Throne of Glass
Part Two: To Wage a War
Chapter 33: Sins of the Father
Ashford Manor; 2017 ATB
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It was still early in the morning, the majority of the mansion's staff just getting to their first tasks. Suzaku watched them all scurry about as the tension filled the air. Cornelia would be departing only a couple of hours from now, though it would actually be another four days before the fleet arrived from India. During that time, Lelouch would reveal to the public that Area Eleven would become a warzone once more, with the Tokyo settlement the main stage. If anyone refused to flee before then, their lives would effectively be forfeit. They would take those days to fortify their positions and rally any more support they could get under the banner Lelouch would raise. As it stood now, there was little else that could be done. But this time frame gave Britannia no room to react and mobilize additional forces alongside Cornelia, but still allowed them what they needed to tie up loose ends.
It had to be perfect, anything less wouldn't be good enough. The plan was laid out, the traps set. All this meticulous planning would finally pay off. He couldn't help but feel a bit anxious.
He stopped at his destination, knocking on the door in front of him. "Lelouch, are you awake? There's something I wanted to-oh." he spoke as he opened the door, stopping dead in his tracks as he realized his best friend was not alone.
"Suzaku?" Lelouch asked, disentangling himself from the bed's other occupant. "Sorry, what time is it?"
"It's uh, Five-thirty." He stuttered before pointing back outside. "S-sorry I'll just um…wait out there a minute."
Promptly shutting the door just as she started to stir, Suzaku shook his head, completely bewildered. After a moment to overcome the shock though, he couldn't help but smile. He was happy for the both of them, truly.
Once upon a time, Kaguya was supposed to be his fiance. But the ones who made such arrangements were long gone, and he was far past bowing to such archaic traditions. Thinking about it for just a moment, they really did seem perfect for each other.
The door opened once again, and a hastily dressed Lelouch emerged from it before shutting it behind him. "Sorry about that Suzaku, I suppose I should have locked the door."
"No no, that's my fault. Will Kaguya…be joining us?" He awkwardly replied.
The prince shook his head. "She'll be a minute. You wanted to talk?"
"Yeah, I just wanted to make sure you were doing alright." Suzaku answered. "You have your thoughts sorted on Cornelia?"
"I do. As we've already planned, her forces will be pulled into the Tokyo Settlement before we spring our trap. I have no doubt Schneizel will have a card to play before its all over, so one way or another we'll have a use for it." Lelouch explained as they walked. "The only question is whether Cornelia herself will be caught in the net. And that's entirely up to her. I want to convince her, truly; but there will never be a better opportunity to wipe her and her forces out, should she refuse to cooperate."
"I'll stand by you no matter the outcome. But I won't lie, getting the entirety of our allies to accept her might prove to be impossible. Her past actions won't be easily forgotten." Suzaku said, opening the door to the dining hall.
"I'm well aware of that. The population of this entire nation will view her as an enemy, and it might not be possible to change that. Not unless drastic changes across the entire world scope come first." Lelouch explained as they were given food by the dining staff. No time to sit down and eat today. Suzaku didn't miss Lelouch retrieving two plates.
"To break down the impenetrable wall between Japanese and Britannians, that will be vital to the survival of the nation we create." He mused as they began to walk back. "I think I know the best way to start with that."
"What would that be?" Suzaku asked.
"I figured it out last night." His friend answered.
"I-is that right? Well, I guess that might…" Honestly he had no reason to react like that.
Lelouch laughed. It was genuine, heartfelt. He really did change overnight. "No, nothing like that. Though perhaps in the distant future it could help cement those bonds, but I had something more immediate in mind. You'll see."
"Oh, well I'll trust you on that."
"Do me a favor and call everyone together." Lelouch said, returning to his room with food in hand. "I'll have a talk with Cornelia afterward, and take care of a few other things. Tomorrow we'll make the announcement to the world."
"Sure, I'll see you later then." Suzaku nodded.
Soon alone in the hallway, Suzaku sighed loudly. He was not expecting that this morning.
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Ashford Tower; 2017 ATB
"Thank you all for coming, this will be our last meeting before we begin the battle, as anything that needs to be said should be done now." Lelouch spoke at the head of the conference table.
