"Villetta Nu, member of the Purist Faction, formerly of the army, highly proficient as a Knightmare pilot, before being recruited into the counterintelligence division," Cornelia said, reading from a file. "Assigned to Ashford Academy undercover as a gym teacher to monitor for possible subversive activity, observe if the curriculum and student body conformed to ideological standards, and ensure the loyalty of the Ashford family. Resigned from the school after admitting to mistreating students and also confessing to other crimes, including blackmail. Subsequently demoted, stripped of the title of Knight, and reassigned. She was your first target, was she not, Zero?"

Lelouch nodded.

"So the Black Knights were founded at Ashford Academy then?"

Lelouch didn't answer. Perhaps some of it was his natural defiance, but with his head as messed up as it was right now, it was hard to say what was true or not. But he had enough wherewithal to be wary of saying something that might prove incriminating.

Cornelia took out another file, spreading a set of photos in front of Lelouch. "Suzaku Kururugi… Milly Ashford…. Kallen Stadtfeld… and Shirley Fenette. Each of these students was either on or joined the Ashford Academy Student Council around the time of the incident, making it easy for them to meet, and all of them had cause to hold a grudge against Villetta Nu. It stands to reason that some or all of them were Black Knights."

Cornelia laid out another pair of photos. "Rivalz Cardemonde and Nina Einstein, both members of the Student Council as well. The former used to drive you so you could illegally gamble at chess matches, and continued to serve as one of your accomplices even after the Black Knights had made their debut. The latter was noted for her skill in science, and took on a number of independent projects this year, making use of Ashford's laboratory equipment. In several of these projects, she was an unwitting pawn of her fellow Student Council members, that is to say, the Black Knights. Do deny any of that now?"

Lelouch smirked. "So you don't have any real proof of their involvement then. Or do you, Viceroy?"

"Lelouch! You realize that if you stay silent or lie to protect your friends, it's not going to help anyone in the end! You'll be executed, and we'll root out the traitors among them soon enough anyway, with or without your help!"

"…."

"So you still refuse to betray your friends?" Cornelia sighed. "At another time, I'd call it an admirable quality. Let me take a different approach then. If you won't tell me who the Black Knights are, perhaps you'll speak more of the methods you used. Normally, I'd call you a raving lunatic for expecting me to believe in something as fanciful as a 'Persona', and that you awakened to some kind of supernatural power in another world. But the way in which you changed the hearts of so many people seems nothing but supernatural."

Lelouch shook his head. "Viceroy Cornelia, why would I tell you something so preposterous that you would never believe it, unless it was really the truth? You know me better than that."

"I know that you've become a skilled liar. But I can't think of any plausible alternatives. And if you could obtain such an ability, who knows who else might be able to use it to threaten Britannia? So I'm willing to listen and reserve judgment on your story for now, but I expect the truth in turn. If I decide that you're wasting my time, this interview is over! Do you understand?!"

Lelouch nodded. "Very well, Viceroy. I will tell you the truth of how the Black Knights stole hearts…"

"And I will get to the bottom of this, no matter what it takes," Cornelia said vehemently.

"Then we have ourselves as deal," Lelouch replied.

There was a flash, one that Lelouch had experienced many times before.

I am thou… thou art I

Thou hast acquired a new vow

It shall become the wings of rebellion

that breaketh thy chains of captivity

With the birth of the Judgement Persona,

I have obtained the winds of blessing that

shall lead to freedom and new power…

Lelouch smirked. The first objective had been cleared.

A/N:

I know I said the it would take longer for the next chapter, but this isn't really a full chapter, more of a framing device setting the stage for what is to come.

Persona 5 uses the British spelling of "Judgement" for the Arcana rather than the American "Judgment", so I will follow that convention in reference to the Arcana as well.

Under other circumstances, Cornelia's personality would be quite fitting for the Empress Arcana. However, with the role she plays in this story, and the Persona 5 character who she is paralleling, it is only proper that she be Lelouch's Judgement Confidant.