Captain – Chapter 218 – The Witness

“I’m sorry, sir, but I don’t understand your meaning. Apart from this occasion, I’ve never been to the Empire’s interior before, so how could I possibly have committed so many crimes? So I think…”

Facing the black muzzles of numerous guns, Roy showed not the slightest panic or hostility on her face, and even offered a composed smile to the officers before her.

“Perhaps you and the gentlemen have mistaken me for someone else.”

As if having anticipated the young woman’s response, Gavin said coldly: “Denying charges is every criminal’s specialty, but since His Majesty has assigned us to apprehend you, we naturally have evidence that can identify you.”

“In the face of these indelible marks, no matter how skilled Captain Roy is at disguise or how many identities you assume, you cannot escape the Empire’s justice.”

Hearing the Rear Admiral’s forceful statement, the captain’s smile took on a hint of mockery as she asked with an intrigued tone: “Then this lady is all ears. Please, sir, enumerate what evidence you have that could turn an innocent Federation citizen…”

“Into an imperial criminal under false charges?”

Seeing the young woman’s stubborn denial and the provocative way she challenged his authority with barbs in her words, Gavin instead grew even calmer.

He stared directly into those dark golden pupils, sensing the coldness and indifference hidden behind the young woman’s smile, and realized that those secret agreements lurking in the shadows had seemingly been trampled underfoot by her even before they were established.

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This young woman, or rather this ill-tempered pirate captain, had never intended to accept that gentleman’s conditions.

Thinking of this, a cold light flashed in the Rear Admiral’s eyes.

That gentleman had said that if Captain Roy were willing to cooperate, the subsequent series of plans would proceed smoothly, and those intense conflicts that might plunge the Empire into turmoil could possibly be avoided—an outcome he most wished to see.

To achieve this goal, he had been willing to compromise and make concessions to the Golden-Eyed Devil, but this did not mean he would place all his hopes on her.

If Captain Roy refused to cooperate, then he naturally had more direct and cruel methods at his disposal.

Clapping his hands, Gavin said calmly: “Bring in the witness.”

Upon receiving the order, a soldier turned and left, passing through the gap between his colleagues and the Holy Cross Army, quickly disappearing at the hall entrance.

When the soldier reappeared at the entrance, he was accompanied by a dazzlingly handsome young man.

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The young man appeared to be only twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with chestnut-colored hair falling casually around his ears. His light brown eyes were filled with arrogance and languor. Even being brought before Gavin, his self-indulgent demeanor showed no signs of restraint.

Although he also wore a military uniform with a colonel’s insignia on his shoulder, the frivolity and recklessness he exuded were completely at odds with every other soldier present.

This was clearly a nobleman’s son who had been elevated to his position by his family and certain powerful figures.

Seeing the young man standing before him, his gaze bypassing Gavin and looking directly at Roy, the Rear Admiral unconsciously frowned but did not verbally rebuke him. Instead, he introduced him calmly to the young woman.

“Colonel Berney Williams, the former warden of Morton Prison, is the witness we have brought today. I wonder if the captain remembers him?”

“No, sir, I don’t believe I’ve met this gentleman before.”

Roy shook her head and replied calmly, though her hands at her sides, gripping the edge of her dress, tightened so much that even her knuckles turned slightly white.

Seeing this, Gavin snorted coldly, repeated the young woman’s words to the young man beside him, and then said expressionlessly: “Then please make your identification, Colonel Berney.”

“Yes, sir.”

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Berney stared at the young woman’s face, the curiosity on his face gradually fading, replaced by nostalgia for times past, as well as the excitement and cruelty of a beast spotting its prey.

“As far as I know, Captain Roy, you are not a Federation citizen at all, but were born in a small town called Loriton on the western frontier of the Empire, where you lived for exactly eight years. You are a genuine Auran.”

Hearing the young man’s razor-sharp words, the smile at the corner of the captain’s mouth finally cooled. She silently stared at him, seemingly eager to hear what he would say next.

“Your name is Elizabeth Roy. Your father was Captain Gerard Roy, and your mother was the eldest daughter of the Wilson family—Evelyn Wilson.”

The Wilson family was a noble house of Auran. Even today, the head of the family, Marquis Wilson, was an important figure in imperial politics.

“Because she fell in love with your father, Miss Evelyn left her family and followed him to the west, far from political strife, settling in Loriton. Finally, ten years ago, she died of illness for ‘some reason,’ leaving behind only you, who was merely eight years old.”

The colonel deliberately emphasized “some reason,” but to his disappointment, the young woman seemed to have completely forgotten that dark past and continued to listen quietly.

Undeterred, Berney narrowed his eyes slightly and said with a cold smile: “It seems the captain doesn’t want to recall that period. No matter, while escorting you to the imperial capital, I’ll help you remember bit by bit. But now, more importantly, we need to make you acknowledge your identity.”

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“After you set fire to and killed that rancher, you were sent to Loriton’s prison. But perhaps due to a riot, or for some other reason, you successfully escaped. Later, you fell into the hands of the law again and were sent to Morton Prison, which I managed.”

Hearing the young man’s insinuating words, the captain lowered her eyelids slightly and said softly: “I think neither the officers, nor the Governor, nor His Excellency the Bishop has time to listen to you tell stories slowly. So, if you have any evidence, please present it straightforwardly, rather than wasting time here.”

The colonel’s gaze swept over everyone present, pausing on the stern-faced Governor Naren, and the frivolity on his face finally diminished somewhat.

“That’s reasonable. Then I ask Captain Roy to remove her dress, and I’ll identify her for all the gentlemen present.”

Hearing this, the First Mate, who had been silent all along, finally could not suppress the anger in his heart. But just as he was about to step forward and say something, he was stopped by the young woman’s outstretched hand.

Shaking her head slightly at Caine, the captain looked at Berney indifferently: “What does the colonel mean by this? Unable to find evidence, you seek to humiliate me instead?”

Feeling the coldness in the Governor’s gaze and seeing the displeasure on the Bishop’s face, the colonel’s eyes flickered for a moment before he explained seriously: “Please don’t misunderstand, gentlemen. The evidence to identify this imperial criminal is located just below her left collarbone. There…”

“Is a brand that I burned into her with my own hands.”