Captain – Chapter 285 – You Must Stay By My Side

The empire’s new sun had just begun to shine. To dispel the clouds that had accumulated for decades, even centuries, would naturally require more time and effort.

However, in Roy’s view, these were matters for the young prince and his supporters to consider—they had nothing to do with her.

Although she was technically an Auran, that was in name only. Deep in her heart, she had no strong sense of belonging to this country, or rather…

None at all.

Therefore, after meeting with Governor Naren and Federo, the young woman was led by a servant to a spacious, comfortable room to rest. While replenishing the sleep she had missed in recent days, she also gave Caine and the two elders space to discuss affairs of state.

Entering the room and closing the wooden door, Roy immediately threw herself onto the soft bed.

That fatigue she had suppressed for days rushed to her mind. Her drooping eyelids were like anchors thrown into the sea—impossible to pull back up or keep open.

A moment later, soft and prolonged breathing sounds filled the room, signifying that the young woman had entered dreamland.

This was the most relaxed, sweetest sleep she had experienced in nearly ten years, because the nightmare that had accompanied her countless nights, making her restless and deeply fearful…

Had finally ended.

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This sleep lasted for an unknown time.

When Roy hazily awoke, the clear light that had been streaming through the curtain gap onto the bed had darkened considerably and taken on a warm red hue. Though it carried the feeling of dusk, it gave people a particularly cozy sensation.

It was the warm sunset.

But this reddish warmth didn’t fall on the young woman’s face, blocked instead by a figure sitting quietly by the bed, reading a book in the light that poured into the room.

“You finished talking?”

Sitting up, the captain rubbed her eyes and then gave a small yawn, lazily asking the person sitting beside her, seemingly not surprised that he had “intruded” into the room without knocking.

Their relationship was already intimate enough. If not for unexpected circumstances, they would already be an engaged couple—why worry about whether someone knocked before entering a room?

“Yes, we finished.”

Hearing the young woman’s question, Caine closed the book in his hand, placed it on the small table beside the bed, then turned to look at her, smiling: “Father and Grandfather Federo said that the newly established crown prince is quite promising, and Auran’s future looks bright as well. I can feel at ease and continue our voyage.”

“Even if you weren’t at ease, don’t think you can just leave the ship like that. You promised me.”

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Hearing this, Roy seemed somewhat displeased.

She moved to sit beside the young man, reached over to take the book from the nightstand, and discovered it was sheet music for violin. She couldn’t help but smile: “Since you enjoy playing so much, let’s have a violin custom-made for you before leaving Auran. Then you can play for me in the future.”

“That sounds good.”

The First Mate didn’t refuse. He stood up, went to the window, and opened the closed curtains. The dim room immediately brightened, though the pouring light wasn’t harsh—like waves of dark red water, gently rippling through the air.

Outside were golden paddy fields. Looking past them toward the sky were clouds burning like fire. This scene was beautiful and peaceful, causing the captain to become slightly entranced. In the gradually darkening twilight, she seemed to see her past since childhood and the people who had scattered from her life.

First Richi and those crew members who had betrayed her, then Old John, Little Cecilia, Victor, and many others who had supported and liked her. Now, it was Uncle Robert, whom she utterly despised yet desperately longed to receive genuine affection from.

Some of them had died, some had left with no possibility of meeting again, while others might only be temporarily separated. But this vast, unpredictable, and extremely dangerous sea—who knew at what moment one might close their eyes forever, never to wake again?

Thinking of this, Roy suddenly felt melancholic. She stood up, came to the First Mate’s side, and gazed at the paddy fields and burning clouds with him, saying in a somewhat aggrieved tone: “I’ve already experienced too many partings, and will encounter more in the future, but at least…”

“You must stay by my side.”

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Sensing the young woman’s downcast mood, the young man said nothing, only gently drawing her into his embrace.

At this moment, she no longer seemed to be that invincible pirate captain, but merely a child afraid of loneliness, wanting to escape solitude.

What exactly was the captain’s past?

This question had many answers, because throughout her growth, she had experienced far too many vicissitudes and twists. In the eyes of outsiders, these were merely stories presented in words or on pages, adding a thick layer of legendary color to this pirate captain’s rise.

But when Caine gradually opened the book buried in her heart through her words, her writings, the emotions she revealed, and truly came to know those answers, what he felt was not shock, surprise, admiration, or yearning—only deep heartache.

From that child on the ranch, to the serious offender in prison, the weather-beaten fugitive, then the black worker on the merchant ship, the obscure pirate, and finally weathering storms to become a true legend—beneath that bright and dazzling surface, how much suffering had she endured, how many tears had she shed?

Yet from their first meeting on that lonely island, all the way through their journey together, he had never sensed in Roy the gloom brought by a heavy, unfair fate—only optimism and confidence, only that smile filled with mischievous charm despite its malevolence.

Captain Roy is always confident, Captain Roy never fails…

Such sayings always circulated among the crew, and in the Southern Islands, even in Auran and the Federation, there were similar rumors—the legend of the undefeated Golden-Eyed Devil.

But after entering those stories, lifting those veils that could hardly be called “disguises,” Caine eventually fulfilled what the proprietress of the Banshee’s Eye had hoped for. He broke down those invisible barriers, gradually entering the young woman’s heart, until now he could finally say…

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He had succeeded.

Although the voyage had just begun and the final answer remained unrevealed, at least now he could hold the young woman like this, shield her from some storms, so she would no longer suffer as she had in the past.

No longer alone.

The door was suddenly knocked on.

Outside came the respectful voice of a maid, asking if they were ready. The two elders were waiting to enjoy dinner with them and had been waiting for a long time.

Roy emerged from the First Mate’s embrace, looking at him with puzzled eyes.

Caine also seemed to awaken as from a dream, remembering that he had come to wake the captain, but watching her sleeping face, he hadn’t had the heart to wake her. Then he became too engrossed in reading the sheet music, and in the end completely forgot about the matter.

Seeing the young man’s slightly embarrassed expression, the captain couldn’t help but laugh softly. After shaking her head helplessly, she naturally placed her hand on his arm, just as when they attended the ball on Frans Island, appearing before Federo and the nobles.

“Let’s go.”