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End of an Era Chapter 24
🕑 Added 2023-06-16 11:36:22 +0000 UTCThis is going surprisingly well as I’ve not only gained a good following, but the reviews tend to either be insightful or just give me ideas which can then be later. So much so that I’m going to write another Code Geass story, its plot and around 9 chapters worth of details have already been finalized. Like my Quirkless Existence story, it’s based on a concept from another story I read but I won't say what. As for when it'll be out, I'll release chapter one here and on Archive but also post the second chapter a week early on my Patreon. Again, it’s still a work in development so it’s not up yet but when it is, I hope that you all head on over and check it out.
Chapter 24: Meeting the Family.
In the comfort and safety of the carriage, Lelouch allowed himself a moment to rest after his mission to the human world, and seeing Suzaku once more. Reaching for the wreath atop his head, he gently took it off, studying the construct in his hands with a soft, bemused look to him. This look cracked just a little when he saw the pink rose that was used in it, one among many other flowers of different types and colors but this one rose stuck out to him, it reminded him of another…someone he loved, someone he wronged.
'Close to 7 years on and the weight feels as heavy as the day I pulled the trigger…but I suppose that's a good thing, shows my heart still feels something for my sins.' He said to himself, the driver of the carriage being none the wiser to the happenings inside of it as they carried on out of the city and onto the dirt roads that fed into the farmlands. He wondered what would Euphemia say about this, about the man his former best friend had become, she was always a beacon of light but she frequently clashed with Cornelia on several things, would her rejection even do anything to Suzaku? Was he so far gone that the words of his love would not sway him? He suspected he knew the answer, but he didn't like what that was.
But he banished such thoughts from his mind and focused on the good they had done. They had received information that the people they were seeking to save were in danger, created a plan of attack and ensured not one of those 684 people was injured, let alone killed. If things were good, they'll be more artisans and people with experience in the civil service among them as they could also use more clerks, admins and plumbing people.
His carriage continued to travel down the dirt roads, passing fields which were either already empty or still had some of their crops being harvested, crops that still managed to give him some sense of awe as he saw farmers collecting golden cabbages, pink onions and blue carrots just to name a few of the many different kinds of crops they had found in this world which they grew in conjunction with some of the regular tomatoes, lettuce and potatoes they had brought with them when they made the move. Other fields saw herders bringing in the farm animals for the night with sights of cows, horses and goats mixed in with furred elephants and golden sheep. It was at one of these farms that they drew to a stop.
Stepping out of the carriage, his eyes softened as a smile worked itself onto his face, as it always did when he saw his wife. She stood by the side of the road, next to the entrance to a farm where an Indian man stood with his wife and what he assumed were his two eldest sons, discussing something. The family of farmers dressed in warm, well-worn but clean clothing, with the mother wearing a dupatta around her head. C.C. was wearing a white and blue dress with leggings thanks to the dropping temperature of the approaching winter.
With her were 4 of their bodyguards, assigned to her detail. However, there were two others with her as she held their two children close to her, carrying one close to her breast while she held the hand of the other that stood by her feet, identical twins in all but one thing. The twins wore small dressed, easily up there in quality but it was attire close to the local fashion of the Annwn, being bright, spacious and made with baggy sleeves.
The one in her arms looked up at their carriage with big, innocent violet eyes and upon seeing him, started to fidget and giggle out 'dada', drawing the attention of the rest of them as they turned to see him approaching. The knights bowed but his focus remained on his family as C.C. let the two girls go as they rushed their father as fast as their tiny legs could take them. Lelouch knelt to their level and with a hearty laugh, scooped them both up, giving them a big hug with a twirl, getting them to giggle more as they hugged their father back.
‘Papa’s back, papa’s back!’ One of them, the twin who had a head of black hair with a single thick lock of green hair said in happiness as she hugged her cheeks on his own.
'Hello, Papa!' The other, whose hair was inverse to her sisters in that it was green hair with a single thick lock of black hair added as she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him as hard as she could, all while their father merely laughed from his gut in joy as he easily stood up with the two bundles of energy in his arms, approaching their mother and his wife. As he stepped close to her, Calanthe gave him an amused look as she kissed his cheek, wrapping her arms around his arm and leaning in, but while it seemed romantic to those watching, he could tell by her grip that she knew that he had run into issues on his trip and would grill him later for details.
In the present, the farmers like his wife and children’s guards, bowed to him as well as one would their ruler. ‘Welcome back, my king. I hope that it was a successful expedition.’ The father, a man in his 60s greeted him in his native tongue of Hindi.
‘It was, not a single loss of life among my men or the people were journeyed to save.’ Lelouch replied, speaking the Indian language perfectly, if with an English accent.
'That is wonderful news, we shall continue to pray for the safety and well-being of these people and that they’ll find their place here.’ The farmer’s wife clapped her hands together there with a relieved smile, something he knew came from how much he cared for the value of human life and happiness.
