Chapter 13: End of Heartache

Chapter 13: End of Heartache

Nunnally didn't need context; she figured that he realized that it was a sheer overflow of anger and hatred that she pushed past her trauma. She also knew that he must have been saddened to know it took this for that to happen. "It always has, big brother. But now that I can see, will you also use your geass on me?"

Nunnally's question stuck deep in Lelouch's heart, with both C.C. and Kallen feeling like they had been punched. No one would have ever thought that this would be how things turned, what Nunnally would first say to her brother when she could once more see him. Kallen worried for him and them both, as it didn't say good things for their bond when Nunnally's first question, now that she could see, was if her brother would twist her mind to his whims like he had done so many others.

Lelouch was having a moral crisis. He had repeatedly said that his goals were greater than any one person's and that he had to achieve them regardless of cost. It was why he let the Black Knights spell their doom; he had plotted to start a way that would see tens of millions suffer and millions die. All to ensure that he and he alone reigned supreme at the end so that he could enforce changes to their wretched world.

But faced with his sister, who represented the love in his heart to counterbalance the hated, he found himself paralyzed with indecision. It would be straightforward and pragmatic even to do it. A few words, and she'll hand over the key, securing the battle for him. But the thought of doing it made it impossible not to look at her and see Euphemia on that day when it all went wrong. A careless order and the whims of fate altered everything.

He did not lose sight of the irony that Euphemia's ghost was one of the two who charged him with his new mission.

Damocles shook once more as the damages it had sustained began to compound, further compromising its lift. Outside, butterflies were taking around them, but none moved as Nunnally kept her now open gaze on her brother, and she could say that it was a bittersweet moment for both of them.

“This is the first time in 8 years that I’ve seen your face. The face of your brother…and a murderer.” Nunnally stated, which only made Lelouch frown at the implicit slight. She had always seen their father's face in her nightmares and had known the kind of man he was. Now, he was in that group for her.

“And I wear the same face as well, Lelouch.” Nunnally adding that part left C.C. and Kallen confused. She had never even taken up a gun before, though Lelouch looked at the FLEIJA key in her hand and realized what she meant.

"I see; then Schneizel didn't hand you the FLEIJA recently; you've been the one firing them," Lelouch stated, recalling how many good men and women soldiers he had lost today. So many that he had sent to their deaths to keep the worst of Nina's creation at bay.

Nunnally didn't shy away from it. He could see in her eyes that she perfectly understood the gravity of the situation and what she was admitting to. “That’s right.”

“Wait, Nunnally, do you know what that was doing?” Kallen asked, interrupting their talk because she couldn't believe it. Nunnally was always gentle, compassionate, and kind. It was thanks to her that her time as a prisoner was so gentle, dare she say pleasant. This was the same girl who made time every day to speak with her so the two could just chat about Ashford, their brothers, and what they wanted out of life.

How could that same girl who could extend such humanity just admit to killing hundreds with a weapon of mass destruction? Of using them against the brother who she cherished so much.

Nunnally continued, breaking Kallen's image of the girl she thought she knew, revealing that, like her brother, her being capable of great compassion didn't exclude her capacity for incredible violence. "Unleashing a devastating weapon, the same one that nearly destroyed Tokyo Settlement and hit Pendragon. I'm aware, Kallen. And I know I've taken so many lives today."

Nunnally understood that where Euphie could claim to have remained pure, as she had been forced to commit her final, gruesome acts by her brother. Nunnally couldn’t say the same. Just like the rest of their siblings worth mentioning, her hands were stained with blood.

"If you know, then why?" Kallen asked her.

“I wanted to stop it all, to stop you. I would have done whatever I had to. That’s why I can’t allow you to have control of the FLEIJAs for your evil.” Nunnally's gaze hardened, locked onto her brother, judging him. However, Lelouch's expression was cut from stone, giving nothing away so that not even C.C. could perceive his feelings. Was it heartbreak, grief, rage…or did he feel nothing?

"Nunnally, we're not…Lelouch isn't the evil one here. He's trying to do better things for everyone." Kallen continued to plead their case, as she refused to just let this family continue to tear itself apart. She missed her brother greatly and would for the rest of her days, and she knew that Nunnally felt the same way about Lelouch. If she were in her shoes, even if she resolved to do it, she would want someone to stop her from going through.

"Was that why he killed brother Clovis, why he killed sister Euphie. Why did he wear a mask and do all those despicable things? Why did he just…just leave?!" Nunnally's composure broke as she recalled all that she had heard, all that she had experienced.

Kallen might think she loved her brother, and maybe she did, but it was clear he loved his ambitions more than she did. He regularly stayed out late, taking unexplained trips with C.C., and then, after his failed attack on Tokyo, he just vanished. Everyone reported that Zero was dead, but then he returned right as rain.

Lelouch wished to correct her but also further disrespected his father's grave for what he did to him and strangled Suzaku for aiding in it. Because of their meddling, because his bastard of a father couldn't just handle his uncle years ago, his first rebellion had failed, and he had been captured, made into a pawn to the man he hated most, all while Nunnally believed he had just abandoned her. But where would he begin to explain it?

