Fun fact: Suzaku canonically wasn`t a virgin sometime before 19ep of Season 1. That was the reason why he wasn`t distracted when he fought Kallen on the island when she had none of her clothes on her body. I doubt I need to tell with whom he lost it)

(Revealed from one of interviews with the authors)

Chapter II

Sub-Viceroy`s suite, Area 11

22nd of September, 02:21

Euphemia enjoyed her warm bed, as she rested from the long day. Chinese Federation had recently tried to invade Area 11 and Cornelia, as a good general she is, decided to personally check if local defenses against any kind of threats were ready.

Less because of her rank and more because of her wish to help, Euphemia gladly obliged to help Cornelia with paperwork.

But nobody told her there was she had to deal with this massive of documents! Ranging from small infrastructural projects to military logistic needs to be imported from Homeland, the stacks of paper during the day were growing exponentially!

Instead of simply signing what was offered to her, she read some of those that caught her eyes. Some of them were normal, with a lot of military terms, which she could easily understand from knowledge, gained in being around her sister or Suzaku, but some had devil in details.

For example, there was a project, pushed by nobles from Dukes Decantes and Calares, as well as. At first glance, their idea would 'help' for the lower class in the Area, giving them more job opportunities in major and smaller companies, even giving them ensuranses and protection from law. But the issues it could cause were immense, she could already see it from her experience with the administration! At least, the law was extended only to full-fledged citizens of Britannia, so Elevens would not rip the benefits of it at all, while poorest strata of Britannians would struggle to pay for their defense in court, as the compensation for their lawyers would come only after the process, and even then, it was possible for them not to receive it at all!

Of course, she didn`t sign it, but put it away to make and push through a counter-proposal that`d include Elevens and Honorary Britannians. She wrote a note on the side, telling her future self to re-check if state could offer free lawyers for that case and if the courts they`d reform would even be considered lawful by Homeland`s standards.

Then, there was a meeting with Schneizel. He only stopped with her for a brief moment, taking his leave with some other state issues, but she did notice how he eyed her knight`s present near her. She didn`t really know whether he spotted them chatting like lovebirds before he entered the cabinet, but she didn`t care as long as it didn`t threaten any of them.

What Euphemia was certain of, Schneizel didn`t know what they were doing together later, in the comfort of her suite after the work was done. They were trying to be careful, not leaving any clues of their late-night 'meeting' or anything of such sorts for her sister, or at least she was hoping they didn`t.

Only in these moments she was glad to have a king-sized bed.

Had her staff didn`t leave that day earlier on her request, they`d hear her moans for another hour. Or how long they were in bed already? It felt like eternity to her, and yet, she wished more, wishing for this happiness not to be temporary.

While she was happy to have these nighttime activities, she couldn`t help but wonder, how their relationship was frail in face of many of its opponents. Cornelia once almost strangled Lelouch for even dancing with Euphemia, that was before she recognized him as Marianne`s son. Because of it, Euphy didn`t even have to imagine in what fury would her dear sister fall had she even heard about simple possibility their relationship.

Besides, even appointing him as her knight was met with Cornelia`s disapproval.

And yet, Euphemia wanted to be with him, without breaking her relationship with her sister. Cornelia would be mad at her, but the biggest blunt of the assault would fall on Suzaku. That, she couldn`t allow.

With this burdened mind, she caressed Suzaku`s hair, her hand flowing freely on his face.

He was in his deep sleep. He tried to respond, but his sleepy mind let out only a bunch of muffled sounds out of his mouth.

She smiled, trying her hardest not to giggle. He was as tired as her, if not more. He was guarding her, after all.

Suddenly, her phone on her nightstand begun to vibrate, causing him to slightly open his eyes.

"What…is…the...time?…do…we…have…to…go…" he mumbled, having no energy at all.

"Oh, it`s nothing,", she spoke, her right hand closing his eyes, while her left hand reached for the phone. She was surprised to see Schneizel`s name as a caller, yet she lowered the volume and pressed to respond.

"Euphy! Sorry I`m calling you this late. I hope I didn`t awake you."

"Brother! I was going to bed, but I wasn`t sleeping yet, so don`t worry. Did you want something?" She decided not to mention Suzaku, at the same time hoping Schneizel wouldn`t guess anything from her manner of speaking. After all, why`d you hush your voice if you`re alone in your bedroom?

"Actually, I was speaking with His Majesty a few minutes ago"

"With the emperor? Was there something important or some emergency?" Suzaku turned his head to her, rising his back from her bed for a few inches, but falling to sleep once again, as she pressed her hand against him once again. "Don`t tell me you will have to leave soon!"

"Don`t worry, I won`t. At least in the next couple of days," his voice becoming cheerful for a moment, before falling back to his usual tone. "Is there anything going on between you and your knight?"

