Chapter 19: Karsten and Barielle

When one shaves off the pretenses of a cold exterior, all that remains is a beating heart. It is perhaps the biggest weakness in any human, no matter how immune one claims to be to its yearnings and how far detached one claims to be from their emotions. Though Lelouch would consider himself someone who was capable of setting his emotions aside to work towards a greater goal, he knew that he wasn't infallible.

Sometimes, the exterior cracks. The emotion that came up more often than others was anger. It seeped through the cracks like an oozing red slime, twisting his thoughts into a destructive pattern. The one emotion that rarely cracked the exterior was fear.

Lelouch was not someone who had many things to fear. Even when Pandora had threatened his sister, anger was the emotion he defaulted to. Fury paved the way for spite, and even now he was running on the high that the Witch Cult had to be destroyed for his sister to live a peaceful life.

So when his heart dropped into his stomach and a slight sickness spread through his body, Lelouch could tell that the uncertainty of what the future might hold was taking a toll on him.

His fingers were holding the book's spine tight, the book was pressed to hard into his chest as he took the step forward. Into the Sword Saint's mansion. The servant, an elderly gentleman in a butler's suit, closed the door behind him.

"Sir Reinhard has been notified, please take a seat in the study," he said. Lelouch nodded at the man.

"Thank you," Lelouch said. The servant didn't lead him there, he still knew where the rooms were. As he stepped through the hallway on the right, the gazes of the former heads of the family following him from the portraits, Lelouch grit his teeth.

Flügel was quiet. The hairpin which held his form while he wasn't outside had no answers for him. Opening the door to the study, Lelouch stepped in, his grip on the book loosening slightly. Shaking his head, Lelouch leaned against a wall in the room.

It took barely a minute for Reinhard to walk in, and though Lelouch had requested to meet him alone, the former emperor still cast a gaze through the door to check that the knight hadn't brought his mistress with him. Satisfied, Lelouch returned Reinhard's perpetual smile as the red-haired young man stepped in.

"Good morning, Lelouch," Reinhard said. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Two days. Lelouch's arm was still stiff, his hand cramped slightly. Whenever a call through the spell came, Lelouch destroyed the window before he could see who it was.

"Yes, I apologize," Lelouch said, the grip on his book tightened again. "I've… something important to speak with you about."

When the facade cracks, sometimes the best decision is to trust. Reinhard's smile didn't leave his face, though Lelouch could see that his words were portraying the seriousness well enough. The Sword Saint's posture straightened slightly, and he stepped forward as Lelouch moved from the wall.

"I need a favor," Lelouch said. Reinhard nodded.

"Whatever you need-"

"A big one," Lelouch interrupted him quickly. "Something I believe I can't trust anyone else with."

Not even Flügel, considering the contract might eventually take its toll on him too.

"Are you alright, Lelouch?" Reinhard asked, sounding every bit as concerned as he looked. "If you need my help with something, I'd be glad that you came to me with it, but…"

"It's personal," Lelouch admitted. "And you have to promise me, because I know you're a man of your word, that nothing I tell you will ever leave this room unless it's absolutely necessary."

"I promise," Reinhard said without missing a beat. "I swear it on my honor as a knight and the oath I have given this country. If it is not necessary, my lips shall be sealed."

Lelouch had chosen that wording for a reason. Should he ever become a threat to this country, Reinhard would have the information to work against him. It was a necessity that Lelouch had to concede on, because Reinhard was a knight of Lugnica first and foremost.

Lelouch sighed, both in relief and worry.

"I'm afraid there's something wrong," Lelouch admitted. Reinhard nodded, the smile slipping off his face. "I'm losing memories, details of my past."

Reinhard blinked, then shook his head slightly. "I have the feeling you're not speaking about simple forgetfulness."

"No," Lelouch confirmed. "I don't. I noticed it two days ago, and I've prepared something since then. But I can't keep it with me, not if I could forget about it. This is important to me."

Lelouch couldn't allow himself that moment of vulnerability, yet he can't recall the last time he sounded that desperate. His grip on the book slackened, the cover slightly dented in from the force his fingers put on it over the last hour. Raising the book towards Reinhard, Lelouch grimaced.

"I wrote it down," Lelouch said. "Everything I remember, everything that happened up to the point where I arrived in Lugnica, in a language only I can read."

