Chapter 10
The Weight of Veracity
"Yeah, so my left eye is definitely a loss," Inoue said rather nonchalantly. "They removed all the shrapnel they could, but it looks like the damage reached all the way to the nerves, so I don't get anything from it. My right eye though things are definitely getting better, I can see shapes now, they're a bit fuzzy, but they're getting sharper and sharper."
The woman lent further credence to that claim by the way her eye focused and tracked Ohgi's swaying.
"That's good to hear," Ohgi said with a sigh of relief. "When that charge went off right in your face…"
"Yeah, my life definitely flashed before me then," Inoue said, pressing a hand against her damaged eye. "Probably the last thing this one will ever see."
"Perhaps next time you will heed a warning when you hear it," Ohgi said dryly.
"No offense Ohgi, but if you ever have need to run another suicide mission, I think I get a pass."
"Yeah, you probably do," Ohgi agreed softly.
"So," Inoue said after a beat. "How are things going on out there?"
"Way better than we feared, honestly," Ohgi said. "In fact in some ways it's way better than we hoped for. The Eden Vital chapters here clearly had plans ready to go for how to distribute aid throughout the ghettos once they got the military off their backs. Now that the cardinal has the military on such a short leash, they've been going all out. They've even set up shop at Keio itself. Their staff are helping run the cafeteria, we've got Eden Vital nurses and doctors actually looking after patients, and construction has even started to fix up all of the wear and tear on the wings. I have to tell you, Inoue, I think this is the busiest I've ever seen Keio since before the war started."
The Keio University Hospital was one of the largest hospitals to have survived the invasion in the Shinjuku district. Since the war, it had turned into a lifeline for the many Japanese that were suddenly deprived of the sort of basic services that a functional government was supposed to provide. Resources and manpower were however stretched thin, and all too often the hospital simply did not have the beds to take in a patient or the medicine and equipment to treat those they could take in.
When not helping Ohgi run an insurgency against the occupational authorities, Inoue was a part volunteer, part poorly paid technician that worked tirelessly to keep Keio's overstrained systems from falling over outright. It was not an easy task, especially without ready and reliable access to spare parts and other equipment that they all used to take for granted before the war. But somehow, the merry band of technicians that Inoue led had managed to keep the hospital going. And now just as Keio was undergoing a renewal with the changing of the viceroy, Inoue was stuck in another hospital unable to help.
"I suppose I should be glad," Inoue remarked dryly. "But it still feels like it's someone else taking apart and putting back together my baby."
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, Kuroba-sensei has been asking after you every time I drop in," Ohgi tried.
Inoue actually winced a bit. "That, doesn't actually help."
Ohgi chuckled dryly. "I suppose not."
Toshihiko Kuroba was the elderly doctor that also served as Keio's defacto leader after the war's conclusion. It had been him actually that gathered all of the other doctors and nurses to get back to work once the occupation began, and Kuroba had exhausted his own personal savings to try to pay for all the things the hospital needed. His example had however drawn in others, Inoue amongst them, whom chipped in however they could, and Kuroba had even managed to find a few compassionate Britannians of means that were prepared to risk the occupational authority's wrath by donating to help keep the hospital running. And of course Eden Vital was a literal godsend, helping facilitate the purchase of scarce medical supplies by obfuscating them as being delivered to the Order itself instead of to an Eleven operation.
Because of how important Keio was to the community however, Inoue, Ohgi, and everyone in their cell took extreme care to never let any association between the hospital and their extracurricular activities be drawn. It spoke of their desperation, and just how grave the situation was, that Inoue even approached Kuroba-sensei about getting atropine to use during their attack on the Sarin production site. And the woman felt no amount of guilt for even asking, considering the hospital would need every drop if they failed. Fortunately they had not failed, at least not completely. And in the process they seemed to have found the exact sort of ally in the Britannian hierarchy that they needed to try and make things better for their people. Maybe.
"So the cardinal is keeping his word then?" Inoue asked the real question.
"So far," Ohgi answered carefully. "The floodgates have definitely been opened, insomuch as humanitarian relief is concerned. And the gendarmerie now patrolling the ghettos are a world of difference from the so-called policing the military bothered with. For one thing, they actually try to arrest people instead of just shooting them."
"How novel," Inoue said dryly, then sighed. "No, I shouldn't joke about that. That is good."
