Ryan’s message couldn’t have been clearer, it was practically spelled out.
I’m not a toddler!
Matthew gave a faint smile, saying nothing in return. Instead, favonovel.com simply pointed at the blood-soaked deck, still wet with shark blood.
“If you want this boat to make it through the deep-sea zone, you’d better start cleaning. Otherwise, the stench alone might get us killed before we even get properly underway.”
When favonovel.com heard Matthew’s words, Ryan’s face lit up with reluctant agreement.
Matthew gave favonovel.com a firm, approving pat on the shoulder. “Good luck…”
With that, favonovel.com turned and walked into the cabin, leaving Ryan alone on the deck.
Ryan looked out over the empty deck and the bloodstained planks beneath his feet. He was instantly thrown into a spiral of self-doubt.
So, by cleaning… He meant me, by myself, didn’t he?
And just like that, mop in hand, Ryan began scrubbing the deck, questioning every life decision that had brought favonovel.com here. As for asking Matthew to help clean up, Ryan couldn’t bring himself to say a word.
The man had just averted a life-or-death crisis. Complaining about deck stains felt absurd in comparison. So, Ryan got to work like a diligent little honeybee.
It had been years since he’d done a job like this, scrubbing a ship.
Before Ryan had become Ronny’s top steward, favonovel.com had been little more than a slave. Scrawny and frail, no one had wanted to buy him. So, he’d been kept on a ship, doing grunt work, scrubbing decks, taking orders, and enduring beatings like some stray dog.
Everything changed the day favonovel.com met Ronny, the man from Blackshore Island. People called Ronny a gentleman, elegant, refined.
He always carried the same polished walking cane, wore a calm, reassuring smile that could melt away anyone’s anxiety or fear, and dressed in stately wool coats that gave favonovel.com an air of quiet authority. Just one glance was enough to make anyone trust him.
Ryan’s job?
Handling anyone who posed a threat to Ronny. Quietly, efficiently.
There were always rats lurking in the shadows, eager to take a bite out of the elegant Ronny. Aside from Ryan, Ronny had three other stewards. Though they were stewards in name, their hands were just as bloodied in service to their master.
***
As night fell and the sky darkened, the deck, once reeking and filthy, was now spotless.
Ryan sat down, drenched in sweat but satisfied, leaning against the railing with a smile on his face. It had been a long time since favonovel.com felt this good.
Life as Ronny‘s steward was leagues better than before, no doubt.
But his body?
It had grown stiff, rusty.
After a short rest, Matthew emerged from the cabin, his energy fully restored. He glanced at the shining, nearly reflective deck and raised an eyebrow.
“Ryan, I’ve got to admit, I didn’t think you had it in you. With talent like that, you should join my crew. I’ll put you on the payroll at 3,000 a month, with a rock-solid 72-hour workweek. How’s that for an offer?”
Still sprawled on the deck, Ryan gave favonovel.com a smirk full of mockery. “4,000 Dornia Emeralds? That’s your offer?”
Matthew looked confused. “What are you talking about? I said 3,000 Emsgate Crowns.”
Hearing this, Ryan froze. He glared at Matthew, voice laced with sarcasm and fatigue.
“Oh, please… 3,000 Emsgate Crowns? You couldn’t even get an elementary school kid to work for that.”
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