Though if given enough time, Lelouch was sure someone could decode it. That wasn't the point of writing it like that, though. If anything, someone being capable of eventually decoding it would help him.

"If I forget it, everything in this book should help me remember," Lelouch said. Reinhard took the book. There was no lock on it, no spell that Lelouch knew could seal it. Flügel was yet again unhelpful, as was his diary. "I need you to keep this for me."

"Of course," Reinhard said. "Though wouldn't it be better if you looked for an expert on curses or a healer? Someone who can check what is wrong with you?"

"No."

Lelouch knew well what was wrong with him, he was the fool in a greater work, whose misery served the amusement of the spectators.

It could be any of multiple reasons. It could be the contract with Flügel, it could be simply the fact that he was here in this world, it could be Pandora's doing or Satella's. Whichever it was, nobody could help him, not right now.

"There's something else," Lelouch spoke up again quickly. "Besides you hiding this book for me. You need to remind me."

"Remind you of what? The book?" Reinhard asked. Lelouch shook his head.

"My sister's name," Lelouch said. "If I ever forget it, bring me the book, if I don't remember giving it to you. If I ever notice something else missing, I'll call for you and you have to tell me: 'remember Nunnally'."

Lelouch wasn't nervous about Reinhard. Not about how much he could trust the young man who sat on the desk. What made Lelouch's knees weak was the uncertainty. That moment of vulnerability that he hated to show.

And it had convinced him to believe in someone. Though Lelouch knew that trusting someone like Reinhard was the most logical decision he could make, the fact that he came to trust someone so much made him wonder.

How much of it was Reinhard's simple and easy going attitude that made him so popular with everyone, and how much was it the desperation to fill the hole in his memories of someone he could trust with something like this? It didn't matter. Right now, it didn't matter, because if he couldn't trust one person, Lelouch could never make himself trust anyone else. It was a step into a direction that had more to do with faith than logic. If anything, it was logic in having faith.

When one shaves off the pretenses of a cold exterior, all that remains is a beating heart.

Putting his feet on the ground again, Reinhard took Lelouch's hand when the former emperor offered it. "No one," Lelouch said again. "Not even Felt."

"Thank you," Reinhard said. Lelouch looked at the man.

"I beg your pardon, but what are you thanking me for?"

"I can feel you shaking," Reinhard said. Lelouch simply nodded, hiding his hands behind his back when he let go. "Since I've met you, I had the feeling you're someone who's very cautious and distrustful of people. You're keeping your distance, and only step forward if you have something to gain from it. I don't mean that as an insult, but…"

"I understand," Lelouch said. Of course he'd be perceptive enough for that. So was Crusch Karsten. So was Anastasia Hoshin. Even Felt, as someone who was not too different from the princess from Kararagi.

"I don't think you feel quite at home yet in Lugnica," Reinhard said, smiling. "So trusting me with something like this, it's an honor, it makes me feel all jolly."

Lelouch snorted. What made it funnier was that Reinhard wasn't joking. The young Sword Saint in front of him was being honest. Honest to a fault, yet Lelouch couldn't begrudge that.

"I feel relieved," Lelouch admitted. "If it came to it, I have written some parts uncoded, so if you ever feel the need to read it if you need to remind me, don't hesitate."

Nothing in that book could be of relevance for Reinhard. Pandora knew everything already, there was no problem about that. If anything, if she thought that information was something useful in the hands of others, she'd have given it to the public in one way or another to single him out, though it seems fantastical - someone with her power would make it work.

Instead, Lelouch grew more and more certain that Pandora was worried. She showed pettiness when he called her by her name, anger when he destroyed the diary.

She was just like him. Fear was an emotion both of them locked away into the deepest parts of their psyche, and if there was something that could shake her up, it would be someone who could make her almost infallible power waver.

Another possibility was that she was biding her time, waiting for him to display the magic she wanted to have, a part of the diary he hadn't translated yet. She obviously lacked an understanding on how it worked.

So did Flügel, but the spirit has been more of a bother than any help. He was reduced to a mime, incapable of proper speech as he pondered Lelouch's question. The demand to know what was wrong. And when Flügel couldn't give him an answer, Lelouch felt furious enough that the spirit left into the hairpin, moving out of the way of the incarnation of wrath. Taking a deep breath, Lelouch stilled his shaking hands.