Nunnally wasn’t done with her tirade, though she managed to calm herself a little, retaining the fury in her soft words. “You expect me to believe any of that? How do I know you’re not lying to me as well?” Yes, that was the crux of it, wasn't it? Trust. Once, it had been an unbreakable bond between them, forged by tragedy and shaped by hardship and war.

But he had broken that trust, didn't he? Lelouch told himself that he didn't want his sister to worry, but being honest, he didn't want her to judge him as she was now. He didn't want her to think of what sins he committed on the regular, the lives he ended. Then Suzaku also lied to her about what happened to him, where he was, and why they couldn't meet once she returned to Area 11. How could I ask her to trust him now when he had broken that trust? How could Kallen when she stood with him?

It was C.C. who stepped up next, the immortal frowning as she took in the delicate situation. "Nunnally, your brother is no angel. And he did do all those things, but what we seek to know isn't destruction and subjugation for destruction and subjugation’s sake.”

“And yet he still does it. What good can come from spilling all this blood, from all this evil?” She asked him, C.C. wanting to say peace, but she had heard such sentiments many times throughout her life being used to justify some of the worse acts she had witnessed. "I know he's not doing it for me, and I'm glad for it; I don't want any of this to have been for my sake."

“You’re right, they weren’t for you. Not anymore.” Lelouch spoke up, burying whatever attachments and feelings he had. “I’ve committed horrible sins, bent the will of God knows how many to my will, killed even more.”

"But would you have been satisfied with our lives if they remained? Living in fear of being discovered or killed? Being powerless to do anything to change our situation or the world.” Lelouch asked her, opening his arms to the garden they stood in. It was a beautiful place, teaming with all kinds of well-groomed flora, but just like their days at Ashford, it was an illusion to the real thing.

"I would have been happy if we could have remained in that life.” Nunnally pushed back as Lelouch’s gaze grew violent, the ever-present fury of his soul rising close to the surface.

“A beautiful lie. That was the life you remember, one I constructed for you when I should have given you the means to understand what that illusion cost." Lelouch told her, and it wasn't just for them. Ashford, the Tokyo settlement, and the entire concept of Area 11 was an illusion painted in Japanese blood. One that was always close to breaking, unlike so many others; all it would take was one person to recognize them. So, he had to go a step further to mask their identities.

“That illusion just wouldn’t have held, Nunnally."

“And so that gives you the right to cease control, to use and kill people as you see fit? What authority gave you that right?”

"And by what authority should we have remained in hiding? I'll answer both questions with the authority of the strong. So, I chose to seek out that strength to forge our destines anew.”

"You didn't need to commit evil for it! If you worried for our lives, we could have found a way and lived happily if you wanted it."

"What you call living was merely existing. History is a struggle, the present is a struggle, and the future will continue to be a struggle because people will always face challenges and will always reach for something better. Call me evil, for that is what I am; I shall not refute that. But I chose that path to create a better world, to ensure that past tragedies don't repeat, and if I must bend wills and take lives for that, then so be it."

“So you'll use the methods of the aggressor? All you'll end up doing is legitimizing them. What's stopping someone else from opposing you? Will you just keep killing and using your geass until no one can oppose you?" Nunnally questioned.

"That is a childishly simplistic view of things, dear sister. Humanity can't hope to solve their differences through dialogue alone; if it were as easy, then whole ways wouldn't exist. Will without strength is merely fantasy." Lelouch countered, for as painful as it was, that was Euphemia to a tee, a girl who wanted to make things better but gave up what little power she had to do it.

His sister’s eyes narrowed at his rebuttal. "And strength without morality is barbaric. Power without restraint is a dictatorship, and you've displayed both things, brother." She stated, with Kallen and C.C. keeping silent as the siblings had their back and forth.

Lelouch didn't refute her words; he wouldn't insult any of their intelligence by lying. He knew what he had done, and so did they. "No one who changed anything did so without sacrifice; even to kill in self-defense, one is still killing. It's the same for a king. I want to protect their people and ensure their vision is met and my vision is met. I must commit a great many sins."

Once, he would have believed that a king would need to be a righteous pillar, a paragon of virtue for their people. It was part of why he ensured that Zero was always portrayed as the hero. But that couldn't be sustained, not when humanity would always be a factor. Was it self-serving? Perhaps. Was there another way, he didn't know. All he did know for sure was that the greater the goal, the greater the price, which could be resources, time, manpower, lives, or even parts of one's soul.

'The only thing I have in short supply is parts of my soul I can afford to sheer off.' He thought as he had already sacrificed much of it on the altar of war for victories.

"Though you must understand that as well, dear sister. After all, didn't you have a plan of evil yourself? Could it unleash this flying fortress of hell as a means to control the world?" Lelouch questioned, as there was just no way she couldn't have figured out what Schneizel wished to do with his little fortress. Not when he went out of his way to destroy Pendragon and poison the notion that anyone associated with him could ever claim the crown.

