All Men Are Not Created Equal.

A quote from my dearly departed father, and one he all but pounded into my skull throughout the years. I wonder if he would have felt some sort of pride when I first started spouting those very same words at my coronation ceremony. I'd like to think he would.

The phrase is supposed to remind oneself that they are not special. That whatever their situation, there will always be someone that has more advantages or disadvantages than them. That it is their own duty to rise above it all and become great. All Men Are Not Created Equal, But They Can Make Themselves More.

It is supposed to be humbling.

Naturally, it was interpreted differently, radically so, in fact. Perhaps if I had bothered to speak the second half of my father's creed, the Nobles and bureaucrats wouldn't think they were entitled to the rest of the world. Though such a warmongering mindset could only help with my plans, I can not help but inwardly groan whenever some poncy bastard adopts my dogma like it was some scarf to prance about in.

Where was I? Oh yes.

If this is Schneizel, Odysseus, or Cornelia, then I congratulate you on somehow overthrowing me. The world, or rather a third of it, is now yours. Go nuts. If you're thinking of declaring all out war on the Chinese Federation, I advise you NOT to assassinate the High Eunuchs. Red tape appears to flow from their every orifice, hindering the very government they delude themselves into thinking they control, and it's always refreshing to face off against a paper tiger every once in a while. And as for the EU - the entire coalition is essentially a self-igniting powder keg. Let it go off on it's own.

If this is Lelouch... well, I advise you to at least read the rest of this forward befor burning it. You might learn from the mistakes of an old man.

Contained within are my earliest memories. A collection of journals I kept in my youth, really.

Now before you order a servant to start a bonfire for you, I should think you ought to take more than a cursory glance at my experiences. After all, if you're reading this in the first place, it obviously means the world I dedicated my life to has not come to fruition. And while whatever version of a peaceful world you envision is no doubt inferior to mine, I have no delusions you'll carry on my legacy. Still, it would be worth your time to read on. No doubt you think I mean for you to understand why I did what I did. That is simply not true. The choices and sins I committed in this life are mine alone, along with the consequences they came with. I don't need, nor do I want you to understand.

I just want you to know.

At the very least, these memories of mine should serve as a sort of cautionary tale.

It appears I've run out of paper. You can burn this missive now, should you choose. However, if you decide to pursue my tale, my journals are located in the nonfiction section of the royal library, on the bottom shelf at the leftmost corner. They're the ones wrapped in dark red leather, and chronologically ordered. A good reading to you.

- Charles di Britannia, 98th Emperor of the Realm.

P.S. - If this is Clovis reading, then I can honestly say that I'm surprised. Well done, I suppose.


AN: I live, I die, I live again!