Relief flooded through his system. "Thank you," Lelouch said. For what? Being a friend? Letting him trust him? Doing him this favor that made him write a book about his life in two days? Lelouch opened his mouth and closed it again. Pondering for a bit, Lelouch just cast his gaze down. "Thank you."

Reinhard took the time Lelouch tried to find the right words to lock the book up in a rather impressive looking safe that gave off a slight pulse of magic. When that was done, he turned around, smiling at Lelouch.

"I'd give you a hug but I'm sure Felt would walk in right after that," Reinhard said, Lelouch snorted again. Though he knew it was a joke, his gaze still went towards the door to the study. "Will you join us for lunch?"

"Ah, perhaps, did Felt try to reach me during those two days?" Lelouch asked. Reinhard nodded. Grinning slightly, Lelouch shook his head. "I'm not sure if I should then, sometimes I don't know how to handle her."

"She's like a little sister, I suppose," Reinhard said. "It's hard treating her like a princess, to be honest."

"Why not treat her as both?" Lelouch smiled at the Sword Saint, walking out of the room with him. "A princess can be a sister too, after all."

"A princess would use her own pockets full of coins," Reinhard muttered. "Not that I mind, but I think at this point she carries more cash with her than I do most of the time."

"It's… yes, I think it's alright until you find her sleeping on the coins," Lelouch decided. "Have faith, eventually she can tyrannically take the coins from the other nobles as soon as she's elected queen."

"You make it sound like she's some villain," Reinhard said. Lelouch said nothing.

###

Lunch was mostly uneventful, at least until Felt tried to kick him in the face. Luckily, Reinhard stopped her and Lelouch was able to leave the mansion with his teeth intact. The low heels she was apparently getting used to might have hurt a bit more than just getting her leg forcefully shoved into his chest.

On his way home, the window opened in front of him, and for the first time in two days he let it.

When it opened up, it was a face he hadn't expected to see. Crusch Karsten stared at him with an expression that could only be described as annoyance. Though she had clothes on that wouldn't look wrong on a man, she wore them with style, her long hair done up in a ponytail.

"It seems I finally reached you, Lelouch Lamperouge," Crusch said, her voice tinged with exasperation. "I admit, if I wasn't informed about the specifics of this magic, I'd almost think you were ignoring me in particular, but I've heard that no one was able to reach you."

"I apologize, Lady Karsten," Lelouch said , raising his gaze slightly as he moved through the streets, looking for a more private place to hold the conversation. "There was something important coming up, and I feel-"

"I don't want excuses, you owe me nothing," she interrupted rather forcefully. "If it is your wish, I shall not contact you again."

"Believe me when I say that I have no quarrel with you and yours," Lelouch said, smiling slightly. The usually disarming smile was brushed off with a movement of Crusch's eyes. Lelouch had the feeling anyone else would have just outright scoffed at him. Yet, Crusch didn't strike him as the kind of person who would hold grudges over something this simple. Instead, it was more likely that she was growing irritated with his unending presence when the Royal Selection was involved.

"If that's so, then let me invite you," Crusch said. Flügel stirred. "I've made my intentions clear to you the last time, and I'll confirm again that I shall not be the person who drags you out to the border and leaves you with the mabeasts. Sir Marcos had not one bad word to say about you, and your presence at court is not going to vanish."

"Invite me?" Lelouch asked. "Where to?"

"To my mansion. Now." She nodded at him, the image in the window bobbing slightly. "There's something I wish to discuss with you. If you wish to warn someone-"

"I don't believe you wish me any harm," he said, looking around. He had ducked into an alley, and no one was around. "While I understand why you see me as a threat to your power should you become queen, I don't think you consider us enemies."

Even if she did, attacking him would simply mean he returns. Putting him into shackles and hiding him away doesn't work anymore now that the spell is in the hands of the knights and other candidates. Lelouch had nothing to fear, because he had nothing to lose.

Or did he? The cold fingers that dug deep into his brain and moved down until they touched his spine were a worry he couldn't put aside. One possibility, after all, was that in his attempts to gather as much information as possible before moving on to the next 'return spot' that the Witch decided, he was losing memories.

A thousand reasons, and it wasn't something he wanted to test out. It wasn't something he could test out.

