Vivi's words struck like thunder out of a clear sky.
"You... you actually admitted it?!"
Koza stood frozen in place as though lightning had struck him, staring blankly up at Vivi in midair.
The shocking secret he had spent years desperately uncovering was something she had no intention of concealing. Instead, before the entire nation, in full public view, she had openly admitted that she was not Cobra's child!
"My biological father is Jaygarcia Ross."
Looking down at Koza from above, Vivi posed a blunt, supremely arrogant question that struck straight at his soul:
"Why wouldn't I dare admit it?"
"..."
Those few words fell.
In that instant, the entire city of Nanohana, which had still been stirring with faint unrest, became so silent that a pin dropping could have been heard.
The whole city fell quiet.
Indeed, why wouldn't she dare?
Was there anyone in this world who dared question that name?
That was Jaygarcia Ross!
He ruled the entire World Government, had dominated the seas for an entire era, and was a living supreme god.
Never mind the ordinary throne of a mere Alabasta—even if she were to inherit the World Government, Vivi, as that man's flesh and blood, was one of its rightful heirs.
As realization dawned, the commoners exchanged looks, suddenly feeling that sand must really have gotten into their brains.
Alabasta's ruler not only possessed the legitimate bloodline of its native royal family, but was also the biological daughter of the Lord of the World.
For a country to have a queen with both identities and such powerful backing—wasn't that a blessing straight from heaven?
Besides, not a single thing Queen Vivi had done had harmed them.
Generous benefits and the finest healthcare, commerce, and education in the world—these were things they would never have