“Now you’re really putting me to work, huh?”

Stella climbed down from the hammock, casting a playful glare at Kukus.

Standing between the kitchen and the deck, Kukus answered with a mischievous grin. He held up a lumpy, sprouting potato and waved it triumphantly.

As Stella walked across the deck, the sailors working nearby either bowed their heads or waved at her with bright smiles.

“Princess, a big crab got caught in the net. Give it to Kukus and ask him to boil it!”

“Wow! Thanks a lot. I’ll enjoy it.”

Seeing Stella genuinely delighted, Scutt, who was mending the net, stretched his thick lips into a long smile.

His lips were crooked due to a scar running diagonally across one cheek, but it no longer seemed intimidating. His red hair fluttered in the wind from beneath the bandana he wore to cover his bald crown.

He gave Stella a loose smile before turning his focus back to the net. Judging by the plump fish caught in the net, it seemed fish would be on the dinner menu tonight.

Despite the warm weather, the waves were quite rough, causing Stella to walk in a zigzag pattern.

The sailors watched her with proud expressions as she managed to keep her balance without falling. Once she disappeared from view, they wiped the smiles from their faces and busied themselves again.

Wherever she went, Stella seemed to attract the sailors’ concerned gazes like a magnet.

A month ago, King Philip, who was unwilling to spend on sending her as a hostage, had placed Stella on a merchant ship bound for the Credion Empire with two escort knights, treating her as mere cargo.

Though it wasn’t difficult to add three more people to an already departing ship, the fact remained that she was a princess of a nation.

Captain Fooka initially refused, feeling it was beyond his capacity, but the king promised not only compensation but also a year’s tax exemption if he delivered the princess.

While it might not have been a significant sum for a king, for Fooka, it was a crucial matter affecting a year’s business.

Moreover, he heard that the princess boarding the ship was the daughter of a concubine, not held in high regard even in Amalrune.

After careful consideration, Fooka accepted a bit more compensation from the king and gladly took the princess aboard. Little did he know that this decision would completely change his life.

As soon as Stella entered the kitchen, she settled in comfortably and began peeling potatoes with practiced skill.

“Working a princess like this, Kukus, you’ll be punished for insulting royalty.”

Despite the grim warning, Stella seemed to enjoy her place in the kitchen.

Potato skins flew in all directions as they were expertly peeled from her fingertips. Although still thick, it was a significant improvement from when she used to waste half the potato while peeling.

“Yes, yes! But first, please take care of those potato skins.”

Kukus glanced at Stella, who was now quite adept at handling potatoes, and responded with a grin. His clothes were soaked with sweat as he stirred a large pot with an oversized ladle.

Now over forty, Kukus was the only cook on the Giant Ship. His muscles, visible outside his sleeveless top, flexed like living creatures each time he stirred the pot with a ladle larger than most shovels.

Kukus was as strong as his sturdy build suggested. Except for Captain Fooka, he had never lost an arm-wrestling match against any of the crew on the Giant Ship.

Stella still couldn’t understand why someone so strong had become a cook.

Most notably, Kukus had no talent for cooking.

“Kukus! Don’t add too much salt, just the right amount!”

Stella paused her potato peeling and looked up anxiously. Kukus, who was about to pour an entire bag of salt, flinched and quietly set the bag down.

“When did I ever do that? Besides, food tastes better when it’s a bit salty. You wouldn’t understand.”

Kukus grumbled as he plunged the giant ladle into the salt bag. When Stella glared at him, he sheepishly shook the ladle inside the bag.

The crew rolling around on the deck wouldn’t care if the food was salty or bland as long as their bellies were full, but Stella was different.

Even though she treated them without formality, she was still royalty. The difference in status was like heaven and earth.

“In three days, we’ll arrive at the Credion Empire.”

With Kukus’s words, the pace of peeling potatoes and stirring the pot slowed considerably.

“Yeah. Time flies.”

Stella’s voice, in response, was drained of energy.

Kukus’s potato stew turned out quite decent. Although she was startled whenever a fish head popped up unexpectedly, it was quite edible compared to his other dishes.

The fish head Stella fished out of her bowl was quickly taken by Scutt, who sat beside her and chewed it up.

