Captain – Chapter 347 – Cold War and Violin

After a long while, their lips parted, and they both sat up straight.

“If you don’t want to, then don’t. Just don’t regret it later. But speaking of which, if I really turn back into a man in the end, what will you do?”

Having heard his words, Roy naturally didn’t press the matter further.

First, there was indeed no reason to force such things.

Second, she had to admit he had read her thoughts correctly. Now reflecting on her earlier feelings, she felt somewhat guilty and embarrassed, so she naturally had to say something “harsh.”

Yet at the end of her “harsh words,” she pivoted to a probing question with ulterior motives.

“What will I do?”

Caine raised an eyebrow, recalling the lessons he’d learned in the past, and deliberately replied calmly: “Naturally, after settling my wages, I’ll go back to where I belong. I imagine by then, you wouldn’t want us to be constantly stared at with strange looks from the crew, would you?”

Where he belonged was, of course, the Empire.

Auran was now swept by new winds, at the moment when old trees fell and new saplings began to grow—a time when many talented people were needed. If he were willing to return, not only would past matters be forgotten, but the entire Auran military, perhaps even the young Emperor, would be more than pleased.

It wasn’t just about Naren’s current position in the Empire; Caine himself had once been the Imperial Lion, and was still in his prime years. That was enough.

The Captain knew all this, but hearing him say it still displeased her.

After hearing the first half, she had intended to deliberately provoke him with remarks about how he forgot his country for a woman, or how he betrayed loyalty when there was no woman.

But considering that initially she had only intended to use him, and then hearing the second half of his statement, she realized that by that time, this relationship would indeed cause some problems. After pondering for a while, she couldn’t find any words to rebut him.

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Despite her silence, anyone could see the young woman’s displeasure.

Perhaps this was also a kind of… possessiveness?

Recalling when the two of them had an argument on their way to the Banshee’s Eye, and how she had criticized him for having a certain shameless possessiveness, now it was her turn to experience this feeling. The Captain’s mood became somewhat strange, and then…

She became even angrier.

Breaking free from Caine’s embrace, Roy pushed him away slightly, then lay down facing the wooden wall, pulling the blanket over herself and muttering sullenly: “How boring. I’m going to sleep.”

“Captain?”

Seeing this, the young man found it quite amusing and called softly.

The young woman didn’t respond, as if she had really fallen asleep.

But her slightly heavy breathing indicated she hadn’t actually drifted off—she was just pretending to be a log. In romance novel terms, this would be called the “cold shoulder.”

Already giving the cold shoulder?

She wouldn’t respond to his calls, and even gentle nudges got no reaction. Caine had never seen the Captain like this before and couldn’t help but find it both amusing and frustrating.

“Captain, it was just a joke.”

Gently patting the young woman’s somewhat thin shoulder, the mirth in the young man’s sea-blue eyes gradually faded, replaced by gentleness and slight helplessness: “I joined the Imperial Navy only to gain sufficient authority and military power, and to use it for revenge.”

“Now that the main culprit has been punished, what reason do I have to stay there?”

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Looking at the young woman who showed slight movement, Caine said softly: “Captain, you may not know that during that period, though I seemed to rise rapidly in the military due to my talent and with the support of my father and Grandfather Federo, I was actually very tired.”

Bearing more burdens for the sake of revenge was not just tiring, but also sorrowful and bitter.

The blanket that the young woman had pulled down to her earlobe had slipped down considerably at some point, allowing the young man’s hand to rest directly on her shoulder without obstruction.

“Following you to sea—you are naturally the main reason, but isn’t it also because I wanted to see the scenery beyond all that blood, fire, and gunpowder? To smell the sea breeze that symbolizes freedom, or perhaps… to touch the violin strings I had no time to care about in the past?”

As he said this, Roy felt the warm hand leave her shoulder.

Even the First Mate’s voice disappeared.

She waited for a long time but didn’t hear him speak again. She could only hear unobtrusive sounds of searching around.

Out of curiosity, she stopped pretending and sat up, looking at her busy First Mate: “What are you looking for?”

“A violin.”

Roy sniffed, making an inquisitive “hmm” sound, clearly puzzled, wondering where a violin would be in the Captain’s quarters.

Caine didn’t immediately respond to her confusion, still searching in corners filled with weapons, navigation instruments, and miscellaneous items.

Shortly after, meeting the young woman’s slightly widened eyes, the young man stood up straight, returned to sit at the edge of the wooden bed, but now with a violin prominently resting on his shoulder.

“When… when did this thing appear in the room?”

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Roy was baffled—this time she was genuinely surprised.

Though the Captain’s quarters were spacious and filled with various curious objects, she could name each one, even the origin and maker of the weapons.

After all, this place was like one of her homes.

Now suddenly finding a new item in her home, she was naturally astonished and even felt a sense of her territory being invaded.

But the lion that invaded her territory was also a member of it.

“Didn’t you once say you’d prepare a violin for me on the ship?”

Instead of explaining the young woman’s surprise, Caine asked with a half-smile.

“Uh, well…”

Roy had to dig deep into her memory before realizing that indeed, such a thing had happened. But too much had occurred afterward, and she had inadvertently forgotten about it—forgotten for over half a year. If Caine hadn’t mentioned it, she might never have remembered.

“I forgot, I forgot.”

Scratching her cheek, Roy smiled apologetically, hoping to gloss over the matter.

“You have many things to deal with and even more to consider, so it’s normal that you don’t remember these small matters. That’s why when the Mermaid was trading jewels in Auran, I specifically asked someone to purchase one. It’s been in the Captain’s quarters for a long time without an opportunity to use it.”

Caine certainly had no intention of blaming her and was meticulously tuning the instrument.

Too many things had happened during those days in Auran, and then he had been running around with the young woman. In the end, even he had temporarily forgotten about it until mentioning past events finally reminded him.

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Looking at it this way, being a pirate seemed quite busy too.

Thinking of this, the First Mate couldn’t help but smile bitterly to himself. After tuning the violin, he stood up again and went to the foot of the bed, searching through his coat on the hat rack for a while before finally retrieving a somewhat wrinkled sheet of paper.

“What’s that now?”

Roy seemed almost numb to her First Mate retrieving unknown items from around her quarters and asked dazedly.

“Sheet music, also prepared earlier but forgotten after too much time passed.”

Caine’s gaze lingered on the paper for only a brief moment before casually placing it on the wooden table. He returned to sit at the edge of the bed, positioned himself properly, and began to play.

And so the Captain learned the content of that sheet music.

So it was “The Devil’s Treasure”—it had been so long since she’d sung it…

The violin’s sound was soft and gentle, floating and drifting, telling the story of optimistic pirates.

The raven gave a light cry in response, while the young dragon listened attentively, occasionally moving its tail and shaking its small head as if trying to find the beat.

The young woman lay on her side, supporting her chin with her hand, a nostalgic smile on her lips as she hummed the familiar melody along with the violin. She recalled her experiences on the lonely island and the absurd events that occurred on the merchant ship when they left.

That was truly an interesting period of time.

Yes, very interesting indeed.