From the Sea

The image is of Lelouch Lamperouge and Napoleon Bonaparte II, the two young rulers shaking hands in front of two flags: the Italian tricolor with the Iron Crown, and Corsica's Moor's Head. Both of them are dressed in practical military uniforms, the image of modern, efficient rulership. The caption reads "brothers in arms" in both French and Italian.

It's famous for being something of a propaganda piece, commissioned by Euphemia Lamperouge (also known as Euphemia li Britannia) to promote Italian-Corsican relations, depicting the two as brothers in both republicanism and culture. The piece was spread widely using relatively recent lithograph printing, but would eventually come to be modified in the future…

… The image is also notable for having an unintentional anachronism: at the time of the first printing, Lelouch had already lost his left eye, the news just hadn't reached Italy yet. While it would be eventually updated in later printings, what few remaining versions exist are highly valued as collector's items.

Only having the one eye certainly took a bit of getting used to, but Lelouch tried his best to roll with it. He got an eyepatch out of it, at the very least- would it be a bit too tacky to have it colored red, white, and green? Maybe he could pull a Federico da Montefeltro and have any portraits painted on his good side? It certainly wasn't possible to keep the situation a secret, especially if he planned on public appearances- which he certainly did.

It wasn't the end of the world- he'd need to be a bit more careful and aware of his surroundings, or Jeremiah would have to pick up the slack- Lelouch certainly planned on keeping the bridge of his nose, unlike old Federico, even if such a surgery could help keep him aware. But with the right spin, it might help build his image- a monarch who lost an eye for love of country and all that, in additional making him look a bit more martial.

Still, he kept his careful eye on the strait- just because they had defeated one fleet, that didn't mean Britannia wouldn't give it another shot. Thankfully, their capture of the last of those frigates, the Macha, and her crew had revealed that those ships weren't nearly as common as he had worried about, and were just about the only ships of their type afloat. Considering how they had been trumped, it didn't seem likely Britannia would build more- hopefully, they wouldn't learn how close things had been there.

The prisoners were not, for the most part, extremely high value on a ransom level- but the same could be said for most of the men they had captured when the war first begun. It was simple fact that common men would outnumber their officers- but they had a few noble sons locked away in Italy, a little something to hold over Britannia. Not much, admittedly, but it would be part of larger effort, of showing Britannia that conducting a war over Italy wasn't worth it.

Assuming no massive change in the political situation, there would be no glorious victories in England, no storming the streets of London, but that was never Lelouch's intent. Winning the approval of his neighbors was probably unlikely (with the exception of Corsica, probably), meaning there would be no grand gestures of support like Washington received from France or Spain, but things were workable. He just had to push and push until something in Britannia finally gave way.

Euphemia and Nunnally received all sorts of correspondence intended for the Italian Crown- some of the most notable were those letters shared with the Italians beyond the Piave. Quite obviously, the recent declaration of independence had spurred nationalism in the Italian territories of the Danubian Empire, and many of those dissidents had kept in contact with Lelouch, as he tried his best to reign them in.

Now Euphemia and Nunnally were left with the same issue- they needed to redirect the rebel's energies to things that didn't include infuriating the Empire of the Danube at the worst possible moment. Some had already slipped over the border to join the Foreign Legion, but some cells were embedded deeper, and stayed behind- ready to cause all sorts of trouble.

Of course, they knew that the Empire of the Danube were the enemy- at least in the long term. Provoking them now would be bad, but once (or should they say if?) they beat Britannia it would be best to weaken their northeastern neighbor- they had the tools to do it, certainly, in those rebels… In theory, if war broke out, the area over the Piave would be a massive area of interest for annexation if the war went well; perhaps they should send out some feelers about… easing such a process?

Eupehmia urged a subtle approach as she wrote, of course, but decided that urging the men to prepare for an eventual war would satisfy their urges for the moment- she added a few hints about preparing to eventually sabotage the Danubians if (or when) war broke out in her coded letter. Their assistance could prove vital if Italy was forced to fight a two front war, as tragic as the conflict might turn out to be.

