Chapter 26
The Settlement of Rancor
The office that Lelouch now sat in was not his usual workplace, but a larger one used to receive certain distinguished guests, or when there were simply too many people to accommodate in the other room. Currently standing before the cardinal's desk was Cornelia, Andreas, Gilbert, and Claudio in one group, and Cécile and Suzaku in another. Perhaps wisely, Camelot had arranged for Lloyd to not be present in representation of their interests. Lelouch himself was seated, legs crossed as he contemplated the sight before him. His gaze first fell upon Suzaku.
"Specialist Kururugi," Lelouch began.
Suzaku stiffened at attention as all eyes fell upon him.
"It is my understanding that you were the only one of the training party that did not succumb to the misdirection effected by the heretics," Lelouch said. "And that I, and many others, am unscathed because of your selfless actions that day."
The cardinal's words were not an invitation for comment or response, so Suzaku simply waited for Lelouch to arrive at his point. Lelouch jerked his head, a signal for Sancia to step forward with a velvet box. She placed it upon the desk in front of Suzaku and opened it. Gasps sounded from Cornelia and her entourage, as well as Cécile. Suzaku, while recognizing the item inside to be a medal, was not sufficiently versed in Britannian honors to understand the full ramifications.
"The Royal Elizabethan Medal is awarded to those individuals who have performed a personal service to the emperor, members of the imperial family, or senior representatives of the crown," Lelouch explained for Suzaku's benefit. "The Royal Elizabethan Order itself was established by Queen Elizabeth III, to recognize those that assisted in her rescue from Edinburgh and safe transport to the New World. Amongst them were Sir Richard Hector, and Duke Ricardo von Britannia."
Illustrious company indeed, though the REM was not quite of the same caliber as actual membership within the REO. Still, for a Japanese to be awarded even the medal, and for actual meritorious deeds instead of something purely honorary, was quite the milestone.
"Thank you, Your Eminence," Suzaku said solemnly.
"Sancia, if you would," Lelouch ordered.
Taking the medal out, Sancia draped the ribbon over Suzaku's head and let it hang freely down his chest. With a rightfully proud smile, Suzaku placed a hand over the medal, and looked up at Cécile. The captain returned his smile with a wide one of her own, clearly of the opinion that the award was entirely deserved.
"In addition," Lelouch said, picking up a folder from his desk and handing it to Sancia, who further held it out to Cécile.
With a quizzical tilt of her head, Cécile accepted the folder and opened it. A gasp escaped her, but she quickly clicked her heels together.
"Attention to orders!"
Everyone present, including Lelouch, who had stood up in the meantime, straightened. Cécile then began reading from the single sheet of paper held by the folder.
"His Majesty the Emperor Charles, reposing especial trust and confidence in your loyalty, courage, and good conduct."
Eyes were widening from Cornelia and her entourage again as they immediately recognized those words.
"Do by these presents constitute and appoint you to be an officer in His Imperial Army from the sixth day of November, 2017. You are therefore carefully and diligently to discharge your duty as such in the rank of warrant officer first grade, and you are to exercise and well discipline in their duties such soldiers, men and women as may be placed under your orders from time to time and use your best endeavors to keep them in good order and discipline."
As Cécile spoke, Sancia and Alice had moved around Suzaku and proceeded to add the requisite insignia to his uniform. By the time the captain was finished speaking, they were similarly done with their task.
"Congratulations, Mr. Kururugi," Cécile said.
Suzaku raised a hand in salute, which Cécile, and then all the other officers present, reciprocated.
"Thank you very much, Captain."
An even wider smile was on Cécile's face as she closed the folder and handed it back to Sancia. In the captain's mind, this was simply Suzaku getting his due considering his responsibility as a knightmare test pilot.
"A proper commissioned rank would require you at least complete your undergraduate studies," Lelouch said as he sat back down. "When the time comes for you to consider where to attend, and if you have continued to conduct yourself with dedication and honor, I would be pleased to sponsor you for entry into West Point, if that so interests you."
"If that is indeed the path my life will take, I would be honored, Your Eminence," Suzaku said with a grateful smile.
Lelouch nodded, then looked over at Cécile. "My office has received Camelot's estimate regarding the accelerated construction of a new prototype. For the time being, you may presume that full funding will be forthcoming. The details will be conveyed in the following days."
"Thank you, Your Eminence," Cécile said with some relief.
While setbacks were perhaps to be expected when developing a new knightmare, getting the very expensive prototype utterly destroyed was still not something that could be brushed off. Cécile had certainly hoped the viceroy would be willing to help plug the resulting budgetary gap, his clear irritation with the entire training exercise notwithstanding, but to hear that the entire amount would be covered took a great load off her shoulder. Hopefully now Lloyd would stop griping about what happened.
"That will be all, Captain, Mr. Kururugi."
Cécile clicked her heels together and moved to push Suzaku out of the room.
"Umm, Your Eminence," Suzaku however began, casting a glance towards Cornelia and her subordinates.
"Mr. Kururugi," Lelouch cut him off before he could speak further. "You are clearly possessed of a reflexive urge to help others. Here is some advice. While that urge is certainly an admirable quality, sometimes, one can be too quick to offer one's help."
Either because the help was unneeded, or unwanted, or even come at far too great a cost to Suzaku himself. The youth pursed his lips in recognition of all the unspoken rationales accompanying the cardinal's advice. With one last glance over at Cornelia and her subordinates, he gave a simple nod to Lelouch before being wheeled out by Cécile.
Once the door closed behind them, Lelouch's gaze shifted back over to Cornelia. The princess met her brother's eyes steadily, though not without a flicker of the turmoil that roiled within her. After a long, unsettling silence, Lelouch finally began to speak.
"As we both know why you are here, Your Highness, I will skip the preambles and get straight to the point. The recent fiasco has made quite clear that the overlap of the current multitude of command authorities is untenable, and a clarification must be made as to whose authority supersedes whose. It is a clarification that I have requested, informally, from His Majesty, to which he has given me a preliminary response."
Cornelia did not flinch quite yet, but this exchange was already veering towards a sort of worst-case scenario amongst the possibilities she had imagined.
"The actual deployment of the Lancelot by General Darlton was entirely in keeping with his authority as the regional C&C of the occupational forces," Lelouch said, "and your lending of the Glaston Knights to assist in the evaluation well within your prerogatives as their liege. The specific timing and location, while poorly chosen, at this point warrants nothing further than a verbal reprimand."
