Ruben smiled seeing Lelouch enter his office. The Prince had told him that he would come to discuss things in person. But Ruben did not have good news. Milly would not be forced to do anything she didn't want – she was like her mother in that regard. Either way, he still did think that he could work out something with Lelouch. Perhaps even a partnership. If Lelouch had things working out for him, it could be beneficial to the family. He had no interest in developing knightmares. He was only interested in seeing that his family's fortunes were restored. But he did need to solve a couple of things. It would have been nice if he had another granddaughter who was willing to marry Lelouch. Perhaps he was being selfish and greedy, but it was for sake of family and as its head, he had to try everything.
"Prince Lelouch," Ruben said as the black haired Prince settled down in front of his desk.
"Ruben," Lelouch acknowledged. He glanced at the man for a moment before speaking in a serious tone. He hadn't come here to reminisce about past memories. He was looking at the future. "I hope you have some good news for me."
"About your proposal," Ruben said before falling silent.
"Yes; about that proposal I made. You said you needed time to think about it," Lelouch said.
Ruben nodded. "About that… you see, that is almost the only thing that Ashfords hold that could be of value to anyone seeking anything from us. When we were making matches for Milly, we made this as part of the proposal as it was about the only thing we could give."
Lelouch stared. This kind of thing hadn't come up the last time they had spoken. He resisted the urge to frown knowing that this man was taking things to another level. He didn't think that Ruben would try to swindle him. There had to be something that the man wanted. "What are you saying?"
"My family's name no longer means much… Why do you think we have been trying to get Milly married to a noble family? We want to regain our noble status. But unless someone really does love our Milly, no marriage is going to happen unless there is something to gain by marrying into us," Ruben said. "I don't want to sell the technology and have nothing to offer."
Lelouch shook his head with disappointment. Ruben disappointed him. Why was the man so insisting on becoming a noble again? Lelouch held no love for the nobility. They were not good people and was Ruben forgetting how this noble status betrayed him last time around? "Do you not want me to gain your technology, Ruben?" He asked with narrowed eyes.
"It isn't that," Ruben said with a shake of his head. "I would be more than willing to give it to you for free. We have no use for it anyway," he said.
"But you have other plans," Lelouch said before falling silent for a couple of moments. "This is disappointing. I thought we would have a deal."
Lelouch needed this to work for him because he needed to begin his secret project right away. He could not stay behind Schneizel. The fact that his brother was willing to toss a seventh generation Knightmare frame to him meant that he had other bigger projects. That aside, he had said it himself – Lloyd wasn't the only scientist he had in his pockets. He needed to be able to compete and the technology the Ashfords had was going to give him a starting point. He had no alternative plans. This had to work even if it meant he had to force things through.
But how did he go about things when it was like this? Ruben wanted to become a noble again. Thinking of this, Lelouch remembered Milly's situation and what he had said to her before he returned to Pendragon. What had he been thinking then? He had been bitter, yes. But he had meant those words. Still, what could he do? "How about we form a partnership, Ruben?" Lelouch said. "It will allow you to keep some interest in the technology and in the near future, I will do something about your noble status. I did tell Milly that I would do something about her situation."
Ruben smiled upon hearing those words. "A partnership?" He paused, thinking. He didn't know if he should tell Lelouch about what he had told Milly. He shook his head. He needed to resolve issues with her first.
"Yes, it will only be temporary until your noble status is fixed," Lelouch said calmly. "That aside, with what I plan, the name of the Ashford should become famous once more."
"I'm listening…"
Lelouch shook his head. "Do we have a deal, Ruben? I need an answer now. I cannot afford to be playing around and wasting time. I need things to start moving quickly before I am deployed."
Ruben was silent for a couple of moments before nodding his head. "I can work with that… yes, we have a deal."
Lelouch smirked. "Excellent; I will send the paperwork before the day ends." He said. "Tell me, what do you know about knightmare distribution within this Area? There are terrorist groups. Who funds them? Who gives them their knightmares?"
"I do not know, your Highness, but I can find out…" Ruben offered.
Lelouch shook his head. "No, I will work out something. You don't want those kind of groups catching you sniffing around their business. You'd find some people with connections to Britannia funding terrorists and when you do, they'll try to eliminate you."
"Possibly," Ruben said. "What do you have in mind?"
"I have no preference when it comes to hiring people to work for me," Lelouch said with a shrug of his shoulders. "For now, you won't have a problem being in charge of the foundation, no? But I don't want my name in it, for now at least."
"What will the foundation be doing, Lelouch?"
"Research and development," Lelouch said without going into detail. "We will talk about it some time. Oh yes, we will need to use the basement for research purposes… Solar panels will be delivered probably in the next seven days. Once I have sent you the plans, you'll know what to do." Lelouch said as he stood up. "I will call you before I leave the Area. I'm afraid my time is limited here and I must leave before the academy notices my presence."
Ruben realized that Lelouch hadn't stopped planning things even when he told him he would think about things. The Prince had been planning things even though he hadn't received any answer from him. "I will wait upon those plans."
Lelouch nodded and stepped out of the office. His hair nearly stood up when he closed the door behind him. There was a blonde woman standing by his right, leaning against the wall with her hands folded below his bust.
"Milly…" Lelouch greeted with a smile.
The blonde acted as if she hadn't heard him for a couple of moments. Finally, she got away from the wall and stalked towards the eleventh prince. She stood just inches away from him before smiling. "Nop, I'm still taller," she said.
Lelouch blinked before shaking his head while chuckling lightly. "It has only been a couple of months, Milly," he said.
"You went away on a training trip, I thought you would be taller," Milly said looking straight at her childhood friend.
"I went away to improve myself physically to be able to handle the stress of piloting a knightmare and pulling all-nighters not learn new methods of growing tall," Lelouch responded in a flat tone.
