"Lord Rosse, please!"
The Spot-Billed Duck force stopped in front of the royal palace. Cobra stood up from the duck, walked to the front of the Spot-Billed Duck carriage, and made a gesture of invitation.
The death of Terracotta was a big matter, but receiving Rosse was an even bigger matter.
Cobra could only leave Terracotta's side to Igaram and continue to host Rosse himself.
"King Cobra, you please as well."
Rosse, holding Gion's arm, stepped down from the carriage, with Sora and Stella following behind them.
Gion's mind was now basically focused on the Bat, so Rosse had to lead her a bit.
However, Gion usually didn't talk much in such occasions, so it wouldn't cause any problems.
Under Cobra's lead, Rosse and his party entered the banquet hall of Arabasta.
What was surprising was that Princess Titi was not resting in her own palace, but had already been waiting in the banquet hall.
Today, Princess Titi wore an evening gown. Her fine figure, dignified temperament, and slightly bulging lower abdomen all radiated the aura of a noble princess.
"Titi, why are you here?", Cobra's eyes showed surprise.
"I heard that His Highness has already arrived. I couldn't let you receive him alone, could I?", Princess Titi wore a smile on her face. There was no sign of the complicated emotions from earlier in the palace. She maintained the composure of a princess throughout.
Only when her gaze fell on Rosse did it flicker with a different emotion.
"If you really feel unwell, then leave early today," Cobra softly expressed his concern beside Princess Titi, then brought her over to Rosse, "Lord Rosse, Titi is the princess of Arabasta, and also my wife. You've met once before, so I won't introduce again."
"We did meet once before. Princess Titi is very beautiful and left a deep impression on me," Upon seeing Princess Titi, Rosse raised a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.
His words weren't flirtation, just a compliment of noble etiquette, with proper restraint.
Cobra didn't think much of it. Compared to those utterly depraved Celestial Dragons, Rosse's behavior was already very proper.
At this moment, he didn't realize that Rosse might be even more wicked than some Celestial Dragons.
However, when Princess Titi heard this, the meaning was very different.
Princess Titi thought of the experience from those two days and instinctively tightened her thighs.
That special feeling, she still didn't dare to forget it even now.
All the more since the child in her belly was the flesh and blood of the man before her.
"Your Highness, you are just as charming as ever," Though her mind was filled with fantasies, Princess Titi showed no abnormalities on the surface. After formally responding to the compliment, she walked with Rosse and the others into the banquet hall.
Upon entering the palace, everyone naturally split into two groups.
"Cobra, Your Highness, you two chat. I'll take Lady Gion over there to talk about women's matters," Princess Titi held Gion's arm, greeted Cobra and Rosse, then led Sora and Stella off to the side.
She had earlier noticed that Gion seemed absent-minded. Thinking of the blood-colored bat that appeared beside her earlier, she immediately understood what Gion was doing.
Terracotta had caused a considerable commotion inside the palace. Though the aftermath likely wouldn't implicate her for now, Igaram was still a liability.
With Terracotta's situation in mind, Princess Titi had already made up her mind.
For more people to live, Igaram had to be sacrificed too.
Deep inside, a trace of guilt flashed in Princess Titi's heart.
After pulling Gion to sit beside her, Princess Titi asked softly, "How is the situation now?"
Her voice carried a bit of nervousness, a feeling of secretly conspiring with another man right under her husband's nose.
Key point being, her husband, the biological father of the child in her womb, was chatting joyfully just a few steps away.
"No problem. From now on, can I call you Sister Titi?", Sora smiled and took Princess Titi's hand. With a few words, she dispelled the nervousness in Titi's heart.
The method was simple, their experiences were very similar. By sharing her own story and emotional journey, she could relieve Princess Titi's pressure.
Plus, both of them were pregnant now, which gave them more common topics.
There was just one difference. She had been abandoned by Judge, while Princess Titi had been forced into her situation.
While the women chatted, things were also progressing smoothly on Rosse's side.
"Lord Rosse, sorry for the trouble you took over Titi's matter," Cobra said with a smile.
Being able to meet a reasonable Celestial Dragon was definitely a fortunate thing for him.
"No problem. Stella is my personal doctor. She'll help examine the princess's condition later."
"Many thanks!"
"By the way, the princess previously told me about the matter of stationing troops. My steward should've already told you about it?", Rosse asked.
"He did," Cobra quickly nodded, "This is a good thing for Arabasta. All expenses for the Jaygar District's stationed army in Arabasta will be borne by Arabasta."
In his view, this was another great thing that Princess Titi had accomplished.
Because ever since the Great Pirate Era began, pirates often came to Arabasta.
Although Arabasta had a marine base, it was just a small base with a rear admiral stationed there. It was fine when there were few pirates, but when there were many, it simply couldn't handle them.
Arabasta had its own army, but those troops were good for handling civilians. They were of little use against pirates.
Any pirate who could come to the Grand Line had some ability.
"Since King Cobra says so, I'm relieved. We'll choose a group of elites to be stationed in Arabasta to ensure it won't suffer from pirate harassment. However, along the way, I found that Arabasta's climate doesn't seem particularly good?", Rosse casually brought it up.
"That's true," Speaking of Arabasta's terrain, Cobra sighed, "Most of Arabasta's island is desert. Cities are built on the few small oases. The Grand Line still can't compare to the Four Seas. The climate is harsher. The Nefertari family has tried for generations to change the climate, but so far there's little effect."
"Climate issues are indeed hard to solve. But since the cities are built on oases, it's not too big of a problem," Rosse pretended to ponder.
Cobra could tell that Rosse was worried the harsh climate here would affect the living conditions of the Jaygar garrison.
This concerned the very survival of Arabasta. Cobra immediately expressed, "Your concern is reasonable. If you have time soon, I'd be willing to personally take you to inspect the stationing areas, to ensure there's no issue."
"That would be great," Rosse smiled.
As for the stationing matter, he actually wasn't very worried.
What he really wanted was for Cobra to leave Alubarna with him. Once they left, what became of the capital was no longer up to Cobra.
Though he could use force to accomplish these things, Rosse still preferred to use words when possible.
Force was a last resort, not a method to be used habitually.
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