The white-haired girl

Early the next morning, Ask got dressed with Leila's help and sat down at the dining table, enjoying breakfast as he listened to her report.

One piece of news was that Lelouch's younger sister, Nunnally, had been kidnapped.

This came as something of a surprise to Ask.

Officially, the two imperial heirs, Lelouch and Nunnally, had died in the war between Britannia and the Island Nation. Only a handful of people knew they were alive, let alone that they were at Ashford Academy.

Even if someone with an ulterior motive had somehow discovered their whereabouts, kidnapping them was still an incredibly foolish move.

A dead prince and princess had no value.

To save face, Britannia would never publicly acknowledge that the kidnapped hostages were a prince or princess. Instead, it would send an army to wipe out the kidnappers.

Along with the "unidentified" hostages.

So whoever had kidnapped Nunnally was either an ordinary criminal who did not know her identity, or...

Someone with an ulterior motive.

Ask asked a question.

"Any movement at Ashford... on Lelouch's end?"

"This was done in secret, so the others don't know yet. According to C.C., the kidnapper left a note specifically demanding that Lelouch come in person. Because of this, his meeting with Empress Kaguya and his trip to Kyushu to negotiate with the Chinese Federation have both been delayed."

"Heh, it is Nunnally, after all. Without her, there would be no point in him founding these 'Black Knights.'"

Ask made the teasing remark, then continued.

"Has Lelouch already gone?"

"Yes, but not alone. He enlisted Suzaku Kururugi's help."

Suzaku Kururugi?

Ask remembered him as the son of the former Prime Minister of the Island Nation. Not only had he killed his own father, he had also defected to Britannia and become one of the Honorary Britannians.

He was now serving as the pilot of the Lancelot in the Special Dispatch Technical Bureau.

With a past like that, Lelouch still dared to trust him? Just because they had once been friends?

How naive.

They were both naive.

Though people like that still had their uses.

Ask leisurely finished a glass of milk before asking another question.

"Have you identified the kidnapper?"

"According to C.C., he's a man she once granted Geass to. His name is Mao, and the Geass she gave him once drove him into a state of anguish and withdrawal. I think his target this time may be C.C., with Nunnally and Lelouch serving only as bait."

It was so obvious that Ask could have guessed the man's objective without Leila's analysis.

A Geass wielder's ability generally did not work on the person who granted it-in other words, a Code bearer. So anyone who wanted to do something to a Code bearer had to find another way.

For instance, Ask had once kept C.C. imprisoned by his side for nine years, ruthlessly training her for all nine of them and changing her completely, inside and out.

Now that Mao had come looking for C.C., he either wanted revenge or wanted to do the same thing Ask had done.

Oh, right. There was a third possibility.

Taking her Code.

This was the conclusion reached by the Geass Research Institute, which Ask had secretly established under General Bartley's leadership-

Geass went through three stages.

The first was the initial stage, when one obtained Geass.

The second was the runaway stage, when overuse caused Geass to become uncontrollable.

The third was the final stage, when both eyes possessed the power of Geass.

Upon successfully reaching the third stage, a Geass wielder gained the ability to kill a Code bearer.

Of course, the conditions were stringent. One of them was an unwavering will.

Ask had yet to reach any conclusions about the remaining conditions.

Another method was for the Code bearer to voluntarily relinquish their Code, allowing a Geass wielder who had reached the final stage to inherit it, after which the former Code bearer would die.

Ask did not know which stage Mao's Geass had reached, but regardless, he could no longer sit idly by.

Even if she was a toy, she was his toy. No one else had the right to touch her.

Besides, the Code C.C. possessed was crucial.

"By the way, what is Mao's ability?"

"Thought reading. Essentially, he can read minds within a range of about five hundred meters."

"Five hundred meters, huh..."

That range was rather troublesome. It seemed he could not casually head to Ashford just yet.

But there were ways to counter it.

It all depended on whether Lelouch could figure them out.

"Once Nunnally has been rescued, have C.C. head to Kyushu immediately. Then have Jeremiah... no, have that girl kill Mao. As it happens, she's arriving in Area 11 today."

"You mean... her?"

Leila asked in disbelief.

"Heh, who else could I mean?"

Ask countered with a cold laugh, then continued.

"I specifically instructed Bartley to send her here in secret so she could become my blade, dedicated to dealing with the Geass Order. This works out perfectly. Let her try her hand against this Geass wielder first, and collect data on her body while she's at it to facilitate further modifications."

"Understood."

"Then get the car ready. We're going to the Clovis Memorial Hall. Have C.C. stop by on her way, too."

The Clovis Memorial Hall had been built after Clovis's death, in a neighboring city just south of the Tokyo Settlement. It was intended to display his works and achievements from his lifetime, along with tributes from Britannian students.

It was simply a venue meant to preserve the imperial family's dignity.

It had not opened yet, so there was no need to worry about anyone being there.

It was a good place for a secret meeting.

A plane landed at the Tokyo Settlement's airport.

Among its passengers was a sixteen-year-old girl with short white hair. Dressed in the uniform of Area 11's Ashford Academy, she pulled a women's suitcase toward the exit.

The girl stood only about 152 centimeters tall and had an angelic face that made every man passing her stop for a few seconds to admire her.

The only flaw was her expression.

It was nothing but cold and stern, making her seem utterly unapproachable.

And that was exactly what she was.

From time to time, disgust crossed the girl's icy face as she noticed the gazes of the men around her.

Her expression only eased after she got into the black car sent to pick her up.

There were only two people in the car. She sat in the back, while Sphink Grimm was at the wheel.

After shutting the door, the girl suddenly displayed a somewhat unhealthy adoration, yet her expression remained cold. The eagerness in her voice created a striking contrast.

"At last, I'll see my beloved Lord Ask again."

P.S. This is an original character, though her name and appearance were borrowed from another anime.