Chapter 47
In Due Progress
"Of the women that serve in my royal guard, Marika has the highest tactical proficiency scores," Cornelia said.
Lelouch raised an eyebrow, which from the thinning of his sister's lips indicated Cornelia knew exactly what his concerns there were.
"Not once throughout her service to me have I ever been given cause to question her conduct, not even after what happened to Clovis."
A remarkable statement of confidence, considering that Marika's older brother had been executed for treason, and by Lelouch's own hand at that. While the guilt of a relative did not necessarily insinuate the rest of the family was inclined toward treason, there was an inevitable resentment that might arise amongst said family, especially if its members were close to the guilty. This was the case even when the degree of guilt was beyond reasonable doubt, which in Kewell's case it most certainly was considering the mountain of evidence Lelouch's subordinates had managed to uncover. Skill at proper concealment of a conspiracy was not one of the Purist faction's fortes.
"What was the assessment of Lieutenant Soresi's latest psychological screening?" Lelouch instead asked Sancia.
As efficient as ever, the woman quickly found it and dispatched it to the cardinal's terminal. Lelouch glanced over the report quickly, noting the qualifiers attached on account of Kewell's death, but otherwise the conclusion was that the woman was fit to remain on active duty.
"And of the knights in your service, you would prefer to release Lieutenant Soresi instead of Lieutenant Vergamon?" Lelouch directed this question to Cornelia.
"Both are competent knights," Cornelia said, "and I would not mind releasing both to Euphie if it were warranted. I would trust either to be able to protect her."
"Just because Dame Monica is now here does not mean you have the luxury of thinning your own security screen overmuch," Lelouch said, glancing over at the knight momentarily.
Monica's face remained stoically professional as she stood against the wall behind Cornelia, but the twinkle in her eye was evident to anyone that knew her well, as Lelouch did. She had become a near constant presence in Cornelia's wake since her arrival, though fortunately thus far her active intervention had not yet been necessary.
"Euphie's security still needs proper augmentation," Cornelia responded, "which would be easier if you could nominate some knights of your own."
"I don't have any knights available that could be pulled from their current positions that I would trust with assigning them to Euphemia's guard," Lelouch said with a slight snort of annoyance. "Those that I do trust to such an extent are tasked with higher priority assignments."
As much as Cornelia wanted to disagree with that sentiment, from a purely objective perspective she knew Lelouch was right. Despite the rocky start what with the Sarin plot and then the subsequent purge, Lelouch had established a smooth working relationship with the remaining military command in Japan. The rank and file by and large had faith in his orders, and the remaining officer corps was quite thankful to not have rank incompetents sitting at the top of the brass. Even so, that did not necessarily mean there was a ready pool of candidates for a royal's guard. The problem was not just a matter of finding warm bodies to fill in slots, that was already handled by the security personnel employed by the Ashfords and the discrete backstops Lelouch himself had inserted. And as much as Cornelia's reflexive prejudice might still look askance at how many of those persons were Japanese, the princess was self-aware enough that she could recognize she did not have objective grounds to dismiss their effectiveness.
The real problem with filling out Euphemia's royal guard was finding officers that could command that guard, for which the pool of candidates available locally here in Japan was, if not exactly small, then still severely constrained. The two officers that Lelouch, and even Cornelia, could absolutely trust to assume command of such a guard, one Colonel Jeremiah Gottwald and Major Villetta Nu, were both too valuable in their current roles for Lelouch to let them go. The former was making immense strides turning the 597th into a competent, dedicated body of troops, while the latter had expunged the worst of the Knightmare Corps' demagogues and reactionaries to restore a proper professionalism to the regiment stationed in Tokyo.
Even Cornelia did not really have anyone with sufficient experience and seniority amongst her guard that she could release to command Euphemia's. Gilbert was right out, since he both commanded Cornelia's own guard and was also steadfastly dedicated to the princess herself, not her little sister. Claudio was still a bit too inexperienced for such a responsibility, not to mention breaking up the Glaston Knights was liable to severely hamper their tactical efficiency in the short term. Marika and Liliana, as mere lieutenants, were even less qualified, but they were junior enough that they could be slotted into less senior command roles to help them accrue some of the necessary experience for future promotion.
"Without alternative candidates of your own, my call is that Marika is the better choice here," Cornelia said, "with Liliana as a close second, but not so close that I think she warrants supplanting Marika unless you have a really, really strong objection."
Lelouch's eyes lingered a moment longer on the psych report before he glanced over at Sancia again.
"Your assessment of the lieutenant's performance during the training exercise?" he asked.
"Lieutenant Soresi conducted herself with competency during the exercise," the woman answered, "and was responsible for one of the kills the guard achieved during the first scenario against the gendarmerie. She also showed sound tactical judgment as the VIP during the gendarmerie-regiment match."
