Early the next morning, Ask arranged to meet with Vice-Viceroy Euphemia.
Normally, chatting, talking, and making plans to go out among brothers and sisters was the most normal thing in the world, even for imperial heirs.
However, since the other party held the position of vice-viceroy, the proper procedures still had to be followed.
He and Euphemia discussed some matters related to the selection of knights.
Ask roughly glanced over the files of those knights Cornelia had chosen for her younger sister.
They all came from prominent noble families of Britannia, so there were no major issues with their backgrounds. Coupled with the fact that these were candidates filtered through Cornelia's rigorous screening, their loyalty was also guaranteed.
As for strength, they were middling, more than enough to serve as knights for a hothouse flower who frequently stayed indoors.
However, Euphemia seemed to have no such intentions, harboring not the slightest shred of favorable impression toward these candidates.
To this, Ask did not continue to persuade her.
Someone he rarely saw even once or twice a year had no value to Ask, or perhaps her value had simply not been discovered yet.
Of course, if Euphemia were willing to enter a political marriage with his designated target, he certainly wouldn't mind viewing her as a "valuable insider."
The only reason he came to see her was to fulfill his promise to Cornelia, and by the way, to maintain a good sibling relationship for the sake of that "yet-to-be-discovered potential value."
This was the "true current state" of imperial heirs.
If they were full siblings sharing the same mother, things might be better-much like Cornelia and Euphemia-although Cornelia's doting on Euphemia was also an "anomaly" within the imperial family.
Now that the task was finished, Ask had no desire to continue wasting time on her. After casually tossing out a few parting words, he headed for the "old spot."
Namely, the shop where he had met Kallen last time.
This shop was one he had acquired after coming to Area 11, and the store owner was a member of his faction, making him trustworthy.
The shop mainly sold luxury goods at relatively high prices, so the number of patrons was also quite small.
It was equipped with a hidden door that originally led to a large interior warehouse, but Ask now used it as a breaking-in room.
At this moment, a young girl with beautiful long black hair had her hands bound and was kneeling on the cold stone bricks.
Her clothes were tattered and skimpy, and under her skirt she wore over-the-knee white stockings.
There was a cat tail attached somewhere, though it looked quite sturdy on the surface and wouldn't sway around randomly.
There were no scars on her skin, but a puddle of water was spilled on the ground, making the stone bricks somewhat damp.
He roughly knew which aspect Sphynx had broken her in from.
Seeing Ask arrive, Sphynx respectfully hurried forward.
"Your Highness, your toy, Empress Kaguya, has reached the point of being able to hold a normal conversation."
A toy...
This was a verbal tic of the Grimm Family, not Ask's requirement.
"Mm, what about Tosai Munakata?"
"I've had him wait in the next room. Please rest assured, your toy is still absolutely clean; I've already verified this."
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"...Go out first. Keep an eye on that old fox and don't let him pull any tricks. By the way, tell him that I'll grant him the peerage I promised, and have him wait patiently; someone will send him back later."
"Understood, this subordinate will keep an eye on him."
Such a fence-sitter would betray you a second time if he did it once; when using him, you had to be careful not to prick your own hand.
After Sphynx left, Ask gave an order to Leila:
"Have Jeremiah find a trustworthy unfamiliar face to follow Tosai Munakata these few days and see what trump cards he has."
Grant him a peerage?
Bulls***!
If it weren't to guard against any hidden moves from Tosai Munakata, Ask would have loved to hack him to pieces right now.
He was merely a native of Eleven!
"Understood, I'll go handle it right now."
Leila also left the warehouse.
Now there were only Ask, Monica, and this last heir to the island nation's imperial family who had fallen to prisoner status.
She presented a miserable sight, tears glittering in the depths of her eyes. With a resolute expression, she fought back the tears to keep them from falling, yet due to physical exhaustion, she could only look at Ask with a helpless, pleading gaze.
That look seemed almost as if she were begging for mercy.
It seemed the breaking-in had been very successsful.
Ask squatted down halfway in front of her, reached out to pinch her chin, and gently lifted it up.
"Do you understand your current situation?"
Empress Kaguya panted and hurriedly nodded.
"Very well. Then, can I ask you to do me a small favor?"
Another rapid nod.
"I hope you can infiltrate the Black Knights and help Zero build up the organization. At the same time, you must also gain a certain amount of say within it, preferably becoming the organization's second-in-command. Can you do that?"
This time, she hesitated.
Ask's hand climbed upward along her baby-smooth cheek, lifting a strand of her pitch-black hair as he said gently:
"You may voice your thoughts."
Granted permission, Empress Kaguya gently parted her cherry lips, using a somewhat hoarse and weak voice to cautiously speak:
"I... I can't guarantee it..."
"It doesn't matter. Just do your best."
Ask chuckled, his sunny smile making him look like a gentle boy next door, and continued:
"If you pull it off, I can promise you to make the island nation a special autonomous zone. By then, the people here will all gain liberation and welcome freedom."
"..."
"This is your reward, but..."
As he spoke, Ask abruptly changed the tone of his words, while the expression on his face remained completely unchanged:
"If you betray me, then this Area 11 and your people-the best outcome for them will be becoming slaves."
"Including yourself."
"I will make you experience something far more despairing than just now: you will become a living weapon, or I'll sell you to the Middle East. The laborers over there toil day and night with almost no entertainment, and I'd like to properly improve that environment... Understood?"
Empress Kaguya had already been frightened to tears.
Ask's words made her unable to even imagine such a hell-one far more painful than killing her. She absolutely did not want to experience that.
"I... I understand... I will definitely not... betray you..."
"Good."
Ask nodded in satisfaction.
Sold to the Middle East? He had neither the interest nor the energy to do such things; at most, he would train her into his own exclusive living weapon or make her a Geass experimental subject.
Saying it so terrifyingly was just meant to scare her.
Half-true, half-false threats were always the most terrifying.
"Then let me see your resolve first."
The ground was too cold, sitting on it would chill you.
Ask took Empress Kaguya by the hand and led her to sit on the sofa, beginning to lay out some of his future plans for her.
Of course, he didn't reveal everything, only disclosing the parts that required her participation.
Lelouch's negotiations with the Kyoto Six Houses would take at least a morning, and he intended to use that exact window of time to make his arrangements.
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