Had she been drinking tea, her bedsheets would`ve been completely covered in it. "Why-why do you ask, Brother? I don`t understand where`re you heading," her voice trembled, failing in attempt of remaining composed. Did Schneizel knew where he was? What her relationship with Suzaku was?

"I was wondering if we could arrange a marriage for you, and Emperor seemed to agree with my line of thought…"

'No-no-no-no!' her hands begun to shake, and she herself was on the brink of tears. 'He must be speaking of some foreign royal. Or worse – some noble from the Homeland! This is even worse! Why can`t I be with Suzaku?' She could discern some names of different influential members of nobility, stunning her further. Was her brother somehow disappointed or his opinion was always this low of her?

Her idyllic world crumbling, she caught herself back from falling deeper into the rabbit hole, as her mind begun yet again processing what Schneizel was speaking.

"…is Sir Kururugi. Tell me, sister, if I were to arrange a marriage with him, would you agree to such idea?"

Her thoughts stopped the exact moment she heard that. Any worry, questions, fear disappeared from her mind, leaving only one word on her mind.

"What?"

Getting a surprised reaction on the end of the line, Euphemia quickly understood she accidentally spoke it out loud.

"Sorry, could you repeat it once again, Brother? I fell in thought for a moment."

"I asked whether you`d agree if you married Sir Kururugi? I saw there was some kind of mutual trust between you, and that you weren`t that much supportive of some racial policies of Britannia, so came this proposal. But if you don`t wish…"

She cut him short, stopping her attempts at hushing her voice. "What?! Oh, um…Yes, I think this may be a fantastic idea! I agree to it!"

"Splendid, sister! I`ll call you later to discuss the details of what will we do, as well as plan for it."

"Of course, of course, we`ll meet tomorrow, whenever you will be able to be free!"

"I see. Good night to you, Euphy!"

As the call ended, she sighed. 'And yet I thought he might be bad… I never even dreamed of it happening, especially now!'

"Euphy, who was here… who called you?"

She almost forgot Suzaku was still sleeping here. As she turned to him to explain, he already drifted back to sleep. "I was… oh," she caressed his forehead, "Good night, Suzaku."

'I wonder whether I could invite Lelouch to the wedding. How happy would Nunnally be!...'

With these thoughts in mind, she fell asleep, with a cheerful smile on fer face.

Ashford Academy, Area 11

22nd of September, 09:07

With General Cao crushed by united forces of Britannia and Zero, with the Black Knight`s ascendancy into one of the biggest forces on the archipelago, Lelouch couldn`t`ve been more satisfied with his work. Even Suzaku becoming Euphy`s knight didn`t turn Japanese against him. Lelouch still didn`t like this thorn in his side, but he could work around it.

He wasn`t glad on having to fight against his almost brother, as he and Suzaku had much bonded over the course of his life in pre-invasion Japan and in the flames of war. It`d be much easier if he simply followed him after his rescue from the trial!

"Lelouch!" Milly spoke, running towards him, hugging and falling on his shoulders with her arm, "do you know where Suzaku might be?"

"If I only knew, Madame President," he shrugged, "perhaps guarding the princess or hiding from her sister may be a great option to begin looking for him"

"Hmph. And I was only wondering if we could use him for the festival!" she then closed in to his ear, quietly whispering, "You know, as Euphemia`s brother, it`d be so nice if you dragged her along with her knight here!"

"Very funny, Milly, very funny," he smiled, with some sympathy for his friend and for his sister, "I doubt he doesn`t have fun right now anyway."

Sub-Viceroy`s suite

22nd of September, 06:00

Usually, a Royal Knight may have free-time about until 8 or 9 in the morning, depending solely on the wishes of royal they`re guarding. Euphemia didn`t order him to wake up this early, but he didn`t want for anybody of the staff to see her personal knight awaking in her suite. That`d be scandalous and rumors would spread far and quick.

Because of that, he was getting in his uniform, just in order to appear to anybody coming here as if he just arrived here from his suite. In the same time, he decided to sit there for a moment, enjoying her presence.

He heard somebody enter this wing of the building. Sparing her one last glance, he saw her mumbling something in her sleep, with a smile on her face, causing him to smile as well.

Suzaku ventured out of her room to meet with new guest. Surprisingly, it was only one person, who was dressed as a mixture of noble attire and of civilian servant in the administration, his jacket and hat being white and blue, and his light gray hair going slightly lower than his collar.

"Sir Kururugi!" Man in the middle exclaimed, extending his hand to him. Suzaku could remember meeting him some time in the past, but couldn`t point out where and how. "I`m here to meet with you and Princess Euphemia."

"Of course, Sir…" Suzaku slightly smiled, before extending his own hand.

"Kanon Maldini, prince Schneizel`s right hand." He shook his hand, with a slight nod of his head, "I don`t believe we had the opportunity to make acquaintance before."