"Yes, it is," Ohgi agreed. "Petty crime is down, and even if the curfew is still in place, there's been talk about lifting it once certain metrics are met. Metrics that the authority is actually publicly talking about, instead of just some sort of halfhearted handwaving to cover their asses."
"Well, we always knew that not all Britannians were racist assholes," Inoue said. "I mean, there was that marquess, Ashford, that kept butting heads with the authorities. And he was a big enough deal that not even Prince Clovis could sideline him."
"Probably because it was the marquess' company that developed the knightmares the Empire used to conquer us," Ohgi pointed out. "But no, you're right. It's not just pure black and white where the Britannians are concerned. We've got Kallen as an example too." And more softly. "And Naoto."
Inoue took a deep breath at the mention of her deceased lover's name. The two had only really established a rapport within the last year or so, and the time they did have together was painfully short before Naoto fell in the fight against Britannian oppression. In some ways Inoue, like Kallen, was still working through the pain of losing Naoto, and both women had been driven by a deep sense of rage. That rage was dulling a bit more with each passing day, being angry all the time was mentally exhausting if nothing else, but any reminder of Naoto still hurt. Even if thoughts of him simultaneously brought a measure of comfort as well. Human emotions were complicated like that.
"Has Kallen been able to keep in touch since she left for treatment?" Inoue asked, instead of dwelling overly long on such melancholic thoughts.
"She has," Ohgi said with a nod. "She apparently isn't allowed to say exactly where she is, but she spent quite a bit of time in her last message complaining about the cold, and whoever's censoring her letters didn't bother cropping that out." The man chuckled dryly. "Though that's probably at least partially because there wouldn't be much of a letter if they did."
"I suppose that's one thing we can worry a little bit less about." Inoue frowned slightly. "Honestly though, the more I think about it, the more I can't help but worry about Eden Vital itself. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for everything they've done for me and for Keio, but I just can't shake this feeling. Like all this generosity is just the silken glove, and that there's some sort of steel fist hidden under it."
"You mean those knightmares that the cardinal showed up with?" Ohgi said.
"That's one bit. But there's also the fact that the cardinal was able to just show up and sort of, sweep aside, all his potential opposition within the occupational authority. I mean, he's supposed to just be a priest, right? Even if he is a former imperial prince, and he looks to be one of the more competent of the emperor's children, that kind of power doesn't just magically appear out of thin air. He clearly has a lot of hard power discretely backing up the soft power that he's more openly flouting."
The thing that could be said about most of Ohgi's cell, with Tamaki being responsible for that most qualifier, they possessed insightful minds that could see past the immediate circumstances of whatever problem they encountered. That was why they fought principally to oppose the abuses and exploitation of their people by Britannia, to make sure the Empire could not presume to trample upon the liberties and dignities of the Japanese at will. To eject the Empire from Japan was certainly one means to achieving that end, though all of them recognized that was likely to be a forlorn hope, especially if Britannia was prepared to commit wholesale mass murder to get its way. For this reason, Ohgi was always very selective about the sorts of targets they hit. Anything military was fair game, seeing as the military was the principal instrument of the Empire's oppression of his people. Purely civilian targets were explicitly off limits though, and Ohgi adamantly refused to even countenance anything that smacked of being a pure terror strike.
This conviction, or idealism, or whatever one wanted to call it, also meant Ohgi and his comrades, and this included even Tamaki, recognized that there might be a time when Britannians and Japanese found common ground, that an Empire that backed off on the jingoistic rhetoric and discriminatory laws could also serve as grounds for the Japanese people to prosper. That would still be a poor second to the prize of regaining their own sovereignty, but sovereignty came with its own costs, costs more concrete than the abstract ones that pride and dignity demanded. So intellectually at least, the cell could fathom a future where Japanese and Britannians coexisted and respected one another. That was at least one of the reasons why Kallen took great care in maintaining her civilian cover, as her position within the peerage would have been vital in helping bring such a change about if the opportunity did arise.
And arguably, that opportunity was here. Or at least they all hoped it to be. But after having fought for so long, it was hard to shake a sense of wariness that this might all be too good to be true. That even with all of the visible good Eden Vital had done despite the disapproval of the occupational authority, that the organization had ulterior motives of their own that were not necessarily in the best interests of the Japanese people. Nothing was free in this world after all, even if the final payment exacted was in more abstract concepts like loyalty than concrete ones like coin.