Which was about as much of an endorsement as Marika was likely to get from the Eden Vital sisters. They hardly had any prior interaction with the woman, aside from Lucretia, and even the latter would not consider herself familiar enough to pronounce some definitive conclusion on Marika's qualifications, or at least a conclusion that held more weight than that which Lelouch had already been given. The cardinal finally gave a slight shrug.
"I have no reason to question your judgment on this point. I would however recommend at least consulting with Her Highness and see if she herself has any preferences between the two lieutenants."
"That's fair enough," Cornelia agreed.
With that matter settled, the two moved onto the next topic.
"Both Andreas and Colonel Gottwald were very impressed with the AR simulation system used for the training exercise," Cornelia said. "The war staff is taking some time to study the results in more detail, but they seem inclined to proceed with a larger scale test."
"A larger scale test?" Lelouch parroted.
"Basically running more soldiers through it," Cornelia explained. "They want to see how far the system can scale when it comes to using it for drills and if the tactical proficiency of the soldiers that use it is affected by the simulated environment."
"This is the same system Eden Vital uses to train its militants," Lelouch said, "so I don't foresee any difficulties in conducting the test. Where and how is the logistical question that Eden Vital would need answered so we know how to fulfill the military's request."
"Seeing as the only soldiers with hands-on experience with the system are in Japan, there is a suggestion being floated around that the test be conducted at MacArthur Base."
Lelouch blinked once as all the details clicked into place. "I presume they also want the 597th to be the Guinea pigs."
Less question than statement there, with maybe just a hint of accusation thrown in.
"I won't deny that there's a bit of backhandedness to the suggestion," Cornelia said, "though I will assure you it's not coming from me. And the 597th are getting something of a reputation, which is eliciting some degree of jealousy in certain quarters. Combined with the forcefulness with which you handled certain disreputable elements within the armed forces, there are certainly those that would like nothing better than to see some of your projects fail."
The cardinal gave a snort. "How tedious."
"At the same time, every further achievement that you and the 597th rack up serves to further discredit your detractors," Cornelia said. "So think of it as an opportunity instead of an annoyance."
"This coming from you?" Lelouch said, eyebrow raised again.
This time it was Cornelia's turn to snort. "I may dislike bureaucratic politicking, but that doesn't mean I don't know how to engage in it, Lelouch."
"I'm sure quite a few people would like nothing more than for you to do so on greater regularity," Lelouch said with a smirk.
Another snort. "They can keep hoping."
The cardinal chuckled. "So the military wants a larger setup at MacArthur?"
"Preferably one that can support two platoons," Cornelia said. "Having the number of participants capped at thirty-two precludes full-up platoon-level exercises, so there's a lot of interest in that doubling upgrade that was mentioned."
"You'd need a fairly large amount of space to support an environment that could fit in sixty-four participants, even setting aside the wireless system," Lelouch said. "Does MacArthur actually have that much space that could be repurposed."
"If not, we can appropriate some land and put up a purpose-built training ground," Cornelia said. "If this system really does scale, it might be worth incorporating it into post-boot training for infantry."
"Fine," Lelouch said. "Once the military has the exact specifications of what it wants drafted, my office can arrange for a Sabine team to start consultations."
While Lelouch seemed to think that settled the matter, the way Cornelia continued staring at him suggested his sister was not quite done.
"What?" the cardinal asked somewhat blankly.
"I believe you actually have a small installation of the AR system in the palace itself, in the wing set aside for Eden Vital personnel."
The eyebrow quirked upward. "And?"
"And would you be willing to grant my guard access to it?"
Lelouch looked back and forth between Cornelia and the male knight standing behind her.
"Is this a request from you, or your guard?"
"Does it matter?"
"Probably not," Lelouch conceded, then to Sancia again. "Provide Her Highness' guard access to the reservation schedule and have them run through orientation for how to actually operate the system."
"Yes, Your Eminence."
"There's a reservation system?" Cornelia said with some bemusement.
"The system is in rather high demand amongst the militants for their own training," Lelouch said. "That and the weekend slots are set aside for recreational gaming."
"Recreational gaming?" Cornelia said, a hint of reproval audible.
"Alice and Dalque are currently the reigning champions of the maze platformer game," Lelouch said with nonchalance. "Anya on the other hand enjoys the fishing simulator."
At that Cornelia's expression actually softened, as all three girls so referenced were still well in their adolescence. She was still far from being comfortable with the notion of what amounted to child soldiers serving in Lelouch's retinue, one of the big reasons behind her unease with Eden Vital in general, which made it all the harder for her to oppose those instances where they had a chance to act their age. Though from the slight glare she shot Lelouch, the princess knew her brother was playing to her sympathies intentionally. The serene smile directed back at her likewise marked the complete lack of guilt Lelouch felt. After a moment Cornelia simply snorted. There was too much work left remaining for her to get caught up in such frivolity. Besides, who was she to begrudge what people did in their leisure time. And it was not as if they were abusing military resources in their play, this time at least.
