"Saturn isn't the worst, at least he's better than that troublemaker Warcury."
After all, Saturn was the only one among the Five Elders who had openly sided with the Figarland family before, so Carl casually spoke up on his behalf.
Lily replied coolly,
"In my eyes, the five of them are all the same—equally useless. I placed Vegapunk under Saturn's supervision, and yet Saturn still allowed Vegapunk to carry out so many secret moves right under his nose. If you hadn't discovered it, once the truth exploded, I would have executed Saturn on the spot for being such a worthless failure."
Carl smirked, tugged Lily closer as she lifted her chin ever higher, and said,
"Drop the queenly act. Have you forgotten what your identity is now?"
Lily froze mid-struggle, then turned her head away reluctantly.
"I… I was just stating facts. To me, Saturn and the others are nothing more than tools—tools that have been rusting for over eight hundred years. The more you use them, the worse they get!"
"Heh. If the tools don't work, replace them. Why wait until they throw the world into chaos, only for Joy Boy to show up and wipe the board clean before you decide to act?"
"Is it really that serious? This so-called 'Great Pirate Era' is nothing but a rabble. The Navy alone is enough to deal with them."
Hearing her still argue, Carl suddenly smacked her round backside. Lily's face instantly flushed crimson. Robin, seeing this, quietly tugged on the sleeve of Sugar, who was still watching with interest, then took Shirahoshi with her. The three slipped out, leaving the hall to Carl and Lily alone.
Lily's voice trembled with anger.
"You—you actually smacked me in front of others, my… my—"
Carl arched a brow.
"What? You not convinced?"
Furious, Lily broke free from Carl's grip and began raining a storm of blows against his chest, her fists pounding with a bang bang bang.
Her punches carried no haki and no special powers—just pure physical strength venting her frustration. But even her raw strength was something few in the world could withstand. Anyone else would have been crushed into paste by a single strike.
But Carl wasn't "anyone." He was the strongest of this era, his body far beyond mortal limits. He didn't dodge or block—instead he puffed his chest out and took her flurry head-on. Then, catching her wrist with ease, he chuckled,
"What's this? You throwing a tantrum? This way of acting spoiled is pretty unique… not many people could survive it from you… hey! That's going too far!"
He twisted aside just in time to avoid her high kick, seizing both her wrists in one hand while pinning her raised ankle with the other, completely immobilizing her.
Lily sneered.
"Why dodge? Aren't you supposed to be strong?"
Carl rolled his eyes.
"Strong or not, you should already know the answer to that, shouldn't you?"
"You—!"
"You what? Using dirty tricks, huh? Looks like I'll have to properly discipline you today."
"As if… Hmph. Fine then, I'd like to see you try. But do you even have time today?"
Carl blinked, then laughed as he caught her meaning.
"So you admit you've been eavesdropping from your room all along, huh?"
Lily turned her head away with a defiant expression, no longer caring.
"And if I did? What of it?"
"Good. Since you're so curious, why don't you join in tonight?"
Her eyes flew wide, staring at Carl in disbelief.
"Impossible! On this matter, I will never give in!"
She struggled again, and Carl knew well enough—given her pride and history—that expecting Lily to behave like Sugar and the others was nearly impossible. He was only teasing her. Watching her frantic attempts to escape amused him, so with a sudden motion, he hurled her onto the sofa.
In the next instant, Carl's body blurred and pressed her down. Their eyes met, Lily's breathing quickening as she recognized that look in Carl's eyes all too well.
"What are you planning to do?"
Carl smirked wickedly.
"Don't you already know? If you won't do it tonight, then we can start now."
"No! If you dare, I'll tear this place apart!"
"Heh. You think you can use your powers against me here?"
As the two wrestled on the sofa, Lucia, Ginny, and two Seraphim appeared at the hall entrance, frozen in astonishment at the scene.
Ginny blinked and said,
"Carl, you…"
"Hm?"
Carl finally noticed them. Neither he nor Lily had sensed their approach—proof that their full attention had been entirely consumed by each other.
Lily seized the chance. While Carl was distracted, she burst free and vanished in the blink of an eye.
Carl wasn't upset by her escape. He spread his hands and said,
"A fiery mare needs to be trained often."
Lucia walked gracefully to his side and sat down, speaking softly,
"Lady Lily truly is a special case. Only you, Young Master, can keep her in check."
Carl gently pulled Lucia into his arms, his touch now tender in stark contrast to how he had handled Lily moments before.
"Heh, we were just talking about the moon, and somehow it turned into that."
Lucia smiled faintly.
"That's because Lady Lily always awakens your urge to conquer. None of us—not even me—can stir that in you. The rest of us only wish to stay by your side at all times."
Ginny, bringing the two little Seraphim closer, overheard this and chimed in with a grin,
"Exactly. Lady Lily isn't nearly as easy to handle as we are, you'll have to work harder."
Carl opened his other arm for Ginny, letting her snuggle in. Stroking her soft pink hair, he laughed,
"'Handle' isn't the right word."
Ginny giggled, sticking out her tongue.
"Not the right word? Then tonight you've got two of us that need proper 'handling,' Carl!"
"Oh? So that's why you suddenly ran off earlier—were you jealous?"
"Wha—no way! I was just going to test a new ability with Lucia! Right, right?"
Lucia leaned her head on Carl's shoulder, smiling as she nodded.
-----------
+110 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg