Chapter 9 : The 2,700-Year-Old Wine
A VIP lounge in a secluded corner of the banquet hall.
“…I suppose I’ll have to soothe Millirze later by giving her a silver mine or something.”
When I muttered that to myself, Nunnally covered her mouth with one hand and laughed.
“Elder Brother Lelouch and Elder Brother Lai..."
"You two are indeed Father’s sons, aren’t you?”
Ouch, she hits a nerve.
Well, in my case…
As for Lelouch, he had taken Milly Ashford and Shirley Fenette as his first and second wives.
Milly was the granddaughter of Duke Ashford and the heir to the Sakuradite concern, so there was no problem there.
Shirley, however, was a commoner.
After the conquest of former Japan, I rescued her and entrusted her to Euphemia.
Until the wedding, Euphemia kept Shirley by her side as head lady-in-waiting, showing her off in front of all sorts of noblewomen as “one of my people.”
Thanks to that, Shirley barely managed to secure the position of Lelouch’s second wife.
In any case, this was definitely my fault.
I bowed my head.
“I’m sorry, Nunnally. Even with you beside me, my mind wandered elsewhere.”
Nunnally shook her head gently.
“It’s all right. I have something to tell you.”
Oh? Whatever that might be?
“I’ll be going to the Chinese Federation soon.”
“As both companion to the young Empress and Britannia’s ambassador to the Chinese Federation.”
My eyes widened.
“Truly?!”
That had been a troublesome post for both Schneizel and me.
“Congratulations! I mean that from the bottom of my heart!”
Nunnally lightly lifted the hem of her qipao.
“That is why I tried on the qipao they sent me today. How does it look?”
A qipao of red and pink.
The line of her waist and the leg revealed through the slit were both perfect.
“You’re so beautiful that I’m at a loss for words.”
“Now that your body has recovered, you should receive some Knightmare training before you go, just in case anything happens.”
“I’m already looking forward to tonight’s duel between Lady Anya and Suzaku!”
At that moment—
“Excuse me.”
Sayoko entered, carrying two glasses of wine on a silver tray.
“The Viceroy prepared this especially for you. He said it is a wine aged for 2,700 years…”
I accepted one of the glasses.
“Two thousand seven hundred years…”
As I lifted the glass, a piece of paper slipped into view beneath the tray.
The seal of the Megas Logothetes, that is, the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Senatus Populusque Romanus.
I naturally set the glass down and took out the paper.
I thank you for your goodwill.
The technical details shall be delivered later through a secure line under the name of Anna Clementia, one of Ravenna’s closest aides, a classmate from the military academy, a comrade from the Atlantic War, and the current Director of the ADD, the Agency for Defense Development.
Anna Clementia…
So, Anna Clément from the original story.
I folded the paper and tucked it into my coat.
Nunnally tilted her head.
“Is something the matter?”
“Ah, nothing. An old friend contacted me.”
I smiled and raised my glass.
“Now then, let us make a toast.”
“To your recovery.”
Nunnally clinked her glass against mine as well.
“It is all thanks to you, Elder Brother.”
The 2,700-year-old wine flowed down my throat.
Author’s Note : The SPQR is shameless, but not shameless enough to count from the Pharaohs. Egypt is taught as ancient history and regional history, especially in the provinciae Aigypti of the SPQR. When Romans count their own civilization, they usually begin with ancient Greece.