Captain – Chapter 474 – How Could I Bear to Lose You?

“Gone?”

In Roy’s memory, her first mate with his military background had never shown such a desperate, helpless expression as he did now, and there was even something like…

Heartbreak?

With his head bowed, allowing his damp hair to hang low, he looked exactly like a homeless little lion.

“It, it should be right here. In my memory, I’ve never changed its location. Oh, perhaps you could look in the wooden cabinet, maybe it was put there when clothes were washed some day.”

Never having seen the young man in such a state, the captain inexplicably felt a surge of guilt. To make amends, she pointed to the corner near the bow, trying to divert his attention.

Sure enough, the “little lion’s” eyes lit up as he went for the “bone” the captain had thrown.

That corner was filled with all sorts of odd items—”trophies” that young ladies from noble families had given to the captain, peculiar but worthless trinkets found during voyages, and of course, that violin the young man had brought aboard at some point.

Roy didn’t know there was a violin in that corner, but she knew the pocket watch definitely wasn’t there.

So, once she was sure the first mate was seriously searching and had no mind to observe her, she quickly took off her outer coat and thoroughly examined it inside and out, top to bottom.

Unfortunately, she still couldn’t find the pocket watch.

“What’s going on? It should be right here.”

The captain murmured in a voice only she could hear. The raven and young dragon, watching this “thrilling scene,” instinctively lowered their breathing, their gazes moving back and forth between the two people.

Until…

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“Captain.”

Hearing Alfie’s careful call, Roy impatiently waved her hand, saying softly: “Don’t disturb me, can’t you see I’m busy? Strange, that pocket watch couldn’t have grown legs…”

“Captain.”

Hearing that deep, magnetic voice, the girl’s movements stiffened, her lips twitching slightly. She looked up at her first mate, who was now sitting beside her, and put on a polite smile: “You finished searching so quickly. How was it? Any luck?”

“What do you think?”

The “little lion” replied flatly, then resumed that look of utter despair.

“Tsk…”

Drawing in a sharp breath, the captain awkwardly put on her outer coat and said: “Look, Caine, why are you so obsessed with that pocket watch? Can’t you first tell me what’s actually happened?”

At this point, considerations of whether there was still time, whether the white mist could break through the barrier, had lost all meaning. If he couldn’t get the pocket watch, then finding her would be nothing but empty talk.

With this thought, the first mate could no longer conceal his disappointment and the weariness that had been assaulting his mind since entering the dream, making it difficult to breathe. His eyes dimmed slightly: “The focus was never on the pocket watch.”

“Then what is it?”

Moving to sit beside him again, Roy leaned forward slightly, looking at his dejected profile and his blue eyes that had never before been so dim, and asked gently.

“It’s you… you’ve lost me, lost everyone.”

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Not expecting such an answer, the captain blinked in confusion. Though she couldn’t understand his meaning, she still forced a smile and said: “How is that possible?”

“Are you saying I’m going to drive you all away? That’s just…”

“No.”

Somewhat roughly interrupting the girl’s words, Caine suddenly turned, gripping her shoulders, staring directly into those dark golden eyes full of confusion, his breathing and heartbeat as rapid as a cornered beast: “You’ve forgotten me, forgotten Alfie, forgotten everyone…”

Feeling the captain’s concerned gaze as she struggled to understand, the young man took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and released her: “I’m sorry, I was a bit too anxious. I should indeed explain things clearly first.”

“This is a dream.”

Hearing this absurd opening, normally the girl should have been startled, then suspicious, wondering if her first mate had eaten something wrong today, before feeling his forehead.

But she didn’t.

Just like the suddenly awakened scholar, Roy frowned slightly, thought for a moment, then said softly: “Oh, it seems that’s the case.”

“Meow?”

Vaguely, Caine seemed to hear a cat’s cry, without any meaning, just expressing surprise.

It’s worth noting that the scholar “awakened” firstly because he had experienced similar situations before, being the anchor point chosen by the cat for Captain Edward, inherently having a different significance from the phantom-like sailors Caine had encountered earlier.

Secondly, perhaps even before this day, he had already guessed—no, anticipated—that one day the girl would inevitably follow that path due to her bloodline, falling into that grand dream.

Therefore, he had long prepared to be her guide in the dream.

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That’s why he suddenly realized he was in a dream.

But the girl before Caine was different. She was born from the dream, supposed to follow its trajectory, or disappear like a beautiful bubble in that mist. There was no reason she should awaken.

That was why the cat was surprised. At the moment when the pocket watch was missing, even it had lost hope.

But the first mate hadn’t realized the difference in form of existence between the scholar he had seen earlier and the captain before him. He merely thought that once he revealed the truth, these dream people would naturally awaken.

So, without pausing, he continued: “Everything happening here has already become the past in reality. But Captain, we’ve experienced so much afterward that it’s hard to explain it all at once.”

Understanding his meaning, Roy accepted his explanation almost immediately, nodding slightly and following his words: “If that’s the case, you might as well just tell me the main point.”

After briefly explaining the “power within,” “truly awakening,” and other secrets that she had originally told him, Caine said in a deep voice: “Although it wasn’t your voluntary choice, under… certain inducements, you were manipulated by that devil and prematurely took that path.”

With the roles reversed, the girl naturally understood easily what was happening to her. After thinking for a moment, she smiled bitterly: “My ancestor is trying to force growth prematurely.”

“So, the paths before, uh, that version of me are essentially power and ordinariness, but the price for the former is forgetting? Oh, according to you, there’s still a turning point?”

“Yes, if we compare that dream to the sea, then you, Captain, are the ship, and I am the anchor point that helps you determine your position. As long as our dreams can intertwine, I have a chance to find you. That way, even if you’re unwilling to return to ordinariness, you can still retain your memories.”

The first mate spoke very quickly. Although he said “even if,” he held no hope for the other possibility, nor did he ask the person before him whether such a probability existed.

Because the answer was already determined: Captain Roy would never give up power.

It might be stubbornness, but it was also a resistance against fate.

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“Ship and anchor point, that sounds quite sappy.”

The girl tilted her head slightly, smiling as she added: “So that means if you want to enter the dream of that other me, that old pocket watch is the key—it must be some kind of special medium.”

At the mention of the “pocket watch,” the young man’s spirits, which had just slightly risen, fell back to the bottom of the valley.

“Don’t be like that, first mate. The missing pocket watch might not be due to my carelessness; it could be another situation.”

Gently stroking Caine’s face, Roy’s smile grew increasingly soft as she voiced a guess that he had never anticipated: “Perhaps, you know, that version of me came here once and took it away?”

Hearing this, the young man’s blue eyes brightened slightly, like the sea surface under sunlight after a rainstorm.

“Think about it, how could this captain bear to…”

The sanctuary’s barrier seemed to shatter at that moment. The thick fog penetrated the wooden walls, like a ferocious giant beast opening its fanged mouth, ready to completely devour the two.

But Caine had no reaction, because in his eyes, he only saw the reflection of those radiant, increasingly close dark golden eyes, while his ears were filled with the girl’s uniquely tender whisper.

“Lose you?”

Even as the eerie mist enveloped them, that kiss remained lingering.

Like a farewell, yet also more like…

A welcome.