After a moment of stunned silence, Jona blinked, her gaze fixed on Monet's body, now gently fluttering as snowflakes drifted around her. Then she slapped her palm with realization.
"So you are a Devil Fruit user. Why didn't you say so earlier?" she exclaimed in sudden excitement.
Monet replied quietly, "Sister Jona, you never asked me…"
Jona's eyes widened in understanding. Indeed, Devil Fruit users rarely volunteered that information on their own.
She pinched her chin, intrigued, and examined the snowflakes still clinging to Monet. "Snow? What a beautiful ability. Is it a Logia Devil Fruit?"
Monet paused thoughtfully, then said, "That person named Disco did say my Devil Fruit was Logia, called the Sugar Sugar Fruit."
Although Jona had suspected as much, hearing it confirmed made her eyes sparkle. "It really is Logia. Guard Captain Carlos once said Logia Devil Fruits are exceedingly rare, and their powers are incredible!"
Monet blinked twice, then raised one finger. A delicate snowflake formed and danced atop her fingertip.
To be honest, Monet didn't see her strength as anything particularly special.
Jona continued as she helped Sugar bathe, "No wonder the Young Master took an interest in you. He is a Logia Devil Fruit user as well. This isn't a secret, it was all over the newspapers."
Monet, still young and unaccustomed to reading newspapers, had only heard the name "Black Dragon Admiral" before. Beyond that, she knew very little.
So when Jona mentioned that Lloyd also had a Logia Devil Fruit like her own, Monet felt a strange sense of connection to him.
Monet, now completely naked, stepped under the showerhead and lowered the water to a gentle temperature before beginning to rinse herself.
In truth, because she was a Sugar Sugar Fruit user, her snowy essence would always remain clean without needing a bath. Yet she still felt psychologically awkward not to bathe, especially as a girl.
While rinsing, she casually asked Jona about Lloyd's Devil Fruit, and Jona replied that it was the Dark‑Dark Fruit — the infamous Logia Devil Fruit that allowed its user to create and control darkness itself.
Only a handful of people knew the truth about Lloyd's Devil Fruit: within the Figarland Family, only Saint Garling and the late Saint Gulando were aware, and outside of the family, only Shyarly knew.
To ordinary folk, darkness was an abstract concept — frightening and mysterious. So when Monet first heard that Lloyd wielded darkness itself, she struggled to picture how powerful that ability could be.
In her mind, darkness was nothing more than the black night, something that frightened her sister Sugar into tears — hardly something offensive in nature.
Just as Monet finished her thoughts, Jona was done bathing Sugar. Monet turned off the showerhead, and the droplets clinging to her skin instantly condensed into frost before melting into her ice‑white skin, making her complexion appear even more luminous.
Jona wrapped Sugar in a towel and went to fetch two fresh sets of clothing for the sisters.
The outfits were the standard uniforms worn by servants of the Figarland Family. Since many servants had been trained from childhood, there were plenty of small sizes available.
The clothing was predominantly white with elegant gold patterns, and the fabric felt incredibly soft against the skin. Monet could hardly believe these were uniforms for servants.
Once dressed, Monet held Sugar close and spun around in front of a mirror. Jona laughed and teased her, "Stop being vain. I need to take you to see the Young Master."
Monet's cheeks flushed, and she quickly set Sugar down, lowering her head as she walked behind Jona.
Holding Sugar's hand, they reached the grand palace grounds — an elegant structure of brilliant white stone and gold accents.
As soon as they arrived, Jona's expression grew incredibly serious. She turned to the Monet sisters and spoke softly.
"This is the private quarters of Saint Garling, the Family Head. The Young Master may be in there during the day as well. When you see them later, do not speak unless spoken to, understood?"
The Monet sisters nodded promptly, their relaxed demeanor evaporating instantly.
Monet's heart thumped in her chest. Today had been nothing but a whirlwind: from being sold as a slave to now standing before the most powerful family in the world.
Though her status remained that of a slave, she now belonged to someone far beyond ordinary — a man whose power dwarfed even that of most Celestial Dragons.
Monet knew the two people she was about to meet were individuals that common civilians wouldn't even have a chance to encounter.
Their status was so revered it felt as though they stood atop the clouds.
Thinking about finally meeting them made her breath quicken and her palms grow clammy with nervous anticipation. At the same time, curiosity blossomed within her, especially toward their master, Lloyd.
It was almost amusing, when she had been outside earlier, she hadn't clearly seen Lloyd's face, hidden partly by his clothes and height difference.
Not only were the Monet sisters nervous, but even Jona, who had served here for many years, couldn't hide a hint of tension when approaching the private quarters.
This was the kind of presence that power beyond imagination impressed upon people.
Jona tugged at their clothes and then knelt to help the Monet sisters adjust themselves more neatly.
Once finished, she led them into the private quarters.
Inside the grand hall, Saint Garling and Lloyd sat across from each other, dressed alike in black robes, their expressions serious as they discussed matters of importance.
Jona didn't dare interrupt. Instead she signaled for the Monet sisters to wait quietly at the entrance.
Suppressing her curiosity about Lloyd's appearance, Monet lowered her gaze and followed Jona's lead.
While waiting, faint voices drifted from the conversation inside.
"Rosward… hmph, although he didn't know your identity before, since he already spoke those words, he should be punished."
"Should we kill him?"
"His crime doesn't warrant death, but bleeding is necessary."
"I agree. So Uncle Garling, how shall we make him bleed?"
"Once he comes to confess, we will fine him three years of heavenly tribute."
"All right, giving heavenly tribute to someone like him feels wasteful."
"Those outside are the slaves you recovered, right? The older one is the Logia Devil Fruit user you mentioned?"
"Yes. Including her sister, it cost three hundred million Berries. It's like picking them up for free."
Lloyd's voice was cool and calm, betraying no trace of softness — this was the voice of a man who thought in cold, calculated terms.
Hearing Lloyd refer to "three hundred million Berries", Monet felt a shock ripple through her stomach — that amount was astronomical.
Yet the emotion that surged stronger than fear was a strange sense of belonging.
At the entrance, Sugar peered up at her sister and whispered nervously, "Sister, were we picked up?"
Monet looked down at Sugar's wide eyes, and in that moment she felt warmth bloom inside her chest despite the chill of her own power.
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