"Oh?" Milly smiled dangerously. "So you have become physically stronger now, eh?"
Lelouch felt uncomfortable seeing Milly smile like that. She was never planning something good for him. Whatever she plotted always had to end up with him being humiliated. Still, he could still not allow her to continue mocking him. "If you must know, I have improved. I may not look like it, but yes, I have improved."
"So, now you'll be able to carry your wife bridal style going up the stairs of Aries Villa to your bedroom without breaking your back?" Milly asked. "Somehow I doubt that."
"If I carry you, will you drop it, Milly?" Lelouch was full of confidence. He could do it. He had picked up some weights. He would not be mocked even by Euphemia or Cornelia. Or maybe his elder sister will think it wasn't enough.
Milly tilted her head to the side, smiling. "His Highness carrying Milly Ashford?" She paused for a moment, thinking. "Can you even do it?"
"If I do it, will you stop with this subject and about my height? You are even older than me!"
"Boys grow taller faster," Milly said. "But I am not making any promises, not when I don't believe that the mighty Lulu can pick me up. Your name doesn't even speak of stre-"
Milly wasn't able to finish as Lelouch suddenly picked up with both his heads. She was surprised but she didn't show it. When his violet eyes stared at her, her heart raced a bit, but she still didn't show it. She just smiled. "Well, that happened…"
"Happy now?"
Milly adopted a thoughtful look on her face, enjoying being held by Lelouch. She had thought of this moment. She had thought it would be a little romantic than this. Still, it did make her feel excited. "Not until someone snaps a picture of us…"
"It will be picture of you dropping on the floor with me running away," Lelouch said with an expressionless look on his face. He then gently allowed Milly to stand on her feet. "You just wanted me to carry you, didn't you?" He asked with a stare.
"That was your choice," Milly said with an innocent smile. "I didn't force you. You even took me by force…"
"You led me to it!" Lelouch said with a glare. He then sighed and shook his head. "So much for not falling for your tricks… You were waiting for me…"
"Well you didn't tell me you were coming," Milly said with a stare.
"Because I didn't want to be bothered," Lelouch said. "Come on, walk with me. I have to go away and you obviously want to talk to me. Besides, we don't want someone seeing us in a passage like this."
"You had no problems before…"
"I was just your Vice President then," Lelouch said. "But now I am Britannian Prince."
Milly shrugged. "Technically, you are still Vice President of the Student Council and you were a Prince back then. You just refused to live like it or admit it. Well, nothing has changed with how I view you." She grinned. "Even if you become the Emperor, you'll always be Lulu and I'll always be taller than you."
Lelouch groaned. He didn't have the energy to pick up this argument with Milly. "What do you want, Milly?"
"What? I can't talk to you now?" Lelouch gave her a stare causing her to turn a bit serious as she spoke. "What were you discussing with my grandfather?"
"The Ashford Foundation… I want to use it," Lelouch said.
It did look like her grandfather didn't say anything to Lelouch about what he told her. This was a serious problem. Then again, it he had said something, Lelouch would have been acting differently. "I see," Milly said. "Why?"
"Why? I need it…" Lelouch said. "Where is this going, Milly?"
"I just want to know your intentions. This doesn't have anything to do with the Ashfords or me, right?"
Lelouch shook his head. "If it had something to do with you, I would have told you or otherwise, you would torment me. This is nothing to do with you. I just want the technology your family developed," he said calmly.
"Ah, that's a pity," Milly said. "You said you were going to do something about my situation since you returned to the Imperial family. But since you returned, it has all been you and you. You didn't forget about me, did you? And you do know that if you don't do something, my family is going to marry me so some old fart with the belly the size of an elephant and sons older than me."
Lelouch snorted. "Like you'd agree to it," he said with a roll of his eyes. "He would have to slim first and even when, you might still just say he was better when he was fat," he said.
Milly laughed. "You make it sound as if I am cruel, Lulu…" she said.
"Well, aren't you?"
"I'm delightful," Milly said.
"My memories beg to differ," Lelouch said. "Is your grandfather still fixing you up with candidates?"
Milly shook her head. "No, not at the moment," she said. "But who knows when it might return. He was probably thinking of using you…."
Lelouch snorted. "Not like he hasn't thought of it before," he said before falling silent. "Clovis is hosting a party of some sort tonight. Escort me," he said.
Milly stopped walking and placed her hands on her hips before speaking. "Are you asking me or telling me?"
Lelouch frowned. "Asking…" he said.
"I didn't hear you clearly; do it again," she said.
Lelouch glared at Milly for a moment but she didn't break. Nothing was ever easy with her, was it? He should have known that she would even make this difficult. He suppressed the urge to sigh and faced the blonde with a smile. "Milly Ashford, will you do me the honor of escorting me to Clovis' party tonight at the Viceroy's Palace?"
Milly adopted a thoughtful look on her face. "It is on short notice and I'll need to get a dress for the occasion. Knowing Prince Clovis, there will be many prominent people… still; I don't know if I can make it…"
"Milly…"
"Really Lelouch, it is short notice…"
"Milly," Lelouch warned. He would end up taking Villetta if Milly wanted him get on his knees.
Milly smiled. "It will me an honor, Your Highness," she said with a slight bow of her head.
"Will you make it? It starts at eight…"
"You'll pick me up." Milly said. "And pay for my new dress."
"Fine," Lelouch said. "Anything else?"
"I'll text you," Milly said.
"I'll see you later then," Lelouch said before turning away from the blonde.
Minutes Later
Lelouch was sitting in a car with both Villetta and Jeremiah. He looked tired. A conversation with Milly was always a mission. He always had to stay on his toes or else that woman would put him in a trap he would not be able to escape. "Well all things considered, things worked out," he said with his eyes staring outside the window.
