Surviving as a Prince of Britannia

A VIP room inside the banquet hall.

While I was sharing wine with Nunnally and talking about Lady Marianne from the old days —

Knock, knock.

“Your Highness, the Viceroy says Princess Nunnally should be going to bed now…”

Ah

“Sorry, Nunnally. Shall I escort you to your bedroom?”

Nunnally smiled softly.

“It’s all right. Sayoko is here, and—”

The one who opened the door and stepped inside was none other than Lelouch.

He held out his hand to Nunnally and said,

“Let’s go, Nunnally.”

Then he glanced at me and added,

“Elder Brother, after I take Nunnally back, I’m heading straight to the arena.”

“Lady Anya and Suzaku’s duel is about to begin. You should come as well.”

Even though the three of us had practically grown up together under Lady Marianne, that fellow was still 140% siscon when it came to Nunnally.

I shrugged.

“Fine. I’ll go watch too.”

“But aren’t you being a little overprotective of Nunnally?”

“The three of us are practically full siblings, considering we were all raised under Mother.”

Lelouch fell silent for a moment, then muttered in a low voice.

“…If anything, Elder Brother, you spent too much time with Nunnally today.”

Nunnally giggled and cut in.

“Brother Lelouch, Brother Lai was only telling me stories from the old days.”

Lelouch sighed and took Nunnally’s hand.

“I know. Still… let’s be careful.”

Nunnally waved at me.

“I’ll see you at the arena later, Elder Brother!”

“Come now. I heard they’re broadcasting it live.”

“You can just watch the replay.”

“Boo… But I wanted to see it in person…”

Only after the two of them disappeared did I chuckle.

Siscon really is an illness…

There was no reason for me to remain alone in the VIP room, so I went back down toward the banquet hall.

As I walked through the corridor—

“Nooo! I told you, I can’t do it!”

A tearful wail echoed through the hallway.

Sure enough, Jeremiah Gottwald, Deputy Viceroy of Area 11, had Kallen backed against the wall.

“Lady Stadtfeld! Area 11 also requires a knight order—”

I walked over and lightly tapped Jeremiah on the shoulder.

“Sir Jeremiah, this is a ballroom. Not an interrogation chamber, nor a battlefield.”

“Why are you frightening a lady like that?”

Jeremiah immediately bowed at a perfect ninety-degree angle.

“Your Highness! My deepest apologies!”

“I am not the only one you should be apologizing to.”

Jeremiah stiffly bowed to Kallen as well.

“My apologies, my lady.”

Then he quickly marched away.

The moment Jeremiah disappeared, Kallen burst into tears.

“I… I only came here to present honorary diplomas to Viceroy Lelouch, Lady Milly, and Lady Shirley…”

“Then the Deputy Viceroy suddenly called me over and started talking about knight orders…”

She sniffled.

“I’m so frail that even going outside is difficult…”

Cough, cough.

I sighed inwardly.

Look at this secretly OP pretending to be weak…

As someone who had watched every Code Geass series, I could tell at a glance that Kallen was only pretending to be sickly.

Her eyes were red instead of blue, unlike in the original, but still.

There was no need to point that out here.

“Lady Stadtfeld, even so, you cannot refuse the Deputy Viceroy’s request forever, can you?”

“B-but…”

“I will propose a compromise.”

Kallen wiped away her tears and sniffles, then looked up at me.

“What… kind of compromise?”

“The Stadtfeld family currently holds Sakuradite mining rights, does it not?”

“Y-yes?”

“You do not need to go into battle yourself.”

“All you need to do is establish a knight order to protect the miners and engineers.”

Kallen’s eyes widened.

“I… don’t have to fight?”

“Of course not.”

“Furthermore, ever since the Atlantic War, discharged veterans suffering from PTSD have been overflowing throughout the Empire.”

“If you recruit willing veterans from among them as instructors and officers, your family fulfills its obligation, unemployed soldiers receive work, and the mines gain protection.”

“Would that not kill two birds with one stone?”

Kallen’s eyes suddenly sparkled.

“Wow… Thank you so much, Your Highness!”

She bowed deeply.

“I’ll go home and discuss it with Father right away!”

Kallen entrusted Lelouch, Milly, and Shirley’s honorary diplomas to me, then hopped away like a rabbit.

I tucked the diplomas inside my coat and murmured.

Now all that remains is… Anya and Suzaku’s duel.

No, before that, if possible, I would like to meet the SPQR’s Megas Logothetes in person at least once…