That Euphemia would be in the prefect clubhouse despite it being the evening was no surprise to Suzaku. That she was fast asleep on the couch, with what looked to be a thick textbook spread across her chest, did take the youth aback. At the very least sleeping with something that heavy was probably not very comfortable. Gingerly, Suzaku reached out, careful not to actually touch Euphemia herself as he picked up the book. Somehow, the girl's expression seemed to soften and the rising and falling of her chest less labored.
As if to distract himself, Suzaku glanced over the book Euphemia had been reading. The Collected Works of Thomas Paine. The name meant little to Suzaku, though he recalled hearing it from time to time when Rivalz, Shirley, or Milly discussed their homework. Paine's works formed part of the required reading for the civics course, if his recollection was not mistaken. His curiosity now piqued, Suzaku began flipping through the pages. Common Sense, Rights of Man, The Age of Reason, the titles of the individual works were by themselves quite alluring. With nothing else planned for the evening, he began from the start. Euphemia probably would not mind.
The time passed unnoticed until the chime of the grandfather clock rang out, signaling the arrival of the new hour. A soft murmur sounded from Euphemia as her eyes slowly opened. Looking around in a slight daze, she was met with a gentle smile.
"Good evening, Euphie."
"Evening," Euphemia mumbled, and then her eyes widened as she recognized the other person. "Suzaku? What are you-wait, this is the clubhouse."
"You were taking a nap when I entered, and I didn't want to disturb you," Suzaku explained.
"Oh, I see," Euphemia said, blushing slightly.
"I hope you don't mind me borrowing your book for a bit," Suzaku said, holding up the voluminous work and redirecting the conversation. "Milly and the others have mentioned Paine a few times before, so I was curious what about his writings would see them included in the civics course."
"No, that's no problem at all," Euphemia said quickly, giving an appreciative smile. "So, what do you think of Mr. Paine's works?"
"To be honest," Suzaku began hesitantly, "I'm a bit surprised the Empire would use his works at all, at least based on what I've read so far in Common Sense."
Euphemia gave a slight giggle. "I thought that too when I first read it, but Mr. DuBois has done a really good job explaining what it is the Empire wants students to get out of Paine. His criticisms of the British monarchy and aristocracy aren't unfounded, but that doesn't mean his proposed solutions are unequivocally the best course of action either."
"Mr. DuBois, he's one of the civics instructors."
The princess nodded. "He handles the junior and senior courses, but as a special exception, he's been giving me extra lessons to basically run me through the senior course now."
"Oh? That's rather lucky."
Euphemia blinked at the rather unexpected response. "What do you mean?"
"Well, I enrolled in Ashford a bit late, so I wasn't able to get into the junior civics course," Suzaku said, "and I missed the freshman one entirely. If I'm lucky, I might be able to take one of the three courses next year, but well, I'd have liked to take all of them, just to learn more about how the Empire works."
"I see," Euphemia nodded in understanding, then smiled slightly. "That's a very aspiring goal you have."
Suzaku chuckled. "Well, I do live in the Empire now. And I want to see all that it has to offer and do my own part in making it a better place."
"Aspiring and admirable," Euphemia said with a warm smile, and then a thoughtful one. "You know, I could ask Milly and Mr. DuBois, if you could sit in on the lessons as well."
The youth's eyes widened. "You'd do that?"
"Why not?" A hint of red blossomed in Euphemia's checks. "Besides, I think it'd be more motivating if I had someone to study with."
The quickening of his heart took Suzaku a moment to even notice, distracted as his mind was at the undertone of Euphemia's invitation. Still, once he did feel it racing, Suzaku found it to be the warmest sensation he had felt in a very long time.
"I would love to," he found himself blurting out. "I mean, love to study with you. The civics course, I mean."
If Euphemia was at all perturbed by Suzaku's fumbling of words, the girl's smile did not show it. Indeed she seemed glad that Suzaku had accepted the invitation. Whether it was solely due to having some company in her future lessons, or the particular company she would be having, well, that was probably not even a question at all.
A slight gurgling sound suddenly made itself heard. Looking down, Euphemia flushed for entirely different reasons.
"It is getting a bit late," Suzaku said. "Would you care to get some food with me, Euphie?"
"I would love to," Euphemia responded.
For her own response, there was no wavering or hesitation.
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Stadtfeld. I've heard quite a bit about you from your father."
The neatly dressed woman smiling graciously at Kallen was, to the girl at least, a near complete stranger. As was the man accompanying her, for that matter.
