Please Let Me Stay / "Palace Intrigue"

Given Hancock's personality, she would definitely break that warm atmosphere.

More than a year has passed since Arthur transmigrated, and his former otaku spirit has undergone several transformations.

Although he has a strong liking for the female protagonist who has a dark childhood, it doesn't mean he's a womanizer; otherwise, he would have actively pursued Robin long ago.

On one side is the most beautiful woman in the sea, and on the other side are two women with a strong bond. Naturally, the scales in Arthur's heart tipped completely towards Nami and Robin.

"I... I've been rejected..."

Arthur's words struck Hancock like a heavy blow, leaving her breathless and her shy face turning deathly pale.

With her left hand resting on the massive breasts, Hancock felt a slight tightness through the fabric of her cheongsam, and a deep sense of guilt washed over her.

"Is it because of those two women that you rejected me?" Hancock's beautiful eyes flashed with intense murderous intent as she said with a tone of jealousy, "I will kill them!"

"Hey... calm down!" Seeing this predictable scene unfold, Arthur said helplessly, "Even if you kill them, I still won't marry you."

"Why?" Hancock asked pitifully, her hands clasped together in front of her chest.

"Then let me ask you, why did you marry me?" Arthur walked to the side, leaned against the ship's railing, shrugged at Hancock, and asked in return.

"Because... because you are the one I... love..." When asked this, Hancock, who had been pitiful, suddenly became shy again and whispered somewhat bashfully.

She switches effortlessly between spoiled and unreasonable, shy and timid, and pitiful and charming. The Love-Love Fruit enhances that quality at just the right time, making the viewer's emotions unconsciously change along with her.

If Arthur hadn't been so strong-willed, he probably would have been completely captivated by her.

"Then why do you like me?" Arthur continued, wanting to see if Hancock was willing to reveal the secret.

'Swish--'

'Swish--'

Upon hearing Arthur's words, Hancock's expression changed slightly, and her mood immediately sombered. Even the two Boa sisters beside her looked gloomy.

"Is it because of the Celestial Dragons?" Arthur's calm voice made the three Hancock sisters tremble slightly.

"You..." Hancock's delicate body trembled slightly, her eyes filled with surprise as she looked at Arthur, seemingly wondering about something.

"There are countless powerful beings in the ocean. You couldn't possibly like me just because I'm Devil Fruit User the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, could you?" Arthur said matter-of-factly. "The Rumble-Rumble Fruit is my trump card. Aside from the time I assassinated Celestial Dragons and made it known to the world, I only failed against those people last time. I usually consider myself to be very good at hiding it..."

After a slight pause, Arthur continued, "We have no connection whatsoever. For you to say you like me, you must have a grudge against the Celestial Dragons, right?"

After speaking, Arthur stopped there.

That's enough. Going any deeper would easily backfire.

Hearing Arthur's words, Hancock trembled even more, her hands involuntarily hugging herself.

Her head was slightly lowered, her beautiful face was covered with dark lines, and her eyes held the fear caused by memories.

"Hey~ why did you assassinate the Celestial Dragons?" After a long while, Hancock finally raised her head, her beautiful eyes filled with fear and doubt, and stared at Arthur, asking in a trembling voice.

"Because if I don't kill him, it will implicate the people around me," Arthur said ambiguously.

"Really? I... I'm so envious." Hancock understood, and said with a look of envy in her eyes.

"..."

The atmosphere fell silent for a moment.

Hancock kept her head down and remained silent.

Arthur, on the other hand, turned to face the sea. The sea breeze ruffled his blond hair, and his emerald green eyes were focused and serious, as if he were captivated by the scenery.

"Knight..."

After a long while, Hancock's voice came to my ears.

Arthur turned his head and saw Hancock's face was perfectly calm, her delicate body no longer trembling, and her long, slender legs moved with light steps toward the cabin. "Please come in with me."

"Mary, Sonia, disperse them. I wish to speak with the 'King of Knights' alone."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The two Boa sisters nodded and began to walk to the back of the large ship to organize the crew of the Kuja Sea Clan.

Arthur rubbed his chin, a slight smile playing on his lips, and followed.

It seems I've done another good deed.

Arthur's rejection of Hancock's proposal doesn't mean he doesn't have feelings for her!

