— — — — — — —
Sitting in the chair, Gion's expression was extremely grim.
A maid approached her respectfully and asked, "Madam, would you like something to eat?"
"Huh?" Gion was completely stunned and asked in shock, "What did you just call me?"
The maid smiled and said, "Of course, I called you 'Madam.'"
At that moment, Gion felt a chill run through her body. She hurriedly corrected her, "Don't talk nonsense! I'm not anyone's madam!"
"Hehehe—" The maid covered her mouth and chuckled. "Madam, there's no need to be so nervous. I know exactly who you are. But since Young Master Cracker brought you back, there's no escaping."
Her smile was filled with certainty.
Clearly, the maid had already seen through everything.
"You..." Gion's face darkened.
The maid continued warmly, "Madam, you'd best behave yourself. If a day ever comes when you can leave, it'll only be because the Charlotte Family has been destroyed. When that happens, you'll be free. Until then, you are the Charlotte Family's madam."
Gion was momentarily taken aback before asking, "You don't seem too concerned about the family's downfall?"
The maid shook her head. "It's not that I don't care. As a servant of this family, if it falls, I will follow it to the end. Even death would not matter."
She smiled gently before asking, "Madam, what would you like to eat?"
Gion hesitated for a moment before replying, "Some desserts, I suppose."
The moment the words left her mouth, her face twisted in frustration. She wanted to slap herself.
"Damn it."
Seeing the maid chuckle to herself, she knew it was too late.
Now it really looked like she had accepted her role. How was she supposed to explain this?
The Charlotte Family's love for sweets was no secret. Everyone knew it.
But the problem was—She was a woman! Liking desserts wasn't unusual for her!
Still, the maid bowed respectfully and withdrew.
Not long after—A crowd of figures rushed into the room.
Mondée, Amande, Hachée, Effilée, Custard, Angel, Brûlée, Broyé, Mash, and Cornstarch—all the younger sisters had come running in.
Broyé examined Gion from head to toe and said, "So this is our future sister-in-law?"
Cornstarch chirped, "She's not bad at all! She might not be a princess, but she's at least a Vice Admiral in the Navy. Her status is decent enough. I suppose she qualifies to be a concubine for our big brother?"
"Mhm!" Hachée nodded and educated her sisters, "The correct term is 'Consort.'"
Effilée nodded in agreement. "Teacher Zhuge Liang once taught me that a king normally has one empress, four wives, and seventy-two consorts!"
"That's right!" Mondée, the second eldest sister, agreed. "With her status, she can at most be a consort. Becoming Brother's wife or Queen? She's not qualified!"
"Exactly!"
Listening to the chatter of the little girls, Gion felt the urge to die.
Seriously. If she weren't currently powerless, she would have given these brats a good beating.
"Sigh..."
She let out a long sigh, completely at a loss for words.
She wanted to cry, but she didn't even know how to begin.
At that moment—
Clap!
Joey walked into the room.
With everything settled, he turned to see the group of little girls crowding around Gion. Smiling, he said, "You little troublemakers! Have you finished your work yet? Amande, what about your duties? Broyé, Cornstarch, have you forgotten your positions?"
"Big Brother, we are sorry!"
"Hehehe—"
Seeing Joey arrive, the little sisters quickly scattered, each running away faster than the last.
Joey could only shake his head helplessly.
Turning to Gion, he calmly said, "No need to be so tense. You can't leave. Whether you like this consort title or not doesn't matter. You're staying here."
Gion, filled with fury, snapped, "What exactly do you want? Do you even like me?!"
Joey paused for a moment before smiling. "No, I don't like you. If I had to put it in simple terms—I'm just lusting after your body. You're beautiful, have a great figure, so why not?"
He wasn't lying.
Feelings? Come on. This was their first time meeting.
How could there be any feelings?
To be blunt, he was just lusting after a beautiful woman. And he wasn't going to deny it.
After all, Gion was a tall, gorgeous woman with long legs.
Gion's gaze turned cold. "I won't agree to this."
Joey smiled warmly. "You don't have the right to refuse. Don't forget—you're a prisoner. What gives you the confidence to think otherwise?"
"You!!!" Gion glared at Joey.
The man who had seemed so gentle now looked like a demon in her eyes.
Joey continued in his usual calm tone, "Honestly, I don't care who my woman is. You're a beauty, sure. But the sea is full of beautiful women."
Hearing this, Gion frowned and asked, "Then why choose me?"
Joey raised two fingers. "First, you're a Vice Admiral of the Navy and the adopted sister of Grand Staff Officer Tsuru. If I took you as my woman—or as my consort if I ever decided to become a king—it would give me a connection to the Navy. That's important. It would make them think twice before acting against me."
