Interlude 2: The Witch's Divinations.

"EUPHIE!" I scream.

My sister! NO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! NOT AGAIN! I CAN'T LOSE HER LIKE I LOST LADY MARIANNE!

Wait...it's her! In the boat on the water!

I lay back in the seat, taking a deep breathe as I sigh in relief. Heh, seems that I owe a debt to Zero.

Freeing the people? Pshaw. You've taken them as your shields to ensure we don't blow you out of the water.

An order of knights? Hahahaha! Absurd. Numbers cannot be knights.

...Despicable threats? Vile acts?! What did that terrorist leader do to Euphemia?!

I do need to applaud his bravado and showmanship, if nothing else. He's quite good at public speaking.

Dai roku ten ma ou? What the hell does that mean? Eh, I'll get the translation from my staff after I see to Euphie. Damned Eleven language.

I sit back in the chair of my custom Gloucester. He did keep his word...so I suppose I could ignore his actions for a bit.

"Guilford. I'm going to check on Euphie. See to the civilians."

"Yes, Your Highness. Shall we mobilize air assets to chase Zero?" he inquires.

Tempting. But I gave my word that he could attempt this rescue. I'll not have my honor besmirched for breaking it.

"No," I say with finality. "He saved Euphie and the other civilians. He's earned the right to fight another day."

"Yes your highness. Thank god some of these Elevens have some barbaric sense of honor."

Honor wasn't his only reason for this, I muse as I drive my Knightmare to the staging area. He wanted a chance to debut and make his group look good.

Still, he had to know he would be making enemies with the JLF, doing it this way. So, why?

There she is. I dismount from my knightmare, walking briskly to where Euphie is helping people out of the boats.

"Euphie!" I yell as I pull her into an embrace.

"Sister Cornelia..." she murmurs, crying tears of relief.

We stay like this a moment before she wipes her eyes and looks up with a serious expression.

"Viceroy, I have something I need to speak to you about privately."

My mind races for possible conclusions. Is she hurt? Did Zero say something? Did that Eleven pig terrorist touch her?!

"It concerns this," she says handing me a letter. "And a...'present'," she says with a grimace.

I look behind her to see some of my troops carrying a large and apparently heavily-laden bag. What the deuce?

I motion for them to follow us to a forward command post out of the public eye.

I open the letter and begin reading. My first impression is that Zero has excellent calligraphy.

"General Cornelia Li Britannia. As one commander to another, I greet you again.

This has been a trying day for us all. Imagine my surprise when I found that my own younger sister had been caught up in a hotel hostage-taking. I imagine youyourself were similarly distressed upon realizing that Princess Euphemia was there as well.

I asked to speak to their commanding officer when I arrived, while secretly giving my men the order to secure the site and free the hostages.

Upon meeting with their leader, Lieutenant Colonel Josui Kusakabe, I informed him that his actions were futile. Britannia does not negotiate with terrorists, and that his goal of reminding people that Japan still lives was pointless.

Japan has been dead for seven years.

His response was...unexpected. He declared that if the deaths of civilians was not enough, then perhaps the publicized gang-rape of them would be.

His intended first victim? Princess Euphemia herself, who apparently had bravely stood up to the terrorists and demanded to see their leader.

I was naturally apoplectic with fury, and inflicted an ancient Chinese form of punishment upon him which the Japanese know as 'Kishi'.

Simply put, I had his limbs torn from his body whilst he was still conscious, then declared him to be without honor before witnesses, then beheaded him with his own katana. His remains are to be found in the bag delivered with this letter; as a part of Kishi involves the public display of the deceased's corpse, I would ask that you find a way to make this so.

Kusakabe's sword is currently en route to Colonel Tohdoh of the JLF, who will undoubtedly have him court-martialed in absentia and dishonourably discharged in disgrace.

Let me be clear. Though Lt. Col. Kusakabe was acting without orders nor the permission of his superiors, that such a man could attain such a high rank within the JLF in the first place, is a fact I find highly disturbing.