"Oh, you`re from Prime Minister? This way, please, princess will arrive in a few minutes." Suzaku guided them to the guest room. "What sort of business do you bring to princess Euphemia this early?" Kanon looked at him curiously.

"You weren`t informed yet?" Kanon feigned surprise. Schneizel did put a lot of effort for the deal to be as swift as possible. This way negative emotions from those opposing it would be only temporary and quickly forgotten. In a way, Kanon was pleased to hear that Suzaku never heard about it. "It`s about your marriage with Princess Euphemia. His Highness expects that there will be need to help with some issues and with some nobles opposing it."

Suzaku looked stunned. "Sorry, but I must`ve misheard that one. Did you say my and Princess Euphemia`s marriage?"

"Yes, that`s correct," Kanon smiled, though Suzaku could see there was also something on his mind.

"But doesn't it go against everything Britannia stands for?" Suzaku sat on a couch, covering his mouth with his hand, his voice turning more and more into a quiet mumble. "I mean, discrimination of Numbers is a national policy…"

"But it is true, Suzaku! Schneizel did tell me the same thing yesterday. We are getting married!" He was thrown out of his thoughts by this sudden appearance of Euphy, who immediately tugged him into hug.

Kanon smirked, before glancing at his tablet. "Let`s discuss the preparations and the details we might need to think about. We`ll take care for most of it, you`ll only have to say what you agree and disagree with, as well as some of your preferences, good?"

It took Suzaku a lot of willpower not to be overwhelmed.

The same day, 10:31

KMF hangar, Government Administration

"…Guilford, I really hope this is some kind of sick joke or misunderstanding on my part. Did you just say that that pathetic Eleven is going to marry MY sister?" Cornelia was fuming. Railing she was holding to was close to cracking under her hand`s pressure.

He gulped, "Unfortunately, the information is confirmed by Prime Minister himse…" Guilford was cut short as Cornelia rushed out of the hangar, storming to her sister. Her knight followed suit, in case anything happened.

Only the idea itself of her little sister marrying anybody else was infuriating in itself. But to an Eleven? No way would she allow that!

It seemed, that most of the personnel who was on her path thought the same, as they didn`t try to stop her. She met some resistance only on the doorstep to her sister`s room, which was guarded by three soldiers.

Cornelia stopped, recomposing herself. "I have a matter to discuss with Sub-Viceroy. Let. Me. In."

Soldiers tensed, unwilling both to anger her too much and to let her. "We have explicit order to stop anybody from entering the suite…"

"I`m the highest military authority in the Viceroyalty. You`re gravely mistaken if you think you can stop her." She was ready to push him away, but the doors suddenly opened, revealing Kanon.

"Welcome, Your Highness! We were just discussing technical nuances with Princess Euphemia and Sir Kururugi. Come in, but I`d advise you to keep discussion civil."

Cornelia stepped inside. She immediately spotted her sister`s knight sitting closest to the door, drilling him with her intense glare. Suzaku kept himself calm, yet he lowered his eyes. Only Euphemia responded the same way to Cornelia.

"You…" she gritted her teeth, "Whose idea even was that?! If it was yours, poor bastard, I will make sure you pay for it. This entire matter stands against everything Britannia made policy of!"

"I won`t allow anything to happen to him!" Euphemia spoke in the same angry tone to Cornelia, even though her hands could be seen slightly shaking. "It is already approved! You cannot overrule this decision."

"To hell if I couldn`t!" Cornelia hissed, her hand sitting firmly on her sword`s handle. "I ask again – who was behind the idea?"

Kanon stood up, with. "The idea came up during the meeting of Prince Schneizel and His Majesty." He gave her a copy of the document, which was sent to the emperor a day earlier, as well as copy of the response from him. "Considering the fact, that the Prime Minister, both Sir Kururugi and Her Highness are in favor of the idea, as well as His Majesty did not object to it in any way possible, it`s a fait accompli, Your Highness."

"Sister, do you remember when we spoke about how the policy of discrimination against Numbers was bad?" Euphemia spoke up yet again, trying to divert rational side of Cornelia from criticizing the idea. "If the emperor is giving a green light even to this, so the Imperial Policy may be changeable even without being on the throne yourself! I don`t see any issue with this!"

"But I do see! The Prince-consort of the Realm would be an ELEVEN?" She spat the last word, as she considered it impossible and even rude to talk about. "This will ruin your, my, Empire`s reputation and it will alienate many nobles from us! This marriage is a simple target on our back for future enemies!"

Both sides were tense and angry. Kanon however was far from it, as he learned a lot in the mastery of diplomacy and negotiations. Yet, he thought to himself, he was the same as them, at least before meeting Schneizel, the thought about which brought back certain memories he`d like not to reminiscent about in the middle of negotiations. "Yet, the decision is approved by His Majesty, and I doubt it would be effective to try and re-negotiate it with him. Princess Euphemia is much stronger than you think she is, Your Highness. Especially with your help, she might find herself not even vulnerable at all."

