Captain – Chapter 120 – Vile Traitor

Following Roy’s instructions, the fierce pirate gave Old John a harsh blow to his right eye socket, then twisted his scrawny right arm. Under Beck’s guidance, he dragged the dazed old sailor into a cramped secret room.

After the crisp sound of a flint being struck, the oil lamp on the black wooden table lit up. Soft light spread through the glass shade into every corner of the room.

“Bang!”

The heavy iron door slammed shut. Old John blinked hard, trying to shake off the dizziness, and began to observe his surroundings.

This place resembled a prison cell—dark, narrow, without windows. The only opening was a three-inch-wide ventilation hole in the thick iron door. The oppressive environment made it difficult for him to breathe.

Damn it, isn’t this an imperial-style interrogation room?

He never knew the Banshee’s Eye had such a place. The only good news was that there didn’t seem to be any horrifying torture instruments.

Shifting his gaze from the gray-white stone walls, Old John looked at his old acquaintance Beck, who had stayed behind to guard him, and asked with a dry throat: “What’s going on here? What do you intend to do with me? Does Miss Joyce know about this?”

Through that pirate, Old John immediately associated this with the flamboyant recruitment drive recently held at the Banshee’s Eye, and the powerful, arrogant unknown captain mentioned in his spy’s reports.

He instinctively assumed this was that captain’s decision, made without the proprietress’s knowledge.

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Beck looked apologetically at his old colleague: “Old John, these are Miss Joyce’s orders.”

“You’re saying that girl…”

The guard’s answer caught the old sailor by surprise, or rather, it shattered that faint hope in his heart. He didn’t react immediately, but muttered in bewilderment.

Until he felt that glimmer of pity in Beck’s gaze, Old John finally erupted like a provoked old lion, releasing a hysterical yet powerless roar.

“No, no, this is fake. Tell me, Beck, this is fake!”

Old John rose shakily to his feet, but before he could make his way around the table, Beck elbowed him in the face, causing him to howl in pain as he fell back into the chair.

“Behave yourself, John. If you cause any trouble, I’m the one who’ll suffer.” Beck shook his head, the pity in his eyes gradually disappearing. Being a guard at the Banshee’s Eye, he certainly couldn’t be some soft-hearted good person.

Covering his agonizingly painful nose, his face covered in tears and blood, Old John glared viciously at Beck, wishing he could flay him alive: “I’m a crew member of the Mermaid, I’m Captain Richi’s man! You dare hit me, you actually dare to hit me!”

Beck rubbed his slightly pained ear and smiled contemptuously: “The Mermaid? Every time you come to the tavern, you sneak in without Captain Richi’s knowledge. Even if we killed you and just dumped your body somewhere, who would know it was us?”

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“Besides, if your self-serving actions were exposed, who knows who would be in trouble?”

Hearing Beck’s threats and mockery, Old John’s heart instantly went cold, but he still shouted with false bravado: “You… I have an agreement with the proprietress! I want to see her, I want a clear explanation! Cecilia, come out, Cecilia Joyce!”

Just as Beck was growing irritated by the old sailor’s commotion and about to teach him another lesson, the iron door behind him suddenly shook. Accompanied by the harsh scraping sound of the doorframe against the floor, the pirate who had previously struck Old John pushed open the door and strode into the room.

Seeing this fierce brute, Old John groaned painfully and stopped his meaningless shouting.

Beck was Cecilia’s man, and even if he roughed him up, he wouldn’t beat him to death. But this burly man was different. Old John could tell he was a genuine thug who had several lives on his hands, a violent person who disregarded rules.

If he provoked someone like this, the other wouldn’t care about his identity.

The pirate flashed a mouth full of white teeth at Old John, then retreated to the side, lowering his head with a respectful expression, as if he’d completely transformed into a different person, showing none of his previous brutality.

For someone who lived by the blade like him, he might ignore anyone else’s orders, but he couldn’t disrespect a captain who had money, power, and more strength than him, or the captain’s close associates.

“Alright, alright, I heard you, Old John.”

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A crisp, pleasant voice came from behind the door. Cecilia entered the secret room, her face as cold as ice, just as always, creating a stark contrast with the light, gorgeous gauzy dress she wore.

It was precisely this contrast that added several more degrees of allure to her already beautiful face.

“Miss Joyce, do you want to break the agreement between us? Without me, even if you’ve planted spies on the Mermaid, the intelligence you obtain will be greatly reduced. You wouldn’t want to see that happen, would you?”

Old John wiped the mixture of blood and tears from his face, forcing a smile. He immediately listed the assistance he could provide her, hoping to make this negotiation slightly more favorable for himself.

Unfortunately, the young woman had no intention of negotiating with him.

“Harriet.” Joyce reached out her hand to the respectfully standing pirate.

“Yes, Miss.” Harriet smiled submissively, reached into his bosom, pulled out a somewhat wrinkled piece of parchment, and placed it in Cecilia’s hand.

He was one of the Fighting Squad trainee recruits who had joined Roy’s crew just that morning, and one of the two people she had personally reviewed. More fortunately, he had been assigned by the captain to assist Miss Joyce in dealing with Old John.

With such a good opportunity to perform, he naturally wanted to do his best to leave a good impression on this proprietress and his new captain.

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Spreading the agreement in front of Old John, Cecilia’s slender fingers traced along the lines of ink, finally stopping at conspicuous text specially written in red ink.

“Look, Old John, when we signed this agreement, there was a premise: regardless of how circumstances developed, you guaranteed you would not harm Captain Roy’s interests.”

After speaking, the proprietress narrowed her eyes slightly, watching the old sailor who wanted to quibble, and smiled coldly: “I know that when Richi asked you for information about people loyal to Captain Roy, you had no right to refuse, so I won’t hold these old accounts against you. But the key issue isn’t there.”

“Then… where is it?”

The smile on Old John’s face gradually stiffened, his withered hands began to tremble uncontrollably, and an immense panic spread unexpectedly from the depths of his heart.

“The key is that from the very beginning, you betrayed Captain Roy, you…”

Cecilia’s emotionless voice was like a thunderbolt, shattering the old sailor’s psychological defenses, turning his aged face deathly pale with shock.

“Vile traitor.”