Garling looked at the sword in Spandine's hand. The blade had already transformed into a long orange snake that coiled lazily around the weapon.
"The one in your hand has eaten the Cobra Devil Fruit," Garling said calmly. "Lloyd already named it Poison Snake. The other one is called Forest Python."
Spandine froze for a moment. Then he suddenly dropped to the ground and bowed deeply toward Garling.
"Thank you, sirs, for bestowing these swords upon me!"
Garling slowly shook his head. His gaze drifted toward the chair opposite him. Whenever Lloyd visited before, he would sit quietly in that seat.
"You do not need to thank me," Garling said. "Lloyd said your body is too weak. These swords will at least give you the ability to protect yourself."
Spandine trembled with emotion, his forehead still pressed to the ground.
For someone with Garling's personality, speaking this much to Spandine was extremely rare. The only reason he bothered was because Spandine was someone Lloyd had chosen to value.
After finishing his words, Garling stood up slowly and began walking toward his bedroom. Before leaving, he spoke one final sentence.
"Take that Hancock girl to Lloyd. Lucia is there as well. Let her discipline the child."
In truth, after hearing Spandine's earlier explanation, Garling had begun to suspect that Lloyd might indeed prefer a girl raised personally under his control. So he made the decision on Lloyd's behalf.
Spandine immediately grabbed the iron cage containing Hancock. Led by a Golden Armored Guard, he hurried toward Lloyd's residence within the estate.
That place was Lloyd's private bedchamber.
When they arrived at the entrance, the Golden Armored Guard turned around and left without another word.
Spandine placed the iron cage on the ground, carefully straightened his clothes, and then stepped inside.
Inside the hall of the bedchamber, Monet, Sugar, and Nico Robin were sitting quietly on small stools.
Each of them held a book in their hands and studied with serious expressions.
These books had all been brought back by Lloyd from Ohara.
Ohara was known as the island with the richest collection of books in the entire world. Naturally, not every book there was about history. The collection included knowledge from every possible field.
Monet enjoyed reading books related to meteorology. During her free time, she would also read novels, though she never allowed Sugar to sit beside her when reading them.
Sugar preferred books that explained science and strange phenomena.
Robin, on the other hand, loved reading difficult philosophical works that most people would find painfully obscure.
The three girls sat quietly and read with full concentration. None of them even noticed when Spandine entered the room.
Spandine knew very well that these three children were favored by Lloyd. Because of that, he did not dare disturb them. He simply stood quietly and waited.
After a short while, the bedroom door opened.
Lucia stepped out.
She wore a long black dress that gave her a dignified and elegant appearance.
After Lloyd had been sent back to the clan's territory, Lucia had immediately visited Kong and requested permission to leave the Marines. She stated that she wanted to personally return and take care of Lloyd.
To Lucia, Lloyd was her entire world.
Compared to that, the rank of Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral meant absolutely nothing.
Kong understood that Lucia was Lloyd's cousin, at least officially. He also understood how deeply loyal she was to him.
So instead of allowing her to resign, Kong granted her an extended leave of absence.
There was no way he would allow Lucia to permanently leave the Marines.
Her strength alone made her the pride of the female Marines. In the future, she might even become the first female Admiral.
Kong would never allow that talent to disappear.
After some discussion, Lucia also asked to bring Ginny with her. Kong agreed to that as well.
Ginny still felt somewhat uncomfortable about living in Mary Geoise, so she was not staying there permanently for now. She needed time to adjust.
During these days, Lucia spent most of her time by Lloyd's bedside.
Whenever she had free time, she would personally supervise Monet, Sugar, and Robin's studies.
All three girls were extremely obedient.
Monet in particular had long regarded Lucia as her personal role model.
As Lucia stepped out of the bedroom, she immediately noticed Spandine standing near the entrance.
Her brows slightly furrowed.
"Spandine?" she said coldly. "Who allowed you to enter here?"
The moment she spoke, Monet, Sugar, and Robin snapped out of their concentration. They quickly closed their books.
"Lucia-sama," the three girls greeted respectfully.
Spandine hurriedly placed the iron cage on the ground. He bowed deeply and answered nervously.
"Lucia-sama, Saint Garling ordered me to come here."
As he spoke, he quickly pulled away the black cloth covering the cage.
Inside the cage sat a small girl.
"Lucia-sama," Spandine said proudly, "this is a gift I prepared for Saint Lloyd."
Lucia looked down at the girl in the cage.
A trace of surprise flickered through her eyes.
"A gift?" she said. "Is this child a slave?"
"Yes," Spandine replied immediately. "Her name is Hancock."
"Hancock…" Lucia murmured softly.
Her eyes carefully examined the girl's condition.
"She looks weak. Is she healthy?"
"Please do not worry, Lucia-sama," Spandine said quickly. "She is very healthy. I captured her from the Kuja Pirates. Even though she is only eight years old, she already has some fighting ability, so I gave her a sedative to keep her quiet."
Lucia raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? A young pirate then."
She nodded slightly.
"Wake her up."
Spandine immediately opened the cage. From his pocket, he pulled out a small bottle containing black liquid and forced Hancock to drink it.
After a few moments, Hancock's body suddenly twitched.
Her eyes snapped open.
She rolled onto the floor and began coughing violently.
After a moment, her breathing stabilized. Slowly, she pushed herself up from the ground.
Spandine opened his mouth to speak.
But before he could say a word, Hancock suddenly raised her leg and kicked him directly between the legs.
"Ugh!"
Spandine's face instantly turned purple.
He collapsed to his knees while clutching himself in agony.
Without hesitation, Hancock spun around and ran straight toward the door.
Monet, Sugar, and Robin watched the scene with their mouths slightly open.
Their shocked expressions made them look incredibly adorable.
Lucia narrowed her eyes.
Her figure suddenly blurred.
In the blink of an eye, she vanished from her spot.
Just as Hancock reached the entrance of the hall, Lucia appeared directly in front of her.
Hancock froze in surprise.
Then she tried the exact same move again, lifting her leg to kick Lucia.
Lucia calmly reached out.
Her hand caught Hancock's ankle instantly.
"As expected," Lucia said lightly, "you do have some strength."
With a slight twist of her wrist, she lifted Hancock into the air.
Hancock spun helplessly several times before Lucia released her.
The small girl crashed heavily onto the floor.
A painful groan escaped Hancock's mouth.
Behind them, Sugar whispered softly.
"Lucia-sama is amazing…"
Spandine finally managed to stand upright again. He inhaled sharply again and again as he tried to recover.
After a long moment, he bowed to Lucia with a painful expression.
"Lucia-sama… I deeply apologize for making you witness such an embarrassing scene."
Lucia glanced at him briefly before lowering her gaze toward Hancock.
Her voice became cold.
"Hancock, this is not a place where you can behave wildly."
"If you wish to remain here, you must learn restraint."
Hancock clutched her injured ankle as tears filled her eyes.
"I want to go home…"