"Your Majesty."
"No need for formalities." Charles slowly descended from the raised platform, each step imposing as he walked up to Xiao Ran. His deep gaze settled on Xiao Ran as he said solemnly, "Knight Lelouch, welcome back."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Xiao Ran bowed slightly and nodded with a faint smile, as though he had not noticed the deeper meaning in Charles's eyes. He said calmly, "Although an unexpected complication prevented us from achieving complete success in the end, I fulfilled my duty by stabilizing Area 19 and reclaiming all the lost territory. We repelled the Rebel Army and drove their core forces entirely off that continent."
"An unexpected complication?" Charles raised his voice slightly, stressing his words. "What sort of complication could have nearly wiped out every soldier in Area 19?"
Xiao Ran merely smiled and said nothing. Charles was being deliberate. How could Charles not know what had happened in Area 19? There was more or less an intention to make things difficult for Xiao Ran in those words, but it was absolutely not because Charles intended to continue pressing him or use it as an excuse to arrest him. As Emperor of Britannia and the man who held absolute authority over the nation, Charles did not need any reason to make things difficult for Xiao Ran. One word from him would be enough to seize Xiao Ran without justification. There was no need to seek an excuse.
Of course, that was what Charles himself believed. So those words were merely the beginning. Charles continued to bear down on Xiao Ran with his authority. "During that battle, why did you, with your great strength, accomplish nothing? You did not even confront the machine called Pendragon directly. What reason made you, a Knight of the Round, choose to