Chapter 83: Captain Jack

Looking at the Earl, whose face was dark with anger, everyone present lowered their heads, not daring to make a sound.

All along, not only Bruno, but even the others in the room had never considered the threat from the sea. This was because the Idar Territory had never been raided by pirates before!

Thus, the sudden pirate attack had caught everyone completely off guard.

"Aside from the casualties among the soldiers, what are the other losses?" Bruno turned to the current overseer of Cape Saltworks, the former chief steward of Idar, Old Ford.

"Thanks to the soldiers' brave resistance, and the fact that the recently dried sea salt had just been transported away a few days ago, the actual damage is minimal. Aside from the loss of lives, the Cape Saltworks suffered no major losses," Old Ford reported.

"The pirates who came ashore numbered about eighty to ninety, and they had three ships. However... they probably didn't expect us to have nearly fifty stationed troops at the saltworks. As a result, our soldiers even managed to capture several pirates along with one of their ships!"

"A pirate ship?" Bruno was astonished.

He had only heard about the attack on Cape Saltworks, but before Old Ford's report, he wasn't clear on the specifics.

But…

Seizing a pirate ship? That sounded a little too absurd…

On one side were landlubbers without a single ship, and on the other were pirates with swift, maneuverable vessels—how had they managed to take a pirate ship?

"My lord, actually… it was because the pirates didn't expect us to station troops at the saltworks. They let their guard down and didn't anchor far enough from the shore."

"Since the battle was much more intense than they had anticipated, by the time they decided to retreat, the tide had already gone out. One of their ships, which was too close to shore, ended up stranded…"

Hearing this, Bruno was speechless.

These pirates were unbelievably careless. Their entire advantage lay in their ships, yet they had been so negligent with their own means of escape?

"My lord, I heard that the northern part of Basel Kingdom was hit by floods recently. Perhaps their losses were too great, and they had nothing left to plunder. That might have forced these pirates to come all the way to Idar for loot."

Bruno nodded thoughtfully, then asked, "You mentioned that the smuggling bureau captured some prisoners?"

"Yes, my lord. They have already been locked up in the dungeon beneath the castle. Among them is the captain of the stranded pirate ship."

"Oh? Interrogate them separately. Find out where they're from, where their base is, and why they came to Idar…" Bruno instructed. "As for the unfortunate pirate captain… I'll meet him in person."

In his past life, Bruno had watched many pirate movies like the Pirates of the Caribbean series, which he had seen three times!

So, he was genuinely curious about encountering a real, living pirate.

Of course, that was only because the pirate was securely bound in a dungeon and posed no threat to his safety…

The castle dungeon was located two levels underground. Most of the time, it didn't have many "residents," so it felt rather desolate.

Since the cells were underground, the walls and stone steps were damp, and the dim lighting gave the place a chilling atmosphere.

"My lord…" As soon as Bruno entered the dungeon, he vaguely heard someone calling his name.

That startled him.

Lister, who was following behind, quickly explained, "My lord, the doctor you had imprisoned earlier is still locked up here."

"Doctor?" Bruno asked in confusion.

"The former military doctor of the Idar standing army…"

Bruno suddenly recalled the incident. At the time, he had found the army's medical treatments utterly ridiculous, so he had the military doctor thrown into the dungeon.

"Oh, hello there, Doctor!" Bruno greeted with a grin as he approached the cell.

"My lord, I have reflected deeply in my time here and have completely repented! I will dedicate myself to improving my medical skills and never embarrass you again!" The doctor, seeing a glimmer of hope, quickly pleaded.

"Oh? Then tell me, why did I lock you up in the first place?" Bruno asked.

"It was probably because my bloodletting technique was a bit unrefined while treating the soldiers, and since you care deeply for your men, you had me imprisoned… But my lord, I have spent my days in here diligently practicing! My bloodletting skills have improved greatly!"

"Keep him locked up! Don't let him out to harm anyone!" Bruno turned away with a dark expression, leaving the doctor wailing in despair.

"My lord! Please don't leave! I swear, I'm really good at bloodletting now…!"

The captured pirates were all imprisoned in the deepest part of the dungeon, under the strict watch of Idar's soldiers.

By now, all but the pirate captain had been taken away for individual questioning.

Bruno carefully observed the man tied securely to a chair before him.

This pirate was nothing like the image he had in mind.

He was a middle-aged man with messy dark brown hair matted with dried blood, making him look especially disheveled.

His frame was small, his face lacked a rugged beard, and his arms weren't muscular he even looked somewhat thin.

His gaunt face, paired with heavy eyebrows and a narrow scar running down his cheek, made his features seem a bit unbalanced.

Noticing Bruno's gaze, the pirate finally opened his eyes.

Contrary to Bruno's expectations, there was no trace of fierce defiance in his eyes only despair and pleading, like an ordinary man trapped in a dire situation.

"I am Bruno Stuart, Earl of Idar, a noble of the Norman Empire, and the ruler of this land! Now, pirate, before I lose my patience—who are you, why are you here, and what is your purpose?" Bruno demanded.

After a moment of silence, the pirate captain finally spoke.

"My name is Jack, from Basel Kingdom…"