"The pleasure is all mine," Kallen responded nonetheless.
"Shall we get down to business?" Albrecht said, apparently considering that all the pleasantries that were necessary.
"If you insist," the woman said, favoring the man with a tolerant expression that implied long familiarity.
That familiarity was probably not surprising, seeing as Amelia Schurz was the Liberal representative for the Fox Valley in the House of Commons. The man accompanying her, Tobias Gerhardt, was the Centralist representative and junior to Amelia, having been elected after her. While that certainly meant Amelia would have had a longer working relationship with Albrecht, somehow her interactions with Kallen's father seemed more longstanding than that.
"Though I am a bit disappointed you took this long to introduce me to my niece."
Kallen blinked.
"Second cousin, once removed, and in-law at that," Albrecht said, both clarifying and making more complicated the exact relational distance.
Amelia chuckled at Kallen's continued confusion. "Your great-grandmother's brother's wife's sister was my grandmother. Though from the looks of it, Albrecht here has never made mention of me."
"No he has not," Kallen said, glancing over at her father.
The man shrugged. "It would be easier to list the number of people in the Fox Valley's bureaucratic and political circles that don't have some sort of familial connection."
Kallen now looked over at Tobias.
"Afraid I'm one of those exceptions, Lady Stadtfeld," he said with a jovial enough smile. "Though I am an alumnus of the same accredited academy as Lord Stadtfeld and Amelia here."
That almost came as a relief. The last thing Kallen needed was to have more family crawl out of the woodwork to complicate further her feelings on the matter.
"Besides, there is a certain superficiality to blood ties," Albrecht said. "Being related is not any great indicator of ability or reliability."
"And yet I stand to inherit the Viscounty of Fox Valley because I am your daughter," Kallen said.
"You stand to inherit because as my daughter I made available to you the resources needed to train you to properly shoulder your new responsibilities," Albrecht said. "We are not the British aristocracy, Kallen, whatever certain reactionary dinosaurs might prefer. We may have faults of our own, but the one charge that I will not have stick against us is that we do not properly invest our wealth back into the land and peoples that created that wealth in the first place."
"Going into your lecturer mode, Albrecht?" Amelia teased.
"Only as necessary," Albrecht responded. "Kallen has yet to complete her civics courses, so it behooves me to fill in any gaps that become apparent."
"Well, if you ever find your father's instruction a bit too stodgy, know that I am available for more genial conversation, Lady Stadtfeld," Amelia said. "Unless you have cause to protest, Albrecht."
The nobleman shrugged. "You're not a Labor nutjob, so Kallen is probably safe from too much leveler nonsense."
"Aren't you expressing your prejudices a bit too openly?" Amelia chided, then looked over at Tobias. "As a fellow Centralist, shouldn't you rein him in a bit?"
"You're the one that's childhood friends with his lordship," Tobias said. "Why should I stand any greater chance in admonishing him?"
"One would hope you learn how to soon," Amelia said. "Come the next election, I will be standing down after all, and you will be the senior MP for the Fox Valley."
Tobias ran a hand through his hair. "Please don't remind me. I feel like my hair is thinning at just the thought."
Kallen could not help but smile. Despite the almost vitriolic back and forth, the rapport seemed genuine between the adults.
"We seem to have diverged again," Albrecht said.
"Right, right," Amelia said. "As you can see, Lady Stadtfeld, these little get-togethers have a tendency to devolve into chitchat, but they do serve a practical purpose, namely in making our peer aware of local issues or concerns."
"And what sort of issues and concerns would those be?"
"Mostly money," Albrecht said. "There's always some project or another for the 'betterment of the community' that needs funding, and I'm expected to provide."
Kallen immediately glanced over at Amelia for a more nuanced explanation, eliciting a knowing smile from the woman.
"Albrecht isn't wrong, but as you can imagine, it's a bit more complicated than that. For the most part, daily expenditures in the Fox Valley are amply covered by the level of taxation that's set, so we're not going into debt simply keeping the teachers paid or the like. Sometimes though a special expenditure may arise, such as needing to repair a school building, or building a new one outright. These sorts of expenditures can be more than the viscounty's discretionary budget can cover, at which point Albrecht here is called upon. Not necessarily to make good the shortfall out of his family's personal funds, though sometimes he does that completely unprompted, despite his usual grouchiness."
Kallen looked over at her father in mild surprise.
"It's an investment for the future," was said grouchy response.
"Of course it is," Amelia said, smile still on her face. "Usually though, it's to get Albrecht's permission to do a one-off special assessment tax to fund the expenditure, or to work on a joint petition to the imperial government to get a grant. For school buildings, that would be the ministry of education. For dealing with the waterways, the ministry of public works. So, it is usually about money, but what Albrecht provides more often than not is labor and connections instead of the money itself."
