When Ask woke up the next day, Milly had already left.
Before she left, Ask had told Milly to keep an eye on Lelouch's everyday behavior. She did not need to deliberately record anything, just pay a little attention.
He had not told her why, but Milly knew Lelouch and Nunnally's true identities, so she took it as Ask's concern for his family. His unintended gesture bore fruit, raising her opinion of him another notch.
After Ask got up, Monica and Leila stood beside him, holding his clothes.
"Your Highness, Lord Jeremiah is waiting for you in the study."
Leila spoke as she helped Ask dress.
Ask could more or less guess why Jeremiah had come.
"Understood. Tell the servants to bring breakfast to the study."
Monica then followed Ask to the study, where they found a visibly nervous Jeremiah.
"Your Highness!"
As soon as Jeremiah saw Ask enter, he rose from his seat and dropped to one knee in salute.
There was a hint of guilt in his voice.
Ask motioned for him to rise, then walked over and sat in the seat at the head of the room.
Breakfast arrived shortly afterward. The cooks' efficiency was truly impressive. They all belonged to Ask's faction, and he had brought them over from his homeland specifically to serve him alone.
Jeremiah had the good sense not to disturb Ask while he enjoyed his breakfast. Only after Ask finished eating did he speak again.
"Your Highness, what happened last night was a failure on my part. I brought shame upon you. Please punish me."
Ask took a sip of milk. He generally drank a glass every morning, as did Monica and Leila.
"It doesn't matter. This was expected. It wasn't a lack of ability on your part, merely an imbalance in information."
Lelouch knew everything about Jeremiah, while Jeremiah did not even know that geass existed, so his failure was only natural.
Ask continued:
"I don't blame you. On the contrary, this was merely one part of my plan, and you were its sacrificial pawn. Do you resent that, Lord Jeremiah?"
"No, I harbor no resentment whatsoever! Rather, it is an honor!"
Jeremiah answered immediately. To him, contributing to Ask's cause was worth even his life.
Ask nodded in satisfaction.
"Good! Your punishment this time will reduce your command authority, along with a few other insignificant penalties. But none of that matters much. Your position as leader of the Pureblood Faction will remain unchanged."
Jeremiah inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. If his position remained unchanged, that meant Ask's faction had not suffered any great losses. That was what finally set his mind at ease.
Before Jeremiah could speak, Ask continued:
"However, command of the Island Nation front will be handed to someone else, possibly one of Schneizel's people. You will continue carrying out the Pureblood Faction's activities."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Jeremiah immediately accepted the order, then paused before speaking:
"Your Highness, the other matter concerns Suzaku Kururugi. Last night, that man calling himself Zero... or perhaps a woman, since the person's gender is unknown, claimed to be the one who killed Prince Clovis. However, after Suzaku Kururugi was rescued, he returned of his own accord and offered no resistance when taken into custody. How should we handle this?"
Ordinarily, such a minor matter would not require troubling Ask. But Ask had previously told Jeremiah to let the enemy escape deliberately, leaving him uncertain what to do. He worried that Suzaku Kururugi might be part of Ask's plan.
He had not wanted to disturb Ask's rest last night, so he had come early specifically to seek an audience, quietly waiting for Ask to wake.
At this, Ask looked slightly surprised at first, then smiled.
"What an interesting man. He finally had a chance to survive, yet he went out of his way to come back and die."
Ask could more or less guess what Suzaku Kururugi was thinking.
The murder of a prince was both a major affair and a minor one.
To most members of the imperial family, nobles, and commoners, it was as though the sky had fallen-especially to the Elevens and honorary Britannians living in the Island Nation.
But to figures who wielded real power, such as Ask and Schneizel, it was not particularly important and had little effect on them. Still, they would take some action to preserve the empire's dignity.
Thus, if the culprit was not caught, a series of bloody incidents would likely follow, and more innocent people would bear the imperial family's wrath.
Suzaku Kururugi understood this all too well, which was why he had decided to sacrifice himself.
Ask gave a cold laugh and said:
"Release him on the grounds of insufficient evidence. Didn't that Zero say the killer was him? Then designate him as the culprit. That should shut up those royals and nobles."
"Understood, Your Highness. There is one final matter..."
Jeremiah seemed to find it difficult to speak and spent a moment choosing his words.
"I have absolutely no memory of my actions last night. Even after watching the recording, I couldn't recall a thing. It was as though someone had controlled me."
Ask knew this was an aftereffect of being controlled by Lelouch's geass.
C.C had also contacted him earlier and told him about Lelouch's geass. It could force others to obey and erase their memories of that period, but its drawback was that it required eye contact.
Thus, when he heard Jeremiah reproach himself, he merely smiled and thought nothing of it.
"Don't tell anyone else about this. It concerns my plan."
Jeremiah grew serious. Fortunately, he had told Ask about it; otherwise, he might have ruined the plan.
"Understood, Your Highness. There is also one other person who experienced the same thing I did. She said she saw a male student, and when she came to her senses, her Knightmare was gone."
"Who?"
Based on Jeremiah's description, the male student was very likely Lelouch. Taken together with the earlier incident in Shinjuku and the terrorists' sudden victory, it was quite possible that Lelouch had been responsible.
To prevent any unexpected disruptions to the plan, this woman had to be brought under control.
"Villetta Nu. She is one of my subordinates and a member of the Pureblood Faction."
P.S. Although this is a harem story, he won't take every woman he meets. This dark-skinned woman definitely won't be included.
But Kaguya really is adorable.
Before you continue