I'm going with my one source that states that Carine's mother bore a son named Cassius before the Fifth Prince was born, just to be safe and not exclude anyone.

I do not own Sunrise's/CLAMP's property.

Britannia's Ladies

Chapter 9: Antonia Le Britannia

Presenting Seventh Imperial Consort Antonia Le Britannia, a.t.b 2000

"I suspected that it would come to this," the red-headed woman said. "But I never thought you would come to me when you made your move, Charles." She chuckled a little when she frowned.

"This is a very serious matter, Lady Ellens."

"Charles, I have been married to you for a few years now. By proxy or not, I think you have a right to call me by my first name."

"Antonia…. You knew I would seek out another Consort?"

"Yes, Charles, I did, and I knew you'd seek another heir, too. You married Gabriella after you married Marianne, so it follows that you would want to marry now that Marianne had borne a son. And you made Clovis a Prince, so you with to do the same to Cassius."

It was true. Lelouch Vi Britannia had been born just two months ago, though the Imperial Family had managed to keep it quiet until a maid blabbed their secret to an undercover reporter. Now Charles had to deal with the Court screaming about the fact that he hadn't given any of his other wives the chance to bear a child before her. The only thing that had kept them from flat-out rebelling was the lack of a female heir—Lelouch could not be given a title until a Third Princess was born…nor could Cassius, for that matter.

"Am I that transparent?" he asked.

"I'm afraid so," said Antonia. "What do not understand, however, is why you came to me."

"You're a Duchess—"

"—of a rather small duchy, Charles. My family is not very affluent as a result. What rank could I possibly achieve?"

"Is it not enough to have higher status than Marianne?"

"Oh, please, I could care less about her! You had your reasons, I'm sure, but that's your business, not mine. Either way, the simple fact is that I will be two full positions lower than her in your line of wives. My rank does not erase that fact."

"Your reaction to Marianne is very refreshing."

"Oh, really?" she asked. "How do you figure that?"

"Well, it's just that…most people hardly want to hear her name, never mind talk about her."

"Can you blame them? They are the elite of our empire, yet a commoner—"

"The decision was mine to make!"

"Yes, it was, but do you think that will stop them from complaining about her? How can you expect of them?"

"I am the emperor, damn it! When I make a decision, it is final, no questions asked!"

"That's a nice theory, Charles, but if you want to make it a reality, you're going to have to tighten the reins a bit."

He looked at her incredulously. "How can you as a duchess of Britannia say that?"

"I say it quite easily, because I know the difference between fact and illusion. And the fact is…you'll never convince the Court to abandon its hatred of Marianne. Never."

"I don't believe this…."

"Well, no one's forcing you to do so," she said. She poured herself a cup of tea. "And no one's forcing you to stay here, either. You can leave if you so choose, because it another fact that there are a slew of other noblewomen who are itching to marry up from the Imperial Harem. It makes no difference to me, really." Charles said nothing; she managed to drink half of her tea in silence. "So, what say you, Majesty?"

He started to laugh, at first in disbelief, and then in general good humor. "How much time do you need before you come to Pendragon?"

She smirked. "Give me two days."

"Only two days?"

"Please! It's still early in the day," she said dismissively, reaching for the brass bell on the table. "I can start giving out directions today and be mostly packed by tomorrow."

"I hope I can only prepare the minister and the rest of the wedding committee by then," he said after she rang the bell.

"Well, that is refreshing."

"What is?"

"Usually you keep the wives off guard with short engagements. Now, I've turned the tables on you." To the steward, she said, "have the staff prepare my things. I will be going to the palace in two days for a wedding ceremony."

"Yes, Ma'am." He bowed and quickly left the room.

"Won't the staff be upset when you tell them that they'll be running the house without your guidance?"

"No, I don't think so. Besides, the head servant, Julius, is very capable. He'll make sure this estate is well-kept for my vacations from the palace."

"It may be a while before you have the chance to leave."

"I think the staff can manage. They'll have to. It wouldn't do well for them to let a Consort 's private estate fall into disrepair would it?"

The maid gently knocked on her mistress' door and waited for an answer. "Enter!"

To her charge, the maid said, "Please wait here a moment while I inform my lady of your arrival."

"All right."

The maid opened the door and stepped inside. "Lady Marianne, the Seventh Empress is here to see you."

"Let her in, then."

"Yes, Your Majesty." She ducked back into the hallway and gestured to Antonia that she was allowed to enter the room. "Lady Antonia Le Britannia, Majesty."

"Thank you, Connie."

"You're welcome, Majesty."

"Connie, leave the door open, if you please."

"Yes, Your Majesty." She curtsied and went away down the corridor.

Marianne looked up at Antonia from her seat next to her son's bassinet, casting her eye over the woman's long, blood-red hair and light blue gown. "I'm surprised to see that you've come to visit me, Lady Antonia."