"You have a point," Ohgi finally said. "And honestly, I can't say one way or another. You probably at least listened to that interview with the cardinal. He really comes off as someone that you want to believe, someone you want to place your faith in because his own seems so firm."
"Probably helps that he's easy on the eyes too," Inoue remarked.
At the odd look Ohgi gave her, Inoue shrugged.
"What? Some of the lay sisters here have been chatting about how dashing and handsome he looks."
Ohgi gave a resigned sigh. "Well, in either case, the cardinal really does seem serious about repairing the physical damage that's lingered on ever since the war's end. And some people are starting to think he genuinely also wants to repair the, spiritual, damage too. If he actually manages to pull that off, things should get much better, but…"
Inoue nodded. "But when that happens, a whole new can of worms will get opened as people start having time to think about where they actually want to be, in Japan, or in Britannia."
That question by itself had the potential to cause even greater division and strife than all the oppression the Empire had subjected the Japanese to, and it would be due to the Japanese tearing themselves apart on what the answer should be. The possibility of that happening was arguably more frightening than any danger Ohgi and the others had ever faced fighting the Empire, even including the Sarin incident.
"Do you think the cardinal's already thought about this, and has a plan?" Ohgi wondered aloud.
Inoue snorted. "What, you think he's omniscient or something?"
"Not exactly," Ohgi said with a shrug. "But he's obviously really smart. And he's not naïve either. If we could figure out what might end up happen, I'd be surprised if he couldn't either."
To that Inoue's lips thinned and her one good eye glazed over a bit as she fell into thought.
"The cardinal's not stupid, that much you're right. But he's still no older than Kallen. For all his intelligence, does he have enough experience to work with to be able to recognize these sorts of things?"
That was arguably a good point. Intelligence may be innate, but wisdom was ultimately the cumulative sum of one's experiences. While it was possible for a person to experience more from life in a given period of time than others, there was still a finite limit to how much of life could be squeezed into any given period of time.
"We've still got a line of communication with the cardinal," Ohgi finally said. "It's something I could try pointing out to him."
"Let's hope the answer he gives is one to our liking, then," Inoue said.
That was another point. Lelouch may need be both smart and wise enough to recognize the impending problem. He may even have a solution to that problem planned and ready. That was no guarantee that it would be a solution Ohgi or any of his compatriots would be happy with. And if that was the case, what then? What then indeed.
Jeremiah was breathing heavily as he rose, having completed the PT routine with yet another platoon. Thus far no one had yet to actually fail to keep pace with him, though the colonel was at least satisfied that no one seemed to be having an easier time of it merely because of his own participation. Though he was hardly a spry youth like the rest of the enlisted and junior officers, the pains he took to keep himself otherwise fit was paying off in spades here considering how bad it would have looked if he couldn't back up his initial bluster.
"Here you go sir," a private presented Jeremiah with a canteen.
"Ah, my thanks, Private."
The colonel took it gratefully and let the cold water quench his parched throat. The woman in question gave a crisp nod before stepping back. As her presence indicated, today's platoon was an all-female one. The Britannian military generally did not discriminate between men and women serving on the frontlines, both had to meet the same fitness requirements for one, but its infantry platoons at least tended to be mono-sex for reasons of unit cohesion. And as of today, the unit with the best readiness score was actually one of the women platoons. For some inexplicable reason the margrave found that more than a bit amusing.
After a quick shower, Jeremiah was back out in the field, this time watching the same platoon perform combat drills. It was here that the biggest improvements in the soldiers could be seen over the past few weeks, seeing as their biggest weakness upon joining the newly formed regiment had been their lack of tactical cohesion and grasp of doctrine. With the military previously treating these soldiers as cannon fodder, it had not expended the time and effort to properly train them beyond being able to shoot and maybe march. Now, the individual platoons and squads were getting much more time not only on the range, but also in the classroom and then on the training courses to put into practice what they learned on paper.