Just like helping Shirahoshi thwart Vander Decken IX's 'pursuit', Arthur's words just now were all intentional.

The purpose was to help Hancock overcome her inner demons.

Chapter 164 Please Let Me Stay

Inside the cabin, a room filled with fragrance.

The pink curtains were drawn, and on a huge peach-colored Sisley bed, Hancock knelt before Arthur.

Arthur sat on the edge of the bed, his hands clasped on his lap, looking at Hancock with a calm expression.

Hancock, kneeling before Arthur, had her head slightly lowered, her fair, jade-like hands gripping the pink sheets tightly, her nails seemingly about to pierce them; her inner hesitation remained unknown to others.

'Whoosh!'

Suddenly, Hancock did something astonishing.

She turned her back to Arthur, her fair shoulders drooping slightly. She reached out and pulled off the sash of her cheongsam, revealing her fair and jade-like skin. She then repeated the action on the other side, taking off her upper garment right in front of Arthur.

Her long, black hair covered most of her delicate back, and Hancock's breasts trembled again.

"Knight... this is my secret, a fear I've never wanted to recall..." With her back to Arthur, Hancock's face was pale, and she bit her lower lip hard. Her delicate hand slowly lifted the hair behind her back, revealing the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon that had been hidden there.

On her fair, jade-like skin, there was a branding mark, a bloody mark burned into her flesh, yet it possessed a unique kind of beauty.

However, this symbol represents the mark of slaves, the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon, exclusive to the Celestial Dragons, the 'Celestial Dragons'.

"This is the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon, the emblem of the Celestial Dragons. Any slave kept by the Celestial Dragons will be branded with this indelible mark of being an 'inferior race.'" A tear appeared on her beautiful cheek. Hancock bit her lower lip, her voice trembling with sobs, and said, "I, Mary, and Sonia are three sisters. We were all once..."

"A slave of the Celestial Dragons!" Arthur interrupted, taking the initiative to speak.

"Yes..." Hancock let down her hair, hugged her knees, curled up, and slowly began to speak with her back to Arthur: "It's a memory I don't want to recall, it was when I was 12 years old..."

'Tick-tock... tick-tock...'

The sound of tears falling on the back of his hand reached Arthur's ears clearly in the room, where only Hancock's voice could be heard.

Listening to Hancock recount her childhood experiences—being kidnapped during a campaign, the three sisters being sold into slavery by the Celestial Dragons, escaping Celestial Dragons control thanks to Fisher Tiger's antics, and ultimately being reborn with the help of Rayleigh, Shakky, and Gloriosa...

Hatred, fear, confusion, liberation...

Just like when he listened to Nami recount her childhood experiences, Arthur was gradually influenced by the emotions emanating from Hancock.

"I hate men, I hate them so much, I hate them so much...!!" Hancock gripped the sheets tightly, her head bowed, her voice rising with each word, until finally she cried out, her voice choked with sobs.

"..."

"Would you... look down on someone who was once a slave?" A silence fell over the room. Hancock suddenly turned around gently, looked at Arthur timidly, and asked weakly.

Like a bird startled by the twang of a bow.

Gazing into Hancock's trembling, beautiful eyes, Arthur knew.

If his next words are harsh, they will hurt this seemingly strong but actually incredibly fragile woman, and may even drive her to the brink of darkness; if they are kind, they will make her infatuated with him, admiring him or becoming a die-hard fan.

"Your words are a bit puzzling!" Arthur crossed his legs, propped himself up on the sheets Hancock had slept on, tilted his head slightly, and chuckled, "I'm the murderer of Celestial Dragons, so in some ways, I'm the same kind of person as you! You should be asking me if I look down on those bullying bastards."

"Pfft--"

Arthur's words made Hancock laugh through her tears, her cheeks flushing slightly, her beautiful eyes misting over as she looked at Arthur tenderly. "Knight... may I know your name?"

"Don't underestimate yourself; you're hailed as the most beautiful woman of the sea," Arthur encouraged, then extended his right hand to Hancock: "Arthur Pendragon!"

"Pendragon..." Hancock blinked her beautiful eyes and read it aloud.

"No, it's Arthur! My first name comes first, then my last name," Arthur said.

