[A Few Days Later]
The commotion caused by the Red Count had finally begun to subside.
The atmosphere in Arabasta also gradually recovered from its gloom.
[Arabasta, Cobra's Sleeping Palace]
Rosse slowly got up from the bed and got dressed under Titi's service.
"Have you been getting used to it recently?"
"I'm still the same as before. Sister Sora is helping with the kingdom's affairs, and now that you've killed the Red Count, Arabasta has accepted you all," Queen Titi said softly, embracing Rosse from behind, pressing her soft skin with red-speckled paleness against Rosse's back.
Now, her only reliance was Rosse.
Cobra was dead, and the situation in Arabasta had stabilized.
So Titi understood in her heart that Rosse would be leaving soon.
"Is there anything you want to do? I can arrange it for you," Feeling the softness on his back, Rosse turned around, hugged Queen Titi in his arms, and gently stroked her beautiful hair.
Unless something unexpected happened, today would be the day he left Arabasta.
Things here had mostly been settled. Next, he had to go to Skypiea to retrieve what should rightfully belong to him.
The natural-type Goro Goro no Mi (Rumble-Rumble Fruit) on Skypiea should not have been consumed by anyone yet.
If it fell into Rosse's hands, it could easily give rise to an S-class powerhouse.
"No need," Queen Titi shook her head. She understood Rosse's meaning, it was him asking if she wanted real power.
She was not someone who lusted for power. Rosse's willingness to make such a gesture was already enough to satisfy her.
"I will focus on my pregnancy. As for Arabasta's affairs, let the people you assigned manage them. I trust you."
In her heart now, Arabasta and Vivi were equally important.
By comparison, Rosse was a little behind.
But as time went by, Rosse was also gradually taking root in her heart, showing a trend of slowly rising to the top.
"Alright. If you have any needs, you can always tell Zannie. She counts as my steward. If you have any spare time, you can also learn how to manage a kingdom."
Rosse nodded lightly. He really lacked people now, especially talents in administration.
In terms of combat power, the Jaygarcia family, including his grandfather and himself, had a total of four S-class fighters. These were forces he could mobilize.
Except for the World Government itself, this power was enough to sweep across the seas.
But without administrative talents, even if territories were conquered, it would be useless.
This world was too vast. The distances between islands were too great, and each large island had a large population. Without enough personnel, accidents could easily occur.
To consolidate rule, the only way was to cultivate enough people.
This kind of task was already being handled by Saint Saturn.
But having a Five Elder personally teach commoners this stuff was never realistic, so many things could only be handled by him or others he could trust.
"If you need me, I'll study it," Queen Titi lowered her head slightly and nodded seriously.
She roughly understood Rosse's thoughts and was willing to do something for Arabasta and Rosse.
At least until Vivi grew up, she could help Rosse share a little burden.
After chatting a bit more with Queen Titi, Rosse finally left the palace.
Outside the door, Zannie and Gion were already waiting.
"Master, Lord Sakazuki has fully recovered and left Arabasta this morning," Stella came forward with a smile and reported the situation on her side.
Admirals were all monsters, but Sakazuki's life-risking combat style had left him seriously injured this time.
To prevent lasting injuries, Stella had been using her Devil Fruit abilities to assist in his healing. Only after such a long time had the injuries been fully cured.
Of course, "healing" was just one part, most of Sakazuki's time had been spent carrying out world broadcasts under Rosse's arrangement.
In the Great Pirate Era, pirates were wreaking havoc everywhere.
The Marine wanted to control the chaos but didn't have enough manpower.
Just being able to stabilize the Four Seas was already the Marine's limit.
But pirates setting sail were still innumerable.
This time killing the Red Count served as a turning point for both Rosse and Sakazuki.
Sakazuki could take this opportunity to stand up, rally public support, and, in the Marine's name, declare to the world that pirates would not be tolerated.
Although it reeked of showmanship, it was enough to boost the morale of civilians around the world and gave the current Marine a backbone.
Only by rallying people could Sakazuki use this incident to gradually rise to the position of Fleet Admiral.
"Good work," Rosse smiled, reaching out to ruffle Stella's golden hair.
From the beginning, he had liked this little maid of his.
She seemed insignificant, but in fact, she was one of the people he trusted most.
"Hehe, it wasn't hard," Stella enjoyed Rosse's caress, then suddenly said, "Moa has shown no signs of trying to escape recently. I hinted at it vaguely, but in the end, she still didn't take the opportunity to run."
After Rosse and others arrived in Arabasta, Moa had remained on their ship and never disembarked with the others.
After Zephyr was transferred by Rosse to Alubarna to protect Queen Titi and Sora, the ship's defenses were extremely thin. With Moa's strength, she could've easily escaped.
But even after the Red Count's death, and with Zephyr returning to the ship, Moa still hadn't tried to flee.
"What do you think she's planning?", Rosse raised an eyebrow, a little surprised.
With the mental and physical torture she'd endured recently, Rosse was sure Moa had already turned dark.
Originally, he was planning to let Moa go at the right time and let her return to the Revolutionary Army.
Moa definitely wouldn't help him, but she also wouldn't let Dragon off easily.
It was about these one or two days, Dragon would soon have his own child.
Rosse believed the butterfly effect would influence the plot, but he believed even more in this world's favor toward children of destiny.
No matter how you thought about it, the time of Luffy's birth shouldn't change too much.
If Moa happened to find out that while she was suffering, Dragon had abandoned the Revolutionary Army and was enjoying a loving relationship with his wife.
That scene would be very entertaining.
"I'm not sure what Moa is thinking. During the days Zephyr wasn't on board, she got her hands on a Den Den Mushi. She's probably been secretly contacting someone from the Revolutionary Army," Stella reported truthfully.
Since they had long known there was something off about Moa, they'd already prepared for it.
Moa had heard of Observation Haki, but she didn't know what it actually meant.
All her actions were practically transparent in front of Rosse and the others.
"You keep watching her then. It'll be good training for your Observation Haki," Rosse said with a smile.
Observation Haki, unlike Armament Haki, didn't have strict physical requirements.
Strong people like the Red Count and Roger could use Observation Haki almost innately.
Even non-combatants, like Queen Otohime of Fishman Island, was born with it.
Stella had been with them long enough and had already trained her Observation Haki. However, due to her natural talent, it wasn't particularly strong and could only cover the range of one ship.
If it were ranked as a skill, it would probably only be D-rank.
But even so, it was enough to monitor Moa.
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