From his vantage point, Jeremiah watched as one squad practiced room clearing. The military being the military, securing a room for them meant going in and neutralizing any possible threats. That was why while the use of flashbangs and tear gas was akin to how the gendarmerie also opened up, the follow-on tended to be much more lethal as the soldiers went in guns blazing. Well, not quite blazing. Jeremiah nodded approvingly as the soldiers kept their bursts short and controlled instead of spraying and praying. The wooden targets marking combatants were promptly perforated, while those indicating noncombatants, usually escaped such a fate. No one was perfect, and it was already a marked improvement for the early days when pretty much every single wooden board would end up filled with holes. With more training and practice, Jeremiah was certain they could get the number of false positives down to as close to zero as was humanly possible. Besides, he would much rather the platoons be consistent in how low their noncombatant casualty counts were than having them be perfect once and then crash out every other time. One indicated increasing proficiency that might survive contact with the enemy, the other was just dumb luck that was more liable to get everyone killed.
"Colonel."
Another feminine voice called out to Jeremiah and the margrave found a smile crossing his face at the sight of the woman approaching.
"Major," he greeted in turn. "It is good to see you."
"And you as well, sir," Villetta said, issuing a salute that Jeremiah promptly returned. "I hope things are going well with your new command?"
"Far better than I have any right to," Jeremiah answered honestly. "The soldiers have responded with, if not alacrity, then at least firm determination to prove their worth. In time, I think they truly will be worthy of bearing arms for Britannia." The margrave took a deep breath. "How strange, for me to even contemplate that possibility. And yet, it bothers me so little to be proven wrong."
"I am glad to hear that, on both counts, sir," Villetta said. "When I heard exactly what task His Eminence had set you, I could not help but worry."
Jeremiah took a deep breath. "The cardinal, does not set a task that cannot be completed. And he does not set a task expecting failure. In that alone, he has proven a better leader than I in some respects, and is an example I would follow."
Villetta regarded her old commander, wondering slightly at the change. She had always known Jeremiah to be a dedicated officer, determined to do his best in Britannia's service. None of that determination had gone away, indeed it seemed to be even stronger now. And that was a change precipitated by something she personally could have never imagined happening.
"Permission to speak freely, sir?"
Jeremiah looked back at Villetta and nodded. "Granted."
The woman's lips thinned. "Were we, wrong, sir?"
Brief though the question was, its core was self-evident and its meaning weighty. It was only human to err, but it was equally human to want to deny the error. People were after all prideful, that pride serving as the foundation for the self-confidence that allowed them to persevere through adversity. As such pride in and of itself was not wrong, but as with all things, an excess could become harmful.
"We, had forgotten, I think," Jeremiah slowly answered. "That we already have reasons aplenty to be proud. Of Britannia, of our service, of ourselves. And in our forgetfulness, we went searching for some other reason to maintain our pride. What we found however was a reason that trampled upon the pride and dignity of others. So what we found was not truly a reason to be proud, but a distraction from what we thought was our own lacking in pride, by trying to deprive others of it."
"I see, sir," Villetta said softly.
The margrave took a deep breath, not done yet. "We were mistaken. But that's the thing about mistakes. They can be corrected. It is only an uncorrected mistake that is a wrong."
That might have been quibbling with the words, but the intent behind Jeremiah's statement was clear enough. Yes, they had been wrong, when their mistake was uncorrected. But now that that mistake had been corrected, they could now make that wrong into a right.
"I think I see, sir," Villetta said, then more confidently. "And I think I agree."
"I'm glad to hear it," Jeremiah flashed a smile.
Villetta looked down at the training grounds, joining the margrave in observing the exercise.
"When the cardinal's arrival was first announced, I must admit a great wariness as to what sort of upheaval he might bring," Villetta said. "What did happen, I would not have imagined in my worst nightmares. But even so, I am finding that the changes the cardinal wrought, were needed. I just wish, they could have happened with a lower cost."
Jeremiah nodded. "I as well. Which is why I will do my utmost to support His Eminence, so that should the need arise to enact more change, he will have all the support he needs so that the cost can be lowered." He watched as another squad burst into a room, open up, and proceed onwards with precise motions. "Myself, and the 597th."
Despite nominally having a seat on the Numbers Administration Council, Kaguya had never been to the viceroy's palace before. Part of that was likely because the Britannians did not actually take seriously her membership of the NAC, likely considering her presence to be at best decorative and at worst just that of a puppet. Another part was because the older members of the NAC had intentionally worked to shield her from the attention of the Britannian authorities, predominantly so that she might have enough plausible deniability about never having foresworn her oaths as an Honorary Britannian that more reasonable authorities might use that as an excuse to spare her even if the hammer fell on the others. Now that such a seemingly reasonable authority had appeared, it behooved Kaguya to ingratiate herself to him to further advance that cover, and also to see if he might be amiable to some arrangement that would further benefit the Japanese people.
