[One Hour Later]
When Rosse walked out of the palace with Rouge, who had a flushed face, they were met head-on by Otohime, who had a face full of curiosity, and Ace in her arms.
Compared to a few months ago, Ace had grown a fair bit in size.
But he was still a baby in swaddling clothes, couldn't even speak a few complete sentences, could only say a few simple words.
For this kind of infant-level child, Rosse had no interest at all. He would rather tease Reiju or Robin.
"Saint Rosse!"
When Otohime saw Rosse again, her gaze was a little evasive.
'Umm… I saw everything… Too embarrassing!'
She didn't mean to peek, but ever since they were on the ship, Rosse had taught her how to use Observation Haki.
Just now, her Observation Haki kept unconsciously reaching toward the inner chamber.
When on the ship, she actually knew some things.
But back then she didn't know how to use Observation Haki, so she was just curious but didn't know what exactly the behavior was.
But now, she truly saw it.
Otohime instinctively lowered her head and glanced at her own fishtail hidden under her dress.
'Only a few months away from transforming into legs… and if Soamy Rosse wants to, maybe it won't be impossible...'
'Ah! Why am I thinking about that!'
Because of that sudden thought, Otohime almost went crazy.
Especially now, standing right in front of Rosse.
"What are you doing here?", Rosse didn't know what Otohime was thinking, but watching the subtle expressions on her face constantly change, he couldn't help wanting to tease her.
"Saint Rosse, you told me to wander around, said the Holy Land wouldn't assign me any tasks and I could explore freely," Otohime explained softly.
Although she could leave the Jaygarcia family, Rosse didn't restrict her.
But she always felt that wasn't quite right, so she stayed inside the palace.
When Rosse went to the lab earlier, she had interacted with Robin and Olvia.
How to put it… the feeling wasn't very pleasant.
Thinking of this, Otohime subconsciously glanced at Rouge.
Rouge instantly caught on to what Otohime meant and took Ace from her arms, then said to Rosse,."Ace is hungry, I'll go prepare something for him to eat."
She had chatted with Otohime for some time, knew that the other was the queen of Fish-Man Island, and that Rosse had invited her.
Rouge didn't care how many women were around Rosse. As long as she had her place and Rosse came to accompany her occasionally, that was enough.
"Go ahead," Rosse gave Rouge a hug and watched her carry Ace away.
After Ace left, Otohime walked up beside Rosse and whispered softly, "Saint Rosse, there's something I'm not sure whether I should say or not…"
"If not saying it makes you uncomfortable, then it's better to say it openly," Rosse glanced at her, basically seeing her unease.
As for what Otohime was about to say, he had already guessed.
"You're right…"
Otohime sighed, her face growing solemn, "Saint Rosse, that little girl named Robin has very deep hatred toward you and Ms. Olvia. In her heart, that emotion is all that's left."
Her special ability was being able to sense other people's emotions.
Whenever she mentioned Rosse or Robin's family in front of Robin, Robin, though calm on the surface, was full of hatred and murderous intent inside, barely suppressing it.
Only when she reached Olvia did she learn about Robin's background and experiences, realizing Robin was a survivor of Ohara, and the two were the only remaining Ohara historians.
"So what do you think?", Rosse said indifferently.
He had plans regarding Robin and already knew her mindset.
But the fact that Otohime was willing to tell him this made him quite happy.
It meant Otohime truly regarded him as one of her own.
Otherwise, given Robin's background and experience, Otohime shouldn't have said anything.
"I can't make a judgment. You previously told me, if the Ohara incident spreads, more innocent people would be affected."
Otohime shook her head, then added, "Saint Rosse, what you've done is very kind, at least you're still protecting them."
"Then do you know why Robin hates Olvia?", Rosse suddenly asked.
"I don't know,".Otohime shook her head, her face full of curiosity.
"Ohara was destroyed by the Buster Call because of Olvia. Essentially, she was too high-profile, trying to expose that segment of history," Rosse smiled.
"Ah?", Otohime opened her mouth wide.
"Also, when facing the Buster Call, I gave Olvia two choices: one, to die with the history she knew; two, shoot Robin, and I'd let her continue studying history."
"Mm… Saint Rosse, you're a little dishonest. In the end, she definitely didn't kill Robin but still survived, right?", Although Otohime didn't like Olvia's actions, she didn't think Olvia would really kill Robin.
"I wasn't being dishonest," Rosse looked at Otohime with a half-smile, "Olvia really pulled the trigger."
"Ah?", Otohime was completely stunned, like she had turned to stone.
Clearly, the Olvia she saw, although emotionally complex, was mostly subdued.
Otohime had thought Olvia only turned like that when talking about Ohara.
Because when mentioning Robin, Olvia didn't show any indication, she just seemed like a mother talking about her daughter.
She had thought Olvia and Robin had a good relationship, and Robin had simply misunderstood something.
Now it seemed, Robin's extreme hatred was actually the more normal reaction.
And then…
Otohime quietly glanced at Rosse.
Though she knew Rosse had ultimately saved Robin, it still felt kind of strange.
"At that time, I just wanted to know one answer."
Rosse looked at Otohime, his voice calm, "To what extent can a person go for their dream?"
"Even for a dream, there should be a bottom line," Otohime pressed her lips together and said.
"Do you know Rouge's identity?", Rosse looked at Otohime.
"Does Lady Rouge have some past?", Otohime's eyes flickered slightly. From her conversations with Rouge, she knew Ace wasn't Rosse's child.
And when talking about the past, Rouge always looked unwilling to speak, with deep hatred, hard not to overthink.
"Ace is Roger's child," Rosse smiled.
"Huh? The Pirate King?", Otohime exclaimed.
"Yes, that one," Rosse nodded and recounted Rouge's past.
After listening, Otohime showed an expression of anger, "Roger is a bad man!"
Fish-Man Island suffered deeply because of the Great Pirate Era that Roger started.
Also, back then when Roger went to Fish-Man Island, because of the mermaid princess, he had even come to Ryugu Kingdom to question them.
Otohime wasn't present at the time, and the man was driven away by Neptune, but she knew of the event.
She had disliked Roger from very early on.
Now knowing what kind of person he was, she disliked him even more.
Treating his wife and children so lightly, no matter how grand his ideals were, the world he hoped for would run counter to the hopes of most people.
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