Chapter 1

"Hang him!"

"Hang this damned pirate!!!"

Bang, bang, bang!

The sturdy little gavel struck the base heavily, the sound echoing throughout the courtroom.

"Silence!"

After the room was completely quiet, the chief justice, dressed in a red robe and wearing a wavy wig, put down the gavel, picked up the judgment document on the table, and read it aloud:

"Since the deputy commander of the Saint Martel fleet, Marv Enders, cannot produce a privateer's commission issued by the Windsor Royal Family, he is guilty of piracy. Therefore, this court announces, according to Article 138 of the Kingdom of Poppon's Navigation Law..."

"Marv Enders and 138 other surviving crew members of the Saint Martel fleet are sentenced to death by hanging, to be carried out immediately!"

.......................................

In his sleep, Marv shivered, feeling someone pushing him.

The warm afternoon sunlight made it hard for him to open his eyes. He raised his hand to shield the light and saw a middle-aged man standing in front of him, wearing a gray tweed coat, thin and lanky, with a ruddy nose and a thick beard.

"Father, have you had a nightmare again?"

The middle-aged man took out a dirty handkerchief from his pocket and generously offered it to Marv to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Thank you, I'm fine."

Marv did not take the colorful, suspicious handkerchief, which was either smeared with butter or soot. He always kept his distance from things of questionable hygiene.

The middle-aged man in front of him was named Jacob Valentine, 34 years old, a brewer living at 55 South Street in New Ross City. He was unmarried and lived with a housemaid.

"Mr. Jacob, what brings you to the church?"

"I have doubts and seek the goddess's guidance." Mr. Jacob took off his hat, pressed it to his chest, and bowed respectfully to the statue standing on the north side of the church, showing great piety.

Marv readily agreed to his request. As a priest, he not only performed funerals, weddings, baptisms, prayers, and exorcisms for the believers but also answered their questions.

As he walked toward the confessional in the corner, two cats, one orange and one black, lying on the windowsill in the sun suddenly moved. The small black cat with white paws leaped down from the windowsill, stretched its front paws, yawned, and then walked gracefully toward Marv. The other orange cat, with a wider bottom than shoulders...

Just lifted its eyelids slightly, then moved its bottom and took over the spot where the black cat had been lying.

In the narrow and crowded confessional, the black cat jumped onto the owner's lap, then flipped over, exposing its soft belly, and meowed softly. From its熟练的动作来看，这似乎不是第一次了。

Marv stroked its fur and asked, "Mr. Jacob, what are your doubts?"

"I... have fallen in love with Miss Maggie next door."

Mr. Jacob sighed and said, "But I don't know if it's right."

Miss Maggie?

Oh...

Marv remembered that at 54 South Street, next to Mr. Jacob, lived a dressmaker named Maggie Kris, 29 years old. Her husband was a ship captain for a fishing company and died of illness last year. Fortunately, he had invested in stocks, which provided an annual interest of 50 pounds, allowing his widow to raise her seven-year-old daughter without worrying about food and shelter. Even so, Mrs. Maggie and her daughter were not well-off.

If Mr. Jacob was willing to marry Mrs. Maggie... wait!

Miss?

Marv suddenly paused. Normally, a widow would be called Mrs. rather than Miss, and Mrs. Maggie was not as young as a Miss...

Could Mr. Jacob be talking about someone else?

"Love is desirable and beautiful," Marv thought for a moment and said, "It is not wrong in itself, but it depends on the specific circumstances. Pardon my impertinence, but Mr. Jacob, is the person you love Mrs. Maggie Kris?"

"What? Maggie Kris?!"

Mr. Jacob, sitting in the adjacent booth separated from Marv by a lattice window, suddenly widened his eyes and screamed in disbelief, "Don't joke! Who would fall in love with that sharp-tongued woman! She even argued with me over a penny the other day!"

"Then the person you love... wouldn't be her daughter, would it..."

