Six years passed in a flash.
Nero once again embarked on a sea voyage.
Unlike before, this time Nero was on Nicuss's royal cruise ship, which was even larger than Whitebeard's Moby Dick.
Its luxuriousness was not inferior to that of the Celestial Dragons' vehicles, and the red sails bore not Nicuss's national flag, but Nero's pirate flag.
In the New World, you might not recognize Nicuss's national flag, but if you don't recognize the pirate flag of Four Emperors, Rose Emperor Nero, then you won't survive three days.
Therefore, now, not only Nero, but many nobles also like to hoist their Majesty's pirate flag when they go to sea.
In the sunlit garden room on the aft deck, Nero sat on a small stone stool, frowning in thought.
On the small stone table next to him, besides tea and snacks, there was also a small photo frame, displaying her and Stella's wedding photo.
The two had gotten married a few years ago, although the Science Department still hadn't figured out a way for two women to have a child together.
However, Nero still forcefully rejected Holio's delaying tactics and quickly married Stella.
In the photo, both Nero and Stella were wearing wedding dresses, smiling brightly, but Nero's smile looked full of vitality, while Stella's smile was more gentle, like a virtuous wife.
Such photos were everywhere on the ship, after all, the purpose of building this ship was for Nero and Stella's honeymoon.
At first, Holio was extremely against this queen, but later he found that it was quite good to have one more person to restrain this Idiot Emperor.
Why couldn't the Science Department find a way for two women to have children? It wasn't because they were incapable; they were currently contemplating how to turn Nicuss's capital into a sky city.
There have been many such absurd requests in recent years, and Minister of Science Dries' once lush, medium-length hair is now shiny on top.
"Hmm! I've discovered a problem!" Nero took a sip of black tea, her expression grave.
"What?"
Stella, across from her, also picked up her black tea and sniffed it; it smelled good but was too hot to drink, so she put it back down and looked at Nero with a puzzled expression.
"Hmm, I'll be direct!" Nero pulled out a wanted poster from her bosom: "Look at this!"
Stella and Hathaway, who was nearby, looked at the wanted poster in confusion; the person on it was Nero.
"Oh! It seems the photographer's skill is quite good; he made Nero look very beautiful!"
Stella flattened the wanted poster, trying to make it smoother.
"Indeed, this angle... Hmm! No! I mean, look at this wanted poster. This is how I looked the first time I was wanted after going to sea."
"Eh?" Stella then looked at the wanted amount, which was only three hundred million, and then looked at the current wanted poster with a five billion bounty.
"The old one looked very vibrant and more cute, while this current one looks full of imperial majesty, very handsome!"
"Hehehe! red bean paste? My imperial majesty, as expected, can be seen even through a wanted poster!"
Nero scratched her head, her face flushed, then suddenly realized, tapped the bounty on the table, and placed it in front of her.
...No! Haven't you noticed that my appearance hasn't changed all these years?
Stella rested her head on her hand, a smile playing on her lips: "Is that so? I actually think Nero-chan is getting cuter and cuter."
Since getting married, Stella had gained a lot more composure than before.
Now, hearing Nero say this, her face flushed a few more shades, but to show her seriousness, she puffed up her cheeks.
"Hmm, Stella, shut up. I'm talking about something important!"
Winking one eye, Stella didn't mind and said softly, "Okay! Then Your Majesty, please continue!"
"Hmm!" Nero nodded in satisfaction before continuing: "It's not just me who hasn't aged; Stella and Hathaway, you two haven't either!"
"Eh? Am I included too?" Hathaway tilted her head, a little surprised.
Because of her regular exercise and skincare, her skin and complexion were good, but she had always attributed it to those things.
However, hearing Nero say this, it seemed there was another hidden reason.
Hathaway turned to look at Stella; compared to when they first met, she was now graceful and elegant, often with a composed smile on her lips.
The change was quite obvious, but when Nero mentioned it, Hathaway realized that only her demeanor had changed; upon closer inspection, her appearance truly seemed to have remained the same.
Stella was also similarly observing Hathaway, and only then did she realize that the other person's face had truly never changed.
She had originally thought it was because they spent so much time together, so some subtle changes over time went unnoticed.
Only after being told did she remember that Minister Holio's temples had turned gray, and he had many more wrinkles on his face compared to six years ago.
The two simultaneously turned their gazes to Nero, their curiosity evident.
"Hmm, I naturally found out the reason!"
Nero put her hands on her hips, a triumphant smile on her face, and said proudly.
It seemed the reason was directly related to Nero herself.
Without further ado, Nero raised her hand: "Hmm! It's this pure gold ring. I've read a large number of documents and finally found clues about this thing."
"Eh? It's this thing?" Stella looked at the wedding ring on her hand, identical to Nero's.
Hathaway didn't speak but also clutched the necklace around her neck.
"Hmm, I originally thought it was refined using some special method, but later, due to some special reasons, I discovered that it actually had strange artificial traces!"
Nero took off the ring and held it up to the sunlight above the conservatory.
"Later, I discovered that this was a special substance invented about 200 years ago by a father who didn't want his sick daughter to die."
"But that island disappeared overnight, and everyone, from the Celestial Dragons and the Marine to other various factions, searched for it, but ultimately found nothing."
Nero put the ring back on: "That father successfully kept time still. Hmm, thinking about it, the little girl I saw back then must have been the one from 200 years ago."
"Nero... then this?" Hearing what this thing was, Stella instantly felt her finger heavy.
Even Hathaway clutched her necklace, somewhat uneasy; if the value of this item were exposed, it would be enough to trigger a world war.
"That's not what I wanted to say! What I wanted to say is!" Nero broke into a big smile: "Hmm, it seems I'll be with you two for a very long time!"
"Nero!"
"Your Majesty!"
Hearing this, both of them looked at Nero with emotion.
"Is there any of this pure gold left?"
"Mwahaha! The wedding ring for Stella was the last one!"
"Surely such a valuable item would have a very limited production?"
"Uh, hmm! I also considered that aspect, which is why I didn't take much."
"..."
"..."
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 40 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!