"My Lord?" Jeremiah asked.
"We are ready to begin with the Ashford Foundation project. This will be my major project. I will have Lloyd build some things for me because of his genius," Lelouch said.
"You have never shared any plans with us," Villetta said cautiously.
There hadn't been a need to tell them anything. Everything was still just a plot that he was working on. And he didn't need anything to spill. Besides, some things were better kept to himself. It wasn't that he didn't trust them. He did have reservations with Villetta. But this journey to this Area and having her run errands for him had been merely a test run to see if she could be trusted. He trusted Jeremiah but even the man could be fooled. Those issues were handled though. Otherwise, he would not have allowed her to see him in a moment of weakness with Nunnally. But then that also had her see another side of him. Emotional exploit wasn't a problem and he could use it without a problem.
The project with the Ashford Foundation would bring him towards his goal of conquering what needs to be conquered and influenced. "I wasn't just busy training during the three-month period I was away," Lelouch started calmly. "I was also busy forming some connections and doing research. In order to influence things, you need to have power. I need military and what better way to influence military than through knightmare frames?"
"My Lord?"
Lelouch almost sighed. He needed to explain things in detail. "Britannia is always looking to improve in knightmare capabilities to improve its military power. That aside, there is never a shortage of usage for knightmare frames, as long as the war still continues. In Japan, you have the Kyoto House which is responsible for knightmare production and the management of Sakuradite production. In the near future, the Ashford Foundation will also become a major player. But that will need Sakuradite. That isn't a problem though. Part of the reason I came here was to obtain a supply of the energy source."
"Who will supply?"
Lelouch merely smiled. "Villetta, there is a student called Nina Einstein, she has a rather curious mind. I want to see her tomorrow. I'm afraid if I don't capture her now, someone else will see her talents and take her." Besides, she was a vital piece of the Ashford Foundation.
"I will make arrange that," Villetta said.
This was a reason to smile; Jeremiah didn't hide his excitement. Although Lelouch had left the details to himself, it was no doubt that things were working towards the good path. Yes, his master's plans were coming along. Nothing pleased Jeremiah more than this. "Does this mean that we will get the Knightmare frames you said we'd get?"
Lelouch didn't offer an immediate response. He would need to have Lloyd work with the Ashford Foundation in secret if he was going to get something worked out quickly. But if they were going to end up being deployed any moment now, they would have to do with the knightmares currently in use. "Yes, but not now. In our first crusade, there will be nothing fancy. Besides, if we just start with fancy toys, we will attract too much attention."
"I wouldn't mind it," Jeremiah said with excitement. "The call is taking too long to come though. I haven't been in action within a knightmare in quite some time. War brings out the best of my abilities."
"I hope by that you don't mean fighting recklessly," Villetta said. "In our next battle, it won't just be for the politics of the Purist Faction but it will be on the grand scale of Britannia's advances."
"The main stage," Lelouch said. "Well, even I am excited. I want to see what we can do. How much action we get will depend on where we are deployed. Well, for now, we can just rest easy. Once we set forth, we will be having constant battles and unless we claim victory, we cannot go back home."
For Lelouch Vi Britannia, there was no option of failure. The nobles would laugh and spit at him. The emperor would hook him out of military and make him a political tool once more. Schneizel would certainly be disappointed. The little friends he would make would certainly desert him. But even if that happened, Lelouch would not allow that be the end of him. As long as he was alive, Lelouch would continue to fight. He would continue to march on towards the path of glory, for his wish, for his revenge.
And for Nunnally's dream world.
Later
Milly had a content smile on her lips as she slowly walked towards Lelouch's limousine. There was no need for secrecy this time around; they were going to walk into the eyes of the public. Perhaps it would raise her stock. She would certainly be on the lips of some certain nobles after tonight. Who didn't like a delightful young blonde girl belonging to the Ashford family? They might not be nobles anymore, but they weren't doing bad either. They did have several non-profit projects that were focused on education. They had stayed away from the things that made them rich before. It hadn't ended pleasantly after all.
The Eleventh Prince was waiting for her standing outside of the car. He was dressed a royal white. Milly smiled. "I know you didn't pick this attire," she said looking straight at Lelouch.
"Clovis insisted," Lelouch said with a frown on his lips. "But I did manage to make some alterations. This was a compromise," he said.
"Well, you look like a Prince," Milly said.
"I don't feel like one," Lelouch said. He was going to be paraded around once more. But it would not be unpleasant this time around. He already had some encounters with the nobles around this area, so they would know him. They weren't going to be pissed – at least most of them. "Come on, we have a long night ahead of ahead of us," he said, opening the door for Milly to enter the car.
The blonde folded her hands across her chest and did not move, not a muscle. She stared at the prince before speaking. "You are not doing this properly, Lelouch," she said with a shake of her head.
Lelouch turned back to face Milly with a stare. They had come this far and she was going to be difficult with him? He groaned. This was going to be indeed a long night. "Forgive me for not having experience," he said.
"Whose fault is that?" Milly asked. "Well, you have never been a ladies man, Lelouch," she said. "You should at least let Rivalz teach you a couple of things. He would know what to do in this situation."
Lelouch frowned. "I remember having many girls chasing after me," he said.
"I could never understand what they see in you," Milly said. "If I am going to enjoy myself, you are going to have to treat me like a lady, Lelouch. Tonight, I am not your President, I am not your childhood friend – I am your date for the night," she then winked. "If I am pleased, you'll be free to do whatever you want with me tonight."
Lelouch allowed his mind to wander for a moment before he quickly rubbed away those unpleasant thoughts. "A date, huh?" He said. "Well, it isn't like I wasn't taught how to treat a lady. Perhaps it is the fact that it is you that I am forgetting," he said stepping closer to Milly. He took her right and kissed it before looking into her eyes. She was wearing a long blue dress, it exposed a bit of her chest, her hair was tied up neatly. He thought he liked regular Milly. "You look beautiful, Milly," he said with a smile.