The French, to their west, seemed to be suffering from some of their own unrest- they had received remarkable numbers of volunteers for the Legion pouring into the Piedmont at a considerable pace. It was probably too much to hope that France would just cleave in under its own weight- the other powers would certainly crack down on a revolution- but they weren't completely invincible.

In fact, thinking about it, they had a weapon, of sorts, which could prove exceedingly effective against France, if they were lucky. They might need to order some spying over there- she wanted to know what the French thought of their government, and in particular, what opinions they had about that Prince of Corsica…

It was a… relatively normal day in Britannia. Sure, they were at war, but they were at war with somebody quite frequently. The biggest problem was probably that the war was a civil one- treason against the crown was always discomforting, at least for the proper citizen.

War wasn't even bad business, all things considered, as long as you didn't find yourself as one of the men marching to battle. Fighting men needed food and supplies after all, lead ball and powder and rifle, all those munitions of war. Anyone fortunate enough to have ownership of a major factory would be making money as well, whether they were producing weapons or more mundane things like pulley blocks.

Of course, business would be going considerably worse if for whatever reason, an enemy army started looting the place, but that wasn't really something Britannia had to worry about. The Wooden Wall had long served as a deterrent to landing an army in force, which tended to make strikes on Britain difficult- but not completely impossible.

Ships flying the Britannian flag prowled the coast, and under normal circumstances, it would make sense for these to be Britannian ships, sailed by Britannians, and the sailors certainly looked Britannian. It would certainly be a foolish, if not downright treasonous thing, to say, fire off a cannon at a friendly ship in search of supply during a time of war.

Unfortunately for the coastal town they were rapidly sailing towards, they made that flawed assumption, allowing the the crew of those ships to get much closer to English shores- the home of the enemy, even if the enemy didn't quite know it yet.

Using dinghies, they communicated with the town, telling them a… warped version of the truth. They were Britannian soldiers (they were Britannian, they were soldiers, but they were not "Britannian soldiers" as the townsmen considered them) fleeing from Italy after the treacherous Italians had turned against them- they had barely escaped from the clutches of the traitorous Prince Lelouch! Now that they had made their way back to Britannia, would the townspeople be so kind as to help resupply them?

That request was viewed with a bit of suspicion- not necessarily due to doubt of their fine soldiery, (although some thought that landing here of all places was a little… odd) but no one wanted to basically just give things away to the army- they didn't always have the most stellar reputation for repaying their debts, and it wasn't like you could repossess a horn of powder…

As Collins and his men haggled with the merchants, drafting (fake) promissory notes and trying to get their hands on fresh produce and supplies, someone rode into town. Collin's throat dried and his uniform suddenly felt very itchy and unkempt as he stared up at at the imposing noble sitting atop his beastly destrier.

Well that wasn't good- he searched his memories for those lessons his mother had first hammered into him as a little boy, how to properly respect his 'betters'… He delivered a clumsy bow and muttered, "My lord…"

"Greetings- I assume you are the commander of this… motley crew."

"Of course, sir," bite back the urge to get upset, don't act above your station, as grating as it is, "We commandeered a ship and made our way back from Italy, after the Sicilian's betrayal."

"Well of course I'd be willing to help some of our fine soldiers- what unit are you from? My younger brother was an officer in that ill-fated mission, you know."

Well, what unit were they supposed to be a part of? The best cover would be one of the units sent to Italy to help reinforce it- but Collins didn't really bring himself to care about the specific names- and he supposed that was coming back to bite him as the silence stretched uncomfortably.

The nobleman's eyes were narrowing now, his iris only visible through a slit that felt as a narrow and sharp as the sort of decorated cavalry saber he drew from his hip- until he was blown clean off his horse. Everyone turned to look at the man who had fired, and in that moment Collins seized the opportunity, bellowing "NOW!"

Thankfully, the military discipline they had picked up in Italy paid off here, as they snapped out of the stupor the rest of the town fell into- some men had been tasked with just plain old looting, while a few had a more special purpose- a splinter group ran towards the small defensive battery the town had.

