination and he had experienced that sickening aura of bloodthirst which could only have come from someone with higher skills than he possessed.
Sigma fixed his eyes on the man seated on the couch who had once again begun sipping tea with leisure.
The bloodthirst had come from this man who was now pretending to be innocent and oblivious to what had just taken place.
Sevenz raised his head and his white irises met those of Sigma's grey eyes.
However, no matter how he searched for it, the shadow knight found no trace of the bloodthirst in them.
No one in this mansion had sensed anything odd as Sevenz had made sure to aim his aura at these two who were doubting his strengths.
"Stop staring and tell me why you have come here." The Master of Ocular uttered, impatience evident in his tone.
All along, he had been suppressing his powers so that people he interacted with every day would not be wary of him due to the strength he possessed.
The only reason why he had revealed his true potential to these men was to prove that he would not have any troubles with someone as minor as figuring out their location no matter how much they tried to conceal it.
The strength possessed by these two men could not be compared to his innate powers and he needed to let them know not to be too haughty about their lacking skills.
If it hadn't been for their lack of vigilance and strengths then his friend would not have gone missing and spent three days who knows where.
They might be stronger than Draco at this moment but there was no way they could overpower him with their level of skills.
The proof of that, he had displayed for just a second and the outcome was the pale faces which now stood before him, struggling to reveal their purpose of coming here.
Horace finally managed to regain his composure just enough to mention what had led them in this direction.
"Sir Oca, back then… h-how did you know that Master was close by?" He inquired about the doubt that had been troubling him from the moment they had safely reached the Roschester mansion.
When he and Sigma had been seated around the bonfire to heat their shivering bodies, this man had jumped out of the carriage without any prior intimation and had looked in the direction that their Master had been coming from.
Sigma too was curious as he had accomplished this feat even when his etcher, the viper wrapped around his wrist who was a great tracker had failed.
To add to that fact, the snake was already acquainted with their Master's aura yet it had not sensed the boy but the man inside the carriage had managed to do so.
However, after the bloodthirst and proof of the strength that he had just witnessed, Sigma had an inkling of how this man had sensed the Prince's aura before they could.
It took Sevenz a moment to recall the incident Horace was talking about before he nodded his head, indicating that he was willing to reveal how he had discovered Prince Draco's arrival.
Back when he was resting in the carriage with Tutu with him, he and his etcher had sensed a strange and powerful aura heading in their direction.
It was rare for him to meet someone who could catch his eye but what stunned him was that aura was immensely familiar.
It took him just a moment to recognize that hidden in that overwhelming aura headed in their direction were traces of the aura belonging to his friend, the Prince.
He could not understand how Draco's aura had multiplied and morphed into what he had felt at that time.
However, now that he was aware of the existence of the etcher who had followed after Prince Draco all the way to the Mansion, he was sure that the unspecified beast was the cause of this change.
Horace and Sigma's eyes widened after hearing the speculations that Sevenz had just stated.
From what they had just heard, there was one aspect that was now undeniable.
"Master has become stronger than us in just three days!" Sigma exclaimed, joy overflowing from his face.
This was the only possible explanation why his etcher, the viper, had failed to sense his presence.
His etcher could not locate people who were on a higher level than him.
The only reason why Sevenz was never doubted for having greater powers was that he was skillful in suppressing and concealing his true potential.
But as their Master had not done so, the viper had failed to notice his arrival but Sevenz and Tutu had.
'However, I do not know whether the Prince is on the same level as me or above me.' Sevenz rubbed his chin, wondering how strong Draco currently was.
On the other hand, the two subordinates of the Prince were gleaming with happiness.
Just three days ago, Horace and Sigma were levels above Prince Draco in terms of their strengths and skills.
However, now that had changed and their Master was stronger than them.
Horace's eyes brimmed with tears at this discovery which was worthy of a grand celebration.
Their Master was able to keep pace with them during their sparring matches but his young age was his drawback which deterred him from winning their matches.
Now winning against them would not be a problem for their Master as his strength seemed to have intensified within these three days that he had been missing.
They did not know what had happened in these three days which had led to this rapid development, nonetheless, they were happy for their Master's progress.
If Draco heard the praises he was receiving for getting stronger, he would scoff as in his and his etcher's opinion, he was still weak and desperately needed to improve.
Visit freewe𝑏(n)ovel.co(m) for the b𝘦st novel reading experience