There was a sudden silence from the other side, and after a long while, a deeply aggrieved voice came through, "Father, no matter how low I am, I wouldn't fall in love with a seven-year-old girl, would I?"

Marv was even more confused: "There are only two women named Maggie living next to you. If it's not them, then who is the Miss Maggie you love?"

"Father, you have met her." Mr. Jacob smiled, seemingly filled with incomparable happiness just thinking about her: "She has soft, lustrous blonde hair, bright, dark, and shiny eyes, and every time she sees me, she excitedly jumps into my arms..."

"......"

Marv stopped stroking the black cat, licked his dry lips, and held his forehead, finally understanding who Mr. Jacob's Miss Maggie was.

Mrs. Maggie's Yorkshire terrier.

This was truly an unexpected path.

Marv considered himself a man who had seen many things, but today...

He had truly seen something new.

"Why aren't you speaking, Father?" Mr. Jacob asked.

I'm thinking about how to correct your dangerous thoughts... Marv muttered to himself.

But...

That's not the main issue.

The key is...

"I remember that Mrs. Maggie's Yorkshire terrier is male."

"Male?"

Mr. Jacob was stunned, muttering, "How is that possible... How can it be... Male? Father, are you sure?"

"Sure."

Marv patted the black cat on his lap and said, "I have two cats, and they both have testicles, so I have some knowledge about pet genders. I have seen... well, Miss Maggie's testicles with my own eyes."

The confessional suddenly fell silent, and the entire church became deathly quiet, even the sunlight seemed less warm.

The problem should be resolved now.

Through the small hole in the lattice, Marv saw Mr. Jacob's tightly pressed lips and clenched fists, but he felt no guilt, only relief.

Thank goodness Mrs. Maggie's Yorkshire terrier is male; otherwise, this issue would have been much harder to resolve.

But...

The love pioneer sitting next to him didn't think so.

"Even if it's male, it doesn't matter."

The fists slowly relaxed, and Mr. Jacob lowered his head, examining the soft hat in his hand: "I can't let go of my feelings for Miss Maggie... Oh, what is happening to me, my cheeks flush just thinking about Miss Maggie... Father, please tell me, will the goddess Unia support my feelings for Miss Maggie?"

"The goddess is merciful and kind, and she loves her believers..."

Pausing, Marv continued:

"I think, as long as Mr. Jacob and Miss Maggie love each other and don't do anything unreasonable, the goddess Unia will certainly support you."

"Of course not!"

Mr. Jacob stood up, somewhat excitedly: "Your words reassure me. I will go find Miss Maggie and tell her my feelings!"

She's male...

Although Marv wanted to correct this point, the words stuck in his throat when he saw Mr. Jacob's excited gaze.

"By the way, Father."

Mr. Jacob, who had stopped at the door of the confessional, turned to look at Marv: "If Maggie Kris, that woman, disagrees with my relationship with Miss Maggie, I will need your help to mediate."

Without waiting for Marv's response, Mr. Jacob took out five silver coins from his pocket, one side engraved with the portrait of King Rhod IV of the Windsor Kingdom, the other side with a double-headed eagle, and placed them on the baptismal font at the church entrance.

"Please don't refuse. I have no other way to repay the church. This is just a small token of my gratitude to the goddess of truth, Unia."

"May the goddess bless you, Mr. Jacob."

"Truth above all."

Mr. Jacob pressed his right hand to his chest, bowed respectfully to the statue, then picked up a porcelain bowl from the side of the baptismal font, filled it with holy water, and drank it in one gulp.

"Phew!"

Mr. Jacob, invigorated by the holy water, exclaimed, "Every time I drink the holy water, I feel enlightened. Praise the goddess!"

Nonsense.

Because I added mint to it.

Marv smiled and watched Mr. Jacob leave. After he was far enough away, Marv picked up the five Rhodian shillings from the baptismal font and walked into the room next to the statue.