Captain – Chapter 100 – Debts of Romance

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The sound of the slap was crisp and loud, impossible to completely isolate even behind the floor-to-ceiling windows.

So the first mate on the balcony “getting some air” opened the glass window, lifting a corner of the curtain, and hesitantly called out: “Captain?”

Roy covered her somewhat reddened cheek with one hand while raising the other toward Caine, indicating he should not come closer. “It’s… it’s nothing, just keep watching outside.”

Caine hesitated for a moment, his gaze wandering between the captain, who had slightly lowered her head, and the proprietress, whose face was flushed red. Finally, he turned back and closed the window.

Hearing the soft sound of the floor-to-ceiling window closing, both young women let out a sigh of relief.

Roy gave a bitter smile to the proprietress, who was still fuming. “Little Ceci, you can hit me, but could you be a bit gentler? After all… as a captain, I still need to maintain some dignity in front of my subordinates, don’t I?”

Hearing the captain’s somewhat humble request, the proprietress’s expression softened a little, though the blush on her cheeks still hadn’t faded.

She pushed Roy’s hand away and gently caressed the place where she had just hit the captain. “You’re the one bringing up sore subjects. Now you care about your dignity? Does it still hurt?”

“It’s just being hit by my own woman, it’s no big deal.”

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Roy took the opportunity to grab Cecilia’s cool little hand, saying with some grievance: “Besides, I wasn’t being unreasonable. Back then, I was still a year younger than you.”

“You dare bring that up again…”

Cecilia tried to pull her hand out of the captain’s grasp but found the other held it too tightly. No matter how she struggled, she couldn’t free herself, so she gave up.

She gave Roy a resentful glance, but her tone was no longer as explosive as a lit powder keg, but rather like a skylark that had found its home: “You’re just a little wolf.”

“How can being good to my own woman be considered lecherous? And all those vows I made to you were sincere, unlike the rum on the ship, which is half water when you look at it closely,” Roy argued righteously.

“Is that so?”

Seeing the captain nodding earnestly, the tenderness in Cecilia’s eyes immediately vanished, replaced by a faint mockery.

She gestured for the captain to release her, then slowly massaged her hand, which had become slightly red from being grabbed: “But according to the intelligence Old John provided in the past, you said the same things to every lady and madam you bedded, didn’t you?”

The captain, who had been somewhat annoyed by the proprietress’s look, immediately lost her temper upon hearing this. She smiled awkwardly: “How can you believe what that damned old thing said? Doesn’t he often come to persuade you to join Richi? That might just be his despicable trick to drive a wedge between us.”

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“You may have some misunderstanding, Captain Roy. Your romantic debts—Old John informed me about them even before we fell in love,” Cecilia said, unmoved.

“This… this, how did he dare?” The captain was completely bewildered.

“Dare? What courage does it require? It was just a secret transaction. I pried open his mouth with three gold coins,” the proprietress said indifferently. In her eyes, the price of three gold coins was as cheap as fake jewelry sold by roadside black market vendors.

“At that time, you hadn’t taken over the Banshee’s Eye yet. Three gold coins was your living expenses for a month. How could you bear to…”

Cecilia interrupted the captain’s stammering excuses: “Spending three gold coins to see clearly what kind of man you were—in my view, that was worth it.”

Roy inwardly cursed that damned information peddler through gritted teeth, but her face was full of smiles: “Darling, let me explain. It’s not what you think.”

“Does it matter what I think?”

Cecilia lowered her eyelids slightly. “You can always make your words sound better than singing. No matter what evidence is presented, you can always find some excuse, but… does it matter?”

Roy blinked, not quite understanding her meaning.

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“No matter what your past was like, didn’t I end up choosing you in the end? I can disregard all that, as long as you’re willing to be good to me, as long as I have a place in your heart, that’s enough.”

Cecilia brushed aside the fiery red hair in front of her eyes and looked at the captain, whose smile was gradually fading, showing some shame. Her tone suddenly shifted: “But don’t think you can use my… love for you to seek any benefits from me, and don’t try to deceive me with those vows that are less reliable than sand.”

“Besides, given your current situation, it seems we can’t maintain that kind of relationship anymore.”

Hearing this, the captain was slightly stunned, then unwillingly exclaimed: “Why?”

“Lower your voice. Do you want everyone in the tavern to know you’re in my room?”

Cecilia complained with her hands over her ears, then looked her up and down, her gaze finally resting on the captain’s chest: “You know very well why. So, can you please explain why, after not seeing you for more than half a year, you’ve become a… woman?”

It took Roy quite a while to react, and she sighed somewhat dejectedly: “An accident, a small accident.”

After recounting her bet with the Devil, Roy spread her hands to the proprietress, whose face was full of incredulity: “So, as long as I can find that island once more, I can turn back into a man, and also inherit Captain Edward’s position and treasure. Little Ceci, then we can…”

“Alright, alright, that broken island again.”

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Cecilia irritably grabbed her long hair, clearly traumatized by the captain’s habit of neglecting proper business and sailing the Mermaid around aimlessly during that period.

She frowned at Roy: “Let’s not even talk about whether you can find it again. First, you need to be able to set sail, right? Even if you can reclaim the Mermaid, then what? How many days will it take you to find that island, and where will the funds, food, and fresh water needed during that time come from?”

“You’re not still hoping that the Banshee’s Eye can produce such a sum again, are you? How are Sister Sarah and I supposed to survive then?”

Roy rubbed her temples somewhat headachely. In the past, these miscellaneous duties were handled by Richi and Cecilia. Now her first mate had betrayed her, the Banshee’s Eye business was much worse than before, and this proprietress was unwilling to exert any additional effort for her. It was truly vexing.

“So focus on the present, Captain. Deal with the Yadris situation first, then you’ll have the capital to consider the future.”

Seeing the captain’s clueless expression, Cecilia sighed lightly, pulled back the blanket and got up from the bed, not caring that her thin clothes revealed her charms to Roy’s gaze.

She took the gauze skirt from the coat rack and began to tidy herself up: “Let your first mate come in. I’ll go prepare a room for you two.”

After Cecilia left the bedroom, Roy leisurely went to the floor-to-ceiling window, gently knocked on it, and then gave a smug smile to the first mate who opened the glass window.

“Done deal.”