Captain – Chapter 21 – I Am Here

Looking back, sure enough, it was Caine’s frost-covered face that came into view. His once ocean-blue pupils rippled slightly, as if massive waves were brewing within them.

For some reason, Roy, who should have been resentful about her plan being disrupted, didn’t say anything to further provoke him when she saw the displeasure in those blue eyes. Instead, she asked with little confidence: “How did you know I was here?”

Alfie cawed twice at the right moment, puffing out its chest and raising its head as if seeking credit.

“Well, well, so it was you who gave me away…”

“Let’s go.” Before Roy could finish speaking, Caine grabbed her wrist and pulled her up, as naturally as grabbing a lazy cat by the scruff of its neck, then headed toward the tavern door without looking back.

“Hey, at least let me finish my drink?”

Not expecting such a strong reaction from her first mate, Roy instinctively resisted, forcibly stopping the naval officer in his tracks.

Even though she had been cursed by the devil and transformed into a woman, she still retained about seventy percent of her original strength.

Caine turned back somewhat bewilderedly, clearly not expecting his captain to be so strong. But then remembering the mighty deeds of the Golden-Eyed Devil he had heard from his colleagues, the confusion in his eyes instantly vanished, while a strange feeling arose in his heart.

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Since meeting this captain, she seemed to have been hiding her strength all along, presenting a solitary and fragile posture. Coupled with that heaven-sent face, the deception was considerable. In fact, Elizabeth Roy had never been a nestling in need of protection; she herself was the fiercest eagle in the Eastern Seas.

Feeling somewhat unnerved by Caine’s seemingly all-penetrating gaze, Roy cautiously asked: “What’s wrong?”

Caine snapped out of his trance and shook his head: “Nothing, just wondering where you got the money to drink.”

“I certainly don’t have money; it was all on this Baron’s tab.”

Roy jerked her chin toward the Baron, whose expression was quite unpleasant, then added: “And these two kind people also gave me some chips. Look, that money on the table is what I won. They just invited me to visit their estate. Do you want to come along?”

The Baron, finally losing patience, stood up with a gloomy face and said: “Lady, you didn’t mention having such a male companion earlier.”

He scrutinized the young man who had suddenly burst in and spoiled his plans with his brown eyes deeply set in their sockets, quickly identifying him as a fallen naval officer. After all, which person living on the empire’s payroll would wear such a tattered uniform?

Thinking of this, his heart steadied somewhat, and he sneered: “Besides, the Baron’s estate doesn’t welcome men.”

“You misunderstand, he’s not my boyfriend, he’s just my deputy…”

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Roy raised her eyebrows, habitually picking at the errors in the Baron’s words, but unexpectedly, the Baron’s brother, who had been silent all along, directly swept the wine glass off the table with a wave of his hand. The broken glass mixed with blood-like wine splashed everywhere, causing the tavern girls to scream.

“You drink my brother’s wine, use my brother’s money, and now you pull this stunt. Could it be that you don’t intend to keep your promise?” The Baron’s brother spoke viciously. Seeing their master’s temper flare, the burly attendants standing behind him immediately placed their hands on their sword hilts and slowly pressed forward.

The lively tavern suddenly fell quiet.

Onlookers eagerly watched this scene, while the timid ones secretly tried to leave the tavern, fearing that wooden tables and chairs might soon be thrown at their heads. Only two people sitting in the most secluded position remained quiet, their gaze constantly drifting over Roy and Caine’s faces.

The brother’s brutality tore apart any possibility of reconciliation. The Baron frowned at first but quickly resumed his false smile, his gaze falling directly on Roy’s face. He said gently: “After all, the lady has promised. To casually go back on one’s word violates noble etiquette. As for this gentleman, please step aside for now, or my attendants’ swords might not be discerning.”

I’m not a noble; who cares about those excessively sour etiquettes?

Roy thought silently but didn’t voice her objection. Instead, she watched Caine’s calm face with interest, curious to see how her first mate would resolve this situation.

“How much of your money did she use?”

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Caine didn’t even glance at the slowly approaching attendants, his gaze cold as he looked at the Baron’s pale face, his voice devoid of any emotion.

“What? Want to settle this with money? I see you don’t know what’s good for you.”

The Baron finally abandoned his kind demeanor. In fact, everyone in the tavern knew that this young Baron who often came to Frans Island for vacation was no good person; he just habitually disguised himself with that expression before capturing his prey.

The atmosphere in the tavern grew increasingly tense. The sword-bearing attendant at the front had already drawn his silver sword partway out of its sheath. The silver blade gleamed brightly under the warm red lamplight, emitting cold flashes.

Just as the conflict was about to erupt, the tavern door was kicked open with a “bang,” and everyone’s movements froze.

Twenty-some soldiers poured into the tavern, and the one leading them shouted with a black face: “Who’s causing trouble? I finally get a day off, what bad luck!”

It turned out that among those who had slipped out of the tavern earlier, besides customers, there was also a bartender. Knowing that neither he nor his boss could afford to offend the Baron, to prevent too much property damage or even a loss of life, he had reluctantly gone to find the Major. Who would have thought he would encounter a group of soldiers planning to drink at the tavern on the way.

In the Auran Empire, a country that worshipped military power, the status of soldiers was extremely high, especially those currently serving. Generally speaking, even nobles of extremely high status wouldn’t deliberately make things difficult for a soldier, because you could never guess the temperament of the officer behind them.

So seeing this squad of soldiers rush into the tavern, those attendants hurriedly sheathed their silver swords and awkwardly conversed with each other.

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The anger on the Baron’s face instantly changed to a dry laugh, and he kindly approached them, saying: “Isn’t this Captain Todd? Actually, it’s nothing major. Just that a lady drank wine on my tab and now wants to leave directly. Don’t you think that’s not very decent?”

“So it’s you, kid. I was wondering why you’ve been behaving for a few months, and now you’re acting up again…”

Todd glared at him fiercely, clearly familiar with this Baron, which is why he had locked his gaze on him as soon as he entered. Sure enough, it was trouble caused by him again.

After speaking, Todd irritably turned his face and directed his gaze toward where the Baron was pointing.

As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss; one look can be terrifying. When the captain saw the young man from whom he had parted not long ago, he wanted to give himself a heavy blow. Why had he looked first at this inauspicious Baron?

“Young… Young Master…” The captain smiled foolishly, trying to ease his embarrassment, while the soldiers standing beside him didn’t dare to breathe.

Caine wasn’t particularly angry. He shook his head slightly at Todd, left a sentence “handle it yourselves,” and then pulled Roy toward the tavern exit. During this process, his captain’s body was tense, with an almost indifferent killing intent beneath her lowered eyelids.

“It’s alright,” Caine reassured her in a voice only she could hear: “I am here.”