"How long have they been in there?"
"Three days and three nights, I think..."
"Robin's incredible, lasting that long..."
Deep in Kuja Castle, several women had gathered outside a carved wooden door, their whispers as soft as raindrops falling from the eaves.
Not long after Hancock returned from Hachinosu, former empress Toritoma had finally laid down her burden.
The empress, who had taken the throne in a time of crisis, had confirmed that she had a successor. Then, under the influence of lovesickness, she had passed away in her sleep.
Hancock had naturally become the new ruler of Amazon Lily and the new mistress of the palace.
The day after her coronation, she had ordered renovations and arranged a private chamber for every woman close to Lucas.
The room the women were watching now belonged to Robin.
Amazon Lily's traditional buildings were framed with century-old hardwood. Their intricate mortise-and-tenon joints did little to keep sound from passing through.
Only Hancock's own bedchamber, set deep within the palace with its bed hidden behind layers of gauze curtains, could shut out noise from either side.
The faint sounds drifting through the wooden door came and went like pebbles dropped into a lake, sending ripples through the hearts of the women outside.
Hancock leaned against a corridor pillar, absently pressing a crimson-painted nail to her lips. She stared at the closed door, undisguised envy surging in her blue eyes.
Yet she felt no jealousy. She knew she could never have endured more than ten years apart from Lucas.
Beside her, Violet radiated resentment.
As one of the first to emerge from the Time Spirit Room, she had thought she would soon have a place at his side.
But Black Maria and Hiyori had both gone before her, while she seemed to have been