Ask

Biodata

Background / History

Early faction-building

Ask established his own faction by the age of eleven, initially intending to survive the imperial family's succession struggles rather than win the throne. Charles already considered his intelligence and methods comparable to those of Schneizel 1 2.

Duke Belia was the first to recognize Ask's talents and became more of a parental figure to him than his actual parents. The duke's conviction that Ask could surpass Schneizel helped give him the confidence to confront both his elder brother and the emperor 7.

Ask's followers were predominantly hawks advocating Britannian rule over the world. Their views earned them the nickname “emperor's faction,” although they preferred Ask to an emperor increasingly absent from government. Former followers of Marianne also joined his Pureblood Faction after her assassination 5.

Marianne's assassination and the decision to seize power

Following Marianne's assassination in imperial year 2009, Ask warned Charles that the killer was likely someone she knew and that her children might be targeted next. Charles announced that Lelouch and Nunnally would be sent to Japan as political pawns, while Ask would remain in the palace before departing for the EU front 1.

Ask privately abandoned his defensive ambitions and resolved to seize the throne. He suspected Marianne had arranged her own apparent death as part of a secret plan with Charles. His earlier intention to place Lelouch and Nunnally in the spotlight as rival claimants changed: Lelouch would instead help him gain power 2.

To strengthen his position, Ask secured Beatrice Franks's support by revealing his knowledge of Geass and appealing to her desire for revenge against Marianne and Charles. He acknowledged that his existing faction could not overcome the emperor's superior intelligence and the Knights of the Round without further preparation 3 4.

Capturing C.C.

Ask ordered Jeremiah Godwald to secretly capture a mysterious woman repeatedly seen with Marianne inside the palace. Jeremiah's operation delivered C.C. to Ask without exposing his involvement 6 8 11.

Ask interrogated and tortured C.C. to investigate Geass and her apparent immortality. After observing a wound heal without a scar, he had Monica shoot her in the forehead; her heartbeat returned roughly five minutes later 9.

C.C. subsequently became both a source of Geass knowledge and a participant in his research. Their relationship began with captivity and coercion: during her first year with him, she disclosed her involvement in the emperor's plan, and her confinement continued throughout his years on the EU front 11 25.

Eight years in the EU

Ask preferred rear-line command to fighting personally. He intended the EU campaign to provide military distinction for Monica while giving him territory in which to establish a Geass research institute 8 11.

By his return at nineteen, Britannia had largely pacified the EU under his direction. Ask deliberately preserved pockets of resistance, infiltrating their leadership and directing some of their operations. These groups concealed disturbances caused by his underground facilities and reinforced the claim that only he could maintain Britannian control there 12 13.

During this period, Monica joined the Knights of the Round, Leila Malcal entered his service, and his secret bases developed weapons and conducted Geass experiments. He also rescued Origami and placed her in the White House training institution and a Geass laboratory 12 13 45.

Return to Area 11

Ask arrived in the Island Nation with Monica and Leila after Clovis's murder. When Jeremiah identified Suzaku Kururugi as the intended scapegoat, Ask recognized that Lelouch's activities had begun and concluded that C.C. had found him and granted him Geass 12.

His public reason for visiting was to ensure sakuradite production and preserve Britannia's colonial rule. This explanation had been prepared a year in advance and provided cover for his covert involvement in Lelouch's rebellion 24.

Ask had previously arranged for Lelouch and Nunnally to live under changed names at Ashford Academy. After his return, he asked Milly to observe Lelouch's everyday behavior without explaining his actual purpose 15 17.

When Charles appeared in EU territory, Ask ordered the Geass Ruins evacuated and his Military Factory and Geass Factory shut down. Exposure would have forced him into a premature struggle for power, whose chances of success he estimated at below twenty percent 16.

Cultivating the Black Knights

Ask intended Lelouch to become Britannia's greatest enemy, attract attention, and eliminate rivals from whom Ask could then benefit. C.C. understood Suzaku's impending execution as a test designed to draw Lelouch out 14.

He used C.C. to gather information on Lelouch's followers and encourage cooperation with the Kyoto Six Houses. Separately, he investigated how to place trusted agents in the rebellion's senior ranks, reasoning that leaders of its founding resistance groups would be difficult for Lelouch to exclude 18 19 26.

Ask also intervened in the Lake Kawaguchi hostage crisis. His plan required Cornelia's forces to wait for Zero's arrival, then exploit the terrorists' distraction to rescue the hostages through an underground passage 23.

He later coerced Kallen into obeying him by threatening her resistance identity, family, and friends while offering protection and a future special administrative zone restoring the Island Nation's name and autonomy 32.

