Irrefutable Gratitude

They both stared at each other for a while before Amelia let out a sigh and once more took her seat.

Internally letting out a sigh of relief, Kruxe followed his mother and also retook his seat, but just as he sat down, he felt a sharp gaze land on him making him very uncomfortable as he looked at the perpetrator.

Though Cletina silently stood to the side, refusing to partake in their dinner, she was still watching everything, and her narrowed gaze on him at the moment told Kruxe that she didn't fancy what he had just done.

"Mom have some beef, it tastes better than usual, the chef might have gotten some inspiration today," Kruxe said as he brought a large piece of brown beef close to his mother's plate.

Amelia paused her eating for a few seconds, and just when Klien feared she would reject him, she wordlessly moved her hands out of the way, giving him space to place the beef.

"Thank you."

With this small interaction, Kruxe knew he had at least quenched most of her anger, and after that, he wisely kept quiet and went back to his meal.

Kruxe had expected the meal to end in silence, but a few seconds later, his mother spoke,

"Kruxe you aren't the cause of my sickness okay."

"Okay," Kruxe readily replied.

"I don't want an okay, I want you to tell me you understand/"

"I understand" Kruxe quickly said, but Amelia was not satisfied.

"You are my son, how do you think I feel knowing that you blame yourself for my illness? No matter what anyone says, the truth is that you didn't cause any of this okay."

"Yes," Kruxe said looking down at his food, but when he felt Amelia's gaze still on him, he looked up at her and then gave another reply.

"I understand"

"Good, now stop being all sad, you're killing the mood."

Though Kruxe wondered how things changed to him now killing the mood, he wisely kept quiet and nodded his head.

"You were able to hit the target board twice and you even read the wind, not to mention If this voyage is successful I will be healed, doesn't this call for some smiles and celebration" Amelia cheerfully said, but unfortunately for her, neither of the room's other two occupants shared her joy.

"Come on Kruxe don't tell me you're becoming all grumpy and stoic like Cletina" Amelia admonished but Kruxe's only reply was a wry smile as he bent and had another bite.

"You're thinking something bad about your father aren't you?" Amelia asked but once again got no reply.

"You're thinking he sent us out sea just so he could get us away from himself don't you," Amelia said with a smile as she then placed a piece of meat in her mouth.

"Isn't that the truth" Kruxe fired, unable to hold back this particular frustration, yet all his words did was make his mother smile like she had expected this reaction.

"How can you be so sure, you should have an open mind"

"Well the fact that he didn't send his men to protect us says it all."

"You can't say that, there was a pirate attack on Earl Harrods territory and your father had to send off most of his men to help him, you can't blame him for that"

"Besides, it's not like we are without protection, we have the Seekers from the kingdom" Amelia pointed out, but Kruxe's face only scrunched up.

"They're weak"

"You might have grown here in the coastal land, but Dahara is your kingdom and those people are your people" Amelia scolded but even then her words were light as Kruxe had spoken nothing but the truth.

In the face of Seekers from coastal lands, Seekers who stayed inland were always weaker, and it wasn't a matter of just resources, it was a fact brought about by nature.

"Excluding his flagship, he has three extra galleons he could have lent us a crew or even better one of his ship, you're still his wife damn it" Kruxe growled, his voice bitter as he said the last sentence.

Amelia opened her mouth to speak, but closed them a second later. As a wife of a noble and one who was a viscount, the least her husband should have provided with was a galleon and not let his wife and his son squeeze themselves into a barquentine.

"Your father might fail to pay us attention or shower us with attention and protection, but that doesn't mean he doesn't love you," Amelia said some seconds later watching with bated breath as Kruxe stopped eating and looked up at her with a very unhappy gaze.

"And what makes you so sure" Kruxe softly asked.

Hearing Kruxe's words, Amelia blinked her eyes a little not expecting such Calm words from Kruxe.

Sadly it took Amelia close to a minute before her eyes finally brightened a little as she answered Kruxe's question.

"Your admission, he gave you a spot in the WFA academy, you can graduate and join the navy and even be an officer of the WFA."

For his mother's reply, Kruxe had no answer, and while he himself was sure that his father had some ulterior motive for doing this, he did not have the courage or audacity to disparage his father on this action.

The World Fleet Alliance popularly dubbed the WFA, while there were kingdoms, empires, countries, and other powerful organizations, the WFA stood above them all.

If the WFA told them to jump, they asked how high, and if they asked them to bark, they asked how loud else, well ...

In summary, they were the true rulers of the world, and if one could imagine their strength and prestige, then one could only imagine how difficult it was to get into their exclusive academy.

Earl and even dukes couldn't even guarantee their children a spot in the academy, yet his father who was but a viscount had gotten him a seat.

Funnily, despite Kruxe's dislike or perhaps hatred for his father, the man was the person who provided him with the platform on which he built all his dreams and hopes.

"Your right mom, I'll probably forever be in his debt for what he's done, but please stop treating me like a kid.

You don't need to hide from me that my father dislikes both me and mother, I'm an adult now, and that's something that I understand and acknowledge."

With his words, Kruxe could see his mother's eyes get all teary, but before she could cry, he reached out over the table and firmly held her hand.

"You're a great mother, don't go blaming yourself because you have a crappy husband. okay"

Amelia gave Kruxe's hand a tight squeeze but then lessened her grip and nodded her head.

"That's not an answer, remember the reply you taught me earlier," Kruxe said with a grin earning himself a light glare from Amelia, but in the end, she could only sigh and then speak.

"I understand."

"Good, you can stop bothering yourself with father's crappy promises, when I graduate from the academy, I'll sail the seas and find you a cure, I won't give up till I find a solution for you, even if I have to enter the Red…."

"No" Amelia quickly shouted, her hand squeezing his own which was still holding on to hers,

"There is no point in me living if you're dead." Amelia began her eyes quickly going misty but Kruxe intervened before he began crying.

"Ahhhh, damn it Mom I was just trying to be all cool and lighten the mood but you had to go and ruin my moment" Kruxe comically complained, faking a face of despair.

"Oh sorry," Amelia said confusion on her face but in the end, she got caught up in Kruxe's acting and forgot her previous fear.

"Fine I'll accept your apology if you tell me the secret ingredient of your dishes"

"No way, you rascal" Amelia admonished looking away from Kruxe with a snort.

Seeing he had salvaged the situation and preserved the comfortable and cheerful atmosphere, Kruxe let out an internal sigh of relief.

"A little bit slower and I would have had mom crying for fear of me dying. The worst thing is I was truly joking, it's not like I have any plan of going there, only a mad person would willingly sail to the Red Ocean."

Like this, a happy atmosphere was maintained until the very end of dinner when Kruxe kissed his mother good night.