“The Damocles…will become a symbol of their hatred," Nunnally stated, which surprised the three. "All of it will be focused on this cursed structure; that way, people can finally move on," Nunally stated, with Lelouch being amazed that his sister would think of that…but also saddened by it.

"I see…it's soothing to realize you're not as far gone as Schneizel, but you've missed something. A fundamental misunderstanding that will doom your plan."

“And what’s that?”

"Because the people will not hate the Damocles or the FLEIJA…as they're just tools. They'll hate the people who use them. And unlike tools with no life, which can be repaired, rebuilt, or replaced, people can't. People bleed, people die, and as long as you control Damocles, they'll always desire your blood; they'll always rebel." Lelouch told her that, as he had many talks with C.C. about their plans, she had been vital to their plan as someone with more experience with humans past and present than anyone else, and that saw him take the throne.

Much like his sister, he had contemplated something similar, only that he would be made into that focus point of hatred. But even if he committed the worst acts, he ruled like a devil-given form. C.C. had been hesitant that such a plan would work. Even if people hated him more once he was gone, how long would his peace hold? 10 years? 20?

At most, a single generation, as those who came after would not know the pain of his rule, and they'll desire to shape the future for themselves, which will breed disagreements, competition, misunderstandings, and conflict.

Only such a world could last if he left it in the hands of capable people to manage it well? He didn't trust anyone for it. C.C. had no connections to others, only to him and a select few; as far as she was concerned, the rest could fend for themselves. He didn't trust Suzaku with anything but killing, so he would be the worst person to manage a peaceful world. With the Black Knights? If they could be fooled to betray him and then walk into his trap at the UFN summit, he doubted they would have the skills; there was also their Japan-centric MO, which was sure to cause tension.

"In that outcome, there are only 2 paths open to you should we have the misfortune of ever getting to such a crossroads." Lelouch approached her, his expression grave as his eyes became windows into destruction and death.

Kneeling to be at eye level with his sister, she saw all of it. Pain, death, destruction-happening on a scale she couldn't even fathom. "Either you wipe out so much of humanity that they wouldn't be capable of fighting back, or slaughter enough for terror to outweigh their hated, though even then and pain would fade, so you'll have to slaughter millions again…and again…" He told her, Nunnally started to shake, but she didn't break eye contact though she so desperately wanted to, as his eyes it was like windows to hell itself.

Lelouch could only imagine what sort of hell such a world would be, a world where FLEIJA wiped out entire cities, where countries collapsed from such attacks, where people fled into the country if they could, only for any large gatherings of people to be found and wiped out. Or worse, Schneizel would force people to remain where they were, forced to live with the sword of Damocles over all their heads, ready to drop at a moment's notice.

Again…and again…and again. FLEIJA’s raining death and utter annihilation like an Old Testament God, only where a Flood could recede and the land reclaimed, what was taken by the FLEIJA's light could never return. That was the world Schneizel chose to rule, and he had no delusion that his arrogant brother knew that. That was why he spent a fortune outfitting a primarily military asset like Damocles into a flying castle so that he would need to ever experience the apocalypse he would unleash into the world. A flying Garden of Eden for him and him alone.

An Eden that would float over the hell it wrought, that more than anything made Lelouch's blood boil as he had to resist the urge to go kill Schneizel for his arrogance, for his sheer disconnect from humanity. “Keep on killing till the fear of death from above is ingrained into the hearts and souls of every living being, till it becomes instinct to obey. At which point, all you would have succeeded in doing is casting a geass onto the entire world and bending it to your will.”

His words left even C.C. shaken. Experience with humanity or not, what he described would make events like Plague outbreaks seem pleasant, while Kallen, shaking as she was, could hardly imagine such a reality, a world that would drive people to madness or shatter them, leaving them husks that just tried not to die but never questioned, never dared, never reached for anything ever again out of fear.

Nunnally had it the worst, as she saw it in Lelouch's eyes, with her sweating, near crying at the depravity of it. But like magic, when Lelouch blinked and stood up, it was gone as if it was never there.

For a moment, she wondered if the sea of hatred she had picked up from Lelouch before hid all that, or was it something else.

"The second choice is surrender. Either way, your goals will never be reached, not in the way you desire." Lelouch ended it almost blandly as if he was hardly interested after he had terrified his sister. In his heart, he wept, but what needed to be said had been said; now, he just had to close the chapter of this book.

Reaching for his face, he removed his contact lenses, his geass shining brightly as he uttered his order: "Lelouch vi Britannia commands you. Hand over the key to Damocles now."

His geass had an immediate effect as the familiar red rings formed around her pupils, but Nunnally resisted it. Even as her hand rose to carry out the order, her other grabbed it to stop herself. "No! I mustn't! I must give this to you…! All the sins…you've committed…!" It was hard to watch, but they all did as this was what they needed to do. And in the end, it didn’t matter how hard she fought it, as with Euphemia it would be with Nunnally as his command suppressed her will as she gave him a smile that made him sick, for it was as fake one, forced out of her.

