Captain – Chapter 290 – Remembering Both Grudges and Kindness

As visitors were discovered, the laughter and sounds of work from the small farmstead gradually faded.

Soon, the farmstead’s gate opened, and a plainly dressed, kindly-looking middle-aged couple came out to greet them. Following them was a little girl no more than six years old, who was now peering out from behind her mother, looking at the two people descending from the carriage with curiosity and nervousness.

The raven and the young dragon remained in the carriage.

To ordinary people, Nidhogg was a monster they had never seen before, terrifying and majestic in appearance.

Even the worldly Federo, when first seeing the little creature, had marveled for quite some time before accepting its existence. So there was no need to even mention the couple and child before them. To avoid alarming the hosts, it naturally couldn’t show itself.

As for Alfie…

She was being held in the young dragon’s embrace, left behind to “keep it company” and alleviate its loneliness.

Looking at the young man and woman approaching, the middle-aged couple appeared very nervous.

Although they were just ordinary farmers who had never interacted with nobility, they had seen many aristocratic children when sending their own child to study at the academy in Nickaga. They had felt the noble aura around them and witnessed their mannerisms.

The young couple before them weren’t dressed luxuriously, just in two very ordinary short shirts that couldn’t even compare to the soft fabrics they had prepared for their child. But whether from their appearance, expression, or the quality they exuded, they were definitely not ordinary people.

Especially after seeing the pitch-black carriage and the four strong warhorses pulling it, the male host, who had once served in the Auran army, became even more certain of this guess.

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Only military personnel or incredibly powerful figures could use warhorses to pull carriages. Even those merchants who possessed mountains of gold and silver didn’t have such privilege.

Due to the farmstead’s location, travelers occasionally came to stay.

But that was usually during rainy days when travel was difficult, or as dusk approached. Now, with daylight still strong and the carriage stopped right in front of the farmstead, it clearly wasn’t for that reason, but rather a purposeful visit.

In this brief moment, the man thought of many things. Looking at those warhorses, his thoughts drifted far back to a night many years ago.

That night had been unremarkable, but an unexpected visitor had come to the farmstead.

It was a military officer of no high rank, but in the couple’s eyes, he was already a person of considerable importance. The male host, formerly a member of the imperial army, naturally treated him with respect and special courtesy.

Contrary to what they expected, the officer hadn’t come to stay overnight but merely told them something, left a letter, and then departed.

What the officer said and what was written in the letter were the same thing, except the letter contained more details and came with a generous promise.

They were asked to take in a child who might pass through this area and ensure that the child wouldn’t be discovered by soldiers searching along the way, as this child was a serious criminal charged with murder and arson.

The promise was a substantial fortune.

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Regarding whether to accept, the couple was torn and even argued a few times, breaking some things, creating quite a disturbance.

On one hand, they feared being implicated by the child; on the other hand, they greatly needed that money because their own child had reached the age for schooling. They had high hopes for him and wanted him to leave the farmstead to receive better education and pursue a better life.

This psychological struggle continued for a long time, until a rainy night later.

They found the child who had collapsed outside the farmstead in poor physical condition, and they remembered the officer and the letter.

But at that time, they no longer hesitated or argued. They unanimously chose to bring the child back to the house and hide him well.

This might have been due to their desire for the promised reward, or perhaps because they saw the pitiful state of the child and couldn’t bear to see him suffer further.

Of course, it could have been both, because no one knew the true answer.

In any case, they took in the child. Just after hiding him, aggressive soldiers with fierce hunting dogs arrived at their door.

Although they didn’t know why those hunting dogs were so agitated and restless, or why the soldiers didn’t suspect them at all despite their nervous and guilty reactions to questioning, their concerns ultimately didn’t materialize.

The soldiers and hunting dogs left.

The child later left as well.

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The couple received the promised reward and used that money to send their eldest son to study in Nickaga.

In the time that followed, they tended to their child’s education, had a daughter, and were very busy, but their life gradually improved. During this time, no one ever came to inquire about the child who had stayed with them, and everything remained perfectly peaceful.

Now, their eldest son had become an upright Auran soldier who had even become an officer, more outstanding than his father and the pride of their family. Their daughter was growing day by day, now playing with a newly adopted little yellow dog in the farmstead…

The couple’s reminiscence ended abruptly as the maiden spoke.

“It’s been several years since we last met. I hope we’re not disturbing you, uncle and auntie?”

Blinking hard, looking at the maiden’s light golden hair, the male host suddenly remembered the wet, messy short hair of that child from back then. Though they were vastly different in many ways, the color was very similar, and then there were those beautiful dark golden eyes…

Although it was difficult to connect this maiden with the child from ten years ago, the man still asked somewhat uncertainly: “Are you… are you that…”

“Yes, yes, I’m the one who stayed at your home back then…”

Before Roy could finish, she and Caine were anxiously pulled into the farmstead by the couple.

Afterward, the man looked around carefully, confirming there were no traces of soldiers, before breathing a slight sigh of relief and heavily closing the gate.

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The captain naturally knew what they were worried about.

Although the couple had never told her anything back then, she could still detect something unusual from their eyes. Now knowing that Robert had sent someone here before, asking the couple to take her in, it wasn’t surprising that they knew some of the truth.

After a brief explanation, the couple finally felt relieved.

“So you didn’t actually commit any crimes?”

Hearing the male host’s clearly relaxed tone, Roy smiled and nodded.

Although her actions back then were indeed wrong, after Robert had cleared her and her mother’s names, those matters could be considered past. The “charges” he later forced upon her, naturally, were a different matter.

Of course, all of this had now been buried in the deepest night with the death of that Governor. No one would remember it except for her.

Thinking of this, Roy felt somewhat emotional, but the feeling quickly disappeared without a trace, replaced by the most sincere gratitude.

Although this family’s willingness to accept and care for her might have been related to Robert’s arrangements, their kindness and help to her were undeniable.

Captain Roy remembered grudges well, but… she also remembered kindness just as well.