"Be it this operation or the one at the Narita Mountain Range, it's obvious they are targeting you Princess." Andreas Darlton informed the Princess Cornelia. Guilford kept his face still, emotionless, he didn't want to show that even though he knows his Princess is stronger than most other soldiers on the field, she is not invincible. He cared for her safety.
"It's very normal to target the leader." Cornelia replied stoically, it wasn't like her to show her emotions after all. Guilford spoke up, "There was the incident with His Highness Prince Clovis as well." Darlton then finished telling her the theory they had put together. "Zero, rather than being an enemy to Britannia as a whole, is possibly acting in order to take revenge upon the Britannian Royal Family."
The Princess Euphemia said something…but she was usually soft spoken and it seemed like she said it to herself. Guilford noticed her concern, as did Cornelia. Cornelia stood from her chair and turned to her younger sister, and with more warmth than she had ever shown Guilford or Darlton… she said, "Be careful Euphie. Don't let something like the Hoteljacking incident happen again." She gently cupped her sister's chin in her gloved hand, her concern evident.
"How about arranging a knight for her?" Guilford asked.
"A knight?" The young princess asked him.
"If we dedicate a knight to protecting Princess Euphemia, she can form her own personal unit using this person as the core. Princess Euphemia has the right to do so since she is the Vice Governor-General."
"Guilford." Cornelia said gruffly as she turned to him. "Prepare a list of candidates. I want Euphemia's knight to be the best of the best." He immediately bowed his head. "Yes, Your Highness." After which he turned and walked off.
He spent a good portion of the night reading through personnel files, doing his best to narrow down the endless choices for a knight. Euphemia needs a knight she can trust…one who is reliable…a spotless record. If her knight turns out to be faulty, and she gets hurt, it is my fault. Lady Cornelia…will lose her smile. That soft tone she only uses with Euphemia. I cannot let that happen. He picked only from the finest group of all the soldiers. "Darlton. What do you think of this…Lieutenant Mary Sherrie? She's 24 years old, stationed in Area 3 as Department of Intelligence?"
The Veteran Soldier turned to Guilford, after pulling up the personnel file. "A decent prospect, however it's important that Euphemia feels comfortable around her knight. A knight is more than a soldier. It is a confidante, a loyal soul that the Princess can entrust themselves to completely. Perhaps someone closer to her age. Warrant Officer Zectole Vignal Jr." The slide on the screen in front of them changed. "He's local, he's just a few years older than Her Highness Euphemia, and he's got a respectable family and record."
Confidante? A Loyal Soul? It was true that the Princess was capable of showing her weaknesses to Darlton and Guilford, Guilford had rarely seen them. Still, even after Andreas had dismissed himself to other work and then bed, Guilford kept working on the list for his lady.
The next morning, he was sitting in the conference room before everyone else, the list compiled into a thick book in front of him. He brought a hot cup of tea up to his lips, he had to stay awake, and it would give himself and his Princess a bad image if he fell asleep during this meeting. To his surprise the first one into the room was the Third Princess. She was dressed in her white dress uniform, the buttons buttoning like most formal uniforms; that was nothing out of the ordinary. Her hair though was done up in an overly elegant and artsy manner. Guilford never could imagine having enough time to put hair up into those shapes. He found it unnecessary, a trait he and his Princess shared. "Good Morning Lady Euphemia. I trust you slept well."
"Oh!" Somehow she didn't see him there when she walked in. "Good Morning Sir Guilford. I did sleep well, how about…" she looked at him and she could tell he hadn't slept at all, so she tried to change the question, "…what is that there?" She asked motioning to the book in front of him. Guilford reached up and shifted the glasses on his face, and then he looked up through his frames at her. "A list of candidates for your Knight, Lady Euphemia, Lady Cornelia will be able to narrow them down more; you won't have this massive list to deal with." He smiled a bit at her. "Please, have a seat Euphemia."
Euphemia looked a little intimidated by the list and sat down in her seat at the head of the table, to the right of Guilford and left of Cornelia. "Erm…what is it Sir Guilford?"
