What sort of person could have a Knight of the Round accompanying him?
There was no need to figure out exactly who he was. It was enough to know that his status was extraordinary.
The Knights of the Round answered directly to the emperor of Britannia. No one else, not even members of the imperial family, had the authority to command them.
Even within Britannia's imperial family, the man before her had to hold immense power and status!
What did someone like him want with her?
Kallen remained by the door and asked warily:
"Who are you?"
"Hmm..." The man set down his teacup and said:
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ask Vi Britannia."
"Ask..."
She had heard that name before. In the Britannia Empire, he was a prince whose standing equaled that of the eldest prince, Odysseus, and the second prince, Schneizel. The three had almost divided power beneath the emperor between them.
Within the Britannia Empire, he was second only to the emperor.
Kallen quietly steadied herself, her eyes darting around the room. If she had no other choice, she would pull the folding knife from her pocket and assassinate the prince.
Even if she died, it would be well worth it.
But that was her last resort. For now, she had neither the courage nor the intention to take him down with her.
"Why did you go out of your way to lure me here? And where... is she?"
Rather than answer, Ask picked up the remote beside him and opened the curtains.
Beyond the window was a room lined with shelves. A woman happened to be slumped in front of the glass, her face vacant as she muttered to herself.
She had clearly just taken Refrain and was lost in hallucinations.
Kallen's expression darkened.
She looked furious and seemed about to say something, but Ask spoke before she could:
"Want to know what she's saying?"
"...What's worth listening to from a woman like her?"
"I'd suggest you listen."
As he spoke, Ask switched on the receiver, and the woman's voice came through the speaker.
At the same time, he offered Kallen an "explanation":
"Do you know why your mother chose to stay with House Stadtfeld?"
"Ultimately, it was because of you."
Ask pointed at Kallen and continued:
"Even if it meant being beaten, berated, and humiliated, she wanted to stay by your side and watch you grow up. That was her only wish as a mother."
"She injected Refrain because she longed for the past, too. She wanted to relive the time she spent with you. You could call it a way of escaping reality..."
"No, it would be more accurate to say that Refrain became her emotional lifeline. Being able to enjoy those brief moments of paradise was what gave her the strength to stay willingly by your side."
As Ask slowly spoke, Kallen had already focused all her attention on her mother's murmuring.
The words were disjointed, but every sentence contained her name, along with a yearning for those "fantasies."
Those scattered fragments instead became the strongest evidence supporting Ask's words.
This man... was telling the truth.
Kallen felt an instinctive aversion to Britannians, especially members of the imperial family. Yet these words alone touched her heart.
She believed them.
Not because she trusted this man, but because she understood her mother.
"What a stupid woman..."
She still resisted with her words, holding back her tears and doing her best to look indifferent.
She did not want to expose her weakness in front of this man, but her trembling voice had already laid her heart bare.
Kallen pressed her lips together in a show of resolve, then looked at Ask and asked:
"You went out of your way to tell me all this. What exactly do you want me to do?"
No ulterior motive? She did not believe that for a second.
This was a conflict within her family. Even a friend intervening would be meddling, let alone an enemy.
He surely intended to use her for something.
"I want you to obey my orders." Ask raised a hand, stopping Kallen before she could argue, then continued:
"There's no need to be so resistant. Naturally, I investigated everything about you before bringing you here. I know all about your life as Kallen Stadtfeld, as well as your life as Kallen Kouzuki."
He was implying that he knew all about her clandestine resistance activities. If she defied him, he would immediately have her and her mother arrested for rebelling against the empire.
That included her family, and... her friends.
It was both a warning and a threat.
Kallen remained silent, her expression grim as she waited for him to continue.
"I can let you live as Kallen Kouzuki, or let you keep your identity as a Schneizel. I can also give you and your birth mother a carefree life. I can even end the war between Britannia and Area 11."
"What... what did you say?!"
Kallen was stunned.
No, no, no, no, no. If it were just those first few promises, she could believe a prince had the power to fulfill them, but...
End the war?
Even Cornelia, Area 11's current governor and administrator, had no authority to decide something like that!
Only the emperor of Britannia could make that decision!
This man... what kind of joke was he playing...?
Was he not afraid of bringing disaster upon himself by overstepping his authority like this?
"All Britannia needs is control over the Sakuradite resources. But the mining operations are entirely under the control of the Kyoto Six Houses. That's why the war broke out."
Ask spoke slowly as Kallen stared in shock.
On the surface, the Britannia Empire had signed a cooperation agreement with the Island Nation to jointly mine Sakuradite. In reality, it had intended to secretly control the representatives of the Kyoto Six Houses and turn them into puppets.
However, carrying that out had proved harder than expected. The Kyoto Six Houses were all old foxes. They would never readily switch sides and relinquish such a vital strategic resource.
So Britannia had simply dropped all pretense and torn up the treaty. Even at the cost of betraying international trust, it had launched an invasion to seize the Sakuradite resources.
This had also brought a dramatic improvement in Britannia's technology and strategic standing.
That was the publicly apparent trigger.
"So, as long as the Kyoto Six Houses agree to give up their resistance, this war will end."
"Easy for you to say! Britannia hasn't managed it in all these years. Why should I believe you can?"
"You don't need to worry about that. I'll negotiate with them."
Ask paused to study Kallen's expression. She no longer seemed quite so resistant, so he continued:
"At the same time, besides ending the war, I can also promise to restore a degree of autonomy to Area 11, and restore the name of the Island Nation People."
"...!"
Restore their autonomy and their name as the Island Nation People!
Those were the things Kallen cared about most! In fact, ever since the Island Nation had been renamed Area 11 and the Island Nation People had been stripped of their name, branded with the humiliating label of Eleven, she had resolved to cast off that shame.
Everything she had done up to now had been for that goal!
And this man... actually claimed he could make it happen?
Kallen stared at Ask in disbelief. Her delicate lips remained parted for a long time, yet she could not utter a single word.
Only when Ask spoke again did she come back to her senses.
"There's no need to be so surprised. We only need to have the Island Nation join Britannia as a special administrative zone. That's something that can still be done under the authority of Area 11's governor."
Kallen did not know whether it could be done, but she did know this was certainly not an act of kindness. She would have to pay an unimaginably steep price.
Looking at her mother beyond the glass, still lost in her hallucinations, she pondered for a long time. Finally, as though she had made up her mind, she turned to Ask and asked:
"Then what do I have to give in return?"
"Heh..."
Ask chuckled, lifted his teacup, and took a sip of steaming tea before uttering the words Kallen would never forget for the rest of her life-
"I want you to become my dog."
Before you continue