The Debt Of Fate

Chapter 353: No ifs

The ship sailed north for many weeks.

The cold wind blew day and night, and the sea was often rough.

At first, the prisoners still had some hope.

They believed the journey would end soon. But the days slowly turned into weeks. Then weeks turned into months.

The food on the ship was little, and the water was even less.

Many of the nobles had lived their whole lives in comfort. They had never known hunger, cold winds, or hard labor.

Their bodies could not endure the harsh journey. One by one, people began to fall sick.

Some grew too weak to stand. Others died during the night. When someone died, the guards did not show any care.

The body was simply dragged to the side of the ship and thrown into the sea.

The waves quickly swallowed them.

At first, the prisoners were shocked by this sight.

They cried, wanting to hold a proper funeral, but the guards remained unmoved.

But after some time, they became numb.

Death had become a common thing.

By the time the ship finally reached the Island of Kain, many people had already died.

Out of the more than two hundred prisoners who had boarded the ship, only a little above one hundred were still alive.

The island slowly appeared on the horizon.

It looked gray and cold. The sky above it was dark, and strong winds blew across the rocky shore. There were few trees.

Most of the land looked dry and hard.

The ship stopped near the rough coast.

"Get off," one of the guards shouted.

The prisoners slowly walked down the wooden plank.

Many of them could barely stand.

Their clothes were torn, and their faces looked thin and pale.

Once they reached the ground, the guards removed the chains from their hands.

"You are free now," one soldier said coldly.

"But do not think of leaving this island."

After saying that, the soldiers returned to the ship.

Soon the ship sailed away, leaving them behind. For a long moment, no one spoke; only crying was heard.

The wind blew across the empty shore.

Some people simply sat down on the ground, too weak to move.

Others looked around with empty eyes.

This was their new home. But it did not feel like a home. It felt like a prison without walls.

The people who had survived the journey all stayed far away from Edward and his family.

No one wanted to stand near them. Duke Thompson’s family of three was not doing any better. Duke Thompson aged ten years during the two-month journey. Elizabeth already had poor health after her childbirth.

Many of them still blamed Edward for their fate. Their eyes were full of anger. So Thompson and his family stayed away from them.

Moments later, a few rough-looking men approached them.

They were thin and dressed in simple clothes. It was clear that they were also exiles who had been living on the island for many years.

One of the men looked at the new arrivals.

"You people are the new ones?" he asked.

No one answered.

The man pointed toward the distant hills.

"The place we live is already full."

He spoke without kindness. "If you want to survive, go to the other side of the island."

"That land has not been settled yet."

Another exile laughed dryly.

"If you are lucky, you might live."

After saying this, they turned around and left, seeing that none of these people dared to argue.

The new exiles stood there silently and watched them leave. No one spoke.

Some lowered their heads.

Others simply stared at the empty sea..

Dorothy stood quietly beside her son.

Her eyes were red from crying.

Mary, the once proud queen mother, looked even worse.

Her clothes were dirty, and her hair was messy.

She stared at the empty sea for a long time.

"This... this is how we end?" she whispered weakly.

Dorothy did not answer.

Her eyes were also fixed on the sea.

For a moment, both women had the same thought.

Perhaps it would be easier to walk into the sea and disappear forever.

There seemed to be no reason left to live.

Just as Dorothy took two steps, her son started crying. She looked at the child, who was left with only bones, and did not have the heart to leave him alone. Neither could she bring herself to drown with him.

"Mother, people are alive here. Let us look for somewhere to stay," Edward said. He was not sure what he was hoping for, but he just refused to die. He believed that with life there was hope.

Seeing Edward begin to lead his family in the direction those men had pointed, others followed.

Although Edward had been a prince all his life, he had fought a few wars, so he knew how to survive in the wild. He quickly found a small cave. It was not big, but he believed it would be enough for his family to sleep.

He asked them to wait outside while he examined the cave.

Seeing that he had found a cave, some people became greedy.

"Let us join forces and take the cave," someone proposed to his family.

When Edward noticed the way they were looking in their direction, he could guess what they were thinking.

"We are already all exiles. Our only way to survive is to stick together. I know you blame me, but even if you kill me you cannot return. I did not force you all to support me. No one who supported me did it without benefits," Edward said in a loud voice and looked around.

"We can all join our knowledge together and survive, or we can destroy each other. If you kill me for this cave now, others would also covet it," he exposed their plans. He was raised a king, so he understood how to control the minds of people.

Soon nobody wanted the cave. After all, it seemed whoever had it would have the envy of others.

Those who could make tents began to gather wood to make them. Others set fires. Some had paid the guards and got themselves tents and small supplies. They all started to settle down.

After seeing that the cave was safe, Edward had his family stay inside. He went to gather wood and hunted a few rabbits.

When he came back, he shared his game with two families that had sons. He knew the importance of building allies. Since this was his fate for the moment, he hoped to build a stable life before making future plans.

Mary found the meat tasteless as there was no seasoning, but she still swallowed it. In a few bites, the rabbit was finished.

"You sleep. I will keep watch," Edward told his family. He sat outside the cave and watched everyone pause to rest. Edward wanted to watch through the night, but he fell asleep at some point.

In that sleep, he had a dream.

He dreamed that after he married Anastasia, his mother had sent Dorothy out of the palace. Because of this, he hated Anastasia, but because he wanted to stabilize his throne, he did not move against her. By the time he settled his throne, Anastasia had already gained power, and without an excuse he could not kill her.

Fortunately, Anastasia could not get pregnant, so he made her adopt his son with Dorothy.

Anastasia raised the boy with love for twenty years, but he started poisoning her. That year when she was very sick, Dorothy returned to his palace as his queen while Anastasia died alone in her courtyard. Ernest had also been a trusted general by his side, helping him to win many wars. His identity as his uncle’s son was never known. But after Anastasia died, the kingdom had started to collapse. Gube attacked and defeated Nexile. Nexile became a sub-kingdom.

Edward was still deep in the dream when he suddenly heard a shout.

He opened his eyes and found Dorothy crying. Their son’s condition had become worse. Dorothy, as a physician, could have helped, but without medication they could do nothing.

In less than half an hour, the child stopped breathing.

Dorothy let out a loud scream when she felt his purse.

The crying echoed from the cave.

But no one came..

Elizabeth even felt grateful. Edward had abandoned her to her fate in the royal city. She lost her son; now it was their turn to mourn.

Edward held the lifeless child in his hands, his mind occupied with his strange dream. He remembered that his father had specially chosen Anastasia for her good fortune.

He wondered if everything would have been different, just like the dream, if he had just given her the bit of respect she deserved as his wife.

Unfortunately, there were no "ifs."

Edward finally understood something.

The moment he abandoned Anastasia...

his fate had already been sealed.

He pushed away his own fortune to another.