— — — — — — —
In Totto Land…
Joey let out a lazy yawn, rubbing his temples in frustration.
"Mondée, you little brat, you've been nagging me about this for days now! Seriously?!"
Mondée hurriedly responded, "Big Brother! Just agree already! Think about it, you'll gain another beautiful wife, and she's even a rare Lunarian Tribe princess! You're not losing anything!"
Joey sighed, massaging his forehead. "So, by your logic, I should marry a woman from every race?"
Mondée tilted her head in thought. "Honestly, that wouldn't be a bad idea! The more wives you have, the easier it'll be to rule over all the different races."
Joey fell silent, staring at her in disbelief.
Amande, who had been called over by Mondée as a mediator, could only shake her head helplessly.
Her older sister was really something else…
"Sister, think about it logically. If it were just normal cases, fine. But what about the Beast Tribe? The Goblin Tribe?"
"Huh?" Mondée raised an eyebrow before confidently replying, "You're just discriminating against them because they're ugly, aren't you?!"
Joey arched a brow. "I think it's perfectly reasonable to care about looks, don't you?"
I mean, everyone is a visual creature to some extent, right?
Who in their right mind would willingly choose someone hideous?
It just didn't make sense!
"Hee hee hee…"
Mondée suddenly let out a mischievous laugh.
"Big Brother! So you're saying that as long as they're beautiful, you'd consider it?"
Joey thought about it for a moment. "Well, yeah. If they're beautiful, it'd make governing their people easier. That makes sense."
Amande sighed. "Big Brother, you just walked right into her trap."
"Huh?" Joey raised an eyebrow. "Come on, the Beast Tribe and Goblins aren't exactly known for producing beauties."
Mondée grinned. "Oh, Big Brother, that's where you're wrong."
"Look at this!"
She handed him a photo.
Joey took one look and froze.
The girl in the picture looked about fifteen or sixteen.
Tall, at least 1.8 meters.
Most importantly, her figure was flawless—not too thin, but with the perfect curves.
Joey immediately recognized her as part of the Beast Tribe.
But the problem was…
She had fair, delicate skin, nothing like a typical beastman.
On top of that, her long, emerald-green hair and sharp red eyes stood out. Instead of the usual beastly fangs, she had only a pair of cute little tiger teeth.
For a moment, Joey was silent.
He had to admit—she was gorgeous.
He turned to look at Mondée and Amande, narrowing his eyes. "You two planned this, didn't you? Huh? Trying to trick your own brother?!"
He glared at them in mock anger, but the two girls only grinned at him mischievously.
After all, they knew their big brother too well.
Mondée giggled. "Big Brother, what do you think? She's the princess of the Beast Tribe! This is a rare opportunity! Beautiful, isn't she?"
Joey sighed, rubbing his temples again. "Fine, fine. What's her name?"
Amande answered, "Garona. In the Beast Tribe's language, her name carries a special meaning. But we didn't ask too many questions."
Mondée smirked. "So, Big Brother, no objections now, right?"
Clearly, she had come fully prepared.
"Alright, whatever." Joey waved them off in surrender.
Amande pulled out a small notebook and began jotting things down.
"Let's see… Marine Vice Admiral Gion. Lunarian Tribe Princess Amaterasu. Beast Tribe Princess Garona."
She nodded. "That makes three so far."
Mondée leaned over. "Amande! I still think this number is too low."
Amande agreed. "Exactly!"
"I—" Joey opened his mouth but had no words.
Amande looked up. "Don't worry, Big Brother! I'll handle selecting the right candidates for you!"
With that, the two sisters scurried off, leaving Joey standing there in stunned silence.
"What the fuck…?" Even Joey, the ever-graceful noble, couldn't help but curse.
All this time, he had been focusing on making sure his younger brothers had stable marriages and families.
But ever since Gion was brought back…These little brats had made it their mission to find him wives!
"Sigh…" He let out a long, exhausted breath.
Gion, watching the scene unfold, smirked as she approached him.
"What's wrong, Your Majesty? Shouldn't you be happy your siblings care so much?"
Joey groaned. "Oh, they're not doing this for political reasons. They just want to mess with me."
"Heh…" Gion chuckled but said nothing more. Joey, meanwhile, went back to work. There was still plenty to do.
— — —
The moment Mondée and Amande stepped out of the castle, a swarm of people rushed toward them, including Perospero, Katakuri, and the rest of the Charlotte family.
Everyone looked way too excited.
Oven, always impatient, was the first to ask, "Well? Well? How'd it go?!"
Mondée grinned mischievously and flashed an "OK" sign.
"WHOOOOA!!!"
In an instant, cheers erupted from the crowd. They finally pulled it off. As long as they could trick their big brother into going along with it, everything else would be smooth sailing.
Inside the castle, Joey heard the loud celebrations outside.
"These little punks…"
He didn't need to ask to know what was happening.
But honestly? He couldn't be bothered to deal with them.
Totto Land's establishment was the real priority right now.
Outside, the gathered family members found a spot and huddled together to strategize. Even little Mont-d'Or had joined in, eager to watch the chaos unfold.
After all, who didn't love a good spectacle?
The more dramatic, the better!
Cracker clapped his hands eagerly. "Alright! First things first, we should pick one from each race—Fishmen, Mermaids…"
"Fishmen, huh?" The group scratched their heads. Amande hesitated before saying, "The problem is… Fishmen aren't exactly known for their good looks."
Mondée, however, remained confident. "That's not an issue! If the Beastmen could produce a genetically blessed princess like that, who's to say the Fishmen can't? We just have to look harder!"
"Ok! Hehehe~~…" Their laughter was filled with mischief.
Of course, they weren't just messing around.
It was just that their big brother was always so composed. They rarely got a chance to mess with him, and this was their one opportunity.
Picking wives? They were going all in on this!
"But…"
Compote rested her chin on her hand, grinning slyly. "By the way, Big Brother, and Third Brother… aren't you two also nearing the right age? Oh, and Daifuku and Oven too—you're all getting close."
"..."
Instantly, the four brothers' excited expressions froze, as if they'd just been sentenced to death.
Perospero was already 14.
Katakuri, Daifuku, and Oven—the triplets—were 12.
Doing the math…Perospero had four years left.
And the triplets? Only six years left.
"Hehehe…"
Sensing an opportunity, Amande narrowed her eyes. "Big Brother, you seem awfully calm about this."
Perospero, unfazed, shrugged. "What's there to worry about? Marriage isn't a big deal. Back in the Dark Trade, I found a princess from the Grand Line who caught my eye. Give it a couple of years, and if marriage is what it takes, then fine."
"Tch!"
Hearing his casual response, everyone lost interest.
What was the fun in teasing someone who didn't care?
The real entertainment was forcing someone into a situation they couldn't escape from.
So naturally… Everyone shifted their focus to Katakuri, Daifuku, and Oven.
They were next on the hit list!
And, of course, the five Opera brothers weren't going to escape this either. At 10 years old, they still had some time left—but their turn was definitely coming.
In the end, the group came to an agreement.
They would take things slow when it came to the younger brothers.
But first?
Their top priority was finding wives for their big brother.
This was an urgent mission!
.
.
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