"Take this; it’s yours now.” Nunnally sounded happy to give it over, but Lelouch just wanted to end this. He had to suppress the urge to throw up, as he had done it. He had secured victory.

He just had to violate one of the few people he cared about to do it.

Kallen placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it. "Lelouch…I won't ask if you're all right 'cause I know you're not, but if it helps, I can take the Damocles key." This entire encounter seemed loaded with pain and heartbreak, but if she could lessen that, even slightly, she would.

"As painful as it is, this is the better outcome, as she can't resist, so we don't have to kill her to win this battle." As Damocles shook once more, C.C. reminded them that they were running out of time.

Lelouch knew both points, and he was happy that he didn't need to gun down another sibling, but just because she lived, it didn't mean their relationship would. He had crossed a line he swore he never would, that could never be changed. "Maybe…but it still feels like a defeat. And proof that I failed, if I had been a better brother or had just done a better job, then maybe…"

“Sometimes…sometimes we can try our best, maybe even do everything right…and still lose those we care about.” Kallen stopped him from going down that rabbit hole. She had been down it a few times after her brother was killed. It wasn’t pretty.

Lelouch turned to her, a pained expression on his face. For the first time in the conversation, he allowed sorrow to show as he gave a small nob towards her, with Kallen walking forward and kneeling in front of Nunnally.

“I’m not sure you can hear me…but I hope that you’ll one day understand. I’m sorry, Nunnally. I really am.” Kallen whispered to her as Nunnally gently handed her the Damocles key as Lelouch never specified that he would be the one to take it, only that Nunnally would hand it over.

Once she had completed the task, Lelouch's geass faded away as Nunnally blinked back into focus before she noticed her hands were empty. Looking up, she saw a downcast Kallen holding the Damocles key.

"You used your geass on me, didn't you?" Nunnally yelled at her brother, who seemed unrepentant of it.

"I did, and now…I've won. Let's go. There's nothing left for us here." Lelouch stated as Kallen returned to his side and handed him the Damocles Key; with that in hand, they turned and walked away.

"Stop, come back!" Nunnally tried to chase them, reaching for the control stick on her wheelchair, but C.C.'s hand stopped hers. Looking up, she saw the green-haired woman who looked at her with pity.

"You've lost, girl. Damocles is falling, and Schneizel has been captured. This battle, your battle is over." She told her as Nunnally turned away, her face filled with pity towards her brother's back. He continued to walk away, not even thinking of her as worth a final word.

"Lelouch, get back here!" Nunnally refused to let him go as she struggled against C.C., but the immortal kept her in her seat, a seat that wouldn't move as long as she was there. Nunally never hated her paralysis more than she did now, as she desperately wanted to kick C.C. to get up and chase after her brother. His words on her plans didn't matter; even if she was doomed to fail, she refused to let him have that power.

Her struggle made Kallen and Lelouch pause as they reached the stairs, turning back to her as Nunnally raged, her eyes bitter and hateful as she looked at her brother. “You’ve become a demon, Lelouch! Cowardly, despicable…how…how could you.” She started tearing up at the end, Kallen seeing how Lelouch began to shake before he turned and marched off.

It was only when they were out of Nunnally’s sight that she hugged him, feeling how he shook after hearing that.

“She…” Kallen wanted to say that Nunnally didn’t mean it, that she was just angry, but even to her, that felt like empty words. So she kept hugging him, reminding him he wasn't alone. He had her,  C.C. and Leila. He even had that bastard Suzaku and everyone else on his side. "We're still with you, and you might be a demon, but…you're not evil."

"That, history will judge," Lelouch replied. He took a breath and stood straighter, banishing his pain to the depths of his heart. Let's go; we need to make the announcement."

Line break

“Hear me, sons and daughters of Britannia! I am your 99th emperor of the realm, bringing news of victory for our empire!” Lelouch appeared on screens across the battlefield and beyond as the feed was being transmitted to the entire world. From civilians, world leaders, and the battered Black Knights, they saw the 99th emperor standing proud, his knightmare bowed behind him as he stood near the top of the Damocles. The storm started to dissipate, but it still went strong, although the emperor remained unmoved by it.

“Through the strength, arms, and blood of our brave soldiers and knights, Schneizel has been defeated as mere minutes ago, the traitorous prince and former Prime Minister surrendered control of the Damocles and the FLEIJA to me!” Leila breathed a sigh of relief before making a note to smack him for not contacting her before he appeared in the air around her; the sailors' mood rose rapidly upon hearing of their victory.

 “And even the Black Knights, who dared to insult me and our empire, were soundly defeated and left the field like beaten dogs.” Jeremiah smiled, proud that his lord and master had proven that he alone was superior. His knightmare, battle-damaged, was being seen to by technicians while the cyborg handled overseeing prisoners, one of him being the former knight of 6 who Sir Kururugi had all but left him to hold after he all bit defeated her.

