Captain – Chapter 195 – The Past Unknown to All

“Get? No, Captain Roy, I am not good at taking, and you do not have a habit of giving without reason. Whether a contract or a deal, an exchange where both parties are satisfied would seem more likely to win your favor and support.”

The candlelight flickered slightly, and the Lady’s melodious voice crossed space, clearly reaching both their ears.

“A deal… it seems you truly understand me well, Lady. Pirates like us never rise early without profit.”

Looking at her rhythmically moving fingers, Roy’s frivolous expression diminished slightly: “Well, honestly, I’m quite interested in hearing your terms. So tell me, Lady Annisdora, what do you want me to do for you, and what can you offer in return? If the conditions are favorable enough, I might consider it.”

“What I want, Captain, you should already know the answer to in your heart. As for the payment…”

The candlelight paused for a moment, and Roy felt as if a gaze was penetrating through the flame, staring directly into her eyes, as if able to see the deepest desires in her heart.

“I can grant you power, power strong enough to satisfy the longing in your heart.”

Hearing the Lady’s terms, Roy’s smile froze, and her eyes flashed with coldness, as if the most profound pain in her heart had been touched, like a fierce beast on the edge of rage.

“No, you can give me nothing, because right now you can barely protect yourself.”

Sensing the girl’s sudden surge of anger, the other side of the cat’s eye stone fell into a brief silence, and then the words that came were even softer: “I have seen your past, I understand all your fears and pain, I can promise you…”

Before the words were finished, the cat’s eye stone suddenly lost its support, rolling down from the fair hand and falling onto the uneven floor of the cavern.

Rеαԁ оո ΚαtReαԁiոɡСafе

“Ping!”

The next moment, a black boot stepped heavily on the gem, crushing it decisively into fragments.

Staring at the crystalline fragments splashing from under the boot, Roy’s ears seemed to still echo with that beautiful voice, repeatedly emphasizing the words “past” and “power,” growing louder and louder, as if about to extinguish all other sounds.

In the end, she felt as if she was floating again in that dark sea, unable to hear anything or move, only able to let the cold seawater engulf her, engulf her…

“Captain…”

Miraculously, a voice seemed to break through the sea’s surface.

“Captain?”

The First Mate’s call grew closer, like thunder exploding in her ears, pulling Roy out of the dark memories. She steadied her somewhat rapid breathing and forced a smile: “Sorry, did I scare you just now?”

Seeing the girl finally come to her senses, Caine secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but noticing her pale face and the lingering fear in her eyes, he said with concern: “I’m fine, but what about you, Captain? What exactly did you hear just now?”

Although he could also hear the Lady’s voice, considering Roy’s abrupt emotional change earlier, the young man instinctively assumed that the deity had said something to her privately, concealing it from him.

Reαԁ on KatReаԁinɡСafе

“I heard no more than you did, only her words made me recall some uncomfortable scenes, so… tch, it’s actually nothing. Just consider our negotiation with her broken off, anyway I never intended to agree from the start.”

Guessing what her First Mate was thinking, Roy sighed, then patted his shoulder and smiled: “Since our purpose has been achieved, let’s head back.”

As she spoke, the girl walked in the direction they had come from, muttering: “Besides, there are too many things in this cavern to carry around everywhere. We’ll have to return to Yadris anyway…”

Watching the captain who had fully regained her vitality, Caine stood still in thought for a long while, recalling what Cecilia had told him when they were waiting for Roy’s return at the Banshee’s Eye.

“At the same time, this might also be the only chance to make her open her heart and step out of the past that no one knows…”

The past… unknown to anyone?

“Hey, what are you daydreaming about? If I fall in this pitch-black place, you’ll be responsible.”

Hearing Roy’s call, Caine came back to his senses and quickly came to her side, using the lantern in his hand to illuminate the uneven path ahead.

“So, Captain, what exactly did you experience before becoming a pirate?”

Roy’s footsteps faltered slightly as she glanced at her First Mate: “My past before becoming a pirate? That’s my secret. Even that little bastard knows nothing about it. Why do you want to know?”

Rеaⅾ οո КаtReаdіnɡCаfе

“Perhaps out of curiosity?” the First Mate asked with an unchanging expression.

“Curiosity…”

Continuing forward, Roy lowered her eyelids and thought for a moment: “Alright, perhaps that is indeed a reason. If there’s something I want to know, I’d also try every means to pry open that person’s mouth. But… there’s really nothing worth telling about my past. If you want to hear a story, I can tell you about how I continuously destroyed seventeen Auran warships and became a legendary pirate known throughout the seas.”

Hearing the captain’s proposal, Caine’s expression suddenly became much worse, and he said glumly: “Never mind then.”

Seeing his unhappy expression, the girl smiled mischievously: “Don’t be like that. That was the most brilliant period of my life. Not long after inheriting Red Beard’s legacy, the novice Golden-Eyed Devil and the Blood-Eyed Butcher battled against the imperial navy. That’s much more interesting than the story of a poor boy struggling to survive.”

“No need.” The young man turned his face away, clearly unwilling to spend more words on this topic.

For the next while, no matter how the captain teased, the young man only responded with a faint “no,” and later he didn’t even respond at all, just walking in silence.

“Oh my, are you angry already? That’s not the demeanor a gentleman should have.”

Seeing that her First Mate still wouldn’t respond, that hint of resistance deep in Roy’s eyes gradually dissipated, and she said softly: “Alright, alright, I’ll stop teasing you. I don’t know what pillow talk little Cecilia has been whispering to you, making you want to ask about troublesome memories that even I don’t want to recall.”

He had wanted to refute the captain’s slander about him sharing a bed with the proprietress, but after hearing the last part, Caine couldn’t say anything, neither a rebuttal nor an explanation.

Rеaⅾ οո КatRеаdіոɡСafе

Knowing that this silence from her First Mate was different from before, and hearing the increasingly clear, high-pitched appraisal voice of the ship’s doctor, Roy reached out to hold Caine’s sleeve. Looking at his face, illuminated unevenly by the firelight, she asked softly: “Do you really want to know?”

Caine was slightly startled, then quickly reacted and nodded, saying earnestly: “Yes, Captain.”

“Then I’ll tell you.”

Seemingly not expecting the girl to agree so easily, the young man asked somewhat dazedly: “Really?”

The captain’s face once again revealed that mischievous smile that made one want to pinch her cheeks: “Of course not.”

“Captain…”

“Alright, speaking seriously, since you want to know, I can tell you.”

Raising her chin slightly, gesturing for the young man to follow, Roy circled around the small mountain of gold coins and walked into the bright firelight.

Nodding with a smile at the pirates who turned their gaze toward her, the girl gave a promise she had never given to anyone else, in a voice only the young man beside her could hear.

“Give me some more time, Caine. When I’m ready… ready to face it all, you will be the first, and the only one to know about my past.”