An Early Political Marriage Alliance? (5.2K) (Continued)
Mahiro simply smiled and then opened his arms to the girl.
"Then Mr. Mahiro will do..."
Milly gently embraced him in return.
Feeling that warmth and familiar scent that she hadn't experienced for a year, Milly was slightly intoxicated, and her eyes glistened with tears when she looked up.
Sensing the girl's burning gaze that was about to overflow, Mahiro lowered his head slightly.
Milly suddenly stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his.
Sunlight streamed quietly into the spacious room as the two engaged in a gentle, passionate kiss. Even so, Milly couldn't help but grit her teeth and moan softly, her heart racing uncontrollably.
After a long while, the two finally separated, but Milly did not leave his embrace. Instead, she leaned on his shoulder, breathing softly, and hot tears slid down her cheeks, soaking Mahiro's clothes.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing..."
Milly choked out softly, "It's so wonderful to see my teacher awake again, it feels like a dream."
After a year apart, he noticed that Milly seemed to have changed quite a bit.
Although she still retains some of her mischievous nature, she is no longer as fond of pranks as she used to be; instead, she has become more elegant and poised.
She's more like a little princess from an aristocratic family.
However, her tone when speaking to him also carried a hint of resentment and relief.
Mahiro understood that she must have contacted Alpha, so she knew her situation at the time and wasn't particularly troubled by anything.
But there's something else he's curious about, even more than that.
"If I remember correctly, Milly, you should have graduated by now, right? Why are you still the student council president at school?"
Why don't you take a guess?
Milly lifted her chin from his shoulder, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. "Perhaps, I chose to stay at school to wait for the teacher to return~"
Yotsuba Mahiro: "..."
Given Milly's family background and Ashford's influence in Area 11, it wouldn't be unreasonable for her to repeat a grade.
But based on what he knew, Milly wasn't the type to repeat a year for someone else.
Not to mention that at the time, the possibility of him waking up was still far off, so keeping him at school was simply a pipe dream.
One year is fine, but what if it's two or three years?
Can someone really be the Student Council for life?
That's just too tragic for the new students.
"I guess it's because of the [Black Rebellion]?"
When Mahiro asked, he didn't receive a definite answer, but instead heard a soft sigh echo in his ears.
After a moment, Milly said softly:
"Teacher, you're still so amazing, you guessed it right away..."
Because of the Black Rebellion, not only her, but everyone was forced to repeat a year. In addition, the original school building was destroyed and a very long holiday was taken during the reconstruction period.
Even now, it's only been less than two months since the start of the school year.
The order was not issued by the Ashford Academy, nor by the Governor of the Area 11, but by King Charles himself.
Everyone was puzzled and confused at the time, but no one dared to refuse to carry it out.
However, with the reopening of schools, the Student Council has become much quieter.
"For some reason, Kallen became the governor of Area 11, Suzaku Kururugi became Knights of the Rounds, and you, teacher, became the leader of the EU. Even Lelouch has become strange, and Nunnally doesn't even remember... The school has become a surveillance point, and the Student Council room is the only place in the school that isn't being monitored."
These words were whispered in his ear by Milly, her voice extremely soft, as if she were afraid of being overheard.
But her emotions were somewhat complicated; it was hard to tell whether she felt pride or loneliness.
Yotsuba Mahiro didn't react much to these reports; aside from Kallen, most of the events were similar to the original story.
But didn't Charles alter these people's memories?
Is it unnecessary?
Still...
"Did you come here for Lelouch?" Milly asked again in a low voice.
"I guess so, but not entirely."
Mahiro's response was very soft, only audible between the two of them, and to onlookers, they looked like a couple secretly meeting in the Student Council.
However, after saying that, he paused for a moment and explained, "Mainly, Nunnally wants to see Lelouch."
Upon hearing this, a look of "I knew it" flashed in Milly's eyes.
She knew a lot about the Shadow Garden, or rather, about what was happening around Yotsuba Mahiro. It was unclear whether Alpha had deliberately leaked this information to her or for some other reason.
She not only knew about Nunnally, but also that Princess Euphemia and Princess Cornelia were not dead.
"So what do you want to do? Are you going to take Lelouch away?"
Milly paused, then added, "Teacher, Lelouch is acting very strangely. His memories seem to have changed a lot. Although he still remembers us, he's forgotten Nunnally, and he's inexplicably gained a younger brother named Rolo."
Milly knew very well that Lelouch was a prince of Britannia, the child of Princess Marianne, and had no younger brother.
"I know."
Mahiro smiled slightly and said, "However, the specifics of what to do are up to Nunnally's final decision."
He didn't explain to Milly that this was actually a fabricated life Charles created for Lelouch using Geass. There was no need to keep it a secret; if Milly knew about Geass, she might even face mortal danger.
Because Rolo is an assassin of the Order, possessing the ability to stop time, even a Numbered Person would likely find him troublesome.
"Then I'll leave this matter to you, teacher."
As she spoke, Milly suddenly broke free from his embrace, straightened her slightly disheveled clothes, and laughed like a mischievous little devil, saying, "But I hope you can hurry up, after all, a girl's youth is very short. I already have a goal now, I want to be a TV reporter!"
Milly Mahiro slowly nodding and smiling, "I believe your dreams will come true, all your dreams!"
After exchanging a few more casual words, the two left the Student Council room.
Not long after, they all gathered again in the courtyard square in front of the academy.