Cornelia took a few deep breaths, trying to force her mind to process everything. Her grip on her sword weakened, as she settled in. "Is that really it, then…" Her scornful gaze turned into a threatening, when she turned her eyes on Suzaku. "I`m willing to think about it, but if you, Kururugi, will glance or touch her in any inappropriate way…" she spoke slightly quieter, but her voice was only filling with anger, "you will find out that death is not the worst thing that could happen to you."

Before Suzaku even managed to react to it, she stormed out of Euphemia`s room. He exchanged glances with Euphemia, both surprised and not knowing whether she needed to know that their relationship was already far beyond mere glances or pats.

"Will she be…alright?" Suzaku weakly asked Euphemia.

"She`ll come `round, I hope."

As she left, Cornelia met her eyes with Guilford, who was patiently waiting for her outside. He didn`t want to question her, her angry gaze telling everything he needed to know.

"Guilford…I need some time. I`m leaving the inspection of the rest of the defenses here, as well as some of my duties for a day."

Guilford nodded, his sympathetic glance following her on her way to her cabinet. In her mind, though, she was already looking for where she left the key to lock the doors and how much whiskey she had there.

The Black Knight`s mobile base

22nd September, 12:00

"Impossible! Britannian princess marrying a Japanese?" Inoue exclaimed. The rest of the command were also stunned by this news. Nobody knew what to do. "Diethard, is this information correct?"

"Yes, Zero. TV channels are already ordered to prepare propaganda reports about it, with the focus on their romance story and agitating for a new era in Japanese-Britannian relationship."

Zero was taken aback by the news when he first heard about it. Even now he was far from conclusive answer.

"So that girl must really be beautiful if he betrayed Japan for that p…" Tamaki was shut immediately by other female comrades in the group.

"While you could phrase it better, this opinion is expected to be prevalent in the ghettos by our channel, Tamaki." Diethard spoke. "This entire deal is troublesome for both Japanese and Britannians alike. It`s even possible that it could be shot down by nobles pressuring the Pendragon."

"Wait, but this idea couldn`t even launch without Emperor`s approval! If the news are already spreading, then at the very least it is supported by the Prime Minister!"

"Say what you want, but a love story between princess and her knight is popular." Kallen spoke for the first time, turning most of the attention towards her. "From fairy tales to movies, people do love these. The only issue here is that Suzaku is Japanese, and yet – if general public accepted Suzaku as her knight in the first place, then…"

She honestly didn`t mind the idea. From what she heard and saw, they could be a decent match. Suzaku was a traitor, yes, but a noble fool as well. If what Euphemia presented herself to be was not a mask, then they would bring some good for Japan.

Some part of her was also projecting the entire deal on herself and Zero, no matter how much she tried to suppress them.

"But the issue is with nobility." Zero spoke in a serious voice. He didn`t like the idea of her sister marrying his friend and this way sabotaging his rebellion, and yet he felt bad to interrupt it. He was certain by now it was Schneizel`s idea. "Public opinion can be swayed, yet the nobles see it as spat on their face. If Pendragon is supportive, which would be strange had Schneizel not been here, nobles would have no opportunity to voice their disapproval. This is a bomb, waiting to be exploded."

The council fell silent. Ohgi was shocked to say the least when he heard about it. But he couldn`t help but think about Chigusa – if Britannia would allow their princess to marry a Number, then maybe there could be a peaceful change in Japan.

"But what if she`s really genuine? What if we supported them?" Ohgi fidgeted slightly in his seat, "It`s not like if we don`t disapprove their marriage we`d cease fighting them! Think of what we could achieve when we`d liberate Japan with it! There are a lot of Britannians here, and when we win, we`d have to somehow integrate them without an ethnic cleansing. If this marriage will lessen the tensions between the two nations, I don`t see a big issue."

'So, the council is as divided as I am…' Zero cleared his throat, before concluding. "This entire matter is incredibly destabilizing for both Area 11 and Britannia as a whole. We will continue our preparations for rebellion, our course of action doesn`t change. At the same time, we`ll keep an eye on the marriage. Remember, we`re not the only ones who are opposing it and the pressure may be hard to fight with for Euphemia."

As many on the council nodded, Zero smirked to himself. 'What an…interesting development it is. But I`m more troubled by what you plan to do with it, Schneizel.' He furrowed, glancing at the image of Prime Minister on the TV. 'What is your game?'

AN: I really wanted to post it earlier, but I was caught up with the exams.

I plan for this story to be updated at least once a month, as it`s not my primary focus at this moment.

Waiting for more reviews, grateful for the feedback.