“Let this be a lesson-no, a proclamation! Here and now, Britannia has proven itself the strongest, and we have proven that no enemy from within or beyond our borders can dare shake our empire!” Suzaku watched, being the one filming this and broadcasting it to the entire world. Despite how much he loathed the man, he couldn't deny his skill in showmanship.

“This day, as will all the days to come…belong to Britannia!” Lelouch roared, careful not to use his name too much so that his people and, by extension, the world saw this as a Britannian victory. "This was a victory we won without the FLEIJA, and by my order, Britannia will never use them as in 1 month, Damocles will be destroyed, along with any FLEIJA warheads and research." He also wanted people to remember who led them to that victory.

Viletta had rushed back to the TV when she heard the announcement, seeing the boy she had been tasked to watch before he flipped the board on her announce something that seemed insane. Give up Damocles? Swear off ever using the FLEIJA? Why? It was a game changer; through it, he could take the entire world if he pleased.

She wasn't the only one, as people worldwide wondered about the validity of his words, but at home, Lelouch's approval among commoners and low-level nobles alike soared. Of course, the FLEIJA was a potent weapon, arguably the greatest one ever devised by human hands, but it was also the same weapon that annihilated their capital and, before that, Tokyo Settlement.

FLEIJA had taken away countless friends, family, colleagues, and loved ones. Their destruction was so extreme that not even specks remained of those who had died, leaving many to bury empty caskets or keep empty urns. For a Britannian-funded and-produced weapon to have killed tens of millions, and only a fourth of those to be non-Britannian citizens, seemed like a cruel joke. And to many, they chose to reject FLEIJA in its entirety.

The religious called it blasphemous. The nationalists called it antithetical to what it meant to be Britannian. For those who grieved those lost, they called it a deal with the devil.

For their emperor to reject it as they have, for him to look at the devil's tempting offer for power and refuse it out of hand, well, Lelouch had won more support among them than he could have ever done.

But while he had always planned for that outcome, he really only cared for one; as Nina and the rest of the crew of the Avalon had watched his declaration, the young scientist couldn’t help herself, shedding tears at the fact that with this, they were one step closer to closing the pandora’s box she had carelessly opened. As she shed tears of joy, Cecile handed her some tissues.

Having recovered from the water and quickly restrained, Ohgi watched the news along with the rest of the prisoners/survivors from the Ikaruga. “To my enemies, you must believe this is foolish, but I call you fools to think we'll never need such vile weapons. If you wish to challenge Britannia, then do so and be crushed by the might of arms, the skill of our soldiers, and the will of our people! All Hail Britannia!”

“All Hail Britannia!” Outside their cell, he and the rest could hear their guards yelling out their rally cry.

“All Hail Lelouch!” Jeremiah threw his fist into the air and declared his version of the cry, with others around him taking both and crying out in joy and pride. Across the battlefield, the rallying cry was heard as soldiers, knights, officers, staff, and crew of all ranks and backgrounds yelled for the world to listen.

“All Hail Britannia! All Hail Lelouch!” Leila found it ironic that she, of all people, would ever praise the empire, yet here she was, along with the rest of her men.

“All Hail Britannia! All Hail Lelouch!” The rallying cry flowed like ice into the veins of the world. Still, for Britannians everywhere, it was like a shot of adrenaline as citizens across the empire joined in on this joyous day, from government officials who had been watching the news to even middle school children who sang praise to their nation and their leader.

“All Hail Britannia! All Hail Lelouch!” C.C. was one of the few who didn't join in, but she didn't let her refusal stop the soldiers who helped her load the silent Nunnally onto a transport ship. The girl having refused to say or react to anything for a while now.

“All Hail Britannia! All Hail Lelouch!” Hearing what was happening through the airwaves made Lelouch smile. He took a breath and basked in his victory, his greatest victory.

Line Break

Lelouch found himself reminiscing about that day, wondering if this was what men like Alexander the Great, Hannibal, or Napoleon felt like after winning significant battles. 'Is it a sign of my age?' Lelouch joked as he relaxed into his seat as if his age could be an issue when he had only celebrated his 19th birthday the previous month.

"But then again, I've been a busy man. Far too busy for a man who should be in college." Lelouch mused as it had been 6 months since the Battle of Damocles, as the people had coined it. And much had changed in that time.

With the destruction of the old capital, Lelouch was forced to move it, and he decided to shift the capital to one of Britannia's oldest cities, Quebec City, which he rechristened Broceliande. His first official act from the city was to stage his official coronation, something that hadn’t been done since the 9th emperor; the location had been Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec.

That day, a very important noble house in his empire was in attendance, if not the entire family, then their heads and their spouses, as well as wealthy industrialists, CEOs, Bankers, etc. If you were someone, then it would have been wise for you to at least have a presence at the coronation. Even leaders from abroad attended to show that they were willing to work with the empire going forward.