That, as the saying goes, was the good news.
"The actions of the Glaston Knights afterwards however constitute a gross misstep, far beyond the bounds of their authority."
Cornelia grimaced, and the visages of the men behind her similarly darkened.
"Secondment of the Glaston Knights to participate in a training exercise under the purview of the local occupational forces obliges them to fully comply with any and all orders issued by the occupational forces' chain of command for the duration of the exercise. That chain of command is one that I, not Your Highness, sit at the top of. Your Highness' position as a princess of the realm allows you to issue orders that supersede mine in relation to the disposition of the Glaston Knights, but that does not permit you to deploy them into an active theater of combat, especially when you have been explicitly requested to refrain from doing just that."
"With respect, Your Eminence," Cornelia could no longer restrain herself, "my authority as Marshal of the Empire does however allow me to decide the disposition of the Empire's armed forces regardless of the specific theater of engagement."
"In that you are actually incorrect," Lelouch immediately dissented. "As Marshal, you are the highest-ranking uniformed officer within the armed forces, but operational command of various theaters is legally delegated to the field officers assigned to those commands. Your ability to countermand any orders by those officers is contingent on your outranking them in the military's chain of command." The cardinal's eyes hardened until a pair of violet diamonds glared at Cornelia. "I am not subject to that chain of command, as such you have no authority by which to countermand my orders."
Everything that Lelouch said was technically correct. It was a curious gap, wherein an administrative area's viceroy possessed military command authority without actually being accountable, according to the letter of the law at least, to the rest of the armed force's senior command structure. Granted this was probably because, prior to Japan, the last time viceroyalties were even used was a century ago, so the laws regarding them did not take into account some of the streamlining and standardizations of the armed force's structure that happened in the intervening time. That was slowly being fixed, what with Britannia's recent conquests, but this particular loophole still persisted.
"In addition," Lelouch was still not done, "authorization to carry out the Lake Kawaguchi operation under my auspices was explicitly granted by His Majesty. As such, any order I issue in relation to the theater of operations carried authority that superseded your delegated authority as Marshal of the Empire."
A loophole that in this particular case Lelouch had taken the care to explicitly close, and in his favor. Cornelia had not been unaware of this, but the princess had still counted on the operational situation being sufficiently fluid that her brother would not flat out simply reject any attempt to lend his forces aid. While Cornelia made a multitude of miscalculations in her handling of the Lake Kawaguchi Incident, that was definitely one of the more gross ones.
"In light of this willful disregard for His Majesty's own authority, the emperor sent along the draft of an imperial writ," Lelouch picked up another, more ornate folder upon his desk, and tossed it lightly to the side closer to Cornelia, "one that as yet lacks his signature and seal, but both of which would be forthcoming if I should so request it."
With a grimace, Cornelia reached out and picked it up. Flipping it open, she scanned through the document. Her expression only darkened. While imperial writs did not have quite the formality as laws passed by parliament, defying one constituted willful disobedience to the crown, which due to the nature of the Britannian constitution and Britannian military regulations, was a violation of the oaths sworn by those that served in the Britannian Armed Forces. Being found guilty of that was pretty much the death knell for any officer's career, at best. In this case, the writ had yet to be signed and sealed, so it did not have even that level of legal force, but only a complete imbecile would be delusional enough to think that offered any opportunity to sidestep or ignore the contents.
The writ itself was straightforward to the point of being blunt. It finally resolved the ambiguity between the relative authority of a viceroy and a Marshal of the Empire, namely where one's authority ended and the other's began. According to the writ, while the Marshal of the Empire did indeed outrank all other uniformed service personnel, operational control over a viceroyalty's forces belonged to the appointed viceroy, who did not fall under the marshal's authority. As such, the marshal could not issue any orders that interfered with the viceroy's discharge of his or her own duty as a crown appointed representative. If a disagreement about how best to protect the Empire's interests arose between a marshal and a viceroy, the disagreement must be resolved first before any new orders countermanding those of the viceroy could be issued. And authority to arbitrate such resolution fell to a representative of the crown that explicitly outranked viceroy and marshal, of which there was only one, the prime minister, or the emperor himself.
In practical terms, the writ, if it was actually signed and sealed, amounted to a near complete affirmation of Lelouch's position, and a pointed admonition of Cornelia's actions. Regardless of how quietly it might be published, political pundits would pick it up almost immediately and start commentating on what prompted the emperor to issue it in the first place. The resulting speculation might not be wholly accurate, but it would hit the key points easily enough, namely some sort of schism between Cornelia and Lelouch that resulted in Lelouch needing to explicitly curtail his sister's ability to interfere with his administration of Japan. To have the emperor side with Lelouch like this could not but help badly damage Cornelia's own credibility, and with it her ability to continue serving as Marshal of the Empire. To have Charles do it anyway would be a clear signal as to which child he favored, or at the very least which one's service he considered the more valuable. That alone stung heavily, on a personal level, setting aside all the political nuances.
Yet there was one other nuance that offered a glimmer of hope, that while they were at the precipice, they were not yet past the point of no return, for the writ had yet to actually be signed and sealed. Cornelia was not foolish enough to presume that meant there was any opportunity by which to continue her desired interventions, but the frustration she felt at being sidelined like this was immense. Not just because of her pride, but her genuine sense of self-worth was under great strain at being treated so irrelevantly. After all these years of service, of trying to become better and stronger, and she still was not good enough, even after she won the title of Marshal of the Empire? Anyone's self-confidence would be shaken under such circumstances.
"Answer me this, Lelouch," Cornelia began.
"Your Highness," Lelouch promptly cut her off however, "I have extended you the courtesy of referring to you by your appropriate title. I would hope you would be so civil as to pay it back."
There was nothing civil about Lelouch's address though, the cardinal was holding his sister at such remove explicitly because he knew how much it troubled Cornelia to be so regarded. That he could do this while still complying entirely with the rules of etiquette was simply one more means of cutting off her protestations, unless she really wanted to go at it.
"Fine," Cornelia said curtly, "Your Eminence. At least answer me this. Are you absolutely certain, beyond a shadow of doubt, that I am entirely incapable of assisting you in your duties?"
"Are you seriously asking this," Lelouch said incredulously, "after your attempted intervention saw one of my attendants injured and also nearly got myself and countless others of my soldiers killed?"