Such collaborative work which Kallen herself would have to engage in once she fully assumed her station. Or delegate out appropriately, but something told the girl she would need to pay at least some personal attention to money matters like this, since there was so much inherent risk of misuse, whether intentional or accidental. The good news was it would still be some time before she was expected to take on this duty, even if she was getting formally introduced to her viscounty's parliamentarians now. This introduction was however not merely to get her acquainted with the duties they would share, but also to give the MPs themselves a chance to get a measure of her that they would then convey to their constituents. Seeing as the two between them represented something like a solid ninety plus percentage of the voting populace in the Fox Valley, their impression of Kallen would play a major role in how quickly the people accepted her as their new viscountess.
"Have there been occasions where you and Father disagree?"
"Of course," was Albrecht's blunt response.
"Certainly," was Amelia's candid but more cordial answer.
The two exchanged glances but at Albrecht's shrug Amelia proceeded with the actual explanation.
"As you may have already noticed, Kallen, your father and I are of slightly different political leanings. As a Liberal, I'm of the center-left, while as Centralists, your father and Tobias here are of the center-right. The biggest ideological difference arguably lies in how much of the economic surplus a society generates should be committed to equalizing opportunity for the people in society. Those on the center-left like me feel that society as a whole could do more to enable such equal opportunity. Center-righters like Albrecht and Tobias on the other hand…"
Tobias offered a genial smile. "We tend to believe that such allocation of resources is generally best left to market forces. While it is important to have rules in place to avert private interests externalizing their costs onto society, government should generally not intervene to try to dictate the allocation of resources except in cases of market failures."
From the way Kallen gazed at them, the adults in the room could easily discern she was having just a bit of difficulty understanding all these nuances. Still, one had to wonder whether that said more about Kallen's inexperience or the triviality of those political differences.
"These are things that you will get a better handle on over time," Amelia assured the younger woman. "They are not things you should be making your mind up about now, simply being aware that such differences exist is a good enough starting point."
"I'll take your word for it," Kallen gave a wry smile.
"I must admit though," Amelia continued, "to a certain delight at your affiliation with Eden Vital."
Kallen tilted her head quizzically. "Whatever do you mean?"
"While I could personally wish that the government would invest more in economic mobility," Amelia explained, "much of the outreach it does do is via Eden Vital. In addition, the Order itself expends a considerable amount of resources on top of what the government provides as part of the official contract in providing a safety net for people and helping those that fall on hard times get back on their feet. In that regard, Eden Vital could be considered left of center were it not supposed to be officially apolitical."
Kallen suppressed the urge to grimace slightly. "I hope I don't offend, Ms. Schurz, when I say that my affiliation with Eden Vital is for purely personal reasons relating to the home where I was born and raised."
Albrecht gave a grunt, though whether of approval or disapproval Kallen was not able to discern.
"And yet you still possess enough of a sense of responsibility to shoulder your family's titles," Amelia said, favoring Kallen with a warm smile. "Love of one's home is no bad quality for a landed peer to possess. The Fox Valley may still seem like an entirely foreign place to you, Lady Stadtfeld, but we cherish our own."
"In spite of my lineage?" Kallen held her gaze steady to meet Amelia's eyes.
"What is there to be in spite of?" Amelia responded. "The Japanese people have a well-earned reputation for being disciplined, hardworking, and loyal to house and home. Your own mother even had the fortitude and patience to put up with Albrecht."
A snort sounded from Albrecht while Tobias covered his mouth to hide a smirk he was not quite able to suppress.
"Considering the gross failings the Empire is guilty of in its treatment of Japan after the war," Amelia continued, "your concerns are well warranted, Lady Stadtfeld. And I won't lie and say there aren't some reservations due to your upbringing being completely outside the Fox Valley. But these are anxieties that the people yearn to be laid to rest by you, Lady Stadtfeld. For many of us, we can't quite imagine you doing anything less."
"Because I'm my father's daughter?" Kallen said with a slight smile.
"Because you have already done so much," Amelia said. "Don't think we haven't been paying attention back in the Valley every time the name Stadtfeld crops up in association with the Cardinal Lamperouge."
That saw Kallen blink a few times, the girl just now realizing how far news of her deeds were reaching. Alongside that realization came the awareness of just why her father had been so cross with her before. Her actions had indeed not just been limited to herself, they impacted all the thousands of people her family was responsible for back in the homelands.
The clearing of a throat sounded, Tobias signaling his desire to also partake in this conversation.
