The next morning, the student council room at Ashford Academy was much quieter than usual. Lelouch's usual seat stood empty, and Nunnally had already left too.
Kallen's leave of absence had grown so long that people were starting to wonder whether she had decided to spend the entire school year recuperating.
Shirley sat beside the sofa, her tea already cold, yet her eyes drifted to Lelouch's empty seat for the third time. Milly looked up from behind her paperwork.
"Shirley, if you keep staring like that, that chair might think you have a crush on it."
Shirley whipped her head around.
"I'm not looking at the chair!"
"Right. You're just looking through the chair at a vice president who's already gone across the sea and hasn't come back to class for over two weeks."
"Lulu didn't run away. He went to keep Nunnally company during her treatment."
Sprawled over the desk, Rivalz said listlessly, "I heard he became a theater-level staff officer while he was at it. Apparently, over a hundred divisions near Kashgar have read his recommendations. I can't even figure out the student council budget, and he's already planning evacuation routes for a million people."
Shirley immediately pressed him. "Where did you hear all that?"
"The president told me."
Milly wagged a finger with a smile.
"I only said a young staff officer was doing well over in Goryeo. I never said it was Lulu."
"Then it's him!" Only after saying it did Shirley realize how quickly she had reacted. Her face flushed. "I mean, that sounds like something he would do."
Milly deliberately drew out her words.
"So Shirley knows Lelouch well enough to recognize him in a news report that doesn't even mention his name."
"President!"
"Lovesickness is a condition that requires prompt treatment. Symptoms include