Present were the most essential of his inner circle. Suzaku at his right, and Kaguya noticeably closer to him on his left. Todoh as his field commander, Clovis and Jeremiah running the Settlement and Britannian side, Kallen and Naoto who still had a hand in the Eleven populace, Rakshata and Lloyd who despite their differences chose to work with him for what he had provided them in the past. Ruben who of course still managed Ashford's affairs alongside Lelouch, Sayoko who had become an unofficial spymaster, and lastly Kirihara, the last of the Kyoto members excluding Kaguya.
"I'll start by congratulating each of you for your support in getting to this point. This has been a plan seven years in the making, and I never could have gotten here without each of you. You have all chosen to believe in me, and in turn I shall put my faith in all of you. You've offered me your strength, and I shall use it to realize my dream, one I will share with all the world."
"I've watched you grow into a fine leader, my boy." Ruben spoke next. "I said long ago that your cause is a righteous one, and I still believe that. At first, I obeyed you out of obligation to your mother, but now I have no doubt it is you yourself that is worthy of such devotion."
"I…thank you, Ruben." Lelouch replied. "I still don't know if I would call myself righteous, but I do know this: You can't change the world without getting your hands dirty. And if we don't stand up and change it now, no one else will. I am not waiting for someone else to make that change."
"Well said. We are all behind you." The older man finished.
"I've since come to terms with my doubts about you." Naoto added. "Didn't think you were worthy of all the praise thrown at you but…I get it. Maybe I really didn't have the guts to see what had to be done. I don't know if I care about all that but I do know I want to save as many people as I can. And yes, I know I can't save everyone, and the more people you try to save…the more you have to let go of."
Kallen for her part was surprised to hear this of her brother. She didn't realize he had changed his mind.
"We will save all the world, Naoto. I won't stop until we reach the end. And no, we cannot save everyone, but we won't stand by and do nothing. If we don't, not one will be saved at all."
"You've done what I failed to, Lelouch." Clovis was next. "I was lost, my very soul crying out to do something. We might all have contributed something of merit, but don't forget none of this would have been possible without you. Hell, half the people in this room would likely be dead and gone."
Many heads nodded at that, they all knew it to be true.
"And I wouldn't have had the opportunity to make such delightful new toys if it weren't for you." Lloyd added.
"Indeed." Rakshata agreed
"Please, everyone, there's no need for all this." Lelouch spoke. "Thank you for your words, they mean a lot to me. I am fortunate to have such invaluable comrades such as you."
He took a deep breath, adopting a more serious tone. "Now, let's go over the plan. As I've discussed with most of you, tomorrow we will announce on national broadcast our secession from Britannia, as an independent nation. Cornelia will still need several days to actually get her fleet here, having only left port moments ago. During that time, we need to make the evacuation a top priority. We'll also deploy our standing battleforce, and maintain high alert until our foes arrive. There's no guarantee they won't attempt a preemptive strike before then."
He pulled up a map of the Tokyo Settlement, including the bay with arrows indicating Cornelia's landing zone. "We will split our defensive line along the settlement into four parts. Todoh will lead the west, Kaguya the east and Jeremiah the north section. I will direct the southern front, which is Cornelia's closest route to the government bureau. Suzaku will be on standby with the sole purpose of stopping Nonette Enneagram, who is still assisting the general. Kallen will assist in the south unless another problem comes up, and Clovis will provide Logistical support on board the Mirai."
"Cornelia still outnumbers us nearly two-to-one. We do possess technological superiority, and the home field, with those advantages we should even the scales. Follow the plan laid out, and we can utilize the trap we set to its fullest, whether or not my negotiations with Cornelia are successful. Counting Schneizel out of this would be a mistake, we will reserve the Mirai to trump any card he might try to play." Closing the map, he looked at each one of his allies. "The rest of you carry on with your original duties. Are there any questions?"
"I understand you want to try and recruit Cornelia, yeah?" Naoto spoke. "Putting aside whether or not you will, are you sure that's the best idea?"
"Uniting all peoples within this nation will be vital to its survival in the future." He answered. "I know prejudice runs deep, and those wounds won't be easily healed, I won't pretend they aren't there. I won't ignore them, we have to heal. My father is responsible for the pain we have all endured. I will erase everything he built, and correct the course he set the world on. So I'll ask all of you: will you face the entire world alongside me?"