"I'll be expecting you then," Crusch said. The hand swiped through the window, and Lelouch was left alone in the alley.

"There was something else on her mind," Lelouch heard Flügel say. Thrown out of his thoughts, the young man stared up at the bird that was floating in front of him now. "She seemed less irritated at you and more at herself."

"Perhaps, it's hard to tell with someone like that," Lelouch said. "Her blessing doesn't work over the spell, I believe, so it lets people lie to her."

"Hmph," Flügel said, sitting down on Lelouch's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Lelouch asked.

"I've been remembering things, bits and pieces," Flügel said. "Trying to remember details, but I can't say for sure. As far as I know, there is no correlation to dropping into this world and to losing memories of the old one. There are no signs of Satella actively messing with your mind, or I'd have noticed by now. There's no curse in your body, and Pandora using magic like that in the capital would drag the dragon here faster than you can say your full name thrice in quick succession."

Lelouch blinked, the corners of his lips moving down. "It seems you've been busy and actually trying to help rather than rushing off to hide from me. I apologize."

"It's not your fault, I'd be angry too," Flügel admitted. "Though you're scary when you get angry, please don't use me to relieve that anger."

"I won't," Lelouch said, stepping out of the alley again. The Crusch mansion wasn't too far from Reinhard's. "I've… come to peace with it, so to speak. Reinhard will help me. Could you fly me to the mansion?"

Flügel nodded. Lelouch's form left the alley on a huge bird.

###

Of all the candidates, Lelouch knew that Crusch was the favorite. She used to be, at least, until the denouncement of the covenant. Though considering her rivals in the royal selection, that was likely the least outrageous presentation.

All of them were terrifying in one way or another. Emilia was the magical sakuradite bomb, someone with a being that was capable of freezing landscapes with its mere presence, if Flügel's summary wasn't exaggerated. Felt, as the last child of the royal family, had every cause to destroy the nobility of the country, even if it would lead to a civil war. It wouldn't be a very smart choice, but the only thing that could stop her would be Reinhard's firm hand.

Both of them were unpopular with the nobles. Emilia was unpopular with the commoners as well.

With Reinhard by Felt's side, it's unlikely that she'd lose if a war broke out, and Lelouch did not doubt that Reinhard would fight even his comrades and fellow nobles if it is his lady's wish. Flügel described the red-haired young man as even more dangerous than him during his prime.

Lelouch wasn't sure just how the loyalties of the knights will move when a ruler is finally on the throne, but he doubted that the royal guardsmen would put the queen above their chosen mistress if it came down to it.

Hoshin, as the foreigner, was even less liked than the 'bloodstained bride' Priscilla. Both of them ruffled feathers, both of them have their competence in leading, if the claim about her late husband's land was true. Yet, for any noble native to Lugnica, Crusch would be the most obvious choice.

And she knew that. It made her dangerous in a different way than the other candidates.

The servant who was sent to the gates to lead him towards the mansion was Wilhelm. The elderly man looked stoic as always, and did not give Lelouch a second glance as they moved towards the mansion.

"It has been long, Sir Lelouch," Wilhelm said. Lelouch nodded, though Reinhard's grandfather couldn't see him.

"Indeed, the past few weeks have been rather hectic."

"I understand," Wilhelm said. "You look like you're at peace. It's refreshing."

Lelouch didn't know why the old man was talkative, but saw no fault in holding a conversation. "I don't know if I'd call it peace, but I think I'm getting used to things being as they are."

Wilhelm opened the door to the mansion, letting Lelouch step into a simple hall with the typical stairs that lead to an upper floor. On the top of the stairs, a portrait hung. It was large, an image of a man and a woman with a child that looked like a younger Crusch Karsten. Her stare was intense even back then.

"Please, follow me," Wilhelm said. Lelouch did. The stairs up and then towards the right towards what looked a balcony.

"I have a question," Lelouch said.

"If I can answer it, then please go ahead and ask," Wilhelm said, turning his head towards Lelouch.

"Lady Felt has been curious about Rom," Lelouch said. "He's been spending a lot of time with you, she said. He's her only family, and it seems she's rather distressed about it."

"Ah, I apologize, we've been catching up on old times," Wilhelm said. The way his arm tensed, Lelouch assumed that there was a bit of a workout involved. "Cromwell worries, but he knows that Reinhard is good for her, and if he spent too much time in her presence, it would ruin her chances for the future."