"I lacked the information to take the necessary precautions," Cornelia began, "but-"
"But nothing," Lelouch snapped. "You did not trust me, Your Highness, that and that alone is why you elected to ignore my request to not intervene at Lake Kawaguchi and go so far as to deploy members of your own guard, who I explicitly did not have the authority to order to stand down without the delegation that you failed to provide me with."
"This isn't about trust-" Cornelia began protesting.
"Oh? Are you saying if you did believe me when I stated I had the situation well in hand, Your Highness would have still sent in forces against my explicit wishes?" Lelouch shot back. "I am frankly sick and tired of this passive-aggressive nonsense on your part, Your Highness. For all your claims of keeping an open mind, it's becoming clear that you've been looking for reasons to doubt my judgment since you set foot in Japan. You ask if I am certain beyond any shadow of doubt that you are of no use to me in the fulfillment of my duties? The answer to that is yes, absolutely, without any doubt whatsoever. But even hearing me say that, you still don't believe that to be the case. You are still spinning rationalizations in your ahead about how if you just knew more about what was going on, or how if I was simply more willing to trust you, that of course you could contribute in some way. Considering your refusal to accept any answer of mine that dissatisfies you, how dare you claim this isn't about your lack of trust in me!?"
As much as Cornelia was struggling to muster a response, those accompanying her had their own reactions to how brusquely Lelouch was addressing her sister. For at last one of the men, it became impossible to contain himself any further.
"Your Eminence," Gilbert spoke up. "Your anger regarding the incident at Lake Kawaguchi is entirely justified, but Her Highness-"
"Sir Gilbert," Lelouch said, his eyes locking upon the knight. "Shut up."
No further words left Gilbert's mouth, even as the man opened and closed it over and over again. At the odd sight, the others including Cornelia regarded him in befuddlement.
"Gilbert?" Cornelia said worriedly.
The man's eyes were starting to color with alarm, and he even reached up to grasp his throat. Throughout all this however his gaze remained fixed on Lelouch, much as the cardinal's own rested upon him.
"Lelouch!?" Cornelia called out.
Lelouch did not immediately look her way, spending perhaps another moment or so glaring at her knight. When he finally took his eyes off Gilbert, the man made a gasping sound.
"Wha!? I-I?"
Cornelia frowned. Something had just happened here, something she did not entirely understand. She looked back over at Lelouch. Something that her brother was responsible for.
"Le-Your Eminence. What did you do?"
A look of open irritation met her eyes, but Lelouch did not deign to answer. Indeed he proceeded on as if nothing had happened at all.
"I will require an answer from you, Your Highness, now," he stated. "You can either swear under oath that you will never again interfere with the execution of my duties, or you will return to Pendragon, either of your own volition or as a result of a recall order."
Lelouch clearly had no intention of explaining whatever it was he did, but Cornelia suspected strongly that it had a great deal to do with whatever it was her brother claimed was beyond her reach. Having caught a glimpse of it, Cornelia found she could not pretend to be oblivious. She needed to know.
"Your Eminence, would you be willing to dismiss your attendants?" Cornelia thus asked instead of answered.
Lelouch's teeth actually showed as he glared at Cornelia. Before he could verbally explode again however Cornelia spoke up.
"I do not intend to offer excuses or rationalizations. You will have your answer, but I ask that you let me deliver it to you in private."
From the beady look in Lelouch's eyes, her brother clearly did not entirely believe her. After a moment however he gave a single nod, all the signal his attendants needed to take their leave. Cornelia similarly dismissed those accompanying her, and with clearly reluctant looks, they too exited the room. Once the door was closed, Cornelia took a deep breath. Lelouch himself remained silent, simply waiting to hear what she had to say.
"Do you know, Lelouch, how hard it is for me to swear what you ask of me?"
"I fail to see any difficulty at all," Lelouch said somewhat dismissively, "aside from your lack of personal willingness?"
"No?" Cornelia said. "Then I take it you have no understanding of just how much pain I have been in, ever since I failed Marianne?"
That caused Lelouch to blink. "What does my mother's death have to do with any of this?"
"It has everything to do with this," Cornelia stated vehemently. "Were you not the one that told me, Lelouch, that these forces you face are also the ones responsible for Marianne's murder?"
The way Lelouch's expression shifted, the cardinal was indeed starting to realize. But it was only a start, and he still did not have the whole picture.
"Do you have any idea what it felt like to fail Marianne so fully? The woman that I most admired, even more than my own mother?" Cornelia said, a dry smile crossing her lips. "My mentor, my liege, the first person to ever instill a sense of purpose in me, something that not even my own parents were able to do. And at the moment of her greatest need, I failed not only with my absence but also in the inadequacy of my preparations as captain of her guard." The princess' expression twisted into abject grief. "I was her knight, Lelouch. And I let her die."
"You didn't let-" Lelouch began.
"Stop trying to make excuses for me." This time it was Cornelia that snapped. "It does not matter whether something could have been predicted or prepared for, it is a knight's duty to face the impossible if that's what it takes to safeguard her liege. And I failed!"
The cardinal closed his half-open mouth and regarded his sister. It seemed he was now beginning to understand just a bit more about the demons that Cornelia herself suffered from.
"For over six years I've been trying to make up for that failure," Cornelia continued. "Six years, without knowing more than the barest of news about how you and Nunnally were doing. And then you reappear, not only as a cardinal of Eden Vital, but apparently fully aware of who was responsible for your mother's murder. Do you have any idea how much it hurts, to hear only such hints, but then to be denied the fullness of that knowledge? Do you honestly believe that I could ever promise, even to you, to stand aside and not hunt down these bastards myself?"
"Despite the fact that you simply do not possess the capability to confront them?" Lelouch said. "And that attempting it nonetheless can only result in not only your death, but also the deaths of all those that follow you?"
Cornelia gave a harsh bark of laughter. "Lelouch. I would pay with my honor, my knights, even my life, if it meant getting a shot at Marianne's murderers. And I think you feel that way too."
Cornelia was not wrong in that last bit. A strong desire for revenge did drive much of Lelouch's motivation, his striving for station and authority done in order to obtain the power necessary to exact it. But that desire had been tempered over the years into a finely balanced edge, honed sharp but tightly gripped, so as to not be indiscriminate in what he cut. Clearly Cornelia exhibited a different, even if comparable, sharpness.
"Would you pay with Euphie?" Lelouch thus asked quietly.
Finally, Cornelia was given pause as her expression visibly faltered. After a moment, she took another deep breath.
"Euphie. She is the one person that I stay my hand for. The only person."
