Author's note: Hey quick note here. I believe this story will be three chapters. Not sure how rapidly I'll be able to churn this out, so sorry if the updates are slow. Spoiler: There will be a lemon during the course of this story.
"Quit squirming and hook my arm like a gentleman!" Milly ordered with playful authority, nudging Lelouch in the ribs. He still couldn't remember how he ended up agreeing to this. Lelouch looked around in both awe and angst at all the prominent noblemen and noblewomen with all of their lavish clothes and fancy masks, stepping out of their luxurious limousines and speaking in their pompous accents.
"I still don't understand how you got an invitation, yet alone two," Lelouch whispered before reluctantly hooking his arm with hers. "The annual Tokyo masquerade ball is too prestigious, even for your family."
Milly adjusted her glittery gold mask to disentangle its row of red feathers that had gotten ever so slightly stuck in her hair. "Lloyd managed to pull a few strings for his fiancée-to-be and even told me to bring a friend so that I wouldn't get lonely."
"Don't you think he might be a little insulted that you have brought a male escort, when he is courting you?"
Milly laughed as if he had made a hilarious joke, but Lelouch saw no humour in anything right now and could only grind his teeth. "I promise you that the Earl Asplund has no desires for me beyond a trophy wife to ward away unwanted attention to his own... preferences or lack thereof. He even told me that if the time ever comes I can choose someone else to help conceive our child for us, as long as that someone is either a proficient knightmare pilot or a genius."
"What a cuck!" Lelouch choked out on impulse.
"Lelouch!" Milly huffed. She tried to keep a scowl on her face, but she couldn't hold back the giggles that escaped her. "That's no way to to refer to my future husband."
Lelouch unhooked himself from Milly and turned to face her. "This isn't funny Milly, this is a huge part of your future we're talking about here." He couldn't believe her nonchalantness sometimes.
Milly sighed and for a split second almost seemed sad. "Relax. We're soon at the entrance. Let's just have fun tonight, this is probably the only the time you and I will attend an event like this together, so let's just make the most of it." Lelouch wanted to retort for no other reason than having the final say, but there was something rarely genuine in Milly's eyes that pleaded with him to take what she said to heart.
Lelouch sighed. "Fine, tonight I'm yours. Shall we? My lady?" Lelouch bowed, waving his arm towards the entrance.
"You're such a pompous prince at heart," Milly laughed, hooking her arm with his again. "I think this is gonna be a special night, I can feel it!"
The ballroom was a huge complex of stainless marble. The room was enclosed by a tall balcony stretching around every corner, being held up by hellenic styled pillars. Blue britannian banners hung at almost every conceivable place. "Lady Ashford and Lelouch Lamperouge, Esquire," The porter announced loudly as they passed through the door. Few people in the reception hall paid them any mind though. Their names and titles were as insignificant here as the lives of the elevens.
"Esquire eh?" Lelouch mused
"We had to fabricate some sort of noble title for you to get you in," Milly whispered.
"Couldn't you have a least made me a baron?"
"Too risky. Esquire is lowest of low when it comes to noble titles, so no one will give you much attention or even bother looking into your background to confirm who you are."
"Clever."
Soon after they had drifted further into the hall, the porter introduced a duke of Kyushu and his spouse, and quickly a sizeable crowd moved over to greet them. It was a little reminiscent of how teenagers would flock around the cool kids back at the academy, completely asinine.
Milly wasn't completely ignored however, a few men's gazes did turn as they walked past. Lelouch couldn't blame them however. When Milly put the labour in, she could look a kind of stunning few could match. Her red feathered gold mask barely covered her cheekbones and ended just before the tip of her nose. Her elegant red dress did not reveal any cleavage, but fit so snugly that her hour glass figure was a very poorly kept secret. Lelouch had opted for a low key, but stylish outfit. His mask was a spiky stainless steel contraption resembling a fox only except for a beak that passed slightly down over his nose. He wore a black tunic with modest silver coloured embroidery and lining and matching black slacks.
Lelouch pulled Milly a little closer to deter anyone from being too bold. Most these dukes and counts believe they are entitled to anything or anyone they want, Lelouch brooded.
Milly seemed to sense his thoughts. "Don't be jealous, I'm sure you'll catch the eyes of some high ranked ladies. Maybe one could become your sugar mama so you don't have to worry about school at all any more."
"Tch. That's hardly appealing."
"Seriously though. You gotta secure your future somehow Lulu."
"Speaking of futures, I think I've spotted yours." Lelouch nodded his head towards Lloyd.
"We are obligated to at least go over and say hi," Milly said, not seeming all that eager though.
