Captain – Chapter 233 – The Past

“As you heard in the church, I was born in a small town called Loriton in western Auran, and lived there for exactly eight years.

There, my mother worked for a local ranch owner, earning meager wages to support the two of us. Because of this, we were allowed to live in a small wooden cabin at the corner of the ranch. That cabin was tiny, but it gave me a sufficiently warm childhood.

Every morning when I woke up and opened the window, I could see the vast ranch, flocks of sheep, and a few lazy dairy cows. At that time, I had no concept of hardship in my mind. Every night before closing my eyes, I looked forward to the next day’s sunrise because it meant I would have another long period of free and joyful time.

But it also meant the beginning of mother’s busy day. Even when I reached an age where I could help, she never let me touch those heavy farm chores. Instead, during breaks from her work and in the free hours of late night, she taught me to read and write, taught me principles of being a person, and told me stories about my deadbeat father.

To be honest, before the calamity happened, I did admire my father somewhat, because he was considered a great captain. And when I grew a bit older, mother told me that he had actually left us a box of jewels.

It was wealth enough for us to squander for a lifetime, but for various reasons, mother never wanted to sell those jewels.

Perhaps in her view, they symbolized father’s love for her and were the last medium through which she could feel his presence.

I thought life would continue like this until I grew up and could shoulder the burden of supporting the family. By then, mother wouldn’t need to work so hard, and perhaps we could leave this remote town and live in a more prosperous city.

But misfortune always comes so suddenly.”

Rеαⅾ оո ΚαtRеadіոɡСаfе

Reading to this point, Caine’s hand suddenly gripped the letter harder, as if feeling tense for the mother and child in the story.

“Years of farm work eventually made mother fall ill. But in the remote west, not to mention whether one could find a competent doctor, even the cost of summoning the town’s quack—who had received no systematic education and had no qualifications—was an astronomical figure for us.

So mother sent me to the ranch owner, hoping he could advance some wages for medical treatment, considering her hard work and that her child was still young.

But after finally managing to see him, the answer I received was a clear refusal. At that time, I felt as if the sky had fallen. In fear and helplessness, I revealed the secret of the jewel box.

Though young, I was well aware of wealth’s temptation for adults. But I didn’t know that when wealth reached a certain level, it could transform a decent old gentleman into a terrifying devil.

Regardless, I had no other choice then. I said I was willing to give him the box of jewels, asking only that he find a doctor for mother to cure her illness.

As a result, after learning this news, not only did he not summon a doctor, but he directly sent people to drive us out of the ranch.

You know, it was even raining heavily at that time. I watched those servants storm into the cabin and carry out my mother, who was so weak she could barely walk, off the ranch. We stood embracing outside the ranch, watching them turn the cabin upside down through the fence.

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Of course, they found nothing in the end, because mother had hidden it in a very secret place—she had buried the box by the well next to the cabin.

The ranch owner was very angry at finding nothing, but because more and more onlookers were gathering, in the end he just had people drive us further away, while falsely accusing my mother and me of stealing his property, claiming that was why he took such action.

The ranch owner held high prestige locally, so his words naturally became the so-called truth. No one was willing to take in my mother and me, partly for fear of us stealing their property, and partly for fear of angering the ranch owner.

Naturally, due to lack of treatment, plus enduring that heavy rain, mother’s condition deteriorated quickly. We barely found an old tent for shelter from the rain, but after embracing and sleeping through the night, when I opened my eyes the next day, I could no longer feel her warmth.

At this point in the narrative, the Captain’s handwriting showed no change, as if the story she was describing had no connection to herself.

But only Caine, who knew the young woman very well, understood that she was accustomed to keeping all her emotions contained in her heart, accustomed to tasting that indescribable bitterness alone in the dark. Because of this, she typically displayed either frivolity and nonchalance, or a cold detachment that made people feel incredibly distant.

“I don’t remember how long I cried, nor do I remember how I buried mother. I only know that at that time my heart was full of hatred, so I sneaked into the ranch at night, set fire to the ranch owner’s residence, then ran out without looking back, running all the way to a hillside behind the ranch.

I stood there, watching the flames devour that house and then spread to the entire ranch. The fire was so vigorous that even the heavy rain couldn’t extinguish it. Those people still in their dreams naturally had no reason to survive.

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When daylight came, I went back to town to inquire about the news. Upon learning that the ranch owner had perished in the fire, I didn’t feel any sense of revenge fulfilled, but rather a kind of bewilderment, both for my actions and for the hopeless future.

Therefore, when someone provided clues to the local court and soldiers came to arrest me, I didn’t want to escape at all. Perhaps at that time, being hanged as a murderer was also an acceptable outcome in my view.

For a long period afterward, I was imprisoned in the town jail, waiting for the moment of execution to arrive. But in the end, I didn’t wait for the judgment to be implemented, but for the arrival of a person.

That person was Governor Robert.”

Seeing this name, Caine couldn’t help but frown, and seeing his solemn expression, the young dragon lying nearby let out a questioning low growl.

“No, it’s nothing.”

The young man gently patted its head, his gaze skipping over that name as he continued reading the content that followed.

What Roy had left for him was less a letter and more a concise autobiography, though it only covered that period that wasn’t particularly long but was especially dark.

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“At that time, I had no concept of the title ‘Governor,’ only knowing he was a much more powerful figure than the ranch owner, because the town mayor, who usually liked to maintain a stern face, had to put on a fawning expression when beside him. I could hear those flattering words even from a distance.

The Governor brought the town’s notable and promising dignitaries to my cell and asked me: ‘Is your surname Roy?’ After I nodded, he had someone open the iron door of the prison, and disregarding my dirty and tattered clothes, lifted me directly from the ground.

‘I know your grievances, and have already uncovered the truth,’ he told me this way.

Afterwards, he carried me out of the prison, then turned to face those dignitaries and revealed everything the ranch owner had done out of greed. And watching those people repeatedly agree, nodding their heads like beating drums, I felt as if I were in an unreal dream.

At that time, I truly believed he had come to clear the grievances for my deceased mother and to rescue me from that pitch-black nightmare.

But unexpectedly, that was merely the beginning of another nightmare.”

Translator Note

I wonder why Roy didn’t open up his heart to Ceci first since she seems to understand her at the same level as Caine if not more. Though I guess its much easier to reveal your vulnerability to people that have yet to perceived you as a pillar of strength.