As such, and given that one of my own family could have potentially become a victim today, I see no reason for such an organization to be allowed to continue to exist. I believe that publicizing the crimes that Kusakabe intended, against the hostages and Euphemia in particular, will spell the end of their decrepit organization. With of course, the appropriate level of censorship to protect Princess Euphemia from the odious nature of the press. Implication of what he did is far more damning, let people draw their own conclusions by filling in the blanks themselves.

I executed these actions, not only as an soldier and a commander who holds himself to a higher level of conduct than these vermin, but as an outraged elder sibling.

You may rest assured, that I fully intend to adhere to the words in my manifesto, as announced on the lake.

May fortune favor you in your hunt, General.

I look forward to a rematch in the future.

Sincerely,

Zero, 大六天魔王, The Demon King of The Sixth Heaven, leader of the Order of the Black Knights."

So that's what he meant by his title. Demon King? Presumptuous little rascal, isn't he? Still, it was courteous of him to include a translation of his title.

"Euphie, please step outside for a moment, I need to verify something," I say with a serious tone.

Once she's outside, I open the sack, and am greeted with the smell of blood and offal. There, lying amidst a pile of his own limbs and torso, is the head of the Eleven terrorist leader Kusakabe.

I close the bag back up, then lean back into the officer's chair I had commandeered.

And at that moment, it hits me.

"Heh heh heh."

I put my hand on my forehead, laughing to myself at what Zero just did.

"Hahahahahaha..."

It's so completely out of the norm for Elevens. So unpredictable. So...challenging.

He never had any intention of allying with the JLF to begin with.

Zero has his own agenda. And he wants the JLF destroyed for it. So rather than do it himself?

He sends a letter outright asking me to do his dirty work for him.

"Hahahahaha!"

The sheer cheek of his tactics has me roaring with laughter.

Of course, the funny thing is? I'm most likely going to oblige him anyway, despite knowing that it favors his own plans, whatever they may be.

Because, frankly speaking? As much as I may hate him for Clovis' death, I cannot deny that he has a point. The JLF needs to be destroyed for this. And Zero, at least at this time, is the lower priority.

I take a few deep breaths to calm myself down.

Unfortunately, now that means I have to have a very uncomfortable conversation with my sister. But I have no choice. I need to know what I'm up against.

"Euphie, you can come back in now," I say looking over the letter Zero sent.

Euphie walks back in, concern plain upon her face.

"Sister, what was so funny? I heard you laughing outside."

Dear sweet Euphie. It's unfortunate that you don't share my taste for black humor.

"I'm beginning to realize how badly that I may have underestimated Zero. Euphie, did he say anything to you?" I ask her, hands steepled into a flat pyramid under my chin.

"He's...not what I expected. He has a very commanding presence. You can tell when he enters a room."

I nod in agreement. I suspected as much after our first meeting. And despite the fact that he's actually a bit of a rakish figure and skinny as a rail in our first face to face confrontation, his presence is no less powerful for it.

"What did he say to you? Anything could be important, no matter how innocuous."

Knowing the psychological profile of an enemy commander is critical intelligence. And Euphie is currently the only Britannian to ever stand in Zero's presence face to face and walk away.

"Well, I did ask him what happened in the hotel room and what was in that bag next to you. He said I was better off not knowing. And then he handed me the letter you just read," she says nervously.

Euphie looks me in the eye as she holds my hand, "Sister...what is in that bag? I chastised him for slaughtering the JLF, except his response was that if I had known what they were planning, I wouldn't be so quick to be merciful.

No, Euphie. You wouldn't be. And if they had carried out their plan? I would have burned this entire country to ash in retaliation.

I sigh as I stroke Euphie's hair. I'd rather not talk to her about this. But on the other hand, perhaps she'll realize that she needs to take better precautions if I'm honest with her.

"Euphie..." I say slowly, steadying my nerves. "The JLF commander...threatened to despoil you, publicly."

It takes only a moment for my sister to turn white with shock.

"W-w-what?! Why? I haven't done anything!"

