The palace of Alubarna was indeed quite old. As Ian followed Cobra through the halls, he could see traces of time's passage everywhere.
This country didn't have much to boast about, except for its long history.
But Ian wasn't particularly interested in that.
It might sound politically incorrect, but the truth was that in this world, real history belonged to heroes.
The great figures of history stood above nations.
One after another, these legendary heroes shaped the course of the entire world.
A nation's history was merely a backdrop to their stories.
And their tales were often far more thrilling than any single country's history.
Cobra led Ian and the others to a treasure room deep within the palace.
Calling it a "treasure room" was quite an exaggeration. There was no gold or silver, just a few scattered chests piled up here and there.
Law couldn't help but sneer at the sight.
Was this really the wealth of a royal family?
It seemed far less impressive than the treasure room on the Golden Dragon.
In fact, Cobra was probably not even as wealthy as Ian himself.
"This is it."
Cobra opened a few chests, then reached into a safe hidden in a corner behind them. From within, he carefully took out a small box.
Handling it with extreme caution, he retrieved a letter from inside the box and handed it to Ian.
Ian raised his hand and took the letter.
At first glance, he could immediately tell—the yellowed envelope carried the weight of history.
Why was it always about history?
Well, at least it could be considered an antique. Ian carefully opened the envelope and pulled out a thin sheet of paper.
Could this be considered a famous relic?
Hmm.
It wasn't written in ancient script.
The very first sentence was—
"We have all been deceived."
Ian read the words aloud.
"Deceived?"
Black Maria blinked. "What do you mean?"
Who were "we"?
Who had deceived them?
And who was the one writing this letter, apologizing to someone?
Ian continued reading. "We have committed an irreparable sin, and because of it, this world may be plunged into the abyss."
"But this cannot be the end."
"He wants to erase this past, but I will never let him succeed."
"The future generations must not remain ignorant of this history. Though I feel ashamed, only they can inherit the will of freedom."
"One day, someone will bear the weight of this past, inherit the Will of D, and reignite the unfinished war."
"D?"
Law froze for a moment.
His full name was Trafalgar D. Water Law.
"So, little brother, do not go to Mary Geoise! One day, the world will need Alabasta's answer. Let our descendants wait in silence for the one who will bear it all."
Ian continued reading. "Elder sister, Nefertari D. Lily."
That was where the letter ended.
"That's it?"
Law was still in a daze.
This... didn't really explain anything.
"That's it."
Ian shook his head.
Yet another damn riddler.
Would it kill them to just say things clearly?
Even if they couldn't fully document what happened during the Void Century, at least they could've exposed some dirt on Imu.
Ian had searched through countless history books but found nothing useful on that name—Imu.
This guy was one of the twenty kings who founded the World Government back then, but other than that, there's nothing else to be found.
"Little brother?"
Hancock blinked. "So, this is a letter from an elder sister to her younger brother?"
"It should be a farewell letter."
Ian looked at Cobra.
Cobra nodded lightly. "It is said that after Queen Lily left this letter and departed, she never returned to Alabasta. No one knows where she went."
"Furthermore," He paused for a moment. "While the other nineteen kings all have some historical records, even if limited, Queen Lily alone was completely erased from history. Only our Nefertari family has passed down her story by word of mouth through the generations."
"Just like the Void Century?"
Drake spoke up. "Did she do something that led the government to erase her from history as well?"
"And what does 'unfinished war' mean? Why was she apologizing?"
Black Maria asked in confusion.
"Most likely," Ian thought for a moment. "It refers to the war that took place during the Void Century, a battle between a certain group and the founders of the World Government."
"As for why Lily was apologizing, it's probably a classic case—she, or rather, they, were deceived by someone, leading them to make the wrong choices, which ultimately altered the outcome of the war."
"And then, she tried to make amends for it."
Based on the hints from the manga in his past life, Ian had more or less pieced together what happened eight hundred years ago.
It was nothing more than a war between the ancient Great Kingdom, represented by Joy Boy, and the twenty nations, led by Imu.
Judging from Lily's letter, it seemed that many of the original twenty kings had also been deceived by Imu.
For some reason, Joy Boy and his people lost the war, and Queen Lily later realized she had been tricked.
Then, after leaving this letter, Lily took action.
According to Imu's words in the manga, the Poneglyphs were likely sent out by Queen Lily. He, too, was deceived by Lily.
He thought it was just Lily's mistake.
Perhaps, after that so-called "mistake," Lily was dealt with. That might be why history never recorded her existence.
"What about the D?"
Law asked, "What exactly is the so-called Will of D?"
"I don't understand what Queen Lily meant by D either."
Cobra shook his head in confusion. "Aside from Queen Lily, I've never heard of our surname having a D in it."
Ian said, "D is the enemy of the Celestial Dragons, the nemesis of the gods—probably the people who stood against the Twenty Kings that formed the World Government eight hundred years ago."
Is it a demon, destruction, a dream, or destiny?
**********
Support me on my patreon and read upto 30 early chapters.
patreon.com/PirateKing24