Lelouch hummed, agreeing. Wilhelm opened the door to the balcony he was leading Lelouch towards and Lelouch stepped through. Crusch was sitting there in a chair, dressed in her usual uniform, her sword leaning against the chair.

"Welcome," she greeted him. "Please, take a seat."

Lelouch nodded, sitting down across her. Wilhelm stepped up and took the teapot off the table, pouring a golden glistening liquid into the cups.

"Thank you for your invitation, Lady Karsten," Lelouch said, trying his best to sound happy. "Though I admit it was rather sudden."

"It wouldn't have been if you hadn't ignored me," Crusch said, shrugging. "But that's besides the point. I don't hold grudges for very long."

"I don't think that two days of privacy would be something to begrudge," Lelouch said. "If anything, I believe that you take offense to something else entirely, though I can't exactly tell what to yet."

"No," Crusch said, obviously lying without any attempt to mask it. "It is definitely the fact that you ignored me for two days after spending so much time with three other candidates. I believe we had this conversation once."

"If you've invited me to tell me off," Lelouch said, a frown on his face. "Then please, go ahead and let it all out. I don't mind it, and if it helps you relieve some frustration, I don't think you'd be so insecure in your position that you'd be this frustrated."

She twitched. There was something. A glimmer in her eyes. She looked like she had so much on her mind, as if the entire world was on her shoulders. She looked like Lelouch had felt until this morning. Rather than push the point, especially with the way Wilhelm was staring at him, Lelouch sighed.

"I apologize for my outburst, it's unbecoming to be so rude to my host," Lelouch said. Crusch muttered something under her breath and shook her head.

"No, I've been suffering some setbacks lately - I shouldn't let my frustration out on my guest. Please, let us start again."

"Of course, Lady Karsten," Lelouch said, nodding his head. "Is there anything you wish to discuss?"

"Some," she said. "Though I'm curious about many things. I suppose it feels like an eternity since that meeting as Sir Reinhard's table. Perhaps you recall the topic of conversation."

"The fourth pillar, my presence disrupting your plans to create a stronger kingdom," Lelouch said. She nodded. "And then I bring the communication spell to Lugnica."

She nodded, her lips drawn in a thin line as she raised her cup of tea to it. Not taking a sip yet, she stared at him, the steam rising up, creating a soft sheet of it in front of her eyes. "People look up to you now. The Archbishop, the spell, everything. You've become everything I feared you'd become, and I'm not happy."

She had no reason to hide that fact, nor a reason to lie. Her dislike of the Dragon was already the most controversial topic of her ideology.

"You can't please everyone." Lelouch shrugged. "I don't want to antagonize you, and I understand why my presence causes you distress, but Lugnica is the only place I can call home."

"I wish you were dishonest with that statement," she admitted. "But you're not. And I understand it. When I become queen, I won't chase you out of the country."

"Not just because it'd be bad publicity for you?" Lelouch asked. She chuckled.

"No, because you're good for the country, as much as I loathe to admit it," she said. Wilhelm had taken his place behind the duchess, his expression unreadable. "You helped us, and for that, Lugnica is in your debt. Say, what do you think about settling down?"

Lelouch's eyebrows nearly reached his hairline. "If that was a proposition, I have to admit that I've heard better."

She waved him off, unconcerned. "I've many cousins who'd like to meet you, members of my house and other houses. No matter which, if you were to marry any of them, you'd put your loyalty into their family and by proxy into the country. It would be an assurance."

"I'm afraid that I'm not a person to settle down," Lelouch said. Relationships and marriage was as far away from his thoughts as possible. Considering what happened to the people he felt something towards, Lelouch couldn't see himself be happy like that. Furthermore, political marriages were a headache.

"We're not too different in that regard," Crusch admitted. "The reason I invited you today was to see what kind of person you've become since our last real meeting. You're the only thing that changed in this country, you stir trouble up wherever you go."

"And what kind of person am I?"

"You've changed," she decided. "Your hard gaze softened slightly, your smile looks less forced. Sir Marcos seems to have an idea, but he wouldn't share. You keep changing to fit. That's the kind of person you are."

The lights on the balcony flickered on and off again. A strong wind blew over the balcony.

