At dawn, the White Gull's sails, bearing the Marine insignia, rustled in the morning breeze.
Gern stood on the deck, calmly watching the outline of Amazon Lily recede into the distance.
The Snake Princess leaned against the railing, wrapped in a thick blanket. The sea breeze lifted her long orange hair, revealing a pale but smiling face.
She glanced back at the island where she had lived for so many years. A trace of mixed emotion flickered in her eyes, but relief soon took its place.
"Are you sure it's all right to just leave like this?" the Snake Princess asked softly, a teasing note in her voice.
"I thought you'd stay a few more days and enjoy Amazon Lily's 'warm hospitality.'"
As she spoke, she looked at Tesoro and Lipo, whom Gern had carried aboard the Marine ship and who were now sleeping soundly on the deck.
"After all, the youngsters on your ship were practically drunk under the table by the Kuja girls."
Gern snorted. "Their own fault for getting drunk on fruit wine." Then he paused, his gaze passing over the Snake Princess's frail figure.
"As for you, this sea breeze is cold. Go back and lie down."
"I'm fine. Somehow, I suddenly feel much better." The Snake Princess chuckled and said nothing more.
She gazed at the rising sun in the distance, savoring a freedom and ease she had not felt in years.
Perhaps leaving was the choice she had truly needed.
Meanwhile, on the palace's sea-view terrace on Amazon Lily.
Gloriosa stood beside the railing, her aged fingers tightening slightly as her eyes followed the Marine ship gradually disappearing over the horizon.
Her gaze was deep, as though it pierced through time and returned to that turbulent era.
"What an extraordinary man..." she murmured,