Chapter 179 Lovesickness
"Mr. Zane, I... please come visit me whenever you have time!"
After her two sisters found her and informed her it was time to return to Amazon Lily, Hancock, who had been happily chatting with Zane, was immediately struck by a sense of loss.
She looked at Zane with lingering reluctance.
"Of course, I will!" Zane promised with a smile.
"Nn... what's happening? Why do I feel so hot?"
Hancock's mood improved significantly upon hearing Zane promise to return to visit her.
But at the thought of her imminent departure and the possibility of not seeing Zane for several days...
Hancock's breathing quickened involuntarily, and an unnatural flush bloomed across her exquisite face.
Feeling her entire body burning up, she pressed the back of her hand to her forehead. Then, with a sudden, soft moan, she collapsed weakly toward the ground.
"Hancock, what's wrong?"
Zane, quick as lightning, noticed her distress instantly. He lunged forward and caught her by her slender waist, preventing her from hitting the floor.
"Sister!!"
Sandersonia and Marigold were both startled and rushed over to check on their sister's condition.
"Mr. Zane, I... I think I've fallen ill..."
With her waist held and her curves pressed firmly against Zane's chest...
Hancock didn't resist at all. Instead, she instinctively clung to him.
Miraculously, the burning heat and weakness subsided significantly.
Yet, as she felt Zane's warmth and scent, Hancock showed no intention of pulling herself together. Instead, she adopted a frail, delicate air, looking up at him with watery, pitiful eyes.
"Yes, your temperature is quite high. I'll have the ship's doctor examine you."
Seeing the unnatural flush on the beautiful face in his arms and feeling her scorching skin, Zane's eyes flickered.
'This physical reaction... could it be lovesickness?'
Zane was naturally aware of the unique brand of lovesickness that afflicted the women of Amazon Lily.
Considering the admiration Hancock had shown him and the symptoms appearing just as she was about to leave...
It undoubtedly fit the profile of the disease perfectly.
Zane called for Chopper, and the Kuja Pirates' doctor hurried over as well.
"Her temperature is high, but it's steadily dropping—wait, it's rising again! Her heartbeat is irregular too. How strange, what kind of illness is this?"
"Wait, Captain, try holding her again. Eh? The temperature is dropping once more?"
"..."
Chopper and the Kuja doctor soon turned strange looks toward Hancock and Zane.
During the examination, the two had first measured Hancock's temperature while she was clinging to Zane.
The result showed her temperature was steadily normalizing.
However, when her sisters tried to support her away from Zane's embrace, they were astonished to find that her temperature spiked rapidly, becoming extremely abnormal.
"Um, Mr. Zane, the Empress's symptoms are quite peculiar. If possible, could you accompany Her Majesty back to Amazon Lily? It would allow for a more thorough examination."
"I'm going too!"
The Kuja doctor requested bashfully.
Chopper, standing nearby, raised his hoof eagerly, wanting to join them.
Though Hancock's symptoms were bizarre, as a doctor, Chopper couldn't ignore such a medical mystery.
"Mr. Zane, please!"
Although Sandersonia and Marigold didn't understand the nature of the illness, seeing the doctor's suggestion, they clasped their hands together and pleaded with Zane.
"It's no trouble. I'll go with you." Having guessed Hancock's condition, Zane wouldn't just stand by.
After all, if it really was lovesickness, it could be fatal.
Shortly after.
With Zane carrying Hancock in his arms, the group headed to the coast and boarded the Perfume Yuda, setting sail for Amazon Lily.
"What did you say? Hancock is sick?"
Inside a small hut, Elder Nyon, who had been leisurely reading the newspaper, looked at the Kuja warrior who brought the news in shock.
Hancock... sick?
It was the first time she had ever heard those two words used together.
With a constitution like Hancock's, how could she possibly fall ill?
"Wait, you say she's sick? What are her symptoms?" Elder Nyon suddenly thought of something and hurriedly jumped down from her chair, asking urgently.
The Kuja warrior answered truthfully, "The Empress's illness is strange. As long as she is holding onto Mr. Zane, her temperature returns to normal. But once she lets go, she develops a high fever, becomes weak, and has difficulty breathing."
"Dammit, it really is lovesickness... Wait, who is this Zane?" Elder Nyon turned pale upon hearing the symptoms.
She had known Hancock wouldn't just fall ill for no reason.
To think it would be lovesickness, the most dreaded of all conditions.
But then, she froze.
Lovesickness didn't just appear out of thin air.
It required an object of affection.
Elder Nyon finally processed that the Kuja warrior had mentioned someone named Zane.
As a former Empress of Amazon Lily from several generations ago...
The retired Elder Nyon hadn't stayed active on the seas like Shakky. Instead, she had chosen to live in seclusion on the island.
While she occasionally kept up with the outside world through the newspaper, she mostly kept to herself, enjoying her retirement in peace.
As it happened...
If not for Hancock's sudden and strange illness, the people of Amazon Lily wouldn't have come to bother the most experienced elder among them.
"Mr. Zane is the Empress's distinguished guest. He visited Her Majesty before, and just today, the Empress personally led the pirate crew to visit him at Rusukaina..."
The Kuja warrior recounted what she knew of the situation.
A distinguished guest?
Given Hancock's haughty personality, how could she possibly treat another man as a guest of honor besides Rayleigh, who had saved her life?
Not to mention, she had seemingly fallen victim to lovesickness over this man.
"Let's go!"
Filled with questions, Elder Nyon didn't hesitate and immediately set off for the palace.
Inside the magnificent palace.
Hancock, who had changed into a thin silk nightgown, lay on a soft bed, her right hand tightly clutching Zane's as he sat by the bedside.
"Mr. Zane, I really didn't mean for this to happen. I don't know why, but as soon as we're apart, I feel terrible."
While holding Zane's hand, Hancock's temperature and breathing were relatively stable, but she was deeply embarrassed by her strange symptoms.
"It's alright. I'm quite happy to stay here with you like this," Zane reassured her with a smile, patting the back of her hand.
He wasn't lying about being happy.
He couldn't tell if Hancock was doing it on purpose or not.
The silk nightgown she wore was far from modest; instead, it exuded a teasing, translucent allure.
The fabric clung softly to her skin, perfectly outlining her exquisite curves.
Its faint transparency allowed someone with Zane's extraordinary vision to see the radiant, porcelain skin beneath.
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