"Thank you, you highness," Milly said with a warm smile. "You look handsome yourself," she said as she allowed Lelouch to lead her into the car.
"Well, I am a Britannian prince. I do have an image that I must uphold," he said smiling. Once the settled in, he released a long breath.
Milly giggled. "You only had to do that for a couple of seconds and already you are worn out?" She said. "But it wasn't so bad."
"My mother did teach me a couple of things… and I had plenty of practice with Euphie and Nunnally," Lelouch thought fondly of those memories as the limousine drove towards the Viceroy Palace. "I'm sorry for dragging you like this on such a short notice. Clovis surprised me when I landed."
Milly shook her head. "I'm not complaining," she said. "Besides, it has been a while since I went out like this. Your company isn't so bad either," she said.
Lelouch eyed her for a moment, "You are not plotting something twisted, are you?"
"I know the time and place, Lelouch," Milly said. "Despite my love for secrets, I kept the fact that you are a prince to myself all these years. Do you know how many times I wanted to say it but had to keep my mouth shut?"
"You worked around that by making my life a misery and trying to learn any other secret I might hold," Lelouch pointed out. He then smiled. "Well, the memories were pleasant. And you were a big part of it. I never did thank you for it, did I?"
"You've never been the thankful type," Milly said. "But it was also fun for me. I hope soon, we will be able to make many more memories like that. I think it will be even more fun now with you officially a royal prince," she said grinning happily.
"I'm not going to step into Ashford Academy if you are smiling like that," Lelouch said in a flat tone. He then leaned back to his seat and fell silent. Milly didn't say anything either. The rest of the journey towards the Viceroy's Palace was silent. It was not a tense silence, it was comfortable. Both were lost in their thoughts, thinking about the past, present and future.
When the limousine stopped, Lelouch turned towards Milly; she was staring right back at him. She was the first to speak. Her tone was serious. "Did you think through things, Lulu? After your mother died, we were stripped of our titles and forced to flee mainland. You do understand what this will mean to the people outside, do you? What will the emperor even say?"
Lelouch was silent for a couple of moments before responding with a smile. "I did consider that," he said. "But you don't have to worry, Milly. I will always have enemies as long as I live. Your family took a risk taking both Nunnally and I in, I cannot and will not forget that. this is nothing," he said. "Besides, I am most worried about you… you know, school," he said.
It took a moment for a Milly to realize the kind of drama that this was going to bring. She cringed at the thought of those who liked Lelouch hounding her for answers. The media was going to play around with the idea that her family had been waiting for this moment. She was going to have a nightmare of a day tomorrow. But she could handle it. it was nothing compared to the risk Lelouch was taking, wasn't it?
"That is going to be a problem but let us not that ruin the night," Milly said holding out her right hand.
Slowly, Lelouch helped her out of the limo and they stepped into the red carpet. Lelouch felt a snap of a camera and then the flashes. Ah, this was going to resound in Britannia tomorrow. Schneizel was going to have a fit and question his motives. Lelouch could feel a headache coming his way. He was brought out of his thoughts when Milly's shoulder touched his, her hand holding onto his, her smile was firm.
"Shall we, my lady?" He felt like saying at that moment.
"Let us, Your highness," Milly said as they started walking through the red carpet.
The doors towards the hall were closed. Lelouch turned towards Milly and then spoke. "I forgot to mention this, but we are probably going to be the centre of attention…" he said. "If I feel like running, hold me tightly."
Milly laughed at this. "You are a prince, Lulu!" She said with a nudge on his right shoulder.
The doors slowly opened and they stepped in. it was nothing but darkness and when they entered, a spotlight was fixed on them.
"Introducing, the Seventieth in line to the throne, Eleventh Prince of Britannia, his Royal Highness, Lelouch vi Britannia and Miss Milly Ashford!"
More lights flicked one through the narrow red line made by the red carpet. There were people standing in the side lines. Lelouch had to give Clovis a hand for managing to gather so many people in such a short time. Well, he was the Viceroy, when he called for a party, people came in a hurry. On the other end of the hall, Clovis was standing with a smile, a glass of wine at hand.
Both Lelouch and Milly walked slowly walked towards the Third Prince without saying a word to the other. Once they reached the Third Prince, the lights flicked on. Lelouch could see the many people around the hall. He could see some faces he had played chess with before. The rest were complete strangers, but of course, they were Britannians.
Clovis cleared his throat. "For many years, I was filled with anguish and sadness at the thought that my younger brother had died. Lelouch and I grew up together, we were very close. When news came that he had died, I was filled with sadness. I had even come to this Area hoping I would find him…" he paused, looking around the room. "But finally, we found him months ago. I was filled with happiness. I wanted to throw a party to celebrate his return, but he was not well, he had to return to Pendragon to get treatment. This is why you have not seen much of him. But my brother has returned, and tonight, we celebrate his return!"
Lelouch held himself from laughing. This was the excuse that they were going to give? Clovis hadn't said anything specific but basically, he had been suffering from memory loss. The emperor hadn't sad anything and the people were questioning things. Well, someone like Schneizel wouldn't want people to think that he had been hiding from the imperial family all these years.
"Now, I would like to give my brother a moment to say something," Clovis said with a smile.
Lelouch glared at Clovis. This hadn't been part of the arrangement. The brother of his just pretended as if he didn't see his glare and pulled him away from Milly. Lelouch composed himself and looked around with a smile. "The past years, I have lived in this Area; I have lived with both Britannians and Elevens. I learned many things living like a commoner. I am glad that I was found once more, and I am happy that the Imperial Family welcomed me back. For Britannia, I live."