It seemed their sharpness had yet greater similarities. Cornelia's was still more precarious, but not so far gone that the blade would shatter outright once the cut was made. And in realizing that, Lelouch also realized where he erred in his handling of his sister. Cornelia had not stubbornly persisted in trying to insert herself into the fight against the heretics because she thought Lelouch did not possess the mettle to lead the fight himself, she wanted in in order to quell her own demons. And every time Lelouch rejected her attempts to help, he simply further enflamed them. Now aware of exactly what his error was, the cardinal could take measures to ensure it did not turn into a mistake. Lelouch quickly arrived at a new decision.
"There are three tasks I would set you," Lelouch said. "If all three are within your means, and completed to my satisfaction, I am prepared to create for you an opportunity by which you can contribute to avenging my mother."
Cornelia's eyes looked onto Lelouch's with burning intensity. "What tasks?"
"The first," Lelouch said, gesturing at the unpublished writ. "You will send a letter to His Majesty, that he issue a formal writ. You will recommend that writ to carry within it the stipulations outlined in this draft."
The princess immediately understood Lelouch's intent, roundabout as it may have sounded. The cardinal clearly intended to make clear the delineations between their respective authorities, likely to ensure he could restrain Cornelia if the need ever arose again. At the same time, by having Cornelia be the one to officially oppose the delineations, they could preemptively curtail any notion that the writ was issued as some sort of reprimand against the princess, allowing her to retain the necessary credibility to remain Marshal of the Empire. There would certainly still be rumors, but so long as both parties kept their story straight, the public version should hold well enough to serve its purpose. And while Cornelia was still a bit wary about the ability to exclude her from operations the writ would grant Lelouch, if the cardinal really was honest about giving her a chance anyway, then she might well be able to live with it.
"Alright," Cornelia nodded slowly. "And the second task?"
"The second task is you have to convince His Majesty to let you partake in this endeavor," Lelouch said. "Your participation will result in you owing certain obligations to Eden Vital, obligations that might well interfere with your duties as a princess of the realm. It is up to you to obtain whatever exemptions or waivers are necessary, I will not advocate on your behalf to His Majesty."
That, was probably fair, considering it was Cornelia herself that wanted this. She could hardly expect someone else to plead her case to her father and sovereign.
"I will get his permission. And the last task?"
Lelouch gave an exasperated sounding sigh, but answered nonetheless.
"The last task is that you see a psychiatric counselor of my choosing, to help you deal with the lingering effects of your grief. You clearly have not been able to resolve it, and have allowed it to take you down a self-destructive path."
Cornelia frowned, looking almost offended by that last remark.
"I am entirely serious here, Cornelia," Lelouch said, finally addressing his sister by name. "You say I am similarly motivated by vengeance. That is true, but I am not prepared to pay for that vengeance with the lives of my retainers, not the way you seem ready to pay with the lives of your armsmen. And I am certainly not prepared to pay with the lives of my family. With that sort of mindset, not only are you unlikely to be of any actual help, but you will almost certainly perish regardless. I will. Not. Brook. Such an outcome. Is that understood?"
At that Cornelia's expression softened, as she was reminded once more that for all Lelouch's brusqueness, he did genuinely love his family. That even his desire for avenging his mother was rooted in how deeply he loved her. In that regard, it could even be said that Lelouch's motives were purer than Cornelia's own. But more importantly, the cardinal's relative mental stability granted him a clearer vision of how to achieve his desired ends. That was something Cornelia could appreciate, and be willing to make an effort to also obtain.
"Alright," Cornelia thus said. "I'll get all three done. But you better come through on your end as well, Lelouch. If you want any say in when and how I go after these bastards, you better come through."
Conviction was not something lacking in their family, for good or ill.
"That is duly noted," Lelouch said.
Cornelia let out a long sigh. She had come into this meeting fearing a permanent schism between herself and her brother. They had skirted dangerously close to that, but again, the two managed to step back from the precipice and come to an understanding. Hopefully this was the last time this it would happen.
"Is that all then?' Cornelia asked, clearly expecting it to be so.
"No," Lelouch however promptly responded. "There is one more matter that needs settling." The cardinal pushed forth yet another envelope towards Cornelia. "The knightmare skirmish at Lake Kawaguchi resulted in the destruction of the Lancelot prototype, as well as the disabling of one of Eden Vital's GX frames. Those losses must be made good."
Cornelia's hand momentarily froze when she heard just what this folder contained, and it was with a clear grimace that she picked it up.
"Before you is a supplemental funding approval for Camelot, to allow for the accelerated construction of a replacement prototype," Lelouch continued as Cornelia opened the folder, "and an invoice from Eden Vital to the Britannian Armed Forces for compensation for the damage done to its property."
Grimace turned into a wide-eyed gape as Cornelia saw the numbers. The princess actually made a choking sound as she looked back up at Lelouch.
"The money is certainly not going to come out of my budget," Lelouch said with a snort.
The princess looked down at the papers, then back up at her brother, before letting out a sigh of her own.
"Don't you think you're being just a little bit petty here, Lelouch?"
"I certainly hope it's not just a little bit," Lelouch said. "Don't misunderstand, Cornelia. I am still furious that you attempted to intervene after I explicitly requested you not to. One of my attendants, someone I learned with, ate with, grew up with for the last six plus years, someone that has been my family in all that time, is in the hospital because of your actions. I am nowhere close to forgiving that, and it will be a long time coming before you earn it."
That, Cornelia had to admit, was probably fair. It was certainly her actions that led to Lucretia being injured, something that the princess herself genuinely regretted, seeing as she quite liked the diligent, hardworking young woman.
"The funding request for Camelot I can probably approve at my discretion," Cornelia said. "I'll have to talk to Schneizel about the Eden Vital invoice however."
Especially given how much money was involved. Fifty million pounds might be a tiny percentage of the overall military budget, but it was certainly not insignificant in and of itself.
Lelouch shrugged. "The problem's in your hands, now."
The young man was clearly intending to make Cornelia work at that forgiveness bit.
"In the meantime, while Lucretia is convalescing, I will have Sancia fill in for her as part of your staff," Lelouch continued.
Cornelia blinked. "What?"
The cardinal raised an eyebrow. "You do remember exactly why I assigned Lucretia in the first place? It certainly was not to help you work through the backlog of paperwork that had built up due to your cavorting around the Middle East, Lucretia was there explicitly to provide you with a line of defense against the heretics."