"Second, you were a gift from my younger siblings. And I don't want to reject gifts from my little brothers and sisters. So just accept your position. You won't suffer."
With that, he turned and walked away.
It was a trivial matter to him. As far as he was concerned, aside from his future wife—the one he would choose very carefully—no other woman truly mattered.
Gion would be no different.
Who she was, what status she held—it didn't matter. To Joey, the Navy wasn't a threat worth considering.
The only reason he acknowledged Gion at all was because she was a gift from his siblings.
Otherwise, why would he care about her? The sea was filled with countless beauties.
From start to finish, Joey remained calm as he walked away.
Meanwhile, Gion felt utterly powerless.
"Sigh..."
She sighed deeply.
After dealing with the Sand-Sand Fruit, everything else became much simpler.
All that was left was to wait.
— — —
After 6 months
"Waaah!"
The sound of crying filled the air. Joey sighed helplessly. "Mom… She had two kids in a single year. Seriously, this is getting out of hand."
He looked at the two newborn girls in front of him, feeling a bit exasperated.
In the blink of an eye, six months had passed.
And in that short time, his mother had given birth to two more sisters.
The 12th daughter: Charlotte Mozart. The 13th daughter: Charlotte Marnier.
Two adorable little girls.
"Hmm…"
Joey sat down.
Six months had passed without him leaving Totto Land.
Perospero returned and greeted him. "Big bro! I'm back."
Joey nodded. "How did it go this time?"
Perospero sat on the sofa with a grin. "Everything went smoothly. Daifuku and Oven helped out, and no one dared to mess with us."
"But…"
His expression turned serious. "There were definitely people watching us in the shadows. I couldn't tell exactly who, but I can say for sure that whoever they were, they were strong."
Joey nodded. "Not surprising. Most likely, it's the World Government keeping an eye on you. They wouldn't be able to infiltrate Totto Land, so the best they can do is spy on your business dealings."
Perospero agreed with a solemn nod. "Yeah, that makes sense."
Oven scratched his head. "Big bro, do you think those five old geezers, the Gorosei, are trying to start trouble again?"
Joey shook his head. "They're not idiots. Killing you guys wouldn't accomplish much. If they want to destroy or cripple the Charlotte Family, the best way would be to eliminate a few key figures—me, Mom, Katakuri, Amande, and you."
"But…"
He turned to Perospero. "Every time you guys head out, your Brush-Brush Fruit makes escaping too easy. Plus, Daifuku's powers are highly specialized. Assassinating you guys would be nearly impossible. Amande never leaves Totto Land, and Mom and Katakuri are too strong."
"And they know that the best move they can make is to kill me."
"As long as I'm dead, everything else will fall apart."
"Ah, so that's how it's…" Everyone nodded in understanding.
It made perfect sense.
Taking out anyone else wouldn't have much impact. The best option was to deal with their big brother directly.
"But…"
Oven asked in confusion, "Big bro, you don't leave Totto Land often either, right?"
Right now, Joey rarely left.
Most of the work could be handled by the family. If he had to personally deal with everything, that would be ridiculous.
Especially since…As time passed, the Charlotte Family would only continue to grow in size and strength.
Naturally, he'd need to be involved even less.
The family would take care of everything on their own.
Joey smiled. "That's why there's no rush. If the Five Elders want to target me, they'll need bait—something I can't refuse."
Daifuku narrowed his eyes. "Something you can't refuse? The only thing that might catch your interest would be the legendary Dragon Tribe and the Lunarian tribe."
Joey nodded. "Exactly. Other than them, nothing else would make me bite."
"And…"
"If there's anyone in this world capable of tracking down those long-extinct races, it would be the World Government."
Originally, he had planned to venture into the Calm Belt to search for them.
But somehow, he ended up back in Totto Land instead. The current situation was too tense.
"This…"
They all fell into deep thought.
Joey, however, simply smiled. "No need to rush. No need to worry. Danger and opportunity always come together. The Sand-Sand Fruit was a perfect example of that, wasn't it?"
Speaking of that…Charlotte Mont-d'Or, the youngest son at just eight years old, had already eaten the Sand-Sand Fruit.
He was studying hard. Mont-d'Or was training with the Cabaletta. In a way, they were helping each other strengthen their weaknesses.
It allowed them to complement each other's abilities.
Joey spoke gently. "So, even if these two tribes are just a bluff, for us, the risk and reward are worth it. These two races are among the most mysterious and nearly extinct in the world. If we can find them, the entire world will know."
If the whole world discovered that Totto Land harbored such rare and powerful races—protecting them from extinction and offering all possible assistance—the impact would be tremendous.
Sometimes, a mere name carried immense weight.
Upholding Justice!!!
Those two words alone could rally countless people.
Totto Land would be seen as the ultimate sanctuary, especially for non-human races.
.
.
.