Since Kallen has things to do, and the Student Council members also need to attend classes, only Milly is left to keep them company.
Finally, Nunnally arrived late. She didn't seem to be in very good spirits, but she also seemed somewhat relieved. After arriving, she simply said, "Teacher, let's go," and then left Ashford Academy.
Nunnally's reaction said it all.
She chose to give up.
Although Lelouch is currently immersed in a false life, it is clear that Nunnally does not want to affect Lelouch life, allowing him to remain in this peaceful and happy dream for the time being.
Mahiro didn't comment on this, but simply whispered an order for Alpha to send two people to protect Milly before leaving.
Less than two days after returning to the EU Embassy in Japan, they received another invitation.
"China Federation?"
Looking at the invitation in his hand, Mahiro's expression turned strange.
He remembered that Kaguya Sumeragi had always been in charge of matters concerning the Chinese Federation.
Although the young girl was not very old, she was exceptionally skilled in diplomacy. Unlike the character in the original story who fled to the other side, she still managed to establish a relationship with Emperor Jiang Lihua through her own efforts.
Alpha also agreed with this, but still explained:
"This invitation comes from Li Xingke. He just arrived at the Chinese Embassy in Japan and said he wants to talk to you."
"Oh, I see..."
After pondering for a moment while Mahiro tossed it aside and said, "Then let's go see them."
He certainly wouldn't be interested in those eunuchs, but if it were Li Xingke, then it would be worthwhile to meet him.
After all, this person was someone he knew quite well.
The Embassy of the Federal Republic of China in Japan was located in the Tokyo Settlement. It occupied a large area and its exterior was a traditional red gate tower of the Federal Republic of China. Inside, it was a courtyard with small bridges and flowing water, just like in Suzhou. In this modern Tokyo Settlement, it showed the charm of a different era.
On this day, the embassy was under unprecedented security, not for any other reason than the arrival of Yotsuba Mahiro, the current leader of the EU.
Accompanied by numerous guards, Mahiro walked calmly along the pebbled path, enjoying the birdsong and fragrant flowers that surrounded him.
When he arrived at the mansion and walked through the door, a long-haired man came into view.
The man had an indifferent expression and was dressed in a traditional military officer's uniform.
However, the two only exchanged a glance before the other side immediately took action.
In just a few seconds, he covered a distance of nearly fifty meters, stopping abruptly less than a sword's length away from him, his sword emerging from its sheath.
Clang--
When--
The two voices rang out almost simultaneously.
The first sound was the sound of a sword being drawn from its sheath, while the second sound was the sound of the sword being blocked.
The long-haired brown girl, who was there as a secretary, blocked the sword blade that was about to strike Yotsuba Mahiro with her foot.
The sharp heel of the shoe clashed with the razor-sharp blade, scattering a few tiny sparks of light, like fleeting flashes of fire, illuminating Yotsuba Mahiro's face, which was already adorned with a playful smile.
"I say, after all this time, is this how you treat your guests, Li Xingke?"
Upon hearing him speak, Li Xingke's serious and earnest expression remained unchanged, but the previous stalemate had been broken. He withdrew his long sword, and Niu also lowered his outstretched leg.
"Excuse me, I overstepped my bounds... cough cough!"
Before he could even finish speaking, Li Xingke began to cough violently.
"Alright, alright, I'm not blaming you. No need to explain. Let's go inside and talk."
Mahiro his hand, showing no restraint whatsoever, but rather as relaxed as if he were back home, and went straight to the chair in the hall to sit down and cross his legs.
Li Xingke sat properly opposite him, bowing his head respectfully.
Speaking of which, Li Xingke can be considered one of his students, but unlike the other students in Britannia, Mahiro's job is to spar with this guy occasionally.
Unexpectedly, after so many years, this guy's sickly nature still hasn't been cured.
And speaking of which, one has to admire that Li Xingke is indeed a talented person.
In terms of strategy, she is in no way inferior to Lelouch; in terms of combat prowess, she is no less than Suzaku Kururugi, and even her Knightmare piloting skills are a notch above Kallen's.
Just like Zhuge Liang riding Lü Bu while also having Dian Wei on his side, both on and off horseback, they were unparalleled in wisdom and courage, truly superhuman beings.
The only pity is that fate didn't give him time, and even added a sickly attribute to him.
Speaking of which, is this a case of being envied by heaven?
When his subordinate brought over the hot tea, Mahiro naturally picked up the teacup, took a small sip, and while savoring the bitterness of the green tea, asked softly:
"Tell me, what brings you here today?"
His tone was anything but polite, and his words were extremely direct.
To be precise, given Li Xingke's status, there was indeed no need for formalities. Even if Jiang Lihua were here, he wouldn't need to put on any pretense of small talk.
Li Xingke naturally understood this as well.
To Makoto's Mahiro, the next second this guy actually knelt down on one knee in front of him.
"No, what are you doing?"
Upon seeing this, he almost choked while drinking his tea.
"Mahiro, we invited you here today because we hope you can help save His Majesty the Emperor!"
Yotsuba Mahiro: "???"
Upon hearing this, even he couldn't help but slowly type out a few question marks.
In the past, when he was following in CC's footsteps, he visited the Chinese Federation, and by chance, he saved Li Xingke and also taught Jiang Lihua for a period of time.
Although they didn't spend a very long time together, Jiang Lihua absorbed knowledge very quickly and learned a lot.