In fact Cornelia did remember, which made it all the more shameful how her actions resulted in the girl getting injured. And because she remembered, another thought occurred to Cornelia.
"Are you certain you have the leeway in manpower to second another attendant to me?" Cornelia asked.
"If you insist on staying in Japan, I really don't have much of a choice," Lelouch stated bluntly. "I may be angry with you, Cornelia, but I'm not going to leave you to die."
Cornelia's lips thinned. How frustrated her brother must feel, trying his hardest to protect his family even as they stubbornly stuck their neck out in reckless ways. Indeed his emotions seemed like a reflection of her own at having all her attempts to help be rejected. Perhaps things only came to such a head because of their mutual stubbornness. The princess gave a snort of her own.
"I'll try not to make your life any harder, Lelouch. I think we've both had quite enough of exhausting each other's emotional vigor."
"That would certainly be appreciated," Lelouch said
Dry as his tone may be, at least the hints of a smile touched the edge of his lips. As they did Cornelia's as well.
"Your Eminence, Ms. Sumeragi and party have arrived."
With Lucretia out of action and Sancia filling in on Cornelia's staff, several of Lelouch's secondary support staff had needed to step up to serve in a more frontline role until such time as he could get his attendants back, or get Eden Vital to be willing to cough up another geass contractor to provide him with a bit more redundancy. That would probably be asking a bit much from the Order, seeing as Lelouch already had the largest concentration of contractors short of the Citadel itself serving on his staff. On the other hand, if Cornelia really was able to convince the emperor, and by proxy the grandmaster, to let her in on the secrets of code and geass, C.C. might be willing to cough up a few more attendants to help supplement the security screen in Tokyo, even if she complained about it the entire time. That was for the future however, and Lelouch had plenty of things to worry about for the present.
The color had returned to Kaguya's cheeks, Lelouch saw as she entered the office with Kirihara and two JLF officers in accompaniment. Instead of simply waiting at his seat, Lelouch actually rose and stepped around the desk to stand before Kaguya. The girl blinked a few times, her eyes full of that curious light that shone when she first met the cardinal.
"Kaguya," Lelouch said, actually bending a knee. "That you were so endangered at Lake Kawaguchi was nothing short of gross negligence on my part. I asked you to participate at the conference in full knowledge of the JLF renegades' intentions, with the assurance that you would be fully insulated. Instead, you nearly lost your life. I will not ask your forgiveness, for I am wholly undeserving of it. I can only offer my apology, in the hopes that you will accept it."
Lelouch had already apologized to Kaguya, when he sent her back to the safety of Tokyo. While he was not entirely repeating himself, the apology now was also for the benefit of Kirihara, to show the elderly man that Lelouch was entirely deserving of the dedication Kaguya proclaimed to the world. From the solemn expression Kirihara maintained, he did not have cause for disapproval, at least at this stage.
Kaguya herself graced Lelouch with a warm smile. "I accept your apology wholeheartedly, Your Eminence, and have no reservation in extending to you my forgiveness. For though you did request my presence at the conference, you still left it as my choice whether to attend or not. That neither of us were cautious enough, that we made mistakes, none of that can be changed. But, I can still hope that we can yet do better in the future."
Lelouch smiled back gently, then rose. "Please, be seated."
Kaguya and Kirihara accepted the invitation, while Tohdoh and Chiba remained attentively alert.
"I requested your presence, Kaguya, Mr. Kirihara," Lelouch began once everyone was settled in, "because certain events have precipitated the need to reach a conclusive resolution regarding your, extracurriculars." The cardinal looked straight at Kaguya. "Despite your open declaration of allegiance to my person, your public reveal of the existence of Kyoto House, and its support for the Japanese Liberation Front, has made it effectively impossible to maintain the previous plausible deniability that allowed the viceroyalty to refrain from any overt action against the Six Houses."
Kaguya nodded. In truth she had not really been thinking that clearly when she made her statement, the belief that she was going to die having muddled her ability to think through the consequences of her words. It was only after she had had some time to rest and regain her composure that Kaguya realized the full ramifications of her declarations. If handled poorly, then a lot more people may yet die. Kaguya was determined to not let that happen.
"Kyoto House has arrived at the conclusion that an accommodation can be reached with Your Eminence," Kaguya stated, and thereby also indicating that she too would serve as a voice for the Six Houses, instead of merely being a bystander.
Lelouch nodded. "I am glad to hear that. Now then, what are the terms that Kyoto House wishes be granted, in exchange for the demobilization of the Japanese Liberation Front?"
Kaguya glanced over at Kirihara and dipped her head. While she might have a voice, it was still proper for the elderly man to handle some of the technical details of this negotiation.
"Your Eminence has already gone to great lengths, by taking measures to ensure the continuation of our people's culture," Kirihara said. "But these gains are still fragile, and though we have no reason to gainsay your credibility, it is only prudent that we seek ways to safeguard those gains for when the time comes for you to vacate your present post."
"And the nature of the safeguard that you would propose?" Lelouch asked, though the cardinal had to at least have some inkling as to what was about to be proposed.
"Safeguards, Your Eminence," Kirihara said. "No one thing could possibly be adequate to protect our people's interests. What we need are a multitude of them, each complementing the other, to create a whole stronger than the sum of its parts."
The cardinal's expression remained patiently contemplative and with a wave of his hand invited Kirihara to further elaborate.
"Presently, as Japan has yet to reach satellite status, it is under the direct administration of the imperial government, in the form of a viceroy," Kirihara said. "Your cabinet is composed entirely of persons of Britannian heritage, and while many of Your Eminence's appointments are of people willing to work with the Japanese people and help improve our lot, you do not have anyone of actual Japanese descent in your inner circle."
"Do you believe that there are Japanese candidates that would be capable of immediately assuming responsibility for one of the cabinet portfolios, Mr. Kirihara?" Lelouch asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Not with certainty," Kirihara conceded, "but unless Your Eminence makes an explicit effort to nurture such prospective candidates, that problem will always exist."
"A fair enough point," Lelouch conceded. "If you have any qualified persons in mind, I am willing to have them screened and then taken on on a provisional basis. I cannot make any assurances of them being appointed to ministerial level, but those that demonstrate proficiency at their stations can certainly expect to be appointed as deputies, and from there be further elevated as vacancies occur."
