On the other side, Violet awoke from the sudden turn of events, immediately knelt on the ground, and desperately pleaded with Kaen.
"Lord Kaen, please save my family. I'll do anything if you can save them."
Hiss, that's quite a strong flavor.
This makes me seem like a villain.
Kaen stroked his chin and readily agreed: "I'll protect King Riku's family, Trebol, no problem, right?"
If he could gain Violet's loyalty with such a simple matter, this deal was worth it.
What could Trebol say?
"Of course, no problem, Lord Kaen."
Young Master, please wake up, I can't hold on much longer.
Trebol wailed inwardly.
"Thank you, Lord," Violet exclaimed, a mix of surprise and joy.
She hadn't expected that a major issue she thought was impossible a second ago would be resolved by a casual remark from Kaen the next second.
However, it wasn't that simple.
King Riku himself was still in the palace, but his eldest daughter's family had successfully escaped and were now hiding in a corner of Dressrosa.
Kaen casually instructed: "Ulti, Page One, you two go with Violet and bring her family onto the ship."
"Finding people is the most troublesome thing."
Ulti grumbled, but her body obediently stood up, and she left with Page One, taking Violet with them.
At the same time, Trebol's long-awaited Young Master finally successfully awakened and returned.
"Fufufufufu, Lord Kaen, I apologize for my absence just now."
Doflamingo, with his head bandaged like a zongzi, was incredibly humble, as if the injury on his head and his embarrassing photo had never happened.
As expected of someone who could thrive in the New World in the future.
Just this ability to adapt and endure made him destined for growth.
Kaen smiled slightly, not getting up, but simply raising his wine glass in a gesture.
Doflamingo respectfully bowed, picked up his wine glass, and gently clinked it against Kaen's at a lower position.
"I'll drink to that, you may do as you please."
With that, he drained his glass.
Kaen sipped the red wine in his glass, "Now we can discuss the specifics of the cooperation."
Doflamingo pulled out the already prepared cooperation plan from his Pregnant, handed it to Kaen, and began to explain.
To show his sincerity, Doflamingo even voluntarily lowered the commission.
Kaen readily agreed and didn't try to haggle further.
Although Doflamingo could go without profit or even take a loss to save his life, he still had to leave a path for others to live.
"A pleasant cooperation?" Doflamingo, seeing how smoothly things went, felt greatly relieved, his spirits lifted, and his tone became much more confident.
"A pleasant cooperation!"
Kaen's tone shifted: "I heard you were once a Celestial Dragon? I'm very curious about Mary Geoise and the Celestial Dragons. How about you tell me about them?"
"The Beasts' intelligence capabilities don't seem to match the rumors outside."
Doflamingo sighed, acknowledging the fact.
His origin wasn't a top secret; although the Celestial Dragons intentionally suppressed the news, after that man willingly fell, he didn't hide it from the surrounding commoners.
If one were determined to inquire, they would eventually find out.
Thinking of this, Doflamingo involuntarily recalled that embarrassing childhood period, and his expression immediately darkened.
Kaen didn't rush him, waiting silently by his side.
After a long while, Doflamingo came back to his senses, "Sorry, I got distracted. Since Lord Kaen wants to hear, then I'll talk about it."
"There should have been twenty Celestial Dragon families, corresponding to the twenty kings who founded the World Government back then, but the Nefertari family of Alabasta gave up this right and chose to remain in their own country."
"And these nineteen families, after eight hundred years of reproduction, there are probably more than three thousand legitimate Celestial Dragons."
Oh? After eight hundred years, only that many from nineteen families combined?
But thinking about it, it makes sense. To maintain bloodline purity, perhaps only descendants born from inter-family marriages would be considered legitimate Celestial Dragons.
Children born from unions with non-Celestial Dragons certainly wouldn't be included.
Just like Bonney, who has half Celestial Dragon blood, the Celestial Dragons don't care about her existence; Saturn still conducts experiments as he pleases.
And from Doflamingo's family and the Roswald family, it seems the Celestial Dragons' birth rate is well-controlled. Each family only has two children, which is just enough to maintain the population without excessively increasing it.
It's likely that the Celestial Dragons internally understand that the world cannot support too many Celestial Dragons.
Doflamingo's explanation continued: "Even at the pinnacle of world power, the Celestial Dragons, there are still higher-ranking existences within them—the Gorosei!"
"Below the Gorosei, there is also a mysterious unit—the God's Knights. They even have the right to judge and execute Celestial Dragons."
At this point, Doflamingo's expression grew even uglier, clearly having suffered at the hands of the God's Knights.
That year, to return to the Holy Land, he brought that man's head back to Mary Geoise.
But he was rejected by the Gorosei and even expelled from Pangea Castle by the God's Knights.
He would remember this grudge for a lifetime!
Kaen, on the other hand, showed a smile.
Finally, something interesting came up.
"Tell me about this God's Knights."
"The God's Knights are composed of the strongest Celestial Dragons in terms of combat power. They enjoy the best resources in the world. Naturally, their strength is exceptionally formidable; any one of them could cause a huge stir on the seas."
Doflamingo's eyes flashed with deep apprehension: "The entire God's Knights combined are enough to overturn the balance of the seas."
"Who are all in there?"
"I don't know."
"Hm?"
Kaen frowned. How was it that after all this, he seemed to know more than Doflamingo?
At least he knew about the Figarland father and son, Saint Garling, and the Military Palace, among others.
Facing Kaen's questioning, Doflamingo felt a surge of displeasure. Could he be blamed for this?
"I was taken off the Holy Land when I was little, and my understanding of the Holy Land is limited to that man's accounts. How could something like the God's Knights be something I could come into contact with?"
If it weren't for the fact that the God's Knights can manage all Celestial Dragons, to avoid conflict, that man wouldn't have told him these things.
Despite saying that, Doflamingo still gave an overview of the God's Knights' structure and important figures he knew.
Of course, because he left the Holy Land too young, his information was very outdated.
However, Kaen still heard a familiar name—Figarland Garling.
In Doflamingo's version, he was still just a commander and had not yet been promoted to the rank of supreme commander.
After discussing the God's Knights, Doflamingo also revealed a little-known side of the Celestial Dragons to Kaen.
There are numerous Superior Celestial Dragons who control various critical departments of the World Government.
"So-called justice and law are nothing but their monologues," Doflamingo scoffed.
"If they say you are guilty, you are guilty even if you are innocent. If they say you are innocent, you are clean even if you are heinous."
Kaen wasn't surprised. The Celestial Dragons couldn't have ruled the world peacefully for eight hundred years solely on the basis of their alleged achievement of founding the World Government.
Even if the Gorosei were capable, they would still need the assistance of Superior Celestial Dragons.