Suzaku found himself back in his new, empty room. It felt strange and lonely at the same time. The first thing he did was take off his uniform jacket. His stomach growled and made him sigh. He hung up the jacket, replaced the trousers with his sweatpants, hung them with it, and then opened one of the windows. Cool evening air immediately found its way into the room and played with the curtains. Suzaku took a deep breath and felt new energy filled him.

Finally, he took off the top, folded it and put it on one of the empty shelves and went to the additional door he had now noticed next to the bed. When he opened it, a white bathroom stretched out before him. It was gleaming white with matching furniture that had gold accents. It offered a shower as well as a surprisingly large bathtub, towels and a black bathrobe. In one corner was a two-piece mirrored hanging cabinet, a sink and a toilet. Suzaku took a warm shower, but eventually stood in the cold water for a few minutes to counteract his fatigue. There was an oblong mount on the wall with an ordinary shampoo and a shower gel to go with it. It was certainly not a bad idea to wash himself completely, he thought to himself, and quickly washed his hair as well as his skin. The gel left a pleasant feeling and the shampoo had a herbal scent.

Suzaku got out of the shower, dried himself, went back into the bedroom and put on some pants. Then he sat down at the desk, tapped the lamp to turn it on, and looked at the books Lelouch had given him. Two described the history of the military and chivalry of Britannia, ranks included. The next two were older textbooks dealing with weapons, social interaction, problem solving in the face of disputes and court courtesy. Last but not least was the pitch black A5 bound notebook. Suzaku picked it up and opened it. The pages were paper-thin and had a yellowish tinge, suggesting that it had been written some time ago. To be exact - he opened the last page with the references - in 1870. It was titled "The ownmost of all Knights" and spoke purely about the position Suzaku now held. The very prologue dealt with the fact that while "ownmost" was a philosophical expression of self-questioning and the "meness of me" in the sense of a person's deepest self, the author pointed out that the personal knight should always be concerned with questions. The author had tried hard as a boy in knighthood and had also held a prestigious position, but the princess's knight had surpassed him in all sections with ease. He had been seen to be a survivor, scarred by tides, by battles, by darkest woods, and yet he was still a gentleman, even towards men.

For the time being, Suzaku skimmed each book individually to get an overview. He wrote rough notes until the clock struck ten and then went to bed.

At six o'clock AM, the alarm clock rang. Suzaku opened his eyes, switched off the alarm clock and sat up. The light of the rising sun was filling the lonely, large room, for he had forgotten to draw the curtains.
Suzaku rolled out of bed and went into the bathroom to freshen up, then dressed. Lelouch had instructed him to wake him with tea. He had not specified what kind of tea, but the servants in the kitchen would most likely know.

Suzaku left his room. The sunrise gave the white-gold corridors an orange hue and made the building look even more majestic than it already was. The west wing was completely empty, as it had been yesterday, almost as if he and Lelouch lived alone in the entire palace. However, when he left the wing and arrived at the grand staircase, reality revealed itself: guards stood at every corner and maids and butlers flitted back and forth like busy bees. Suzaku stepped down the stairs and approached the only maid who seemed to be free at this exact moment. "Excuse me, miss?"

The young woman turned with a smile. "Yes?"

"His Highness Prince Lelouch requests tea in the morning. Could you tell me where to get it?"

The maid's eyes fell on Suzaku's brooch. This seemed to convince her. "His Highness prefers to drink a Twinings Earl Grey in the morning. We serve it with breakfast."

"Where can I pick up breakfast?"

"I'll show you. Please follow me."

Suzaku followed the girl out into a small corridor. The corridors became narrower and were no longer so beautifully decorated. They arrived at the kitchen, which turned out to be a giant gourmet kitchen. Cooks and their assistants and maids were scurrying around like little bees. It smelled excellent, which reminded him again how hungry he actually was.

"Evelyn!" the maid called into the kitchen. One of the cooks, an older, stronger lady, looked around and when she saw the girl, she smiled warmly. She squeezed out of the crowd to the door and put a hand on each of the girl's shoulders. "You look well, Mary! What can I do for you? Extra bread to take home?"

"No, thank you very much," Mary beamed. "I'm here because the prince's knight would like to pick up breakfast."

"Knight?" Evelyn looked up at Suzaku, but she didn't seem remotely enthusiastic about the idea. Instead, she turned back to Mary. "Are you sure the prince wants a Japanese man to bring him his food?"

Mary shrugged her shoulders. "He works here, doesn't he? I saw his brooch."

"Honey, we don't want to get into trouble," Evelyn said. Then she turned to Suzaku again, "No help is needed here. We will serve the prince as we do every day."

"It's an order, madam," Suzaku replied. "I'm not here for breakfast either, I'm here for tea."

"It makes no difference. I will not hand out food or drink to you."

"That's not for you to decide."

Evelyn drew in her breath sharply. She put both hands on her hips. "Get away from my kitchen immediately! Otherwise I'll call the guards and have you thrown out!"

"If you refuse to hand over the tea, madam, I will prepare it myself. Please get out of my way."

