Chapter 815 - 365: Riven’s Inner World!_5

Chapter 815: Chapter 365: Riven’s Inner World!_5

Her fingertips gently caressed her daughter’s cheek, the motion filled with longing.

"Go on." She whispered softly into Riven’s ear, her voice carrying a barely noticeable tremor.

"Go do anything you want. Whether it’s to Cuba or to the end of the world. But sweetheart, promise me, be safe. Keep your VHF radio on at all times."

Riven’s body shivered slightly. She didn’t shy away from her mother’s touch, only answering quietly, "...I understand."

Then, Crown Princess Mette slowly turned to Lin Yu’an. She looked at him solemnly for a few seconds. In her gaze, there was scrutiny, entrustment, and even a hint of a mother’s plea.

"Lin," she finally spoke, her voice calm but weighty, "I don’t know how much Riven has told you about me, but I know I owe her a lot."

"I gave her life, but I couldn’t give her a complete childhood."

"It was the sea that shaped her into who she is today—strong, independent, like a wild lioness that will never be tamed."

She paused, her tone becoming incredibly sincere: "I once tried to protect her in the way I thought was right, wanting to pull her back to that seemingly safer, more glamorous world."

"But I know, for her, that wasn’t protection, it was imprisonment. It wasn’t the life she wanted."

She extended her hand to Lin Yu’an, not a ceremonious handshake from the Crown Princess Consort to a commoner, but a mother’s equal entrustment to another trustworthy adult.

"So, Captain Lin, I entrust my daughter to you. I know you and she are birds of a feather."

"Please... be by her side when she bravely charges into the storm."

"And also, remind her, when she occasionally feels tired and confused, that there are many people in this world who love her."

Lin Yu’an said nothing, only solemnly grasped her hand, giving it a firm squeeze. A glance, a gesture, had already surpassed a thousand words of promise.

The moment of farewell will eventually come.

Crown Princess Mette released her hand, her face regaining that royal member’s perfect elegance and composure, as she called for the car waiting by the dock.

Just before getting into the car, she seemed to remember something and turned back to look at Lin Yu’an and Riven standing under the deck lights, the scene like an oil painting depicting young explorers.

An earnest smile, even slightly playful, appeared on her face.

"By the way, I heard from Riven that, Lin, you have a knack for handling various trophies. And it seems you have quite a bit of experience with survival skills in cold environments?"

Lin Yu’an, not understanding why she suddenly mentioned this, could only nod.

"That’s good." Crown Princess Mette’s eyes glinted with cunning.

"If... I mean if, someday you tire of the warm waters of the Caribbean and become interested in the true icy seas, remember to find me in Norway."

Her words were filled with allure: "I can arrange a true Arctic voyage for you, where you can sail an expedition ship to the Svalbard Islands to see polar bears and chase the aurora."

"You can pull crab pots from hundreds of meters deep in the icy, biting waters of the Barents Sea, catching the most delicious, giant king crabs in the world."

"I promise, the storms there, and the skills needed to handle those big creatures, are much more interesting than in the Caribbean."

This invitation was more than just a travel invite; it was a higher-level reconciliation and acceptance.

She no longer tried to pull Riven back to her world, but chose to provide them with a broader, ultimate stage in the world her daughter loves.

"We’ll definitely take the chance." Lin Yu’an replied with a smile.

After speaking, Crown Princess Mette elegantly turned and got into the car, the black sedan silently slipping into the night, as if taking away all the heaviness and unhappiness with it.

On the deck, only Lin Yu’an, Riven, and Mike remained. The dock lights elongated their shadows.

Riven looked in the direction of her mother’s departure, not speaking for a long time.

"Cuba?" Mike broke the silence first, walking to the chart and tracing the new course with his finger.

His brows were furrowed, but his eyes shone with an uncontrollable excitement, "I like this plan!"

Mike’s excitement, like a warm current, instantly dissipated the last trace of melancholy left on the deck.

Riven finally pulled herself out of her complex emotions, took a deep breath of the salty sea breeze, and her face once again blossomed with a bright smile.

She walked over to the chart, drawing a circle over a patch of sea near Nassau with her finger.

"Alright, you two great explorers." Her voice regained its usual brightness and confidence.

"Before we sail Polaris to Cuba, we have a more important task at hand—to turn our captain, into a qualified ’fish’."

She looked at Lin Yu’an, her blue eyes shining under the light, fully stepping into her coach mode.

"The waters around Nassau are a diver’s paradise, a gift from God. Tomorrow, our crash course in diving officially begins." She started outlining the plan methodically.

"In the morning, calm water skills training," she pointed to a shallow area surrounded by coral reefs near a small island named ’Rose Island’ on the map.

"The water here is only 5 meters deep, with smooth currents and a sandy bottom, with high visibility. It’s the perfect place to practice skills like mask clearing, regulator recovery, and neutral buoyancy control."

"We’ll anchor the ship there, turning that bay into our private pool."

"In the afternoon, the first open water dive." Her finger moved to another slightly farther location, marked with a shipwreck symbol.

"If your performance in the morning satisfies me, I’ll take you to see the real historical ’Mahoney’ shipwreck in the afternoon after we rent the tanks."

She looked at Lin Yu’an, her tone filled with allure: "That’s a World War II transport ship, now quietly lying 15 meters deep on the seabed."

"The hull is already covered with coral, home to countless tropical fish. Sunlight piercing through the water onto the ancient hull, that sight... will definitely be unforgettable for a lifetime."

"So, Captain," she raised an eyebrow, "ready to face your first underwater assessment?"

"Sounds good." Lin Yu’an looked at her confident demeanor and smiled.

"But, Coach Riven, before that, don’t you need to assess my theoretical knowledge?"

"No need, based on previous results, your theoretical knowledge is already at a graduation level."

The first night of Polaris in Nassau closed with the unfolding of such an interaction filled with emotional confrontation, value collision, and the birth of a new navigation plan.

Ahead, the deep blue sea route leading to Havana, filled with unknown and legendary hues, awaited their exploration in the night.

And between Lin Yu’an and Riven, the invisible barrier created by complex identities seemed to quietly dissolve in the storm they faced together tonight.

They were no longer just Captain and First Officer, but more like... soul allies destined to sail into the same unknown sea.

———

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