As those men spiked the guns with nails, the rest tried their best to take what they could as the village descended into chaos- someone had lit a fire, whether on purpose or accidentally, and that made any organized effort to stop the sacking pretty much impossible.

Admittedly, they took a few casualties as they made their retreat- irate townspeople weren't sheep just because they didn't have guns on them at the very moment- but they did loot enough to make the trip worth it. They would start to loose that element of surprise as the days went on and news spread, but that would only serve to build their reputation and spook the Britannians- their end goal.

Mysteriously, some of the men happened to loot wine from the town- how that happened, no one was entirely sure (read: no one was willing to blame the guy who grabbed wine instead of more useful supplies). Still, it was good for morale, he had to admit- their first raid was a success, after all, they deserved a bit of a celebration.

Collins grinned and held his glass- a brown, imperfect piece, of course, nothing like the stuff they made in Venice- over the side of the ship, holding it over the sea. "A toast."

"For who?"

"A toast for our good king over the water."

"A toast, then!"

In time, the ranks of the Foreign Legion swelled with republican volunteers from other countries, even if the vast majority had made their way over the Alps from France. It seemed like many of them were rather upset with the ways that the French government had decided to go, and this sentiment was shared with the other portions of the Legion.

The units were in large part, mixed, with some like the French and occasional Catalan taking to the Italian language with relative ease, while southern Slavs and Germans struggled a bit. The units were a place of notable culture mixing, and were largely random, disregarding a small unit of mountain specialists who were mostly from around the Alps.

Efforts were made to encourage cooperation between the Foreign Legion and the native Italian armies, and they drilled together while on garrison duty. Practicing with their rifles was something to do instead of just staring at the oceans, waiting for an enemy fleet that would hopefully never come. They also spent that time learning Italian- having a shared language was one of those things that helped military command structure run smoothly.

Admittedly, the military was in an odd sort of spot at the moment- the Senate were a little hesitant, or at least not really used to giving commands to the army, as it was largely considered a project of Lelouch's, an extension of his role as Viceroy-turned-King and executive. The latter role. passing laws and the like, was passed on to Nunnally and Euphemia, and they also found themselves handling military matters as well.

Garrisons were set in place in particularly important ports and in Malta, just to be prepared for a worst case scenario involving the Britannian navy. Hopefully that would never come to pass- but the garrisons were also useful to keep everything in order during a time of strife. Strife could be brought on by war of course, but Euphemia and Nunnally had other potential causes of strife to worry about.

"These numbers sound a little… low, don't they?" Nunnally hummed.

"They do, when compared to last year's harvests- I hope it's not bad enough to cause starvation, but perhaps we should tell Lord Ashford to look around for some other food sources?"

"Do you really think it will be that bad?"

Euphemia sighed. "I don't think so, and I hope not, but I'd prefer to err on the side of caution- maybe we could buy from North Africa? Lord Ashford would know better than I…"

War had an impact on business- this was quite obvious. It increased demand for all the materials needed to make weapons, of course, but it also sucked up more: cloth for both uniforms and binding wounds, food for feeding men on the march, alcohol for drinking and anesthesia if things got dicey… If you didn't take moral issue with profiteering, there was good money to be made.

Of course, there were other regions why you might want to trade in such goods- love of country and patriotism could drive a man to such business, although in Lord Ashford's case it was less focused on the country and more focused on its leader. When the whole Italian mess began, he knew whose side he wanted to be on; of course, he made some arrangements for Milly in case things went horribly wrong, but he threw in behind Lelouch.

He plied his trade on the Mediterranean now- he imagined that what contacts he had in Britannian ports would be a little less willing to trade with him, considering how things went. Even if Italy could provide ammunition for herself, there were still a number of things it needed, both for war and more domestic reasons. He bought chicory from France, to help fulfill the Italian coffee fix, and for those willing to pay more he got actual coffee from places like Ethiopia- of course, he spiked the price to cover the costs of importing from there.

