For fifteen days, the three ships have been moving steadily forward. There is no joy in the minds of the ship's crew. The look of fear and despair was clear in their eyes.
"Commander, we only have a week's worth of food left." One of the crew said, a hint of panic in his voice, "If we don't find land in the meantime, we'll all die of lack of food!"
"Just keep moving forward. We have no other option. Just keep heading west, I'm sure we can find land that way." Misthia said. Though her words were fearless, there were dark circles under her eyes, from lack of sleep and worry.
"Okay, Commander" the crew left with worried faces.
Gareth and Eric then approached Misthia.
"Miss Misthia, are you okay?" Eric asked worriedly. Gareth stood next to him, silently observing Misthia.
Misthia looked at them with angry eyes.
"Why are you two here?!"
"We came to know tha...."
Before Eric could finish his sentence, Misthia interrupted him.
"What did you come to find out! We are in this situation now because of you. If I had known that you were the fugitive prince of Latvia, I would never accept this task."
Eric fell silent. The crew around them were also looking at them with anger and hatred. Their complaint was clear, all this had happened because of him.
"I lost seven of my ships and hundreds of men because of you. All of this is because of you." Misthia's voice was a mixture of sadness and anger.
Gareth and Eric's eyes showed regret and shame.
He bowed his head before Misthia and said, "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry for the deaths of your people and for this situation. I know it's unforgivable. But we had no other choice. I just wanted to reach Aurelia secretly. I don't know how they found us. I'm so sorry for the deaths of your people."
"Young master, what are you saying! You don't need to apologize. It was me who hired them. So I should apologize" Gareth said.
"Sir Gareth, it's still my responsibility. The responsibility for all this falls on me," Eric said, a heavy regret in his voice.
"TCH! You two stop your drama now! I'm tired of watching your drama! Also, has that mage of yours regained her consciousness?" Misthia said sternly, annoyance and displeasure clearly on her face.
"No, she hasn't regained consciousness yet. She used a lot of mana to teleport us so maybe her mana heart was damaged. I don't know how long it will take for her mana heart to repair."
"Ugh!.. Now get out of my sight! I don't want to see your faces."
"Look, Miss, you can't talk to the Young Master like that; he's a prince," Gareth said, stepping forward.
Misthia angrily pointed her sword at Gareth.
"You should be glad we haven't thrown you off our ship now. Now get lost before I kill you"
Gareth also gets angry at this but Eric quickly calms him down. He holds Gareth's hand, a pressure that tries to calm him down.
"Sir Gareth, calm down. We should express our gratitude to them. For letting us stay here and for providing us with food. Miss Misthia, I apologize for his behaviour."
Gareth and Eric then started to walk away.
Misthia watched them as they walked away.
Then she heard a voice.
It was the captain of their ship. He was looking through the telescope.
"Commander, I found something, come here quickly"
______________________
Gareth and Eric return to their rooms.
"Master, did they again treat you badly!?"
Edith said in an angry voice.
"Edith, hundreds of their people have died because of us. If I were in their place, I would do the same."
"Even so, Master, they cannot treat you ."
Eric took a deep breath. "Edith, there's only a week's worth of food on the ship. We must focus on this matter. We should just pray now that we see land soon,"
"I understand, Master," Edith said, her head bowed. There was respect and agreement in her voice as if she understood the gravity of the situation.
Eric then looked at Hanna, who was lying on the bed with a calm face.
He sat down on the old wooden chair next to the bed.
"Also, Edith, thank you very much for taking care of Hanna."
"It's my duty, Prince," Edith said politely.
"But still, thank you for everything you've done so far. It's because of me that you're all in this situation." Eric said. A regret and apology were clear in his voice. As if there was a burden on his heart that was constantly weighing him down.
"Young Master, don't say that. It was our decision that we chose to follow you."
"Yes Master, Don't say that"
"Umm...Thank you for trusting me."
Edith said, seeing the atmosphere in the room getting heavier. "Ah, Master, I should go now. I'm going to help everyone in the kitchen."
"Edith, you know they don't like you," Gareth said.
"I know, but I don't pay attention to them. I'm just happy that I can cook for you. Besides, they're not that bad."
"But Edith, you're a royal Elite maid," Gareth said.
"Sir Gareth, we have self-respect. We can't just sit around and beg them for food. Besides, I love to work," Edith said with a smile.
Eric said nothing because he had nothing to say.
Edith then moved from there to the ship's kitchen.
______________________
Edith came forward to the kitchen and opened the wooden kitchen door. The door was a bit rickety and old.
A few people were working here. They all looked at Edith, a mixture of disappointment, anger, and distrust in their eyes.
But Edith ignored all this and moved on. Because she had become accustomed to it.
A man stood in front of Edith. His large body dwarfed her. He was smoking a cigarette, he had a large white beard on his face and a cut on one of his eyes, which made him look scary.
The man threw a huge tuna fish on the wooden table.
"Quickly cut it up. Then you have to clean the dishes and the whole kitchen too"
"Understood" Edith said with a smile.
The man looked at Edith before leaving, his gaze as if he had compared Edith to a disgusting thing.
Edith took the fish-cutting tools in her hands and began to cut the tuna. Her hand movements were quick and precise, each piece of fish being cut evenly.