After saying those words, Lelouch turned to Milly as Clovis got the party underway. It took a moment for him to stop seething and then speak to Milly – who looked amused. "Well, that wasn't so bad," she said.
"I hate being ambushed like that," he said. "It doesn't make it easy since some people around here know me. I really couldn't afford to say anything outward, lest there be trouble back at Pendragon. I'm sure my little speech is going to played in the news tomorrow."
"It wasn't bad," Clovis said joining the two. "Drink?" He said offering Lelouch a glass of wine.
"I don't drink," Lelouch said.
"Come on," Clovis said shoving the drink on Lelouch's hand. "This is your night. And we are royalty, normal rules don't apply to us. You can't be drinking water at a night like this. Juice is for Nunnally…" he said. He then turned towards Milly and smiled charmingly. "Miss Ashford, you turned my gloomy brother a bright person tonight. If you like, you can stay here for tonight and will give you a proper thank you," he said.
Milly smiled. "Thank you, Your Highness," she said. "But Prince Lelouch has already promised me a 'thank you' that I'm really looking forward to," she said.
Clovis wasn't disappointed the least. He turned to Lelouch with a smile. "You'll tell me all about it tomorrow," he said. "Can I steal him for a moment? I want to introduce him to a couple of my friends. Don't worry, I won't leave you alone and I will return him shortly."
"I don't mind," Milly said.
Clovis thanked her and dragged Lelouch. "You brought the Ashford girl?" He asked. "If you didn't have anyone to bring, you could have told me, Lelouch. I could have organized something for you."
"What was all that back there with Milly?" Lelouch asked, seeing how the brother of his had been smiling at Milly.
"I have an image to uphold and I can't show my displeasure to someone who hosted you. Well, I don't have a problem with her. She is a delightful lady. However, she isn't a noble anymore. You must play with those in your class, Lelouch," Clovis said those words sternly.
Lelouch didn't say anything, he allowed himself to be dragged on autopilot. He didn't have the energy to defend himself to Clovis. Besides, it was pointless. Nothing Clovis would say was going to change how he viewed Milly or her family. The Viceroy took him through to some of his donors and some who he had played around with in a game of chess. One of the nobles even wanted a rematch, which seemed to bore Clovis. But Lelouch knew, it was because he was no good at it.
It took about fifteen minutes for the introductions to be done with and once done, Lelouch returned to Milly. He found her in the company of a young gentleman. She introduced them before excusing herself to be with him. "You look drained," she said.
"Clovis," Lelouch said with a slight shake of his head.
They lingered around for a bit before the dancing times came. After the first dance, Lelouch told Clovis he would be leaving. Of course, there was some resistance, but they did end up leaving and Lelouch chose to accompany Milly back to her home along with Jeremiah. There was enough room in the palace but Ruben would surely kill him if he kept his granddaughter away for the night. If the media found out about it, it would certainly ruin her marriage plans and any chance of marriage.
"Thank you for coming with me, Milly," Lelouch said after they stepped outside of the car. "I would not have survived without you."
"I'm glad I could help," Milly said. "Besides, it was pleasant being in the other side of things again. I'm sure you'll have a lot of questions to answer when you return to Pendragon."
"I likely won't have time for it. It won't be long before I head to war. They will forget about it and focus on my efforts in the war," Lelouch said with a shrug. "But you'll face it," he said.
"Like I said, it won't be a problem," she said.
Lelouch nodded and fell silent for a couple of moments before speaking. "Did you see anyone you like?"
Milly smiled and closed the distance between her and Lelouch. "I don't know if you are just dense or if you just ignore things because you don't want to focus on it. Shirley, Rivalz, they speak about love, but you, the only person you seem to love is Nunnally," she said, staring into Lelouch's eyes.
"And you?"
Milly ignored Lelouch's question and leaned closer to him. She kissed him, causing him to freeze. She was amused though. She hadn't expected anything less from him. "How do I look somewhere else when the person I like is right in front of me?" Milly asked in a quiet tone.
For a long minute, Lelouch stood frozen. He then shook his head, and smiled. "Rivalz will kill me," he said.
"Shirley will kill me," Milly said.
They shared a smile.
"I have never really thought about romantic things. Things have always been different for me. Even when I said I would do something about your situation, I really didn't know what I would do. But my promise to you is that you won't marry anyone you don't like, Milly and you won't marry just to regain your family's status. What I have learned in this life is that it is the power of our desires that moves us. I have thought of many things, and my dreams now come because of my love for Nunnally and the desire to see the world she dreams of to life." He smiled. "If the day comes that she is able to open her eyes again, I want her to see a gentle world."
"I'm sure you'll make that happen," Milly said with a confident smile. "You are the smartest person I know," she said. "I will keep reminding you about your promise. And I won't allow you to get away from it."
"I'd experience hell if I tried otherwise," Lelouch said.
Milly grinned. "You know it," she said. "Good night, Lelouch."
"Night, Milly, and thank you, for everything," Lelouch said turning away from the blonde. Slowly, he walked towards his limo and when he stepped in, he found Jeremiah staring at him. "Don't say anything," he said.
Jeremiah smiled. "I was just thinking if that was your first kiss, Your Highness," the man said.
"Of course not," Lelouch said.
"Being kissed by your half-sister doesn't count," Jeremiah said with a smile.
Lelouch said nothing.
The Following Day
Milly had a wide smile as she entered the Student Council room. She had all the reasons to be happy. The night before had been fruitful. She hadn't expected Lelouch to say anything to her about marriage but least she had brought it to his attention. He would think about it. If things had gone differently, she would have thought she was dealing with an imposter. When it came to women, Lelouch was clueless and needed a helping hand. He was capable of loving – she knew that. He had just spent too much of his time thinking about Nunnally that he never really focused on other finer things in life. Milly would change that. She would change it and make him consider things. He was her childhood friend after all. And her secret. Well, it was no longer a secret to him, wasn't it?
