Chapter 28
Of Dearest Obligations
As Suzaku rolled into the classroom in his wheelchair, Rivalz gave a broad smiled and walked over.
"Yo!" he clapped the Japanese youth on the shoulder. "Welcome back, champ. Heard you got wrapped up in that kerfuffle at Lake Kawaguchi. Glad to have you back in one piece."
Suzaku gave a wry smile. "Thanks, Rivalz. And it's good to be back."
Rivalz nodded. "You should drop by and check in with Kaguya too. She's putting on a brave face, but I'm sure she'd appreciate a few comforting words from her cousin."
That caused Suzaku to blink. "Is she okay?"
"Well, as I said," Rivalz rubbed his nose, "she's definitely trying to not let it show, but something like that? Anyone would have the right to be scared out of their wits. And I'm sure she's worried about you, too, seeing as whatever you did to earn yourself a commendation also had you out longer than her."
Suzaku's eyes widened. "Wait, what? How do you know about that?"
"What are you talking about?" Rivalz said with a playful smile. "I am one of the prefects, so I see the absentee notifications for any students that are excused. Yours mentioned something about exhibiting bravery under enemy fire and getting banged up as a consequence." He then chuckled. "That and the government publishes the names of all recipients of awards for valor in the Pendragon Gazette. Your notification showed up in the issue we were using for the civics class."
"Oh," Suzaku said, then more softly. "Umm, how many people know?"
"Pretty much the entire damn school at this point," Rivalz said. "Chin up, it's nothing to be shy about. It's not every day one gets to claim as schoolmate someone who was awarded the Royal Elizabethan Medal."
"I'll certainly try," Suzaku said with a wry smile.
Looking around the room, Suzaku caught sight of Kallen, already seated and pulling things out of her bag. The girl did not deign to notice him, but that was probably less about her opinion of him and more out of a desire to not draw further attention to herself. Suzaku had immediately recognized Kallen in the brief glimpses of her from the video stream of Kaguya's rescue, but thus far it remained unclear how many of their classmates had made that same connection. Suzaku did not begrudge Kallen's desire to avoid drawing any attention to that, and so simply rolled towards his desk. At that the bell rang and a moment later the instructor walked into the room.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen," he said. "Let's get settled in, shall we? Ah, Mr. Kururugi. Glad to have you back with us."
"Thank you, Mr. Taylor."
Once everyone was at their desk, the teacher began the class.
"Now, as we are just starting a new unit, I thought I'd see how many of you may have read ahead, or done some independent study of your own."
Sniggers could be heard throughout the room, and the smirk on the teacher's face told all he had been expecting it.
"Mr. Cardemonde. Who is the father of our current sovereign?"
"Crown Prince Ulysses zi Britannia," Rivalz answered without missing a beat.
The youth might not be amongst the highest tier of Ashford's scholastic achievers, but even a middling student at the school was expected to meet certain standards.
"Ms. Fenette," the instructor moved onto his next victim. "Why is the Prince Ulysses known as Ulysses the Just?"
"Because of his active involvement in advancing civil rights and social justice," Shirley answered.
None of this was particularly specialized knowledge, most Britannians that managed to completely their primary education could be assumed to know this much. Of course, Ashford had in attendance several students that had not undergone the standard Britannian education.
"And Mr. Kururugi. Why is it that we refer to Emperor Charles' father as just the crown prince?"
"I assume it's because he was never crowned emperor?" Suzaku answered with much less certainty than the other students.
"He certainly was not," Mr. Taylor stated. "And as some of you have likely surmised, the next period we will be covering is the late modern period, specifically the timeframe of the Great War."
While most of the students were paying at least some degree of attention, Suzaku was arguably listening the most intently. His truncated education had left him with significant gaps in his knowledge of history, and the young man was finding that filling that gap was actually one of the more enjoyable endeavors at Ashford.
"From 1950 to 1956, the world was locked in a titanic struggle that stretched all across Europe and Asia," Mr. Taylor began. "Fighting even reached the Americas, albeit in more constrained bursts compared to what the old world suffered. Indeed for the first two years of the conflict, Britannia maintained a neutral stance. And the man that ultimately convinced the Empire to join the fight was none other than Ulysses the Just."
The teacher turned on the projector, displaying a map of the eastern hemisphere, including Europe, Asia, and Africa.
"The origins of this war can ultimately be traced back to the fallout of the European War of 1914. As I'm sure you all remember from your tests, the conclusion of that war saw the functional collapse of the most powerful of the European monarchies. Mr. Larson, which monarchies were those?"
"The German, Austrian, Ottoman, and Russian monarchies," came the response.
"Correct," Mr. Taylor said. "And it was the fall of the Russian Empire that planted the seeds of the Great War, for the successor state that emerged, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, was the instigator of that conflict. The USSR, or Soviet Union, rapidly overcame the economic decrepitude suffered by the Russian Empire and emerged in the 1940s as a major industrial power. Combined with its communist political philosophy, the Soviet Union has been widely regarded as Britannia's greatest rival of that age."
This being the case, it was then rather surprising that Britannia took two years to join a war against the Soviet Union, at least from Suzaku's perspective. Clearly other factors were in play, which presumably he would learn about in the coming weeks. Assuming of course his schooling was not interrupted by some task from the Camelot Institute.