"It's not just Amelia and your extended family that took note," the man said. "Quite a few of us Centralists kept pestering Lord Stadtfeld for introductions, either by having you visit the Valley or letting some of us make the hop over to Japan for a visit. He always steadfastly refused until now, which a lot of us took to be a father's overprotectiveness. And well, after everything that's happened, none of us can blame him. You undoubtedly have reached considerable heights, Lady Stadtfeld, but the amount of attention you've drawn, I can well understand why Lord Stadtfeld felt the need to shield you from at least some of it, even the positive sort."
That was not a very accurate summation of what actually happened, but Kallen could see how outsiders might come to such a conclusion. From the way Amelia's eyes glistened, she at least had reason to suspect something closer to the truth. Kallen however held her peace. What standing her father gained from this misconception, she was certainly not going to be the one to cause it to fall away.
"I hope I have yet to disappoint," Kallen said instead.
Amelia chuckled. "Looking at you, Lady Stadtfeld, I can't help but be a bit envious. You still have so much room to grow, so much potential to fulfill, in comparison to an old lady like me that's on the verge of retirement."
While Tobias again did his best to hide his smirk, Albrecht made no such effort and gave a bark of laughter that earned him a reproachful look from Amelia. If the man felt at all chided, his irreverent smile did not show it at all.
"I will admit that there is a certain political calculus behind our desire to establish a rapport with you, Lady Stadtfeld," Amelia continued. "After all, a fief's liege plays a rather large part in assuring the prosperity of his or her domain, and that of the residents, so it behooves us to try to make as best use of our liege as possible. At the same time, a skilled peer is also capable of simultaneously making use her domain and people in pursuit of her own goals and ambitions. Though I have only a short while left before my term is over, I look forward to seeing how you make use of me in turn, Lady Stadtfeld."
This too was a teaching moment, Kallen had known even before meeting the two parliamentarians. How much she learned was contingent not only on how well the others taught her, but also on how well her own ability to absorb their lessons was. And Kallen found that she was indeed learning quite a bit.
"Your term may be up soon, Ms. Schurz, but I somehow doubt that will be the end of your efforts to help with the Fox Valley's continued development," Kallen said. "I imagine we will have ample opportunity to, make use of each other for a long time to come."
If the smiles now directed at her were any indication, that was an assessment shared by the others as well.
While the viceroy's palace was no longer off limits to her for reasons of obscurity, it was still only on a rather irregular basis that Euphemia would visit it. Cornelia tried to at least schedule a dinner once a week, though the marshal's busy schedule meant said meal was not always taken on the same day week to week. Regrettably, her brother was a remarkably rare sight during such visits, though she did see him with fair regularity at the meals he took with the Ashfords. Somehow Lelouch was able to keep to a consistent schedule week on week, only excusing himself when a genuine crisis erupted, like the Babel incident. Still, Euphemia looked forward to her visits to the palace regardless, even on the rare occasions when such trips were for business instead of pleasure, occasions like today.
Regardless of the purpose however, Euphemia was always conveyed to the palace in an armored luxury sedan with additional cars providing escort. The route they took tended to vary as well, which if nothing else did let Euphemia see just a little bit more of the city she resided in but which otherwise had not really explored. Still, the distance was not terribly great between Ashford Academy and the palace, so it was not long before the cars pulled into the underground garage. Another deliberate choice that, to have Euphemia enter the palace under cover instead of through the wide-open front.
Awaiting Euphemia was not a palace servant, but a member of her sister's guard. A reminder, that for all her familiarity with the residents here, Euphemia herself was still a guest and most certainly did not have free run of the place. Well, that was not entirely true. A room had been set aside for her use on those occasions where she might be staying over, and Euphemia actually had explicit permission to wander about quite a bit of the private wings that the general public would never see. Still, there were sections, like the wing reserved for Eden Vital personnel, and the actual governmental offices, that she was told to stay out of, if only to not interfere with the work being conducted therein. That was at least a reasonable enough restriction.
"Welcome back, Your Highness," Claudio greeted with a respectful bow. "Your sister is awaiting you in the rooftop gardens."
Euphemia visibly brightened at that, even if a touch of melancholy reached her eyes. The gardens so spoken of were something Clovis had put together, to mimic the ones on the grounds of the Imperial Ares Villa. Before the Empress Marianne's murder, that place had been one of countless fond memories for quite a few of the emperor's children. No amount of nostalgia was going to bring back all those no longer with them, but Euphemia could still appreciate the sentiment that went into replicating the gardens.
"Then let us not keep her waiting," the princess said.
It being early afternoon, the halls in the residential wing were mostly empty, the cleaning staff already having turned over the rooms. In fact one was more likely to see one of the actual occupants dropping in and out, as Euphemia now did as a blond-haired young woman wearing the colors of Eden Vital emerged. Euphemia came to a stop, offering a smile in greeting.
"Hello."
The other girl dipped her head. "Your Highness."
"You would be Lucretia, right?" Euphemia said. "I don't think we've ever been properly introduced."
