Lloyd looked directly into Garling's eyes. From Garling's earlier words, he had already formed a vague understanding of why Shanks had been living outside.
After a brief pause, Lloyd spoke in a probing tone,
"Uncle Garling, all these years, I have never heard anything about my aunt."
Garling's expression shifted slightly.
"Where would you even have an aunt?"
"I am not referring to the nominal one."
Garling fell silent. After a long moment, he let out a low sigh and said slowly,
"She died long ago. No one in the Family knows about her."
"Gulando knows, right?"
"Yes."
Garling raised his head, his thoughts drifting back to the events of thirty eight years ago.
...
Gulando Figarland stood before him with a mocking smile, his tone filled with ridicule.
"This is wonderful news. The head of the Figarland Family, Saint Garling, is about to have an heir. The Family finally has a successor."
Garling's voice turned cold.
"Enough. I know what I am doing. That child cannot become the Family's successor. The only one qualified is Lloyd."
"Oh?" Gulando tilted his head, amused. "Dear brother, are you offering me charity? You are truly comfortable letting my son inherit everything?"
"There is nothing to worry about," Garling replied firmly. "Lloyd's talent surpasses both yours and mine. His bloodline is even purer. As long as you stop that cursed experiment immediately and I train him properly, he will become the Family's future without question."
Gulando burst into laughter.
"I never expected my son Lloyd to be so important to you. I feel honored. Should I thank you?"
A sharp metallic sound rang out.
Garling's veins bulged as he drew his sword, black and red lightning crackling along the blade, a clear manifestation of Conqueror's Haki.
Gulando showed no fear and continued laughing.
"As expected of the Figarland Family Head. Such overwhelming presence. Are you really going to attack your own brother?"
Then his expression turned cold.
"If you want to fight, then do it. Just like when you killed Father."
Those words struck Garling like a blade. His face turned pale, and the hand gripping his sword began to tremble.
Gulando sneered.
"What you should worry about now is cleaning up your own mess. Lloyd is none of your concern. Until his illness is cured, the experiment will not stop. He is my son. Do you think I would harm him? But if your little scandal gets out, even if you do not care, the Figarland Family will become the laughingstock of Mary Geoise."
With that, Gulando turned and left, leaving Garling standing alone in silence.
Not long after, Shanks was born. Shortly after giving birth, his mother chose to end her own life.
From the moment she realized she was pregnant, she had already understood her fate.
She was only a maid, and among the Celestial Dragons, there existed a rigid belief. To preserve the purity of their bloodline, both parents of a child had to be Celestial Dragons.
Male Celestial Dragons could keep countless women of lower status as concubines, but they were forbidden from having children with them. If such a rule was broken, the mother would be executed, and the child would be exiled, cast out to survive alone.
As one of the most prominent families, the Figarland Family was expected to follow these rules even more strictly, especially with Garling as its head.
Garling knew all of this, yet he could not bring himself to act.
The maid, raised from childhood to remain loyal to Garling, refused to burden him. In the end, she chose death on her own.
Garling had never truly loved her. Ever since he killed his own father, a heavy weight had lingered in his heart. Seeking an outlet, he had turned to his personal maid.
After each encounter, she took medicine to prevent pregnancy, and everything had remained under control.
Until one time, it failed.
By the time her condition became noticeable, it was already too late.
Garling did not force her to abort the child. The act of killing his father still haunted him. He could not bring himself to harm his own flesh and blood. Deep down, he also desired something to hold onto.
At first, he believed that as long as the matter remained hidden between them, everything would be fine. The maid could stay secluded until the child was born. At worst, he would conceal the child's identity and keep him by his side.
But Gulando discovered the truth.
Garling understood his brother well. Ever since their father passed the position of Family Head to him, Gulando had stopped caring about honor. There was no telling when he might expose everything.
Garling could not bring himself to attack his own brother either.
Even so, he still chose to let the child be born. If the truth came out, he would simply relinquish his position and give it to Gulando. It might even ease the tension between them.
In Garling's eyes, Gulando himself was unreliable, but Lloyd was different.
Lloyd possessed extraordinary talent, and more importantly, Garling genuinely favored him. Before Lloyd turned six, Garling often spent time with him. Though he never said it aloud, he held great expectations for his nephew.
No matter how flawed Gulando was, he would eventually pass everything to his son.
As for Shanks, Garling's resolve changed the moment he saw the maid's lifeless body.
Perhaps out of guilt, he decided to acknowledge Shanks openly.
Even if the Holy Land refused to recognize Shanks as a Celestial Dragon, Garling would still make it known that Shanks was his son.
The upcoming hunting competition provided the perfect opportunity to announce it.
However, fate dealt him a cruel blow.
Before a week had even passed, news arrived of Lloyd's death.
The cause was his severe congenital illness. In the end, he could not endure it.
Before Garling could recover from that shock, another piece of news followed.
The World Government had decided to temporarily replace one of the six Devil Fruits designated as prizes for the hunting competition.
And the fruit that had been replaced was none other than the Yami Yami no Mi, a Devil Fruit of immense significance to the Figarland Family.