Luo Xing ignored the curious and hostile gazes hidden in the shadows.
He walked through Dressrosa's streets as if sightseeing, quietly observing the city.
It was lively and beautiful — vibrant streets, cheerful music, warm smiles.
Women greeted him with enthusiasm, men behaved with refined courtesy, and everyone's faces glowed with happiness.
Compared with the harsh, isolated Wano, this place looked like paradise.
But Luo Xing knew better.
That happiness was an illusion.
Beneath the bright smiles lay a darkness even deeper than Wano's.
Those joyful people were only happy because they had forgotten — their very memories stolen from them.
The truth of Dressrosa was cruel:
citizens turned into toys by the Hobby-Hobby Fruit, forced to labor in secret beneath the SMILE factory.
A nation of smiles built upon despair.
That night, Doflamingo hosted a grand banquet in the palace.
Every top officer of the Donquixote Family was present — except Vergo, who remained undercover in the Marines.
Each raised a glass to toast Luo Xing in turn.
He accepted them all with calm politeness.
Then a woman approached — her beauty like the scent of blooming violets.
"Viola," she said softly, bowing. "A humble toast to Lord Luo Xing."
But Luo Xing did not drink. His gaze flicked toward her, and in a voice so low only she could hear, he said:
"You know, staring at a man like that can be dangerous… especially when you're this beautiful."
The hand holding her glass trembled violently.
Her eyes shot up in shock.
Had he noticed her watching him from so far away?
Could he really have sensed her observation from four thousand kilometers away?
His Kenbunshoku Haki… it's terrifying!
She forced a composed smile.
"Forgive me, Lord Luo Xing. You're rather striking — I may have looked a bit too long."
She quickly finished her wine and retreated from the hall, her heart racing.
Luo Xing's lips curved beneath his mask.
Doflamingo noticed. As Viola passed him, his expression hardened.
"What were you talking about with the Beast Prince Consort?"
"N-nothing…" she stammered.
His eyes turned cold, the corners of his mouth curling into that familiar cruel grin.
"Viola… the Riku royal line is finished. You belong to me now. Don't think about using outsiders against me."
Viola's face went pale.
Then he added darkly,
"We'll speak privately later. Don't keep me waiting."
Her knees nearly buckled.
She returned to her room in a daze, mind spiraling.
Doflamingo had always distrusted her — always sought to break her spirit completely.
If she did nothing, he would destroy the last piece of her will.
She clenched her fists until her nails drew blood.
No… I won't let that monster win!
But who could she possibly turn to for help?
In Dressrosa, Doflamingo ruled everything. No one dared defy him.
Unless…
Viola's thoughts turned to the man who had just arrived — the one even Doflamingo treated with false courtesy.
Luo Xing, the Beast Prince Consort.
A man powerful enough that Doflamingo dared not offend him.
Yet she hesitated.
Her instincts screamed that Luo Xing was just as dangerous — perhaps more so.
Would seeking his aid only trade one cage for another?
Conflicted, Viola paced the room, torn between fear and resolve.
Finally, she whispered to herself:
"Even if I must rely on the Beast Prince, I will not let Doflamingo crush me again."
Her decision made, she activated her Giro-Giro Fruit to locate Luo Xing's quarters.
Her Observation Vision reached across the palace — and what she saw made her cheeks burn crimson.
"He's… with his attendant—"
Startled, she withdrew her ability at once, her heart pounding.
The image had startled her not because it was improper, but because it revealed how natural and unguarded he was — utterly unbothered by the tension surrounding them.
That calmness made him seem even more unfathomable.
Inside his quarters, Carrot tilted her head.
"Master? What's wrong?"
Luo Xing pulled on his coat.
"Nothing. I'll step out for a moment."
"Yes, Master."
Her long rabbit ears drooped shyly as he left.
Luo Xing walked straight to Viola's chambers and entered without knocking.
Viola gasped.
"You—how did you—?"
"You were watching again," he said calmly, eyes glinting behind the mask. "That's dangerous, remember?"
Viola's face flushed with embarrassment and frustration.
"You really are impossible!"
He stepped closer, his voice low and steady.
"If you have something to say, speak it plainly. Time is short."
The air between them was tense, charged not with lust but with danger — two people testing each other's intent.
And then, before she could answer, Viola's pupils constricted.
Her Observation Sight caught movement in the corridor.
Doflamingo — walking straight toward her room.
To be continued…
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