"Now, based on the map here, it should be quite evident that the historical borders are much different than what they are today," Mr. Taylor said. "The territory that the Soviet Union encompassed includes that of several modern-day nations like Ukraine, as well as regions that are now controlled by other polities, like Mongolia and Xinjiang."
Presumably because, in the end, the Soviet Union lost the war.
"That the Great War ultimately concluded in victory for the Alliance has been rightfully attributed to Britannia entering on the Allied side," the teacher continued, "but one should not dismiss the contributions of the other nations. After all, had the Europeans not managed to hold the line for those first two years, even Britannia would have been hard pressed to muster the strength to retake the continent. And make no mistake, the Soviets made the Allies pay for every inch of ground."
It was a more somber mood in which the class now listened. Young though the students may be, and convinced of their immortality the way all teens were wont to be, that they lived in an administrative area still undergoing integration meant all of them possessed at least a slight awareness of the sort of costs one must pay in war. Treasure, certainly, but the greatest price was always in blood.
"Now, while the bulk of Britannia's attention was on the European front," Mr. Taylor said, "the Pacific theater had its share of drama, not least due to the Empire of Japan's attempts to exploit the distraction of the other polities facing the Soviet Union to try and expand its own sphere of influence. And seeing as all of us currently call Japan home, it would certainly be prudent for us to understand the chain of events that ultimately saw the downfall of the Japanese imperial government."
Suzaku suspected that had he sat such a class in a Japanese school, the emphasis and nuances would be quite different. At the same time, even if history was written by the winners, the basic chain of events usually did not change, and he would likely learn something interesting from this different perspective.
"Now then, let us set the place and time," Mr. Taylor began once more. "The year was 1945, and Europe was making significant strides in recovering from the ravages of the European War of 1914. Germany had paid off the punitive sanctions demanded of it, and with the rising threat of the USSR to the east, had even been grudgingly allowed to rearm. But the relative peace did not mean the continent was particularly calm, especially in the eastern nations that bordered a burgeoning USSR. The Soviet economy was also growing by leaps and bounds, and Josef Stalin, that nation's leader, seemed determined to expand its borders to reclaim territory that once was part of the old Russian Empire. The Soviets had already fought a few skirmishes with the Finns and the Romanians, and despite its initial poor showing against the former, ultimately achieved their territorial objectives. The rest of Europe, so awakened to Soviet ambitions, began to contemplate how they might deter further aggression. After several months of negotiations, a mutual defense treaty was signed by a large majority of the European nations, from Poland to Spain. In many respects, this treaty could be said to be the true originator of the European Union that exists today, whatever French politicians like to claim about Napoleon's political program."
That last bit was probably a bit more tinged with nationalistic sentiment than might be appropriate for a history teacher, but there was a certain kernel of truth to it. Political dogma within French remained to this day insistent that the European Union embodied the sort of revolutionary spirit from which Napoleon's rise sprung, despite the fact that Napoleon himself arguably regressed that revolution with his attempt to establish a new imperial dynasty with himself as the founder. Most people from other EU member states just rolled their eyes and moved the topic along as quickly as possible, while most actual historians, even those within France itself, did not even deign to treat it as anything more than political posturing.
"The stage for a clash between the Alliance and the USSR had thus been set," Mr. Taylor continued. "But notice, how we haven't heard a whisper about Britannia. Where was the Empire in all this, the prelude to the most destructive war humanity would ever wrought?" He looked around. "Ms. Kaminski. Any ideas?"
The girl blinked in surprise at being so called, but gamely tried to respond.
"Umm, 1945, Britannia would probably still be recovering from the Great Depression?"
"Hmm, not quite, but close," Mr. Taylor said, correcting his student without admonishing her. "By 1945, the Empire had mostly regained the ground lost during the Great Depression, but the mentality that the Depression produced was still going strong. It was a mentality of insular isolationism, wherein the Empire should put its own needs first instead before bothering to extend a hand to other nations, however dire their situation. And let's be frank here, the situation in Europe was dire indeed, even before the wider war broke out."
Hence the not quite. While the immediate economic dislocation of the Depression was clearly over by 1945, the mental trauma suffered by the Empire's populace was still a major factor driving their priorities.
"Domestically at the time the imperial government was also in the midst of some considerable upheaval, with the Conservatives dead set on preventing what they considered to be overly socialist policies proposed by the Labor party from advancing in parliament," Mr. Taylor said. "And as we learned last unit, the unpopularity of the Emperor Fredrich after his mismanagement of the Depression response meant the balancing role that the imperial family usually performed was notably diminished during this time of turmoil."
It said a lot about Fredrich's genuine unpopularity that he could be so openly dismissed in a classroom setting like this, as other mediocre emperors were at least spared such public disdain. Seeing as Fredrich had actually been booted from the throne by Charles in a coup, however, that alone was reason enough to try to cast the late emperor in as poor a light as possible, if only to justify the means of his grandson's ascendency. Of course Fredrich had made it really easy by actually being that incompetent and easily manipulated by some of the more hardline conservatives amongst the peerage. Not surprisingly, those same peers also got the axe, literally, when Charles came to power.
