Four Months Later…
Saint Casrot's EstateThe Girls' VillaFirst Floor Dining HallSeveral young girls sat together as they quietly ate lunch.
"This banquet only happens once every year."
"I heard that all the older girls who performed at last year's banquet have already left Saint Casrot's estate."
"I envy them so much…"
Another girl lowered her head.
"Isn't living here actually pretty nice?"
The first girl smiled bitterly.
"But…"
"I want to see my mother again."
Silence fell over the table.
Every girl in this villa shared a similar fate.
Some had been kidnapped by slavers.
Others had been sold by human traffickers.
A few had even been abandoned by their own families.
Because of that…
They had gradually become one another's family.
"I wonder how Sister Rika is doing."
"She promised she'd write to us after she got home."
"Maybe she's simply too happy after reuniting with her family."
"Yeah…"
"I wonder when it'll finally be our turn to leave."
At that moment…
Hancock arrived carrying lunch for herself and her sisters.
Several nearby girls were still chatting softly.
Suddenly—
"Quiet while you're eating!"
Granny Gika's harsh voice echoed throughout the dining hall.
After spending four months inside this estate…
Hancock had long since realized that Gika's gentle appearance was nothing more than a mask.
Behind it hid an irritable and domineering personality.
"Y-Yes, Granny Gika!"
The two girls immediately stopped talking.
They lowered their heads and hurriedly continued eating.
Hancock silently watched everything.
The more she observed…
The stranger this place felt.
For four whole months…
Everything had been unbelievably peaceful.
Too peaceful.
Saint Casrot provided them with comfortable rooms.
Nutritious meals.
Dance lessons.
Beautiful clothes.
Everything necessary for a comfortable life.
Was all of this…
Really just to train dancers?
The villa itself resembled paradise.
The only abnormal thing…
Was the overwhelming number of guards stationed outside.
Escape was virtually impossible.
"Sister…"
Marigold quietly leaned closer.
"Do you really think we'll be allowed to return to Amazon Lily after we've learned how to dance?"
Her voice trembled.
Deep down…
All three sisters already suspected the answer.
This place…
Was built upon lies.
Everyone sensed it.
No one dared admit it.
"We're going home."
Hancock answered without hesitation.
Her eyes remained unwavering.
"No matter what happens…"
"I'll take both of you home."
Night fell.
Moonlight illuminated the vast estate.
"Saint Casrot would never be that kind."
Using the exceptional physical abilities possessed by every Kuja warrior…
Hancock quietly slipped past the elderly attendants during their nightly inspections.
Over the past several months…
She had already memorized their patrol routes.
As long as she returned before two o'clock in the morning…
No one would notice her absence.
She silently climbed onto the rooftop.
From there…
She overlooked the entire estate.
Walls.
Guard towers.
Searchlights.
Patrol routes.
Everything was engraved into her memory.
Each night…
She carefully sketched another section of the estate.
Each night…
She created another possible escape route.
She refused to stop searching for hope.
…
Several days later.
Noon.
The dining hall buzzed with conversation.
Hancock quietly sat beside her sisters.
She noticed something else.
Every week…
One or two new slave girls arrived.
The number of girls inside the villa never seemed to decrease.
"So…"
"You're Hancock?"
A tall teenage girl walked over with several followers behind her.
She looked down at Hancock arrogantly.
Hancock calmly placed her fork on the table.
"What do you want?"
Her voice remained cold.
Although she never showed it…
Among girls of the same age…
Hancock possessed overwhelming physical strength.
She was, after all, born and raised on Amazon Lily.
"You'd better learn your place."
"Just because you're pretty doesn't mean you can ignore the rules."
"Angelina may be one of the seniors…"
"But you're not."
Even inside this prison…
Small factions had naturally formed.
Some admired Hancock.
Others despised her.
Her quiet confidence made many people uncomfortable.
Hancock had gradually realized…
Not everyone here possessed Angelina's kindness.
Some had allowed despair to twist their personalities.
Instead of supporting one another…
They bullied those weaker than themselves.
She simply couldn't understand it.
Everyone here was already suffering.
Why continue hurting each other?
"You've got an arrogant look on your face."
"I hate it."
The tall girl suddenly swept Hancock's meal from the table.
Crash!
The bowl shattered against the floor.
Mashed potatoes and soup splashed everywhere.
"Oh?"
"Looks like you won't be eating today."
"If you don't mind…"
"You can always lick it off the floor."
"Like a little puppy."
"Hehehe…"
The surrounding girls burst into laughter.
Hancock silently clenched both fists.
Her nails dug into her palms.
Then…
She slowly relaxed them.
She could defeat every girl standing before her.
Easily.
But…
She couldn't expose her strength.
Not yet.
Everything depended on escaping this place unnoticed.
Saint Casrot…
Could never be trusted.
…
Angelina only heard about the incident afterward.
The dining hall was divided into three separate sections according to seniority.
She normally ate on a different floor.
By the time she learned what happened…
Lunch had already ended.
Later that afternoon…
She quietly approached Hancock.
In her hands was a beautifully decorated slice of cake.
"I secretly brought this from the kitchen."
"Try it."
Hancock looked up.
Angelina's gentle smile never seemed to disappear.
Whenever Hancock looked at her…
She felt as though an older sister were caring for her.
"Thank you."
She accepted the cake.
Without refusing.
Over the past four months…
Besides Marigold and Sandersonia…
Angelina had become the person Hancock trusted most.
She carefully took a bite.
"It's delicious…"
She admitted honestly.
Angelina smiled brightly.
"I knew you'd like it."
"The first time I tasted it…"
"I felt exactly the same."
She watched Hancock continue eating.
Cream stained the corner of Hancock's lips.
Despite Hancock's normally expressionless face…
The tiny movement of her cheeks while chewing made her look unexpectedly adorable.
Angelina couldn't help smiling.
She had once had a younger sister…
Very much like Hancock.
"Angelina…"
"Aren't you going to eat some too?"
Hancock noticed the longing in Angelina's eyes.
Angelina gently shook her head.
"I've already eaten."
Actually…
She deliberately skipped desserts.
She wanted to maintain the perfect figure required for dancing.
"Oh…"
"By the way, Hancock…"
"I'll be leaving soon."
"The annual banquet is the day after tomorrow."
Angelina smiled with anticipation.
"Saint Casrot chose me to perform."
"I'll dance with everything I have."
"It'll probably be my final performance here."
"After that…"
"I'll finally return to the North Blue."
"I'll get to see my mother again."
"And maybe…"
"I'll even join a dance troupe back home."
Her eyes sparkled with hope.
Years of comfortable living inside the estate had gradually worn away her caution.
She genuinely believed freedom awaited her.
Hancock suddenly reached out and grabbed Angelina's wrist.
"Angelina."
"Saint Casrot can't be trusted."
She spoke firmly.
She still vividly remembered the disgusting way Saint Casrot had looked at her during the auction.
It was never the gaze of someone looking at a dancer.
It was…
The gaze of someone admiring property.
Angelina simply smiled sadly.
"I know…"
"Maybe…"
"But what choice do we have?"
"We're slaves."
"We don't have the right to choose."
Her smile looked painfully lonely.
Hancock tightened her grip.
"Angelina."
"Have you never questioned it?"
"What happened to all the girls who supposedly went home?"
"They promised to write."
"They promised they'd come back to visit."
"But…"
"Not a single letter has ever arrived."
"No one has ever returned."
"Doesn't that strike you as strange?"
Angelina's smile gradually froze.
For the very first time…
Doubt appeared within her eyes.
The dream she had desperately clung to for years…
Began to crack.