"I couldn't help but wonder what a lovely lady such as yourself was doing in a corner by herself during a party," a suave male voice said.

Leila Breisgau looked up from her book. She knew that voice. Indeed, she doubted if there was anyone in Japan who did not know that voice.

"Prince Clovis," she said, careful to mask her annoyance at being interrupted from her reading. As the Third Prince of Britannia and the colonial Viceroy, he was by far the most powerful man in Japan.

As a woman of average height, Clovis stood significantly taller than her. Seven years her senior, Clovis was a handsome man, impeccably dressed in a dark blue-violet suit with gold trim, with a white handkerchief tucked in at his neck. Like Leila, he had blonde hair, though his was a much darker shade than hers. His eyes were blue instead of the violet of so many of his royal half-siblings, but from how he dressed and carried himself, no one could look at Clovis and believe that he wasn't a royal.

To Leila, that wasn't a good thing.

"May I ask what you are reading?" Clovis asked, every bit with the air of a gentleman.

There was no point in refusing the Third Prince's request. "Guibert's 'A General Essay on Tactics'," she replied.

"A French author?" Clovis asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"His ideas on military organization were ahead of his time," Leila said simply.

"I meant no disrespect," Clovis smiled easily. "I happened to visit Paris once, accompanying my older brother, Prince Schneizel, on a diplomatic mission. It has inspired a number of my works of art since, just as you draw inspiration from French tactics. A pity that they allow themselves to be governed by such rabble these days."

Leila nodded slightly, privately thinking that she would much rather be in France right now.

Apparently sensing that her thoughts were distant, Clovis took a different track. "My condolences about your family, Lady Breisgau. It was a terrible accident, and I will personally see to it that it is fully investigated." He paused. "I know what it feels like to lose family… When terrorists attacked the Aries Villa… and then, when the Elevens killed…" His hand momentarily clenched into a fist.

"They're not Elevens, they're Japanese," Leila said quietly.

"I'm not sure I heard you correctly, Lady Breisgau," Clovis said, frowning.

"Even years after the war, they hold onto their culture and pride. You underestimate them at your own peril, Viceroy."

Clovis chuckled. "Your father said as much to me. But I assure you, we are perfectly safe here, and you will have nothing to fear for as long as I protect the people of Area 11."

Leila said nothing, but she knew that by "people", Clovis meant "Britannians."

What did the Third Prince want from her? She knew he hadn't come over to her by chance. She was already busily running scenarios in her head, but she couldn't find a way to gracefully extricate herself from his presence.

"I am glad that you survived the accident," Clovis told her, "and I know you must still be grieving," wisely choosing not to mention her dress, the same black dress she had worn to her parents' funeral. She had heard many of the other assembled nobles making comments about the "bad taste" she had shown in wearing it to a party, but she couldn't care less of what they thought. It was still formal wear, and she wasn't going to waste time picking out a fancy new dress just for one of the Viceroy's parties when she had so much else on her mind right now.

"I would sometimes play chess with your father, and he was always a worthy opponent. He spoke highly of your wit, and I now see that you are gifted with great beauty as well, just like your mother." The Viceroy bowed slightly, and held out a gloved hand. "I am sure they would not want you to close yourself off from everything this world has to offer." He bowed to her. "Would you grace me with a dance, Lady Breisgau, and perhaps a match later?"

So that was it. She should have suspected as much. He was courting her. Did he think she was naive? Her parents had been investigating Clovis and his research into Cognitive Psience before they died. That "car crash" had been no accident, though there was still the question of if it had been meant to kill her too, or if it was just chance that she had been in the car when mental shutdowns claimed her family. It was exceedingly fortunate that it had been a relatively low-speed crash, and that she hadn't suffered any serious injuries herself, but she felt sick as she recalled seeing how her parents' eyes had rolled back into their heads, black ichor oozing from their every orifice.

