The banquet was one thing for public propaganda; internally... the number of people in the know had not even quite reached double digits.
"Heh heh, as expected of a royal banquet—this is seriously lavish." Jiu Ming muttered as he looked around at the gorgeously arranged venue, completely ignoring the looks from the surrounding "noble families and aristocrats" asking, "Who the hell is this guy?"
If you people could actually recognize me, that would be a real problem!
Listening to the conversations around him, Jiu Ming learned a few things. How should he put it? This banquet had originally been scheduled for two days later, yet it had been moved up by a day... Well, judging by the lack of any hurried preparations, they had clearly put in the effort.
This banquet was not attended solely by the Chinese Federation; there were people from other countries as well. Jiu Ming spotted several people who were quite familiar to him.
The girl with the huge pink hair was Euphemia. She was currently pushing a wheelchair, in which sat a brown-haired girl—Nunnally... Come to think of it, why could she not open her eyes when there was clearly nothing wrong with them?
Shaking his head, Jiu Ming could confirm that there was absolutely nothing wrong with her eyes. He had told Lelouch as much before, and the siscon had indeed been delighted for a moment—but after the delight came worry. Since his sister was here, how could Lelouch himself possibly be absent? When he noticed Jiu Ming, Lelouch was startled for a moment. Li Xingke, who had been speaking with him, narrowed his eyes without a trace.
The two of them knew each other...
Thinking it over carefully, it did not seem impossible. After all, Lelouch's ascension had been far too sudden, catching