"Your Eminence, Miss Kaguya Sumeragi of the Numbers Administration Council," the fair haired woman that seemed to be the cardinals receptionist announced her upon their entry into the office.
Not Lady, not Dame, no further courtesy other than a mere miss for the Eleven that despite her immense wealth was still regarded as merely an Honorary Britannian, a second-class citizen, by the imperial government. Though arguably the lack of more pervasive nuances within the English language compared to Japanese meant Kaguya would probably have been announced as such even were she considered a full citizen. It was only if she accepted some title from the Britannian emperor that Kaguya would be accorded the courtesy address of lady, a possibility that felt more than a bit remote. That the cardinal did not rise to greet her either was also not exactly some violation of protocol or etiquette, as viceroy Lelouch was officially of higher station than Kaguya.
"Miss Sumeragi," Lelouch at least greeted.
"Your Eminence," Kaguya said, executing a well-practiced curtsey in her western-style dress. "Thank you for inviting me this day."
"Please, have a seat," Lelouch said with a nod towards the chairs across from him.
"By your leave, Your Eminence," Kaguya responded as she did so.
Another woman, this one raven haired, appeared and set out some teacups that she promptly and deftly filled. From the scent already Kaguya could tell this was some blend of black tea, not the green tea she was more accustomed to. Still, the quality was likely to be superb if only to accentuate the prestige of the viceroy, much like the large, ornately appointed physical office did as well. She took a sip, and was proven right.
"A most fragrant blend, Your Eminence," Kaguya said.
"I will pass on your compliments to Sancia," Lelouch said, likely referring to the woman that had disappeared after pouring the tea. He set his own cup down and regarded Kaguya levelly. "Let us get down to business."
A rather curt prelude, that, and one that left little opening for Kaguya to try to get to know the cardinal better on a personal level. She would just have to find some as they discussed business instead.
"Of course, Your Eminence," Kaguya said. "I am here on behalf of the NAC to convey our condolences for the passing of your brother, and our best wishes for your successful tenure as viceroy. Should your office ever be need of assistance in any matter touching upon Area 11's economic affairs or the native populace, we are ready to lend any assistance you may require."
Lelouch's head tilted to the side as he rested it upon his hand. The way he regarded Kaguya, it was as if he were studying an adversary seated across a go board. Yes, an adversary in a game of skill and cunning. Kaguya could think of few other ways that were more exhilarating to be regarded as by the cardinal.
"Did you volunteer to deliver the NAC's compliments, Miss Sumeragi," Lelouch began. "Or were you assigned the duty?"
"I volunteered, Your Eminence," Kaguya responded with a wide smile. "And please, Kaguya is fine. I am a bit young to require such honorifics."
That saw the cardinal raise an eyebrow. "It is my understanding that in Japanese, the usage of one's first name is an indication of intimate familiarity. I would not want to presume."
"That may be the case in Japanese," Kaguya said. "But as we are speaking in English, there is no need to presume any nuances that never existed in that language's context."
"A fair enough point," Lelouch said. "Nonetheless, it would likely behoove me to not fall into an overly familiar pattern in case I ever have need to refer to you in a Japanese context. One would not want to visit misunderstandings, after all."
The cardinal's artful deflection of her attempt to informalize and lessen the distance between the two did not dishearten Kaguya, nor did it dissuade the girl. It simply made her all the more determined to succeed in the future. For now, she was wise enough to recognize when a tactful retreat was called for.
"Of course, Your Eminence," she thus agreed.
It might be presumptuous to claim that what flickered in Lelouch's eyes was approval, but Kaguya was at least certain she had not disappointed the cardinal.
"My understanding is that, while all of the families that form the NAC hold shares in the Sumeragi Group," Lelouch directed the conversation back onto a topic of business, "it is your own family that holds a majority stake in your namesake company."
Kaguya nodded. "The same is true for each of the companies operated by our families. Kirihara Industries is majority-owned by the Kirihara family, but my own has a stake in it as well. In this and other manners, our families are linked together."
"Linked by fortune, and also by blood, is my understanding," Lelouch said.
