Captain – Chapter 186 – Broken Trust

“That suits me perfectly.”

Hearing the scholar’s suggestion, Roy smiled and said: “I came to see you precisely to discuss matters related to our voyage.”

Bivis rubbed his chin, pondered for a moment, and asked: “From your tone, Captain, it seems you already have a general plan?”

“One month. In one month, all affairs in Yadris will be arranged properly, and my injuries should be mostly healed. That will be the time for us to set out for Satin Island.”

Roy watched the scholar’s calm eyes as her smile gradually faded, adding coldly: “If nothing unexpected happens.”

“Unexpected…”

Hearing these words, the scholar’s gaze flickered, his eyes showing intense fear: “Yes, unexpected. Something unexpected did happen tonight. I never imagined that after hundreds of years, it… they would appear again.”

Seeing the scholar’s seemingly genuine terror, Roy frowned slightly and asked in confusion: “They? Who are they?”

Hearing this, Bivis fell into a brief stupor before asking with a trembling voice: “Haven’t you sensed their approach? Just now, just moments ago, they were less than ten nautical miles from here. If they had truly come, not just this ship but the entire island would be left without a single survivor.”

“Isn’t that a bit exaggerated? With Yadris’s defenses, plus the warships led by the Mermaid, even a regular naval fleet couldn’t break through.”

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At this point, Roy shrugged, feeling he was overstating things: “Besides, as a Death-Fearer, you yourself are an immortal monster. Is there really a need to be this frightened?”

“That’s because you don’t understand those beings, Captain.”

The scholar shook his head lightly, his face now devoid of any expression. By now, he had completely regained his composure.

“They are not human, but rather true monsters who, like you and me, carry curses, yet wield authority like judges.”

As he said this, Bivis glanced toward the porthole.

In his eyes, the glass, reflecting like a mirror under the lamplight, showed his own face slowly distorting and transforming until it finally became a bloodless, pallid face utterly unlike that of a living person.

Disregarding that eerie complexion, the face appeared to belong to a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl, one as delicate as a carefully crafted doll.

Tassel-like white hair fell from her forehead, concealing half her face and almost completely hiding her eyes. Yet through the gently swaying strands, one could still vaguely see a disturbing crimson, like churning seas of blood.

Her lips were pale pink, the only normal color on her face. But just as Bivis was quietly observing her, those lips suddenly trembled and then curled into a cruel smile. Between her slightly parted lips, sharp fangs suddenly appeared!

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Forcibly tearing his gaze from the porthole, Bivis began to tremble uncontrollably, his breathing becoming extremely rapid.

Only after shakily taking out the goddess figurine from his pocket and gazing at that beautifully dancing figure did the scholar’s breathing gradually steady.

His gaze flickered as his thoughts raced, and he murmured softly: “No mistake, there’s no mistake, they’ve found me. They know I’m here, but why, why don’t they come to capture me, to… reclaim you?”

“Oh, after hundreds of years, could it be they still haven’t found the location of Satin Island, and must still rely on me? So I still have value to them, is that it?”

“You’re still so clever, Annisdora.”

As if transformed into a different person, Bivis, who had previously venerated the Lady with nearly fanatical devotion, now directly called the deity by name. As his words fell, the discomposed look in his eyes vanished completely, replaced entirely by composure and confidence.

After quietly watching the scholar’s dramatic performance, Roy’s eyes only brightened slightly when she heard the Lady’s name: “So, Scholar, have you sorted everything out? Can you explain to us who ‘they’ are, and whether Lady Annisdora… truly exists in this world?”

Returning the goddess figurine to his pocket, Bivis took a deep breath and turned to look at Roy: “Captain, have you heard of the legend of the Death Silence?”

“Death Silence…”

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After pondering for a moment and searching through all her memories, Roy was certain she had never heard stories about this ship; she hadn’t even heard the name before.

Roy shook her head: “No, I don’t think so. I’ve never heard this name from the Pirate King or others, nor have I seen any description of it in pirate histories.”

“Perhaps that’s as it should be.”

The scholar smiled bitterly and said: “Though I don’t know how you came to learn of any secrets that would lead you to question whether the Lady exists, it seems you still have only a partial understanding, or mere suspicions, about the Lady and those foul things hidden in the world’s shadows, correct?”

After exchanging a glance with Caine, Roy frankly admitted: “That’s right. We only learned about these matters recently. Just yesterday, when my First Mate went to the Constantine to end the Black Emperor’s life, he learned from him about the existence of a witch.”

“She possessed extraordinary power, capable of resurrecting the dead. It was she who saved Solomon, who otherwise had no chance of survival, and made a secret agreement with him. And the content of that agreement…”

The Captain’s voice grew increasingly dispassionate: “Was for the Black Emperor to find a solitary island. On that island exists something she desperately desires. If he brought it back to her, she would grant Solomon eternal life.”

The room suddenly fell silent. Roy silently watched Bivis, her gaze like a sharp sword trying to pierce through the misty veil surrounding him.

After some time, Bivis’s voice finally emerged softly: “The magic box. Her target is the magic box, and that witch… is undoubtedly Lady Annisdora.”

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“If I’m not mistaken, that Solomon captain who died at the First Mate’s hands must have been the last captain seeking Satin Island across the vast seas at the Lady’s request. Otherwise, the Death Silence would have no reason to appear.”

The scholar said softly: “After all, those captains are not Death-Fearers. They suffer the erosion of time, the torment of illness, and could die at any moment on the dangerous sea.”

“According to you, besides the Black Emperor, there were other captains who served that deity?” Roy raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, Solomon also mentioned he wasn’t the only one chosen.”

The one who answered the young woman wasn’t Bivis, but Caine, who had been standing silently beside her.

Roy gave the young man a sidelong glance and muttered “why didn’t you say so earlier,” then looked at the scholar and smiled: “Whether it’s Solomon and the other captains, or the Lady and the Death Silence, those aren’t what we should be concerned about now. What we need to consider is how to salvage the nearly broken trust between us.”

“My First Mate says that to truly approach Satin Island, one needs a token, and without that token, we would be lost in the fog and curse, ultimately perishing at the bottom of the sea. Regarding this matter…”

The young woman’s hand had somehow moved to rest on her scabbard. She tilted her chin slightly, her gaze as cold as if looking at a dead man.

“How do you explain this, Bivis Green?”