Chapter 8 : The Miracle of Nunnally
This chapter alternates between the point of view of Lysander, the protagonist and Fourth Prince/Grand Marshal of the Holy Britannian Empire, and Millirze, his secret intelligence officer and chief secretary.
Protagonist — Lysander’s Point of View
In the middle of the banquet hall.
I was still denying reality.
Normally, Millirze was the kind of woman who wore her hair in a bun or a ponytail, had dark circles under her eyes from working overtime, and walked around in glasses and an officer’s uniform.
That same Millirze was now standing beside me with her long silver hair let down, dressed in a pure white gown, her arm linked with mine.
“They say a woman's transformation has no bounds, but…”
“I've never expected this far...”
Millirze whispered into my ear.
“Ta-da. Your dance partner for tonight has arrived!”
Hah
At this rate, I would really end up with another mistress.
If things kept going like this, reaching 10% of Charles' harem — a harem with ten women — would happen in no time.
Please, at least let me rest at night…
And then —
Step.
Step.
Lelouch approached us with an exhausted look on his face.
He had a woman on each arm.
On his right was Kaguya, dressed in a kimono.
On his left was…
Light brown short hair.
Purple eyes.
“…No way.”
Lelouch smiled tiredly.
“Allow me to introduce her.”
“Your real dance partner for tonight, Elder Brother.”
“Our one and only little sister.”
“Nunnally vi Britannia.”
What?
When I rescued her, she had still been blind and bound to a wheelchair.
But now she was standing on her own two feet, her eyes open, looking straight at me.
“It has been a long time, Brother Lai.”
“Have you been well?”
Almost by reflex, I asked the question.
“…The Roman army, led by the wicked dwarf Napoleone, had chased Elizabeth all the way to the ship as she tried to escape!”
Nunnally smiled softly and answered.
“…No! Eli… zabeth!”
Bingo.
She was real.
She was truly my little sister.
“Oh, Nunnally…!”
Before I knew it, tears had welled up in my eyes.
“God and Savior, Saint Richard the Lionheart, have watched over you!”
“And I must thank Saint Elizabeth II as well…!”
Nunnally smiled.
“I prayed every day too, Elder Brother.”
That was when I felt the hand linked around my arm tremble.
Millirze.
She was still holding on to my arm, but her eyes, as she turned toward Nunnally, had gone completely cold.
“…Millirze?”
Millirze said nothing.
She simply bit her lip, looked back and forth between Nunnally and me, and then—
slipped her arm away.
Without turning back, she began walking toward the exit of the banquet hall.
Whenever her silver hair swayed, it caught the light, making her look even colder.
“Millirze!”
Just as I was about to call out to her, Nunnally gently caught my sleeve.
“Elder Brother, please wait.”
“I wanted to greet you first…”
At those words, my feet stopped without thinking.
By then, Millirze had already pushed the door open and left.
Millirze's point of View
The terrace was cold.
I leaned against the railing and emptied my glass.
One glass.
Then another.
And before I realized it, a third.
The wine tasted bitter.
Or perhaps that was only my mood.
“Am I… not good enough?”
The words slipped out before I could stop them.
I had known, of course.
His Highness had 2 wives.
He had Caroline.
He had Princess Cornelia, Princess Euphemia, and now Lady Nunnally, the little sister he had finally found again.
I knew all of that.
I had no right to be angry.
No right to be hurt.
And yet—
I had dressed myself in white tonight.
I had let my hair down.
For once, I had wanted him to look at me not as his secretary, not as his intelligence officer, but as a woman.
How childish.
How pathetic.
“…I suppose this was never my place to begin with.”
A quiet voice came from behind me.
“…Vice Commander.”
Bedivere approached without making a sound.
He took off his coat and draped it over my shoulders.
“You will catch a cold.”
I did not turn around.
“…Weren't you supposed to be in Tenochtitlan?”
“His Highness asked me to escort you in his place, so that he could speak with Lady Nunnally.”
Of course.
Of course he did.
I set down the glass and laughed under my breath.
“Then what am I, really…?”
Bedivere was silent for a moment.
Then he stepped closer.
“His Highness thought of you as his dance partner before anyone else. I know that for a fact.”
My eyes burned.
“…Do not lie to me.”
“I am not lying.”
“So…”
He held out his hand.
“Would you grant me just one dance?”
I looked at his hand.
A dance.
Not with His Highness.
Not with the man I had dressed up for.
Only with the Vice Commander who had been sent in his place.
How miserable.
And yet, if I refused even this, I felt as if I would truly fall apart.
I placed my hand in his.
“Only this one dance, Vice Commander.”
“I understand.”
The music from the banquet hall drifted faintly onto the terrace.
Under the cold night air, we began to dance.
Protagonist — Lysander’s Point of View
Inside the Banquet Hall
After finishing my first dance with Nunnally, I looked toward the terrace.
I saw two heads of silver hair dancing together in silence.
A bitter smile crossed my face.
…Sorry, Millirze.