Still, she was free to move through the Tokyo Settlement, inherit the title of Countess, and even receive an invitation to dance from the Viceroy himself. Could she conclude that Clovis had somehow deemed her, the daughter of spies, harmless? Somehow, she doubted that the Viceroy was that careless, or else he would not have survived for so long. Perhaps he had decided that eliminating her so soon after her parents would make that which he was trying to hide too obvious to observers, and he was trying to lower her guard in the meantime. Or maybe he was testing her loyalty? If so, she hadn't so far made a good show of political orthodoxy. What had she been thinking, bringing a book by a Frenchman to a Britannian high society party, and talking back to the Viceroy when he called the Japanese 'Elevens'? Clearly, her grief had clouded her judgment and made her act recklessly.

Yet at the same time, Clovis had offered her an opportunity. If she could get close to him, then perhaps she could learn what her parents had died looking for. It was a dangerous game for both of them, and Clovis had already made the first move, but a good tactician had to be ready to adapt to any situation.

Taking a breath, she faked a smile, and took the Viceroy's hand, trying not to think about the blood it was stained with.

"I would love to," she lied.

Clovis led her to the center of the ballroom, and Leila was aware that dozens of envious eyes were upon her. She did her best to ignore them. She needed all of her concentration for a convincing performance.

She made some missteps in the dance, but with one hand around her waist, and the other holding her hand forward, Clovis seamlessly accommodated for her inexperience without criticism, expertly guiding her through the routine. Leila didn't delude herself into thinking that she was the first girl he had danced with, but if the Third Prince hadn't been her enemy, it might have been an enjoyable experience for her.

Of course, Clovis then had to start talking.

"When I first came to Area 11, Lady Breisgau, it was still in ruins from the war. In just a few short years, I have rebuilt Tokyo into the shining, modern city that it is today. It is a model for other settlements throughout the Area. But much work remains to be done. There are still ghettos in dire need of urban renewal. In their place, I shall construct parks, concessions, museums, theaters, and opera houses. My people will have every comfort and be surrounded by the arts. Soon, the Tokyo Settlement will even be the envy of those living back in the homeland."

Leila had to stop herself from frowning. Clovis' planned "urban renewal" would mean the displacement of countless Japanese people from their homes, pushing them to ever greater desperation.

Suddenly, the doors to the ballroom were thrown open, and everyone stopped dancing to turn to see what the commotion was. A bald, heavyset and dark-skinned man in his late fifties with a thin mustache, dressed in a military uniform decorated with medals and wearing a monocle over his right eye, hurried into the room as quickly as he could, huffing from exertion. Leila knew him to be General Bartley Aspirius, Clovis's right-hand man in Area 11.

"What is the matter, Bartley?" Clovis said with annoyance as he turned from Leila, still holding her by the waist. "Can't you see that you're interrupting a party?"

"My apologies, Your Highness," Bartley said as he bent over, both in contrition and trying to catch his breath. "There's been a terrorist bombing in one of the outlying commercial districts! We're still awaiting casualty reports, but many are feared dead! You need to issue some kind of response!"

"That's why you barged in?" Clovis fumed. "Fool! Attacks from terrorist Elevens happen all the time! You cause more panic by making a scene like that! Next time, make sure it's something important before you disturb me and my guests!"

People dying wasn't important to him?

"Your highness!" Bartley gasped.

"Still, if the media want me to put on a show for them, who am I to deny them?" Clovis asked with a smile, his anger suddenly dissipating. He turned back to Leila. "If you'll excuse me, Lady Breisgau, I have to address the nation. Don't worry; it will only take a minute."

Without waiting for her to reply, Clovis strode up to a dais at the end of the ballroom, a throne perched atop of it, with the coat of arms of the Britannian royal family emblazoned on the wall behind him. A pair of butlers wordlessly approached the prince and slipped a white, military-style cloak decorated with golden epaulets onto the Viceroy's shoulders and fastened it in place for him with practiced ease. Another aide pressed a button beside the Viceroy's dais, and a camera and lights extended down from the ceiling.

