Captain – Chapter 250 – Memories

“Politician, schemer, rebel, or perhaps just an old man grieving for the death of a loved one, exhausting all thought to avenge him—I have experienced and tasted each of these identities. But in the end, what remains is nothing but pain and more tragedy.”

Taking out the slightly scorched family crest of the Garcia family with its solemn tiger from his pocket, the old man gently caressed its surface. His eyes rippled with deep loneliness and sorrow as he spoke softly, indifferently narrating as if the protagonist of that story wasn’t him but a stranger.

“Just like young Gloria, when I learned that Carlos had been murdered, yet His Majesty cared nothing for his death, disregarded others’ suggestions, even ignored his own daughter’s feelings, and declared it an accident, I felt a deep chill in my heart and decided I would no longer stand by his side.”

“From that time on, I stayed away from St. Caloie. Even when faced with His Majesty’s summons, I made excuses of urgent matters. I thought as long as I didn’t return to that place, didn’t recall the past, I could let the hatred in my heart fade away, could convince myself to let it all go.”

Gradually tightening his grip on the emblem, anger finally entered the old man’s tone: “But you know well that hatred is like a venomous snake. Just when you’re about to forget everything, it will cleanly sink its fangs into your heart, to remind you that those sins cannot be easily forgotten.”

“Whenever I saw the name of that vile and shameless murderer in reports, I couldn’t suppress the urge to crush him to dust. Yet I still harbored a sliver of hope in my heart, wishing His Majesty would wake up for the sake of all those who had left him, and make amends.”

With trembling hands, Federo placed the emblem on the table. An eerie light welled up in his emerald eyes as he smiled contemptuously, his voice full of mockery: “But in the end, not only did he fail to punish that criminal, he made him crown prince. It was like slapping the faces of all of us who were dissatisfied, as well as the Federation.”

Rеαd oո KаtRеαⅾiոɡCаfe

“With that high and mighty attitude, he announced one thing—that everything in this empire belongs to him, and everything must be decided by him alone.”

“Even if his decisions would plunge Auran into strife, turn the peace that people had longed for into bubbles, and render countless efforts futile, leading to needless sacrifices, no one was allowed to question him in the slightest, let alone change anything.”

Seeing Naren’s thoughtful expression, the old man said softly: “You’ve met Carlos too. You know what that child meant to me, to many others, and to Auran. And you know how incompetent that fellow sitting in the crown prince’s position now is.”

“If he’s allowed to take power, one doesn’t need much imagination to know what darkness the empire will fall into. So I decided to drag him down from there and send him to where he belongs.”

The place where the chief culprit belonged was undoubtedly hell.

Understanding this point, the Governor pondered for a moment before saying: “But His Majesty won’t agree.”

“Then we’ll overthrow him too.”

Rеαⅾ oո KαtRеаⅾiոɡСαfе

The old man’s voice was as low as a devil’s whisper as he said coldly: “A wretch destined to lead Auran to decline, an emperor who’s lost his mind for so-called glory—tell me, what reason do they have to remain in those positions?”

Hearing this, Naren seemed to understand something. He asked in a deep voice: “So for the past sixteen years, you’ve been preparing to overthrow His Majesty. Then in your eyes, what am I? And what is Caine? Are we just pawns you use to fight against His Majesty?”

Hearing his friend’s somewhat disappointed questions, the old man was silent for a long time before slowly saying: “No, you are hope, the light that leads the empire away from darkness.”

“You’ve gone completely mad.”

At this moment, the Governor finally understood the other’s true purpose and the heavy expectations placed on himself and his child. The impact of these words left him stunned for quite some time, and in the end, he could only utter this single sentence.

“Perhaps…”

As if having finally spoken all the words hidden in his heart, the old man’s stern face softened. He said gently: “I once vowed to leave no descendants. Carlos was like my own child in my eyes. From the moment I learned I would never see him again, I was perhaps already trapped in an emotional whirlpool, unable to extricate myself.”

Reаⅾ oո KαtRеаⅾіnɡСafe

“For a time, I wanted to perish together with those people, even if it would ultimately fail, even if it would eventually plunge this country, which had been invested with countless efforts, into chaos. But in the end, I didn’t do that, all because I met you, Naren.”

Sighing lightly, the old man smiled and said: “In you, I saw a brilliance worthy of replacing His Majesty, just as Alexander I took the legitimacy of Auran from the Stephen family hundreds of years ago.”

“So I wanted to arrange everything to ensure that when the empire was finally handed over to you, it would still be strong and prosperous, not a broken mess.”

“But you should also know that I would never want to sit in that position,” Naren said with a complex expression.

“Yes, that’s unavoidable. So I turned my attention to Caine, teaching him the way I taught Carlos. Facts proved that the child not only inherited your military talent but also showed extraordinary gifts in politics.”

“That’s when I knew he was the right choice.”

Seemingly having anticipated this, the Governor showed no surprise. He calmly asked: “How far did you go?”

Reαԁ oո KаtRеаdiոɡСαfе

Without directly answering Naren’s question, Federo’s eyes flashed with nostalgia: “Overthrowing His Majesty is not an easy task. I alone would be powerless. Fortunately, along this path, I met many like-minded people. Robert was one of them.”

“But what I didn’t expect was that the Black Raven Society, created by Gloria herself, didn’t stand with us. Instead, they gave us quite a lot of trouble. Despite this, I can still say that before the incident on Frans Island, I could already see the brilliance of the throne, and was at His Majesty’s doorstep.”

“But things are always unpredictable. Just when I was about to put everything into action, the First Fleet under Caine’s command disappeared without a trace, and he was nowhere to be found. Later, though I saw him again, there was a rogue pirate by his side.”

The old man couldn’t help but sigh: “Too many things happened on Frans Island, which eventually changed my mind. But what truly made me willingly let go of everything was meeting with Gloria on my way back to St. Caloie to resign, under some deliberate arrangement.”

“In our conversation, I learned a secret—that the infant who disappeared without reason from the palace sixteen years ago was still alive, and he was…”

“Carlos’s child.”