There was no hesitation in their answers.
"Thank you, all of you." Lelouch said to all of his most loyal allies. "Now, let's face tomorrow with all we have."
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Had it been a full day yet? She had no way of telling the time down here, and the guards refused to tell her. She imagined Cornelia had already departed, sailing straight into a finely crafted trap designed by none other than the one she had come to trust unconditionally. She still couldn't believe it. To think Allen Ashford was actually the exiled prince thought dead: Lelouch vi Britannia. She made quite a mistake, ending up down here right before what was arguably the most important battle she would ever see.
Could he do it, could that prince actually steal away Britannia's most vital colony right out from under them?
She didn't know, and that was terrifying. There was never a moment before now she ever doubted the empire's absolute victory.
Footsteps echoed through the hallway, and she looked up through the glass cell wall to see the young prince himself approaching her. He had an irritating smirk on his face seeing she posed no threat at all, despite being so close to uncovering his schemes.
"Well, how sad it is to see you here, Emilia Strauss. You couldn't have just behaved yourself a few days longer." He said as he came to stand right before the wall.
"Don't kid with me. It wouldn't have mattered either way, I'd still have ended up here." The knight of five spat back at him.
"Perhaps, though it might have turned out better for you. Since you did partake of the forbidden fruit, so to speak."
"You're sure we can't work something out, your highness?" She glared at him.
"Don't give me that look." He returned the hateful expression. "You think I betrayed the empire? No, no it was the empire that betrayed me, my father that betrayed me. Sold me like a piece of meat, then threw me away the moment I was no longer needed. You know, he tried to kill me directly the day the invasion began. It was a miracle I lived, and one after another that I made it this far."
She wanted to just disregard everything he was saying but, it wasn't even a stretch to say it was all true. He would…the emperor would do that. "Can I ask you something, Lady Strauss?"
"What?" She snapped.
"Do you think you could have gotten the position you have, a knight of the highest honor, if you were not of noble lineage?" The exiled prince asked.
"I am a knight of the round because I have the talent and ability to carry that title." Emilia defended. Her withered family influence had nothing to do with it.
"Is that right? And you don't think you wouldn't have been recognized had you been some lowborn commoner, or a less than human number?" He continued with obvious disdain in his voice. "No, you would have been overlooked in favor of those 'better' than you. That's the kind of world my father has created."
"All men are not created equal." Lelouch vi Britannia quoted, every word thick as the chains that bound her. "It truly is hypocrisy of the highest caliber."
"Britannia is a nation that values strength." Emilia argued. She was proof, so were all the other knights. "Those who are strong will ultimately rise to the top."
"It's revolting, so horribly backwards. It sickens me." The prince snapped. "That's the kind of world that took my mother and sister from me."
That's right…the empress. But that wasn't…
"She was a knight above all others, single handedly responsible for putting my father on the throne. She should have been a hero, a legend."
"She was!" Emilia tried to interject.
"She was hated for it." He instead replied, even more poison saturating his voice. "You know what they called us? Half-breeds. Half fucking what?! I am just as Britannian as you, as all of them! This nation is so horribly twisted and wrong, down to its rotten core. I will change it."
It was impossible not to feel the overwhelming conviction coming from him. But even still… "You seriously believe that you alone can change it? Don't be absurd. For all that talk, that's an incredibly naive answer to come to."
"I am not alone." He simply stated. "I have the strength of many invaluable allies at my side, ones that share my vision. That's something that Britannia lacks, where every man is constantly looking for a chance to stab his fellows in the back. Anything to further themselves: survival of the fittest. A world like that, will devour itself whole."
He stared dead into her eyes, and from him the knight felt a presence akin to only one other man. "I will right my father's wrongs. My inheritance is nothing but sin. But I choose what I will do with it. And if I don't do something, no one else will."
He was insane, he had to be. And yet, he wasn't wrong. Emilia could not bring herself to deny his words. Whether it was the truth of them or the manner in which he spoke them, she couldn't say. "You sound like you actually believe that." She finally spoke up. "Hell, well enough it almost makes me believe it. But you have to realize…you can't change the world, no matter how hard you try. How on earth could you ever do it?"
"I'll keep gaining more allies, adding their strength to my own. And I'll continue to do that, never stopping until my power is greater than that of the world." He explained, arms outstretched. "And then I will win. And the fighting will end."