"It was amidst this environs that the Prince Ulysses was growing up," Mr. Taylor continued, "and while his wealth and station shielded him from the sort of deprivation that so many of the Empire's subjects suffered from, he was not oblivious to that suffering either. For, much like his grandson the Cardinal Lamperouge, Prince Ulysses was a devout follower of Eden Vital."
That particular tidbit caused a few students to blink. What little had been taught about the crown prince in primary had of course lacked the depth that they were clearly going to be undergoing in the forthcoming lessons, so few of the seated students had been aware of that connection. Then again, plenty of members of the imperial family had been Eden Vital adherents. Charles the Great, of whom their present sovereign, Charles II, was a namesake of, had similarly been known as an Eden Vital follower, and many claimed those beliefs were what influenced his decision to emancipate all slaves owned by the crown. On the other hand, formal historians tended to frame the emancipation act in the context of the political struggles between northern and southern peers instead. That however was a unit already covered in Ashford's history courses, namely in the freshman year, so this class would not be delving into much detail therein.
"And it is also not coincidentally that it was only after His Highness became more actively involved in politics that Britannia began paying more than lip service to the deteriorating situation in Europe. For this reason, much of this unit will track Prince Ulysses' political career in the process of exploring the changes the Empire itself underwent. And for those that aspire to become future leaders of Britannia, there are arguably few that would serve as better examples to emulate than Prince Ulysses."
As pretentious as that may have sounded, Ashford Academy was, by virtue of its student demographic, a place where many future lords and ladies of the Empire were nurtured, so there was some truth to that last remark. And if some of those future lords and ladies actually took heed of the lessons they learned within these halls, then all the better.
"The bloodwork from the autopsies confirmed it," Sancia said at the front of the conference room. "All of the JLF soldiers participating in the Lake Kawaguchi attack had traces of Refrain in their system. Based on the levels detected, they likely had seen continuous dosages applied to them for several weeks at least."
As a drug, Refrain had few equals in the pharmaceutical world. When taken, it was capable of stimulating the brain to produce a variety of effects. The most common one, and therefore the most abused one, was an enhanced ability to vividly recall memories. And the larger the dosage, the more clearly the memory surfaced, to the point where one could be fooled into thinking they were actually reliving the event in question.
Of course as with any drug, taking too much could result in severe, even fatal reactions. It was not uncommon for Refrain abusers to suffer strokes from an overdose, and even those spared such an adverse reaction still suffered long-term neurological damage, ranging from memory loss to decreased motor control, as a consequence of the plaque buildup in the brain's grey matter that the drug caused. As horrific as the effects were however, they had not been the primary motive behind Eden Vital lobbying the Britannian government to put it on the controlled substance list at the most restrictive tier, which constituted a de facto ban. The real reason was that Refrain, when administered in very specific manners, could induce an unstable form of geass upon its users, or bolster the power of a regular contractor. Indeed, it was suspected that the very first geass wielders in the world stumbled upon their powers inadvertently while abusing the drug. And considering the damage that a rogue wielder could inflict before they burned out or were brought to heel, little wonder Eden Vital and the Britannian government were so eager to prevent them from appearing in the first place.
Lelouch pursed his lips thoughtfully. "And the JLF soldiers that accompanied Mr. Kirihara?"
"No trace of the drug was detected in their bloodstream," Sancia answered, "but there were a few other telltales that suggest they were exposed in the past."
Convincing those soldiers to allow a physical to be performed on them had not been easy, but ultimately Tohdoh and his subordinates had acquiesced. And from the opportunity to more thoroughly examine the JLF soldiers, Eden Vital was slowly piecing together just how their memories might have been manipulated.
"I presume that the Glaston Knights and Suzaku did not show any such signs?" Lelouch asked next.
With the unspoken insinuation that they had damn well better not. If members of an imperial scion's own royal guard were found to have been on as hard a drug as Refrain, the fallout would not be limited to just those armsmen being dismissed.
"None of them showed any indication of Refrain ingestion, either direct or indirect," Sancia stated.
Which suggested that whatever perception manipulation was done to make them misidentify Eden Vital's knightmares for JLF frames did not require the drug's application. Of course, that simply raised other questions.
"Any hypothesis as to why Suzaku was the only one that did not misidentify the engaged combatants, then?" the cardinal continued his questions.
"We have one," Sancia said. "Unlike the Glaston Knights, Mr. Kururugi is equipped with a neuro-link interface developed by the Camelot Institute. While Camelot's version is not as advanced as Eden Vital's, the basic operating principle remains the same. The augmentation of his nervous system might have insulated him sufficiently from the heretical contractor, at least at the range he or she was operating at."
That caused the cardinal to narrow his eyes. "That sounds like we have a second person at Ashford that possesses at least a degree of protection against a geass."
Sancia blinked once before nodding, apparently not having considered that.
"Does Your Eminence wish to enlist Mr. Kururugi in the protection of the primaries there?"
Under any other circumstance, there would be a great deal of merit to the suggestion. The obvious caveat here was of course his paraplegic status. Suzaku was highly unlikely to outpace anyone, and there were enough natural obstacles that would otherwise impede any effort to chase someone down. But the young man could probably still fire a gun, and he did not necessarily need to run after anyone in order to protect someone. The gears in Lelouch's head continued to turn.
