The palace where Claudius resided was one of the finest in the House of God. Especially now that Claudius had been "reborn" with a new sense of taste, his life had taken on an air of refined luxury. He was no longer the wasteful Celestial Dragon he had once been.
In the center of the hall stood a table carved from the finest mahogany, upon which rested an intricately designed dragon-shaped incense burner. A single stick of incense burned slowly within, releasing a faint fragrance that filled the entire room, calming the mind and soothing the soul. This single stick of incense could burn for a full day and was worth a staggering 20 million Beri!
Nearby, a tea set sat on the table, simple in appearance but steeped in extravagance. The tea itself was of the highest quality, specially picked from the Kano Country. Brewed from the most tender leaves, just one sip left a lingering fragrance in the mouth. Even when set beside the incense, the subtle scent of tea could still be detected.
Beside the table was a rattan rocking chair with a velvet cushion. Claudius lounged half-reclined in the chair, holding a history book in his hands a rare and valuable volume that recorded knowledge lost to most of the world. Even if it were placed in the famed Tree of Knowledge on Ohara Island, it would be considered a treasure.
Yet, Claudius handled the book with indifference. Whenever he found something interesting, he simply folded the page's corner as a marker. Had he a pen, he might have even scribbled notes directly in the ancient tome. To a scholar, his careless treatment of such a precious artifact would have been blasphemy.
But after a while, Claudius lost interest. He closed the book with a sigh, shaking his head in disappointment. "It's all surface-level stuff lacking any real depth. It seems the history of this world is tightly controlled by the World Government. Even as a Celestial Dragon, I can't easily delve into the truths of the past."
He tossed the priceless book casually onto the table and picked up a cup of tea, taking a slow sip.
Claudius had once thought that, as a Celestial Dragon, he would have no trouble uncovering the mysteries from 800 years ago the secrets buried deep within the Pirate World. However, he had clearly underestimated the World Government's stranglehold on such knowledge.
For the past month or so, Claudius had dedicated himself to self-improvement. Every morning, he followed the foundation-building exercises Zephyr had taught him. In the afternoons, he practiced mastering his Devil Fruit powers, and in the evenings, he immersed himself in reading.
Despite all his efforts, Claudius had found little to no answers regarding the world's ancient mysteries. It seemed even the lower-ranking Celestial Dragons, like him, were kept far from the hidden truths of the past.
By now, it had been more than a month since Zephyr had rescued him from the New World. Just as Claudius had predicted, after Homing announced that Claudius would not be taking over as the head of the Donquixote family, all internal strife had disappeared.
In fact, the number of servants around Claudius had mysteriously dwindled. Of course, it wasn't because Claudius had gone on a revenge spree, executing them all. Rather, they had simply vanished, presumably killed off. Claudius had a strong suspicion that Lancelot, the new head of the family, was behind it.
It wasn't hard to understand. Lancelot had never intended to kill Claudius. He wasn't a bloodthirsty man. The earlier attempts to remove Claudius from the family's affairs were purely out of necessity for the Donquixote family's future. But now that Claudius had willingly stepped aside and posed no threat, there was no reason for Lancelot to continue targeting him.
On the contrary, Lancelot had even gone out of his way to make amends. Over the past month, he had sent gifts to Claudius every few days, everything from luxury items to personal trainers when he heard that Claudius had started exercising. Claudius accepted the gifts without complaint after all, there was no point in holding grudges for his predecessor's foolish mistakes.
In fact, Claudius had come to view Lancelot in a favorable light. After observing him over the past month and reflecting on past events, Claudius realized that Lancelot was a smart, calculated man. He wasn't as ruthless as many other Celestial Dragons. Claudius had even heard rumors that Lancelot occasionally freed slaves a rare act of kindness among the nobility.
Ultimately, Claudius had no lingering ill will toward Lancelot. The man was simply doing what was necessary to secure the family's future. In return, Lancelot had compensated Claudius well, and their earlier conflicts had faded into distant memories, buried alongside the servants who had once conspired against him.
Claudius didn't see any need to dig up the past. He was more than content to let things remain as they were.
Setting down his tea, Claudius rose from the rocking chair. He reached over and lightly shook a small bell sitting on the table, its chime echoing softly through the room.
Moments later, a beautiful maid in a black-and-white uniform entered the room, her head bowed respectfully. Her delicate face and graceful figure made her seem almost unreal. In a soft voice, she asked, "Saint Claudius, what are your orders?"
Claudius smiled at her and asked casually, "Has Doffy come by today?"
Recently, Doflamingo had made a habit of visiting Claudius regularly, dragging him along for all sorts of mischief. Claudius had often dismissed his cousin's invitations, using the excuse that he was still recovering from his ordeal.
Today, Claudius found it strange that Doflamingo hadn't shown up to bother him.
"No, Saint Doflamingo didn't visit today," the maid replied quickly. "I believe he had a disagreement with Saint Homing earlier."
"Ah, I see. That's not too surprising," Claudius nodded thoughtfully.
Doflamingo was certainly the odd one out in his family. His father, Homing, was a kind and simple man too kind, in fact. His mother was similar, and his younger brother, Rosinante, was the perfect image of a noble, a complete contrast to Doflamingo's violent and cruel nature. It wasn't unusual for Doflamingo to butt heads with his father, especially since he regularly did things that Homing disapproved of.
Unlike his family, Doflamingo was notorious for his sadistic tendencies. He enjoyed tormenting slaves, making them fight to the death in the Colosseum, and often found creative ways to torture anyone who crossed him, including his own servants. No wonder he preferred Claudius's company. In Doflamingo's mind, his cousin was just as cruel and twisted as he was.
Noticing that Claudius seemed in a good mood, the maid gathered her courage and spoke again, "Your Highness, won't you be going for a walk today?"
Claudius looked at her in surprise. It wasn't often that a maid would dare make such a suggestion. Her boldness stood out something that was incredibly rare among Celestial Dragon servants, who usually acted more like mindless automatons than people.
This particular maid had only recently been assigned to Claudius after he shot his former butler at the harbor. Understandably, she had been terrified at first, knowing the reputation of Saint Claudius. The rumors surrounding him his tyranny, his unpredictability had made her fear for her life. But over the past month, her perception had changed drastically.
Claudius wasn't the brutal figure the rumors made him out to be. He wasn't tyrannical, and he wasn't a lazy waste like most of the Celestial Dragons. If anything, he seemed... approachable. His demeanor didn't exude the usual arrogance of the nobility. She had begun to see him as a much more reasonable master than she had expected.
It was perhaps because of this growing familiarity that she had dared to ask such a question. But as soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them, fearing that she had overstepped her boundaries.
Claudius, however, found her boldness refreshing. He smiled at her, "Nia, don't be so scared. I'm not going to bite you. As for taking a walk..." He glanced out the window at the sky, then shook his head. "No, I think I'll stay in today. Maybe another time."
The maid, Nia, breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Though Claudius had declined her suggestion, she felt a sense of accomplishment like the distance between her and her master had shrunk ever so slightly.
"From tomorrow, stop bringing me these history books. Instead, I want books about the customs and cultures of other countries. That's where my interest lies now," Claudius said with a smile.
"Yes, Your Highness, I will follow your orders," Nia replied quickly, bowing respectfully.