The earl of pudding, Lloyd Asplund, was speaking very animatedly to a group of men who seemed to be cut from a more expensive cloth than most, even in such an esteemed assembly. He had clearly not even noticed their entrance just a little earlier.
"I swear to you my lords that this knightmare frame will be the very cutting edge of military technology, all I need is... a little additional funding and our armies could defeat the entire EU in a matter of weeks if we so desired."
A burly man with an overgrown moustache in the group shook his head. "You must be joking Lord Asplund. With the funds you need to make a simple prototype I could purchase a small army of Sutherlands."
"Indeed," another shorter snot nosed man agreed. "Your Lancelot may have performed amicably so far, but it can't compete with the sheer weight of numbers we could acquire with already tried and tested models."
Lloyd waved his hands dismissively. "Quality before quantity my friends. That is what has allowed Britannia to conquer at the rapid pace it has these last decades."
"Lloyd?" The earl of pudding spun around at the sound of his name, nearly poking a few eyeballs of his already impatient audience with the long beak of his mask.
"Milly my dear! I must introduce you to a few of my close friends here." Lloyd spun just as quickly back to his original companions. "Gentlemen, this beautiful young lady here is my fiancée Milly of the Ashford foundation."
The men acknowledged Milly with gestures ranging from immeasurable nods to curt bows. "I wouldn't exactly say that we are Lloyd's close friends," one man muttered.
"I brought Lelouch with me, my childhood friend from school," Milly explained.
Lelouch stuck out his hand to Lloyd. "It's an honour to meet you sir. I hope you don't mind me escorting Milly this evening. I know it can be a little awkward, considering you two are engage-."
"Nonsense!" Lloyd nearly shouted, gripping Lelouch's hand quickly before releasing it and patting him not so gently on the shoulders. "I'm just glad that somebody will be able to entertain my dear Milly whilst I see to more important business." The small crowd Lloyd had assembled seized this opportunity so slip away before he returned his attention to them.
"T-thank you sir! I am honoured to be of service." Lelouch had never met Lloyd before and he was taken aback by the man's... eccentricity, despite having heard his fair share of rumours.
Lloyd seemed utterly puzzled when he turned to find that his prey had escaped, but someone else quickly seized his attention. He unceremoniously scurried away, sputtering a short farewell to Milly and Lelouch. "I must return to the fold. You kids enjoy yourselves. Oi Oi Count Crispin! I could spot your immaculate figure from a mile away. Have I indulged you with my latest research yet?"
Milly stared after him. "Well that was a nonchalant reaction to me, even for him."
"Are you really going to marry that guy?" Lelouch whispered almost intimately into her ear.
"I don't know. I've been trying to push his limits just to see if he would break off our engagement. I was kinda hoping your presence would evoke some kind of jealous reaction out of him."
Lelouch felt a little bit stung, but could put a finger on why exactly. This was a typical plot for Milly to conjure up. "Is that the whole reason I'm here?"
"Well I did think flaunting a handsome young man right in front of him and his associates would work."
"Can I, maybe, just leave then? Seeing as how your master plan has unravelled." Lelouch had already subconsciously taken a small step towards the exit and started scouting out the best routes through the crowd.
"Oh no you don't!" Milly grabbed his arm possessively and her voice turned low. "I've put way to much effort into coming here just to be left alone with a pack high strung strangers. And don't you dare try to sneak off whilst I'm not looking, otherwise I'll tell everyone who caused that accidental fire in the laboratory back at the academy."
"I've already explained it to you: It was Rivalz," Lelouch groaned.
"And we both know Rivalz is incapable trying any sort of serious independent endeavour. And why on earth would he be testing out volatile chemical mixtures in his own free time? Rivalz was just doing your dirty work for you as always, that much is obvious."
Lelouch sighed in defeat. "I should have done the mixing myself. Then we would never have burned downed the laboratory, much less get caught by you of all people."
Milly softly punched his shoulder. "Cheer up, spending an evening with me can't be all that bad." She then grabbed a couple of glasses of champagne from a nearby server and practically pushed the beverage into his face.
Lelouch understood where she was coming from. He wouldn't want to be left alone at such an event either partially for similar reasons. He detested the nobility well beyond Milly's seemingly superficial misgivings for them. I should probably be relieved, Lelouch thought considering how determined Milly was to dig up any kind of dirt on him. If this was how she decided to enact her blackmail, it wasn't near the worst possible scenario by a mile.
Milly squeezed Lelouch's shoulder slightly before whispering into his ear. "Don't worry about the Lloyd thing, I have even more selfish reasons for bringing you than breaking my engagement."