Chapter 263: Robin: I Have a Big Secret… Actually, I'm a Scholar!

In the Holy Land of Mariejois, within Claudius' grand palace, the ruler himself sat in his study, leisurely reading a book.

To his surprise, Robin was also there, browsing through his vast collection of books, seemingly indulging her curiosity.

A Den Den Mushi rested nearby, and Claudius, still focused on his book, was engaged in a conversation through it, a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.

"Aren't you done yet? If you don't hurry back, I might have to find someone else to take your place in my bed," Claudius teased.

From the other end of the line, Stussy chuckled. "Oh? But isn't your dear butler, Nia, more than capable of taking care of you?"

"What the hell are you talking about?! I have an entirely innocent relationship with Nia, and you can't just make baseless accusations!"

Stussy laughed playfully. "Oh really? Do you not feel even the slightest twinge of guilt when saying that? I've seen you sneaking into Nia's room in the middle of the night plenty of times, Your Highness."

Claudius stiffened. "You… you knew about that?! I thought I was being discreet…"

"I'm a professional," Stussy replied with a sly tone.

At that moment, Robin glanced up from her book and shot Claudius a look of sheer disdain.

Her gaze seemed to say: "I never expected you to be this kind of person, Claudius."

For the first time in a long while, Claudius felt genuinely embarrassed. He quickly cleared his throat and changed the subject.

"So… how much longer will this mission take?"

Stussy, amused, answered, "Your Highness, the task you assigned us is more complicated than expected.

Tracking the connection between Edward Weevil and Whitebeard? There's nothing we can dig up from Happy Street alone.

Honestly, Your Highness, you might as well go down to Impel Down yourself and ask Charlotte Linlin. She used to sail with Whitebeard back in the day maybe she knows something."

Claudius rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure. Like that old hag would ever tell me anything useful, even if she did know."

They continued chatting for a while before Stussy suddenly mentioned something else.

"Oh, by the way, Your Highness, have you heard about the Gold Gold Fruit?"

Claudius raised an eyebrow. "Of course. Tesoro ate it, right? That means it's finally off my list of concerns. Now, he can move forward with his grand plans… I heard he's even setting up a bank."

Stussy giggled. "Oh, you don't know the full story, do you?"

"What twists and turns could there possibly be?" Claudius asked curiously.

"Hahahaha," Stussy cackled. "I knew it! They were too embarrassed to tell you! Let me lift the veil of secrecy for you, Your Highness."

She then proceeded to recount the ridiculous debacle involving the Fruit.

It turned out that Tesoro and Doflamingo had teamed up to track down the legendary fruit.

After great effort, they finally located it and arranged for its secret transport back to Dressrosa.

And then—Enel happened.

Completely unaware of whose cargo he was raiding, the self-proclaimed Thunder God intercepted the transport and stole the Golden Fruit for himself.

The situation was beyond humiliating.

None of the three parties involved—Tesoro, Doflamingo, or Enel—had wanted to admit to Claudius that such an utterly ridiculous mishap had taken place.

So they had all kept quiet, pretending it never happened.

Unfortunately for them, word had somehow leaked, and Stussy had gotten wind of it.

Claudius couldn't help but laugh and shake his head after hearing the story.

"So let me get this straight… Tesoro and Doflamingo spent all that time tracking down the Fruit, only for Enel to swoop in and take it by accident?"

"That's right," Stussy confirmed, still giggling.

It turned out that Tesoro's crew had a woman named Baccarat, a beauty with an ability related to luck and fortune.

She was in charge of making sure no one cheated at Tesoro's casino.

She and Stussy had become close friends, and in a casual conversation, Baccarat had accidentally spilled the embarrassing secret.

Now, that secret had reached Claudius' ears.

But in the end, it didn't really matter. The Fruit had still ended up in Tesoro's hands, so the situation had ultimately resolved itself.

After exchanging a few more words with Stussy, she mentioned that she was heading to Fish-Man Island next to expand Happy Street's network and gather more intelligence.

Claudius commended her efforts, then ended the call.

As he put down the receiver, his gaze landed on Robin, who was still engrossed in her book.

Sensing his eyes on her, Robin looked up, her expression puzzled but silent.

Claudius scratched his nose awkwardly. "Listen, about what you saw earlier, you misunderstood—"

Robin cut him off before he could finish.

"Why are you explaining this to me? Your personal affairs don't concern me," she said nonchalantly.

Claudius froze.

Wait. Why am I even trying to explain myself to Robin?

For some reason, this situation felt like he had been caught cheating except that made no sense whatsoever.

Feeling inexplicably flustered, he cleared his throat and stood up.

"Ahem. Well, whatever. You keep reading, I'm going out to get some fresh air."

For some reason, sitting here felt awkward.

As he was about to leave, Robin suddenly spoke up.

"Wait. I have something to tell you."

Claudius turned around, confused.

"What is it? Don't tell me you blew another billion on books?"

Robin shot him a mild glare, rolling her eyes.

"It's not that," she said. "I actually have a deep secret… something I've never told you all these years."

Claudius, who had never viewed Robin with suspicion, raised an eyebrow.

Robin herself knew that Claudius completely trusted her.

After overhearing his scandalous midnight visits to the butler's room, she had finally decided that she couldn't keep her own secret from him any longer.

It was only fair to share it now.

Claudius noticed her serious expression and sat back down.

"Alright, let's hear it."

Robin took a deep breath, gathering her courage.

Then, she finally revealed her great secret.

"Actually… I'm a scholar."

She said it with full conviction, expecting a reaction.

But to her disappointment, Claudius remained completely unfazed.

His expression didn't change in the slightest.

Robin frowned. "You're not surprised?"

Claudius blinked. "Why would I be? You read a ridiculous number of books and know more than most people. It's only natural to call yourself a scholar."

Robin suddenly felt as if she had punched a pillow, her dramatic reveal had landed with zero impact.

***

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