Chapter 121: THIRD POV.
Jacob let out a long, dramatic sigh, putting a hand on his hip and looking completely helpless.
He turned his eyes toward Flounder, a strange, mocking glint flashing in his gaze. "I’d really appreciate it if I had an extremely skilled cook to help me right now."
"Together, we could feed the entire deck."
Flounder’s jaw clamped shut, his knuckles turning white as he realized exactly what Jacob was trying to do.
The first mate hadn’t been slow because he was lazy; he had spent the last hour cleaning a dozen fish so that everyone, not just the princess, could have a feast.
If Flounder refused to help now, he would look like a selfish, heartless man in front of the little girl he was supposed to protect.
Jacob had used his own pride against him, turning his victory into a trap.
******
"My big brother’s a skilled cook!" Rebecca suddenly said, her small voice ringing out clearly across the quiet deck.
She looked up from her plate, her cheeks flushing with pride as she pointed a small finger at Flounder standing beside her.
"Oh yes, he is..." Jacob said, a look of sudden realization dawning on his face as he turned to glance back at Flounder. "Isn’t he."
Jacob added, a light, easy smile playing on his lips.
"Well, ol’ chap? What say you? You wouldn’t want to have her highness eat all alone now, would you?" Jacob chuckled, waving his hand toward the long row of wooden barrels filled to the brim with fresh, clean fish meat.
’This bastard! Don’t tell me this was his plan from the very beginning!’ Flounder gritted his teeth behind his lips, his face turning an even darker shade of angry red.
His hands shook slightly where they were curled into fists at his sides.
He felt a deep, fiery wave of hatred wash through his chest as he stared at Jacob’s grinning face.
It felt like he had walked right into a carefully hidden trap, and the worst part was that he had built the trap himself by boasting so loudly about his royal cooking skills.
There was absolutely no way he’d help this man at all, he thought to himself, his mind frantically trying to find a clever excuse to reject the offer.
He was a proud vassal of the royal family, a trained warrior, not some common kitchen helper meant to slice vegetables and chop wood for a random sea crew.
Flounder opened his mouth, ready to say something cold and dismissive to put the first mate back in his proper place, but alas.
Rebecca suddenly tugged on his shirt, the small, gentle pull drawing his attention right back down to the ground.
"You’ll help him, won’t you, big brother Flounder?" Rebecca said, her wide, innocent eyes staring right up at him with total, unwavering trust.
She looked so small and fragile sitting on that wooden box, and the thought of sharing a massive feast with her beloved servants and uncle had clearly made her incredibly happy.
She was looking at him as if he were a grand hero who could solve any problem in the world with a single nod of his head.
Flounder felt his heavy heart quiver facing her intense, pure gaze.
All the harsh words he had been preparing to spit out instantly dissolved in his throat, leaving him completely breathless.
He could never say no to her. Her happiness was the only thing he truly cared for, even if that meant he had to cook with this annoying sailor, then he had no choice but to swallow his pride and do it.
But when he coincidentally saw Jacob snickering from the very corner of his gaze, he felt completely irritated all over again.
Jacob was standing just a few feet away, covering his mouth with a hand, his shoulders shaking with silent, mocking laughter as he watched the young guard get completely cornered by a ten-year-old girl.
To Flounder, it was completely clear that this was something Jacob had planned out from the very second they had dropped the rowboats into the sea.
The man never had any real intentions of honestly competing with him from the very beginning, Flounder thought bitterly.
Jacob was just looking for a clever, underhanded way to get him to this exact point so he could work him like a dog against his will, using the princess’s sweet nature as a weapon to force him into compliance. It was a disgusting, manipulative trick, and Flounder hated him even more for it.
Of course, Jacob had absolutely no such thoughts inside his head; those were all Flounder’s own wild, paranoid thinking.
Back when they were out on the open water fishing, it wasn’t that Jacob was messing with him or trying to play some complicated mental game.
The reality was much simpler. Jacob had simply decided to take advantage of Flounder’s presence to help him catch the green-finned tuna.
You see, Jacob had never actually seen or heard of such a fish before in his entire life, so he had no idea what they looked like, where they swam, or how they behaved in the deep currents.
So he decided to wait quietly in his boat until Flounder caught the first one, using that lazy thirty minutes to relax.
The moment Flounder hauled the fish over his railing, Jacob had used his sharp senses to memorize its unique scent.
Once he had the target locked in, he dove straight into the cold sea to catch them himself using his bare hands.
Contrary to what Flounder believed, Jacob was far faster than the green-finned tuna under the water.
To a regular human, those fish were like flashing green lightning bolts, but to Jacob, they weren’t impossible to catch..
That was the only reason he was able to catch so many of them in such a short amount of time.
And the only reason Jacob hadn’t started cooking quickly afterward was because he felt it would be a massive waste after catching so many beautiful green-finned tuna.