Crusch immediately grabbed her sword, turning around as Wilhelm jumped to the side. Lelouch jumped out of the chair, gathering mana. Flügel appeared in front of him, his wings spread as if shielding him.

Lelouch blinked at the hand that was in front of his face, the blade that could have stabbed through his eye attached to it was instead pointing up as the person tried to grab him, rather than kill. The hand was cut deeply, one of Wilhelm's swords stuck in it, stopping only at the bone that made a noise not unlike a piece of metal.

Crusch's blade licked air when the assassin jumped back, becoming a blur. When he came back again, this time aiming for Crusch, a clash happened and Lelouch could smell the Witch.

It was an intense, putrid smell. Ten times the intensity of Betelgeuse's. The smell was like a scream, like a song, that vibrated through his skull. It made him nauseous, blurry eyed. Flügel's form turned huge.

Gathering mana in his eyes, one of the first spells he learned announced itself through a strong glow and let him see it in detail. A muscular man with long, unkempt hair that hung down over a stern face wearing nothing but rags. The blades over his hands didn't look half as menacing as the huge hands themselves, stained in dirt and dried blood, the fingernails broken and dirty.

Crusch looked hard pressed to hold him back even as she used all her strength against just one arm of his. When the second one swung down, Wilhelm was there again, ready to intercept it. One of the blades cracked and then broke as it cut to the bone of the man again. When the man jumped backwards, making Crusch stumble forward slightly, Lelouch could took his chance and gathered as much mana as he could.

Sabal. Repeatedly. The blades appeared, and Flügel aided him, raising his wing and creating twice the amount of blades. All of them shot forward, and the man's arms turned into a blur as he cut them all down, the cut blades flaking away after hitting the wooden floor of the balcony.

Some of them were caught in his mouth, and Lelouch heard but a disgusting crunch as the man swallowed the blades bite after bite.

The mana seeped into his body.

"Gluttony," Flügel confirmed. "One of the stronger ones."

Wilhelm took the initiative as Lelouch raised his hand, a circle on his arm twisting and turning. "Zimerian."

"We're not happy," the Archbishop said, strangely soft-spoken despite his appearance. "That you'd get in between us and our prey. I don't like eating with you. You're rude."

"Speak to the judge in hell, Archbishop," Crusch exclaimed. Her sword exploded in wind, and a wave of it cut through the distance between her and the Archbishop. He swatted it out of the air.

"Lelouch vi Britannia," he said. "Come with us."

He clicked his tongue as he heard the man speak his name. Though it didn't mean anything to anyone but Pandora and her Archbishops, it added the implication that he had given people a fake name. Even Betelgeuse had called him Lamperouge.

"I'm afraid I have to decline that invitation," Lelouch said. The spell continued. The Archbishop didn't slow down. Instead, when Wilhelm and he clashed, and bits and pieces of metal splintered off the Astraea's sword, the man used his unreal speed to flank Lelouch.

Flügel created a shield. The man clashed against it, and the bird was skidding over the floor, scratching the wood with his claws. Crusch's wind blade ripped through the rags that he wore, and left gashes on his back. The man was unrelenting, like a moving fortress - someone without the concept of pain.

Lelouch's spell wasn't working right. The man's power was wavering, but it was as if the Witch's scent was fed to him from the distance. The man jumped around over the balcony, keeping out of reach and closing the gap immediately, either clashing against them or being blocked by Flügel. While they were on the defensive, no one besides the Archbishop had actually taken any wounds.

Lelouch raised his arm. "Sabal," he said, and the Yang mana gathered, turning into a dagger. Raising it to his neck, Lelouch called out. "Archbishop, if you want to take me alive, now is not a good time."

The dagger on his throat was pressed into his skin to the point where a single shaky movement of his hands would draw blood. It made all the participants of the fight hesitate.

Though Betelgeuse hadn't hesitated to kill him when he wanted to, Lelouch could chalk that up to the madman being just that, mad. It was a strange concept considering his earlier observations of the Witch Cult, but not all Archbishops were like Betelgeuse. If Pandora ordered this one to take him alive as well, then the only mistake he made was attacking him here and not in his home, or even on the open street away from the expert swordsmen.

"Lelouch-" Crusch began, but he didn't waver. "You don't have to do that."