For some reason the knight accompanying Euphemia shifted, though Lucretia seemed to pay him no heed. She instead gave a polite, if curt, bow towards the princess.
"Is there something Your Highness requires of me?"
Sheltered though she might have been, Euphemia still had good instincts and a sharp intuition. That was why she reflexively discerned that, for all Lucretia's politeness, the other girl was maintaining a certain distance between them. What her instincts could tell her was why that was the case, nor could she discern from her memories anything she might have done to offend the blond-haired girl.
"I suppose the only thing would be, I would like to extend my gratitude for everything you've done for my brother," Euphemia finally said, offering as genial a smile as she could.
For reasons that Euphemia could not begin to fathom, Lucretia's eyes actually hardened at that. The gleam lasted for only a moment, but it was still enough to cause Euphemia to start.
"Your gratitude, sincere as it may be, is misplaced, Your Highness," Lucretia said. "We stand by His Eminence not for the sake of gratitude, but of kinship. Do not besmirch it by thanking us for it."
The pieces clicked into place for Euphemia with those words. The recognition was still more instinctual than conscious, but Euphemia could now see that the Eden Vital sisters regarded the cardinal as one of their own, wholly irrespective of whatever familial ties Lelouch might possess on account of blood. And how any insinuation otherwise would come across as grossly offensive to them.
"If there is nothing else, Your Highness, then I bid you good day."
As quickly as Euphemia was able to discern Lucretia's remarks, the abruptness of the latter's departure left her with little chance to muster an actual response. By the time the princess regained her sensibilities, the Eden Vital sister had already turned a corner and disappeared from sight.
"Are you alright, Your Highness?" Claudio asked as Euphemia continued staring blankly.
Blinking, the princess shook her head. "I, wouldn't say so. But this matter with Lucretia, and her sisters, will need to wait for another day, I think."
The knight gave an understanding nod. "If it is any comfort, Your Highness, you are not the only one to misstep with Sister Lucretia."
As Claudio did not elaborate further, Euphemia chose not to press the matter further and continued down the hall.
When they emerged on the rooftop garden, a breeze washed over Euphemia, making the girl glad she had kept her coat. While spring was fast approaching and the grass was now a solid green, the air was still chilly enough that it would have been a mite nippy otherwise. Cornelia herself had her cloak draped over her form, and the steam cup of tea in her hand certainly helped keep the cold at bay. The other knights present were similarly dressed, but as Euphemia looked more closely, she saw a certain glint adorning the cloaks. These were part of the parade dress uniforms, not just the field dress worn by the knights when on duty.
"Sister?" Euphemia greeted quizzically.
"Euphie," Cornelia said, setting aside her teacup. "Have a seat."
The girl obeyed, waiting patiently to learn the purpose of today's formalities.
"One of the conditions of your public debut was your acceptance of a royal guard that would accompany you from henceforth," Cornelia began. "His Majesty has approved the necessary funding and an initial pool of candidates has been drawn up. First and foremost amongst those numbers however is whom will serve as your Knight of Honor."
The position of Knight of Honor was in actuality an informal position, there not being an actual rank with that title in the table of organization of a royal guard. The holder was however accorded a certain personal authority that elevated his or her standing above that of their positional authority, since being a royal's knight of honor indicated a degree of intimate trust beyond that of the regular armsmen and other knights in said royal's service. The commanding officer of a royal guard was almost always a knight of honor, with Gilbert serving as an example for Cornelia's own, and tended to be amongst the longest serving retainer in a royal's guard, if not a founding member outright.
"Dame Marika, Dame Liliana."
The two women, one with chestnut brown hair and the other a bright blond, stepped forward.
"Both of the knights that stand before you today have served me well," Cornelia introduced. "I trust in their competency and loyalty, enough so that I would be willing to release one, or both, from their oaths so that they may swear to you instead."
It was not unheard of, for a royal's sworn armsman to be released from their oaths, even when their liege was still alive. Unusual, in the sense that such occurrences were rare, but avenues did exist wherein armsmen and knights could be released while still remaining in good standing with their former lieges. Resignation was the most common avenue, usually for the more junior members when a working royal stepped back and thus no longer needed or desired as large a contingent and parred back the size of their guard. For armsmen to transfer between different royals was a bit more unusual, though still not entirely unheard of, especially when it was to help seed the creation of a new guard as was happening here.
Euphemia looked back and forth between the two women standing before her. Arguably she was not being asked to make a decision here and now, but this did amount to a sort of formal interview to see if either were suitable to sign on with her.
"Dame Liliana," Euphemia began. "For what reason would you deign to swear yourself to me?"