It was madness. It had to be. Because she didn't like the alternative otherwise. "You're delusional." Her voice was soft, her will to argue lost.
"I've never been more certain of myself in my life." Her rejected her claim with a confident smile. "The only question now is whether you will stay trapped in here until then, or give me your strength as well."
She stared at him incredulously. All of that, to try and recruit her? "You truly are insane."
"Your options are rather limited I'm afraid. So I might as well offer you a way out. I'm hardly about to turn down another potential ally." The prince said, his hand offered out to her, despite the wall between them.
"I am a knight of the highest order." Emilia answered. "You honestly think that will be enough to convince me to forsake my loyalty?"
Lelouch lowered his hand, and shook his head. "No, not necessarily. But you'll have plenty of time to think about it. When next you leave this place, it will either be as my ally, or as a knight who failed her master."
Without another word, the prince promptly turned and left the prison hall, leaving the knight alone once again.
Even though he was gone, she couldn't get him out of her head.
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HBN Artemis; 2017 ATB
Cornelia was impressed with how quickly her men were able to regroup and mobilize on to the next battlefield. Even with how disciplined she knew they were, it was quite a feat. When all this was over, they would be given a well deserved break; she would make sure of that. Still, this one was going to be their most daunting yet. Zero…she had no idea how the man had secretly developed such advanced weaponry. Even with the additional support she was given from the homeland, she wasn't exactly confident going in blind. Who knew what cards that man had hidden up his sleeve. It was safe to say he kept his hand well hidden even with the cards he played in India. It was a test to him, nothing more.
A message came through to her as she thought of the battle ahead, it appeared to be a call from Lord Ashford. Without much thought, she answered it. The screen however showed her something else entirely.
"Good evening, Princess Cornelia." Came the synthesized voice of a masked man.
"Zero?!" She exclaimed. "How the hell did you get ahold of me?!"
Betraying no emotion, the mask he wore simply stared blankly back at her. "On your way to Area Eleven now are you? That means you and I will finally get the chance to meet. Well, with this face at least."
"What do you want? Why are you even contacting me now?" She demanded with clear hostility.
"You aren't the least bit curious? Who I am, where I came from, how it all got to this point?" Zero asked.
"I might have wondered, but that hardly matters now. All you need to know, is that the might of all Britannia will soon bear down upon you." Cornelia retorted. "Whatever games you have tried to play behind my back are meaningless."
"I beg to differ. I've waited a long time for this moment, Cornelia. And this is only the beginning." The man argued. "I have a vision for the future, one that I have worked tirelessly to see come to light. Britannia, and more vitally it's emperor, stand in the way of that."
"You honestly think you will be able to free that country, and keep it that way when all the world will be looking to crush you underfoot?" She scowled. "It's a foolish endeavor, one that will claim your life, and all the people you are trying to free."
Zero shook his head. "This isn't about Japan. This nation isn't the only one suffering. I will root out all corruption from this world, and I won't stop until it is done. That is the reason I fight."
His mask seemed to pierce straight through her, intimidating despite it's appearance. "So tell me, Cornelia. Why do you fight?"
The princess glared at him. She was hardly in the mood to talk about their aspirations. "I am Britannia's chief general, the leader of the most powerful army on this planet. Where I go my enemies quiver in fear, losing the battle before it has even started."
"Indeed you are. So is that your answer? You fight so that you can crush your enemies? So then does it matter to you who your enemies are, will you fight anyone you are told simply to watch them fall?"
She scoffed. "I am not so simpleminded as that. Britannia's glory is unmatched, and I am the embodiment of that glory. I fight because all the men and women under me look to me for inspiration as their leader. I bring them victory."
The helmet was silent for a second, judging her. "You seem to be having a hard time answering my question. Why don't I share something with you then, to make it even?"
In a shocking move she never expected, Zero raised a gloved hand to his mask…and it took it off.
Cornelia stared in mute horror. This couldn't be…it had to be a trick, or some cruel nightmare. He can't…Zero can't be him.
"Now then. Cornelia let me ask again. Why do you fight?" Allen Ashford pressed her, his face deadly serious.
"Why?" She asked in a whisper, her voice hollow. "Why would you…?"
