Captain – Chapter 297 – Boen Grand Canyon

The engagement ceremony was held punctually three days later.

That day, everyone woke up early and formed a large circle on the deck.

In the center of the circle were the three main participants: Roy, Caine, and the priest officiating the ceremony.

Although the priest had followed Bivis after boarding the ship and begun to worship the Lady, appearing somewhat suspected of straying onto a “deviant path,” since the Holy Church hadn’t discovered this or stripped him of his religious status, he still counted as a member of the church and could certainly officiate an engagement ceremony.

There was no grand opening speech, nor a complex ceremonial process—all that had already been completed at the Sanderwina Cathedral. Therefore, the priest only needed to ask those final two questions.

The young man’s answer remained the same as before, and soon it was the maiden’s turn.

“Miss Elizabeth Roy, are you willing to become Mr. Caine Howard’s wife, to live together as lovers and companions, and to love and respect him? Are you willing to share joy, pain, victory, and happiness with him equally and together?”

At this moment, the previously somewhat noisy deck fell silent. Everyone looked at the captain, holding their breath as they waited for her answer.

Although they had guessed the maiden’s answer, a guess was only a guess until confirmed. Only when her answer fell like a judge’s gavel would it be truly settled.

Unlike the crew, Caine had already received her answer before the maiden left the cathedral.

But that hasty response, followed immediately by parting, was naturally different from the present situation with everyone witnessing.

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Therefore, as he gazed at those dark golden eyes with their slight ripples, Caine couldn’t help but feel somewhat inexplicably nervous.

The morning light was clear, giving a slight chill, but as it penetrated the thin fog and fell on the deck, it added a sense of haziness and dreaminess.

The dawn fell on the maiden’s face, dispelling the thin mist covering her features, making her appearance clear while adding radiance and warmth.

“I do.”

Having already given her answer in the past, Roy naturally didn’t need to think much, simply repeating those two simple and clear words.

This significant question, concerning the future of the two, was thus answered plainly and simply—so plain that people had trouble reacting, yet upon reflection, it felt all the more warm and intimate.

It wasn’t until the two began exchanging rings that everyone gradually came to their senses.

Their faces showed blessings, but their eyes contained different emotions: joy, calmness, or even more complex feelings.

The most joyful was naturally Daniel.

This young man, whom the captain had exceptionally brought aboard, felt closer to the two than others. Witnessing this scene was like seeing true family members blessed with happiness—how could he hide his joy?

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Those crew members who came from Auran, who had set sail from Frans Island and followed along the way, naturally were also happy because of their strong sense of belonging and their admiration and affection for the captain and first mate.

Those with complex emotions, even somewhat awkward feelings, were mostly people like Lance, who had been on the Mermaid much earlier, serving Captain Roy.

They had spent more time with the captain, weathered more storms together, and naturally understood her better, but…

Deeply imprinted in their minds was still that handsome, unconventional, yet terrifying and merciless Golden-Eyed Devil—and a man at that. Therefore, seeing their captain exchanging rings with the first mate gave them a strange feeling they couldn’t shake.

As for the two who remained calm from beginning to end, one was Bosun Ben, who had long guessed the relationship between the two and even thought their progress was surprisingly slow, and the other was the ship’s doctor, who still harbored resentment from yesterday’s events and hadn’t fully calmed down even after a night of reflection.

However, overall, the pirates were happy to see this engagement.

Accompanied by the joyful calls of the raven and the young dragon, and the enthusiastic applause of the pirates, the engagement ceremony came to a successful conclusion. By the time darkness climbed the sky, the Mermaid even held a grand celebration party, which was extremely rare.

It’s worth noting that such grand gatherings hadn’t appeared on the Mermaid for many years after Red Beard’s death, partly because Roy didn’t want to be reminded of the past, but mostly because she couldn’t be bothered to organize them.

After a night of heavy drinking, the Mermaid’s journey continued.

Several days later, Roy’s group arrived at Auran’s western naval defense line.

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Having received notification, the Auran Navy didn’t give the Mermaid any trouble; they didn’t even check the transit documents before allowing it to pass through the warning line.

A dozen warships responsible for guarding the border gathered upon receiving the news, watching as this warship—once considered a mortal enemy by the imperial navy—sailed away. They knew that from now on, and in the more distant future, the relationship between the two sides would likely become more complex.

Not enemies, yet never to become allies.

Just as the silhouette of the Mermaid had become a small dot, about to disappear at the horizon, the numerous warships parted to both sides, and a magnificent behemoth slowly emerged from behind them, finally stopping before the warning line.

This was the absolute mainstay of the imperial navy, the dreadnought named Pilgrimage, of the same tier as the Tyrant that had been destroyed by the devil.

Such rare treasures in naval history were few even throughout Auran’s old history, not exceeding five ships. Before their terrifying firepower and despairingly hard hulls, any trickery or agility had no chance of being effective.

For this very reason, whether it was the pirate progenitor hundreds of years ago or Captain Gerard decades ago, being able to lead the pirates of the Southern Islands to directly defeat the Auran Empire was unimaginable—an immortal feat worthy of being recorded in epics.

There must have been indecipherable maneuvers, indelible personal brilliance, and curses and magic potent enough to change the tides of fate.

The sea has nurtured countless lives and myths, and pirates are certainly among them.

However, this time, the Pilgrimage clearly wasn’t here for battle.

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Military boots walked across the deck, making a dull sound. A young officer walked along the path cleared by his subordinates, came to the bow of the Pilgrimage, and gazed far at that small dot in the morning light.

A moment later, he stood at attention and saluted that fading silhouette, as if seeing someone off.

The young officer was Merri, who had just returned to the Pilgrimage not long ago.

Upon learning that the Mermaid was about to leave the territory, he immediately sailed over, but found he was a bit late, so he could only pay his respects to that departing pride of the military in this way.

The morning sun finally rose completely, its dazzling light shining on Merri, who remained motionless for a long time, and on that brand-new military insignia, reflecting a brilliant light.

It was the insignia symbolizing the position of Admiral in the navy.

The Mermaid left Auran but didn’t immediately follow the established plan to search for the legendary Acherousian Lighthouse. Instead, it spent half a month sailing to the Federation, replenishing their “urgently needed” rum and sending back the letter written by the ship’s doctor to his family, before turning around to leave.

Sailing north along the eastern coast of the Federation for more than ten days, accompanied by Daniel’s surprised shout, a grand canyon with a generally blue-gray color, towering mountains reaching the clouds, magnificent and majestic, stretching as far as the eye could see, finally appeared in the waters not far ahead.

This was the gateway to the far northern waters—the Boen Grand Canyon.