Chapter 209: Amazon Lily: Oh No, Trouble!

Hancock tightly gripped the newspaper in her hand, her face filled with anger. "Not only that, but he also knows my secret!"

"Huh? Secret? Sister, do you mean…" Marigold's face turned pale.

"The secret on our backs." Hancock took a deep breath and continued, "He didn't see my back, yet he knows my secret. I suspect those two from Sabaody told him."

"What? He knows Uncle Rayleigh and Aunt Shakky?" Sandersonia asked in surprise.

Hancock nodded slightly.

Marigold asked worriedly, "Rayleigh and Shakky are our benefactors. With their character, they wouldn't tell anyone about our secret lightly. If they did tell him, then Takumi must be a trustworthy person. Sister, could this be a misunderstanding?"

"Misunderstanding?" Hancock sneered. "Everyone knows that Amazon Lily is a place where men are forbidden. Even the government agents, when they come with business, have to wait three kilometers offshore. What makes Takumi think he's special? Just because he knows Rayleigh and killed a Celestial Dragon, does he think that's a pass to visit Amazon Lily? How ridiculous."

Sandersonia's face darkened. "The island's rules can't be broken. If you can't handle him alone, Sister, then with Marigold and me together, I doubt that guy can walk away unharmed!"

"Exactly! And we have the Kuja Pirates and the kingdom's warriors too," Marigold clenched her fists. "Everyone on this island is a fighter. As long as you give the word, Sister, there's no way he's leaving Amazon Lily alive!"

At that moment, a servant came into the palace. "Lady Hancock, the wine and snacks prepared for you have arrived."

Hancock's sisters instinctively stood behind her on either side.

Hancock waved her hand dismissively.

The servant nodded and motioned toward the entrance. A group of women entered, each carrying a large red wooden box with handles.

One by one, they approached Hancock, opened the boxes, and presented the contents for her to choose from.

"These treats took everyone a long time to prepare," Sandersonia smiled. "They're all hoping you'll enjoy the snacks they made and the wine they brewed themselves."

Hancock glanced indifferently at the beautifully arranged snacks in the boxes, casually picking a small piece of flower cake, which she took a bite of before waving the servers away.

The women quickly closed their boxes and left.

Another server stepped forward, opened her box, and presented the contents.

After repeating this process with about ten women, Hancock had taken only three small snacks. When the twelfth woman approached and opened her box, it contained only a small box meant for wine.

"This is a ten-year-old vintage from Sister Brew's personal collection. We hope you'll enjoy it, Lady Hancock," the woman said cheerfully, holding out the wine box.

Hancock glanced inside the box, but it was empty. She sneered, "Are you mocking me?"

Whether she wanted the wine or not, no one who dared mock her could escape punishment.

"Huh?" The woman holding the box looked down and, seeing that it was empty, trembled in shock, dropping the box to the floor. "Lady Hancock, I don't know what happened! It must be a mistake. I'll go back right away and find out what went wrong. Please don't be angry!"

"Hmph, no need to ask," Hancock said coldly. "Anyone who dares challenge me has guts. Go and capture her!"

"What? Lady Hancock, please have mercy!" the woman pleaded bitterly.

Suddenly, Hancock adopted a pitiful expression.

Everyone in the room, except for her sisters, immediately had hearts in their eyes, saying excitedly, "Lady Hancock, we'll catch her right away!"

"Go now," Hancock waved them off.

Like they were greased lightning, the women bolted from the room.

Once they were gone, Hancock's face returned to its usual cold demeanor.

Sandersonia sighed, "Why did this have to happen while Sister is in a bad mood?"

Meanwhile, Lila had just returned to the tavern when she noticed the palace guards taking Sister Brew away.

Seeing her gloomy expression, Lila hurried after them, asking anxiously, "What's going on? Why are you taking Sister Brew?"

"Ugh, she was careless. She brought an empty box to Lady Hancock," someone explained.

"What will happen now? Disrespecting Lady Hancock is a serious crime…"

"Sister Brew might not escape punishment this time."

Hearing the murmurs around her, Lila froze.

An empty box?

Could it be…?

Her face paled. She pushed her way through the crowd, catching up to the palace guards escorting Sister Brew. As she walked alongside them, she said, "It's my fault! I took the wine! I didn't know it was meant for Lady Hancock. Please, don't hurt Sister Brew!"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" one of the guards asked, frowning.

Sister Brew glared at Lila. "Go home, kid. This is none of your business!"

"No! I made the mistake, not you. You shouldn't take the blame for me. Please, arrest me instead! I'm the one who took the wine meant for Lady Hancock. It's all my fault!" Lila's eyes filled with tears.

The palace guards exchanged uncertain glances.

They knew the consequences of disobeying Hancock.

And Lila didn't seem to be lying. But even though she was just a child, Hancock wouldn't spare her if she found out.

"Don't listen to her," Sister Brew said sternly. "I'm the one responsible. Take me away, now!"

The guards sighed and, ignoring Lila, led Sister Brew toward the palace.

Lila tried to follow them, but before she could get far, some townspeople stopped her.

"You shouldn't go. It won't help. Angering Lady Hancock is no joke."

"Just go home. It's only a bottle of wine. Lady Hancock probably won't have Sister Brew executed. She'll just get a light punishment. Why did you have to go and take her wine?"

"I…" Lila lowered her head in guilt, biting her lip, unable to say anything more.

When Takumi returned to the ship, he found a pile of food on the dining table near the kitchen, along with a beautifully decorated bottle of wine. Under the bottle was a note.

Takumi walked over, picked up the note, and glanced at the messy writing on it.

'I'm Lila. I didn't know what you like to eat, so I just brought whatever I could find. This bottle of wine is one of Sister Brew's best. I don't know if you'll like it, but I hope you do. I'll come back tomorrow morning, so don't run away like you did today, hehe~'

After reading the note, Takumi's eyes fell on the bottle of wine. He hesitated for a moment, then picked it up and uncorked it. A rich, fragrant aroma wafted out immediately.

The smell was pretty good.

Taking a sip, he then pulled out his wine gourd from his waist and poured the rest of the wine into it.

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