Chapitre 34: She Meets the Queen
By the time Robin had scrubbed the last vestiges of dye off her face, and removed every last trace of that drippy potion from her hair, Keith had managed to find Prince Christian.
It had taken Keith a while to find Christian, because he had soullessly staggered off, away from the audience hall. Keith had eventually found Christian somewhat drunk, in the center of the Rosebush maze. A half-empty wine cask next to Christian showed how much he had consumed.
"Well aren't you a sorry sight?" Keith clicked his tongue and chuckled.
Christian raised his head from the stone table he was collapsed upon.
"Keith." He recognized. " I should've known you'd come ta find me."
Keith sat down across from Christian "I'll take a glass of that." He said, pouring himself a glass into a cup he drew out of his bag.
Christian nodded, and slumped his head down on the table.
"I've created quite the mess, haven't I?"
"Mess?" Keith asked. "How so?"
"I summoned the Hero, when we didn't really need him, which could very well become the spark for war with the demon king. I angered my cousin to the point where I'm surprised she doesn't kill me. And just now, I managed to make an even bigger mess and angered the hero! How is that not a mess?" Christian put a hand to his forehead, in an attempt to reduce the growing headache he was experiencing.
Keith nodded sympathetically. "Well, I must say that you are one of a kind." He said, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
"After all, it's not every day that you can get on the bad side of both the demon king, and the hero."
"Ha!" Christian snorted derisively. "You could say I'm downright talented in that area."
"Why should I say such a thing when you're already beating yourself up over it, eh?" Keith smirked. "You know you're extremely lucky."
"Lucky! How in the kingdom am I supposed to be lucky!" Christian glared at Keith.
"You've managed to anger so many people who are more powerful than you, and still managed to keep your head attached to your neck." Keith pointed out with a chuckle.
"...True. But how much longer can I keep my head before my luck runs out? With my luck, it's a blessing the kingdom hasn't collapsed yet."
"Don't underestimate your people." Keith said.
"It's not underestimating them that I'm afraid of." Christian put his head back down on his arms.
"I disappointed him."
"Who? Your father?" Keith asked.
"If it were just my father, things would be more simpler." Christian turned his head, tilting it towards the part of the castle which contained the Hero's quarters.
"The Hero?" Keith asked. "Well, I should think so. It's not every day that the Hero gets pelted with a potion from the prince. In fact, before today, it was practically unheard of." He drained his cup and poured another one. Even though he had heard the general story from some of the guards, most of them were merely amused, not angry or upset at him.
"You know, out of all the insufferable fools there are out there, you happen to be the most tolerable." He noted. "The truly insufferable man is the one who leads others to destruction while not even considering the idea that he might be wrong. You're better in that you can at least admit your mistakes."
"So what if I know my mistakes if I don't know how to fix them!?" Christian exclaimed morbidly as he held his head in his hands. "….What should I do now?"
"You see, that's why you're tolerable, for a Prince. You realize you did something wrong, and you want to do something to right it." Keith said, as he poured himself yet another drink. "Many people take a long time to get to that point."
Christian rolled his eyes at Keith. "Are you going to help me, or are you going to sit there and drink up all my wine?"
Keith thought for a moment, then leaned back relaxedly in his chair, a mischievous smile on his face as he crossed his legs.
"Why not both?" He replied.
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When Robin came out for lunch, she wore a spare set of clothes that Kransu, her 'BAFF' assistant prepared for her. Surprisingly enough, they fit her rather well.
Robin found the mask was not sufficiently dried yet, but Kransu had her 'dryer' magic, and so Robin was able to wear the mask that day.
At lunch, they were served tea and sandwiches in the pavilion outside. Jasmine, the King, and the Queen were there, but Keith and Christian were not. The king had been notified ahead of time that Keith had dragged a drunk Christian back to his rooms. Gerard was also not there, having filled his stomach in the kitchen earlier.
"Ah, there you are, Hero Robin, I'd like to introduce to you my wife, Emeline." King Zephron said.
Robin gave a courteous bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Queen Emeline. As you probably know, I am Hero Robin. Do excuse me for any misconduct, I am not familiar with the etiquette in this country."
"Oh, that's quite alright. Zeff has already told me that he dispensed with the formalities. Do sit down. Just speak to us normally." Emeline laughed.
Robin straightened up, and took a seat. "Thank you." She said with a smile, and was served tea and sandwiches by a nearby maid.
Robin turned to the maid with a kindly smile. "Thanks." She said. The maid blushed. It was the same maid that had served Robin at breakfast. Already, fantasies started to blossom in her head.
"I hear my child's been giving you a bit of trouble lately…" Emeline raised an inquisitively perfect eyebrow. Like Christian, she also had blonde, wavy hair, and mischievous sea-green eyes.
"A bit." Robin admitted. Actually, now that her appearance had been fixed, Robin's initial rage had already cooled down a lot.
"I'm somewhat curious now. I heard that your mask was ruined, but it seems that now it is perfectly fine? How is this so?"
"That mask was but a temporary measure until I had the time to make a better one." Robin replied with a sigh. "Your son only forced me to make this a bit a head of schedule."
She tapped the mask and chuckled. "This one is potion-proofed."
"So, you're not mad at him?" Queen Emeline inquired, tentatively.
"I tend to avoid staying angry at anyone for long. Anger is like a rigged gambling den: it only makes the angered person lose more than he would ever hope to gain. Thus, it's not a question of being angry, but a question of how to act in a way that will resolve the issue." Robin explained.
"You can just say it if you're angry, you know." Emeline said.
Robin raised an eyebrow. "If I am angry, do you think I would tell you?...But I am not so petty as to seek revenge for every slight I receive. Otherwise, he would also be covered in a potion right now."
Emeline laughed. "You are far more amusing than I first thought. Tell me, is it possible for me to have a glimpse of you face under that mask?"
At this, the maid serving Robin slyly glanced Robin's way, curiosity burning up inside her.
Robin smiled politely."And have your magic eye capture my image? I may be young, and I may not know how to perform magic, but that doesn't mean that I'm ignorant of it. Nice try."
"Tsk! Foiled." Emeline knew she had been found out.
The maid silently sighed. It really was too bad. Perhaps Hero Robin had a burn or a scar marring his face? Or maybe he was so beautiful that his face could charm the downfall of the nations...
"Besides, I need to go shopping today. I can't risk people knowing my face just yet." Robin pointed out. "You might think it's nothing, but I have no intention of picking up star-crossed stalkers at any point in time."
"Why not? You'll be here for a long time. What's wrong with getting to know a few young ones?" Emeline asked.
"If there's one thing I've learned, it's that with fame and fortune comes false friends and frantic fanciers. And I'm not having any of it." Robin shook her head. "I have no need for fostering future betrayals."
"We've got it." Zephron gave his wife a pointed look to stop. "You don't want anyone to see your face. Very well, we won't force you."
Robin sipped at her tea. "Well, it's not impossible to show you, under certain conditions."
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone