"Mom! I came to see you!"
Only three years old, Vinsmoke Sanji crept along stealthily, not daring to raise his voice until he entered the palace where his mother stayed.
In his hands, he held a small box—his very first dish after beginning to learn how to cook.
He couldn't wait to present it to his mother.
Mother... had been eating less and less recently, and her health was getting worse by the day.
Unlike his three emotionless brothers, he was constantly worried about her.
"Prince Sanji! Why did you suddenly run over here!"
The one tending to Queen Vinsmoke Sora was a plump maid—one of the rare non-clones in the Germa Kingdom.
"It's supposed to be the training time set by His Majesty Judge right now! If you're caught, you'll be punished again! Last time you were thrown in the dungeon, the Queen was so distressed she nearly fainted..."
"It's fine! All the training for today was canceled. Father's too busy to deal with me—he's already left the palace with the troops!"
Hearing this, the maid's heart softened. She didn't stop him anymore. After letting Sanji into the palace, she looked cautiously in both directions outside the door before finally closing it.
In this twisted kingdom, she might be the last person left who could protect the Queen and Prince Sanji.
Just thinking about Judge's cold, hateful gaze made her tremble uncontrollably.
"Époni, is that Sanji?"
"Yes, Queen, Prince Sanji is here."
Hearing the weak voice from inside the bedchamber, the plump maid Époni replied,
"Don't worry—no one followed him."
With that, she and Sanji walked deeper into the royal quarters.
On the spacious bed, a woman who looked somewhat like Reiju, and somewhat like a younger Nami from the original series, sat up and made her way to the table.
Vinsmoke Sora—Judge's wife, Sanji's mother.
She strongly opposed Judge's plans to transform their children into emotionless superhumans, and to stop it, she had taken a potent drug that altered her genetic lineage.
After the children were born, she began suffering from the drug's side effects, and her health gradually declined.
At this point, Sora's condition had only just started to worsen, but both she and Judge were well aware of what was coming. One chose to ignore it completely, while the other had already accepted death as inevitable.
But Sanji's occasional visits reminded her that all her sacrifice had not been in vain—one of her sons still retained his heart.
"Mom, look! I made this food for you!"
"I used really healthy ingredients—once you eat it, you'll get better super fast!"
Sanji excitedly jumped onto the chair and opened the food box.
Immediately, a rather indescribable smell wafted out.
Époni craned her neck for a look—her expression instantly froze.
Even worse than the smell... was the food's appearance!
She couldn't help but swallow hard, thinking:
My own cooking is already pretty bad...
But I didn't expect Prince Sanji's to actually be worse than mine!
"Your Majesty..." Époni walked to Sora's side.
"This smells really awful. You probably shouldn't eat it."
Sora shook her head and looked at Sanji with a gentle smile. The boy was clearly both excited and a little shy.
In truth, she hadn't seen much of Sanji at all. He met with the clone instructors far more often than his own mother.
Precisely because of that, she cherished every second with her son even more.
So without hesitation, she took the food box, picked up a piece of the unidentifiable substance, and put it in her mouth.
"Mmm... let me try..."
"Omelette rolls? With healthy fish and banana inside? What a... unique texture."
Bite by bite, Sora ate the bizarre-looking, even more bizarre-tasting food—never once losing her gentle smile. She even offered suggestions, giving her insecure son a bit of encouragement.
Sanji, who had started off a little embarrassed, lit up with joy watching his mother eat the food he had made with his own hands.
Meanwhile, Époni's face grew paler by the second.
She didn't even dare imagine what kind of horror mixing those ingredients could produce—surely a flavor capable of destroying anyone's taste buds!
Yet Sora ate the final bite and smiled blissfully.
"Sanji, it's really delicious."
"R-Really?" Sanji nodded rapidly. "Then next time, I'll make something else for you!"
"I'm looking forward to it, Sanji."
Sora wiped her lips, but at that moment, a sudden voice rang in her ears.
"Tsk tsk... the power of a mother's love is truly something. To smile through eating that... I actually kind of admire you."
A strange male voice abruptly sounded within the bedchamber, making Époni break into a cold sweat.
Her hand had just moved toward the security alert button—when a burst of white flame flashed ahead of her and incinerated the button on the spot.
Despite her frail body, Sora suddenly burst forth with incredible strength. She pulled Sanji behind her and shielded his small body with her own.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
Sora frowned deeply, looking toward the source of the voice.
"If you're someone who holds a grudge against Judge, then you've picked the wrong target. In his eyes, we're nothing compared to the value of his war machines."
"From what you're saying... you really resent that Judge guy, huh?"
"Resent?"
Sora gave a nonchalant shake of her head.
"He turned my sons into those... things. What I feel for him is nothing but hatred."
Clap, clap, clap...
After she finished speaking, a round of applause echoed through the air.
From the hallway's corner, a young man with pure white wings appeared—holding hands with a five-year-old girl.
"You want something? I'm open to negotiation."
Sora forced a strained smile.
"Just let my daughter go, and I'll do whatever I can."
"Eh? Do I really look like a villain?"
Michael scratched his chin, looking a bit embarrassed.
"Also, please take a proper look at what I'm wearing... this is a Navy uniform, alright?"
For a moment, even Michael began to doubt his own face.
Wasn't this the face that was supposed to be unfairly handsome? Loved by all ages?
"It's your entrance line and tone! You sounded exactly like a bad guy!"
Little Reiju sighed. This Navy guy seemed kind of dumb in some ways...
But since he said he could heal her mother, she'd reluctantly forgive him.
"Navy?"
"That's right. Rear Admiral Michael of Navy Headquarters, at your service, Queen Sora."
Michael gave a slight bow, then looked up again.
"I came here at your daughter's request—to heal you."
---
(For each review +1 additional chapter)
read +100 chapters on Patreon tambeerg