"Geass? Now that's a word I haven't heard before."
Ask smiled without betraying anything and continued:
"For such a strange, unfamiliar word to come up out of nowhere, I imagine Euphemia's inexplicable change in personality was also caused by Geass."
"Yes. As expected, nothing gets past you, Your Highness."
Suzaku Kururugi wore a resolute expression, with flashes of anger showing through:
"This was all Zero's doing. He framed Princess Euphemia to openly win the people's support, even though..."
Suddenly at a loss for words, Suzaku Kururugi paused. Seemingly having made some decision in his heart, he looked straight at Ask and said:
"Your Highness, I intend to kill Zero myself. Afterward, I will personally submit myself to your judgment. I'll accept any punishment. All I ask is that you save Princess Euphemia's life."
"Hmm... You haven't done anything to offend me, so there's no need to ask my forgiveness. But... was it my brother Schneizel who asked you to contact me?"
"Yes."
Schneizel should have returned to the homeland by now.
Given Suzaku Kururugi's personality and position, he probably hadn't initiated contact. Schneizel must have contacted him.
Was he trying to do me a favor...?
"Then keep her on life support and send Euphemia to the EU in secret. As far as medical care goes, I'm confident enough to show off a little in front of my brother. After all, I'm very afraid of dying."
Suzaku Kururugi bowed deeply toward the screen.
"Thank you very much, Your Highness. After this, my life will be yours to command."
The call ended.
Only then did Leila speak:
"He knows about geass. Could it have been Schneizel?"
"No, it should have been someone from the Geass Order. Most likely, V.V. approached him personally. The last incident, when he incited an Eleven rebellion