After that, his first act as the newly crowned emperor by the archbishops was to acknowledge the service and bravery of those who had followed him against his brother. Those who came from noble families found their families elevated by varying levels; if one wasn't from a noble house, families were immediately made Barons. Some chose to turn down the titles but were rewarded substantial sums of cash and land.

Of course, Lelouch and his advisors were complicated at redefining the empire's legal codes to ensure that imperial law did as he promised it would, so even those who found themselves ruling nearly formed counties and duchies couldn’t do as they pleased. This went a long way to ensure that his efforts to do good by the millions of numbers who applied for citizens and expected equal treatment before the law.

As Lelouch had declared at the summit before the battle, Britannia remains outside the UFN. However, after the fiasco from Schneizel's use of Fleijas, they were forced to bend to his demands. This left Britannia as the strongest country in the world with favourable trade concessions granted by the UFN that all its member states have to abide by. This left them on track to develop the best economy on top of their military.

With the issue with Schneizel, he had been trailed for high treason and genocide, with Lelouch using the last of his orders on him to ensure the man was honest throughout the process. That honestly meant that the case was over within just 3 weeks, with the jury finding his older brother guilty and sentenced to death, one that came via beheading.

Many of those who followed him had also found their journeys ending at the fall of a guillotine's blade, hangman's noose, or firing squad. Few were spared, and most of those would spend the rest of their lives locked away in prisons across the homeland, with the Hammer taking the bulk of them.

There had been exceptions, the first having been Anya, who, oddly enough, Jeremiah had requested leniency since, as a former knight of round, she would have surely faced the firing squad, regardless of her age. Of course, Lelouch had planned to offer her some deal, but it was pleasing to see that his knight wasn't so blinded by loyalty that his newly acquired compassion couldn't shine through.

Jeremiah had already informed him that he had used his geass canceller on her, which explained why she was…so emotional, to put it bluntly, after speaking with her and helping her understand that had been her life for the past 8 years and why, the girl had been understandably lost and bitter, as she would forever live with a mark that she never wanted because she had been made into Marriane's puppet. He did what he could for her, granting her a dismissal with disgrace and a Ticket-of-Leave and placing her under the supervision and guardianship of the Knight of Two, Jeremiah.

Jeremiah had taken to the role rather well, requesting time off so that he could better supervise Anya on an orange farm down south. The irony of that request was not lost on any of them, but Anya, from what he was told, was adjusting well to farm life, even if she had to wear an ankle brace and was barred from certain liberties and rights.

Gino was also given a relatively lenient sentence, though when Anya was out of prison, he was dismissed with disgrace from the military and slapped with a 5-year prison sentence. Lelouch didn't keep up to date on what he was doing, though he knew that Monica kept in touch with him through letters.

'They've found their places in this new world order.' Lelouch hummed as he thought of the two former knights of round, who, through the deal he struck with them and their service in combat, were both free women; they remained in the military, with both having requested posts near the new capital.

"You're thinking about work again, aren't you?" Lelouch looked towards Kallen, the redhead warrior as beautiful as she was dangerous. The woman lay on him with her eyes closed as the two had been relaxing out on their veranda…well, one of their verandas, as their rapidly constructed palace had several of them, all facing a vast garden that, at present, was covered in thick blankets of snow.

The two were combating the cold with mugs of hot tea and a blanket placed over them.

Lelouch smiled at his consort, shifting some of her lovely red hair out of the way to place a kiss on her forehead, which had her humming in approval. "Shouldn't a good emperor think of his people?"

"Not if he doesn't want to sleep on the couch. Right now, it is our time." Kallen replied, with Lelouch letting out a deep chuckle but not fighting her. It wouldn't be the first time she made such a threat, and it was one that he knew she would follow through. Worse was that if he managed to anger one consort-then he was banished from all their beds till he appeased whoever he had angered.

"And what, pray tell, were you thinking of?" Leila asked, seated in the chair closest to the two. At the same time, C.C. lounged by herself, a steaming hot pizza half eaten at her side as she immortal enjoyed her Italian delight.

"At this moment, I was thinking about Monica," Lelouch replied.

"If she wasn't your secret half-sister, we should be worried about that." C.C. took another bite of her food, Leila and Kallen humming in agreement as that had been a surprise. Monica's request for an audience with the emperor was bold enough, but Lelouch was in a giving mood that day and granted it.

When she entered, she came with DNA proof that they were related before she explained her story. How Charles had an affair with the now dead Natalia Ginzburg, the only daughter of the Ginzburg family, one that both had kept secret from both their people, with not even Lady Natalia's handmaid, her closest confidante, knowing who she was seeing, only learning that she was seeing someone when she fell pregnant.

Having recalled his history, he heard from Marriane about the Ginzburg and how their head had always butted heads with Charles, only to one day launch a rebellion. She never explained why, but now that he knew of the truth of Monica’s birth, he could see why a critic of his father would not react well to learning his father had gone and impregnated his only daughter with a bastard royal.

