Only Fit for Memories

"You really are a lunatic!"

Bai Ina's mouth twitched. Anyone suddenly labeled a lunatic would probably react just like him...

"I've asked what I needed to ask. Now, how does the Empress intend to dispose of me?"

Hancock didn't acknowledge Bai Ina's words. Instead, she waved a hand at the non-venomous giant snake behind her, Salome. Seeing this, Salome coiled upward, transforming into a throne.

Hancock sat on the seat, crossing her incredibly long, slender legs. She rested her cheek on her hand, a stunningly beautiful smile blooming on her exquisite face, her entire being radiating a lazy, seductive charm.

This Concubine is simply too beautiful, isn't she!

Seeing Hancock spend so much time preparing only to utter such nonsense, Bai Ina rolled his eyes.

Anyone would be speechless in this situation. His current predicament was like that of a prisoner on the execution block... and the executioner suddenly gives you a seductive smile, asking if she is too beautiful?

Bai Ina didn't know how others would react, but his response was a twitch of the lip before he simply lay back down on the bed, completely ignoring the narcissism-overflowing Empress.

"..."

The corner of Hancock's mouth twitched slightly, a flicker of annoyance appearing in her gaze as she looked at Bai Ina.

She had been pampered her entire life, treated like the moon surrounded by stars. Every man, and even every woman, would scream and go wild upon seeing her. This had instilled in the Empress a powerful confidence in her own high value, making her naturally arrogant nature even more unreasonable, because no matter what she did, she would always be forgiven.

The reason was simply that she was too beautiful. Even without the Mero Mero Fruit, the Empress's beauty was enough to make any man fall for her. With the Mero Mero Fruit, she could make people of all ages and genders, every living creature, obsessed with her.

But Bai Ina's appearance had shattered her long-held perception. While some powerhouses could resist her charm, that was usually a protective mechanism born from a strong will, not an act of ignoring her allure.

Yet in Bai Ina's pupils, she saw only indifference—a disregard that treated her as if she were nothing. It was as if her charm was simply not worth mentioning in the eyes of this man... or rather, this boy.

Her first instinct had been to kill him.

But as her emotions cooled, a sliver of... novelty, grew in the depths of Hancock's heart. Even if it was only a tiny sliver, it was something she had never experienced before. That was why she had replayed the scene in her mind countless times over the past three days. And with every recollection, her curiosity about this boy only deepened.

Possessing Observation Haki, she could clearly sense that Bai Ina had a momentary, imperceptible pause during her Mero Mero Mellow, but afterward, his eyes had surged with a love so extreme it bordered on madness, forcibly purging the evil thoughts from his heart.

Though she didn't want to admit it, Hancock knew that the love she saw wasn't meant for her. This caused a feeling called 'frustration' to rise within her, and she couldn't help but feel curious about the origin of that love, wondering what kind of woman could make this man so single-mindedly and crazily obsessed.

Yet she didn't know that curiosity about a person is often the first step—the first step into falling in love.

This was the situation Hancock was currently facing. Bai Ina's existence, on one hand, made her doubt her own high value, and on the other, drew her to explore this person... this man she couldn't conquer must have something worth noting.

People are like that; when you see something too often, you become too lazy to look, but when something you've never seen before suddenly appears, it makes you rack your brains trying to figure out what it is and what it's for.

Moreover, after his defeat, Bai Ina had recklessly insulted her and even performed that gesture on the face that the whole world adored. While Hancock felt angry and humiliated, she also felt that Bai Ina had placed her on equal footing with him—not looking up, but looking straight at her...

Later, he had even blurted out the secret she had hidden for so many years. This left Hancock feeling extremely flustered and irritable, to the point where she had wanted to finish Bai Ina off countless times over the last three days.

She had come here today intending to interrogate him.

Even if Bai Ina refused to answer or tried to threaten her with it, Hancock had been prepared to kill him on the spot.

But Bai Ina's incredibly carefree response made her hesitate once more. In Hancock's view, she had crippled this man's arm and beaten him into a critical state; he should have been filled with insane resentment toward her.

But she saw only frustration in Bai Ina's eyes, not hatred. That genuine, heartfelt detachment left Hancock feeling bewildered. She knew that three days ago, this man had been fighting desperately to survive, using any means necessary. Yet, when there was truly no hope left, he was more open-minded than anyone.

Just as Bai Ina had said three days ago, he couldn't see death, so he held onto a sliver of hope and fought to survive by any means. But when he truly faced death, he could view it more calmly than anyone else.

This made Hancock feel that the man before her was a complete and utter lunatic...

"If I were to kill you, do you have any last words? Or is there anything you want to do?"

Hancock thought for a long, long time before breaking the silence in the cell.

"No!"

Bai Ina didn't even open his eyes as he replied without hesitation.

"How could you not have any?" Hancock frowned, looking at Bai Ina with a cold expression. "You fought so crazily to survive; I'm sure there must be many things you want to do. If that's the case, why not finish them before you die?"

"Yeah, there are many!" Bai Ina slowly opened his eyes, looking at the stone ceiling above, and said softly, "But it's very hard for a person to live on with strength. I don't even know if it's right for me to be alive. For years, I don't know why, but I've only felt that living is becoming more and more tiring. Yet, I still want to live, even if it's just for her dream."

"But everyone dies eventually. There are sins in this world that can never be washed away no matter how long you live, and death is a way to stop carrying that burden. Isn't that, in a way, a form of relief?"

The cell fell into sudden silence. Hancock stared, feeling the heart-wrenching sorrow emanating from Bai Ina. After a long while, she spoke, "Is she... dead?"

"I never saw her while she was alive, so how could I comment on whether she is dead or not? All I have are memories." Bai Ina gave a bitter smile. When he met Kuina, she was already a corpse. But even though Kuina was dead from the very beginning, she had always lived on in his mind. Everything about her was something that even death would not make him forget.

"Enough!"

Hancock stood up abruptly, looking down at Bai Ina with a cold expression. "People cannot live without memories, but one cannot live on memories alone." With that, she turned and strode out of the cell without looking back.

Bai Ina watched blankly as the Empress's back disappeared, the bitterness at the corners of his mouth deepening.

"Maybe so, but I can only... and am only worthy of having memories..."