There was uncertainty in her voice. Fear for his life? She could feel it. The lack of dishonesty in his words. Though Lelouch doesn't want to test out how his bond changed the curse, or if he would lose more memories with another death, he wouldn't hesitate.

Lelouch wasn't a hesitant person.

The assassin vanished again, and appeared behind Lelouch. The dagger pressed forward, drawing blood and making his hand once again stop next to him, stretched out. When Wilhelm came from above, cutting through the hesitating Archbishop's arm cleanly, Lelouch's bright clothes were stained red.

The left arm of the man fell to the ground, and Lelouch could see the man think for just the fraction of a second before grabbing it and running off.

Lelouch let the dagger vanish when he was sure the man wasn't coming back, rubbing his throat and holding the shallow cut to prevent it from bleeding too much. "Revenge for Betelgeuse, hmph."

Ferris rushed onto the balcony. The effeminate young man was a healer, not a fighter, so when he heard the clashes he must've observed the fight, ready to jump in the moment someone needed his help. Rather than approach Lelouch with worry, the former emperor found himself staring at an expression he hadn't seen in a while. Not with such intensity.

Contempt. Utter contempt and disgust. If the setting was more casual, the twitch in the knight's arm made Lelouch wonder if he'd have hit him.

"What a shameful display," Crusch said. "That'd you go so far for the sake of protecting us."

"I was protecting myself just as much," Lelouch said, the half-truth seeping through his lips. Though Felix's expression softened, and a soft blue glow soon filled the air, healing his throat quickly, Lelouch could still feel the irritation.

"Running away from living isn't a solution, Lelouch," Ferris said. "My lady and Wilhelm would've killed him without you driving him off."

"Perhaps," Lelouch admitted. "Though the last Archbishop was hiding some tricks up his sleeve, who knows what kind of magic this one was capable of."

The mood thoroughly soured, Lelouch thanked Ferris for the quick healing and looked towards the wall visible in the distance. "Perhaps I should head home."

"Lelouch vi Britannia," Crusch said. Lelouch turned to her, the corners of his lips twitching down. "Would you be so quick to throw your life away for the sake of others?"

"Yes," Lelouch said. Ferris didn't sound happy. Not in Lugnica, but he had given his life for the people already, and it's a lot less harder to do the second time. "Please, don't use that name."

"I'll remember it, Sir Britannia," Crusch said, unrelenting. Lelouch shook his head. It was time to go home.

###

Flügel carried him as far above as possible to avoid any surprise attacks. Lelouch sighed a breath of relief when he caught sight of his home from above and finally let himself relax. This Archbishop was dangerous. More than dangerous. Something made him immune to the spell to suppress Satella's magic, perhaps Pandora messed with it somehow after he killed Betelgeuse.

"It's doubtful," Flügel said. "If she could do that, she'd have to know the specifics of the spell in the diary."

"Then it might have to do with his authority?" Lelouch asked. "Gluttony is a concept that might've been what led to Satella eating the other genes."

"It might be," Flügel admitted. "Though the spell was having an effect instead of none, which means something else was keeping him powered, as if his Authority wasn't in his body, and instead somewhere else."

Lelouch nodded. It was the feeling that the smell was dragged towards him that gave such a theory credence.

Flügel lowered himself when they were above the door and Lelouch could see something wrong within a second. The door was blasted open. Flügel transformed into a smaller bird to easily fit through the door when Lelouch stepped off. Someone was sitting inside.

The ball of light gathered in his hands and Lelouch sent it forward, illuminating the interior of the bedroom slash study. Flügel created a shield that shimmered in a golden light.

And both revealed Priscilla Barielle, lying on Lelouch's bed, her hair flowing down to the ground and her legs propped up against the wall as she stared at him, her face upside down.

"Yo, bro," Lelouch heard a male voice say. Turning around, he found Aldebaran sitting in the corner of the room, his large sword leaning against the wall. "I really need to ask you for a favor."

"I don't think breaking into my home would warrant me listening to such," Lelouch said, annoyance tinging his voice. He had set up the spell that could magically seal the door to anyone but him, so someone breaking it like that wasn't going to make him any less paranoid in his own home.

"I wanted to wait outside, but she kinda kicked it in," Aldebaran admitted, pointing at Priscilla. The woman was humming, kicking her legs off the wall and onto it again and again. The red dress she usually wore did nothing to hide her ample cleavage. "That's why I need your help. She's… not herself."

