r18novel 11. You are not worthy to know my name.
11. You are not worthy to know my name.
"Understood. Take me to see your King. I will persuade him to abandon the ship." Norton nodded slightly.
"Can it really be done?" the Duke asked, still worried.
"Of course, fate is nothing but a fragile thing to me!" Norton laughed.
"Don't you dare to attack His Majesty! Otherwise I will immediately..." The Duke wanted to warn Norton, but he realized that with Norton's military strength, if he really wanted to take action, it seemed that no one in the country could stop him.
"In short, do not use force rashly!"
Finally, the Duke could only offer these words of advice.
"You're nagging like an old woman. Lead the way," Norton said casually.
"Okay! Please follow me..."
"My lord, do you require me to accompany you?" Sanosuke asked.
"No need. You stay here and keep an eye on the remaining pirates. Don't let them cause trouble, but don't let them die either," Norton said meaningfully.
Sanosuke's heart skipped a beat, and he bowed, saying, "Understood!"
The group immediately set off for the palace.
After some thought, the Duke decided to order the "White Pearl" to be transported to the palace as a double precaution.
"Dad, I want to go too!" Fu Ning caught up with him, still worried about handing the "White Pearl" over to someone else.
However, if His Majesty the King wants it, there is no way to disobey; we can only give in.
At this moment, Fu Ning's mindset is like that of a mother sending her daughter off to get married, but unfortunately, this "son-in-law" is not satisfactory.
"Your Majesty cannot protect the 'White Pearl,' as proved last time," Fu Ning thought.
"All right."
After considering it for a moment, the Duke agreed.
After leaving the Duke's castle by carriage, the group entered the royal palace along the town's main street.
"Strange, why are there so many guards on duty today?"
The Duke lifted the carriage curtain, puzzled by this unusual occurrence.
Normally, although the palace is heavily guarded, it is definitely not this heavily guarded.
The number of palace guards today is more than three times the usual number.
"Maybe some important person has come to visit," Nami said casually.
The Duke's carriage was stopped when it entered the palace.
Led by palace guards, the group entered the palace on foot.
Upon arriving at the main entrance of the palace, a man in a white suit with a dark tie and a strange black chrysanthemum mask blocked the way.
Norton looked up, glanced at the man, and felt that he looked somewhat familiar.
"It's CP0!" The Duke broke out in a cold sweat.
CIPHER POL - AIGIS 0, or "CP0" for short, is an organization directly under the Celestial Dragons, the "world's nobles." It is known as the "Celestial Dragons' strongest shield" and is the "world's strongest intelligence agency."
As the strongest shield of the world's nobles, CP0's deployment signifies that something big is about to happen.
An ominous premonition arose in the Duke's mind.
"Oh? Interesting." Norton smiled, his eyes becoming somewhat intense.
He could sense the power of the CP0 agent before him, far surpassing any enemy he had ever faced.
I just don't know if someone this strong can withstand a serious punch from him.
"You all wait here, I'll go up and negotiate," the Duke said, turning to Norton and the others.
Norton and his two companions nodded and remained where they were.
The Duke stepped forward, and the CP0 officer stood rooted to the spot.
Only when the Duke stood before them did CP0 speak softly, "You must be His Excellency the Duke? Did you bring the 'White Pearl'?"
"I brought it, sir."
The duke paused, then cautiously inquired, "His Majesty the King has summoned me; may I enter?"
"Of course," CP0 pointed to Norton and his two companions, "Did they come with you?"
"Yes."
"Then please come in."
The Duke stepped back to Norton and the other two, hesitated for a moment, and then said to Funing, "Funing, why don't you and Miss Nami stay outside? Mr. Norton and I can go in."
"No, Daddy, I want to go in too!" Fu Ning shook her head.
She vaguely sensed something was wrong and knew she had to stand with the Duke.
"Since we're already here, let's go together," Nami said.
The Duke sighed, somewhat helplessly, but still led the three into the palace hall.
CP0 followed, trailing Norton, Nami, the Duke, and Funing along the red carpet.
The Duke became nervous because he was being followed by CP0. Noticing this, Fu Ning gently took the Duke's arm.
Nami also instinctively moved closer to Norton.
Norton, however, wore a smile, showing no sign of unease or tension, as if he were taking a leisurely stroll in his own backyard after a meal.
The Duke stopped, looked up at the throne high above, his expression changed drastically, and he pulled Fu Ning to kneel down. Fu Ning was confused.
"Your Majesty, I have brought the 'White Pearl'." The Duke bowed his head, his voice trembling.
"Excellent!" Before the throne, the king beamed with delight. "My beloved minister! Quickly present the 'White Pearl' to Saint Aristotle!"
"Don't talk when you're riding! It's no fun at all!"
On the king's body, the Celestial Dragon Ari, wearing a bubble hood, complained, "Do you still want to qualify for the World Government Summit?"
The king bowed obsequiously, "I understand! Saint Aristotle! I will do my best!"
The sight of a king groveling on the ground like a dog to please others shattered the Duke's worldview.
The Duke could not believe that the king he had been serving all this time was such a king.
But what terrified the Duke even more was the Celestial Dragons' absolute power and influence.
Unbeatable!
The duke lay prostrate on the ground, too afraid to straighten up; fear made him forget everything.
Norton, however, didn't care about any of that.
"You must be the king?"
Norton looked at the King.
"Hmm? Who are you?" The king, who was crawling on the ground, looked up.
"A king who fawns over a worthless king like a dog fawns over its master doesn't deserve to know my name..."
Norton said calmly, "All you need to know is that the White Pearl is mine!"
The moment those words were spoken, the air fell silent, as if the atmosphere had been frozen.
Cold sweat almost instantly soaked the Duke's back!
Even if you gave him a hundred lives, he wouldn't dare speak to the king like that.
What's more, they insulted the world's nobles as trash!
The Duke, filled with apprehension, tightened his grip on Funing's hand and pulled her behind him.
The ownership of the "White Pearl" was no longer important to the Duke at this moment; all he wanted was to get out unscathed and protect Funing's safety!
"Fate...it's fate! The day the ship built by Funing is completed, misfortune will surely befall us! It's the bad luck brought by the ship built by Funing!"
The Duke felt utterly hopeless as such a thought crossed his mind.
Recent events have led the Duke to believe in fate without reservation.
The king's face turned cold. "How dare you! Who brought you in?! Guards! Drag this silver-haired brat away and execute him!"
The Celestial Dragon, Ari, riding on the king's head, pointed at Norton with snot running down his face and said, "You want to steal my ship?"
"Saint Ari, he also called you trash." CP0 stepped forward and stood beside the Celestial Dragon. "Should we take action?"
"What? He even called me trash?!" Celestial Dragon Ari was instantly enraged.
"Kill him!"