Ernest Nia

Chapter 31: Ernest Nia (New book seeking reads!!)

Knock knock!

Just as Rod was getting familiar with Armament Haki, a knock on the door pulled him out of his surging emotions.

Hanging the [Shark Cutter] greatsword back on the wall, Rod thought about setting aside a dedicated room in the future to collect all sorts of weapons he'd snatched.

After all, they were all treasures that had helped him.

Of course, he didn't want junk like shoes.

With these thoughts flashing through his mind, Rod opened his door.

"Nia, what's up?"

Looking at Nia standing at his door, Rod asked with confusion.

"There's something I want to tell you, is it convenient?"

Nia held her bounty poster and peeked into Rod's room, signaling to go inside and talk.

"It's convenient, it's convenient."

Leaving the door wide open, Rod walked to the table, opened his mini-fridge, and got Nia a can of cola.

"You don't mind if I join, do you?"

Nerl's voice suddenly came from the doorway. Without waiting for their reply, he walked in on his own, pulled up a chair, and sat down, his emerald pupils fixed on Nia.

"I can probably guess what you want to talk about."

"Then I'll get straight to it. It's not exactly a secret, I just didn't know how to bring it up with everyone else around earlier."

Nia took a swig of her cola and then placed her bounty poster on the table.

"It's beautiful, what's wrong?"

"Look at the annotation below, Rod."

At Nerl's words, Rod shifted his gaze downward and immediately noticed the difference on Nia's bounty poster compared to others.

"ONLY ALIVE?"

Rod looked up at Nia.

"That's quite surprising."

Rod's face was filled with inquiry; he seemed to smell a secret.

On the original timeline, the only other person he knew who was treated so differently was Sanji, whose bounty poster was changed to ONLY ALIVE by the Vinsmoke Family leveraging their influence.

Could it be that the Catwoman on his ship also had a special background story?

"I haven't told you before, but my full name is actually Ernest Nia."

Nia looked steadily at Rod and revealed her full name.

"I'm Notte Rod."

"That's not what I meant!"

Nia felt her fists clench.

"Ernest is a noble family in the Dawson Kingdom, with influence domestically that's no less than the king's," Nerl added from the side.

"Dawson Kingdom?"

Rod's brow furrowed slightly.

Although he wasn't as knowledgeable as Nerl, who remembered most of the intelligence, Rod was aware of some basic information.

The Dawson Kingdom was a powerful nation in the North Blue, a member of the World Government, and held significant influence even within it, always being one of the 50 nations participating in the World Conference.

The country was world-renowned for its powerful intelligence capabilities. The kingdom's Military Intelligence Department was famous throughout the underworld, rumored to have intricate connections with intelligence brokers worldwide.

And the Ernest Family controlled the Dawson Kingdom's Military Intelligence Department.

A rebellious side-branch genius? Or an illegitimate daughter living in exile?

Various thoughts flashed through Rod's mind.

Nia didn't miss the shift in Rod's expression. Noticing the gossip glint in his eyes, Nia felt speechless.

"I don't know what you're thinking, but my story is very simple!" Nia said crossly.

She hadn't expected that after revealing her identity, the first reaction from her companion would be gossip.

"I am the eldest daughter of the Ernest Family, but I dislike the dark life of the family, so I left two years ago."

"So, a rebellious noble young lady!"

"With all due respect, given the Ernest Family's intelligence capabilities, if they wanted to bring you back, it would take at most two months," Nerl added silently.

As Rod's right-hand man, it was necessary for him to assist Rod with things Rod wasn't good at.

Whether it was external intelligence matters or internal unity issues.

"It's probably because Neo has been covering for me all this time."

Now that they had cleared the air, Nia no longer held back and told her story truthfully.

The Ernest Family, as a family that had managed the Kingdom's intelligence agency for generations, was destined to deal with all sorts of dark matters. However, Nia had been uninterested in such things since childhood.

Espionage, infiltration, undercover work, betrayal, assassination...

These were the very things the Ernest Family relied on for survival, and all of them made Nia feel disgusted from the bottom of her heart.

Thus, on the eve of her 17th birthday, when she was to officially join the intelligence agency and begin taking over the family's power, Nia ran away.

Using the abilities of a Devil Fruit she had accidentally eaten, she transformed into a black cat and left the family quietly without alerting anyone.

What followed was over two years of wandering at sea.

"Wait, how old is your brother?"

"He's two years younger than me, so he should be almost 18 now."

"If what you're saying is true, then your brother is truly a genius!"

Rod pinched his chin.

"After you ran away, he took your place and took over the family's affairs. He was less than 16 at the time, yet he could already control your family's intelligence network and has been covering for you until now."

"Unlike me, he's been an absolute genius since he was a child. Everyone in the family says he was born for this."

Speaking of her brother, Nia's tone was complex.

"If that's the case, why not just let your brother take over the family's power? Why do you still have to be involved?"

"Because of the King!"

Nia's tone carried a hint of indignation.

"The current King, Dawson Bourbon, is fond of pleasure and neglects state affairs, yet he has a strong desire for power."

"He felt that the Ernest Family wielded too much power, which was detrimental to his rule. Therefore, he demanded that the Ernest Family form a marriage alliance with the royal family, thereby weakening the Ernest Family's power and consolidating the King's rule."

"So you became the unlucky one chosen for this marriage alliance."

"Who wants to marry that old geezer!"

Even after two years, Nia was still furious when she brought up the matter.

"I am free! Whether I want to get married, and who I want to marry, is up to me! Whether it's the King or those old folks in the family, no one can force me to do something I don't want to do!"

"Well said!"

Rod stood up and applauded Nia.

"Our Rod Pirates should have this spirit. We're not afraid of the Shichibukai, let alone the Dawson Kingdom."

"You're my crewmate, I'll protect you!"

While Nia wasn't paying attention, Rod patted her head.

He had actually wanted to pat her head for a while now, especially when she entered her half-beast form.

She was a cat-girl, after all!

Thanks to book friend 20220515130623861 for the monthly ticket!