Captain – Chapter 104 – The First Mate’s Answer

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Would you regret it?

Hearing the captain bring up this never-before-mentioned topic and ask such a question, Caine frowned slightly, looking at the young woman with an incredulous expression: “Captain, I’ve actually been curious for a while. Why do you say you were once a man? Could it be…”

Roy listened to the first mate’s rare question about her past, patiently waiting for him to voice his speculation.

But the answer clearly wouldn’t please the captain.

“Could it be that you actually underwent that kind of gender-changing surgery in the Federation?”

The captain blinked, then smacked her lips and lightly tapped the young man on the forehead: “What are you thinking? That kind of surgery would keep you bedridden for at least half a year. Your captain doesn’t have that kind of leisure time. Besides, becoming a woman… how could that possibly be something I would want?”

The young woman’s tap wasn’t heavy, so Caine just instinctively closed his eyes for a moment, then said thoughtfully: “Getting your first period at eighteen, with not a hint of feminine awareness—that does seem rather abnormal.”

Hearing the young man calmly analyze like he was discussing battle strategy, Roy couldn’t help but give him a sidelong glance, quite displeased that he brought up that embarrassing “bleeding day” again.

She examined that handsome face with a look reserved for strange creatures and asked perplexedly: “Don’t you have even the slightest bit of surprise?”

“Surprise? Of course I do, but that kind of emotion would affect my judgment. So whether on a warship or in daily life, I try my utmost to suppress its influence on me.”

Caine smiled, sitting up against the bedpost, lightly stroking the nightingale pattern on the quilt, and said softly: “Besides, what use is surprise? When faced with unchangeable facts, people always have only two choices: avoid or accept.”

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“The weak choose to deceive themselves, the strong choose to accept in silence. And I have never belonged to the former category.”

Not yet twenty years old but already an admiral, first commanding the navy to suppress the ocean, then taking charge against the governor—without an iron will and astonishingly strong abilities, such achievements would be impossible.

“Indeed, a lion is a lion no matter how small, let alone one that’s already grown up.”

Roy also smiled, meeting those sea-blue eyes, and continued explaining: “In fact, I truly was forced into this, cursed by a bastard who should have died long ago, which is how I ended up in this state.”

“And that bastard is the Pirate King most hated by the Auran Empire—Captain Edward.”

Caine pondered for a moment, then his pupils contracted slightly as he asked incredulously: “You mean the isolated island that the Mermaid found back then was truly the legendary Devil’s Island?”

“Yes, first mate, that was Devil’s Island—the Devil’s Island that holds the endless treasure of the Pirate King.”

A reminiscent light flashed in Roy’s eyes. Although it had been only about half a year since that encounter with the devil, too much had changed, instinctively giving her a feeling of being in another world.

“Captain Edward possesses an unimaginably great power. Before him, not just me, but an entire fully armed fleet would be powerless to resist. You should feel this more keenly than I do.”

Hearing this, the shock in the first mate’s pupils gradually receded, replaced by the cold symbolizing hatred and anger.

The Empire’s First Fleet, dozens of iron warships, nearly a hundred thousand Auran soldiers—all perished under that terrifying power against which they were helpless. Even though he was no longer an imperial admiral, such hatred was difficult to dispel.

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“I was very unlucky, and so were you. The source of our misfortune is that damned bastard. From this perspective, our views are aligned.”

Roy’s low murmur brought back the first mate’s attention. He took several deep breaths to ensure he had calmed down, then nodded: “Yes, Captain, perhaps we should think about how to settle these blood debts.”

“Blood debts must be paid in blood. That’s only natural. But that will have to wait until after he fulfills his promise. Don’t worry though, during this journey, I will do my utmost to search for things that could threaten him, whether it’s the source of his power or weapons that could kill him.”

Roy spoke calmly, well-versed in the art of burning bridges after crossing the river. Hearing the captain’s promise, the coldness in Caine’s eyes softened considerably. He lowered his head slightly: “Thank you, Captain.”