Narita and the Kyoto Six Houses

Before the Narita operation, Ask persuaded Cornelia to consider reinstating Jeremiah as an additional commander. He simultaneously instructed Kallen to follow Zero's orders but protect Cornelia from death or capture if they met 34 35.

Ask wanted Cornelia defeated so that Lelouch could negotiate with the Kyoto Six Houses from a stronger position. Nevertheless, he ensured her survival through Monica's deployment and declined Lloyd's offer to send the Lancelot 35 37 39.

Afterward, Ask arranged a personal donation for families affected by the landslide and a secret meeting with Empress Kaguya. He pressured Kaguya to join the Black Knights, assist their development, and gain influence within the organization, promising autonomy for her people while threatening consequences for betrayal 39 41.

Mao, Origami, and continued preparations

When Mao kidnapped Nunnally, Ask identified the danger his mind-reading Geass posed to C.C. and her Code. He assigned Origami to kill Mao discreetly and dispose of the body before the following afternoon 44 45.

Origami was the first successful subject of Ask's Geass-nullification experiments. He intended her to become a principal combatant in a future operation against the Geass Order, but still considered an attack on V.V. premature without forces capable of challenging the Knights of the Round 46.

As his weapons program continued, Ask promised Origami the seventh-generation Methratton as her graduation present. He also withdrew his personnel from Kamine Island ahead of a force apparently sent by Schneizel, planning to return under the cover of an open joint investigation 48 49.

Personality

Ask presents different personas according to his audience: an obedient son before family, a promising heir before nobles, and a refined gentleman before young women. Lelouch recalls that even his childhood expressions seemed carefully selected for the role he was playing. Beatrice likewise suspects that some of his apparent emotional disclosures may be deliberate performances 6 42.

He is pragmatic, controlling, and frequently cruel. He enjoys reducing confident opponents to despair, a habit Cornelia openly criticizes. His treatment of C.C., his willingness to use occupied civilians in experiments, and his order to kill Villetta after judging her unusable show that he places objectives and loyalty above individual lives 7 9 13 18.

Ask rewards useful service rather than taking it for granted. He promises Jeremiah advancement, honors an undercover agent's separate contributions with separate rewards, and tolerates informality from capable, loyal confidants. Monica and Leila are exempt from much of the etiquette expected of others around him 7 11 18 21.

His remaining attachment to Lelouch and Nunnally conflicts with his ambition. He admits that personally killing them would be difficult and says he would prefer to fulfill his duties as their elder brother when doing so does not endanger his plans 2 25.

Abilities & Skills

Political leadership

Ask leads one of Britannia's Three Great Factions and is widely regarded as Schneizel's principal rival 4 13.

• Coalition-building: Wins support by identifying an ally's ambitions or grievances, as with Beatrice's desire for revenge 3 4.
• Faction management: Orders unreliable followers identified and arranges a gradual transfer of Pureblood leadership from Duke Belia to Jeremiah 1 11.
• Talent recruitment: Agrees with Belia to admit commoners into the Pureblood Faction while imposing strict requirements for entry into its inner circle 20.
• Limit: His political standing does not initially provide enough elite fighters to confront the emperor's Knights of the Round 5.

Military strategy and covert control

Ask favors indirect command, intelligence advantages, and manipulating opposing organizations rather than personal frontline combat 11 13.

• Campaign planning: Directs the EU war so effectively that Cornelia regards him as a strategist capable of rivaling Schneizel 13.
• Controlled opposition: Uses infiltrated resistance groups to hide research activity and make his continued authority appear indispensable 13.
• Selective intervention: Allows Lelouch to gain prestige at Narita while preserving Cornelia's life 35 39.
• Resource capture: Reuses enemy armor and weapons during the EU campaign to reduce his own forces' losses 49.

Intelligence and psychological manipulation

Ask treats secret information as a weapon capable of changing an entire war 4.

• Information networks: Uses Beatrice's intelligence resources, Jeremiah's faction connections, Leila's investigations, and C.C.'s access to Lelouch 4 6 18 26.
• Recruitment through leverage: Combines threats to Kallen's family with promises of protection and national autonomy 32.
• Compartmentalization: Reveals only the portions of his plans required for an agent's assignment 41.
• Counter-surveillance: Uses specially prepared communications equipment and conceals the true location of his weapons development 20 21 23.
• Limit: Schneizel remains a difficult opponent; Ask has lost more of their chess matches than he has won 5.

Geass and Code research

Ask sponsors experiments through Bartley's research organization and C.C.'s ability to grant Geass. The provided chapters do not establish that Ask possesses a personal Geass or Code 18 21.