"Indeed," Kaguya said, and the smiled. "And speaking of family, allow me to express my gratitude for the care you have accorded my cousin."
The cardinal blinked only once before recognizing to whom Kaguya referred.
"You speak of Private Kururugi."
Kaguya nodded. "When growing up he was like a brother to me. When news reached us that he was at ground zero of the Sarin gas release, I feared the worst. That he managed to survive, I am certain is due at least in some part to your quick action in getting treatment disseminated."
Again the cardinal regarded Kaguya as if he were considering where to set down the next stone. While the girl maintained a serene smile upon her face, her heart beat with thundering intensity.
"A curious statement," Lelouch finally said, "your sentiment for the private. As far as the reports from his medical attendants indicate, he has not seen any visit by family, or even sent or received any messages addressing any surviving relative. I had assumed an intentional distance was being kept between him and his remaining kin."
Kaguya's smile froze as she realized her misstep. She thought that indicating concern for her cousin, and it was a sincere concern at that, would give the cardinal a positive impression of her character. That Lelouch seemed so well informed about Suzaku's exchanges, or lack thereof, was surprising, but arguably should not have been. Suzaku was after all one of the soldiers that Lelouch publicly credited with helping save his life down in Shinjuku. Of course the cardinal would be keeping at least some tabs on the young man, if only to himself not appear ungrateful of Suzaku's efforts. And the awareness that afforded the cardinal made him acutely aware of seeming discrepancies between Kaguya's words versus her deeds, at least as they related to Suzaku. But by having one example of such a discrepancy, Kaguya had given him reason to suspect others. Before the girl could come up with something to try to mitigate the damage, Lelouch continued.
"Well, it is not my place to interject into such familial matters. I understand from personal matters that such relations can be complicated."
That, was not the most heartening thing to hear the cardinal say, Kaguya thought glumly as she closed her mouth into a thin line. She was going to be a long time recovering from this mistake.
"Anyway, before our little digression, I believe we were speaking of the interconnected nature of the NAC's business interests."
"That we were, Your Eminence," Kaguya said, signaling her own willingness to return to that topic.
"Of the various commercial and industrial conglomerates, it is the Sumeragi Group that holds the concession to mine and refine sakuradite," Lelouch said, "both prewar and postwar. That defacto monopoly has placed your family in a position of considerable influence."
Kaguya nodded, now wondering where the cardinal was leading with this.
"Prewar, Britannia was one of the largest importers of sakuradite," Lelouch went on. "While the Japanese government was the one that officially announced the embargo, it certainly would have consulted with your family to obtain tacit consent to the maneuver, seeing how it would have affected your company's finances."
That caused Kaguya to visibly stiffen. Her guard was simultaneously risen to levels she had not known were possible. The cardinal was, on their first meeting beginning to broach a topic considered sensitive even amongst the heads of the Kyoto Houses. Either he knew something, or he wanted something that warranted diving headlong like this without further preamble.
"It is not a coincidence that you are considered the head of the Sumeragi family," Lelouch said, "even if officially you are a ward of Mr. Kirihara. Your parents are listed as having perished shortly before Japan's surrender to the Empire, with most people presuming they either took their own lives or the Empire executed them as retribution of some sort."
Kaguya's jaw tightened as a genuine anger started to build within her at the cardinal's seeming callousness. The way he so clinically referred to her parents' death was upsetting in the extreme, and it took all her discipline to keep her mouth shut. And then a slight shift occurred in Lelouch's expression that took Kaguya by surprise again.
"I know what it is like to lose a parent, and to wonder why they were taken away."
The statement drew to mind the personal tragedy that Lelouch himself had experienced, the loss of his mother at a young age. Older than Kaguya herself, which made the loss more painful in some ways seeing as the cardinal would have much more distinct memories of his mother and a greater awareness of what had been taken away from him. The anger Kaguya felt was quelled slightly, for the moment at least.
"I have investigated thoroughly imperial records on the matter," Lelouch said, "and prior to my arrival in Japan my team also tracked down some of the persons on the Britannian side that were responsible for the report of your parents' passing. They were interviewed to try and plug the holes in the official accounts, and it is with some confidence that I can claim that your parents' deaths were not ordered, or even instigated, by the Empire, officially or unofficially."