"Oh?" Lelouch asked, staring at the strangely quiet head of the Barielle house. "What's wrong with her?"

"We got attacked," Aldebaran said. "And whatever that guy did, it wiped her memory. She couldn't remember anything besides her name, and her personality just got weird."

That made Lelouch stop. Memory loss as well? No, hers was far further, and the event of an attack. Once again the worry of what it could mean for him spread through his stomach with a sickening feeling - could he end up like that if he forgot everything? No, Lelouch shook his head, he had Reinhard to help him.

"I need to track down whoever did this and make them fix it," Aldebaran continued. "And I kinda need you to, you know, take care of her until that's done. She'd not like people finding out what happened to her."

"That's a big favor," Lelouch said. "Why'd I do that for you?"

"Because I know some secrets you don't want to spread," Aldebaran said, sounding jovial. "And I'd owe you a huge one when this is over?"

Lelouch frowned. "That's not asking for a favor, that's blackmail."

"You grew up on court in Britannia, you know full well there's no big difference," Aldebaran said. Lelouch couldn't exactly refute that. "It won't be for too long. I have a lead on where he could be, just a few days, a week tops. She even grabbed money so you don't need to worry about that-"

"Gah! Stop talking about me as if I'm not here!" Priscilla said loudly, kicking off the wall and sliding onto the ground. She turned on the floor and pushed herself up again, glaring at the two men. Flügel was above them, his shield long since dropped, and staring at the Barielle. She walked up to Lelouch, sizing him up with a glare and then grabbed him by the collar. "You look like you'd make a good pet."

Lelouch blinked. "I wouldn't know," he said dryly. Turning to Aldebaran, Lelouch sighed. "I assume that I would have to do my best to avoid her condition from becoming public knowledge?"

"That'd be nice, but I know that's hard to do considering she runs around," Aldebaran said. The woman looked even more frustrated at being left out of the conversation. Kicking Lelouch in the back of the knee like a child, she made him fall forward slightly. "Instead, just… I don't know, try to minimize the damage. Maybe help her out some, it'd not really be more than what you did for the other candidates."

"I very much doubt that," Lelouch muttered. But he had to gain things here. A favor from Aldebaran and Priscilla, if she had enough honor to repay the debt when she regains her memories. If she regains her memories. "Can you tell me anything about your attacker?"

"Young boy, long brown hair, used those two swords over his hands," Aldebaran said, making a motion with his arms. Lelouch blinked. "And he was crazy strong and fast. He licked his hand after touching her, it was pretty creepy."

"Gluttony Archbishop?" Lelouch asked. Flügel confirmed it. "There was more than one?"

"What do you mean?" the masked man asked.

"I was attacked too, at the Karsten mansion," Lelouch explained. "By a man who fits that description, not a child, though."

If there were multiple Archbishops, then the spell not working made sense in a way. It'd split up among however many there were, and unless it was cast on all of them, nothing could happen. Lelouch found someone who destroyed his trump card as soon as he received it.

"Very well, if you find out anything about the Archbishop, if you're capable of killing him, or even capturing him, I want to be the first one you tell. For that, I'll take care of your little problem."

"A problem, am I?" Priscilla asked, crossing her arms under her chest. "Perhaps I should actually be a problem then. I want something to eat, and I want it quick."

Her stomach rumbled slightly, though Lelouch could hear it in the quiet home. Aldebaran chuckled, apparently finding that situation too hilarious.

"And I want a bath," Priscilla demanded, raising her arms. "Undress me."

Flügel all but told him to do just that. Gritting his teeth, Lelouch turned away from the woman and opened the door to the bathroom of his home. Up until now, all the candidates were strong and independent. Proud.

Ending up with a demanding princess by his side wasn't how Lelouch had planned his next days. She stepped in, though Lelouch didn't follow. Turning to Aldebaran, he spoke up again. "Won't her family look for her? What happens if there's an event regarding the selection while she's like that?"

"Her family knows, but I couldn't trust any of those snakes," the gladiator admitted. "So you're kind of her hiding place, none of them would really call the guards to look for the lost candidate that had her memories wiped."

"A fair point," Lelouch muttered. Once again he's stuck with someone who lost their memories.

And this time they were the exact opposite.