This time it was Kirihara that nodded. It was unlikely Lelouch would have agreed to simply sack one of his current ministers solely to allow a person of Japanese heritage to take that post. Such an act would almost certainly have bred resentment on the part of the person so removed, as well as those that worked under the previous minister. Even Kirihara was not so foolish as to discount the harm such resentment might cause. Better to have the candidates work their way up, get to know their colleagues, and ultimately demonstrate that they earned their posts on merit instead of political horse-trading.
"That would be acceptable, Your Eminence."
"I am glad we are in agreement," Lelouch said. "Incidentally, how many safeguards were you envisioning?"
"At present, three, Your Eminence," Kirihara answered, "the second of which pertains to a time when Japan reaches satellite status."
As previous referenced, administrative areas went through three phases as part of their integration into the Empire. First was pacification, where in the immediate aftermath of conquest Britannia set about eliminating the old power structures and putting in place their own administrators. Second came assimilation, where the native populace was introduced to Britannian law, culture, and if need be the English language, to acclimate them to living under the new system of governance. This was the stage Japan was presently in. The last and final stage was satellite status, wherein an area and its populace are deemed sufficiently integrated that the same degree of self-rule that is extended to other imperial subjects is similarly granted to the area, with the administrative area itself being transformed into one or more provinces depending on things like population density and geographical distance. Once the provincial governments were in place, the administrative area would be retired and the region would stop being referred to by its number.
By tradition, the last viceroy of an area also tended to become the lord of one of the provinces that was organized, as a sort of job well done reward for shepherding the area through its transitions. Back during the early days of Britannian expansionism, more than one imperial scion was ultimately detached from the imperial family by being appointed viceroy and then going on to found distaff provincial houses. It was for this reason that Clovis' initial appointment did not raise too many eyebrows, since many assumed the intent was to ease the young man out of the succession while ensuring he would have the means to support himself, assuming he proved up to the challenge of actually integrating Japan. Of course those that actually knew the prince personally had had some serious doubts as to whether Clovis possessed the capacity to do that, doubts that ultimately proved well-founded.
Lelouch on the other hand was proving to be supremely competent, so much so that Japan might well reach satellite status during his tenure, assuming the emperor did not yank him to deal with something even more pressing in the next decade or so. No one was quite sure just how long the cardinal was intended to serve as viceroy, whether his appointment was merely an exercise in firefighting, or whether he was actually expected to buckle in for the long haul. One certainly could not discount possibility of the latter, which further implied the possibility that Lelouch might be granted a peerage over part or all of Japan. If that was the case, it became crucial for certain parties, such as Kyoto House, to secure as intimate of ties as possible with the cardinal, to ensure that the future ruler of Japan was possessed of at least some Japanese heritage.
"I presume you refer to the organization of Japan into formal provinces," Lelouch said.
"Provinces, Your Eminence?" Kirihara emphasized the plurality.
"Of course," Lelouch said with a shrug. "Japan is far too large to organize as a single, overarching province. Even setting aside its population, the concentration of wealth that a single province represents would be highly imbalanced relative to other provinces. At minimum, Japan is likely to be split into two provinces, if not three or four."
Kirihara's lips thinned, and it could not be said that Tohdoh or Chiba looked especially pleased with such a notion either. Still, with more provinces came more offices to fill. While it may not be possible to have all of them be held by Japanese, they at least needed to secure the more prominent regions.
"Provinces, then, Your Eminence," Kirihara said. "And with respect to provinces, their provincial lords, or at least whom will be so appointed, is the second safeguard I speak of."
"You would obviously prefer Japanese be appointed provincial lords," Lelouch said.
One hardly needed to be some genius political operator to predict that, so Kirihara simply nodded, while letting his eyes glance over at Kaguya. Lelouch allowed his eyes to similarly wander over, and to her credit, Kaguya kept her expression stoically composed. If the girl felt any apprehension, or anticipation, at becoming a provincial lord, and therefore a Britannian noble, she hid it well.
"In principle, I have no objections to such an outcome," Lelouch said. "And I think His Majesty can be convinced of the merits therein. That being said, any person who would assume such a station must demonstrate the necessary qualities to wield the associated power wisely, and loyally. Such qualities, cannot be presumed of anyone."
Not even of Kaguya, was the clear insinuation. The girl pursed her lips, not out of disappointment, but in contemplation.
"And what manner of demonstration would Your Eminence consider adequate?" she asked.
"Nothing particularly dramatic," Lelouch said. "To meet the scholastic standards expected of any noble scion would be a good start. And to exhibit a strong work ethic in the management of one's house would further reinforce positive initial impressions. That being said, I suspect a demonstration of faith need not be anything more than a token gesture at this point, seeing how thoroughly it has been proven in the past."
Kaguya and Kirihara both let out sighs of relief. While Lelouch was not giving his explicit blessings to Kaguya assuming the position of provincial lord, he was at least signaling a willingness to keep her in consideration, and to support her should her personal growth be of a satisfactory nature. The standards he had set were not especially outlandish either, and they were further complemented by qualities that the cardinal considered to already be adequately proven. After all, one would have to be rather boorish to claim Kaguya had not demonstrated firm loyalty, to Lelouch at least, during her broadcasted statement.
It might not have been an unequivocal assent, but the cardinal was not likely to go back on his positive assessment thus far, so long as Kaguya herself did not mess up in some colossal fashion. For now, that would have to do. Which meant it was time to discuss the third, and possibly trickiest safeguard.
"The last safeguard," Kirihara said, "relates to the deposition of those men and women that presently serve in the Japanese Liberation Front. What does Your Eminence intend to do regarding them?"
"His Majesty's Government," Lelouch said, emphasizing that he already had the consent of the imperial government, "is prepared to offer the members of the JLF the same parole conditions as that of other Japanese military service personnel that accepted the Empire's amnesty after the conclusion of formal hostilities. So long as they swear to never bear arms against the Empire again, they will be allowed to return to civilian life. Furthermore, the Viceroyalty of Japan is prepared to offer a stipend for the next five years to each demobilized soldier, equal to what they would have received as a pension based upon their rank upon their entry into the JLF, to help them reestablish themselves."
The first bit was a given, the JLF certainly would not have agreed to demobilize if they would still be treated as criminals afterwards. The second was a very generous sweetener to make the overall deal more enticing. And Kirihara was quite certain he could wring a few more concessions out of Lelouch as well, in terms of making sure the JLF members were able to land on their feet. The cardinal would probably be quite open to any suggestions that further ensured no one was tempted to backslide into insurgency or outright petty crime.
