Captain – Chapter 8 – The Girl Who Sleeps Forever

It was twelve years ago.

Before that, the Howard family was already one of the foremost noble families in the Auran Empire. Unlike those families who passed down bloodlines, it was a truly born from blood and fire, from the embers of cannon shells and the wreckage of warships, a family of officers that rose to prominence with the ever-changing storms of the great ocean.

“Twelve years ago? I was only six then, still selling milk squeezed from the pasture with my mother.” Captain Roy clearly had no sense of quietly listening to the story. Barely had the introduction begun when she hastily interrupted Caine’s narrative, reminiscing about her carefree childhood days.

“Don’t interrupt, just listen quietly.” Caine, like a teacher in a military academy, unconsciously defended his authority.

“Oh…” Roy responded sheepishly, lowering her head to stroke Alfie’s sleek black feathers, which were gradually recovering their glossy sheen.

At that time, the current Admiral Naren had not yet become governor, and still commanded the fleet on the front lines, firmly holding the jurisdiction of the Eastern Seas in the hands of the Auran Empire. In that era of the imperial navy’s overwhelming strength, even the Great Captain who ruled the Southern Islands with countless pirates under his command maintained a basic respect for this admiral.

In the process of sweeping away maritime resistance forces as the empire’s blade, Admiral Naren offended many factions, including the Pronora Federation which had always been at odds with the empire.

Because of the admiral’s almost stringent management methods, the sailing routes of federal merchant ships were greatly restricted, which also brought huge economic losses. Thus, that era was also known as the “Extremely Dark Period between the Empire and the Federation.”

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Of course, the empire and the federation were originally hostile to each other, and Admiral Naren could completely ignore the murderous gazes from those senators in the federal parliament. But the problem was that among the various forces he had offended, in terms of danger, the federation could only rank third, and above it, there were two more people.

Yes, just those two people had plunged Admiral Naren into endless dangerous assassinations and maritime threats.

One of them was the legendary pirate very familiar to Roy, though not particularly liked by her—the captain of the Ghost Scythe, Enzo, known as the Night Curtain of the Western Seas.

“From what I know of Enzo’s temperament, it would be more credible for him to directly ram Governor Naren’s warship with the Ghost Scythe. I find it hard to believe he would use such underhanded assassination methods. Besides, he had barely come of age then, should have been establishing his reputation in the Western Seas—how could he get entangled with that governor?”

Hearing a familiar name, Roy finally couldn’t restrain her itching throat and raised her question.

“I don’t know, he never told me about past events. All of this I found out by researching recorded materials myself.” Caine shook his head and continued the story.

Although Captain Enzo and Admiral Naren were like fire and water, they had never had a direct confrontation. At most, they would gaze at each other from a distance at the border between the Eastern and Western Seas, firing a few cannons at each other to express hatred. More conflicts occurred on the open negotiation tables between the Auran Empire and the Southern Islands.

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But the other person had genuinely threatened the life safety of Admiral Naren and his family—the founder of the Black Raven Society.

The Black Raven Society was an extremely mysterious organization. Its influence spanned the entire Northern Continent, and even in the relatively free Southern Islands and scattered reefs, its shadow could be found.

No one knew who its founder was, or how it was created. Most information about this organization was like a mystery. The only thing people knew was that it possessed power so vast that the three most powerful factions in the world had to take it seriously.

Members of the Black Raven Society were spread throughout the world, with an extremely complex composition. They could be a fruit vendor, a beggar lying on the roadside unable to eat, a scheming politician in power, or a noble figure from a high-born family. Because of this, the Black Raven Society had a very complete and rich operational system, with its hand in various industries including commerce, military, culture, and more.

Fortunately or unfortunately, in an island raid led by Admiral Naren, the Auran Empire successfully captured an elder of the Black Raven Society. What made him feel absurd and shocked was that this elder was actually his former teacher from the military academy.

There was no negotiation, no resistance. The Auran Empire had never been willing to tolerate this shadowy force outside its control. So when he realized it was impossible to extract any secrets about the Black Raven Society from this elder, Admiral Naren, with his head clouded by anger and sorrow at the betrayal, took up his pistol and ended the life of this imperial traitor.

After that, Admiral Naren, having achieved numerous merits, received the emperor’s investiture in the imperial capital, becoming the third governor of the empire and the youngest in history.

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However, the nightmare had only just begun.

In the system of the Black Raven Society, the status of elders was supremely revered, almost equivalent to governors of the empire.

After meticulous deductions by various forces, it was universally acknowledged that there were only two elders in the Black Raven Society in total, and one of them had died at the hands of Naren Howard. Thus, in the fury of that founder, the revenge of the Black Raven Society began.

“The founder declared that unless Naren himself or the person he cherished most died, he would not stop seeking revenge, no matter the cost.”

For the first time, Caine’s voice sounded so dejected and painful. This naval commander, who seemed forever calm, finally revealed a hint of the passionate emotions belonging to his age.

“So, the person who died in that revenge was… Elizabeth Howard, whom you mistook me for?” Roy asked curiously.

“My mother contracted a bad disease and passed away at the young age of twenty-four. At that time, she had just given birth to me. So naturally, my father married a young lady from a noble family, and then she gave birth to my half-sister, the Elizabeth Howard you mentioned.” Caine quickly regained his composure. As for that stepmother, he seemed very averse, to the extent that he was unwilling to even mention her name.

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“I disliked my stepmother greatly, but I didn’t have much resistance to my sister who was born later. In fact, she was a very clever and strong girl. Like you, she had golden wavy hair and rare dark golden pupils. These traits combined could not be found in a second person throughout the Auran Empire.”

At this point, Caine fell silent. What happened next no longer needed to be narrated by him, as the course of events was all too clear.

The elfin girl did not grow up; her youth was forever frozen in that great fire at the age of six.

“My stepmother also died in that fire. Since then, my father never remarried, because the Black Raven Society had taken away his most precious treasure. So he was always melancholy, only emerging from that shadow in recent years.” After an unknown period, Caine added with a smile that looked not much better than crying.

“Her remains were never found in the ruins after the fire. I’ve always harbored a vague hope, which is why I mistook you for her. After all, if she had grown up healthily, she would be about your age.”

The story ended, and the warm red light on the horizon dimmed with it, like a book filled with time and old affairs being closed, no longer open to the world.