Captain – Chapter 78 – The Lavish Banquet

Staring at the shattered skeleton for a while, Roy shook her head with a bitter smile: “Truly worthy of being the most troublesome enemy Captain Edward faced. Even after releasing Annisdora’s curse, it seems he still didn’t completely kill First Mate Isaac.”

According to pirate histories recorded in the Southern Islands, this ruthless First Mate had once been a death row prisoner in the Church’s Inquisition. Cruel inquisitor priests had carved an indelible crimson hexagram above his left chest with a sharp knife.

The carving was so deep it broke through Isaac’s skin, deeply imprinting on his collarbone, which had been twisted from torture.

It was because of this inescapable mark that after the First Mate escaped prison and followed Edward to become an infamous pirate, he became known as the Blood Hexagram of the Ocean.

But the problem was that the collarbone of the skeleton before Roy’s eyes was perfectly smooth, without any trace of knife carvings!

What did this mean?

The betrayer of pirates, Edward’s former First Mate who later became the imperial fleet commander, had perished along with the Victoria under Annisdora’s curse—this was a fact universally acknowledged by every pirate, even recorded in the most rigorous history books.

Because of this, no one would have imagined that the commander stationed on the imperial navy’s flagship was merely an imposter pulled in as a stand-in, not the real First Mate Isaac.

So where had the traitor gone? Did he die at Captain Edward’s hands, or did he live out his life in freedom despite the hatred of countless pirates?

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After pondering for a moment, Roy lightly shook her head, setting aside these questions that could never be answered. She chuckled and said to the raven: “But what does First Mate Isaac’s true fate have to do with us? It’s not as if he could live for hundreds of years, could he?”

Time is a powerful force that erodes all emotions and glory. If you cannot find the curse of immortality like those in legends, or become a non-human existence like Captain Edward, then even if you were the renowned First Mate Isaac, you would have no choice but to turn to dust.

Having understood this, Roy stopped dwelling on it. She twirled the pocket watch around her finger a few times before closing her hand on it with a “snap,” then waved at the skeleton on the floor: “Mine now.”

Leaving the captain’s cabin, the girl vaulted over the teak railing and landed nimbly on the deck. She then grabbed the wooden handle and forcefully pulled open the heavy wooden panel separating the upper deck from the ship’s hold.

Contrary to Roy’s expectations, beneath the wooden panel was not the dim environment typical of a pirate ship’s interior, but rather one suffused with the gentle glow of oil lamps.

Descending the deck ladder, she arrived at a clean and tidy corridor. Along both sides of the corridor were widely spaced rooms—clearly comfortable, spacious accommodations that only high-ranking officers and accompanying nobles could enjoy.

Walking past crystal lamps hanging one after another, and following the corridor to the stern section, Roy came upon an elaborately carved grand door.

The door stood wide open, with brilliant light streaming through, so bright that the girl, whose eyes had adapted to darkness, could hardly keep them open.

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In the age of sail, the most comfortable place on a ship was the stern, as it had the least rocking and was the most stable. Therefore, when conditions permitted, facilities for the nobility’s relaxation and entertainment would be built there.

Clearly, knowing the ship would carry His Majesty the Emperor and nobles observing the battle, even though the Victoria was a warship, the craftsmen who designed it had preserved this area—even if it might affect its combat capabilities.

“How extravagant! Were they coming to fight or vacation?”

Roy finally managed to see clearly the scene beyond the grand door and couldn’t help but draw in a sharp breath.

The stern section was no longer as devoid of human presence as before. Countless servants moved in and out through the grand door. Although they had turned to skeletons, they still carried pure gold trays, maintaining the postures they had in life.

Just looking at this scene, one could imagine how lively and lavish it must have been.

Pushing aside several servants’ skeletons, Roy finally squeezed through the grand door into a room as spacious as a theater. Here were countless tables covered with white cloth, each laden with tableware that could be considered ancient heritage from a bygone era.

One strange thing was that neither on the trays carried by the servants nor on the tableware that filled the tables could any trace of food or drink be seen, as if everything had been offered to the great Lady Annisdora.

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But Roy didn’t pay much attention to this. Her gaze swept across the room, settling on the people making merry.

Nobles and officers sat on both sides of the tables, raising cups in revelry, jaws agape as if laughing or enjoying the luxurious feast before them.

Servants and soldiers stood in rows behind the tables, backs straight, ready to serve their masters or superiors at any moment.

In the center of the entire room, a curtained stage stood tall, allowing every noble to clearly see the performance. On that stage was an orchestra of skeletons dressed in black formal attire, seemingly in the midst of a stirring musical performance.

Roy had never seen such a spectacle. Even the most extravagant noble banquets she had experienced couldn’t compare to the scene before her. She moved between the tables, her gaze occasionally sweeping over the tableware and the ornaments worn by the nobles and officers, her eyes shining like stars in the sky.

“We’re rich! We’re rich!”

The raven flapped its wings, flying happily around the cathedral-like room while shrieking excitedly.

Yes, they had struck it rich.

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This was the only thought in Roy’s mind at the moment. She could already envision her Osprey crew carrying gold and silver, and she began planning how to use these treasures.

With such abundant wealth, not only could she reclaim the Mermaid and rise again, she could even build her own fleet—a powerful one that could contend with both the Empire and the Federation!

When that time came, who in the two domains of the ocean would dare challenge Captain Roy’s authority?

Roy walked as if in a trance, finally reaching the end of the room—the side closest to the stage, but still dozens of meters away, ensuring an unobstructed view with the best vantage point for watching performances in the entire room.

Here stood only a square wooden table, with just one person seated at it.

This person wore a dark fur cape and a single-pointed golden crown adorned with three blood-red jewels the size of pigeon eggs. His hands, covered in rings, pressed against the table, his body held perfectly straight. Even reduced to bones, he still carried an imposing presence that commanded awe.

He was undoubtedly the Third Emperor of the Auran Empire, His Majesty Fernando Stephen.