"In exchange for these provisions however," Lelouch continued, "the Britannian government requires not only the demobilization of the JLF, but an accounting for any crimes JLF members may have incidentally committed separate from their acts of insurgency."
To that the cardinal's guests frowned. While abstractly they could understand why the Britannian government might stipulate such a condition, how it could be applied in an acceptable manner that did not derail the rest of the deal was beyond their current reckoning. Then again, Lelouch had surprised them once before with the creativity of his solutions, and the cardinal was certain to recognize the same problems that they did.
"Except in cases of capital crimes," Lelouch elucidated, "the Empire is prepared to settle for suspended sentences for all petty violations, so long as an apology is made to the harmed party, should there be one. Deaths inflicted upon Britannian service personnel will also be treated as being covered by the general amnesty. But any deaths willfully inflicted upon the civilian populace, be they Britannian or Japanese, must be accounted for."
That made more sense, and while calling it reasonable might be a leap too far, Kaguya and the others could understand the rationale and even see the inherent merits. Not everyone on both sides were necessarily prepared to forgive and forget, so letting the JLF off without any consequence would again only breed resentment that would just come back to bite all of them in the future. By having the JLF show some degree of penitence would do much to head off any such future troubles. It also helped that for the most part the JLF had managed to maintain internal discipline, so there were next to no incidents of them attempting to harm civilians, Kusakabe's rogue operation notwithstanding.
"I will discuss the conditions with the JLF leadership," Kirihara said, "and I will, convince them, of their reasonableness."
Lelouch nodded, accepting Kirihara's own reassurances in turn.
"As for the amnesty offer, may I ask a few points of clarification, Your Eminence?"
"Certainly."
"Am I to understand that this amnesty would grant the demobilized JLF soldiers all of the rights, and obligations, of any other Britannian subject?"
"Once the integration reaches the stage to extend such rights to all Japanese, yes."
"Of course," Kirihara said. "Then, am I to understand that the right to bear arms in service of a provincial lord is also accorded?"
Lelouch tilted his head. He then answered.
"There would be no legal grounds to deny demobilized JLF soldiers the right to enlist within a provincial guard, accounting for the discretion of the provincial lord in question."
"And any provincial lord, regardless of their heritage, would similarly be accorded all rights and prerogatives as those that presently hold such titles?" Kirihara pressed.
"At present I do not envision any reason to believe otherwise," Lelouch answered. "A noble is a provincial lord on account of their ability to defend and otherwise maintain order within their domain, for which a provincial guard would be essential."
All of Lelouch's guests let out sighs of relief, some more openly than others. The foundations necessary to ensure the Japanese people would possess genuine political power, and have the physical power to back it up. It would still not necessarily be easy to get persons of Japanese heritage into all of the desired positions, but the cardinal was clearly open to that prospect.
"Allow me to briefly summarize then," Lelouch said. "In exchange for the demobilization of the JLF, Kyoto House wishes for persons of Japanese lineage to be placed in positions of genuine authority within the viceroyalty administration, for persons of Japanese lineage to be installed as provincial peers for at least some of the eventual provinces, and for JLF personnel to be allowed to enlist within the provincial guards that will eventually be organized. Is that more or less correct, or is there anything that I might have left out?"
Kirihara gave a wry smile at how bluntly Lelouch had laid out the desired terms.
"Those are the salient concessions, yes, Your Eminence," he said.
Lelouch drummed his fingers on his desk for a few moments.
"By and large, I believe all of them can be achieved," he finally said. "Some effort will need to be exerted, a modicum of political capital expended, on both sides, but should we collectively work together, then I believe Japan would be set for a bright future."
Kaguya's own smile was much brighter and wider than the solemn one offered by Kirihara, while Tohdoh and Chiba remained stoically at attention throughout.
"That being said," Lelouch said, eliciting curious, bordering on wary, looks from his guests, "I feel the need to point out a few considerations that Kyoto House may not have accounted for. The first, it may yet be a few years before Japan's integration is to the point where it would be appropriate for a provincial guard to be mobilized. I would hope that the demobilized JLF personnel would not simply sit idly by during that time. It would feel incredibly wasteful if their talents to be left to grow staid in the interim, when there are so many ways in which their experience might be gainfully employed, such as in law enforcement, or emergency rescue services. Do you not agree?"
What Lelouch said made sense, the experience in disciplined unit action all soldiers gained could be readily transferred to a wide range of civilian occupations, especially those in the safety and security services. And there were certainly plenty of JLF soldiers that would be eager for a chance to serve for the betterment of their home like this. Of course the unspoken implication was that some might elect to make such a career change permanent, and so not be available to answer the call when the provincial guards were organized. But such attrition was inevitable, and Kyoto House was realistic enough to have anticipated, and accepted, it.
"That these soldiers be given the freedom to pursue whatever path they think best allows them to protect their home, that is sufficient," Kirihara stated. "Some may go down a less martial path, but that is the least that is owed them for their many years of service."
Lelouch nodded, seemingly satisfied, but not quite done either.
"The other point. By the time the provincial guards are organized, I suspect that many of the Japanese currently serving in the Britannian Armed Forces will be coming to the end of their service term. Some may elect to continue, but others will likely be accepting their discharge. There will certainly be many amongst them that will wish to continue their service, closer to home." The cardinal smiled thinly. "Surely Kyoto House sees nothing wrong with ensuring such persons, whom have demonstrated their valor and dedication to the protection of their people and their home, would receive equal consideration when it comes to acceptance in the provincial guards. And for that matter, I suspect there will be many Britannians whom call Japan home that would be equally eager to bear arms in protection of that home."
To that Tohdoh and Chiba could not help but widen their eyes slightly, while Kaguya was even less reserved in her reaction. Kirihara on the other hand narrowed his as he examined the cardinal's expression. The smile on Lelouch's face showed no hint of gloating or sarcasm, it was a very matter-of-factly quirk of the lips. Yet arguably the cardinal had quite a bit to gloat about. With a single stroke, he had demonstrated the perfect counterbalance to Kyoto House's plans of converting the JLF into Japan's provincial guard. Not by preventing that conversion, oh no, that would have been far too ham-fisted. Instead, by employing the same justifications that would allow the demobilized JLF soldiers to join the guard, he secured an avenue by which Japanese who had willingly sworn an oath of allegiance even before the current rapprochement could also join the guard, ensuring that the resulting combination would not be too heavily slanted towards Japanese nationalism or patriotism. A rebalancing that would be further reinforced by the Britannian recruits that were mentioned as almost an afterthought.