"We will need to evaluate Suzaku's fitness to act in even a limited protective role," the cardinal stated. "Get an assessment from his psychiatric counselor and check with the military if he is keeping up with his firearm proficiency."
"Understood, Your Eminence," Sancia said. "And what of assessing his geass resistance?"
Lelouch drummed his fingers on the conference table. "Orpheus' geass manipulates perception, even if only applied to himself. That should be sufficient to get at least a first order assessment. I will have a temporary transfer arranged."
"Just a temporary transfer?"
The cardinal raised an eyebrow. "You have something in mind?"
"Just that both Orpheus and Oldrin are at the right age that their presence at Ashford would not go particularly noted," the woman suggested. "Would that not significantly bolster the security of the school?"
As Sancia suggested, the twins Orpheus and Oldrin Zevon were the same age as Lelouch himself, which put them at the junior level of secondary. Both were also contractors, with similar geasses. Orpheus could manipulate other's perception of him to make them believe he was someone they knew, while Oldrin could make herself functionally invisible by slipping beneath their awareness.
"You actually expect me to be able to reassign two contractors like that?" Lelouch said, the eyebrow rising even higher.
"The twins are both members of the Order Militant," Sancia responded nonchalantly. "Is not the deployment of the Order's resources at your discretion as the commanding cardinal?"
It was of course a bit more complicated than that, seeing as Lelouch needed to balance the global needs of the Order Militant with the very finite resources available to him. Even if Eden Vital could mobilize a significant number of bodies, the number of geass contractors available was considerably more constrained. And what Sancia was proposing here was transferring not just one, but two such contractors to Japan, to join the half dozen that were already here. That represented a concentration of contractors greater than pretty much any place outside of the Citadel and Pendragon. Then question then was whether the situation in Japan warranted the divergence of the Zevon twins from their current postings.
"Orpheus is presently part of the inquisitorial detachment in Pendragon," Lelouch recalled aloud, "and removing him for overlong might have a direct impact upon that detachment's counterintelligence activities in the capital. Oldrin on the other hand is presently attending Pendleton Academy and does not have an active assignment there, so her transfer would be less disruptive operationally. How happy she would be if uprooted from her current social environment is another question entirely, however…"
Even if the siblings were full-fledged members of Eden Vital, that did not change the fact that they were still adolescent minors. They would certainly obey an order if issued, but if that order was cause for disgruntlement, then morale, both current and future, might suffer. Even more so since a transfer of just Oldrin would effectively separate her from the cohort that she grew up with. That Lelouch was able to so easily flit around the world wherever he was needed was due in significant part to having his own cohort accompany him.
"Oldrin would still be one year above the Princess Euphemia," Sancia pointed out. "It might behoove us to transfer an additional member of that cohort that matches Her Highness' age so that they could be placed in the same class with her."
Lelouch tilted his head. "You do recall the relative priorities of the primaries, Sancia?"
"Of course, Your Eminence," Sancia responded without missing a bit.
After a few moments Lelouch gave a sigh. "Who would you propose transferring with Oldrin?"
"Toto Thompson," the young woman had an immediate answer ready.
Thinking it over, Lelouch found he could only recall a vague impression of the girl in question. That was likely a consequence of him socializing more with Orpheus and Oldrin than the other children of their cohort. Sancia however seemed to know the girl well enough to recommend her.
"Very well," Lelouch finally said. "Forward me her profile and I'll make a final decision after reviewing it."
"Yes, Your Eminence."
Lelouch leaned back into his seat. "Do we have an estimate as to just how much Refrain was used on the JLF?"
The number that Sancia uttered caused Lelouch to quirk an eyebrow again. The street value of such a quantity amounted to close to several tens of millions of pounds, which represented a significant opportunity cost being invested in the attempt to suborn the JLF. Even setting that aside, the amount of sakuradite byproduct required to make that much Refrain was nothing to sneeze at either.
"That must constitute the vast majority of Refrain that the contractors had initially smuggled in," Lelouch remarked.
"Likely, Your Eminence, but we cannot be certain," Sancia cautioned.
The cardinal tilted his head. "There have not been any reports of major Refrain shipment seizures."
Sancia shook her head. "No attempts to smuggle the drug in in substantial quantities have been detected since Your Eminence's appointment as viceroy."
"The heretics may be attempting to locate a domestic source," Lelouch stated.
A not unreasonable assertion, seeing as Japan was the largest producer of sakuradite, the refining byproducts of which were one of the ingredients to make Refrain.
"Does Your Eminence wish to more closely scrutinize sakuradite operations?" Sancia asked.
"We already have access to the Sumeragi Group's accounts," Lelouch said. "That should provide some insight into which companies are engaged in the various stages of sakuradite mining and refining. From there, we can examine more closely those companies that would have opportunity to engage in Refrain manufacturing."
Sancia nodded, jotting down yet another task set before her.
"It might also behoove us to sound out some of our resistance contacts," the cardinal continued. "Most are unlikely to look too favorably on the proliferation of Refrain amongst the Japanese populace, at least those not involved in such elicit distribution themselves. Those that are opposed to such drug dealing may be willing to share what they know."
