On the other side, Lily slammed her bedroom door shut, then threw herself onto the bed, gritting her teeth.
"He's getting more and more outrageous! In broad daylight, right in front of those women… if it were at night, maybe—no! Not even at night! I will never yield!!"
She grabbed a pillow and smacked it hard, then flopped down on top of it, pressing her stomach against it.
This position was more comfortable for her. If she lay flat, her chest would be uncomfortably squeezed. That was the curse of having a large chest.
For a while she lay there, lost in thought. Then slowly raising her face, she muttered to herself,
"Right, I didn't even finish telling him about the moon… tch! It's all his fault, always thinking about, about…"
Her cheeks flushed redder the longer she spoke, until she trailed off completely.
Just then, Carl's voice sounded right at her ear.
"Thinking about what?"
"!!!"
Lily whipped her head around—only to see Carl's infuriatingly smug face.
Propping his cheek with one hand, lying sideways on the bed, Carl wore a crooked grin.
"What am I supposed to say about you? You ran, sure—but only back to your own room. How's that any different from not running at all? Or were you waiting here for me on purpose?"
"What!? Who would wait for you! This is my room! Do I need permission to come back here?"
Carl just chuckled and naturally pulled her into his arms. Despite bristling like an angry cat, Lily only squirmed half-heartedly when he hugged her, then gave in.
Running his hand through her long, wavy sea-blue hair, Carl said softly,
"No problem. It just means that after more than eight hundred years, even the Gardens never gave you the sense of belonging that this place does. That's a good thing."
Lily fell silent at those words. After a long pause, she spoke quietly,
"Of course. The Gardens were nothing but a prison to me. I wanted nothing more than to destroy them, wipe them from Mary Geoise forever."
"Then destroy them. For the woman who wiped an entire island off the map with a flick of her hand, erasing a little garden is hardly difficult, is it?"
"Hmph. Easy as breathing… but I don't feel like it now!"
"Oh? And why not?"
Suddenly, Lily shoved Carl flat onto the bed and straddled him. Planting both hands on his chest, she ground out,
"Because I need to remember this lesson! I should never have chosen you in the first place! Otherwise I wouldn't have ended up at your mercy like this!"
Carl shook his head.
"I've never bullied you. Is there really anyone in this world who dares bully Imu-sama?"
Lily let out a cold snort.
"Heh. You just wanted the thrill of it, didn't you? Conquering the one who was once Imu-sama must feel amazing, right?"
This time Carl nodded seriously and answered,
"Yes."
"Even if you didn't say it, I can already feel it. Your body is far more honest than your mouth."
With that, Lily suddenly arched her back sharply. Carl hissed, sucking in a breath through his teeth, his expression twisting.
A victorious smile spread across Lily's face.
"Well? You really think I'm afraid of you? Don't forget—even if I tied up all those women of yours, you still wouldn't be able to beat me!"
Carl raised an eyebrow, then suddenly flipped her beneath him, a wicked grin tugging at his lips.
"So what? All that matters is I'm stronger than you."
Inside her own chamber, Lily was a completely different person than outside. Even pinned beneath him, she met Carl's gaze head-on.
"Then I still won't fear you! I just want you to understand—don't treat me like that in front of others! I'm not like those women! I am Lily. I am Imu!"
Her expression radiated unmatched nobility and authority. This was the face she had worn for over eight centuries—the visage of the sovereign who once towered over the world of pirates.
Carl narrowed his eyes, locking stares with her for a long time before his voice softened.
"You're right. On this matter, I shouldn't force you."
A flicker of surprise crossed Lily's eyes. She hadn't expected someone as unyielding as Carl to sound almost apologetic. Turning her head aside awkwardly, her voice lowered.
"Besides you, no man has ever made me… made me live like a woman at his side. But that doesn't mean you can trample my dignity in public. That kind of conquest, I will not accept."
Carl didn't reply. He simply lay down beside her, slipping an arm under her. Lily nestled her head onto it of her own accord and continued,
"I already belong to you. You could see me as nothing more than a gift that comes with the Empty Throne…"
But before she could finish, Carl pressed a finger gently to her lips.
"Nobody here is a gift. Not even you. Don't ever say something so foolish again. To me, if anything, the Empty Throne is just your dowry. That's the real gift."
Those words filled Lily's heart with warmth. For the first time, she reached up to stroke his face, whispering,
"I thought your tenderness was never meant for me. On that point… I hoped I could be like those other women."
Carl laughed quietly.
"Isn't that a double standard?"
"Two completely different things! Think about the way you've treated me! Not to mention in the past… from the very first time you heard my name, you saw me as your enemy, didn't you? Even when we fought Joy Boy together, you were already scheming how to deal with me afterwards. Am I wrong?"
"Uh…"
This time, Carl truly had no rebuttal. With the memories of Earth still in him, from the moment he learned she was of the Figarland family, he had automatically marked Lily as an enemy.
Seeing his expression, Lily knew she had struck true. She wasn't angry though—only gave a look of "just as I thought," pouting.
"I never once did anything to harm you. In fact, I often looked out for you…"
"Looked out for me? Since when?"
"You even have to ask?! Let me spell it out—without my tacit approval, do you really think that useless Nusjuro would've stayed neutral between you and Warcury all this time? His role is to maintain balance among the Five Elders, but more importantly, to uphold their authority. Warcury suffered loss after loss at the hands of your Figarland family. Did Nusjuro ever once lean in his favor? Don't you get whose stance that really was?!"
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+110 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg