Chapter 7 : The Sakura Kimono and Silver-Haired Millirze
Area 11
Viceroy’s Residence
Guest Room
“Your Highness?”
Millirze peeked through the gap in the door.
“You were not dozing off again, were you?”
“Of course not.”
Yesterday, after finishing Medea’s interrogation and burning the secret letter, I had shared a single cup of sake and a few pieces of sushi with Lelouch.
We had talked briefly about Nunnally.
If I had saved Lady Marianne, Nunnally might have avoided the blindness and wheelchair, unlike the original story.
…I am sorry, Nunnally.
“Your Highness?”
“Mm?”
“There is a request for an audience.”
Millirze handed me a document.
“Lady Sumeragi Kaguya. She is the head of the Kyoto nobility, and apparently she will be the dance partner of the Viceroy of Area 11 at tonight’s ball.”
“Lelouch chose her?”
“Yes.”
“And Sir Jeremiah has informed us that Your Highness will leave the chairmanship of the conference to the Viceroy, while meeting separately with the Grand Secretary of Posts and Communications of the SPQR during the ball.”
“Is that correct?”
“Yes. That is fine. It is only natural for the host to decide such matters.”
Millirze bit her lip slightly, then bowed her head.
“Understood. I will make the preparations.”
Thirty minutes later.
The door opened, and a girl entered wearing a cherry-blossom-colored kimono.
The pale pink fabric was patterned as if red petals had been scattered across it.
Sumeragi Kaguya.
A girl I had rescued during the conquest of Old Japan.
A maternal relative of Sakuya me Sumeragi Britannia, and in this world, the legitimate heir to the old Japanese imperial bloodline.
She was small and graceful.
But her eyes were as sharp as blades.
“It has been a long time, Prince Lysander.”
“It has indeed, Lady Kaguya. What brings you here?”
Kaguya drew in a quiet breath and bent her knees slightly.
“I have a request.”
“Would you please forgive Kururugi Suzaku?”
I let out a small laugh.
“You mean the unfilial son who personally stabbed his own father?”
Kaguya did not raise her head.
“I know how grave his crime was.”
“But that boy, currently serving as a private, recently took part in a routine Knightmare aptitude test.”
“It was his first time piloting a mass-produced unit.”
“And he defeated the instructor.”
“…Oh?”
Sakuradite.
Knightmare Frames.
Charles’ bedchamber politics.
Lelouch’s genius.
Aside from those few things, almost nothing in this world lined up with the original.
And yet Suzaku, of all people, had still turned out to be an Arthas.
“If the Empire truly values merit…”
“Then please grant him at least one chance.”
I closed my eyes for a moment, then opened them again.
“Indeed, we Britannians are meritocratic.”
“Therefore, I will permit a plea for mercy based on proven ability.”
Kaguya’s face brightened.
“I am deeply grateful!”
“However, the crime of patricide is far too grave to be brushed aside so easily.”
“So I will test that ability one more time.”
“Do you mean… against Your Highness personally?”
“Ha. You flatter me.”
“His opponent will be the Knight of Six, Anya Alstreim, who will be visiting this place in a few days.”
Crash
Startled, Kaguya dropped the teacup that one of the attendants had handed her.
“Against… the Liberator of the Middle East in the Atlantic War?”
“If nothing else, he can pilot a Knightmare.”
“So I will promote him to corporal.”
“Tell him to devote himself entirely to training until the match.”
With a trembling voice, Kaguya answered, “Understood,” and withdrew.
Left alone, I sipped my tea and muttered to myself.
Cheer up, Suzaku.
You only have to fight Anya Alstreim with Lady Marianne's soul inside her.
When I was seven, I had to fight the real thing.
Kids these days have it easy.
Time passed.
The day of the ball arrived.
The grand hall of the Viceroy.
Chandelier light poured down from above, and the sound of a waltz drifted through the air.
The lights dimmed.
Every gaze in the hall turned toward one place.
Silver hair.
Blue eyes.
A pure white dress that glittered beneath the lights.
That woman slowly, gracefully, walked toward me.
For a moment, my breath stopped.
“…No way.”
She approached me with a slight, playful smile in her eyes.
“Your Highness, it’s me.”
“Millirze Altheim.”
The entire hall began to stir.
My mind went completely blank.
Seriously…?