Evelyn's jaw dropped in indignation. As Suzaku took the first step towards the kitchen, she stood in the middle of the doorway. "Go! Right now!"

Was this really the end of his first real assignment? Handicapped by an old woman? It had to be, because he was not insane and accordingly did not want to start a fight with Evelyn. Apart from that, it would be problematic to involve the guards as well. "As you wish." Suzaku turned back. Violence seemed to be the only solution in this case, but it was impossible for him to use it. This morning would start without tea.

Suzaku went back to Lelouch's wing. Once again he was surrounded by emptiness and silence. It was ten to seven o'clock on his mobile, and he slowly made his way to Lelouch's room. When he arrived at the large picture windows, he stopped for a moment to look at the beautiful gardens. The light of the morning sun shone in the fountains and all the plants turned to look at them. A number of gardeners were already working at this hour.

Suzaku walked on. He stepped to Lelouch's room door, knocking on it twice. "Your Highness, are you awake yet?"

There was no answer, so he knocked again.

Silence.

"I'm coming in," he warned politely and opened the door. The room was shrouded in darkness; heavy curtains blocked the sunlight and it was very warm. The large king-size bed, shrouded in transparent veils, immediately caught Suzaku's eye. There was no sign of life in the room, so he entered quietly and closed the door as gently as he could. He walked over to the bed and tried again. "Your Highness? - I mean Lelouch. Are you awake?"

The blurred silhouette behind the veil only gave him a grumble in response.

"It's seven o'clock. You wanted to be woken up at this time," Suzaku explained reflexively.

"I know," Lelouch grumbled. With a weary sigh, he turned onto his back and rubbed his eyes. "Have you brought my tea?"

"I haven't."

For a brief moment there was another silence. Lelouch's brow furrowed, as if he didn't understand the words. "I beg your pardon?"

"They wouldn't hand it out to me."

A frustrated, long sigh escaped Lelouch. That couldn't be true. It couldn't be. Was everyone in this hellhole trying to drive him mad? Lelouch sat up and pushed the veil aside. Indeed, Suzaku had come empty-handed and if there was one thing Lelouch absolutely disliked, it was unnecessary work, indebted to others. "Who?" he asked, unable even to suppress the irritation in his voice. "Who didn't give you the tea?"

"I suppose her name was Evelyn. A maid called Mary White knows her."

Lelouch screwed up his face. If he had the right to fire people, there would be half as much incompetence in this palace, he was convinced of that. He couldn't believe that he had to take care of the staff as well. It was a bad joke.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Suzaku opened it and let a maid enter, pushing in a food cart. She smiled sweetly at Lelouch and bowed her head. "Good morning, your highness. Have you slept well?"

"I did sleep well," Lelouch lied. "However, it seems to me that even in the twenty-first century I would still be surrounded by incompetence."

The servant's radiant smile disappeared immediately. She bowed her head, obviously concerned, and clasped her hands behind her back.

"Deliver a message from me to Evelyn Hansbourg," Lelouch continued. "Should she stand in the way of my knight again, today was her last day."

The servant nodded eagerly. Her shoulders relaxed a little as she understood that she had not made a mistake, and she bowed deeply. "At once, Your Highness." She then left the room instantly.

Lelouch got up from his bed and took the teacup from the tray. He blew gently on it before carefully taking a sip. Then he turned back to Suzaku. "Did you get breakfast?"

"I didn't."

"You'll have to report that to the kitchen."

"I will."

"Here, have something. I won't eat everything anyway."

"No, thank you."

"That wasn't a request."

Suzaku then joined him. They sat down on Lelouch's bed and shared the sandwiches, fruits, eggs and compote. After the tray was as good as empty, they called a maid, who took the wagon back. Lelouch went to the bathroom, then dressed and left the room. Suzaku followed him, closed the door gently behind him and together they went to the office.

The sound of the clock hands accompanied the time in the office. It was amazing how much Lelouch could get done at once. Not once had he looked up or said anything, he just wrote, read, wrote, read, wrote, and repeated the process. He didn't even use a laptop, he did it all by hand. Maybe for security reasons, maybe for personal preference.
Suzaku's eyes wandered to the clock again. Exactly one o'clock PM. Lunch time. In the morning, Lelouch had said that Suzaku could have something to eat brought to him in the evening only, implying there would be no lunch.

Time passed slowly, but still. Finally, someone knocked on the office door again. Lelouch let him enter; it was a servant who brought some letters and was gone as quickly as he had come. A few of the envelopes bore the royal seal, which immediately caught the ex-soldier's eye. Was this how Lelouch got his orders from the king?
Around 6 PM there was another knock. It was the same maid as yesterday, who entered cautiously and said: "Please forgive the intrusion, Your Highness. Prince Schneizel would like to speak to you."

"I'm busy," was Lelouch's flippant reply. Suzaku had already noticed that his mood-o-meter was dropping into the negative with every hour he worked. Accordingly, the girl responded with a nervous smile. "He said it was urgent, since you didn't show up yesterday either ..."