Oh, sweet naive little Euphie. I wish you never had to experience such cruelty.

"You personally? Perish the thought. But...you are the third princess of the Holy Britannian Empire. You are a symbol of our country, for better or worse," I say holding her chin up.

"You were lucky today. Zero, it seems, in addition to being the most dangerous man on this accursed island, is an honorable man of sorts. The bag is the Eleven commander's body, after Zero executed him."

I rub my forehead in frustration, "And I'm no closer to avenging Clovis."

At the mention of his name, my little sister goes quiet.

"Cornelia...What is Code-R?"

The saying about being quiet enough to hear pins drop is inadequate to describe just how quiet the tent got just now.

"Cornelia. He said Clovis killed civilians to cover up a project. A project involving human experimentation. What. Is. Code-R??" she says with authority.

Please don't make me answer that, Euphie. I don't want to ruin whatever good memories you have of Clovis. I look to the side, silently.

Euphemia sighs deeply and looks down, "So Zero was right. Clovis was doing something evil."

I close my eyes, trying to decide how best to answer that accusation.

"I don't know what his goal was. The research that Gottwald located was largely purged. What he managed to acquire was the testing records. And those..." I sigh. "I've been a soldier all my life, Euphie. So take this from someone with experience: you don't want to know what was in there."

Euphie nods, her expression melancholy.

"What else did he say?" I ask.

She sighs, "After warning me not to look in the bag, he talked about philosophy and how he intended to end the cycle of hatred and loss."

Well, that's new. That is greatly diverged from anything other rebels have said.

"Sister, he said something strange when I said he didn't care about the death and destruction he was causing."

Stranger than everything else thus far? I raise an eyebrow in response to her statement.

Euphie sits down in a chair, "He quoted Bismarck."

I tilt my head quizzically, "Waldstein? Why would he quote the Knight of One? I don't think Bismarck Waldstein has any notable quotes known to the public."

Euphemia shakes her pink tresses, "No, the other one. The German statesman. The one that Father insists everyone in the family study."

Otto von Bismarck?! The hell?! He's practically unknown, outside of Britannia and parts of Europe! Yes, the EU military studies him occasionally, from what I've heard, but even then it's largely discouraged due to his defection!

I sit back in my chair, mind racing with questions. How the hell would an Eleven even know about Otto von Bismarck?! Even in Britannia, he's an uncommon topic for discussion outside of academic circles.

I rub my forehead in frustration, "Every time we think we have anything about Zero figured out, he does something no one can predict."

At that moment, I suddenly feel like smiling and look up.

"And that's what makes him such an interesting opponent. No other commander I've ever faced, has truly challenged me. Not like him. Up until now, only Schneizel has been beyond me in tactics and strategy."

Euphemia fidgets with her skirt.

I sigh in an exasperated fashion, "What?"

"Sister... I think the empire is wrong."

I sit up straight in a flash, "What?! Euphie, don't say things like that out loud!"

I've been keeping a lid on things like this for years. If any person of the court found out, they could use it to publicly attack her. I won't have her drawn into that viper's nest.

...Even if she is right. The Empire has become a much worse place since Lady Marianne died.

"Sister Cornelia, what did Zero mean about 'sanctioned at the highest levels'?" she says with a weary voice.

That, was troubling. I would have been inclined to dismiss it as Zero fear-mongering, except for one problem.

Gottwald had said he had been stonewalled by OSI while making inquiries on my behalf. The Office of Secret Intelligence had cleared out Clovis's office before I even arrived in this Area, his personal computer and files confiscated for 'national security concerns'.

Gottwald is still tracking down the money and equipment through unofficial channels, but... Something is wrong. OSI shouldn't be blocking an investigation into a regicide or a no-name terrorist, no matter how charismatic he may be.

And only the Emperor himself can command them.

I look at my sister grimly. "We may have stumbled into something above even my pay grade, Euphie," I shake my head.

"I wish we'd never come to this place, sister," she says with a downcast expression.

I pull her into a hug.

"I know, Euphie. I know."