However righteous or just hate-fueled, he knew that the Knights of Round, led by Bismarck and Marriane, had crushed the rebellion. So, seeing the writing on the wall, Monica's grandfather managed to sever ties with as many of their allies as they could, which spared them but meant that it was the Ginzburg family alone that suffered, losing status with many members executed with Monica having been raised by another family and only finding out years later that she was essentially adopted.

That, and some other personal things, had been why she had ever joined the Knights of Round, as she wished to learn more about the man who sired her, which Lelouch could freely admit at the time he couldn't relate to. His father was distant at the best of times. When he visited Ares' villa, he spoke with his mother, and he and Nunnally were never present.

He wasn't the type to hug his kids, they had maids and mothers for that. He wasn't the type to listen to what was happening in their lives; he had spied on that. He certainly wasn't the type to be there for them when tragedy stuck, Monica knew all that, yet she still had the urge to at least tell him about her, as from what she knew, her mother covered up her birth by claiming she had a miscarriage and handing her over to her handmaid to raise. But the day never came, as Lelouch killed him before she ever worked up the nerve.

So, with their father dead, and so too most of their half-siblings, Monica decided that she would take what she could and try to get close to him, even if they could never have a proper sibling relationship.

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Milly enjoyed her cup of hot chocolate and the peace that had been around for a while now as Lelouch's reign was undoubtedly shaping up to be one of the quietest in recent history.

“I’ll have to add some chaos to it.” She smiled as she started thinking of all the schemes she could now do, all the plans that she had the ear of the powerful.

"What are you thinking, Milly?" Rivalz asked, walking in from her kitchen, having just finished finishing with the dishes from their lunch. She had said it was fine, but he felt he should do something when she had made such a fantastic meal for them both.

“Just thinking of all the festivals I can now do," Milly replied.

“Oh boy, Lelouch might just regret giving you that power.” Rivalz laughed.

"Oh, he will, but he wasn't the one who gave it to me," Milly cracked before joining him in his laughter. The entire thing was just a weird situation. She was a noble, he was a commoner, and yet they would have the ear of the emperor himself, along with the three consorts he had taken.

Oh sure, he had raised the Ashford name to an even greater status than it had been before, making her, as the heiress to the name, a countess with her new domains being the entirety of Tokyo, but that wouldn’t have meant much if C.C. hadn’t reached out and asked that she be the one who would plan their official imperial wedding.

Milly still remembered how terrified her boss had been a couple months back when they got a direct call from the imperial palace asking for her by name, with the woman saying over the phone she heard about her festivals and wanted the same energy for her wedding, that she had cleared it with her boss and for the next 3 weeks, she would be busy in the capital with a plane already prepped to take her to it. 

When they had met in person, the woman had, before anything else, insisted that the wedding involve the world's largest pizza, declaring that she'd ensure that the might of the empire would see it succeed with nothing and nobody that could stop it. Getting past her shock, she had gotten along great with C.C., as she preferred to be called, saying her name was a secret.

“Still can’t believe that I pulled it off? Whose ever heard of a wedding for 4 people?" Milly sighed into her seat as Lelouch dared declare that his wedding would be not to one bride but 3. Two of which had been very public enemies to Britannia, Kallen and Leila.

"Nah, that feels like something he would have done. Remember, this was the same guy that went on 108 girls, or at least tried." Rivalz laughed as Lelouch had insisted that it was Sayoko in disguise who agreed to all of them, but he pointed out that he still tried to go through with it because he was a stubborn mule that couldn't just call a few…dozen of them and cancel.

"True, he did want to name them all empress despite everything," Milly replied, setting aside the fact that one bride was a former E.U. commander and the other was a well-known ace to the Black Knights, as both had also announced that they resigned from their positions before they were engaged, there was the fact Lelouch wished to elevate all 3 to the position of empress.

It had only been thanks to pressure, or to put bluntly, pleas, from the church that he didn’t as he could have a single empress, but that was as far as they could allow it as the church had already given royalty a lot of leeway and exceptions to the rules, one of whom had been the fact that sovereigns could have multiple spouses since the time of Lelouch's great grandfather. Before then, they had mistresses and lovers on the side, sired additional princes, and no one talked about them.

So, to ensure that none would be considered higher than the other, Lelouch agreed to their pleas and changed his plans so that they'd all be consorts. That said, their wedding would be the grandest, wackiest event of the year, with Milly in charge of the planning. She used to work magic with smaller budgets, and even with Lelouch's gambling money helping to pay the bills, her typical event could cost less than 20 thousand pounds.

C.C. gave her a budget of 2 million and told her to go nuts, and she brought her A-game.

It helped that through the planning, she had time to speak with all the soon-to-be consorts/sister-wives and learned from Leila that despite how much her hubby-to-be was grumbling about whatever ideas she, C.C. and Kallen cooked up, he was all for it since after so many tragedies over the year, the wedding needing to something that would, first and foremost, help people relax and smile again. It was why it was to be open to the public so that as many people as possible could participate. She left the meeting after signing a cheque to Milly for another five hundred thousand to help make it work.

