Milly Ashford

Arriving at the Tokyo Settlement, which served as the primary stronghold for the entire imperial family in the Island Nation, Ask was no exception.

This settlement was heavily guarded with Knightmares on patrol without interruption around the clock, preventing even a bird from flying overhead.

Milly, a recent arrival, was struck with awe, having only ever seen such a sight on television, yet experiencing it in person yielded an entirely different sensation.

Upon reaching the settlement, she saw Jeremiah waiting in the Great Hall.

"You must be the Head of Ashford. His Highness has been waiting for some time."

A letter from Ashford had arrived yesterday, but "waiting for some time" was merely a polite formality.

The Head of Ashford was well aware of this.

"Thank you very much, Lord Jeremiah, for taking time out of your busy schedule to greet me."

"I am merely fulfilling my duty."

With that, Jeremiah walked past the old man, neither overly deferential nor proud.

The old man led Milly to Ask's room.

Leila opened the door to welcome them.

The old man had an impression of her-or rather, nearly everyone knew Leila as the personal maid Ask had found in the EU.

"Lady Leila-"

"Come in."

Cutting off the other's flattery, Leila maintained her expressionless demeanor. Like Ask, she disliked such superfluous etiquette.

The old man led Milly inside and seated her across from Ask.

Ask was enjoying a massage from Monica. Hearing someone enter, Ask squinted in evaluation and then patted the seat beside him.

Seeing this, the old man hurriedly signaled Milly to take a seat there.

Ask unceremoniously wrapped an arm around Milly's shoulders. Milly sat obediently beside Ask, her hands resting on her thighs, feeling thoroughly constrained and terrified of displeasing Ask with a single movement.

"Alright, you may leave."

Ask spoke to the old man, catching him somewhat off guard. The old man still had things he wished to say, yet he dared not defy Ask's will.

"Understood, Your Highness. I shall take my leave now."

After the old man departed, Leila consciously locked the door, knowing what was to come. Milly, however, remained blankly bewildered, though she harbored a persistent ominous premonition.

Ask pulled Milly directly in front of him, forcing her to kneel before him.

"Begin."

Milly's face flushed with shyness as she understood what she was expected to do.

She felt a measure of internal resistance, though not overwhelmingly strong; it was merely that the suddenness made her unable to adapt.

Ask did nothing else, maintaining the posture of closing his eyes to rest while he waited.

This "waiting" was by no means indulgence, a fact Milly knew profoundly well. Thus, despite the difficulty in adjusting, she still dared not show the slightest negligence and met his demand.

The following evening arrived, bringing the time for the execution.

Ask did not go to the site, choosing instead to watch the live broadcast. Should he attend in person, the significance would change entirely; in the eyes of everyone, Ask and victory were synonymous, and no one believed Ask could fail.

His subordinates, however, were a different matter-even trusted confidants like Jeremiah.

Ever since arriving in Ask's room yesterday, Milly had not left once, while the academy side had been managed by the Head of Ashford taking a leave of absence on the grounds of illness.

At that moment, Milly sat beside Ask, working her lips. Though slightly unpracticed, she performed far better than the day before.

Monica and Leila stood by as if seeing nothing at all, or rather, having long since grown accustomed to it.

On the television screen, Suzaku Kururugi wore prison attire with his hands and feet bound, a collar fastened around his neck. That collar was designed to discharge electricity; should Suzaku Kururugi make any rash movements, it would release a massive current, sufficient to render a person unconscious.

Ask stroked Milly's long hair, gesturing toward Suzaku Kururugi on the screen as he asked:

"Do you know this person?"

Milly halted the motion of her lips, tilted her head slightly, and replied:

"He seems to be the son of the former Prime Minister of the Island Nation."

Milly retained some impression of him, having arrived in the Island Nation rather early and having even caught glimpses of Suzaku Kururugi in childhood.

Milly then resumed her task.

On the television, Suzaku Kururugi safely reached Jeremiah. Ask pondered what method Lelouch would ultimately employ to rescue Suzaku Kururugi.

Yet all possible methods were inseparable from Geass.

Just as Ask was enjoying Milly's service, a hearse came into his field of vision.

"I see. That is indeed an effective method."

Using Clovis's hearse as bait to provoke Jeremiah, leader of the Pureblood Faction-given his arrogant disposition, he would surely refrain from shooting directly and instead subject the prisoner to humiliating public execution.

In doing so, an opportunity to face Jeremiah directly would be secured.

Ask switched off the television, knowing he could guess the subsequent events without watching.

"It is time I found a moment to see C.C."

Ask pressed down on Milly's head, savoring the final moments before continuing:

"Investigate the backgrounds of those terrorists who came with him."

Receiving Ask's command, Leila departed immediately to make arrangements.

Ask patted Milly's head, signaling her to get dressed. Over the past two days, she had changed into countless outfits, all of them various types of cosplay costumes-some of which caused her to feel a sense of shame merely by looking at them.

Though the education period was brief and Milly had yet to fully adapt, she at least harbored no excessive resistance, or rather, she had resigned herself to her fate.

"Return to school tomorrow. I will come to see you when I have time."

"Mn."

Milly's face was deeply flushed as she lay limply beside Ask.

Suddenly, a sound drew Ask's attention: his private phone.

Monica answered the call, glanced at Milly, and kept the speaker off. At Ask's signal, Monica placed the phone to her own ear to listen.

Once Milly had gone to wash up, Monica spoke quietly by Ask's ear:

"It is a call from Lady Beatrice. The Emperor has appeared within EU territory."

Ask started sharply upright; this was by no means a trivial matter.

"He is likely targeting the Geass Ruins."

Ask had discovered these ruins while in the EU, yet to this day had been unable to decipher their contents.

"Notify the person in charge in the EU. Evacuate everyone from within the ruins, restore everything precisely to its previous state, and do not leave behind so much as a single hair."

"Furthermore, halt operations at the Military Factory and the Geass Factory."

Issuing two commands in succession, Ask settled back against the sofa, though his expression remained heavy.

Handing the ruins over to Emperor Charles mattered little, as he could extract no useful information regardless. As for the Military Factory and the Geass Factory, however, they remained among Ask's ultimate trump cards.

One side was conducting research and development on New-Type Weapons and Knightmares, while the other pursued Geass experimentation. Should these be exposed, Ask would be forced to seize power prematurely, yet his current odds of success in doing so fell short of twenty percent.

Facing the two major factions and the Emperor's Knights of the Round simultaneously left no one with any chance of victory.

"Lastly, have Beatrice monitor the Emperor's movements at all times and report any developments to me immediately."