Before she would not have kissed him. Being with Lelouch had never been an option because he had been exiled and her family had decided that trying to bring him into the fold of the Imperial family would only lead to their end. She had resolved to do what was needed of her family. But things had changed. She could do as she liked. There was nothing standing in the way. Perhaps the emperor would. Yet, it was no trouble trying wasn't it? Nothing was guaranteed. She was taking a chance. And she hoped that things would eventually work out.
The moment she stepped into the room, she found both Rivalz and Shirley staring at her. The atmosphere was tense. She had known that she was going to meet this situation. She had known. But there was just no avoiding it. Milly smiled at her friends before looking around. "Nina not here?" She asked calmly, playing ignorant to the mood.
The awkward shy girl wasn't by her computer. It was rather unusual for her to be late or absent. She didn't take part in many things but she would still be around, staring at her computer working on her science things. Something must have come up her to be absent.
"Is it true, Milly?" Shirley demanded from the President with a look on her face.
Milly paused and folded her hands together before asking. They both had newspapers on them but she hadn't read anything. "What?"
Shirley stood up from where she sat and hit Milly with the newspaper. The Blonde took it and looked it. Her smile disappeared and turned into a frown as she read the words written. It was nothing but slander. They had referenced her previous attempts to find her husband. They said her family had preyed on Lelouch. They said the Ashford family had taken Lelouch in simply because they wanted to return to their noble status. Had she even forced Lelouch to go with her? The vultures seemed to think that she had done so. It was all in the name of the Ashford family and nothing to do with Lelouch.
"Well this is harsher than I had anticipated," Milly said. "I assume students are already gathering up and ready to demand answers from me.." she said in a quiet tone.
"Well, is it true?" Shirley demanded.
"Of course not," Milly said. "Lelouch just asked me to be his date last night because the event had been on short notice. You know me better than this, Shirley," she said with a glare, tone stern. It caused Shirley to flinch.
"Well you did know that he was a prince," Shirley said. "I don't know, Milly…" she shook her head. "You have always been close to him. I always thought it was because it is only because you have known each other the longest."
"Milly…" Rivalz started calmly. "Do you like him?"
Milly stared at the blue haired boy for a moment before shaking her head. He has always liked her but she could not respond to those feelings. It was a rather complex situation they had here. "I'm not going justify this with an answer. Between me and this, who do you trust?"
"You of course," Rivalz was quick to say.
"Good," Milly said smiling brightly. "We have to figure a way to handle the situation before it gets dangerous. I am sure we will be at siege until this gets solved," she said. Her phone rang. She looked at it. It was her grandfather. "My grandfather is calling, I'll be back. In the meantime, don't leave. For your own safety."
As she went outside, Milly hurried towards her grandfather with a deep frown on her lips. She hadn't expected the news to be so bad. Lelouch had no doubt heard something about this. He always read the news. Why hadn't he said something about it.
She looked at her phone and dialed his number. It rang once before he answered. "Milly, I assume you have already seen the news," his voice was oddly quiet and calm.
"Yes," Milly said. "How can you be calm now? My name and honor has been ruined!"
"I will solve it, Milly," Lelouch said in a calm tone. "You will get an apology… I don't need to tell you to keep strong. But I will handle everything. Just don't say anything."
"Fine," Milly said. But before she could say anything, Lelouch had already hung up on her. Some things never change, she mused staring at the phone.
When she arrived at her grandfather's office, she received a stern look. "I had to find out from reports that you were escorting Lelouch last night. And now when I wake up, there is this. You want to tell me what is going on, Milly?"
Milly released a long breath before sitting down. "Lelouch asked me and I agreed. After our last conversation about him, I didn't want you to try to force things…"
"Just so you know, we managed to work out things without including you," Ruben said.
"I know… he told me," Milly said.
"Still, this is a big problem. Denying it will only make it worse and we will be getting a lot of heat from Mainland. I'm sure if nothing is done, the Imperial Family will be forced to denounce us," Ruben said. "If that happens, it will be over for us, Milly. We will be ruined forever."
Moments Earlier
Lelouch put his phone away and turned to Nina with a smile on his lips. "Sorry about that," he said. "That was Milly. I'm sure there will be hell at Ashford Academy and she will be forced into hiding," he said.
Nina couldn't say anything. She was nervous. Months ago, this was just another lazy genius who had no interest in school work because it was all easy for him and apparently didn't teach him anything. Then again, in terms of her research, school work wasn't all that helpful. She depended on her own reasoning to solve things. Now, she was sitting in the limousine of the Eleventh Prince, not just Lelouch but a Britannian prince. This didn't happen often.
"There is nothing to fear, Nina," Lelouch said in a soothing tone.
She looked at him for a moment before nodding. "Um, y-your Highness, what can I help you with," she asked.
"Just Lelouch is fine," Lelouch said. "I will get straight to it; I know of your talents and I want to give you the resources to explore and use those talents," he said.
Nina's ears perked up upon hearing those words. She was willing to speak and she spoke. Lelouch told her what he needed to say and promised to make all resources available. Of course, she would have to keep the work a secret from everyone. She seemed happy to do so.
Once that was done, she was dropped off and Lelouch put on a satisfied look on his face. "That was about the last piece of the puzzle," he said.
"That went easier than expected," Villetta said.
"It was never going to be difficult. These kinds of people all want to put their theories into practice. Some of them have a conscious to be wary about what their creations can do and some don't. But give them the tools to work, and they will work without any problem," Lelouch said calmly. "Well, Nina is a good girl. She will be productive."
"That makes it is easy to see why Prince Schneizel appears to have a handful of people working for him," Jeremiah said.