Muhammad Ali's Egypt was certainly a wonderful trading partner, more than willing to trade with him for all the riches of the Nile: of course, he abstained from buying slaves, but the breadbasket of the Mediterranean provided so much more than just human chattel, as despicable as that particular facet was. The Pasha was trying to modernize his land, to match the industrial power of Europe, but his realm still provided produce of all sorts.

Meanwhile, Lelouch vi Britannia prepared for his own raids on the enemy- he really couldn't strike at Britannia as his options home islands or possibly the Gambia, but both were out of feasible striking distance. He needed to hold the strait, and that meant he couldn't get distracted for too long- he could terrorize Britannian and Portuguese shipping around the region, but straying too far risked disaster.

Before getting too far into that, he had sent a letter back to Italy, both to inform them of how things were going on a broad level- a Britannian attack was held off and raiders approached Britannian shores- and to request more ships. Hopefully, Lloyd's craft was still under construction, but in the short term they needed more of their turreted craft. It wouldn't be a quick thing, but covering their losses was critical.

That meant (relatively) low risk missions in the short term, striking against any merchants foolish enough to sail nearby. Unsurprisingly, very few merchant captains were willing to put up much of a fight after seeing their escorts get chunks blown out of them, and they were willing to part with some of their goods if meant retaining a complete hull.

They received a curious mix of goods, many of which were… liberated from African traders or even some that came from as far as Asia. Portuguese ships heavy with ivory and wax, or Britannian ships carrying fine tropical wood and wine from Africa- they even got lucky enough to strike a ship carrying diamonds from Golconda, which was truly fortunate. Most of these goods were sold to the Spanish or Moroccans, just because they were close, although Lelouch made sure to keep a few of the nicer gems- why not cut costs if they ever planned on making regalia?

As they grew bolder, they even sailed out to terrorize the Algarve, making vicious attacks on ports and harbors in the region- they probably wouldn't cripple the Portuguese navy doing this, but it was something. Practically, they weren't really capable of completely destroying the Portuguese ability to make war or supply warships, but it would serve to build the reputation of the steamships and their strength. It would be best if the world thought that the Italian navy was the best on the planet- they had already trounced Britannia once after all.

Still, that didn't mean they were invincible- occasionally they would chance upon a Britannian warship or even a group of them, and Lelouch exercised his judgment. Myth making was all well and good, but trying to take on a first rate ship of the line- at least, not without some planning first- was a very bad idea.

They didn't stop using their mines, either- they had already proven more than effective once, and they were especially effective if they could bait the Britannians into a pursuit. That was the general strategy- dance around the Britannians, using the steam engines to ignore the wind and stay in advantageous positions while firing off shells. If things got too dangerous (which could definitely happen considering the size of the navy they were up again) they simply retreated, throwing a mine behind them if their pursuers got particularly bold.

Truly, Lloyd's exploding shell gun was a marvel, letting their little, low-lying craft face down those towering colossi of the sea and emerge victorious. As of yet, they hadn't lost any more ships- even if they were still aching from their losses against those three frigates- although they would occasionally be put out of commission temporarily, whether thanks to enemy shot or malfunctions of the engine.

They were receiving supplies from Italy, including those all important shells which were so vital to their success, along with plentiful gunpowder and other goods of war. Lelouch didn't want to invest too much in Gibraltar, considering how he planned on eventually ditching the place, but loosing it to a siege, or even worse, a revolt by the townsfolk would be truly pathetic.

There was an obvious undercurrent of unrest in the town of Gibraltar- it was probably fitting, considering that they thought of themselves as being ruled by a treasonous prince. Assuming a triumphant Britannian return, no one wanted to be seen as a traitor, and admittedly, Lelouch didn't help matters by treating them as if they could be a potential threat, making very overt displays of military force. Having soldiers marching in lockstep wasn't something he'd usually do, but he didn't really plan on keeping Gibraltar- he was going to ditch the place as soon as feasibly possible.

