[South Blue, Baterilla Island]
Inside a private home, Portgas D. Rouge lay on the bed, her belly high and swollen. At this moment, her originally delicate face now carried several hints of nervousness.
In order to keep the child in her womb from being killed, she had been pregnant for a full 22 months.
Back when it had been 20 months, with the Navy and World Government's search in South Blue weakening, she had almost relaxed.
But who would've thought, in the area she was living in, a group of CP suddenly appeared again, and they even had her facial features to carry out the search.
That instantly made her heart rise with tension, and she forcibly held on for another two months.
She could already feel that her body was nearly at its limit, and she had even fallen into a coma a few days ago.
Rouge now wasn't even sure if she could successfully give birth to the child.
She had never regretted doing this so much.
If, at the beginning, it had been out of love for that man, later, as she felt the life slowly growing inside her, she truly came to love the little life in her belly from the bottom of her heart.
This was the life she had nurtured.
No matter what, she hoped the little life could be born safe and sound, and grow up peacefully and healthily.
Rouge's only remaining wish now was just that.
Yesterday, someone had whispered outside her door, and she had heard it.
Those searching for her said that if they couldn't find her by tomorrow, they'd be preparing to withdraw.
Recently, she hadn't left her house at all, and relied on a little girl next door to bring her meals.
Back during the previous searches in South Blue, she had gotten through it like this, so this time, she didn't think she had been exposed either.
If she could just hold on for one more day, she could have her neighbor help call someone to deliver the child and help look after it.
The neighbor was a very kind old man, who had already taken in a few orphans from the village and had always had a good relationship with her. He would surely help care for the child in her belly.
That would be enough.
As Rouge thought this, a happy smile appeared on her face.
But that smile didn't last long, and was quickly buried in the valley along with the sound of a knock at the door.
'Who is it?'
Rouge covered her mouth, staring fearfully at the door.
At this time, the neighbor wouldn't come looking for her.
As for the other people on the island, they all thought she had already left. They didn't know she was still hiding on this island.
'How can anyone come at this time? Are they the ones hunting me?'
"Sorry to disturb you."
A gentle male voice came from outside the door. Immediately after, the door was pushed open, and sunlight poured into the previously sealed room, making it hard for Rouge to open her eyes.
To prepare for sudden searches, Rouge had long sealed the room's doors and windows and drawn the curtains to make it appear uninhabited.
Now, for the first time, an unfamiliar outsider had opened it, making Rouge tense up to the extreme.
Footsteps sounded in her ears, seemingly stopping at the foot of the bed.
By now, Rouge's eyes had adapted to the sunlight, and her gaze landed on the uninvited guest who had entered.
He was a very tall and handsome man, like a white horse prince from a fairy tale, like a graceful noble.
This man before her was completely different from any other man she had ever known.
Even the prince of the kingdom Baterilla belonged to was not as dazzling as this man.
As for the man who fathered the child in her belly… thinking of that person, Rouge felt a bit complicated.
He had suddenly barged into her life, half-forced her, and then suddenly abandoned her.
She didn't know how to evaluate him. If not for that man, she wouldn't have suffered like this these past few years.
But that man had ultimately died, and died in such a spectacular way, bringing countless innocent people down with him.
Baterilla hadn't been this quiet before. After the Great Pirate Era began, many pirates came to Baterilla, and most of the island's residents had been harmed.
Especially the young women. Rouge had known them. When they got married, she had attended their weddings and been a bridesmaid multiple times.
When the pirates came, everything was left in shambles.
Just hearing the tragedies from her neighbor, Rouge felt an endless sorrow wrap around her.
So regarding that man, maybe what she felt more of was anger and hatred.
But… the child was innocent.
She only hoped that the child in her belly could be born and live on.
"You are…?", Seeing the man say nothing for a long time, Rouge couldn't suppress the unease in her heart and finally spoke up to ask.
She didn't have much worldly experience, and unlike that man, hadn't traveled all corners of the world.
To her, a noble man like this one before her was the most good-looking and graceful person she had ever seen.
'Someone like this, if from the World Government, must be a world noble, right?'
"Saint Jaygarcia Rosse, that is my name."
Rosse responded with a smile, reporting his name.
Finally, he had made it in time.
He looked at the sickly yet beautiful woman on the bed and once again examined her closely.
Rouge's appearance could only be considered above average. Her overall rating by standard evaluation was just G+. But her whole body exuded a maternal radiance. That gentle temperament made even him feel a bit moved.
There were too many beautiful faces, but few strong souls.
This woman, who had held on through 22 months of pregnancy just to protect her child, had earned the right for him to personally come this far.
"Portgas D. Rouge, this name should be correct, right?"
"That's right, sir, Lord Rosse."
Seeing that Rosse knew her name, Rouge grew even more nervous.
She didn't know what "Saint" represented, and thought it was just part of Rosse's name.
"Call me Saint Rosse, or any other title is fine. 'Saint' is already an honorific, Lady Gol."
Rosse looked at Rouge with a smile and spoke another identity of hers.
The Pirate King's full name was Gol D. Roger.
Calling the woman before him "Lady Gol" already revealed her identity clearly.
"Sir, just call me Rouge. I don't want to hear that name again. Are you someone from the World Government?", Rouge's body trembled slightly, and at that moment, she finally relaxed.
She had been discovered at last.
At that moment, she let go of all her tension. Because it no longer mattered.
Considering what Roger had done, even from hearsay, Rouge had once wished the World Government would exterminate his entire bloodline, let alone the government itself.
To question her in anger, to kill her, that was what the World Government should be doing, right?
"Looks like Roger didn't tell you," Rosse had been observing Rouge the entire time, and could tell her reaction to hearing Roger's name, as well as the resistance in not wanting to be associated.
Based on what he knew, the time Rouge had spent with Roger wasn't even as long as her pregnancy.
And after Rouge became pregnant, Roger had left without care, not even waiting for the child to be born, and stirred up this whole Great Pirate Era mess.
Those things may have meant nothing to someone like Roger, a man of the sea, but to Rouge, being chased and hunted for no reason, unable to even deliver her own child peacefully, those were invisible pressures.
Rouge might have long harbored hidden resentment toward Roger, but under such high-pressure circumstances, she simply had no time to think much. Giving birth had already become her sole obsession.
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