Weapons-development direction

Ask sets research priorities and supplies resources and intelligence to his technical staff; the actual development is performed by his researchers 20 21.

• Seventh-generation transformable Knightmare: Developed for Monica, with versatility rather than a major performance increase over the standard seventh-generation frame 20.
• Railguns: Operational in fixed factory defenses, but their energy requirements prevent successful Knightmare installation at the reported stage 21.
• Energy Wing: Treated as a priority alongside railgun development; its proper use remains dependent on unfinished systems 21 49.
• Methratton: A tested seventh-generation prototype assigned to Origami, emphasizing close-combat maneuverability and broad functionality over ranged options 49.
• Later generations: Proper integration of the Float System, energy shields, and Energy Wing is estimated to require at least ninth-generation development 49.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Secret EU facilities — Underground bases for weapons development and Geass experimentation, staffed by trusted personnel 13.
• Military Factory and Geass Factory — Concealed assets Ask considers essential to his eventual seizure of power 16 20.
• Geass Ruins access — Sites investigated for information connected to Charles's plans; early deciphering efforts make no progress, though EU ruin data later supports nullification research 16 21 46.
• Private phone — Number restricted to a small group of core followers and trusted aides 6 8.
• Special communications equipment — A specially made phone with an anti-surveillance attachment, plus anti-tracing equipment used when contacting C.C. 21 23.
• Area 11 luxury shop — A faction-owned location with a concealed interior room used for covert meetings and coercive operations 41.
• White House institution — Trains children for his service; outstanding graduates may receive personal names rather than remain identified by numbers 45.

Relationships

• Charles Di Britannia — Father and principal obstacle to the throne. Ask distrusts his secret activities and prepares to challenge his authority without prematurely exposing his own operations 4 16.
• Marianne — Mother, whom Ask regards as manipulative and willing to exploit her children. He suspects her apparent death was planned and condemns her experimentation on an unborn child 2 6 30.
• Lelouch — Younger brother and unwitting centerpiece of Ask's strategy. Ask supports his growth as an enemy of Britannia while retaining a willingness to discard him if necessary 2 14 25.
• Nunnally — Younger sister. Ask shows genuine affection for her before adopting a colder public manner and helps preserve her secret life with Lelouch 2 15.
• Monica — Guardian knight and closest attendant. Ask secures Charles's conditional approval for her promotion and cultivates her battlefield achievements until she joins the Knights of the Round 1 2 12.
• C.C. — Initially his captive and experimental subject; later an intimate companion, research collaborator, and covert intermediary with Lelouch. Their relationship remains rooted in prolonged coercion and control 9 24 25 26.
• Leila Malcal — Former EU staff officer turned personal maid and trusted assistant. Her intelligence, command skills, and special Geass contribute to his operations and research 12 19 46.
• Jeremiah Godwald — Devoted subordinate whom Ask selects to inherit Pureblood Faction leadership. Ask protects him from blame after Lelouch's Geass causes his failure 7 11 17.
• Duke Belia — Early patron and parental figure. Their agreement preserves the duke's family prestige while transferring faction leadership to Jeremiah 7 11.
• Beatrice Franks — Intelligence ally whose hostility toward Marianne, Charles, and Geass aligns with Ask's ambitions 4 6.
• Schneizel — Elder brother and chief succession rival. Ask respects his ability to win followers and conceal his intentions 4 5.
• Cornelia — Elder sister with whom he maintains good relations. She admires his strategic ability but dislikes his enjoyment of tormenting opponents 13 34.
• Euphemia — Elder sister whose knight selection Ask reviews at Cornelia's request; he also views their relationship in terms of possible future political usefulness 34 41.
• Milly Ashford — Enters his household as a maid through her family's bid for protection. Ask later uses her access to Ashford Academy to observe Lelouch 15 17.
• Kallen — Resistance fighter coerced into following his orders through threats and promises concerning her family and homeland 32 35.
• Empress Kaguya — Pressured to build influence inside the Black Knights on Ask's behalf 41.
• Origami — Rescued child, named graduate, and experimental operative. Ask trusts her Geass immunity and assigns her the covert assassination of Mao 45 46.
• V.V. — Charles's brother, Code bearer, and leader of the Geass Order. Ask intends to seize his Code but postpones the operation until his forces are sufficiently strong 18 46.

Notable Quotes

“Rather than be forced into a fight, I might as well strike first. If I can't stay out of it, then I'll simply seize the throne.” 2

“A single piece of secret intelligence can change the course of an entire war.” 4

“As long as I achieve my goal, the methods don't matter.” 9

“Of course, if it isn't necessary, I'd rather fulfill my duties as their older brother.” 25