In truth, Euphemia knew Liliana and Marika both, seeing as her own personal security had been handled by her sister's guard back in Pendragon. Even so, the question she asked was no mere formality. While there were honorable ways of switching allegiances, it was still not something to be done lightly for anyone involved. After all, while shifting allegiance once like this was considered an acceptable necessity, there was no going back or shifting again.
"Because I am inspired by your courage and dedication, Your Highness," Liliana said with a smile. "You have chosen your course with steadfast resolve, despite the risk to your person. It would be my honor to ensure you can walk your chosen path without hesitation."
Liliana's frank and earnest demeanor brought a slight smile to Euphemia's face. The praise for Euphemia was, while welcome, secondary to how Liliana herself felt about dedicating herself to the princess. It was inevitable that Euphemia would be trading on some of Cornelia's credibility to attract prospective armsmen and knights, but she still needed to inspire their loyalty on her own merit. With Liliana having answered, Euphemia looked over at Marika.
"I've always dreamed of becoming a knight, Your Highness," Marika said. "And though I've earned my knighthood, what I've learned is that there's still a long road ahead before I become the sort of knight worthy of the title. I've fought the Empire's enemies under the guidance of the Princess Cornelia. I think, I need to see what it means to defend the Empire's people. Something that I think I will have ample opportunity to witness, if you would have me, Your Highness."
Not nearly as unequivocal a declaration as Liliana, but one that Euphemia felt resonated with her more deeply. In knowing Marika Soresi as she did, Euphemia also knew the circumstances in which Marika's brother fell. That same chain of events resulted in the death of Euphemia's own brother as well, and there was an overlap of responsibility, if not exactly blame, in the involved parties, for the fate that befell them. And much as with Euphemia, Marika's own world was badly shaken by that fate. That the knight would engage in some soul searching afterward was inevitable. That she had yet to fully find her answers, Euphemia could sympathize, seeing as the princess herself was still searching for her own.
Euphemia looked back and forth again. That Cornelia was willing to release both knights for her sister's sake was hopefully not an overextension of her sister's capacity. Considering Monica's presence, Cornelia probably could afford decreasing the number of knights accompanying her. Still, to take both Marika and Liliana would deprive her sister of a female knight, which for reasons of propriety if nothing else would be a mild inconvenience. Monica was, after all, their father's knight. Her secondment was also more at the behest of Lelouch than Cornelia herself.
The princess took a deep breath. "Dame Liliana, Dame Marika, I am honored beyond words that both of you are willing to dedicate yourselves to my service. At present however I believe myself fit to accept the service of only one knight, especially if to take on two, I would deprive my sister of someone she herself can rely upon."
The two knights themselves said nothing, simply waiting patiently for Euphemia to announce her decision.
"Dame Liliana," Euphemia said. "I thank you sincerely for your offer, but I would ask that you continue in your faithful service to my sister."
Liliana gave a respectful bow. "By your leave, Your Highness."
And stepped back, leaving Marika alone before Euphemia. The princess graced the brunette with a gentle smile.
"Dame Marika, I cannot promise an especially easy tenure as my knight. But I think, together, we may both be able to find what we seek."
Marika fell to a knee. "Whatever trials may lie upon our path, Your Highness will not face them alone. My arms, my blood, as your sword. I, Marika Soresi, do swear my self to thy service, and place my self under the grace of thy shield."
"We accept thy oath to Our service, and grant thee the grace of Our Shield. We bid thee stand, Knight of Our Honor."
End of Chapter 47
This chapter was a massive pain in the ass to write. It provided some additional worldbuilding to further explore the political realities of Britannia, but the conversations took way more effort to craft than usual. Anyway, next chapter will explore in detail some of the secrets of the thought elevator, including dropping a few very important revelations. I think it will all fit in one chapter, on account of the longer length I'm allowing myself for this story, but we'll have to see.
Something that I've been trying to work in is that Lelouch's Eden Vital sisters, have some issues with the way that his biological siblings have been trying to reclaim him. They want him returned to original blood family, but from the sisters' perspective, that would entail removing him from the family he is presently part of, their family of choice. Furthermore, all of Lelouch's biological siblings, even Euphemia, have been treating Lelouch's surrogate sisters as if they were merely his retainers. Trusted retainers, akin to sworn knights, but still a step or two from family. And they don't appreciate that one bit. None of Lelouch's surrogate sisters have any biological relatives that they have a familial relationship with, and in the case of Lucretia, someone that shared blood with her actually tried to kill her, so the sentiment of family by blood has, less significance to them compared to the family by choice that they are. So from their perspective, Lelouch's biological siblings have no right to try to take their brother away from them, especially when, due to how long they've spent time together, his surrogate sisters have known Lelouch for as long as, if not longer than, quite a few of his biological siblings, as far as one's memories go back.
I am mildly surprised a reader recognized where I borrowed DuBois from, I'll say that much.