"It's been a long time, Sister."...
Ask arrived in the settlement, which had become Britannia's strategic center in the Island Nation. After years of construction, it had grown prosperous, forming a stark contrast with the ruins in the war zones.
Ask and his elder sister Cornelia stayed here.
"Oh! If it isn't Ask. Has the situation in the EU stabilized?"
Among the imperial family, Ask was on fairly good terms with Cornelia, as well as her younger sister Euphemia.
Ask walked over. Unlike him, Cornelia was still dressed in military uniform, apparently having just returned from a campaign.
"With me handling it, what is there to worry about, Sister? The remaining rats are nothing to fear. They merely add a little entertainment to an otherwise dull life."
Ask smiled, his tone faintly teasing.
The EU had long since been largely pacified. Ask had deliberately allowed the remaining resistance groups to survive.
Ask had many secret underground bases within the EU, built for weapons development and Geass experiments. Their administrators were all trustworthy people, utterly loyal to him.
Unusual activity was therefore inevitable. To conceal it, he had kept the embers of resistance alive, allowing him to blame every disturbance on the resistance groups.
Meanwhile, Ask's people had infiltrated the resistance groups. Most held senior positions, and some had even become leaders. They carried out resistance operations under his instructions.
This also served to tell Emperor Charles and the other members of the imperial family: The EU is not yet completely stable. Only I can maintain our rule there.
"That twisted sense of amusement is probably your greatest flaw."
Cornelia enjoyed the thrill of war, but Ask took pleasure in toying with his opponents, leading them from hope into despair, then listening to their anguished cries.
Cornelia could not agree with that.
She had fought in the EU herself. As a frontline commander who personally took the field, she had experienced the wars Ask had "designed" and learned firsthand just how "tenacious" the resistance groups were.
She therefore admired Ask's intelligence. He had beaten one of the three great powers that once stood alongside Britannia and the Chinese Federation so thoroughly that it could not fight back. She believed Ask was capable of rivaling Schneizel.
"If I couldn't find a little amusement in a life this dull, I might as well die."
"I don't want to hear that from you. You're better at finding amusement than anyone else. I've never once seen you bored."
Cornelia rolled her eyes at Ask, who merely smiled, unbothered.
"Speaking of which, how is the fighting here going? Anything worth noting?"
Cornelia knew that by "anything worth noting," Ask meant something that would interest him. What interested him most was casting a powerful, confident enemy into the depths of despair, then savoring their hopeless expression.
Cornelia thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered something.
"I ran into a rather interesting terrorist last time. They had somehow intercepted one of our machines, then gathered the other terrorists together and caught our forces off guard."
"And then?"
"Then? They got away. They wore a mask and were dressed entirely in black, so I couldn't tell whether they were a man or a woman. It turned out they weren't even inside our machine. I have no idea where they got intelligence on our forces, either."
Cornelia shook her head. She had not taken the incident to heart, considering the person nothing more than an Eleven with a few clever tricks.
Ask, however, felt a spark of interest, though he did not let it show.
"I see. They do sound interesting. I'd love to meet them."
Cornelia glanced at Ask, somewhat displeased with his twisted tastes, but there was little she could say.
"I'm going to find Euphemia. Who knows where she's run off to play this time."
With that, Cornelia left.
Ask gave Monica a look, signaling for her to watch their surroundings and keep anyone from approaching.
Monica nodded with an innocent expression. They no longer needed many words; their mutual understanding was enough to convey what they meant.
"Jeremiah."
"Your Highness, what are your orders?"
At the sound of his name, Jeremiah hurried to Ask's side.
"Publicly execute that Honorary Britannian the night after tomorrow, to bring peace to Clovis's departed soul. Also, release the news today. Let's see whether we can lure out a big fish."
"Understood, Your Highness."
Jeremiah was about to leave when Ask stopped him again.
"One more thing. If we really do lure out a big fish on the day of the execution... no, he'll definitely take the bait. When the time comes, don't kill him. Aim to capture him alive. Of course, I don't mean actually capture him. If he runs out of ammunition and can't escape, deliberately leave an opening and let him go."
Jeremiah did not understand, but he was clever enough to know that this concerned Ask's plans. He would follow Ask's instructions to the letter.
He had only one concern.
"But might this damage your reputation, Your Highness? You've only just arrived in Area 11. If you allow a terrorist to escape, I'm afraid certain people might use it against you."
At Jeremiah's words, Ask smiled, unconcerned.
"Don't worry. I won't be involved in this affair. Likewise, don't tell anyone about it. You must keep it secret. Though I don't think you'll be able to catch him anyway. Hahahahaha!"
Ask burst out laughing, not to mock Jeremiah, but because he found it amusing.
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Meanwhile, in a villa at Ashford Academy.
A young man in a school uniform watched the report on the television and slammed his fist against the table in anger.
"Damn it! They're using an innocent person to appease the imperial family's rage!"
His voice was filled with anger and hatred-a deep hatred for Britannia's imperial family.
A woman stood by the window, her long green hair and white straitjacket particularly striking. She was C.C, whom Ask had abducted and taken to the EU years ago.
She gazed at the distant scenery, then turned back to the young man and said:
"Hey, Lelouch. That man-"
"Yes, I know."
Lelouch interrupted C.C before she could finish.
"Ask vi Britannia, leader of the Radical Faction, one of the three major factions. He's considered the only person capable of rivaling Schneizel. He's also my elder brother."
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