The Spanish hadn't made any aggressive moves on Gibraltar- there were a few small scouting parties that observed Gibraltar. Of course, their hot air balloon meant that spotting said parties was pretty easy, but apparently there was little to see up there other than the Spanish countryside. Hopefully, this meant that they had won over one European power, at least for now. Well, two counting Corsica, and more if you decided to split hairs and count the duo of microstates under Italy's protection.

Perhaps Lelouch should invite the King of Spain to his coronation, to show that Lelouch wasn't all about liberal ideals and destroying the old regimes. Something told him the King of France would probably pass- or at least snub Bonaparte something fierce (he did plan on inviting Bonaparte, of course).

A bit after Schneizel reached the capital, a piece of princely correspondence came in from far down south- all the way from Clovis' palace at the Cape, and he knew right away that it wouldn't be good news.

Sure enough, it was not. Clovis was teetering on the edge of full fledged Boer revolt, having narrowly escaped an assassination attempt, and the resulting crackdown fomented even more negative feelings. He requested reinforcements from the crown, and this simply wasn't the sort of thing they could ignore- not to mention that the news they got from South Africa would always be out of date, just thanks to the incredible distance.

At the end of the day, the Cape was one of the greatest assets the Empire had- it was their link to all the riches of Asia, their commercial ventures stretching from the princedoms of sultry Araby to the fur traders of far flung Siberia who sold their wares on the banks of the Amur. Not to mention their colonies: India, Australia, their more recent conquests in the East Indies…

Losing the Cape would inconvenience that trade- sure, they had a number of minor settlements dotting the coasts of Africa, or islands like Saint Helena, but they weren't the Cape Colony. It was a recent acquisition, but it provided far too much to the Empire for them to loose it to some uppity Boers.

Compared to that, Italy was lesser. It was a particularly notable gem in the Imperial crown, certainly, but compared to the inconveniences that a total loss of the Cape could cause… Well, they could probably conquer the Cape back at a later date, actually, but it was still important.

In the long term, they could probably hold onto the Cape- settle it intensely enough, fill it with Britannians, and it would fall in line the same way that the Americas had. There would be little fits here and there, certainly, like Washington's mess, but manageable. Trying to reshape the whole of the Italian peninsula in Britannia's image was less feasible- but couldn't the same be said of the Indian Peninsula?

If there were some easy way to get Asian goods into the Mediterranean, it might have been a different story- at that point, Italy would serve as a remarkable asset to project their influence over the whole of the Mediterranean. Still, shipping goods across the thin strip of land at the Suez was inefficient- you had to unload the cargo, carry it overland, and then put it back on another ship. It was a problem faced almost everywhere: moving goods overland was almost always more expensive than doing so over the water, even when the distance over water was much longer.

As it seemed, Britannia would be on her own when it came to handling the situation in the Cape and in Italy. None of the other powers would shed a tear if Britannia lost either, and considering that he hadn't received any news from the Danubian or French states about sending their armies into nominally Britannian territory, they were probably happy to just sit back and watch.

In theory, Britannia alone was nothing to scoff at, with her colonies and princely states stretching across most of the planet. They had grand armies and navies- many of which were tied down garrisoning their conquests. They could try more intense recruitment policies or redirecting men from other territories- the latter would not be preferable for reasons that were rather obvious.

But what to happen if Italy did win? Schenizel certainly hoped they didn't, but he knew the importance of not keeping all of his eggs in one basket, so to speak, and not considering the possibility, however unlikely, that Italy would scrape a win would be foolhardy. At the very least, Schneizel hoped that they could keep Gibraltar and Malta- those two were manageable, compared to the great expanse of Italy, and gave them the strength to project power into the Mediterranean.

If such an event occurred, how could he best influence things for Britannia? Ideally, he'd want as big a coalition as possible: the French and Danubians, certainly, but also the Turks if he could sway them. They wouldn't have many territorial interests in Italy, but was it possible that Schneizel could win them over with a promise of assistance once Britannia's house was in order? He knew the Sultan was struggling with his unruly Egyptian vassal…

Organizing such a coalition (and being sure to provide supplies for it) would improve Britannia's standing in the eyes of the reactionary powers of Europe- the embarrassment at the Belgian Conference was reason enough to try.