"Well, he does have the money to throw around," Lelouch said with a frown. "If you are in a position like that of my brother, you can ask for money from friends and they will give you. We don't have to focus on that for now. We have our own issues to deal with," he said.
"Like the articles this morning?" Villetta asked with a raised eye brow.
Thinking of this, Lelouch had thought things would be bad but he hadn't thought it would be to this point. He blamed Clovis for this. He was certainly going to get a call from both Cornelia and Schneizel. It would be a relief if the emperor doesn't say anything. But Pendragon was surely going to have a field day and the imperial court would be making noises. Naturally, no one was going to demand anything from the emperor. They would just take over the issue to themselves. But Lelouch would not. He would show these people that he wasn't a push over.
"There is that," Lelouch said.
"Who could have written such an article? Surely they have an ulterior motive," Jeremiah said with contempt. "If you give the order, I can hunt down the person who wrote and it make him air a live feed of an apology before disposing of him."
Lelouch seemed to consider this. "That could work," he said.
Villetta blinked. She would expect this from Jeremiah but not Lelouch. She shook her head. Well, he was a member of the Imperial family all right. "Wouldn't that be extreme?" Villetta asked. "Can't you just set the record straight?"
"By denying it?" Lelouch asked. "I will not do such a thing. Even if asked, I refuse to indulge scandalous rumors," he said in a firm tone. "But we will do something about this. I already have a plan."
Villetta realized, Lelouch seemed to enjoy leaving them in suspense. He would say things and stop just so to leave them curious and asking for more. "What plan?"
"Clovis will surely not allow this to continue. He will issue his own statement of denial and the person who wrote the article will be barred from going anywhere near him," Lelouch said calmly. "Jeremiah, you will find this person and present the 'truth' to him. Also make sure he writes an apology in big bold letters to Milly and the Ashford Family without mentioning our names."
Jeremiah grinned. "Gladly, your Highness."
"Oh get name of the person who provided such a story. We must sort this out before we leave for homeland," Lelouch said. "But after my last conversation with Schneizel, I don't think that will happen."
"You think someone in the upper class would have done this?"
"Naturally," Lelouch said with a nod. "It does appear that we have another donor who will sponsor some of our projects." He said with a smile. "That should be enough payment for suggesting that an Imperial Prince is nothing but a puppet of the Ashford family and insulting the Emperor, yes?"
Villetta couldn't help but smile. This was a little vicious. Well, she could see why he hadn't thrown a fit like Prince Clovis when he saw the news. Villetta was now certain she was going to enjoy working for him.
"The people in Pendragon will have plenty to say about this," Jeremiah said. "Can we work out this now?"
Lelouch nodded. "I will be returning to the Viceroy Palace to conclude a few things. I won't need you while there."
"I will go with him," Villetta said. "I'm afraid he needs someone to restrain him to ensure he doesn't overdo things."
The eleventh prince smiled. "Well, we don't want things to get worse than this, do we? But I'm sure Jeremiah will know how to handle himself," he said without looking at the man. "This does remind me; we need a media correspondence who will be our ear and warn us about such things. We do need some good publicity out there," he said.
"We will try," Villetta said.
"Wait," Lelouch said. This move was something that he would do but he needed to think both like him and Schneizel. "Once you have the name of the person behind the article, come back quickly. And return with contacts of media houses with an eye for gossip."
Viceroy's Palace
Clovis was sitting on his throne, glaring at nothing in particular. It was apparent that he was in a foul mood. Lelouch had quickly excused himself in the morning to avoid dealing with this situation when it was still troublesome.
Upon taking note of his presence, Clovis stood up and rushed towards him. "Oh, brother," he said sadly. "This must have been hard on you. To have such things written about you…" he shook his head.
"I hardly care about what people say about me," Lelouch said with a shrug of his shoulders. "You look like someone has stolen your art though."
"Are you kidding me?" Clovis looked bewildered at Lelouch's indifference. "This is a PR disaster. Only Schneizel can come out unscathed from this," he said a bit dramatically.
"Well, our brother could take a swim in a pit of hell flames and walk out of it without a burn," Lelouch said. "That is just about how well he manages to handle the situation."
Clovis nodded in agreement. "I have scheduled some interviews for both of us with some media houses to reject these claims," he said.
Lelouch had already expected this from his brother. But he wasn't going to do a dramatic dance before the press. Not when he had to reject some rumors. "You can cancel them, Clovis. I will handle this my way," he said in a stern tone.
"Listen to me, Lelouch. You don't know the press like I do. I have been playing them for years now and I know many people who will write a good story about you. Even it is the truth, they can spin it," Clovis said.
"I have watched many of your speeches, Clovis," Lelouch said with a smile – a bit amused thinking of how dramatic his brother was and he was very good at it. Lelouch could at least give him that much. "You don't think it is the truth, do you?"
"Of course not," Clovis said with a shake of his head. "Nobody forces you to do anything. Besides, Milly seemed to genuinely like you. Of course, I don't recommend liking her. But the bottom line here is that it doesn't matter if it is the truth or not. The fact is it is out there and we must have a way to deal with it."
"And I said I have a way," Lelouch said.
"Well? Tell me your big idea, brother? If you hadn't even brought that girl and allowed me to pick your date, we wouldn't be having this scandal," Clovis said loudly. "Schneizel is going to kill me!"
"So this was yours and Schneizel's plan," Lelouch said. "I should have known. You already knew I was coming before I even left homeland because Schneizel had told you." He accused.
"That isn't the important matter here," Clovis said. "How do you plan on solving this?"
"I have Jeremiah working on it," Lelouch said. "But have no fears, this will be solved and someone will get disgraced for plotting this. We cannot have people contributing to such slander when I am making my debut to the world stage, now can we? This article reduces me to nothing more than a puppet of the Ashfords. And I resent it." He said with a smirk.
