The steady sound of the carriage's progress drifted out, while inside the carriage, the silence was eerie. You could hear a pin drop.
At some point, a fine sheen of cold sweat had formed on Igaram's forehead, but he dared not raise his hand to wipe it away.
Daren smiled as he puffed on his cigar, smoke swirling around the carriage. He wasn't in a rush—he simply waited patiently.
Judging by his actions in the original storyline, Cobra might not have been the most skilled politician, but he was undoubtedly a benevolent ruler. This meant that anything beneficial to the nation of Alabasta or its people was something he could not refuse.
The terms Daren had offered were, without a doubt, a final safety net for the people of Alabasta.
"...This is indeed a very favorable deal."
After a long pause, Cobra suddenly let out a deep sigh, raised his head, and fixed his gaze directly on Daren.
"Rogers Daren, you truly are a devil."
"But on what basis do you assume that this old man would believe the promises you've made, based on just your word?"
Daren smiled faintly.
"You've misunderstood one thing, Your Majesty Cobra."
"You don't trust me, Rogers Daren. You distrust the World Government and the Five Elders."
"That's why, when you saw me boarding the carriage, you didn't immediately call for the World Government guards."
"Deep down, perhaps you know that the World Government and the Five Elders aren't trustworthy either, don't you?"
Cobra fell silent.
Seeing Cobra's reaction, Igaram opened his mouth, clearly eager to speak. But Cobra suddenly raised a hand and, in a hoarse voice, said:
"Igaram, you need to leave the conversation between me and Daren-san."
"Knowing certain secrets is a danger you cannot bear."
Igaram froze for a moment, then bowed slightly.
"Understood, Your Majesty."
Once Igaram had left the carriage, Cobra turned his attention back to Daren, speaking slowly.
"Regarding the secrets of the World Government, even what I know is extremely limited... But Daren, since you've shown your sincerity, I'll tell you everything I know."
Daren smiled.
"Then I thank Your Majesty Cobra."
"No. As you said, this is a transaction."
Cobra shook his head.
"Since it's a deal, there's no need for gratitude. What I hope for is that if one day the Kingdom of Alabasta—or rather, the Nefertari family—faces a catastrophe of unimaginable scale, you'll fulfill the promise you made."
Daren nodded.
"Rest assured, I do have that much integrity."
With this renewed assurance, Cobra nodded as well. After a few seconds of thought, he slowly began to speak again.
"As I mentioned earlier, I don't know much about the secrets of the World Government. Eight hundred years of time have erased too many traces. Even if the Government truly holds some powerful secret or weapon, it's beyond my understanding."
"So, all I can share with you are some secrets about the Nefertari clan."
"As you know, my ancestor, Queen Lili, was one of the twenty founding kings of the World Government. But for certain reasons, she chose not to live in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise like the other nineteen kings. She refused to become a Celestial Dragon."
Daren exhaled a puff of smoke.
"Yes, but your ancestor certainly didn't do this to guard the secret of the ancient weapon, Pluton."
Cobra nodded.
"Exactly. Queen Lili made that choice for entirely different reasons."
"And the most important thing is—she didn't stay in Alabasta. She entrusted the throne to her younger brother and then left the kingdom, vanishing without a trace."
"Oh?"
Daren raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued.
This Queen Lili was certainly interesting. It was one thing to refuse to become a Celestial Dragon—after all, ruling Alabasta as the highest monarch was far more fulfilling than sharing power and wealth in the Holy Land.
But to leave her own throne and simply disappear? That showed some real character.
If she truly had no desires or attachments, why had she joined forces with the other nineteen kings to overthrow a nation that might have existed on the Red Line and establish the World Government?
"The exact reason remains unknown, even to this old man, a member of the Nefertari clan."
Cobra continued,
"However, within the Nefertari clan, a letter left by Queen Lili has been passed down through generations."
Daren's eyes lit up, curiosity flashing within them.
"What does the letter say?" he asked.
Cobra shook his head.
"The contents are written in ancient script, and studying such writing is strictly forbidden by the World Government."
"After ascending the throne, I spent countless years and tremendous effort just to grasp a small portion of that language. With that limited understanding, I managed to roughly decipher part of the letter's meaning."
He paused, his tone growing solemn.
"From what I could make out, the letter states that all secrets lie hidden within the Poneglyphs themselves… Beyond that, it repeatedly mentions a single word."
"What word?" Daren asked.
Cobra drew a deep breath and lowered his voice.
"D."
He straightened his posture, his expression serious as he recited the letter's words.
"'Raise high the banner of dawn, the D clan...!' That is all I know."
The banner of dawn…
Daren frowned.
Cobra's words weren't difficult to interpret—it was the same old talk about the so-called destiny of the "D Clan," typical of this world's myths and legends.
What he hadn't expected was that "D" could be understood from this perspective.
D… Could it actually mean "Dawn"?
"But these interpretations are secondary…"
Cobra didn't finish his sentence. He steadied his breathing before continuing in a low, heavy voice.
"What truly shocked me was the name written at the end of the letter."
He fixed his gaze on Daren, enunciating each word clearly.
"Because the signatory's name was—Nefertari D. Lili."
Daren froze.
One of the Twenty Kings who founded the World Government… was actually a member of the "D Clan"!
But the "D Clan" was supposed to be the sworn enemy of the Celestial Dragons—the so-called "Gods."
Could it be…
The look Daren gave Cobra suddenly turned strange.
Your Queen Lili… seems to have been a double agent.