Proposed Partition of the Kingdom of Italy- the exact origins of this document are dubious. It is allegedly from the desk of Schneizel himself, and seem roughly in line with his proposals at the time, but the exact origins are uncertain.

The map shows Italy and her immediate surroundings- Malta, the Adriatic, southern France, Switzerland, and portions of the Empire of the Danube. It's sketchwork, but drawn with a careful hand, borders separating Italy.

Malta is marked with a simple note: "Restore ability to project power in the Mediterranean" while the note next to Sicily is longer: "Keeping it under control will be difficult without extreme effort- establish plantations, like in Ulster?"

Lombardy and the region surrounding Venice are marked "Lombardy-Venetia, under Habsburg sway? Two smaller states, instead?" The Piedmont and Liguria are similar, but under French sway instead of Danubian.

Central Italy is largely under the sway of the Pope, while Tuscany is simply placed under the custody of a duchy of Tuscany. Similar plans are laid for Emilia-Romagna.

At the bottom of the Italian boot, there is Naples, which has few words. "Lelouch Bourbon scion?"

Italian industrial experts and machinery had been sent to the Barbary states of Northern Africa, in accordance with Lelouch's promises of industrial aid. Admittedly, a large reason behind said help was so Italy could start buying manufactured goods, like bullets and canned foods, but it was still economic aid.

However, this contact between Italy and the Maghreb led to the spread of things other than industrial designs- while off work on the factories being constructed, the Italians talked about a number things, like their politics. Perhaps a few things were lost in translation between the Italian dialects and Arabic, but the broad strokes got through.

Not everyone who was interested in factories was necessarily interested in republican politics, but some were- and some were interested enough to request visits to Italy herself, to absorb the sciences which were propelling the Europeans to greatness, along with culture.

This curiosity was even urged on by some of the Beys- even with the Italians distracted by their war of independence, the threat of an eventually military crackdown if their piracy continued was a worrying one. They had been given a wake up call to modernize as quickly as possible and to replicate the economic successes of Europe to wean themselves off piracy- this was not something that could be done half-heartedly.

Still, this move towards a new economic system instead of the time honored tradition of piracy made a number of people irate, especially the pirates. In theory, they could ply their trade against other ships, but when you were told not to raid either Italian or Britannian shipping, your pickings got pretty narrow. Whether or not the Italian revolution freed them from their obligations to not raid Britannia was unclear- and infuriating Britannia during such a vital time didn't seem wise, even if currying favor with Italy was a possible result.

In Tripoli, the struggle was harder, as they had not received industrial support from Italy, and were left with fewer options. Sure, they could probably try piracy again now that the Italians were distracted in a fight with their overlords, but memories of the burning of the docks at Tripoli were still fresh, even if they had been repaired. Not to mention the fact that anyone who got clever ideas about Atlantic piracy was confronted with a blockade of the strait of Gibraltar.

Certainly, Italy's influence was already projecting across the Mediterranean, her edicts and rulings holding sway in north African halls of power as the countries were brought under her sway economically. All the while, ideals of liberty, born in the Enlightenment and spread to Italy, were reintroduced to the region after Napoleon's ill fated invasion in Egypt, a few sparks flying across the dark waters of the Mediterranean and taking hold in Barbary...

Things were going surprisingly well, Clovis thought. The Cape Freedmen had done surprisingly well against their Boer adversaries- neither were extremely well drilled, but Clovis had the edge in numbers, and a small core of actual military professionals. Not all of his hangers-on were completely useless, thankfully.

War here was very different from what battle was like in Europe- or at least, that was the impression that Clovis gathered from his advisors. They had some cannon, borrowed from their defenses or even warships, but bringing those guns up on the plateau which formed inland south Africa was difficult, to say the least. That meant most battles were affairs of infantry and cavalry- or maybe the occasional small mortar.

