Chapter 1083: Chapter 259: Sea of Shining, the Maritime Route to Ambeser (Part 1)_2
Beside Brand stood the noble lady, Antitina, almost pale-faced as she gazed at the boundless sea. She grew up in the southern mountainous areas of Erune and had only heard of the sea from her father’s notes. During her first visit to the sea at Griss Fishing Port, this young lady managed to maintain her composure, but as those who spent years at sea would say — the sea seen from the land and the sea seen from the sea are completely different.
Once at sea, you surrender your destiny entirely to this Goddess who is sometimes gentle, sometimes stern. Yet, even in her gentlest moments, the waves of the sea still rise and fall like peaks and valleys. The three-masted sailboat, which seemed large and sturdy when docked at the port, now feels like a mere leaf on the ocean, and those with little sailing experience often find their legs weak the first time they board the ship. Antitina’s current behavior could be called courageous.
Like Romantic, who initially was full of energy and curious about everything on the ship, now she is dizzy and weak, retreating to her room to lie down — so much so that the Merchant Lady loudly complained that Brand had led her onto this ’pirate ship.’ But Brand told this little cutie that if she wanted to become a great merchant, not being accustomed to the sea’s wind and waves was impossible. Eventually, the young lady could only bury her face in a pillow with a little grunt.
"I think I’m starting to understand my father a bit, Lord..." Antitina stood by the railing, looking down at the white trail the sailboat left on the blue sea, speaking with great effort. She was not well herself, but thinking of the Lord still on the deck, she, as the staff, could hardly retreat alone, so she endured there with gritted teeth.
"Huh?" Brand turned back to look at his quiet Staff Lady. Like all noble daughters with backgrounds in Erune, Antitina was composed and filled with an intellectual serenity, but unlike them, she was strong.
"Before I came out with the Lord, I didn’t know the outside world was so vast, beautiful, and thrilling. Although I read about the scenery in my father’s notes, it wasn’t until today that I realized, if not experienced personally, it’s hard to imagine how this world entices you to explore it."
"...Just as I’m standing here now, looking at the horizon where the sky meets the sea, I can’t help but think of what lies on the other side of the sea." Antitina couldn’t help but hold her hair scattered by the sea wind, making her seem even more charming with youthful fragility: "I think my father thought the same way."
Brand sensed a hint of wistfulness in Antitina’s tone, knowing she was thinking of her deceased parents and her distant hometown in Golan-Elsen. For a moment, he too was lost in thought. Yes, wasn’t he himself adrift as well? In this world, Brand has his own family, but it doesn’t belong to the half that is Sophie; he still isn’t prepared to decide whether he should go back there, and he doesn’t yet know how to face it.
Antitina’s self-pity was due to having no home, but for him, it was a home he couldn’t return to.
Thinking of this, Brand couldn’t help but ask: "Do you blame him?"
Antitina shook her head: "I don’t know, Mother sometimes complains. But I think I should understand him, because I feel being from a noble lineage, I should be more sensible than other children. But thinking is one thing, later I realized I still harbored resentment in my heart."
She sighed softly: "No matter how beautiful the scenery of this world is, can it ever surpass having one’s wife and daughter? I envy the neighbor’s children, though their home doesn’t compare to mine."
Brand looked at the side of the young girl’s face and asked: "Does your father know about your talent in creating Magic Transmission Core?"
"I think he knows; although he seldom came home, he often brought back some incomplete documents for me. I feel he does care about his daughter, just perhaps in the wrong direction."
Brand touched the grayish-brown stone in his bag; ever since seeing those Magic Quartz Sand in the underground hall, he always felt this thing might be related in some way.
"I think you’re right; he does care about you, just everyone expresses emotions differently," Brand said softly.
