Mixed blood

Chapter 28 Treasure

King tapped his finger on the table with a fast and steady pace. His worries were spiking from the wait. Katakuri suddenly delivered Mylene earlier than expected, which was a big shock, and the urgency in Katakuri's voice had set off alarm bells in his head. He couldn't shake it off.

If Mylene had been delivered early because of that piece of information, how big of a threat was it? Which part of security needed tightening? Which bastard did he need to slice in half for talking about Mylene when they had explicitly been told not to?

Screw that. He needed to discard those who were guarding the mirror. They were clearly insufficient in doing their jobs. They probably spread the word about Mylene, and then it got leaked. Maybe Queen played a part in this too. He should tose them aside and pick new ones for the job.

In any case, he would need to ask Yamato a favor to guard Mylene and tell him about suspecting crewmen that had to be dealt with. It wouldn't be hard to ask that kid to be around Mylene. They were practically bonding like glue. Mylene was keeping Yamato out of trouble when he was here, now that he thought about it.

Well, he should push those thoughts aside for now.

The familiar sound of the snail dial echoed through the room, and King quickly picked it up, halting his finger tapping. "How big of a problem is this going to be?"

"Enough to put Mylene's whole life at risk," Katakuri's voice came through, firm and grim.

King clenched his fist. That bad, huh? "Tell me exactly how it went down."

The air around King began to heat up, becoming almost toxic. The little snail retreated into its shell, trying to escape the rising temperature.

"Calm yourself first. We don't need you causing a scene with the world nobles," Katakuri cautioned.

"I'm not so foolish as to do that," King scoffed, turning away. He prided himself on his self-control, and he was one of the few Beast Pirates who possessed such restraint.

Katakuri let out a hum, almost as if questioning that claim. The snail mimicked Katakuri's expression, raising an eyebrow.

"Just tell me what happened," King grumbled at Katakuri's challenging tone.

"Well, first and foremost, did Mylene ever mention a girl covered in scales and burn marks?" Katakuri asked.

King paused, thinking about the girl Mylene had mentioned. The one who knew something about the Lunarians? The one Mylene said resembled Yamato? "Yes, Mylene has mentioned her before. Is this directly related?"

"Most likely. The future ruler of Hanibal mentioned her to me. She implied she knew more about what had happened to Mylene long before we found him," Katakuri explained.

King pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to calm his rising frustration. What did that woman want? What were her intentions? "We might have to keep Mylene here longer, just until we figure out her motives. Is that okay with you?" King asked, looking at the transponder.

"I won't mind. I'll check with Mama about Mylene's extended stay. It would be best if you informed Mylene about this change," Katakuri suggested.

"I think an extra week should be enough. If something else comes up, we might need to extend it further," King said, his voice filled with concern.

"Mylene won't be happy about that," Katakuri noted.

"Indeed, he won't," King agreed, his tone somber.

Taking a deep breath, King tried to focus. "Alright. The princess of Hanibal knows about Mylene's past and this girl. It's a given that need to understand what she wants and why she's revealing this information now."