Captain – Chapter 321 – A Sudden Change

“I know that person, just not his name.”

Having received an answer, Vivian didn’t hesitate, frankly offering her explanation.

“Don’t know… his name?”

Hearing this, Roy’s eyebrows rose involuntarily, surprised by her candor, but internally not believing a word.

The young woman hadn’t taken the bait, yet gave such an explanation—a contradictory, deliberate action. The captain naturally wouldn’t easily accept it, especially since the statement contained an obvious flaw, highlighted by Roy’s reflexive question.

You know of his existence, so the Lady naturally knows too. With that deity’s all-knowing abilities, how could she possibly not know the scholar’s name?

Understanding the captain’s thoughts, Vivian explained expressionlessly: “I truly don’t know his name because the Lady never told me. For her, it’s an even more absolute taboo than Edward.”

She wasn’t lying.

That sinner’s era was long before hers. When she was rescued and began working for the Lady, he had already been imprisoned on the Victoria for countless years, suffering torments worse than death day and night, seemingly without end.

Such circumstances chilled even her heart. She felt that compared to his experiences, her own suffering was mere child’s play.

The Lady had never mentioned that person, as she had said—like an absolute taboo.

This situation continued until a day about half a year ago.

That day, the Lady gently caressed her crystal ball, falling into a prolonged silence.

Since Vivian had followed her, she had never seen her silent for so long, and remarkably, showed emotion like a mortal, which was extremely rare.

At the end of that silence, the Lady sighed and said: “The time has come.”

What time had come?

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Vivian didn’t understand, but quickly got her answer, as the Lady asked her to take the Death Silence to retrieve the scholar from that eternal prison.

At that time, she couldn’t help asking: “Lady, who exactly is he?”

He is one seeking redemption.

That was the Lady’s answer. Though still puzzled, she obeyed and went to the Victoria, only to find the ghostly ship already empty.

Thus, the redemption-seeker became a sinner once more.

After bringing back the news, the Lady said nothing, showing no disappointment, only asking her to sail again, to the waters near Yadris.

The Death Silence set out once more as commanded.

After a considerable voyage, they reached their destination one dark night. As if by cosmic coincidence, a wooden coffin drifted before the Death Silence, and simultaneously, Vivian discovered the sinner’s whereabouts.

But due to the Lady’s attitude, she didn’t go to capture him, instead taking the coffin back to that mysterious island. Later, she sailed around for some time, carrying out judgments and redemptions, until feeling the Lady’s summons, then turned back and returned to the island.

It was during that visit that the Death Silence gained a new captain and began the long journey following the Mermaid, searching for Satin Island. It was then she heard from the Lady’s lips a term for that sinner—”my beloved”—and truly felt that emotion.

From that moment, she understood one thing: the scholar on the Mermaid wasn’t an enemy.

So in fact, her earlier confusion wasn’t feigned but genuine emotion. Her current explanation wasn’t a cover-up but the beginning of another chess game.

She was paving the way for that “sinner.”

“You said earlier you wanted to negotiate, offering yourself as collateral. If you want it to proceed smoothly, shouldn’t you also hear my demands?”

Before Roy could sort everything out, Vivian spoke again, questioning.

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“Oh, certainly.”

The captain temporarily suppressed her chaotic thoughts, raising her hand in a “please” gesture.

“The person you mentioned earlier is not actually a scholar, but an extremely despicable pirate.”

Hearing this, Roy’s eye twitched, feeling the other had an ulterior meaning.

“For committing blasphemy, the Lady cursed him and imprisoned him on the Victoria, requiring a thousand years of redemption before gaining freedom. But fearing pain, he escaped the prison with your help, leaving no chance for atonement—only judgment remains.”

“So, my targets this time include not only the magical box and you, but also that sinner. If you truly wish to cooperate with the Lady, first you must ensure his death.”

Hearing this, Roy’s expression remained unchanged, though her eyes gained some amusement: “He’s a Death-Fearer—even time can’t affect him. How could I possibly kill him?”

