Chương 234: She Receives a Package

The carriage came to a stop at a garrison erected just outside of the mountain pass. After a brief discussion with the soldiers, Sir Raymond respectfully knocked upon the carriage door window. Robin opened the window out of the soldiers' sight.

"What seems to be the problem, Raymond?" Robin asked.

"Pardon me, but they are requesting to speak with the highest ranked person here." Sir Raymond informed.

"Ah. That would be me, then. One moment." Robin placed her mask on her head.

"Why are you going out looking like that?" Christian asked.

"Because official duty usually is accompanied by official records. What sort of record is better than a visual of what happened?" Robin replied. "Besides, word of me has probably already reached here."

And with that, Robin hopped out of the carriage. A quick glance around the area was enough to confirm that they had been surrounded.

"Is there something the matter?" She asked.

"Are you perhaps the Hero Robin that defeated the dreaded Rhyllos?" The soldier asked.

Robin smacked her fist into her palm as she remembered. "Oh! That's what it was! I knew I was forgetting something! Yeah, that's right. That person was me." She admitted.

"Please wait here. Our captain would like to have a word with you." the soldier informed as he turned back to enter into the barracks.

As she watched the soldier leave, she turned to Ponzu, who was sitting up front with the carriage driver.

"Hey, Ponzu, did we ever find out if Rhyllos meat was edible?" She asked.

"Eh? Er...Wait, so that's what it was!?" Ponzu exclaimed. When he was out shopping earlier, someone had stopped to pass him a huge amount of a mysterious meat in a storage bag, informing him that it was for the hero.

"Yeah! Since no one's ever defeated one, do you think we're the first to be able to try it?" Robin asked, imagining how it would taste.

"We're stopped at the pass, and all you're thinking about is food?" Quinn asked. He had changed his seat to the roof of the carriage.

"What? It's almost dinner time, so of course I'm going to think about food." Robin retorted. "If this is going to take a while, we might as well eat dinner while we're at it."

Ponzu looked at Robin with a curious expression. "Um, teacher, does it look like we're in a position to make dinner right now?"

"It isn't an ideal position, however, there's no need to starve yourself over a simple meeting." Robin replied, counting on her fingers.

"There are only a few reasons why anyone would want to stop me. One, they wish to speak with me. Two, they wish to ask for aid. And three-" At this, she glanced in the direction the soldier had gone.

"They have something they need to give to me." She smiled roguishly. "Well, how 'bout it, captain? Did my guess hit the mark?"

The captain clapped his hands in applause. "All three reasons in one go! Most impressive." He acknowledged. Different from the green uniforms of the Ekkinshire soldiers, these soldiers wore clothes of a brownish rust color, with red-orange trim. The captain had a rather youthful face, a healthy head of strawberry blonde hair, and green eyes.

"Huh?" Robin blinked. "Come to think of it, you look somewhat familiar..." Where had she's seen that smile before?

"Hmm? Oh! I knew I heard correctly. Have you been well, Uncle Albert?" Christian looked out and stepped down from the carriage, standing next to Robin.

"What? Uncle? Oh! so you must be related to Queen Emmeline, then?" Robin blinked as everything clicked together. The iconic blonde hair and green eyes was indeed identical.

"Ahahaha! Well, we are biological siblings at any rate~ My sister did well to escape the household when she did. It's a well known children's story in these parts, now. A whispered story about the caged golden canary that escaped into the blue sky, and never looked back. How is my sister doing nowadays, anyway?" Captain Albert grinned, seeming a bit more laid back than he had first appeared.

"She is well enough. Thank you for that." Christian acknowledged. "But...weren't you a general, the last time I saw you?"

"I've been demoted." Albert sighed. "Somebody found evidence that I was the one who opened Emmy's bird cage. I was taken to court for colluding with another country. And, well, this is the result of it."

"You didn't lose your head over it?" Christian chuckled.

"Tis but a mere slap on the wrists." Albert shrugged. "After all, it wasn't a matter of national concern, so with time, and good behavior, I'll be reinstated soon enough."

"I see..." Robin hummed, cutting off the trip down memory lane. She got straight to the point "So? Did you stop us for personal reasons? Or was there a more official business that you had in mind to inquire of us?"

"Oh, my apologies, are you quite busy?" Captain Albert asked Robin.

"Well, we're going to see a gnome about a dragon's request, so you could say we're on a time crunch. If it's out of our way, it may need to wait until when we return." Robin shrugged. "So perhaps it's best we hear the details first, before the small talk?" She suggested.

"Straightforward and blunt! I can see why you've taken a liking to him, Christian." Albert chuckled. "I also heard that he's a pretty decent swordsman. I'm almost tempted to snatch him from you."

Christian smiled, and the atmosphere suddenly took on a dark and murderous feeling. Christian wanted nothing more than to punch his uncle in the face for even suggesting such a thing. However, he didn't want to look childish in front of Robin again, so he just beamed a perfect court smile.

"Eh!? What!?" Robin felt like the conversation had derailed off the English countryside, and into the Amazon jungle.

"Won't you give him to me, nephew?" Albert smiled back, a somewhat sharp look in his eyes.

"I cannot." Christian finally replied, bearing an invisible momentum that didn't lose to Albert's sudden offense.

"Robin isn't mine to give. He's a good friend, so you'd best treat him with respect, and not as an object of your amusement." Christian said with a pleasant voice that doubled as a promise of swift and immediate retribution.

Christian shook his head, looking tired. "Besides, if you wanted to spar with him, all you needed to do was ask. Why do you have to be like mother and say thing which can be taken the wrong way?"

Robin finally understood what was happening. Albert was teasing Christian using her as collateral. She tilted her head. While she too liked to tease Christian upon occasion, Albert had crossed the line when he included her in this. Payback was necessary. Robin smiled.

"Ho? You were demoted for colluding with another country? Then. I wonder what would happen if others knew that you stopped a carriage to speak with a certain country's prince and magi?"

"Er, what?" Captain Albert was caught off guard.

"Aaah~It's no good. We'd better just leave, Christian! No need to implicate your uncle in this~!" She patted Christian's shoulder, and turned about to get back on the carriage with a boyish swagger. The soldiers turned to look at their captain, uncertain what they ought to do. Albert grinned, then burst out laughing.

"Bahahaha! You got me there, lad!" Albert Chortled heartily. "All right, I guess I deserved that one. All jokes aside, though, I have something for you in my quarters. You, too, Christian. Emmy sent them here for some reason. Anyways, it shouldn't take long."

Robin patted Christian's shoulder in passing with a wink as she followed Captain Albert into the barracks. Christian stood stunned for a moment. Until he finally realized what had happened. Robin had not allowed Christian to be on the losing end.

'That Robin...' He chuckled and followed the two into the captain's office. Captain Albert picked up a coat off his desk and threw it onto a nearby chair. Underneath where the coat had been, there was a small package and a few letters.

"Here. This one's for you." He gave the package to Robin. "And this one's for you. Both of these arrived yesterday. Though, I have no idea how she knew when you would get here." He handed the letter to Christian.

Christian and Robin both opened their respective mail. Robin's package was a rather flamboyantly decorated novel with a silhouette of a man and a girl on the cover surrounded by decorative gold leaf. A small card was tucked into the book with Emmeline's handwriting on it.

'Something of interest for you to read on your travels. It's the latest in trending novels here at the Capitol. I'm sure you'll enjoy it~ Emmeline.'