“And that wedding…oh boy, was it insane." Rivalz mused at the memory as he had received an invitation, including a ticket for a first-class flight, as well as giving him a room in a fancy hotel. Milly also had her own, so they didn't end up using their plus one as they went with each other.

Games, events, entertainment, and liberal use of knightmares for all of it. Milly took what would have been a marriage ceremony and turned it into an Ashford festival dialed up to 20.

When it came to the part where the brides were led down the aisle, the world bore witness to the different styles of wedding dresses each had chosen to wear in their colors, as C.C. had walked down with a black and green gown. At the same time, Leila wore a white and blue number while Kallen wore a red and orange dress, all of which their emperor wore purple and black.

Jeremiah stood as C.C.'s father while Leila walked down with her uncle. Only Kallen would have her father, who hadn't been killed by FLEIJA as unknown to her; he had long stopped working in the capital and moved to the east coast of the homeland for work. The event was the first public one where Kallen's parents and her biological parents could be seen together. Why would it be weird? The emperor was dismantling the entire concept of areas and numbers, and Kallen, a half-blood former terrorist, was to be his bride-to-be.

For each, Rivalz, as the best man, had presented Lelouch with the rings he had picked out for them. Emerald for C.C., Ruby for Kallen, and Sapphire for Leila. Once those had been handed and vows said, the archbishop had declared their union to the cheers of the masses. Regarding their cake, Milly rolled out the world's largest, which they cut using their knightmares. After that, she rolled out her promised record, setting Pizzas for the new 2nd consort.

But she didn't just have one baked—oh no, Milly had three baked, each larger than the last. Everyone in attendance, from the highest-ranked nobles to commoners who just walked in, got slices from each, but even then, there was still so much left, which was donated to the city's orphanages.

After that, the evening was a massive dance around raging bonfires to warm up the guests. It was late November at the time, and winter's chill was coming in fast, especially for the northern city. It was such a light and happy atmosphere that it seemed like the frost between Lelouch and his knight of one thawed just a little as the two could toast to their health and share jokes without one looking like he was plotting to kill the other.

"Still find it funny how Kallen's mother threatened Lelouch to treat her right." Milly laughed as the woman would forever deal with the nerve damage the Refrain did to her, which saw her needing a wheelchair, but that didn't stop the woman from glaring at the emperor and daring him to mistreat her baby girl, with the most powerful man in the world cowing to her words and swearing he'll sooner take his life then mistreat his consorts or any children they would have.

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“Father?” Lelouch cracked an eye open, the now 29-year-old emperor having been resting his eyes after a long day working on a new energy bill with the parliament.

“Yes, Louis?” Lelouch asked, looking towards his 3rd eldest child, a rather energetic 8-year-old with his mother’s eyes and blonde hair, but his face.

The boy seemed nervous but didn't let that stop him. "Could you tell us the story of how you met Mom?" Lelouch raised an eyebrow at that, as he had told them this story plenty of times.

"Which one?" He asked, to which his youngest, a little girl with the brightest shade of red hair and violet eyes, jumped onto his lap. The 3-year-old smiled at her father while her mother laughed from her seat.

“All of them!” Inoue cried in joy.

“Yeah, I want to hear it from you guys!” A green-haired girl, his eldest child, Artemis, said, though Lelouch could see how she was smirking. She was just using it so she would not have to go to bed soon. Cheeky child, too much like her mother.

"So, Lelouch, will you tell them?" Leila walked in, carrying a tray of hot chocolate and cookies for the children in place of a servant as the atypical family sat in their living room, enjoying the warm summer evening together.

C.C. snuggled up to Lelouch, looking visibly older and content with life, just giving him a little kiss on the cheek. "He is a good storyteller. If he doesn't do it, then our hellraisers all refuse to go to bed." She stated that with Artemis blushing at being reminded, she insisted on bedtime stories, but not even their youngest bought them.

"All right, all right. So, it started one day when your uncle Rivalz and I decided to skip school and head out for some gambling…" Thus, Lelouch started the story of his life, or at least the dramatized fairy tale version, as his children all moved to sit before him and listen.

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A week before Christmas, we arrive at the end of this ride. It was fun, I can't lie about that, as when I first got this commission, it took a while to figure things out, but man, did I find a groove and work it till the end. However, as this will be taking a lot of stuff, this chapter will be pretty significant, a nice little early present for all of you who celebrate the holidays. For those that do well, it's still a present, right?

However, with this ending, it won't; while my other non-commissioned work is very much ongoing, seriously, I have so much planned that it will keep me busy at least until May 2025. I do have another project in the works—one that I mentioned a while back but never got around to putting work into outside planning. I won't spoil that story, but I should have its first chapter up next week, with it taking the Thursday slot.

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And at last…we have finished. It was a little rushed near the end as I developed a massive headache that knocked me down for a bit, but I'm happy with the final product. We had to skim some stuff, but the wedding was long…like really long, and if I had left that in, this chapter would have been over 4K words longer.