Kaguya was back to being more confused than anything else. Why did the cardinal think that point mattered? Was he trying to convince her that she should not blame the Empire for her parents' deaths? Was there even a point to trying to do that?
"In the course of my investigation, I have been given reason to believe their deaths were not of their own volition either," Lelouch continued.
A rather roundabout way of saying they had not committed suicide, and considering their age it was not like they were liable to have just dropped dead of natural causes. Kaguya's eyes narrowed. That left arguably only one option. Someone had murdered her parents. An audacious claim, this. And not something that Kaguya had not considered in her moments of self-doubt. But a claim only had merit if there was evidence to support it, and as far as Kaguya knew the investigation conducted by Six Houses had not turned up anything that indicated foul play. Unless that was what the cardinal was suggesting, that the other families were themselves responsible? Anger started rising again within Kaguya.
"And before you start jumping to conclusions, I do not believe any of the other families of the NAC played any part in your parents' deaths either."
And receded just as quickly. Now Kaguya really was squarely back to confused.
"Since my arrival in Japan and gaining access to the viceroyalty's records," Lelouch continued, "I have been able to obtain a few more pieces to the puzzle. Namely, there is a rather unexplained discrepancy in the mining records for the Sumeragi Group in the period just prior to the invasion. A substantial amount of refined sakuradite appears to have been, misplaced, and disappears from your company's records, at least as far as Britannian industrial records are concerned. After Japan's surrender, the discrepancy seems to have been chalked up to the confusion and fallout of the war itself. I however am not so convinced."
Kaguya regarded Lelouch for a few moments longer before finally breaking her silence.
"Your pardon, Your Eminence, but this still sounds very much like speculation."
"This particular point in isolation, it would be," Lelouch said. "But certain other records I have access to indicate this consignment of sakuradite did exist, and that it was earmarked for export to the Chinese Federation. Indeed there exists documentation for this consignment in the Japanese government's export office. But the chain of documentation that should exist to track this consignment from its point of origin with the Sumeragi Group to its final recipient in China is incomplete, and in a manner that suggests someone tried to wipe all evidence of its existence from the records. And that they also tried to remove all of the persons with direct knowledge of the consignment."
The cardinal picked up a piece of paper on his desk and pushed it forward to Kaguya. The girl leaned forward to look at it, and saw it was a list of names. A list that was topped by her parents' own.
"Every person on that list was directly involved with signing off on the consignment, and every single one of them died before Japan's surrender. The majority of them in fact perished before the Empire even landed upon Japan's shore."
Kaguya's breathing was now heavy and long as she contemplated what this all meant. The cardinal could still be trying to lead her own, to be engaged in his own grand deception instead of revealing the existence of one to her. But the former seemed so pointless. Why go through all this effort to foster doubt and suspicion in her? It was not as if he could guarantee his ability to control where that suspicion fell, and there was always going to be some lingering doubt about the cardinal himself that would never go away.
"How did you find out about any of this," Kaguya thus tested, "if whomever is behind this was so, thorough."
Lelouch snorted. "For all these people's thoroughness in dealing with the human element, they have shown a remarkably poor grasp of the digital element. These days near everything is tracked in some database somewhere, and expunging all of them is near impossible. While my team has not been able to reconstruct the full chain of hands in which the consignment passed through, they were able to extrapolate where it should have gone based off of how other consignments were handled. From there, they were able to spot the telltales of this consignment, even with the gaps in the documentation."
"Your, team, seems exceptionally skilled in the forensic sciences," Kaguya remarked somewhat blandly.
"They have had a busy few months," Lelouch said.
"Yes, I suppose they must have," Kaguya said softly, then shook herself. "Why tell me this, Your Eminence?"
"Because you have a vested interest in the facts of the case," Lelouch said, "seeing as your own parents fell victim to whatever this conspiracy is. And with how many bodies this conspiracy has already produced, it cannot be claimed with certainty that those will be the only ones. As such, it is only right that you be warned, so that you may take the appropriate precautions."
That sounded like a threat, but Kaguya felt that it was not the cardinal actually trying to threaten her. He seemed entirely sincere in wanting her to take those precautions, and not wanting her to die.
"I will take your warning to heart, Your Eminence," Kaguya thus said firmly.
Lelouch nodded. "Good. Because if you were to perish, you would not be able to lend your aid on the other point in this affair."