"Going live, your Highness, in three, two, one…"

"To all my Imperial subjects," Clovis began, projecting his voice to the camera's microphone, "Including of course the many cooperative Elevens who choose to serve the empire of Britannia," he said, spreading his hands wide. Clovis then clutched his chest, affecting a distraught expression. "Do you not see my pain? My heart was ripped from my chest, only to be torn apart! Its remnants are filled with rage and sadness! However, as ruler of Area 11, I will not tolerate terrorism of any kind! Because the battle we fight is a righteous one! A virtuous battle, to protect the well-being of one and all! And so I ask you to join me in observance of those who died for justice in the line of duty."

"A moment of silence, please," an announcer said.

Leila lowered her head, quietly praying for the victims. As heavy-handed as Clovis' regime was toward the Japanese, that didn't justify the killing of innocents. They had been caught up in a cycle of violence that had claimed far too many lives already and would only intensify with time, as old wounds festered and the Viceroy carried out further reprisals. She could only hope that their souls would find peace.

The broadcast ended, and the camera retracted from the dais. Clovis stepped down to the ballroom floor, and his butlers removed his cloak before vanishing to the sides again.

"You were magnificent, Your Highness! One would never guess you were attending a party while doing that!" a fawning young woman said, perhaps seeing an opportunity to divert the Viceroy's attention from Leila.

Clovis smiled. "After all, the Viceroy is the marquee actor of Area 11. I need to change costumes quickly."

"My, you're so self-confident!" Another woman beside the first said, flattering the Viceroy.

"It's all in the performance," Clovis replied, adjusting his handkerchief. Since the media want a charismatic prince, I give them one." His gaze turned, seeking out Leila in the crowd. "What did you think, Lady Breisgau?"

Truth be told, she was disgusted. With its wholehearted embrace of social Darwinism, assassinations and racism were sadly commonplace upon the Britannian nobility, an institutionalized evil. But to be able to casually and callously lie to an entire nation was something else entirely. Clovis didn't feel any grief at all for the dead, his fellow Britannians at that… just self-satisfaction with his skill at manipulating millions of people and an inflated sense of self-importance from his position as Viceroy.

It wasn't an ordinary sort of evil, and went far beyond mere sociopathy. Outwardly, Clovis was perfectly charming. But the glimpse she had just caught of his true nature was monstrous.

"It was wonderful, Your Highness," she lied, hating how simpering she sounded as she said those words, but self-preservation had to come first. It took all of her willpower not to clench her hand into a fist, which would have given her away.

Clovis regarded her for a moment, and Leila wondered if she had answered incorrectly. What if the Viceroy was looking for the more free-spoken behavior that she had shown earlier? But why would he surround himself with yes-men if that was what he wanted?

"I'm glad you think so," he said, beaming. "Now, where were we… Ah, I know! Why don't we have that chess match now? Hold nothing back. I'm eager to see your skills."

"I would like that," she replied. That at least was not a lie. It would help her vent her frustration to play against Clovis. She couldn't challenge him overtly, not here, but having him as an opponent in a game was the next best thing. Besides, chess was always a good way to hone one's tactical skill.

"Very good," he said. "But let's find a more secluded space… I don't want there to be any distractions during our match."

xXx

She soundly defeated Clovis, easily seeing through his traps and carefully protecting her pieces to checkmate his king with a minimum of casualties.

"Very impressive, Lady Breisgau," Clovis said, good-naturedly chuckling in spite of his defeat. "You've never thought of enlisting in the military? With your obvious interest and gift in tactics, I could use an officer like you under my command. Bartley is skilled at logistics, and thus he finds a place in my administration, but as a commander he leaves much to be desired. As you saw, his timing can also be atrocious when it comes to affairs of state."

"My interest... is purely academic," she replied softly.

"A pity," the Viceroy said. "I would urge you to reconsider. I could have you fast-tracked through the training. With your intelligence, it would certainly be a trivial matter for you to place out of most the prerequisite courses for officers, and there's no reason why a healthy young woman like yourself wouldn't be able to meet the physical requirements for piloting a Knightmare. With your own noble rank and my influence, I could even have you graduate as a lieutenant colonel in less than a year."

