"Igaram! Look! Is Father and the others coming out now?"
The blue-haired little girl stood on her toes and pointed excitedly toward the great doors of the conference hall.
The massive entrance had already been opened.
And from within, a crowd of nobles, royal attendants, guards, and delegates from countless kingdoms was beginning to pour out.
The first half of the World Conference had officially ended.
And now, the rulers of the world were finally emerging.
"Your Highness Vivi, His Majesty should be coming out very soon."
"Please do not be too impatient."
Igaram smiled helplessly as he watched the little princess bounce with excitement.
He had originally wanted to hold her close and keep her safely beside him.
But he was always afraid that his own strength might accidentally hurt the young princess if he was too forceful.
And because of that hesitation, Vivi gradually moved a little farther beyond the range of his protection.
At that exact moment
A pair of greedy, malicious eyes locked onto her from the side.
So that's Cobra's irritating little daughter…
"Jie jie jie hahaha!"
"Didn't I tell you before, Cobra?"
"I'd make sure to 'take good care' of your daughter!"
"Now you'll learn the price of talking back to me during the conference!"
Wapol's eyes gleamed with petty cruelty.
The moment he saw Vivi happily run toward the exit, he seized the opportunity without hesitation.
His bloated body lurched forward with surprising force.
Then he swung his large arm viciously.
Bang!
The blue-haired little girl was struck before she could even react.
Her tiny body was sent tumbling several meters away.
She crashed painfully against the smooth marble floor.
"Oops!"
"My hand slipped by accident!"
"I'm truly sorry about that!"
Wapol covered his mouth in exaggerated mock surprise, though the smug delight in his expression made his intentions obvious to anyone with eyes.
Then he looked down at the fallen girl with open contempt.
"You're the princess of Alabasta, aren't you?"
"How pitiful…"
"To be born the daughter of such an incompetent king."
His voice dripped with malice and childish arrogance.
"Lord Wapol…"
Standing nearby, Dalton's face darkened.
As captain of Wapol's royal guard, he found the scene deeply unbearable to watch.
Truthfully, he had never held any admiration for Wapol as a man.
But Dalton had been personally entrusted by the former king of the Drum Kingdom.
He had sworn an oath to protect the nation and fulfill his duty as its shield.
And because of that oath, he had no choice but to remain at Wapol's side.
If not for that…
A man as upright and honorable as Dalton would never have willingly served someone like Wapol.
Now, as he watched Vivi struck to the ground, his fists tightened so hard his knuckles whitened.
His silence said everything.
The little girl's cheek was already beginning to swell red.
She pressed her hand against it instinctively, unable to stop the pain from showing on her face.
"Princess Vivi!"
"You bastard! What do you think you're doing?!"
Igaram finally rushed over in a panic.
He dropped to one knee beside Vivi and carefully helped her up.
His heart was filled with guilt and self-reproach.
He had failed.
He had let the princess leave his protection.
And now she had been hurt because of it.
When he turned his head toward Wapol, his eyes were blazing with fury.
Veins bulged visibly on his forehead.
At that moment, he truly wanted nothing more than to smash that fat tyrant into the ground.
"Stop, Igaram…"
"It's alright."
But before his anger could erupt, a tiny hand gently tugged at his sleeve.
Vivi looked up at him and softly stopped him.
Her voice trembled slightly, but her expression was astonishingly composed for a child her age.
Then, enduring the sting in her cheek, she forced herself to turn toward Wapol.
And to everyone's shock
She bowed her head slightly.
"I'm the one who should apologize…"
"I'm really sorry for bumping into you."
Her voice was soft.
Polite.
And heartbreakingly restrained.
Dalton, standing behind Wapol, was completely stunned.
What an incredible child…
At a gathering like the World Conference, where kings and rulers from all over the world had gathered, even a small dispute could evolve into a political incident.
And she understood that.
She understood it well enough to swallow her own pain and humiliation for the sake of her country.
At such a young age…
To already carry such awareness…
"Damn it…"
"What an irritating little brat…"
Wapol's face twisted in displeasure.
Several nobles and attendants nearby had already turned to look at the scene.
And now that Vivi had responded with such grace and restraint, he had lost the perfect excuse to continue striking her.
The more dignified she appeared
The uglier he looked.
And that only made him more irritated.
"Who said you were allowed to leave?"
A cold female voice suddenly rang out across the corridor.
Before anyone could react
A white figure flashed forward like a gust of winter wind.
Crash!
Wapol's face was slammed violently into the marble floor.
The impact was so powerful that the stone beneath him cracked and caved inward with a thunderous boom.
Fragments of polished marble scattered in all directions.
The entire corridor fell silent.
Even the surrounding nobles were stunned by the sudden scene.
"Y-You…!"
"Who are you?!"
"A Marine?!"
Wapol's body twitched as he struggled to lift his face from the shattered floor.
His vision was blurred.
His cheeks were scraped and already swelling.
And through his dazed state, he could barely make out the white figure standing above him.
But Saint Roselith Seraphina didn't even spare him a glance.
Instead, she turned immediately and walked straight toward Vivi.
She crouched down beside the little princess and gently brushed aside the strands of blue hair that had fallen across her swollen cheek.
Then she carefully examined the injury.
Her silver eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
"Are you alright?"
Her voice was low and calm.
But there was an unmistakable gentleness in it.
"Sister… I'm okay."
