Captain – Chapter 221 – Chaos

The black lead bullet came without warning.

If anyone in the entire cathedral hall could react to that sudden danger, it would only be Captain Roy, who had countless times touched that boundary between life and death and felt the choking smell brought by gunpowder passing her nostrils.

The instant the flash appeared, the young woman’s pupils instinctively contracted like a beast sensing a threat, her entire body tensing in a shudder.

In that extremely brief moment, any evasion was meaningless, any thought impossible to process. Because of this, the captain made only the simplest of movements—she turned her face slightly toward her First Mate.

This seemingly helpless reaction caused the lead bullet, which had veered slightly as if afraid of mistakenly hitting Rear Admiral Gavin, to pass by dangerously close to the young woman’s left cheek.

A soft sound was heard.

Crimson blood bloomed as a thin wound appeared on Roy’s cheek. Blood droplets flowed down her face, falling onto the pure white wedding dress, staining it with a tragically beautiful crimson.

Only after the bullet struck the wooden pulpit with a dull thud did time seem to resume its flow.

The First Mate, now reacting, sheltered the captain in his arms. The Governor, expressionless, looked toward the direction of the gunshot, his gaze as terrifying as a lion ready to devour its prey.

Countless steel swords were instantly unsheathed, reflecting a chilling light in the strengthening sunlight that made one’s heart palpitate.

Controlling all entrances and exits to the hall, the armored Holy Cross soldiers raised their shields and pointed their sword tips at the military men, advancing slowly with heavy, oppressive steps.

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The soldiers, who had been somewhat dazed, now sensed the threat and changed their targets, pointing their firearms at the approaching Holy Cross soldiers. It seemed that if the latter advanced any further, these firearms would spew flames, demonstrating to the believers of divinity the danger and power of mankind’s lethal weapons.

Chaos instantly engulfed the entire hall.

In such a situation, just one mishandling would make the conflict between the military and the Holy Church irreconcilable, and what that meant was all too clear to the dignitaries present.

“Everyone lower your weapons!”

Gavin almost roared the order.

Hearing the Rear Admiral’s furious command, the soldiers lowered their firearms without hesitation. Those soldiers near the shooter even maintained a certain distance from him, exposing the trembling culprit more clearly to their superiors’ eyes.

“Hold your advance, knights.”

At the bishop’s calm gesture, the Holy Cross soldiers who had entered combat mode slowly halted their steps. When their forward momentum completely stopped, the foremost knights were less than five meters away from the soldiers—just one step would bring the enemy within the killing range of their sword tips.

Hearing the commotion behind him cease, Gavin slowly turned around. His gaze swept across each soldier who, though surrounded, still stood firm with resolute expressions, which somewhat quelled the raging fire in his heart.

Finally, the Rear Admiral’s gaze fell upon the trembling soldier.

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He narrowed his eyes, examining this subordinate whom he had greatly appreciated and who had been excellent in all aspects, yet his expression was as unfamiliar as if looking at a stranger.

After a long while, he calmly ordered: “Seize him.”

“Sir, the gun discharged accidentally, it wasn’t me…”

Seeing that the Rear Admiral wasn’t giving him any chance to explain, the soldier’s already pale face grew even more unsightly. He raised his weapon horizontally with trembling hands, wanting to explain something.

But before he could finish, his comrades had already stepped forward to take away his weapon and, holding his arms, forced him to crouch on the ground.

After coldly watching this scene, Roy gently freed herself from Caine’s embrace, giving him a look that said “I’m fine,” then turned her gaze toward Colonel Berney, whose face was twitching slightly. Her dark golden pupils were as somber as the sky before a storm.

“No, it wasn’t me. That guy isn’t my subordinate at all, and I have no connection with him whatsoever. This is a conspiracy, definitely a conspiracy by someone with ulterior motives!”

Feeling the captain’s indifferent gaze, the colonel gritted his teeth and growled, as if only this could prove his innocence, and only this…

Could suppress the fear in his heart.

Yes, he truly had not participated in this, and could even say he knew nothing about it, but deep down he understood that this must be that gentleman’s handiwork.

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Under that man’s will, a gunshot had broken the cathedral’s tranquility, nearly killing the young woman while also pushing him into an extremely dangerous position.

If Roy had actually died from that shot, then Rear Admiral Gavin and the officers and subordinates who had come with him would naturally be held responsible.

Because of their dereliction of duty, the military would have to face the wrath of the Holy Church, the Howard family, and even His Majesty the Emperor.

This would undoubtedly be an unprecedented crisis for the military.

More likely, before bearing the multiple charges of shooting an innocent young woman, disturbing the sanctity of holy ground, and destabilizing the Empire’s internal stability, the military—or rather, that benevolent old man—would directly send all soldiers who had entered Sanderwina Cathedral to a military tribunal, seeking to avoid being targeted by various parties.

In such a situation, the military might, considering these soldiers’ military achievements and the fact that they had become scapegoats without reason, merely strip them of their positions rather than subject them to more severe punishments. Even high-ranking officers like Rear Admiral Gavin might only need to be demoted to escape punishment.

But he was different, because he was that gentleman’s man.

Faced with such a malicious and obviously motivated murder attempt, not to mention whether he could clear himself of any connection or withstand the fury of the Howard father and son, if the military just investigated his background and past, uncovering those false military achievements that had elevated him to the position of colonel, he would be completely finished.

And if, among these falsified records, the military discovered any traces of that gentleman, perhaps he would die of some acute illness before even being sent to the military tribunal.

With this thought, Berney could no longer maintain his forced calm. Trembling as he looked at Roy, he clutched at what seemed like his last straw: “You know this has nothing to do with me, right? Your death would bring me no benefit at all. We… we are both…”

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At this point, the colonel suddenly stopped speaking, because in the young woman’s cold eyes, he saw a warning color, as if she were silently saying two words—”Shut up.”

The captain certainly knew what this fellow was thinking. He was merely thinking that both he and Roy were that man’s pawns, both nearly abandoned or even killed by the earlier lead bullet, so naturally they were now in the same boat, but…

Who says I’m tied to the same rope as you?

Roy thought silently, and then said gently to the Rear Admiral, who had turned around with a heavy expression, intending to offer some explanation first: “I know this incident has nothing to do with you, nor with anyone else present, nor with the Auran military in any way. So you only need to explain things clearly to His Excellency the Bishop and the Holy Church.”

Hearing this, the Rear Admiral remained silent for a long while before saying: “Thank you for your understanding.”

After expressing his thanks, Gavin said no more and simply waited quietly for her next words.

The young woman had skillfully extricated him, his subordinates, and even the entire military from the impending storm with these words, so naturally she would have her conditions.

But what neither he nor anyone else expected was the words that finally came from the young woman’s mouth.

“After everything is concluded, I am willing to go with you, to undergo interrogation and examination, to prove my innocence.”