And in the process, they might weed out a few more resistance cells that had slipped into criminality, while identifying those that would be amiable to reintegrating into society. Let it not be said that Lelouch would let slip opportunities to advance multiple agendas at the same time.
When Suzaku entered the prefect clubhouse, he found that he was not the first to arrive. Seated in the foyer was the pink haired girl named Euphemia, of whom Suzaku was fairly certain was the actual Princess Euphemia, sister to the Princess Cornelia and half-sister to the Cardinal Lamperouge. When Euphemia caught sight of him, she offered a friendly smile.
"Hello, Suzaku," Euphemia greeted.
"Euphemia," Suzaku said in turn, returning the smile.
"I'm glad to see you back safely," the girl said earnestly. "Both you and Kaguya."
That Euphemia was mindful enough to bring up Suzaku's cousin marked the girl as a very thoughtful person indeed. That she did so without any motive beyond genuine concern was also heartening to those that concern was directed towards, like Suzaku himself.
"Thank you," the youth said. "I could wish things hadn't turned out as dangerous as they did, but I'm glad I was able to do my part and protect the conference site."
"I'd say you did more than just that, considering the commendation you were given," Euphemia said.
To that Suzaku scratched his cheek sheepishly. "Oh, so you know about that too?"
The girl tilted her head. "Are you unhappy about the medal?"
"Oh, no, no!" Suzaku quickly said. "I'm honored that His Eminence thought me worthy of such an award. It's just, I wasn't trying to get a medal or anything, I was just doing my job. And I wasn't the only soldier that fought at Lake Kawaguchi, or even the only one that got hurt. I know the medal is supposed to be an award of distinction, but I just can't see me having done anything especially, well, valorous, in the first place."
Such self-deprecation might be characteristic of the Japanese people, but in Suzaku's case there were other deep-seated reasons for seeming lack of confidence. Perhaps Euphemia sensed this, as she cast a comforting smile.
"I don't doubt that you did serve with distinction at Lake Kawaguchi," the girl said, "but that wouldn't be why you received the medal."
Suzaku blinked in mild befuddlement. "What?"
"Didn't Le-His Eminence explain it when he gave you the medal?" Euphemia continued. "The Royal Elizabethan Order was established to reward personal service to the sovereign, members of the sovereign's family, or direct representatives of the sovereign. As such, it's more a mark of personal gratitude than a mark of valor, even if many of its members did perform acts of valor to earn that gratitude."
"Gratitude, not valor," Suzaku said thoughtfully, before smiling wryly. "I suppose I should be happy, that I've been able to repay His Eminence to some degree for what he's done for me and my people so far."
Euphemia nodded, then regarded the youth levelly. "Suzaku."
"Hmm?"
"Do you mind, telling me. What happened when His Eminence gave you the medal?"
The reason for the question was evident enough, even if awareness of them carried a significant amount of complications. After all, publicly Euphemia was most certainly not the Third Princess of the Realm, and it was not her sister and brother that had been at loggerheads. But Euphemia was clearly worried enough about her siblings that she was prepared to take a degree of risk by inquiring. And Suzaku, recognizing how much she cared, found himself wanting to help reassure her in some way. Looking around to make sure no one was about to interrupt them, he began.
"There were several people attending the meeting where I was awarded the medal, amongst them General Darlton, Princess Cornelia and several of her knights, including one that had deployed at Lake Kawaguchi with me."
Euphemia's eyes widened, perhaps because the girl had not expected Suzaku to indulge her. Now that he was however, she listened intently.
"The deployment of myself and the Glaston Knights was at the order of the Princess Cornelia," Suzaku continued, "but things didn't go as planned. Eden Vital's forces did not appreciate our intervention, even though we were trying to help them, and in a way their concerns were warranted. I can't tell you exactly what happened, but one of the cardinal's direct retainers was injured in the battle as a consequence. So, His Eminence was not very happy with Her Highness' design to deploy us in the first place."
It was clear from her look of genuine surprise that Euphemia had not heard much if any details about the actual kerfuffle at Lake Kawaguchi. And arguably Suzaku really should not be leaking operational details like this, vague though his descriptions may be.
"After I received the medal, I was dismissed from the meeting, so I'm afraid I don't know what happened between His Eminence and Princess Cornelia. I'm sorry."
"No, what you've told me is more than what I knew before," Euphemia assured him. "For that you have my thanks as well."
Though from Euphemia's expression, the girl herself was far from assured. Suzaku pursed his lips.
"Euphemia."
That saw the girl blink as she met his gaze.
"I think, at the end of the day, His Eminence does greatly care about his family," Suzaku stated. "All of his family, whoever or wherever they may be. If he is at all angry, that anger is rooted in his love for them. So, please don't doubt that he does care about all of them." The Japanese youth's lips thinned. "And you."
Euphemia's eyes went wide again at the not so subtle insinuation. In retrospect, that Suzaku might suspect her true identity was perhaps to be expected, considering the dramatic nature of her introduction to the Japanese youth. And considering Suzaku himself had some degree of acquaintance with Cardinal Lamperouge meant he was also exposed to a few more bits of information that would help in his discernment. Still, as unsubtle as Suzaku's remarks were, the youth had not come outright in stating the truth of Euphemia's identity, so he was showing at least some degree of tact. And perhaps most importantly of all, he was trying to assure her on the one thing that Euphemia was genuinely worried about, the distance between Lelouch and the rest of their family, herself included. That, above all else, brought immeasurable comfort to the girl.