The blonde lord sighed. "It's like I told you: I have a dream. I wish to see this world freed from the twisted corruption that plagues it. Where the strong prey upon the weak, and men stab their fellows in the back just to climb atop the body, and see just a little further. It is despicable. How many times do you think we will go round in this vicious cycle of hatred before we finally reach the bottom? It's like a whirlpool, slowly sucking us deeper down as we go round and round. It has to stop. We have to get out."
"And you'll betray your own allies to do it?" She shot at him. "It was you. You orchestrated that entire war in India. For what, a little extra time? All the while standing at my side pretending to be my ally? Getting so close to Euphemia?"
She grew more frustrated the longer she spoke. As the initial shock wore off it have way to anger at how hurt she was to be betrayed by someone…she actually came to trust. "I was…I was going to give you my Blessing!" She hissed, thinking of her sister. "Do you not care for her at all?!"
Completely unaffected by her growing fury, Allen closed his eyes. "More than you know."
Hearing that only fueling her rage. "Then why-"
"Its because I do care, that I do this." He interrupted. "I learned that, rather recently. Maybe had I realized that, all those years ago, we wouldn't be in this mess. Had not not been so blind to what I still had left, i wouldn't have lost that too."
"What are you talking about?" The princess demanded, both confused and irritated.
"I can't hope to see this through alone. I have to change this world, to destroy the old one before it ruins us all. Because in it there are still people I wish to protect. And the only way they can have a future, one where they are truly free, is to tear down the ones who seek to abuse them. No matter how many or how great they are." Allen said with the same level tone, one that conveyed his determination.
"Amd you became Zero to do that? A rebel against Britannia?" She asked, unable to understand.
"I did. I had to, because no one else would." He replied. "Someone has to start. And I won't wait for anyone else."
She slowly shook her head. She couldn't grasp it, it didn't make sense, why someone like him would go to such lengths.
"It seems you still don't quote understand. I'm a noble, one who has partaken of privilege and success. By Britannia's morals mine is a story to be praised, having risen from failure to become more powerful than ever. Even still, I am hated. And it's all for one single reason. Do you know why?"
Why he was hated? Thinking about it he was right. Nearly all the nobility despised the Ashfords, realistically there was no reason for it. They should be celebrated for their ingenuity and genuine, not scorned and loathed. So why was that? Actually, she did know.
"It is because the name Ashford will be forever linked to that of Marianne vi Britannia." He spoke aloud what she knew. "A woman who dared to be more than she was supposed to. Because Britannia does not value true strength. It prizes false power, given to at birth. Nothing more. Am I wrong?"
She had never considered it like that. To have it put into words, Cornelia couldn't deny it; that Lady Marianne was hated when she should have been loved. How could she say that was right?
"How can we grow, become better if our very society denies our own strength as human beings? if one man claims another isn't even human to begin with?" Allen asked. "We each have a strength unique to us, no matter what it is, we all do. It is true that all men are not created equal, but our differences should be meant to help each other, not used against ourselves."
"You speak of some idealistic utopia." Cornelia finally replied. "How could you possibly believe you could ever achieve that?"
"Because I will fight for it. Until the fighting comes to an end, once I finally win." Allen told her. "You still haven't answered my question. But let me show you something first."
She watched as he reached for his eyes, looking away as he seemed to remove something. Once he looked up at her again, she was staring onto the brilliant amethyst colored eyes hidden beneath the blue lenses on his fingertips.
Purple, like her father's. Like his.
"Once more, I ask of you sister: why do you fight?"
It was as if her entire world had come crashing down around her. This ghost before her, demanding of her her reason for living, relentless in it's pursuit. Words failed to form, it all dying on her lips.
"Euphemia." Lelouch answered for her.
"It really is you." She breathed. Now, this horrible confusion was started to fade. Now, it all made sense. That her brother, the son of Marianne, the woman scorned by her country, would seek to avenge her. But no, vengeance wasn't his goal. He had risen above that, become far more than her. While she…for all her power, she couldn't even save her little sister from him.
"You realized it seven years ago. That not even you were safe from our father. Like me, like Nunnally, and even Euphemia. We were all tools, nothing more." His voice was soft, gentle and coaxing. "He cannot be allowed to rule this world. A man who sees his own children as pawns in a game he doesn't even have an interest in. His sins must be cleansed. We have to do it, to save her, so she does not meet the same fate as Nunnally. So that she can live freely, however she chooses."
