'If Queen Titi and that Highness have known each other for a long time and this was all just an act from beginning to end, then what exactly is the purpose?'
'What is it that made you have to meet face to face, and then rush back quickly…'
'A child… Yes, a child! Queen Titi is conspiring with outsiders against Arabasta!'
Igaram's pupils contracted sharply, and at the same time, he felt this should be the closest speculation to the truth.
'No, I must immediately inform King Cobra, he is in danger right now.'
Thinking of this, Igaram couldn't help but feel his soul nearly leave his body.
You have to understand, at this moment in the banquet hall, gathered there were Rosse, Queen Titi, Gion, and Cobra.
In front of these people, Cobra was like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, completely powerless to resist.
Moreover, he happened to have been lured away earlier due to matters concerning Terracotta. Perhaps what follows now is the moment they'll take action.
As long as Cobra dies, the child in Queen Titi's belly would naturally inherit the throne of Arabasta.
By then, the royal family of Arabasta would be replaced.
Just as Igaram stood up, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his neck and staggered, collapsing to the ground.
"Who is it?", Igaram felt the pain in his neck, struggling desperately to get up.
But at this moment, all he could feel was the blood in his body seemingly boiling, and his heartbeat pounding at an unbelievable pace.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
"This is…", Something occurred to Igaram, and a complicated expression appeared on his face.
He now knew how Terracotta had died.
'So the murderer has been by my side all along.'
But even up until death, he never saw that person's face.
'Is this the feeling Terracotta had when she died?'
Igaram's heartbeat suddenly came to a halt, his consciousness fading into nothingness, and he never breathed again.
"To think she even left a letter. We really have become the big villains, huh," Gion's bat clone landed beside the letter, glanced at the contents, and blood-red flames appeared, precisely burning the letter to ash without affecting the surroundings in the slightest.
Though she said that, Gion didn't actually reject this feeling.
She was once part of the Marine, and everyone has different reasons for joining the Marine.
From the start, she was never someone who held justice above all. She joined the Marine merely in pursuit of strength, excellence, and to deal with things she found intolerable.
Now, she was already a member of the Jaygarcia family, and for a greater cause, some things just needed someone to do them.
"Now it's time to handle the corpses again, this is really the part I'm worst at," Gion let out a light sigh. Taking advantage of no one noticing, she carried the corpses of Igaram and Terracotta and appeared in Igaram's home courtyard.
Soon, a small mound appeared in Igaram's courtyard. With that, Gion's clone had completed its task and disappeared as energy.
———
Inside the banquet palace, Gion's nonchalant expression suddenly became clear and sharp again.
Now that the matter over there was resolved, she no longer needed to split her attention.
Seeing her expression, Sora instantly realized something, giving Gion a meaningful look and subtly signaling toward Queen Titi.
That look, Gion understood. It was time to share the events, and to involve Queen Titi in the process.
Earlier, Gion had left traces of her blood on Queen Titi, Sora, and Rosse.
According to the bone-sound transmission technique she and Rosse developed together, Gion began recounting the events that had just happened.
Clink!
Upon hearing that Terracotta had even written a letter, Queen Titi's hand trembled, failing to hold her teacup steady, which crashed to the ground and shattered into countless pieces.
"Titi, what's wrong?", Cobra looked over, his eyes filled with concern.
"I'm fine. My hand just felt weak. I'm sorry for breaking this cup," Queen Titi wore an apologetic expression. The cup she had just dropped was one of her old favorites, a gift from Cobra, and something she had treasured deeply.
She used to love this cup very much, so logically she should feel regret.
But now, she didn't seem to feel anything.
Even hearing of Igaram's death struck her ears like a trivial matter.
"It's just a cup. In a few days, I'll give you one just like it. If you're not feeling well, why don't you go rest first?", As he spoke, Cobra also looked apologetically at Rosse, "Lord Rosse, Titi hasn't been feeling well lately. Could she be excused to rest for now?"
"Go ahead. Let Stella and Sora accompany her. They can also check on what's troubling Her Highness," Rosse nodded with a smile, and winked at Queen Titi.
"Cobra, Your Highness, I'm fine. There's no need for rest," Queen Titi pursed her lips and instead rejected the two men's suggestions.
Some things, there was no point in running from.
Since she had already made up her mind, if she still couldn't face herself, then she truly wasn't human.
She had already made her choice, and no longer had feelings for Cobra in her heart, she didn't want to keep pretending.
Cobra had been very good to her, very gentle, she admitted that. But when she was being bullied by Rosse, where was Cobra? What could he have done?
In this world, gentle but powerless men meant nothing at all.
Queen Titi looked at Cobra, her gaze growing distant, while her look toward Rosse held a trace of softness.
She felt she was truly a low woman.
Clearly Cobra treated her better, and Rosse only bullied her.
And yet, in the end, she chose Rosse over Cobra.
Maybe it was partly because of the child, but perhaps more than that, it was because she never wanted to experience the helplessness she felt back on Drum Island or at the Holy Land again.
With Rosse, at least she no longer had to live in constant fear.
'Titi, you really are a bad woman, rotten to the core,' With that thought, Queen Titi pulled herself together, and formally, as the Queen, joined Cobra and Rosse's conversation. [T/N: A 10 Outta 10 baddie]
Even Cobra could sense that Queen Titi seemed different from before.
But he never thought deeply about it. He just assumed she was feeling better physically and thus in higher spirits.
It was Rosse, on the other hand, who noticed the change in Queen Titi and quickly caught her subtle intentions.
'So, you've made your choice?'
Rosse smiled and raised his glass toward Queen Titi, for once drinking the entire glass.
'This drink, to honor your decision, and to welcome you to our side.'
His meaning was clearly conveyed to Queen Titi.
She couldn't help but smile radiantly too, raising her glass and downing it in one go.
'This drink, for my past, and for the completely different future I have chosen.'
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