"Euphie."
Suzaku blinked. "What?"
Euphemia gave a broad smile. "That's what my friends call me, Euphie."
To that a smile crept across Suzaku's own face as he grasped the meaning.
"Euphie," he repeated, finding that for some reason saying that name felt so very right.
"Mind if I join you, sir?"
Looking up, Jeremiah saw Villetta with her own tray of food.
"Not at all. Please."
The two were in MacArthur Base's officer's club, the place seeing brisk activity with the noontime rush. Despite the number of diners, Jeremiah had been conspicuously alone as he enjoyed his lunch. Some of that was due to the ample amount of seating available, even during mealtime the number of officers at MacArthur that were part of the officer's club were not so many that the place would ever feel particularly cramped. Combined with how many of the officers came from some degree of wealth due to their families, and the place was very nicely appointed indeed.
That being said, there was undeniably a slight stigma now associated with Jeremiah due to both his past association with the disgraced Purists and his present command of an infantry regiment composed mostly of Honorary Britannians. While on paper his current posting constituted a lateral transfer, in practice going from commanding knightmares to mechanized infantry was openly considered by many to be a major step down. By and large, Jeremiah was not terribly bothered by the distance the other officers kept. In the past, he might have felt slighted, but these days the margrave was finding his self-worth was not so fragile. Besides, these days more often than not Jeremiah took his meals with one of the platoons in his regiment, and only rarely did he bother dropping by the officer's club. And on those occasions that he did, there were still a few officers like Villetta that did not let his current stigma deter them.
"There certainly has been some increased excitement over the past few weeks," Villetta said, "what with the victory won at Lake Kawaguchi."
Jeremiah nodded. "The trap was exquisitely laid by His Eminence, and its execution was worthy of a child of the Empress Marianne. I am even somewhat envious of the Eden Vital forces that were so privileged to participate in the battle."
"To be honest, it came as something of a surprise that Eden Vital could mobilize so many soldiers on their own," Villetta remarked. "I had been aware of the existence of their Order Militant, but I assumed they were little more than glorified security guards, however proficient and competent they may be."
"I too held such presumptions in the past," Jeremiah said. "And in some ways I still hold them, if for no other reason than not encountering any situations that brought such presumptions to my immediate attention or awareness. But after seeing the results of the Lake Kawaguchi operation, it is readily evident that Eden Vital possesses a fully capable armed force, easily on par with that of the regular military."
Villetta's lips thinned. "Does that fact not cause some degree of disquiet, sir? That a religious denomination is capable of fielding such an effective private army?"
Jeremiah took a sip of his tea as he pondered a response.
"The concern is certainly warranted," the margrave said, and Villetta relaxed ever so slightly at having her worries not be dismissed out of hand. "That there is another concentration of military power beyond that of the formal military is something we as officers of the Armed Forces must take seriously. Still, I can't help but recall the assertion His Eminence has been constantly making, that Eden Vital is only stepping in with their resources because secular authority has proven inadequate in fulfilling its duty. In that regard, does the same not hold true for the military?"
That saw Villetta grimace a bit. "Does His Eminence still consider our forces to be inadequate?"
The margrave spent a moment chewing his present mouthful and swallowing before answering.
"You are aware that I once served in the Empress Marianne's royal guard."
Villetta blinked but nodded. It was hard to imagine anyone that knew the margrave and was not aware of that fact, but Jeremiah clearly intended the statement, not question, to act as a segue into his actual point.
"Due to the Princess Cornelia serving as captain of that guard, the royal guard of Her Highness was heavily intermingled with Her Majesty's own," the margrave continued. "I've retained contact with several of those so sworn to Her Highness, and from one of those old friends I learned that there was an," Jeremiah's voice fell to a near whisper, "error of identification incident involving the Glaston Knights and a squadron of knightmares piloted by His Eminence's direct retainers, resulting in one of those retainers being injured."
That saw Villetta inhale sharply. Friendly fire incidents were always unfortunate, and all too easily could become tragic if fatalities were involved. That might not have happened this time around, but for the two parties involved to be those under the direct command of the Princess Cornelia and Cardinal Lamperouge carried with it additional implications.
"Have the facts of the incident been established?" Villetta asked equally quietly.
"To the extent that we know who fired the first shot," Jeremiah answered, "and it wasn't His Eminence's forces. The interesting bit however is that apparently the pilot of the knightmare prototype fielded by Camelot did not suffer from whatever confusion caused the misidentification, and the Eden Vital forces themselves seemed unaffected."
Villetta frowned. "What could that mean?"
Jeremiah twirled his fork. "You saw the Eden Vital machines when we were assigned as the rapid response unit for His Eminence's visit into the Shinjuku district. They were obviously of more advanced design than the Sutherlands currently deployed, and likely even more advanced than the Gloucesters that are just now entering limited deployment. The same could also be said of Camelot's prototype. As different as these knightmares may look though, I find it hard to believe that knights of the caliber that serve Princess Cornelia would misidentify them, unless there was some sort of subterfuge being enacted by the JLF. If that is indeed the case, then it may well be that whatever upgrades are possessed by Eden Vital, and Camelot's, knightmare allowed them to overcome that subterfuge. In that regard, His Eminence may have genuine grounds to consider the regular forces, inadequate."