Skirmishes were small but frequent, battles taking place around farmsteads or little villages. It was not a pleasant war- he heard tales of burnt buildings and lootings, along with men simply peeling off from the army to stake their claims to a particular house or plot of land early. Still, he had no real tools to crack down on them…

And that was the real problem. Slowly, the Freedmen were becoming a military force. They weren't exactly his majesty's own regiment of Foot Guards, but they were something, and more critically, they were aware that they were something. They had military power, and they knew it.

His aides had told him of worrying news from the front: threats of striking, simply refusing to march to the field, or even rumors of eventually turning their guns against the government. They weren't quite at full fledged revolt stage yet, but it was clear that they wanted concessions: the same dignity under the law as any Britannian and limited self governance.

In some way, he probably deserved what he got- what, did he expect them to just sit there and go back to quiet lives of agricultural toil? Now he was really anticipating the arrival of those imperial reinforcements he had requested- if they didn't show up soon, someone might get the idea of putting a gun to his head and forcing him to sign those things into law- and that would just be the beginning, he was sure.

Why wouldn't they try to place checks on his power? Perhaps he could try to sate them in some ways- letting them form their own little governments, all under his rule, might be something. What did the Spaniards have? Those Republics of the Indians, were they? Technically, it would probably be Republic of the Africans in the Cape's case, but still… As loath as he was to admit it, if the natives revolted, he would be in a bad spot. There were some other European settlers, but enough to reasonably support his palace complex, to help supply all those ships coming to the Cape? Unlikely.

Clovis could see that things were beginning to spiral out of his control, but what else was he supposed to do?

He pored over whatever correspondence he received from Europe: any orders or demands from Father were as good as law for Clovis- he wanted to keep his seat, after all, but keeping up with politics was also important. At the very least, he needed to know what flags meant trouble, but he liked keeping up with Lelouch's adventures in Europe- it was all so romantic: the unification of a people, the unlikely seizure of a crown, the military triumphs... Like something out of a storybook! Of course, he knew his brother was a real person with very real thoughts and emotions, but sometimes the whole of Europe felt oh so distant.

With an easy, practiced motion his letter opener opened the envelope, and he quickly started to read the letter contained within- before nearly dropping it. He set the opener to the side and double checked the envelope- yes, that was father's seal, although he wasn't sure he would have believed it if father had handed the letter to him personally. Lelouch, revolting against the crown? What the hell was he thinking? Was he so desperate to join his mother in death?

What was any single Viceroyalty against the might of empire? Sure, Lelouch had a marvelous strategic mind, but at some point even the greatest mind would cleave under sheer numbers. And there was only one fitting punishment for treason… And what of Nunnally, the poor girl who could scarcely stand? To hang such a girl would be cruel beyond belief.

Was it treason to hope that they succeeded, or would that require action in favor of the traitorous prince? There wasn't much he could really to do to help them from all the way down here- unless you considered his bungling of the current situation indirect military aid.

The king over the water bit takes inspiration from a thing Jacobites would do- toasting over a basin of water to represent their king in exile over the water, typically in France. I think this timeline has effectively butterflied those madlads out of existence, so…

The bit about liberal ideals spreading to Barbary is inspired by the phenomena known as the Nahda- a sort of Arab Enlightenment which spread in Greater Syria and Egypt, brought on by reforms courtesy of the Turks and the Pasha of Egypt. Interesting stuff. Longer term, I imagine that European-North African relations will be a little warm, and in this scope of this story... some shenanigans will ensue.

So I was thinking a little about what I might want to do after this fic- I am thinking something sort of industrial era, or at least post gunpowder, and I was curious if y'all had suggestions. I might top it off with a Demon Emperor Lelouch sent back into those whacky circumstances.

One idea I had was the Holy Britannian Empire as something more similar to the Holy Roman Empire, with an Emperor decided by Prince Electors and all that jazz. Could be interesting- maybe a story of Lelouch becoming a war hero, winning battles against Mexico or even Asian nations as a callback to US wars in the Americas and Asia. Another one was Japan, either pre-Meiji restoration or during the warring states, where a time-reversed Lelouch and Kaguya work together to rise to sovereignty over all Japan. Those will be a while the future, I think.