The captain’s meaning was clear. Since she couldn’t kill Bivis, Vivian’s condition naturally had a different meaning.

You want me to hand him over to you?

But who could know whether you would judge him or just want to remove him from my control? This remained an ambiguous move, untrustworthy.

But to her surprise, Vivian shook her head.

“Killing him means truly killing him.”

“Having dealt with him for so long, Captain, you surely know that while the curse remains, he cannot leave the Mermaid. Once he leaves, whether voluntarily or forced, he will suffer the curse’s backlash, experiencing countless torments before dying. This…”

“Is also a form of judgment.”

Now Roy frowned, feeling the situation had become much more complex.

Vivian wanting to kill Bivis was certainly the Lady’s will, but what was the meaning behind it?

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Could he truly not be who she suspected? But the young woman called him a pirate—who else could he be but that person? Or was Bivis’s desire to lift the curse and seal the Lady not just an act for her benefit, but genuine? Or perhaps…

The conjectures were countless. Without the devil’s power to assist, Roy naturally couldn’t sort them out. She gently shook her head, her gaze flickering slightly as she agreed.

“Agreed.”

With this, the testing ended, and the most important initial consensus of the negotiation was established. What followed would naturally be much clearer and simpler.

“After reaching Satin Island, the Mermaid will dock at the shore. Everyone aboard will serve as your hostages. I will go to the island alone. Regardless of whether there are seals or curses needing to be broken, I will bring back the magical box and the map showing unknown waters.”

Satin Island might hide other treasures, but the most important were undoubtedly the magical box and the map. The former was the common goal of both the Lady and the devil, while the latter might be the clue to revealing the true face of the Cursed Sea, which had never appeared in the world yet truly existed.

“The magical box goes to the Lady, the map to me. As for those treasures… I imagine you don’t care for them, so let me take them to exchange for money, how about that?”

Watching the captain who had been pacing around her, Vivian pondered for a moment, then said calmly: “Agreed, but by handing over the magical box, aren’t you afraid of angering the devil?”

“Anger? Captain Edward?”

Roy smiled faintly, shaking her head: “Since I’m willing to cooperate with the Lady, naturally I no longer wish to serve that devil, whether because of how he used me or his methods in killing the siren race—both make me feel cold and uneasy.”

“Who knows when I too might be abandoned?”

Vivian was silent for a while, raising no further questions, because the other spoke truly—that devil was just such a being.

For his own interests, Captain Edward could betray anyone, including his closest followers. So abandoning his descendants was equally possible.

“By the way, since you mentioned him, I remember I have another condition.”

Roy paused her steps, standing before Vivian, looking into her blood-red eyes, her tone utterly serious: “When everything is over, I want to meet the Lady face to face. I want to find…”

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“A method to kill the devil.”

Hearing this, even Vivian’s pupils contracted slightly. Looking at those emotionless dark golden pupils, she felt the person before her was truly as cold-blooded as rumors claimed. Combined with their previous conversation, her cunning and frightfulness even surpassed those captains chosen by the Lady.

Who would have the courage to kill the devil?

Moreover, Roy’s veins flowed with his blood—wouldn’t this be patricide?

Truly worthy of being called the Golden-Eyed Devil.

The young woman could sense the other’s solemnity, knowing that this seemingly additional condition was actually the final point of negotiation. If they couldn’t reach agreement, all previous consensus would vanish, becoming meaningless.

After a long silence, she nodded slightly.

“Very well.”

Roy regained her smile, gently patting her shoulder as if satisfied with the negotiation, then walked past her toward the staircase leading out of the lighthouse, saying: “Then…”

“It’s a deal.”

As these words fell, Vivian’s eyebrows rose slightly, still harboring many questions.

Such as how to ensure the captain would fulfill her promise, or how she would return to the Mermaid with the Death Silence and the human ship still chasing each other at sea…

But just as the young woman turned around, wanting to say something, a sudden change occurred!

She didn’t see flowing pale golden hair or Roy’s graceful, composed back, but only a pair of indifferent, magma-like dark golden eyes about to extinguish, and…

The gleaming flash of a blade.