Vivi instinctively lifted her small hands to cover the swelling on her cheek.
She shook her head lightly, trying to force a smile.
"Don't cover it."
"Let me see."
Seraphina's tone became slightly firmer.
Not harsh.
But authoritative.
The concern in her words was impossible to hide.
And Vivi could feel it immediately.
This Marine sister in front of her…
Though her voice was strict, her emotions were warm.
For some reason, that made Vivi feel even more embarrassed to refuse.
So slowly, she lowered her hands.
Seraphina reached into her coat and took out a small packet of medicinal salve she habitually carried for bruises and cuts.
Then, with practiced care, she applied the medicine evenly across Vivi's cheek and scraped palms.
Her movements were steady and surprisingly gentle.
She checked for both internal bruising and superficial abrasions.
Not a single detail was overlooked.
Even Igaram, who had been nearly blinded by rage moments ago, was momentarily stunned by how naturally and carefully she handled the child.
"Damn it!"
"Dalton! You lot move!"
"Take her down right now!"
Wapol finally managed to stagger back to his feet, his face now bruised, swollen, and full of rage.
His mind was still buzzing from the slam into the floor.
He had never imagined that, during the World Conference itself, someone would dare attack him so openly.
And in such a humiliating way, no less.
In his eyes, this was not merely being struck.
This was being publicly disgraced.
He could not tolerate it.
He was the king of the Drum Kingdom.
A ruler.
A noble.
And more importantly
A Baku Baku no Mi user.
The man who could devour anything.
In his anger, he had already lost what little sense he possessed.
At this point, he no longer cared whether the woman before him was a Marine officer or not.
Even if a World Noble appeared in front of him right now, he felt he might still snap.
His fury had swallowed his reason whole.
"Lord Wapol…"
Dalton took a step forward reluctantly.
Then he looked toward Seraphina and lowered his head slightly.
"To the Marine officer opposite me…"
"I offer my apologies."
He wanted to say more.
He wanted to stop this from escalating any further.
But hearing the command in Wapol's voice, he already knew there was no point.
Wapol was not a man who listened once his pride had been injured.
So in the end, Dalton had no choice but to move.
He stepped forward toward Seraphina and Vivi.
But in truth
He had absolutely no intention of seriously harming either of them.
Especially not a child.
And especially not a Marine who had just protected an innocent girl.
So when he threw his fist forward, though it looked powerful and imposing, he deliberately softened the strike at the last moment.
It was a performance.
A forced gesture to satisfy appearances.
However
The moment his fist was caught, Dalton's eyes widened in genuine shock.
Seraphina had stopped his punch with one hand.
Casually.
Effortlessly.
Her fingers clamped around his wrist like iron.
And for the first time, Dalton realized something was deeply wrong.
Though he had pulled the force of the punch
It was still the blow of a grown man with a Zoan-enhanced body.
Even restrained, it was not something an ordinary Marine officer should have been able to stop so easily.
And yet…
This woman had done it as though she were plucking a falling leaf from the air.
Dalton was shocked.
And Seraphina, too, immediately understood what had happened.
This man had held back.
A lot.
He wasn't trying to hurt her.
He was trying to avoid worsening the situation.
In other words
Unlike his king, Dalton still had a conscience.
But before he could retreat
Seraphina moved.
With a single sharp twist of her waist and shoulder, she redirected the force and flung Dalton away.
Boom!
His massive body was hurled through the air and crashed heavily against the ground several meters away.
The impact knocked the breath from his lungs.
For a moment, he could not rise.
Lying on the ground, Dalton stared upward in disbelief.
He had never expected a seemingly slender female Marine officer to possess this level of physical strength.
Even with his Ushi Ushi no Mi, Model: Bison-enhanced constitution, he had been completely overpowered in a single exchange.
The rest of Wapol's subordinates rushed in next.
But compared to Dalton
They were laughably weak.
To Seraphina, they were hardly even worth mentioning.
In the blink of an eye, they were all swept aside and thrown sprawling across the corridor.
These ones are far weaker than that ox just now…
What exactly is this lineup supposed to accomplish?
"Useless!"
"You're all completely useless!"
"Fine! Then I'll deal with this myself!"
Wapol was furious when he saw even Dalton go down.
But rather than being alarmed by Seraphina's strength
His twisted mind immediately reached a different conclusion.
Dalton had gone easy on her.
That had to be it.
There was no way someone like Dalton could really be defeated that easily.
Not unless he had deliberately held back.
And in Wapol's paranoid little world, that only meant one thing
Betrayal.
Dalton has always been defiant toward me…
And now he's finally showing his true colors!
He's openly disobeying my orders in front of everyone!
Unforgivable!
At the very least, you could have acted more convincingly!
What kind of ridiculous "performance" was that?!
Defeated in one move?
Do you think I, Wapol, would believe something that fake?!
How am I supposed to save face in front of all these nobles and royals if you make our kingdom look this pathetic?!
At this point, Wapol had already fully convinced himself that Dalton had intentionally thrown the fight.
And deep in the back of his mind, he had already decided that once they returned to the Drum Kingdom
He would "deal with" this disloyal guard captain personally.
In Wapol's world, loyalty meant obedience.
And anything else was treason.
His rage swelled.
His mouth opened unnaturally wide.
And for the first time since Seraphina appeared
The corridor's atmosphere truly turned dangerous.
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