Clovis stared at Lelouch for a moment before shaking his head. "Are you sure you will be able to handle this?"
"If it doesn't go away, we can do it your way," Lelouch said.
"Deal," Clovis was quick to say. "Brother, what do you say to working with me? You have always been good with strategies, I could use you here. You be in charge of military within the Area."
"I thought we already had this discussion, Clovis," Lelouch said with a slight shake of his head.
"I wasn't satisfied with your answer. I have a terrorist problem here and could use your help getting rid of them. You know, the fact that I have been unable to destroy all terrorist groups is a stain on my name and people laugh at me whenever I go back home," Clovis said with a troubled look on his face.
"I don't have a say on that and besides, I am waiting to be deployed for war," Lelouch said.
"That's unattractive," Clovis said. "We already have Cornelia for that. I could speak to father and he could assign you here. I'm sure Schneizel wouldn't mind working things out as well."
Lelouch was not going to become the tool for Clovis. He would not become Clovis' subordinate. Besides, this dream was small. Clovis has no big ambitions. The only reason Schneizel would even entertain the idea of making him the military general of this area would be to give him that battle experience but compared to the grand plans the man had for him, this was small. "Not happening, Clovis. At least not now."
"So there is a chance?"
"Of course," Lelouch said with a smile. "Now, don't call me for an interview. You can do an interview yourself but don't quote me or Milly. I will handle the issue the way I see fit…" he said turning away from Clovis.
"I am putting my plans on stand-by. I have already written both our speeches." Clovis said with a smile.
"Have some faith in me, brother," Lelouch said.
"I keep saying that to Schneizel," Clovis said with a frown on his lips. "Regardless of what I do, it will never be enough to our brother."
Lelouch just shook his head; he had his personal problems with Schneizel, he wasn't going to get into this one. "Tell you what; if you want to do an interview, you can add some things, not from me but from what you know. If you do this for me, our brother will start trusting you a bit and he won't be questioning you about this matter. Who knows, maybe I might one day decide to help you with your terrorist problem."
"Interesting," Clovis said. "I'm listening."
"Do your interview but don't talk about the articles. Talk about what you have been doing in this area, the honorary Britannian system and yet still have terrorists who want to destroy all that. Make sure that someone asks if you want to comment on the articles. When they do ask, just laugh it off and tell them that 'Lelouch and Milly have been friends since they were young. You must know that the Ashfords and the vi Britannia were very close. I wouldn't be surprised if empress Marianne had promised my brother to them as a thank you for their loyalty, support and to continue with the bond they shared for generations to come.' Stop there, and don't entertain any questions."
Clovis looked thoughtful for a moment; he was picturing himself playing that role. Oh yes, he could play it effectively without any problem. He thought about the good and the bad for a moment before fixing his brother a stare. "Why even talk about the marriage?"
"Because brother, even if we deny everything and people believe you, it doesn't change that the subject has already been thrown out there. The news will still linger within people's minds. Instead of focusing on the Ashfords using me, people will now focus on how they had been my mother's supporters. How they had been close to my family. Forget about how they were stripped of everything after my mother's death. It would only be natural to think with how close they were, the two families would have gone into such an arrangement and young Milly and Lelouch were introduced at a young age for this purpose. This just helps twist things a little. Of course, people will think about how the Ashfords were unfairly targeted after the death of my mother. People start thinking about her death as well and start throwing up possibilities as to what might have happened. And if the terrorists have been arrested."
"This is risky, Lelouch."
"Do you want my help?"
"Fine," Clovis said, he smiled though. "You've always been the smarter one between us. Well, you thought of this, I will go prepare for my performance. I have to be convincing before the media."
Later
Clovis had not wasted time holding a live briefing that interrupted the normal scheduling. He wanted everyone to watch. The whole of Area 11 to see his performance. Britannia would be watching as well. How would Pendragon even react to this? Lelouch hadn't helped but laugh with madness as Clovis aired his speech and grievances that Empress Marianne's loyal supporters would be smeared like this. He had shed a tear, that saying this reminds him of her death before returning to the main subject – his achievements and terrorists. He had even gone as far as to claim because of the reminder of what happened to Aries Villa, he would crush the terrorist to remove all threats to his nation, to the people, and to ensure that what happened in the past did not happen again.
It was brilliant. Lelouch applauded Clovis' performance. This was what he wanted. Britannia would be forced to remember what happened to his mother. They would ask if the terrorists claimed to have assassinated his mother had been arrested or not. Lelouch smirked at this. He had opened the conversation. Even Charles would have to deal with it. But most of all, he hadn't said a word about it but stayed in the background, his brother doing the talking. With Clovis, you could say it had been his own thoughts, not the words that vi Britannia put into his mouth.
Lelouch looked up as both Jeremiah and Villetta walked towards him. He greeted them with a smile. "How was Clovis' performance?"
"Beautiful, your Highness," Jeremiah said. "Was it your doing?"
Lelouch smiled. "Clovis has always been like that. Well, he is an artist. And he likes to put things on display. I did convince him to say a couple of things," he said in a proud tone. "How did things go at your end?"
"Without any problems," Villetta said. "There were seven different media houses who'd run the story. And the source was one person. The other media houses didn't want to reveal their sources but we got through to one of their editors who revealed and cornered the Viscount behind it."
"Excellent," Lelouch said with a clap of his hands. "After Clovis' performance, this will do. An apology from media houses for running false story after they'd been fed it by an unknown source. The source who gave them the info was a man with a grudge against vi Britannia and the Ashfords."
End of chapter
Although I have said that Lelouch will play military, there will be plenty of politics involved. Perhaps this might make the story a little longer, but I don't have a problem against that. The only worrying cause would be whether I will be able to write or not. But for the moment, I had no such concerns.
The Omnipresent Sage