The girl cocked her head aside. "My aid, Your Eminence?"
Lelouch leaned back into his seat, clasping his hands together.
"As I stated, I cannot say with certainty that this conspiracy ended with the shipment of this consignment to China and the, clumsy, erasure of its official existence. That this other party was able to execute this operation at all is a concern, and I want assurances that they cannot do so again. To that end, I would request the NAC's cooperation into investigating this matter more deeply." The cardinal's eyes narrowed. "Namely, access to the Sumeragi Group's detailed internal records."
That elicited a sharp breath from Kaguya. Her mind raced as pieces clicked into place, at least partially. The Britannians had for the most part left the Japanese industrial conglomerates alone, so long as they paid their taxes, and bribes, and ensured the steady flow of output that the Empire required. That hands-off attitude had been what allowed Kyoto House to funnel resources to the various resistance movements, and to arm and equip the largest resistance movement of them all, the Japanese Liberation Front. If the Britannians got a closer look at the company books however, they might be able to detect this diversion, and have grounds to dismantle the NAC outright. Such a feat certainly would not be beyond the forensic abilities of whatever team worked for the cardinal, assuming all the previous points were indeed not outright fabricated just to get access to the NAC books. But that still did not entirely make sense. If the cardinal could fabricate something of this magnitude, surely he could also fabricate whatever evidence he needed to bring down the NAC if that were his goal. Unless he did not trust that fabrication to stand in the public eye? But then was he also taking a chance with this sakuradite consignment matter, that it would at least stand scrutiny by the NAC itself? The conflicting possibilities were starting to make Kaguya's head hurt.
"Before you become too steeped in trying to second guess my intentions here," Lelouch said, seemingly reading Kaguya's mind for the second time this day, "here."
The cardinal took out a sealed envelope and set it before Kaguya. The girl looked down at it, and then back up at Lelouch.
"That is a missive addressed to Mr. Kirihara, for his eyes only. It contains details of which I suspect will assuage the concern about whether I am seeking to, entrap, the NAC, but which are sensitive enough that he should be the first to see it to make a judgment about how far that information should go. I am entrusting it to you to deliver it to him, with seal intact."
Kaguya's eyes widened as she realized Lelouch's insinuation. This, this definitely was a test. A test to see if she was disciplined enough, and trustworthy enough, to serve as an intermediary for the cardinal on a personal level, regardless of all the other things about her parents. And it was more than just a test, considering Lelouch's hints about what the letter's contents were. Not that Kaguya could say with certainty one way or another what the letter actually said, not without failing the test. Kaguya could already feel her curiosity gnawing away at her, but the girl took a deep breath. Her instincts were literally yelling at her that this letter, this test, was of monumental importance. That she could not let this chance slip away. She reached out and took the letter, holding it tightly in her hands.
"I will see it delivered to Mr. Kirihara, Your Eminence. My word."
She was still clutching the sealed letter when she arrived back in Kyoto.
End of Chapter 10
Hehehe. Ain't Lelouch a stinker. Anyway, those that have read Calculus may notice the differences in how I'm having Lelouch handle Kaguya versus how Euphemia handled her. And how Lelouch is in general handling the NAC. Goes to show that even if both my versions of Euphemia and Lelouch can be cunning and intelligent, they exhibit those characteristics in very different manners.
Keio also makes a reappearance, but unlike in Calculus, since the story is not Kallen-centric, we'll probably only hear about its improvements peripherally. Probably.
I wonder what is in that letter of Lelouch's. Surely it will show up again in the future. Surely.
Cornelia's arrival was originally sequenced to occur this chapter, but then all of the other scenes jumped up in word count so I'm pushing it out a chapter. I have enough material to fill out another two to three chapters before we jump into the next mini-incident. That will probably be the sakuradite conference, though I'll need to think a bit about how I want that one to go this time around. And whether I want knightmares involved at all. Might have written myself into a corner here by crippling Suzaku, but I'll probably find a way for him to be useful.
The laptop that I sometimes use to write, I think I owe at least a third of the typos and screwed up pronouns to it, since its key travel is pretty shallow, so sometimes I don't realize a key didn't get hit hard enough to get a letter typed.
In addition to the expected people following this story and my other active ones, I see random follows and favorites of other, far older works, and sometimes I can't help but cringe a bit considering how bad some of those read to me now.