"Perhaps another time," she said. "I can't think of such things while there are still my parents' affairs to settle."

The Viceroy nodded. "I only ask that you do so when you find the time. You may think it mere flattery, but I can think of only two people who have so thoroughly outmatched me at chess: Second Prince Schneizel…. And…" His expression turned to a frown. Finally, he sighed, "The late Eleventh Prince."

"Lelouch vi Britannia…" she murmured.

Clovis nodded wistfully. "Correct. You must follow the royal family closely. With my father's one hundred and eight wives and their offspring, even I, a royal myself, have trouble keeping track of who's who at times. I barely know many of my half-siblings. And the subject of the vi Britannias has been practically taboo since…" his voice trailed off, and he cast his eyes downward.

After a moment, he looked up again. "I think you would have liked my brother, Leila… may I call you Leila? It gets suffocating to have to use our titles all the time, don't you agree? Of course, I will extend the same courtesy to you."

She nodded, if only to play her part.

"At the very least, it would have been interesting to see the two of you play against each other. He would have only been about a month younger than you if he had lived. But he and his sister met their deaths here in Area 11, and that is not something that I can forgive."

It was a more human side of Clovis. But it didn't justify his actions toward the Japanese, and it couldn't erase what she had seen during the broadcast.

"I plan to dedicate my next project to them," he told her, looking thoughtful. "It's almost out of the planning stages. Assuming there are no delays, I should be able to start breaking ground in about three weeks. When it's done, I would like you to be there with me at the dedication ceremony, Leila."

"As you wish, Viceroy Clovis".

"Just Clovis, please," he corrected her.

xXx

Being free of Clovis could not come soon enough for her. But stifling as the role of reluctant debutante had been for her, she believed that she had learned something valuable from the experience.

"Clovis la Britannia," she intoned. "Government Bureau…." She paused. This was the moment of truth.

"Theater."

The world around her flickered.

"Destination confirmed: Theater of Vanity. Beginning navigation."

A/N:

As previously noted, Leila is originally the deuteragonist of Code Geass, Akito the Exiled, and interquel set between the first and second seasons of the show. Leila's background is altered here with the divergence that her parents did not defect to Europia, but remained in the Britannian Empire as spies for Europia instead. This incarnation of Leila does not hold a military rank, as like her parents, she does not believe in Britannia's goals, and would not choose to serve it. Instead, she is carrying on her parent's mission where they left off, conducting espionage into Clovis' research, which in this story focuses on Cognitive Psience.

The idea of having Leila attending one of Clovis' parties was largely drawn from a scene in the first Akito the Exiled movie, where Leila attends a party of aristocrats, supposedly to celebrate a victory on the front, while they are largely indifferent to the war, or talk about how they profit from it. As in this story, Leila committed a number of social faux pas at the party, including reading in a corner and wearing her military uniform (replaced by her funeral dress here), showing her at times introverted personality. The unwanted attention paid to her Clovis in this interlude was also intended to parallel how she had to face the unwanted attentions of one of her older adoptive brothers in the original scene, though said brother was far more boorish in how he approached her. As for why I thought Clovis would have an interest in Leila, she already has her speculations, but I shall elaborate more upon that as Clovis' Palace, and hence his psyche, is explored.

Clovis's speech during the broadcast is taken verbatim from his speech in Episode 1 of Code Geass, as it effectively communicated key ideas that give rise to his Palace, and by definition of being from the source material, is undeniably true to his character. That being said, the reader should not assume that the timing and the details of the incident are exactly the same. Canonically, Clovis' broadcast occurs August 15, 2017 a.t.b. but since this story follows the general pacing of Persona 5's plot, we can assume that in this story he is giving his speech in early May, 2017 a.t.b., after the first Palace is conquered, and leading into the second.

As the ending of the interlude makes clear, Leila already knows how to access the Metaverse. This is meant to parallel another plot point from Akito the Exiled, but I will not elaborate further into that to avoid spoiling those details for those who are not already familiar with it.

Next up will be the Black Knights returning to Mementos, and Shadow Jeremiah!