All I Deserve Is to Have Memories

"You really are a lunatic!"

Bai Ina's mouth twitched. Anyone suddenly called a lunatic would probably react the same way...

"Now that you've asked everything you wanted to ask, what does Your Majesty the Empress plan to do with me?"

Hancock ignored Bai Ina and instead waved at the giant, nonvenomous snake behind her, Salome. Salome coiled upward, then transformed into a chair.

Hancock sat down, crossing her long, slender legs. She propped her cheek on one hand, a dazzling smile spreading across her delicate face. Her whole demeanor radiated lazy allure.

"Your Empress is simply too beautiful, isn't she?"

After Hancock had spent so long preparing, only to say something so pointless, Bai Ina rolled his eyes.

Anyone would be speechless in his shoes. His situation was like that of a prisoner on the execution platform... only for the executioner to flash him a seductive smile and ask whether she was beautiful.

Bai Ina didn't know how someone else would react, but after his mouth twitched, he simply lay back down and ignored the narcissistic Empress completely.

"..."

Hancock's mouth twitched slightly as a hint of anger appeared in her gaze.

After all, she had spent years being cherished and adored, the center of everyone's attention. Every man—and even every woman—would scream and go wild at the sight of her. This had given the Empress tremendous confidence in her own worth, making her already-proud nature even more overbearing and unreasonable. No matter what she did, she would be forgiven.

And the reason was simply that she was so beautiful. Even without the Mero Mero Fruit, the Empress's beauty could make any man fall for her. With the Mero Mero Fruit, she could entrance every living thing, young or old, male or female.

But Bai Ina's appearance had shattered everything she had always believed. Some powerful people could resist her charm, of course, but that was a defense mechanism born of their strong will—not because they were oblivious to her allure.

Yet in Bai Ina's eyes, she saw nothing but indifference. He looked right through her, as if her charm meant nothing at all to this man... or boy, as she might call him.

So her first impulse had been to kill him.

But once her emotions had settled, a faint feeling of... novelty had stirred within her. Even that tiny spark was something she had never experienced before. Over the past three days, she had found herself replaying the scene countless times. And with each recollection, her curiosity about the boy grew.

With her Observation Haki, she could clearly sense that Bai Ina had hesitated for an imperceptible moment when struck by Mero Mero Mellow. But then a wildly intense love appeared in his eyes, forcibly driving the wicked thoughts from his heart.

Though she didn't want to admit it, Hancock knew that this love hadn't appeared because of her. A feeling called "defeat" rose involuntarily within her, and she couldn't help wondering where that love came from. What kind of woman could make this man so utterly devoted, so wildly enamored?

She didn't realize that curiosity about someone was often the first step—the first step toward falling in love.

Hancock was now facing exactly that kind of situation. Bai Ina's existence had made her question her own worth, while also drawing her into exploring the person he was... the person she couldn't conquer. There had to be something about him worth paying attention to.

People were like that. When they saw something over and over, they grew tired of it. But when something entirely unfamiliar appeared, they would rack their brains trying to figure out what it was and what it could do.

What's more, even after losing, Bai Ina had been reckless enough to insult her. He had even done something like that to the face that had captivated the entire world. It had enraged and humiliated Hancock, but it had also made her feel that Bai Ina regarded them as equals—not looking up at her, but looking her in the eye...

Then he had gone and exposed the secret she had kept hidden for so many years. It had left Hancock utterly flustered and agitated. During those three days, countless times she had wanted to simply finish Bai Ina off.

She had come here today intending to question him.

Even if Bai Ina refused to answer, or tried to use the secret to threaten her, Hancock had been prepared to kill him outright.

But Bai Ina's utterly nonchalant answer had made her hesitate once more. Hancock had crippled one of his arms and beaten him so badly he was gravely wounded. She had assumed he would hate her with all his heart.

But she had seen resentment in Bai Ina's eyes, not hatred. His genuine nonchalance had only left her confused. Three days ago, this man had been desperately fighting to survive, doing whatever it took. Yet when there was truly no hope left, he had accepted it more calmly than anyone else.

Just as Bai Ina had said three days ago, he couldn't see death, so he held on to a shred of hope and did whatever it took to survive. But when he truly saw death, he could face it more calmly than anyone, taking it in stride.

To Hancock, the man before her seemed like a complete lunatic...

"If I were going to kill you, what would your last words be? Is there anything you'd want to do?"

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

"Nothing!"

Bai Ina answered without hesitation, his eyes still closed.

"How can there be nothing?" Hancock frowned and looked at Bai Ina coldly. "You fought so desperately to survive. I'm sure there are plenty of things you want to do. So why not do them before you die?"

"Of course there are!" Bai Ina slowly opened his eyes and gazed at the stone ceiling. "But it's hard to keep living with strength, isn't it? I don't even know whether it's right for me to be alive. For some reason, life has only grown more and more exhausting over the years. But I still want to live, even if it's only for her dream."

"But everyone dies someday. There are sins in this world that can never be atoned for, no matter how long you live. And death means you no longer have to bear that burden. Isn't that a kind of release?"

Silence fell over the prison. Hancock stared at Bai Ina, sensing the heartbreaking sadness that seemed to emanate from him. After a long while, she finally spoke. "Is she... dead?"

"I never saw what she looked like alive, so how can I say whether she's dead? All I have are memories." Bai Ina gave a bitter smile. When he had met Kuina, she had already been a corpse. And yet, even though Kuina had been dead from the very beginning, she had continued to live in his mind. He would never forget a thing about her, not even in death.

"That's enough!"

Hancock abruptly stood, her expression cold as she looked at Bai Ina. "People can't live without memories. But with nothing but... memories, they can't live either." Then she strode out of the prison without looking back.

Bai Ina watched the Empress's back disappear, the bitterness in the corners of his mouth deepening.

"Maybe. But all I can... all I deserve, is to have memories..."