Chapter 50 – Memories and Figuring How to Do It
Third person POV
Not long after, Robert and his friends arrived at the Lightningheart estate, and Robert opened the front doors for them. They then entered in, and Robert entered in as well, before closing the doors. Now within the estate's boundaries, as they walk down the corridor, William and Peter greeted hello and good morning to every Lightningheart member they pass by while Emma felt so uncomfortable being in an estate of another clan.
Then, they arrived at the main house, and Robert once again opened the doors, and they all entered in, before Robert would close the doors.
"I'm home," Robert greeted while taking off his boots and put them aside neatly on a rack.
"Hello there, Aaron-san," William positively greeted.
Aaron, reading his newspaper as usual, looked at them. "Oh, welcome back, all of you. What brings you here?"
"Nothing much, Aaron-san," Peter answered back while putting his pair of shoes on another rack reserved for guests. "We're here just to hang out because we have nothing to do today."
"Oh, okay. You can come here anytime."
"Thank you," William replied back nicely.
He, Peter, and Emma then went to Robert's room while Robert went to Aaron. "Hey, grandpa, I was given a request."
"Okay, grandson, what it will be then?" Aaron responded back as he flips to another page of his newspaper.
Taking a deep breath, Robert answered back, "I was made a temporary emissary to the Kingdom of Vanworth."
But, Mary and Blaise are making a complex meaty dish when they overheard Robert's conversation with Aaron, so they left their work and went to the living room, with Mary asking, "What is it, dear?"
Upon hearing that, Aaron puts his newspaper aside. "Robert was being given a task of being a temporary emissary to the Kingdom of Vanworth."
This shocks Blaise and Mary a lot, with Blaise commenting, "What? Why Robert-kun?"
"Don't worry, big sis," Robert reassured to his older sister. "William-kun, Peter-kun, and Emma-chan will be with me, and Colt-san will be my escort."
This causes the two women to calm down.
"I see, Colt-san too?" Blaise asked.
Robert then nodded. "Yes."
"What type of diplomatic mission it will be?" Aaron raised a question.
"Well, a peace negotiation to be precise," Robert responded back.
"I see. That's a tough one."
"But dear, how can you say in a peace negotiation?" Mary asked in concern.
"Don't worry, grandma," Robert replied back with positive confidence, "the Ruler gave his permission to say the main points of the peace negotiation in my own words to the king of Vanworth."
"Okay, that'll be easier," Aaron responded back.
"Are you sure you can do it?" Blaise asked in concern.
"Don't worry, we'll do our best," Robert reassured in response, "even if the king would reject it or won't budge."
"Okay then."
"When will you and your friends leave?" Aaron asked back.
"By tomorrow morning." Robert grabbed a glass of water, "so I have the entire day today for myself."
"I see. Make sure you are prepared, okay?"
"Okay, grandpa."
With that, Robert left the living room and went to his room, where his friends are waiting for him.
When Robert arrived at his room, William and his cousins are taking a good look at the old, vintage-style photo albums. Those are the old photos of Robert's father James.
"Oh, hey, Robert-kun," William greeted upon hearing the door being opened. "Did your grandparents agreed with your job?"
"Yes," Robert responded back positively while closing the door in normal speed.
He then walked towards them and sat on the floor asking, "What are you guys doing?"
"Oh, we're just looking at some old photos," Emma replied back.
She then showed a spread of one of the photo albums to Robert and asked back, "Is this your father?"
Looking at the photos, Robert tried to compare the looks in the photos with his last memories of his father as a baby before his demise with his mother. But then, he managed to compare his father's physical features with his memories as a baby, and he responded, "Yeah, it was. I mean, their appearances are similar to each other. Yes, I think those are photos of my father."
Putting the album down, Emma responded back, "I see. Well, he looks like you: grey hair and a bit of a flat nose."
Scratching his head for a few seconds in embarrassing realization, Robert replied, "Yeah, he was. The thing is, he and mom died when I was a baby."
"Right!" Peter replied back. "That coincides with your birth as well. The war happened 7 months after your birth."
"Yeah, I was a baby when he and mom died."
"I would say your parents fight until the end, right?" William commented.
"Yeah, me and big sis stand out so much," Robert replied back.
Not long after, the four of them started to figure out how to make their first temporary job and task a success. They come up with various strategies and tactics, but they never include violent ways of persuasion because they considered them as unethical.
"How about this, we will persuade the king with petitions?" Robert made a suggestion.
"I'm not sure about that, Robert-kun," William objected. "I heard that the king was stubborn and cruel."
"Yeah, I'm sure he'll reject the peace treaty," Peter added.
"Right," Robert responded back while thinking for a bit. "That tactic might not work."
"Another barrier we have to face is the king's son, Arnold," William revealed another challenge to their diplomatic mission.
"Arnold?" Robert replied back.
"Yes, he's the current head commander of the army," William replied back seriously. "He is cruel and brutal like his father."
"Wow, like father, like son, I guess," Robert commented, before diving back to thinking. "How about this? We'll just negotiate with him and Arnold-san normally with some emphasis and persuasion."
"That might work," William partially agreed with him, "but it depends on the king's decision in the end."
"Yeah, right."
But, Robert only discovered the tip of the iceberg of Vanworth and its recent brutal history and current regime. Will he also discover the reason behind the king's tyranny and regime?