Captain – Chapter 258 – The Reunion

It was unclear how much time had passed when the carriage finally came to a stop.

The door was opened by an officer wearing a lieutenant colonel’s insignia. He held a black umbrella in one hand and stood expressionlessly blocking the path, like an iron wall.

Scrutinizing the young woman who had arrived in the dead of night, the officer’s eyes were filled with vigilance and coldness. He truly couldn’t understand why the Governor would insist on receiving such an “uninvited guest” who had “lost her invitation,” let alone a dangerous and cold-blooded pirate.

But recalling the Governor’s earlier words that brooked no objection, after a slight flicker in his gaze, the officer took a deep breath, stepped aside, and tried to speak calmly: “Welcome, miss. The Governor has been waiting for you for quite some time.”

Nodding slightly to this officer who made no effort to hide his hostility, Roy stepped down from the carriage and turned her gaze toward the source of light.

It was a tall, pale yellow building. In the downpour, the color of the roof couldn’t be seen clearly, but Roy knew that on a sunny day with clear skies, it would appear azure blue, similar to the color of the sky.

Besides the usual sloped roof, it also had many castle-like pyramids—small towers perfect for gazing into the distance. From there, one could see the clear blue lake, the colorful sea of flowers, and the quietly flowing Loyce Canal—all scenery she never tired of as a child.

Additionally, each window of the building was decorated with lifelike colored paintings. In the dark, rainy night, they split the light into many fragments, refracting countless colors that, from a distance, resembled rainbows spanning across the rain curtain.

This masterpiece, created by the Empire’s top artists and architects, was the most powerful symbol of that man’s immense authority and astonishing wealth.

At this moment, the main door of the building stood quietly open for her.

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On both sides of the path leading to the door, more than a dozen fully armed soldiers stood in formation, seemingly welcoming her arrival, yet also serving as a silent warning.

“Please,” said the lieutenant colonel, gesturing.

Roy walked forward with a calm expression.

The two passed between the soldiers and ascended the steps covered with a crimson carpet.

Upon reaching the entrance, the lieutenant colonel finally slowed his pace. After closing his black umbrella, he extended his arm to stop the young woman.

“I know who you are.”

The lieutenant colonel stared at the captain’s face, showing no courtesy despite her beautiful appearance.

He lowered his voice in warning: “I also know how dangerous you are. If the Governor hadn’t insisted on seeing you, I would have ordered my men to shoot you dead before you entered the residence.”

“Though I don’t know your relationship with the Governor, I warn you: maintain proper etiquette and respect when meeting him. If I detect the slightest suspicious movement, regardless of what the Governor thinks, I will eliminate the threat immediately. Understood?”

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Under normal circumstances, faced with such a threat, the captain would either take direct action or at least respond with cold, cutting remarks.

But now, on the eve of meeting that man, she merely lowered her gaze submissively and responded: “Yes, sir.”

Hearing this, the lieutenant colonel gave her a final nod and stepped aside.

Walking toward the soft light, Roy slowly entered the residence. The door closed silently behind her, shutting out the cool night wind and the sound of pouring rain, seeming to leave all worldly disputes and scheming outside.

Looking up, familiar scenes came into view.

Countless crystal chandeliers cast warm light. At the end of the great hall, spiral staircases on either side wound around carved marble columns, connecting to the platform above. Below that platform was an arched floor-to-ceiling window that occupied almost an entire wall.

In front of the window stood a small round table covered with a white cloth. A candelabra burned on it, looking like a table specially prepared for dining. Yet according to Auran noble customs, banquets always took place in dedicated dining halls, never so casually in the reception hall.

Therefore, no matter how one looked at it, this round table—even of the wrong specifications—stood out starkly in the magnificent great hall, completely out of place.

But gazing at that round table, Roy’s face showed complex emotions—a mixture of reflection, irony, and undeniable nostalgia.

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Just as the old butler had said, that man still maintained the dining arrangement from the past.

It was precisely because she disliked the somewhat cramped, formal atmosphere of the dining room and preferred watching the serene river through the floor-to-ceiling windows in the spacious main hall that Robert had, unusually, disregarded the old butler’s objections. He had changed the dining location and dispensed with a series of dining etiquettes that were too complicated for a child.

That might indeed have been considered affection, and preserving it for a full decade might also demonstrate his inner guilt and remorse, but…

For Roy, for all that had become the past, this was now completely meaningless—it seemed more like self-indulgent sentimentality.

With this thought, the captain finally turned her gaze to the man standing before the floor-to-ceiling window with his back to the round table. The complex emotions in her eyes dissipated, leaving only a placid stillness like clear water.

She slowly walked forward, came to the round table, and naturally sat down on the wooden chair on the outer side.

As her gaze swept across the table, her eyebrows couldn’t help but rise.

Because on the table, besides the hazelnut bread and grape wine—too simple for a top-tier noble—there lay a curved dagger sheathed in its scabbard, the very one she had handed over to the guard at the gate earlier.

Such a dangerous weapon appearing on the dining table was clearly unusual, but in the young woman’s eyes, although somewhat surprising, it also made perfect sense.

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Because this was a statement, representing the man’s undisguised trust in her.

As Roy stared at the curved dagger, the man who had remained motionless and silent since her entrance suddenly spoke.

His voice was still so magnetic, possessing a unique appeal, and when addressing her, it carried a warmth and closeness rarely heard from him.

“How is it? Are you getting used to it?”

Hearing his question, Roy was silent for a moment, then asked: “What do you mean? The people I’ve met, the bathing environment, or having dinner with you soon?”

As the young woman’s slightly sharp yet pleasing voice reached his ears, feeling the subtle distance in her tone, the man slowly turned around.

Looking at that somewhat unfamiliar face, yet still as delicately beautiful as when she was a child, a gentle smile spread across his face. In his usually indifferent eyes, there was unmistakable longing and deep remorse.

“All of this, child.”