She had to protect Euphy, that was why she kept fighting these battles. So long as she was useful, her sister wouldn't be forced into this. There was no other way.
"Do not let him use you. Do you really think he'll leave her alone, if he finds a way to use her too? Just because you continue to do as he says. Is he that kind of man?" Her brother questioned her. "We both know the answer."
That was the thought that plagued her, always in the back of her mind. It was as if he knew her better than she knew herself. Perhaps he did. After all, they were so alike, back then. But had it been her to lose her sister…would she have the strength to carry on as he did?
"Come to the government bureau. Atop it is a garden you might recognize." Lelouch said. "You will find me there, I promise you. I know you understand what must be done. You've known it for a long time now. Together, we can finally find freedom, Nelly."
A moment later, the screen read connection lost. Cornelia stared blankly at it for an eternity, unmoving.
She needed to see him, no matter what.
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She opened the door to allow light to spill into the darkened room. On the foot of the bed, she could see him sitting, brooding in the darkness. She might have found it cute, had the atmosphere not been so heavy. Quietly, she crawled atop the bed to hold him from behind. She nestled herself against him, feeling his heartbeat. He grabbed hold of her hand with his, firm but gentle.
She allowed them stay like that while, before she spoke. "You're worried about Cornelia. That what you said wasn't enough."
"Am I that easy to read?" Lelouch asked.
"To me you are." Kaguya replied with a smile. "Took a while though. But I've been watching you for a long time now."
"I don't know if I could face her, if she rejects me." He spoke honestly. It was easy to, he found.
"I don't think she will. She felt it, just like I did, like so many other have. That willpower of yours. I've never met a man with a will as strong as yours."
"Even so, I can't help but feel doubt. I…I really am worried." He admitted.
"That's okay. You don't have to pretend to be perfect. Just be you, it's more than enough." Kaguya told her beloved. "So let's just believe it will be alright. You want her as an ally, so she will be one. All that you need to focus on is figuring out how to get that to work out."
She frowned a little. "There is a slight issue with her…compatability after all. That's actually probably a bigger concern."
"I might have a solution for that." Lelouch said. "Though it's only a start, it's part of a larger issue that we absolutely need to address."
"The larger issue?" She asked. "You mean the divide between Britannians and Japanese as a whole?"
"That's right. Even as a new nation, we won't last long if we don't stand united, that's why I've been thinking of a way to unify the entire population of Area Eleven. No matter what I've done for them, I won't be accepted as there leader, for much the same reason they would reject Cornelia. That's just the way it is." He explained.
"But you really have done countless things to help them. You've raised the Japanese from slavery to practically normal lives even before attempting to liberate the country. They can't just ignore that." Of course, she knew that they very much could. It was a prejudice that scarred deeply. The sins of his father, now resting on his shoulders.
"I've thought of a way to wipe away those negative feelings. I'd actually been considering this for a while, but last night you made the decision a lot easier for me." Lelouch continued.
"I'm not sure I know what your idea is." Kaguya said. Something she did?
"It would have been purely political, a strategic decision that only made Allen Ashford into a leader the Japanese people could see as there own. I was willing to do that so long as it furthered my agenda, but…" He released her, turning so that he could face her. "It might be a little sudden, but I genuinely don't think I will ever meet someone better suited."
No, she was lost. And after she claimed she could read him too. "I'm not following you here."
He smiled slightly. "Well, I guess what I'm trying to say is…will you marry me, Kaguya?"
Even in the dark, her bright red face was clear to see. "Marry?" Kaguya repeated, completely dumbfounded. That was something she never expected from him.
"Technically speaking, you are the princess of Japan. A union with you would symbolically bring together both our peoples in a way nothing else could. That was my initial thought process anyway." He took her hands in his. "But…I've never met a woman with a will as strong as yours. You made it trivial to make up my mind on this."
She couldn't believe it. He really wanted this, didn't he? She couldn't…she couldn't be happier.
Kaguya launched herself at him, throwing them backward onto the bed. "Yes. Absolutely yes. I love you, Lelouch.
Carefully, he came to embrace her back. "I…I love you, too."
Those words meant the world to her.
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