Villetta's expression remained pensive as she mulled over Jeremiah's train of thought.
"That still seems highly speculative," she finally said.
"Agreed," Jeremiah readily conceded. "Still, something regarding the Lake Kawaguchi operation caused His Eminence to rely solely upon Eden Vital's internal resources, and from the results that he has achieved, the cardinal does not do things on a lark."
To that Villetta gave a nod of agreement.
"If there is some truth to your analysis," the major said, "I must admit to a certain disquiet as the commander of the knightmare regiment assigned to Tokyo. All of us signed on to advance Britannia's interests. If we are somehow incapable of performing that charge, even if by no fault of our own, that would doubtlessly have a significant impact upon morale."
An impact on top of the drubbing it had already received after the Purist elements within it had so grossly violated their oaths.
"I can certainly understand your concern," Jeremiah said. "And I share it, since the bulk of the fighting at Lake Kawaguchi took place with infantry. But in a way, I also take heart in what happened there. For all that the cardinal seems intent to establish a détente with the insurgents and demobilize them peaceably, His Eminence also showed that he is perfectly prepared to employ lethal force to deal with the truly intractable cells. The cardinal is no bleeding-heart pacifist, he possesses an iron will capable of making difficult decisions."
To that Villetta also nodded, the reasoning here easier for her to follow and accept.
"I suppose we must remain patient, then," the major said, "and wait for our own opportunity to shine."
"Indeed," Jeremiah said. "Though I suppose I have it somewhat easier, as elements of the regiment have been called upon to serve in a matter of at least some import."
Villetta tilted her head. "Oh? In what manner, sir?"
"You recall that video stream, where those JLF fanatics tried to coerce Ms. Sumeragi into disavowing the cardinal, and she instead disavowed them while proclaiming her faith in His Eminence?"
Villetta dipped her head. "That was a very brave thing she did."
"Quite," Jeremiah agreed. "And His Eminence clearly does not intend to treat such bravery indifferently. On account of the Japanese servicepeople in the 597th, he has assigned the regiment to provide a security detail to protect Ms. Sumeragi, so we are rotating squadrons from the female platoons through Ashford Academy to augment their security."
"I see," Villetta said, tapping her spoon. "I suppose I can only look forward to an opportunity where the regiment will be called upon to prove ourselves to His Eminence, then."
"That opportunity will come," Jeremiah said confidently. "There will certainly be other insurgent cells that are determined to fight to the death, and it will be our responsibility to see that desire fulfilled." The margrave stirred the soup before him. "But even more importantly, we must be ready to face any external threats that might try to threaten the Empire's control of Japan."
There was no need for Jeremiah to allude any further as to which external threat he might be referring to, considering the very public diplomatic spat between Britannia and China regarding the complicity of the latter's delegation in enabling the Lake Kawaguchi attack. And even without that current friction, sheer proximity meant China was naturally the most suspect of any foreign powers that might have designs upon Japan.
"Speaking for myself, sir," Villetta said, "in some ways I'd much prefer to be defending all the Empire's subjects from such external threats."
Jeremiah cracked a smirk there. "Agreed, Major. Agreed."
With Kaguya being a no-show for lunch at the prefect clubhouse, Suzaku had to wait until classes were over to call upon his cousin. That ultimately also entailed calling upon the girls' dormitory, entrance to which Suzaku fortunately managed to secure permission readily enough, on paper at least. Physically entering the building had required passing a check by a Japanese woman wearing Britannian field dress. In the process, Suzaku learned that elements of the 597th regiment, a predominantly Japanese unit organized by the Cardinal Lamperouge after his appointment as viceroy, were now stationed at Ashford to see to Kaguya's physical security. That His Eminence would go to such lengths made quite clear how much he valued Kaguya, politically at least. And likely to a personal degree as well, even if that regard was not the same as the affection paid to Milly. Suzaku tried not to think about the way his cousin was clearly smitten with the cardinal.
"Come in," a voice called out after Suzaku knocked.
Pushing the door open, Suzaku rolled in. At the sight of her cousin, Kaguya immediate hurried over, eyes wide.
"Suzaku! You're back!"
Suzaku gave a slight smile. "It's my first day back. I'm glad to see you're alright, Kaguya."
The two did not hug, the Japanese not being particularly physical in their expression of intimacy. The way in which Kaguya looked over Suzaku intently however was clear indication of her concern.
"And you look okay, too," she said with a sigh of relief. "I was really worried when I heard you got hurt at Lake Kawaguchi."
"And I had quite the fright as well when I learned what happened to you," Suzaku said in turn, reaching out and giving her an affectionate pat on the head.
This time around, Kaguya did not pout at the treatment. Indeed the girl seemed to find some comfort in the nostalgic feeling the motion evoked.
"Are you really alright?" Suzaku asked.
Kaguya gave a nod. "The first few nights were pretty rough, but I'm a lot better now. Milly has also been checking in on my pretty regularly, and all of my classmates have been very supportive."
"I'm glad," Suzaku said earnestly. "And I see His Eminence is also taking more seriously your security."