“I’ve said before, there’s no need for thanks between us, especially since I also have a grudge against him.” Roy shook her head and reached out to touch the young man’s face, as if wanting to soften those somewhat hard lines.

The young woman’s fingertips brushed across his cheek, causing a slight tickle. Caine instinctively caught that hand and gently held it in his palm.

The captain didn’t refuse the first mate’s intimate gesture, allowing him to hold her hand: “Back to the topic at hand, I became a woman because of the devil’s curse, and similarly, I will turn back into a man when the curse disappears. Even if that captain is unwilling to fulfill his promise, I can’t guarantee that after killing him, I will still be in my current form.”

“Then, if possible, Captain, do you wish to turn back into a man?” Caine asked softly.

Even though the answer to this question was so clear, so cruel, the young man still asked it so seriously.

Feeling the passionate emotions contained in those ocean-like eyes, Roy hesitated—something rare for her.

Of course she wanted to turn back into a man, to reclaim that part of her lost strength, to return to that past with wine, meat, and women, to return to the time of living together with Cecilia. This was the answer without a doubt.

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But now, facing this young man with whom she had spent half a year yet who seemed as familiar as a soulmate, she hesitated.

Even she herself hadn’t noticed when this young man had become a part of her heart. Besides Alfie, besides Little Ceci, there seemed to be one more person there now.

Why was this? Was it because of the fear of loneliness when cursed by the devil and stranded on a deserted island? Or was it because of the betrayal of her most trusted first mate, making her unwilling to bear everything alone again?

The captain didn’t know, so her answer was equally vague.

“I don’t know, Caine.”

Roy smiled gently, a smile so beautiful, so genuine—the tenderness that previously only Cecilia could enjoy. And now, she gave it to the young man before her as well.

“This answer may only be revealed at the end of this journey. By then, I believe I will have the true answer in my heart.”

After saying this, the young woman was quiet for quite a while before tentatively asking: “In your opinion, is this very irresponsible of me?”

Feeling the captain’s rare feminine aura, Caine smiled and shook his head, placing the cool hand in his palm against his chest: “No, not at all, Captain. I’m equally curious about the answer hidden at the journey’s end. Though I may have some selfish desires, I think…”

“When that time comes, whatever your choice may be, I will never regret having once loved you so deeply.”

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Author Note

Hmm… tomorrow the book will be officially published. Although it’s not my first time (foggy), I’m still a bit nervous.

I actually can’t think of much to say. Let me first thank all the readers as usual, whether old readers who have accompanied me from the beginning or new readers who accidentally (laugh) clicked on the novel. Thank you very much for your support and appreciation over the past two months. If you don’t mind, please continue to bear with me in the future~

Then let me talk about this book. The theme is pirates, which I really like. Recently, I’ve been following various pirate novels, movies, TV series, etc., claiming it’s for collecting material.

The outline of this story took me about two months to complete. During this time, I’m very grateful to my group friends for providing character designs and backgrounds. Many of the plot lines and even storylines were determined by following these character designs or by bursts of inspiration, so…

Group number 891533085, would anyone like to join the group? (The answer to the group question is the protagonist’s name)

Ahem, after the advertisement, back to the story. I am very ambitious about how exciting this story will be, and I can guarantee that regardless of how this book performs, it will absolutely, absolutely be completed, and there will absolutely, absolutely be no shortage of updates, so everyone can rest assured. (Important matters will be announced in advance, such as final exams~)

Finally, regarding the official publication, the manuscript will be released tomorrow morning at twelve o’clock, a total of ten chapters. (This month has been really busy, storing manuscripts has been very painful, and of course I’ve been a bit lazy at the end of summer vacation, so don’t be too disappointed.)

Because I’m a bit rushed, I feel the pace of these ten chapters is not very good, but I will push the story to its climax as soon as possible.

Of course~ ten chapters is indeed not enough, but fortunately there is a short holiday coming up. I will compensate with some extra chapters, rushing out five updates tomorrow, so the official release will have fifteen chapters? And then there will be extra updates on the rest of the holidays, including Tuesday and Wednesday.

That’s about all I have to report. Wish everyone a happy holiday~