"My ego is not so fragile as the others'," the Seventh Empress replied. "I have enough humility to visit a recent mother." She pointed to another chair. "May I?"

"Oh, yes, of course."

Antonia slowly lowered herself into the chair, adjusting the flowing satin around her legs. "I noticed that were not at the ceremony, Lady Marianne. Were you not feeling well?"

"Oh, no, I just decided not to attend," the Fifth Empress replied.

"I see."

"It's nothing personal, you see, but I wasn't in the mood to deal with the Court's sneering remarks."

"I can understand," the Seventh Empress said. "The aristocracy has tried to slander you every chance it got for the last few years."

"Well, it wasn't so much about what they would say about me. I didn't want them to say anything about my Lelouch." At that, she gazed at her two month old son as he lay sleeping in the bassinet.

"Well, I can understand even more, then," Antonia said sincerely. "I loathe to think of some of the things they've said about Cassius."

"If they did say anything, I would have stopped the entire wedding."

"You would have?"

"Yes. I think I'm still in enough shape to pilot a Frame. It wouldn't be difficult to stop the wedding."

"…A Knightmare Frame?"

"Certainly. It would live up to its name if it scared the Court into being humble, wouldn't it?"

"Well…I suppose it would."

"That's the beauty of it."

"Ah-ha, I see," Antonia replied. How very quaint.

"So tell me…."

"Yes?"

"Why did you really come here?"

"…I beg your pardon?"

"You couldn't possibly have come here out of good will."

"And why couldn't I?"

"No noblewoman would visit a commoner without some ulterior motive, whether or not her ego is as fragile as others'."

"I may only be the Seventh Empress, Lady Marianne," she spat, "and you may be Fifth, but that gives you no right to act like a shrew! If anything, that's Arianna's job!"

"Well, far be it for me to use what little authority I have now—"

Antonia rose from her seat. "Save your worthless sap-story, Marianne! I came here of my own free will to try to extend a kind hand to you, but if you want to dig yourself further into isolation, be my guest! I won't try to 'deceive' you anymore!"

She whirled around and bustled through the door, leaving Marianne to try and comfort her fussing son…not that she cared at this point.

She was still fuming when Charles came to visit her in her rooms later on. "I heard that you went to see Marianne today."

"Yes, I did, and it is the last time that I do so!"

"What? Why? I thought you didn't care about her origins."

"I didn't," she snapped, "but I realize now that her origins have not granted her the gift of gentility! She somehow had the idea that I could not possibly visit her without my own agenda!"

"How can you say that—?"

"She told me, Charles! She told me! She told me that I had an ulterior motive for visiting her!"

"Come now—"

"No, you come now! I was willing to overlook her low status because this woman could not get a break, but all of my sympathies flew out of my mind when you precious Knight of Eight had the gall to tell me what I was thinking! Do you not understand that?!"

"Antonia, I understand your anger—"

"Good! Then you'll understand my fervent wish that she has some horrible accident and blows into millions of pieces! And then her son can learn to be a gentleman, at the very least!"

"Hold your tongue!"

Antonia grabbed a vase on a nearby table and whipped it at the emperor, water and flowers and all. He barely managed to duck out of the way. "You dare to defend her?! If one of your other wives tried to act in such a manner, she would be the victim of your wrath! O, but not Marianne! Not poor common, oppressed Marianne!"

"No one forced you into this! You could have said 'No' to my offer!"

"Don't turn my own words against me!"

"You could have said 'No!'"

"And for what, a ruined reputation?! If Marianne had said 'No', she wouldn't lose a thing! No, everything works perfectly for her!"

"It's only been two days. You can leave—"

"No, I won't run like a coward. I'll take solace in the fact that my children will be of better rank than Lelouch Lamperouge-Vacompte. Now get out of my quarters!"

"Antonia—"

"Out!" She brandished another vase, threatening to try and get better aim on him, this time. Charles tried to maintain his composure as best he could as he retreated from the Seventh Empress. "Damn that woman!" she growled to herself. "She doesn't have the authority to act that way, former Knight of Eight or not!"

"You won't have to worry about anything," someone said form the doorway. Antonia looked up and saw Arianna leaning against the doorframe, grinning wickedly. "I have a juicy piece of news that both you and the Court will enjoy."

"…Do you, Lady Arianna?"

"Oh, yes." She left her spot and walked over to the Seventh Empress. The broken pieces of porcelain crunched under her shoes. "I have contacts here in the palace, and the physician has informed me that Josephina Li Britannia is pregnant…"

"She is?"

"…With a girl."

"How am I to enjoy that? Lelouch—"

"—is the son of a commoner. He would not be given the title of Fourth Prince. No, that honor will belong to…Cassius Le Britannia."

"What?"

"You heard correctly. Cassius will be named Fourth Prince after Josephina gives birth. It'll be a bit odd because Cassius will be older than the Third Princess, but—" Here, she chuckled. "—stranger things have happened in this family."