"To be honest, I don't know how much good those soldiers will do," Kaguya said. "And it does feel a bit weird to be guarded by Honorary Britannians serving in the military."
"Well, I'm another one of those Honorary Britannians in the military," Suzaku pointed out.
"Oh, no, I don't mean it that way!" Kaguya quickly said. "I appreciate the sentiment and all. It's just, when I think back to those JLF soldiers that attacked the conference, they weren't going to stop just because of a few extra soldiers opposing them. They were ready to throw their own lives away to get what they wanted. That kind of fanaticism, I can't help but find frightening, regardless of how many measures are taken to protect me."
To that Suzaku offered a gentle smile. "I think I understand. But don't worry, Kaguya. It's times like this that you should rely on your big brother. If anything happens, I'll come to your rescue."
His disability notwithstanding, the sentiment at least was clearly conveyed to Kaguya as she smiled back.
"I'm glad," Kaguya said, "that we were able to reconnect. After everyone that's gone, I don't want to lose any more of my family."
"Me neither," Suzaku agreed.
Both were orphans, their parents having perished as a consequence of the war with Britannia. And while there were still a few uncles and aunts of varying degrees around, none had been able to truly step in and take the place of those departed.
"It seems so long ago," Kaguya said wistfully, "when we could spend such carefree days as kids, spending the summer months at Ise Shrine. I even miss the ritual lessons, since my mother was the one that taught me."
"She was a priestess at Ise, right?" Suzaku recalled.
Kaguya nodded. "Only parttime, though. She wasn't one of the fulltime priestesses that lived at Ise. I think there was an expectation that I would also become a parttime priestess."
Suzaku spent a moment or so in thought. "What happened to the shrine after the war?"
"I think the Britannians locked it down," Kaguya said with a sigh. "Probably something to do with its close association with the Japanese imperial family."
"Oh, so we might not be able to go visit easily?"
Kaguya blinked a few times as she regarded her cousin. "What?"
"Well, I was just thinking, once the term is over, if the shrine were still open, we could have paid a New Years visit to it. You know, for old time's sake."
Kaguya continued staring at Suzaku for a bit before smiling slightly.
"That's a nice thought, and I would have loved to go, but that's probably not happening."
"Yeah, depending on the state of the shrine, it might not be in any shape to receive visitors," Suzaku said. "Still, considering the cardinal's willingness to allow Japanese culture to be openly practiced, maybe he'd be open to reopening Ise?"
This time Kaguya's eyes actually widened. While it was certainly true that Ise held an important place in Japanese culture, that importance was heavily intertwined with its relation to the Japanese imperial family, as Kaguya herself previously noted. As such its revival, if broached by the House of Sumeragi, could all too easily be construed as the Sumeragi family possessing ambitions regarding its own imperial pedigree. That kind of suspicion could prove fundamentally disastrous, not just for Kaguya, but for the Japanese people as a whole.
"Suzaku, do you understand what you are suggesting?" Kaguya asked slowly.
The way that Suzaku pursed his lips, the youth had at least some inkling as to the potential furor that could erupt. Still, it was with remarkable calmness that he responded.
"Maybe I'm being overly optimistic," Suzaku said, "but I think the cardinal is a reasonable person. If he is approached in the right way, and presented with the right arguments, His Eminence won't misconstrue what your intentions are. So if you approach him earnestly, he will respond in kind."
In other words, if Kaguya herself desired the restoration of Ise as purely an exercise in reviving and preserving Japanese culture, without any additional political motives, then the cardinal might be willing to countenance the request. And yet as Kaguya's mind raced, it was on another matter of earnestness that the girl found herself dwelling upon. Might the cardinal actually reciprocate, if she presented herself with sufficient sincerity? Such a possibility, Kaguya found impossible to dismiss emotionally, whatever her rationality might insist upon. But enough of that rationality asserted itself to allow Kaguya to recognize that it was not just a question of Lelouch's acceptance. There was one other person whose consent was required. Kaguya began to consider, by what means might that consent be obtained.
End of Chapter 28
Suzaku dispensing advice might be the most dangerous thing about him in the story thus far.
I expect we'll be getting a lot of scenes at Ashford due to needing to develop several of the characters attending the school. A good portion of the scenes are intended to provide setup for arcs that will happen much later, both for narrative purposes and for building the characters up to be able to credibly do all the things they end up doing. I wonder how many readers have managed to pick up the plotline involving Kaguya. That one's also been in the works for the past, well, since her first meeting with Lelouch, really.
We'll be exploring more of the alternate timeline through these sorts of history lessons, so expect more infodumps to come. These scenes will be important not just for worldbuilding, but also because in the course of taking these lessons, several of the characters will also be learning things which will then feed into their decisions.
In retrospect, I'm pretty sure I made a narrative mistake with how quickly Kallen reconciled with her father. As such I've actually gone back and reworked the scene in chapter 25 where the two talked. The direction that scene now takes is drastically different. I also tweaked some dialogue in chapter 27 that no longer made any sense with the current schism between Kallen and her father. The reason I decided on this approach should become clearer as the current arc unfolds.
As I believe I noted before, if FREIJA does appear, I already know what form it would take, as I'd just be reusing the concept I came up with in Calculus.