This could not have been a spur of the moment inspiration, Kirihara was absolutely certain. Lelouch must have been contemplating this, since perhaps the moment he began instituting his reforms of the occupational forces. It all made sense now, just why he organized the bulk of the Japanese soldiers into a single, unified formation, instead of spreading them out. In doing so, the cardinal had created a cadre of Japanese soldiers that, after witnessing the betterment of their home, would feel personal loyalty to the Empire, at least in the person of the viceroy, and share a common camaraderie with their fellow Japanese soldiers, which if they sought to preserve in continued service after their discharge, would naturally lead them towards joining Japan's provincial guards. If Lelouch really had implemented his reorganization of the Japanese soldiers with this goal in mind, that meant he had predicted, months ago, Kyoto House's demands, and put in place plans to simultaneously grant and counterbalance them. Despite himself, Kirihara could not help but smile at the sheer cunning and insight being displayed. After all those years dealing with the rank incompetence of the Britannian occupational authorities, this was a refreshing, almost welcoming contrast.
"May I just say, Your Eminence," Kirihara heard himself begin, "how reassured I would be if your tenure as viceroyalty would extend to the assumption of satellite status by Japan, and that your person would be selected as one of the provincial lords." The elderly man's eyes shifted ever so slightly towards Kaguya. "And that we would warmly welcome a greater closeness with our houses."
No one missed the insinuation of Kirihara's words, not least Kaguya herself, considering the very faint blush that colored her cheeks. If Lelouch was at all taken aback by the suggestion, he did a better job hiding it at least.
"In truth I honestly cannot say that my tenure would last that long," the cardinal said. "I was appointed at the discretion of His Majesty, but I remain first and foremost a cardinal of Eden vital. Should the situation in Japan sufficiently stabilize, there would likely be other demands upon my attention."
A rejection, of sorts, but short of an unequivocal one. Kaguya kept her face measured, despite her slight disappointment. Lelouch might be signaling his apparent disinterest right now, but as with most things with a political slant, there was always some room left open for a potential change of mind. And not without some effort as well.
"Is that so," Kirihara on the other hand said, sounding entirely at ease. "Well, I suppose Kyoto House will need to exert some degree of effort to emphasize the, necessity, of your continued presence. Through entire amicable means, of course."
"Of course," Lelouch drawled, then nodded towards one of his own attendants that had been stationed in the room.
The woman in question moved quickly and deftly, setting five glasses upon the desk in between Lelouch and his guests. A pop sounded as she uncorked a bottle, and then proceeded to fill each glass with an amber liquid.
"I've always found myself more partial to mead than wines," Lelouch said. "It may not be the sake that all of you used to, but I hope you will accept my assurances that I chose a quality bottle."
Lelouch stood and picked up one of the glasses. Kaguya and Kirihara did likewise, and after a nod from the latter, Tohdoh and Chiba followed suit.
"Ms. Kaguya Sumeragi," Lelouch raised his glass. "Mr. Taizo Kirihara. Lieutenant-Colonel Kyoshiro Tohdoh. Lieutenant Nagisa Chiba. A toast."
The others clinked their glasses together.
"To the future of Japan. May her people find peace, prosperity, and dignity therein."
End of Chapter 26
This entire chapter was just two goddamn scenes. I'm not sure whether I should be happy or irritated. Originally I thought the wrapping of remaining loose ends would only take two more chapters, including this one. I still think the most pertinent points will be dealt with next chapter, but I suspect I might need yet another chapter to handle some of the personal interactions that need to be shown.
Lelouch knows how to play the long game. And yes, I had been doing setup for this all the way back in the aftermath of the Shinjuku arc. All it took was twenty chapters to get to the payoff. Or one of the payoffs.
I know that scene is going to get the shippers going again. I will again warn against jumping to conclusions one way or another, futile as the effort may be. For all that one might think a relationship 'just makes sense,' keep in mind that the characters themselves have their own priorities that drives their decision making processes, priorities that may not necessarily align with a reader's desires.
I posted a basic ranking system of Eden Vital in one of the earlier chapters, but functionally the order goes grandmaster, cardinal, archbishop, bishop. A few other ranks are more elastic as to how much authority is associated with them, and there are of course other ranks below bishop, but for a basic understanding of who is in charge, the above is sufficient. Cardinals are appointed solely at C.C.'s discretion. No titles are inherited, though certain families have successfully produced multiple holders of certain offices due to their long tradition of service. And pretty much all Eden Vital cardinals are from a pool of candidates that were groomed from a young age to prepare them for the exercise of power. Yes, that probably is as creepy as it sounds. A reminder that Eden Vital, while it ostensibly seeks to do good, is still very much concerned about the preservation of its own power, as well as the proper exercising of that power. There is also a succession protocol for grandmaster, but as that really hasn't been an actual issue since, ever, it's not something that gets brought up in day to day discussions.
As for foreign cardinals, keep in mind that Pieri is a cardinal of the Holy See, which is an entirely different institution distinct from Eden Vital and which has no formal relation since the Catholic Church tried to burn C.C. at the stake. In legal terms, Pieri's title of cardinal is of no relevance to Eden Vital, much as Lelouch's is equally meaningless within the Catholic Church's hierarchy. They are accorded the same degree of respect one might a high-ranking minister of a foreign government, but the limit of their actual authority ends at the bounds of their respective organizations, and their duties may not necessarily be comparable either.
There are also other, far more prominent cardinals than Lelouch in Eden Vital itself, at least before that video of him cutting down the JLF soldiers got livestreamed. Kallen listed off a few of them all the way back in the first arc. Lelouch is just the one readers are more familiar with since he's the one we're following around.
Movement closer to the throne is not always a good, or safe, direction to be going in. Even setting aside Marianne's murder, it's been mentioned a few times that Charles became emperor as the result of a military coup, the circumstances of which will be covered in a later chapter. In that respect, Lelouch is a desirable match in many ways. He is of imperial lineage, making him quite prestigious a partner, with a lot less of imperial baggage than would come with an actual prince of the realm. Depending on the prominence of the house his wife comes from, it would be closer to him marrying into his wife's house than his wife marrying into his. Lelouch's ties with Eden Vital complicates things a bit, since Lelouch's 'house' can more or less be considered the whole of Eden Vital, so the balance of power is still tilted in favor of Lelouch, but by and large there would still be less competition for attention or priority between the interests of his wife's house and that of Lelouch's own 'house' than if he were a prince.