"Arthur... a very nice name." Hancock repeated it again, then smiled and extended her right hand, shaking hands with Arthur's fair, jade-like hand. "Boa Hancock, you can just call me Hancock."

"Hmm~ Hancock, your clothes."

After shaking hands, Arthur pointed to Hancock's body. Because she had taken off her cheongsam and was facing him, Hancock's large breasts were completely exposed to Arthur, a sight that was truly arousing.

"Arthur, I love you! Please marry me!" Hancock nonchalantly put her cheongsam back on in front of Arthur, then shyly proposed again.

"Don't want!"

Arthur's smile remained unchanged, his refusal as firm as ever.

Upon hearing this, Hancock immediately hung her head dejectedly and said unwillingly, "Why? What do I lack compared to those two women?"

"In terms of strength, looks, temperament, and figure, you are indeed slightly better than them!" Arthur stroked his chin, sized up Hancock, and then shook his head, saying, "But we don't have an emotional foundation, so we're not suitable to be lovers, let alone get married! We're more like friends or confidants."

"Can feelings be cultivated?" Hancock asked doubtfully (to the king).

"Okay..." Arthur blurted out instinctively, then a sense of foreboding washed over him.

On the azure sea, a three-masted sailboat, entirely silver-white, is moored.

The sea breeze howled, and the waves rolled one after another.

"This is..."

On the lawn-like deck, Nami and Robin looked on in astonishment.

"Please let me stay!" Hancock, wearing a white cheongsam with the Kuja symbol printed on it and having left her pets on the Kuja ship, looked earnestly at Nami and Robin and pleaded.

"Ah... it seems our captain is having a flirtatious chatter session with the sea monster!" the captain teased playfully, resting his chin on his hand.

"Mmm... I guess I really am 'fickle'." Nami crossed her arms and nodded in agreement.

Chapter 165 'Palace Intrigue'

"Hey, hey... nothing happened between us, she insisted on coming." Arthur offered a weak explanation, seeing Nami's accusing look.

"But you didn't refuse, did you?" Nami tilted her chin up and said matter-of-factly, "In the end, our King of Knights still fell for the most beautiful woman in the sea."

"..." Arthur was speechless; it would be a lie to say he didn't have those thoughts.

To be honest, if Hancock couldn't let go of her Kuja trinkets, Arthur was destined to only be friends or confidants with her, and would never accept her marriage proposal.

But to everyone's surprise, Hancock actually boarded his ship on her own initiative.

Faced with the "most beautiful woman in the sea" throwing herself into his arms, only a saint could possibly refuse to stand outside the door.

Perhaps it was the lingering memories of his past life, but imagining Nami, Robin, Hancock all on the same ship, Arthur inexplicably nodded in agreement.

Of course, Hancock is still under observation. If she falls out with Nami and Robin and acts spoiled and unreasonable on this ship, Arthur will not tolerate her.

"Falling at my feet... Really, Arthur?!" Hancock's beautiful eyes gleamed with golden light as she looked at Arthur with joy and asked expectantly.

"Fake!" Arthur rolled his eyes. 833

"Wow... You even told me your name, and you still say you don't have any feelings for me?!" Nami, puffing out her cheeks, a rare hint of jealousy in her voice.

"Humility, compassion, courage, justice, sacrifice, honor, soul... Hmm~ the Eight Knightly Virtues, completely destroyed." Robin counted on his fingers, then looked at Arthur with a sly smile and said.

"I surrender—" Faced with the two women's gentle accusations, Arthur decisively raised his hands and gave up resisting.

"Please, please let me stay... I beg you!"

At this moment, Hancock, standing nearby, suddenly put on a pitiful expression, her beautiful eyes glistening with tenderness as she looked at Nami and Robin, her slender finger pressed to her lips, and she spoke softly.

"Yes—Please, Your Majesty, stay!" Nami shouted, her eyes sparkling with hearts, as she raised her hand.

Robin's face flushed slightly, but she did not succumb.

"I said... I remember you promised me you wouldn't use your powers on them!" However, Arthur frowned and looked at Hancock with a helpless expression.

"Ah... I'm sorry!" Hancock was startled awake by these words, looking at Arthur with a worried expression, and said in a panic, "I didn't mean to!"

Before boarding the ship, the two agreed on three rules.

No hostility toward Nami and Robin is permitted.