A large, well-cooked crab was placed on Stella’s tray, separate from the others. Scutt, who had promised to give it to Kukus, seemed to have boiled it himself to ensure it was done right.

Stella broke off a crab leg much thicker than her finger and offered it to Scutt sitting next to her.

“Thank you.”

Scutt, feeling a bit shy, awkwardly lowered his gaze and smiled.

“I’ll make sure to boil it for you again next time we catch one,” he promised.

Several people who had been watching them eagerly began placing various items in front of Stella. There were slightly browned apples, lemons preserved in sugar, and even some flat hardtack.

With a rough smile, Stella felt tears welling up at the sight of the food piled before her. She remembered Rudina’s swollen face, unable to let go of her hand until the very last moment. She hoped Rudina had safely escaped the harbor and wished she would forget her foolish master and live a happy life.

Caw, caw.

The sound of seagulls crying from above sounded just like Rudina’s sobs.

***

Unlike the chaotic and busy deck, the captain’s cabin was neatly organized and quiet.

“It’s been almost a month since the princess boarded the Giant Ship,” Fooka said, sitting across from Stella, who was sipping her tea. His face was densely covered with a bright brown beard that was almost orange. His beard, which he trimmed first thing every morning, always looked straight and handsome, as if it had been drawn on. His black eyes, deeply set beneath thick eyebrows the same color as his beard, stared at Stella. Every time Stella looked into his eyes, which sparkled like obsidian, she felt as though she was gazing into a deep abyss.

“Tomorrow marks a month,” she replied, and Fooka gave a small nod.

“When I first met you, Princess, I never expected you’d be like this,” Fooka said, fiddling with the teacup in front of him. The handle of the cup, which could accommodate two of Stella’s fingers, seemed tiny in Fooka’s hand, like a toy teacup.

His thick fingers barely fit into the cup handle, so instead of using it, he casually grasped the hot cup with his calloused hand. Even the chair Fooka sat on seemed excessively small.

His shoulders were twice as broad and thick as those of an average person. And that wasn’t all. His arm and leg muscles were so exceptional that when he walked down the street, people would instinctively step aside, feeling his imposing presence. When he overpowered opponents with his overwhelming strength, he resembled a mighty grizzly bear.

The reason Fooka, who usually drank only water or alcohol, was awkwardly sipping tea was because of the princess sitting across from him. Despite nearly a month of living on the ship and looking rather disheveled, her ingrained habits remained unchanged.

Sitting upright and calmly drinking tea, she didn’t resemble the person who had just been eating potato stew with fish heads among the sailors. Though she was still wearing work clothes, her upright posture, the way she held the cup, and her slightly lowered gaze all remained. To Fooka, Stella appeared to be the perfect royal.

Clink.

When Stella placed the teacup on the table, Fooka’s gaze followed her movement. After a long silence, Stella looked up and smiled with a hint of regret.

“I didn’t expect to become so close to you, Fooka,” she admitted. Even though they had only known each other for a month, it felt like they had been acquainted for ten years.

“Run away, Princess. We’ll help you,” Fooka suddenly suggested, having been quietly watching Stella. She instinctively curled her lips into a circle.

“I can’t do that. You know, the damned lineage contract would tear me apart the moment I tried to escape. And those who helped me wouldn’t be safe either,” she replied. She had learned later that the lineage contract included a clause that royal duties must be fulfilled. Although she had read it at the time of signing, she hadn’t realized it would become such a shackle.

Stella took another sip of her lukewarm tea.

“We can take care of ourselves. So if you change your mind, please let me know. You understand? We’ll also look for a way to break that cursed lineage contract’s magic. Oh! I didn’t mean your lineage is cursed, Princess!” Fooka exclaimed, realizing his slip of the tongue and waving his large hand in a panic.

“It is a cursed lineage,” Stella said, laughing blandly as she finished the remaining tea. Seeing this, Fooka let out a deep sigh and repeated himself.

“If you need help, please tell me! You understand?”

“If you say it one more time, it’ll be a hundred. I got it. I’ll definitely tell you,” she assured him.

But both the one answering and the one listening knew that such words would never be exchanged.