"This is between him and me. Get out of my office."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Gone she was and soon after night fell. Lelouch still hadn't switched on his desk lamp, instead the white light of the moon shone directly down on him, and the silence was broken again only a few minutes later when the doorknob turned of its own accord and a tall silhouette stepped into the dark office. Immediately, the light switch was flicked and a brilliant yellow chased away all shadows. Every corner was now illuminated and Suzaku's eyes took a second to adjust to the sudden, piercing brightness. Lelouch, too, hissed and shielded his eyes before lowering his hand again. Suzaku now finally recognised the person standing in the doorway. It was Prince Schneizel, he had seen him in the newspaper many times. Unlike his little brother, he was very present in the media.

"What do you want?" hissed Lelouch, without hesitation. Surprised by the sharp tone, Suzaku glanced at him, but he was all but blanked out. Schneizel pushed the door shut behind him and stepped forward. One couldn't read a single emotion from his gaze; his blue eyes were like a shark's - cold and dead. And when he spoke, even his voice was monotone. "I've been demanding to speak to you for two days and you've been avoiding me. What do you think you're doing, Lelouch?"

"I have no desire to listen to the opinions of any would-be post-war advisers," Lelouch replied irritably. "I have far too much to do with Japan's integration."

"It's not just about the post-war meetings," Schneizel retorted, this time with a sharp undertone, though nothing changed in his facial expression. "You don't postpone the meetings, you just don't show up. Invitations to important events seem to go missing as soon as you receive them. This behaviour brings great negative impact on the work of the other members of the Royal Circle and consequently harms the entire kingdom. It is not your choice what you do and do not do. The kingdom is above all."

"Is that so?" retorted Lelouch sarcastically. "If it's so important to you, how come I'm still working here?"

"No one has time for your childish games," Schneizel admonished. "You have your duties to attend to. You've been acting like you can't be replaced for years, and there's no way this circus will bring Nunnally back to you."

Suddenly, Lelouch rose from his desk with so much force that the chair fell to the floor behind him. Hatred gleamed in his violet eyes as he replied: "I conquered Japan after you hadn't been able to shake it for months! I made the deal with the French foreign minister years ago after the king was too fine to fly to Paris! And then I had to represent you at the negotiations in Oslo because you had better things to do! Replaceable, my arse!"

Schneizel folded his arms. Somehow, his gaze became even colder - or was it a trick of the light? "Helping others out in their duties does not give you the right to do as you please. Either you get a grip on yourself or I will see to it that you receive just punishment."

Suzaku watched as Lelouch bit his lower lip in anger. It didn't look like he was going to answer anything, so Schneizel turned and left the room. For a moment, the office was uncomfortably quiet. Suzaku looked back at the prince, who was still staring down the closed door with a hateful glare. But after a few seconds passed, he slowly placed the broken pen from his hand on the desk. Suzaku still felt as if he was invisible, but suddenly, Lelouch turned to him: "What was that?!"

Shocked by the unexpected apathy, Suzaku frowned.

"Why didn't you do anything when someone just walked into my office?!" hissed Lelouch. "What if it had been someone trying to shoot me?!"

Suzaku didn't understand. Where had this sudden anger against him come from? Was it because Lelouch had lost the discussion against Schneizel? How was it that his moods always changed so quickly?

"That's right, it's your fault!"

"I didn't do anything."

"You could have done something!"

"What are you talking about, exactly?" replied Suzaku calmly. "You were visited by a royal family member. I can't act against royalty."

"Don't talk back to me! God!" Lelouch banged his fist on the desk top. A few papers slid down to the floor, though the he paid them no attention, continuing, "Just get out of my sight!"

Suzaku opened his mouth to reply, but let it go in the end. He turned away and left the office therefore without a word. Unintentionally, he pulled the door shut way too tightly, still caught up in his confusion. "Take it easy," he muttered to himself. "Don't get instigated into something you'll regret." To openly tell Lelouch to his face that he was a spoilt bitch and had obvious authority problems would do him more harm than good, even if it was very tempting. Suzaku was here to protect Lelouch's life. Nothing more, nothing less. Kindergarten fights weren't on the list.

Suzaku went to the back of the wing, towards the bedrooms, but then stopped in the middle of the corridor to step forward to the picture windows in which he could see his own blurred reflection as it was pitch-black outside. The uniform didn't suit him, nothing did. He was no knight and he was definitely not made for this. Why he had been declared Lelouch's knight in the first place was beyond his understanding. Was it really just because the king wanted to show off his trophies, his victory against Japan and Suzaku's father?

The name 'Nunnally' had come up earlier and had obviously triggered something in Lelouch. Who that was and what role she played in Lelouch's life wasn't Suzaku's concern, but what was very much his business was this work, and as long as Lelouch refused to give him even the slightest clue, Suzaku felt compelled to take matters into his own hands. Otherwise, and he was convinced, he wouldn't survive long in this palace.

A glance at his mobile phone told him that it was already ten o'clock, but Suzaku didn't feel like sleeping anyway. Instead, he left the east wing. It wasn't long before he ran into someone who could be a decent source of informant. Thus, politely, he approached the young woman who was cleaning a vase. "Miss White, I have a favour to ask of you."

Mary turned and looked up at the knight. A friendly smile spread across her face. "Anything, Sir."