Chapter 605: Sword, Red, Five, X, Wheel

"Greetings, Your Highness," a tall, handsome man who appeared to be in his late 20’s performed a proper noble bow, appearing neither excessively arrogant nor overly humble.

Returning the courtesy, Christina replied, "A pleasure to see you, as always, Lord Virgil."

Virgil Roth, eldest son of Gregory Roth and heir-apparent to the Roth Dukedom, was, in the opinion of most, an exact copy of his father when it came to their personalities.

Cold, cunning, logical, and highly intelligent, Virgil was adept at all things in the political realm, whether it was making allies or destroying enemies.

The difference between the son and the father came in their attitudes towards the use of force.

While the current Duke Roth was hardly a weakling or a pacifist, he much preferred to use economic or political means to achieve his ends, considering war and violence a last resort to only be considered when all other options had been exhausted.

Virgil, on the other hand, had a much more martial mindset. He wasn’t a warmonger or someone who would cut off someone’s head for a minor insult, but he also had no aversion to the idea of using military power to bend others to his point-of-view.

Rather than cause a schism between the two men, however, it only brought them closer, if one could consider the near frigid state of the Roth Family’s relationships with one another ’close’.

In any case, the fact that after a quarter-hour of waiting in one of the main residence’s reception rooms Virgil had appeared to speak with her indicated to Christina that either Duke Roth was currently engaged in a matter he could not get away from, or he was simply not in Amherst to begin with.

Sure enough, after taking a seat across from her, Virgil explained, "Please accept my apologize on behalf of the duke, he is currently out of the manor on an inspection of one of the territory’s critical infrastructure projects. He will likely return in half-a-month, at which point, if you wish, we can dispatch a runner to inform you."

"I see," Christina nodded, "Please do. It would be rude of me to not present myself to the duke while staying in Amherst."

"En, very well," Virgil made a mental note, then swiftly moved the conversation forward, "Why, might I ask, are you here, Your Highness?"

"Sword, Red, Five, X, Wheel."

Raising his brow ever so slightly at this totally unexpected response to what he felt was a perfectly reasonable question, Virgil had no other option but to remain silent.

He had swiftly realized he was being challenged, and that if he couldn’t provide the correct response, he would not be learning anything more from Christina. Unfortunately, while he was privy to a great many things as the current heir to the Roth Dukedom, this passcode wasn’t one of them.

Not receiving the agreed-upon response, Christina simply stated, "I apologize, Lord Virgil. All I can tell you is that I am here as part of my duties as a Battalion Captain of the Raging River Legion."

"A Battalion Captain, already?" Virgil said with some rare surprise in his tone, but he soon composed himself and nodded, "Just as one would expect from the Royal Family’s rising star."

"Thank you for your compliment, Lord Virgil, but it really was just a coincidence," Christina brushed off the praise, "I am only assuming this position temporarily in place of our regular Battalion Captain who unexpectedly sensed an opportunity to break through to the Spirit Realm."

"I see," Virgil leaned back into his chair and ’relaxed’, "That is excellent news by all accounts, then. The kingdom, and the military could always use more Initiate Realm masters."

"Speaking of the military, I was not aware of any major ongoing operations, and as a Commander in the Piercing Sword Legion, I would think I would have been informed if there was one," Virgil commented in a seemingly off-handed manner.

He’s fishing for information, Christina instantly realized and swiftly deflected, "Training exercises aren’t major military operations, Lord Virgil."

Slippery girl, Virgil thought to himself, understanding that while it sounded like Christina had responded to his prompt, she hadn’t actually told him anything.

Christina didn’t say she was here on a training exercise, or that she wasn’t here to participate in some secret military operation, she just said that training exercises weren’t military operations, which was nothing more than a basic fact.

Was Virgil feeling frustrated right now?

Certainly.

Something was happening in his home territory, something big, something that clearly involved the army he was part of, the army his granduncle was the General of, yet he had been left out of the loop.

Still, Virgil wasn’t a petulant child, he was 87 years old this year, the heir to a dukedom, a Complete High-Rank Initiate, and the Third Regiment Commander of the Piercing Sword Legion; a few secrets being kept from him wasn’t going to cause him to throw a tantrum.

That said, he would definitely start looking into this matter as soon as Christina left.

Christina also understood this, but that was none of her concern. She was acting on orders given directly to her by her Master, General Balfour, as well as the Minister of War, First Queen Marianne Campbell; all she had to do was carry them out.

Whether Virgil Roth dug into things and learned what her true purpose here in Amherst was, was her superior’s problem to deal with.

Rising from her seat, Christina put on a polite smile and nodded, "Thank you for sparing a moment of your time to meet with me, Lord Virgil. I will be taking my leave now."

Also getting up, Virgil returned the gesture, "Think nothing of it, Your Highness. I will be sure to inform you when the duke returns. Until then, I wish you the best of luck with your... training."

Finished what she came here to do, for the moment at least, Christina left without another word.

She would have liked to meet with Olivia while she was here, but that was a personal matter, so it came second to her duties. Besides, she would be in Amherst for at least a few months, so there would be plenty of time to meet up with her childhood friend later.

For now, her first priority had to be returning to the Third Battalion, making sure there were no issues with them, and then reporting to General Kilian Roth so that they could advance the preparations for the upcoming counter-terrorism operation.