"After learning of Princess Marianne's assassination, Earl Wallenberg was hardly receptive, while Earl Asprind declined as usual."
"As expected."
Ask smiled faintly. Plans could never keep pace with change. He had originally intended to use the name "Marianne the Flash" to draw Earl Wallenberg into his faction. Then the fourth son of the distinguished Wallenberg family, Gino Weinberg, would very likely... no, his admission to the Knights of the Round was practically assured. That would have secured Ask the support of a Knight of the Round.
But news of Marianne's death had arrived at precisely that moment. This was also one of the reasons Ask had requested that Charles admit Monica to the Knights of the Round.
"Send Lady Beatrice an invitation to join me at my palace the evening after tomorrow."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Then the old knight voiced the question on his mind.
"But why Lady Beatrice? She has already resigned as the Second Knight, and she seems to..."
The old knight glanced at Ask and left the rest unsaid.
Ask knew what he meant. Lady Beatrice hated Marianne deeply. Although she had been Marianne's pupil, something irreversible seemed to have happened along the way, causing Lady Beatrice to begin resenting her.
But Ask seemed to know something of the inside story.
"Lady Beatrice is about to take charge of the Secret Intelligence Bureau. Winning her over would give us a powerful ally. As for the hatred between her and Mother..."
Ask paused, then continued:
"Have Lord Jeremiah come see me tonight."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The old knight did not understand what Ask intended to do, but his position gave him no right to keep questioning an imperial prince. Besides, Ask clearly had no intention of explaining.
When he returned to the palace, a young boy greeted him with questions.
"Brother, what did Father say?"
Ask ignored him and motioned for Monica to follow. Everyone else remained outside. Without an express request from the prince himself, no one except his guardian knight could enter his private chambers uninvited.
Seeing that he was being ignored, the boy persisted, though anger had crept into his voice.
"Brother!"
"Lelouch."
Ask stopped and turned to look at the young boy following him, his eyes filled with indifference.
"You're far too weak."
His lofty tone and cold gaze made Lelouch feel as though the person before him was a stranger.
"B... brother..."
He had always answered Lelouch's questions with a smile, and the affection in his eyes for Nunnally had certainly been genuine. Yet today, ever since his audience with the emperor, he seemed to have become an entirely different person.
The patient older brother had become a cold stranger.
Seeing the disbelief in Lelouch's eyes stirred nothing in Ask. He turned and was about to continue toward his palace when his tone suddenly softened into something level. It was not quite gentle, but it carried a trace of trust.
"Your duty is to protect Nunnally."
"Huh?"
Lelouch stared at Ask's retreating back in confusion, but chose not to ask any further questions, allowing him to disappear from sight.
"Your Highness."
Once they were inside the palace, Monica, who had followed silently behind Ask all this time, spoke up. She leaned her face close to his. Normally, this would have been disrespectful, but Ask did not mind. If anything, he was willing to indulge his future guardian knight's whims.
"Why are you pretending to be so cold?"
Only nine years old, Monica looked so innocent and adorably bewildered that she amused Ask.
"Pretending? What nonsense are you talking about?"
Ask smiled in amusement and continued:
"No, perhaps it would be more accurate to say it's all an act."
"Hmm?"
Monica tilted her head. Ask could not keep his hands off her round cheeks and golden hair, endlessly pinching and stroking them.
"Mm... Your Highness..."
A year had passed since Monica came to the palace. After enduring Ask's "bullying" throughout that year, she had gradually grown accustomed to this much. Still, she wanted to know what he meant.
"Do you know, Monica? Originally, I had no designs on the throne."
"Huh?"
Monica looked confused, unsure why he had brought up the subject.
Ask merely stroked her lovely hair in silence before continuing:
"But Mother's death reminded me that, whoever you are, once you're born into the imperial family, there's no escaping this struggle."
"For years, I've been building my strength and expanding my faction. At first, my goal was to keep myself safe in the struggles to come."
"Then yesterday, I finally realized that my faction was strong enough to contend with any imperial prince for the throne. Apart from my brother Schneizel, I'm their greatest enemy."
"Keep myself safe? Hah. My old decisions almost make me laugh."
Ask's gentle tone suddenly grew stern, and his eyes filled with resolve.
"Rather than be forced into a fight, I might as well strike first. If I can't stay out of it, then I'll simply seize the throne."
"And besides..."
At this, his tone took a sudden, drastic turn. His earlier calm and composure vanished, replaced by intense hatred and burning fury. Even his face twisted slightly:
"That damned woman! She must have some secret plan with the emperor! I even suspect she orchestrated this death herself, or that it was part of her plan!"
Monica knew Ask's habits well. Once he made up his mind, he would see it through. Yet this was the first time she had ever seen her prince lose control like this.
He had called his mother, who bore the title of the strongest knight, and his father, who ruled all of Britannia, "that woman" and "the emperor." If an outsider heard such disrespect, even his status as a prince would not save him from the harshest punishment.
What was more, she saw his eyes brimming with violence toward his "family," without a trace of familial affection.
Was this... the true nature of the imperial family?
She did not know, nor did she dare judge. She did not even dare speak. Pretending she had heard nothing and remaining silent was her only choice now.
Even when the "gentle" hand rubbing her head turned "violent," she could only endure the pain.
Ask's "complaints" continued.
"Tch! What a joke! She's selfish to the core, yet she still puts on that loving act. It's sickening!"
"If it hadn't been for what happened back then... hmph! I'd probably have ended up as a test subject!"
His words broke off, seemingly because he had remembered something from the past. Ask took a deep breath to calm himself, and his attitude once again did a complete about-face.
He was better at regulating his emotions than some adults.
"Will you help me?"
Ask lowered his head and stared into Monica's eyes. She snapped out of her pain. From the moment she had entered the palace, her fate had already been decided: she would live as the spear and shield in Ask's hands.
Besides, she did not dislike this life. What she had felt just now was merely the shock of seeing that side of him for the first time.
She hurriedly dropped to one knee before Ask and saluted him in the precise posture of a knight pledging loyalty.
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Her voice was not loud, but the firmness and determination in it were unmistakable.
Ask smiled, helped her up, and held her in his arms, continuing to stroke her hair.
"As for Lelouch and Nunnally..."
"Originally, I intended to push them into the spotlight as contenders for the throne so I could keep myself safe, then fade out of everyone else's sights."
"But now the plan needs to change. I need him to help me ascend the throne."
Ask suddenly gave a self-mocking smile and continued:
"I feel no guilt about using them, but killing them with my own hands would still be hard to stomach. All these years of affection remain an obstacle. It seems I haven't learned even a fraction of Mother's talent in that regard."
"You really are kind, Your Highness."
Kind? Was that sarcasm?
Resting in Ask's arms and enjoying his caresses, Monica was as docile as a kitten. What to pick up on and what to let pass-she had long since learned those skills through constant exposure.
"Kind? Perhaps. I simply don't want to leave myself any regrets."
Ask sighed and moved on from the subject.
"We'll double your training this year. Tomorrow, you'll accompany me to the EU front. Fight on the battlefield and earn distinction. I'll get you into the Knights of the Round, and then you'll help me accomplish my grand undertaking."
"Your Highness... yes! I won't disappoint you!"
What achievements could Monica possibly earn while she was still a child? She probably wouldn't even be able to hold a gun steady on the battlefield.
But to Ask, such matters were trivial.
Other people's achievements were his own achievements. As long as the people involved agreed, there would be no problem.
Before you continue