novelraw Chapter 321: Whether She Returns to Nanyang or Not, Elopement is Already Decided
Chapter 321: Whether She Returns to Nanyang or Not, Elopement is Already Decided
Chapter 321: Chapter 321: Whether She Returns to Nanyang or Not, Elopement is Already Decided
Jocelyn Yeager raised his eyes to look at Delphine’s delicate face, wanting to reach out and touch her pale, nearly translucent skin, but the movement tugged at his injuries, causing him to let out a low gasp.
"Let me check your injuries." Delphine said decisively, unbuttoning his collar without waiting for his consent. When she saw the bruises and patches of blood seeping through his chest, her face instantly darkened.
Kneeling on the ground to examine his wounds, Delphine’s subtle fragrance surrounded him. Jocelyn, in spite of the pain, felt an unexpected joy swell within his heart.
"It just looks worse than it is. It’s nothing serious," Jocelyn smiled faintly, trying to reassure her.
Delphine said nothing. She had already searched through the entire hidden room, but there were no medical supplies. Jocelyn’s injuries urgently needed treatment.
At that moment, the ship suddenly jolted, as though it had collided with something, and came to a halt. Chaotic footsteps followed immediately afterward.
Their eyes met, and both faces turned grim.
Rustling sounds came from above. Someone opened the door to the hidden room, letting daylight and sea breeze flood in, accompanied by a coarse, guttural curse.
"Damn it, I’ve been sailing for half my life, and this is my first time encountering a sealed sea." The man stomped his way down, but before he could assess the situation in the hidden room, Jocelyn, who had been lying in wait, subdued him.
"Don’t move," Jocelyn commanded, his voice sinister and cold, laden with menace.
The middle-aged man, baffled and visibly shaken, nodded repeatedly, too afraid to make a sound.
The pair bound the man tightly.
"What’s happening out there?" Jocelyn chose to ask the most pressing question.
"They’ve sealed the sea—they said it’s to conduct inspections. All ships have been forced to stop," the man, his face shadowed with misfortune, reluctantly explained. Having sailed for decades, he clearly knew the implications of a sealed sea. One mistake, and his life could be forfeit. His fear of Jocelyn binding him was thus tempered by the unsettling gravity of the situation. "Now we’re all in this together. Tying me up won’t change a thing."
Jocelyn’s face grew increasingly grim. Almost instantly, he realized that this sealed sea was likely aimed directly at them. His heart brimmed with a mix of shock and bitter satisfaction: shock that they might not be able to take Delphine away, satisfaction that Ignatius Leclair would go so far as to seal the sea—a move reminiscent of the tyranny of ancient despots. After this incident, the Leclair Family would undoubtedly face unprecedented attacks, and whether Ignatius could maintain his position as the Crown Prince of the South Seas was highly uncertain.
"Who sent you? Where are you taking us?" Delphine asked hoarsely.
Taking advantage of the light spilling into the room, the man scrutinized Delphine’s face, a flash of stunned admiration momentarily lighting up his weathered features. The sun-darkened skin of his face took on a suspicious flush as he unconsciously softened his tone and waved his hands hurriedly. "Aren’t you two stowaways? What do you mean, we’re the ones taking you?"
Five minutes later, Delphine finally pieced together what had happened. The man had merely come down to dispose of contraband. With the sealed sea throwing everyone on edge, the captain had ordered him to throw the noncompliant items in the hidden room into the sea. When he came down, Jocelyn had subdued him before he could realize there were two living people hidden in the room.
"Where is this ship headed?" Jocelyn asked.
"To Guinea Bay, stopping at several countries along the way. This is a merchant ship," the man replied.
Delphine instantly understood. Someone had hidden her and Jocelyn on this ship, arranging for them to be sent off to Guinea Bay—not for profit, not for death, but simply to cement the narrative that the two of them had eloped. Whether or not they ever returned to the South Seas, their reputations would be irreparably tarnished—the story of their forbidden flight would be inescapable.