Clovis Memorial Hall

Three days later, Clovis Memorial Hall opened.

Its schedule was packed from morning to night.

In the morning, Her Highness Euphemia, the Vice Governor of Area 11, would tour the hall, admire the exhibits, and select the outstanding works.

This had nothing to do with personal taste. It was a matter of political correctness, and the winning piece had already been chosen. Euphemia would merely be going through the motions.

The works by people with Eleven blood had only been hung up for appearances. There was no chance they would win any awards.

In the afternoon, the memorial hall would open to the public with limited admission and restrictions on who could visit. Most visitors would be Britannian nobles, students, and reporters.

They would express their grief for Clovis here.

In the evening, a press conference would be held here to announce the winning work.

That was the official purpose, of course.

In reality, this was an excellent opportunity to interview Area 11's Vice Governor, an Imperial Princess of Britannia.

Reporters had practically fought tooth and nail for tickets to Clovis Memorial Hall, because those tickets were also their passes to the evening press conference.

The Vice Governor's words would, to some extent, determine the direction of Area 11's future development. This was news straight from the source.

What? They could only ask questions related to the memorial hall?

Who cared!

They had mouths of their own. If they could coax out a sentence or two and get some juicy information, wouldn't the ratings come pouring in? Even getting thrown out afterward would be worth it!

And!

Most importantly, Ask Vi Britannia's name was on the guest-of-honor list!

He was the leader of one of the Three Great Factions, a name even more distinguished than that of Area 11's governor!

His words could very well signal the empire's next move. That was news everyone wanted to see!

Even a one-minute interview would send their ratings soaring.

After all, Ask was quite popular among the people of Britannia.

Like Schneizel, he was well loved by the public.

If one had to draw a distinction, the nobles preferred Ask, while the commoners preferred Schneizel.

The former advocated an aggressive approach and upheld the empire's rule, which better served the nobles' interests. The latter simply advocated world peace.

For the commoners, although the two differed greatly in personality and policy, they stood to benefit no matter which side they supported-

Britannians would enjoy superior status, or those without Britannian blood would be free from discrimination.

Thus, any information that came from Ask's lips would be explosive.

At that moment, the man everyone was waiting for was enjoying a scalp massage from Monica in a workroom inside the memorial hall.

A sign outside the door warned unauthorized personnel to keep out, and guards stood watch. Outside the memorial hall, Britannian troops were stationed, with a row of Knightmares keeping constant watch over the surrounding area.

It was quite secure.

Besides Monica and Leila, Origami was also at Ask's side, sitting quietly nearby and reading a novel like a well-behaved girl.

Origami's identity was unusual. Keeping her under his own watchful eye was the safest, most reliable option.

Just then, General Dalton entered and bowed respectfully.

"Your Highness."

"Ah, Dalton... Have you dealt with the reporters outside?"

"Yes. My deputy will take care of them."

Dalton's deputy, Prit, was also a Deputy Governor of Area 11 and a member of the advisory staff.

He was adept at handling reporters and receiving guests.

"Good. What about Euphemia?"

"Vice Governor Euphemia is speaking with a friend."

A friend? That sheltered flower had friends in Area 11?

Ask was a little curious, but did not particularly care. He kept his eyes closed, resting with his whole body relaxed.

Dalton stepped closer and continued:

"Your Highness, there has been a change of executioner for tonight. Suzaku Kururugi, an Honorary Britannian, will carry it out. The condemned is Kyoshiro Tohdoh of the Liberation Front."

He had come to inform Ask.

Ask had no decision-making authority in Area 11, but given his status, both courtesy and propriety demanded that he be informed in advance.

It was a sign of respect.

Ask gave a questioning hum, feigning puzzlement, then asked:

"Was this Cornelia's decision? Where has she gone?"

"Yes. The governor has headed north. There are signs of unrest around Ishikawa, and there have also been sightings of Steel Bone units. Governor Cornelia therefore intends to use this opportunity to stabilize Northern Hokuriku once and for all."

Steel Bone was a tactical weapon unique to the Chinese Federation.

There was no doubt that the Chinese Federation was behind the unrest. What surprised Ask somewhat, however, was that they had chosen to cause trouble in Ishikawa, farther away from Chofu Prison.

It looked as though Lelouch had used Geass.

I'll have to be more careful when speaking with those ministers from now on.

Ask quietly made a mental note.

Come to think of it, the Chinese Federation's current Tianzi was apparently only thirteen.

At that age, she was still immature and innocent. With the Chinese Federation's actual power concentrated in the hands of the Grand Eunuchs and their bureaucracy, Tianzi had been destined to become a puppet from birth.

If he could bring Tianzi under his control beforehand, then once he eliminated the Grand Eunuchs, power would naturally return to her hands.

And, just as naturally, it would fall into Ask's.

It was one of the three great powers, after all. That was a bargaining chip with considerable weight.

Ask had a few ideas.

But even as a puppet, Tianzi was not as destitute and powerless as Empress Kaguya. The methods used to "invite" Kaguya over would not work on her.

Even a simple meeting would require formal diplomatic procedures because of their respective positions.

Perhaps I could start with the Grand Eunuchs...

That was what Ask was thinking.

Just then, Leila approached, leaned down to his ear, and spoke softly:

"Your Highness, there are two matters..."

Before she could finish, Ask glanced at Dalton. Taking the hint, Dalton bowed and left the room.

Someone who had risen to become Cornelia's deputy was not only capable, but shrewd.

He had long since taken the basic principle of never prying into things he should not know to heart.

Only when everyone left in the workroom was one of their own did Leila continue:

"Your Highness, a squad is approaching Kamine Island. The leader is one of Duke Nicholas's men. This is probably connected to Prince Schneizel."

Duke Nicholas was one of the leading figures in Schneizel's faction, and his actions also represented Schneizel's instructions.

The predetermined winning work at this Clovis Memorial Hall event was a painting by one of Nicholas's children, "The Great Emperor of Britannia."

Ask nodded, completely unhurried.

"Then have our people pull out. Once Schneizel's men go ashore to investigate, we'll send ours after them and openly conduct a joint investigation."