Chapter 17.379: Humble Wish
"Ne, Kallen... if it was possible, will you go back with me to Ashford?"
Kallen's eyes widened at the sudden request as she answered almost immediately. "Yes!", she blinked at the abruptness of her own reply, "I mean... of course!"
She cocked her head towards him as she noticed his expression hadn't lightened despite her answer. "Do you think that I won't agree?"
Lelouch hastily shook his head as he said no. Kallen smiled weakly.
"Or did you think that option was no longer possible?"
Lelouch's expression remained sullen as Kallen took his hands into her own. He sighed.
"With me being marked as the next to take the throne I doubted that it would even be possible to return to that place. Even if it was just for one final year."
Kallen whistled to herself. "When you said it like that, I could see why it might not be possible anymore." She shrugged. "Though to be honest, I didn't really care much about going back to that place."
She gave him an amused glance before continuing, "But if it's possible for you to resume your studies there for another year, I probably wouldn't mind going back there. Even if it was just for the graduation."
Kallen turned her glance towards him. "The old me would've hated having the face all of those sheltered Britannian kids again, but the past year... it's been fun. I never thought I'd missed seeing the student counsel members around."
Lelouch snorted as the sight of it warmed her heart. It occurred to her that it's also been a while since she last saw Lelouch look genuinely happy.
"I know right? As much as gang can be so ridiculous at times—especially Milly—you just can't help being fond of them—"
"That place was an important place for you, right?" Kallen suddenly spoke as Lelouch glanced up at her, surprised.
Lelouch's expression grew gentle as he nodded his head. "Yeah. Back when we thought we no longer had anywhere to go, the Ashfords had taken us in without question. That place, for a while now, has been home for me."
.
Kallen clasped his hands tightly. "Don't give up hope yet. Perhaps it is still possible for us to return there."
Lelouch suddenly gave her an amused look. "You sure? If you're going back there you need to ditch that frail image you used to keep up—"
Kallen chuckled. "Heh, you think I can't? The more I think about it, if you went back to Ashford I definitely have to join you as well, if I'm to protect you properly as your knight."
That earned her a puzzled look from him as Kallen reminded him. "You did have a lot of admirers at school. How can I continue to pretend to be such a frail girl at the risk of my boyfriend being snatched away?"
Lelouch's face immediately went red. Kallen grinned. She quickly sobered up as she continued talking. "Both of us could finally take off our masks and act as our true selves. Spending the rest of school like that after all of this is over, wouldn't that be nice?"
.
"Oh..."
Kallen looked up to see Lelouch being sullen again.
"Everyone at school must've also seen the broadcast by now, wouldn't they?"
Kallen let out a long sigh before coming over to sit beside him.
"It should be alright."