"Lady Euphemia, I want to let you know some things. Choosing a Knight is a big decision. A Knight is more than a soldier. A Knight is sworn to the Knight's Covenant, we are bound to the fate of our master, and the fate of the people we serve as well. We fight as Knights of Britannia, outside of the normal military and bound only to the master that we serve. Our covenant is simple. "Protect the weak, defenseless, helpless, and fight for the general welfare of all." In return we receive, honor, dignity, and trust. Trust from our masters, trust from the people, and the faith in our skills. We are the swords and shields for greater justice. And we must…" he took a pause for a moment. He took a sip of his tea and put it back down on the saucer before continuing. "…forsake our own desires for that covenant. We cease to be the major players in our own lives, and rather become minor players in our master's life. Our needs and wants are our masters. We are an extension of their will, and their being." His grey eyes met the now wide blue eyes of the Third Princess. "Do you understand why this decision is so important and why Cornelia cannot help but worry about this? Pick wisely Lady Euphemia. Consider this advice not from your elder, but from a friend, and do not be afraid of this decision. I feel that you will know who it is when you see them."
Euphemia sat in silence for a moment before she spoke up. "Is that how you really feel Sir Guilford? Is it really so simple to put aside all your desires for my sister?" Guilford looked over the frames of his glasses trying to keep his surprise hidden. Euphemia isn't a fool, how much can she see in these grey eyes of mine? Can she see how I feel about Cornelia…no, how I want to feel about Cornelia. I am a Knight, I cannot afford such feelings…I took a covenant to put aside my desires. "Simple? To desire is to be human Lady Euphemia, whether or not you act upon those desires, separates a soldier or an aristocrat, from a Knight. I do have desires Euphemia, and if I can act on them without interfering with the wishes of Lady Cornelia I will do so, however my desires take second place to Cornelia's." Before Euphemia was able to ask another question other politicians and Her Highness Cornelia entered into the conference room and sat down, prepared to discuss the agenda for today.
Later, Guilford and Cornelia were away from the Tokyo Settlement, in Kanazawa. They had gone there to deal with the few remaining bits of resistance in Area 11 that were not affiliated with the Order of the Black Knights. Guilford turned on the news in the Governmental Office in which they were staying.
"In the news today, it appears Her Highness Euphemia li Britannia has announced her choice in her personal Knight today, in what was supposed to be a commemoration ceremony at the museum." They then switch over to a clip of Euphemia at the Museum. "Lady Cornelia, come here please. I think you might want to see this." Guilford called to the Princess. She walked over to him and watched the screen.
"Everyone! I will answer the question raised earlier. You were wondering whether or not I had decided who would be my Knight, right? The one I have decided on to be my Knight is that person over there." She raised her hand to the screen which the news crew supplemented a picture of on an overlay. "Warrant Officer Kururugi Suzaku." There was an overall sound of interest and appall and lights began to flash as cameras went off in her face. They switched back to the news studio. "Warrant Officer Kururugi Suzaku is an Honorary Britannian who first appeared in the news for being suspected of the murder of Prince Clovis, and being freed by Zero of the Order of the Black Knights. Her Highness has…" Cornelia abruptly ended the video. "What part of picking from that list was so hard? Euphie…you're too strong willed for your own good."
The Second Princess disappeared into the conference room and Guilford went to his quarters. He activated his communicator and set the channel to open receive like he did every night, if Darlton or some other person just wanted to talk. It didn't happen often, but occasionally it did happen. He had just sat down and started writing reports and reading reports when he had a communication on one of his channels. He honestly wasn't sure who it could be, and he got up to check. To his surprise, when he turned the screen on it was the Vice-Governor-General. It was Euphemia…calling him?
Puzzled he sat down at his desk and accepted the communication. "Sir Guilford. I assume you saw the news. I picked a Knight."
"I did see Lady Euphemia, but why are you calling me about this? Shouldn't you be talking to your sister?"
"I already did Sir Guilford. She told me it was a foolish decision, but she couldn't do anything about it. I told her I wanted to change the way we treat Numbers."
"Lady Euphemia. Treating Numbers differently is a national policy. To change it you'd have to become the Emperor yourself."
"….that's just what sister said. Do you really think that Sir Guilford, or are you just saying what you think sister would want you to say?"
"I speak as a knight."
"Speak as Guilford."
"If you wish, I told you that you would know your knight when you saw him. If you believe he can fulfill the role, I do not mind. However, if you are picking him solely because you have grown fond of him…then I disagree. He is a skilled pilot, but there is more to being a knight then skill."
"Guilford." He heard someone knock on the door on her side. "I'm sorry, I have to go."
"Yes, Your Highness."
And with that the screen went dark.