‘Many have achieved that thanks to your kindness, something I must thank you both for.’ Lelouch bowed to them, as the family had been rather poor when they arrived, but had experience with farming horses dating back 200 years so they took to helping raise and care for the unicorns they were given by donations from neighboring nobles and the people that lived under them. However, they were a small family and the parents were far from their prime, so they needed help in managing things as their 4 children couldn't keep up, which resulted in them hiring people that didn't have experience to handle other jobs as hands on their farm.
'There is nothing to thank us for, my king. Is it, not good practice to reach out a helping hand to those in need? Besides, the boys we work with are hard workers.’ The father replied, a man humble and fair if he had ever seen as the dark-haired ruler nodded.
‘They certainly enjoy the job, and with the unicorns here, we need all the help we can get managing them.’ Their second eldest pointed back to the farmstead where they could see a few of the unicorns being led into the barn by a couple of those same hands, young hands who couldn’t be older than 20 but managed to lead the massive Equidae in without issue.
‘That much I know very well. However, with the latest bunch to arrive, you might have to accept a few more hands, is that something that you can do?’ Lelouch asked as while he hadn't seen the reports on what they had done before they chose to leave the human world, there were always those that needed to be placed in manual labor that didn't require more than a high school education.
The wife took a moment to think about it, a frown on her wrinkled face. ‘I’m not sure, we already have 8 people working with the horses. Maybe we can take on 2 or 3 more.’ Her husband nodded his head, agreeing with her assessment of the situation as while they were willing, they couldn't just keep accepting people as they needed to make a profit and ensure that the people, they brought on weren't just sitting around.
‘Even just a single person would be appreciated.’ Lelouch replied, accepting their words without a fuss before he turned to his wife. ‘Have you finished your business with them?’ His switch to English was clean and quick.
‘Yes, we were just saying our farewells, the girls loved spending time with the horses today.’ Calanthe replied as she leaned in closer, as she had journeyed out for business but decided to bring the girls along so that they could have their fun with the horses and unicorns on the farm, at least the ones tamed enough to not mind the small humans fawning around them.
With an amused look in his eye, Lelouch turned his attention to the two bumbles in his arms. ‘Is that right?’
‘Yeah!’ The one with green and black hair, Epainespoina nodded her head with a big smile.
‘They fun!’ Her sister with black and green hair, Aidokleia added with a giggle as Lelouch tightened his grip on them, noting the time as he turned back to the farmers.
‘Well, we share bid you goodnight.’ He bowed to them once more, a gesture they returned before he turned and left with his family in toe. Two of the guards entered the carriage with them while the other two went to sit with the driver. Once settled, the door was closed and they started to make their way back into town, with the setting sun in the distance casting a warm glow over the fields. Inside the carriage, Lelouch sat on one side with Epainespoina in his lap while C.C. sat opposite him with Aidokleia in hers. The two girls told him parts of their day, but never in real detail and jumping to and from events as they remembered them, or in order of which was the most interesting at the moment but they soon tuckered out and just like that, they were sleeping.
‘I thought that it was supposed to be a simple escort mission.' Calanthe didn’t miss a beat as she questioned him on what she felt through their connection.
‘That was the idea, but things grew…complicated.’ Lelouch replied, thinking back to how angry and raw Suzaku had sounded, less of a man and more of a beast.
‘Complicated how?’ Calanthe asked him, absentmindedly stroking Aidokeia’s hair.
‘I run into…him.’ There was a bit of confusion on her part before her eyes lit up in recognition.
‘I…see.’ She looked out the door towards the fields as they went. ‘I had hoped that we’ll never have to deal with that fool ever again.’ Her feelings towards the fallen knight had always been far from positive. When she first saw him in her contractor's home, she questioned why he was as she believed him a fool as time went on. After the death of Euphemia, that turned to pity as she had seen such events many times throughout her life, how much loss can break even the best of men and women.
But then she kept up with his exploits in Europe, in Euro Britannia and realized that she had the seeds of hate for him, a notion which she was mildly surprised by at the time as she had lived so long and seen so much that she believed such strong emotions were absent from her. It only later did she realize that her hate stemmed from both his hypocrisy and his position as her contractor's jailer, his primary handler as Charles twisted him to suit his whims. That hate only solidified after their encounter in C's world, where Suzaku threw aside all pretense of righteousness and embraced his selfish desire to win regardless of cost.
However, despite her desire to see him defeated, humiliated and killed like a dog, she would be a fool to not consider him as anything less than a major threat.
‘As did I, but it was foolish to hope for such, especially if his statements were to be believed.’ Lelouch replied as Calanthe turned back to him.
‘Oh?’
Lelouch snorted, finding the entire thing pathetic. ‘Schneizel was gracious enough to offer me a plea deal. I suspect it's due to his struggles in handling the fallout of Ragnarök.' He figured that his father's files on geass that he must have kept in the Imperial Palace at Pendragon were useless for his brother, especially since not even the Geass Order could have had any records that could give them any information about the world before it was split between men and fey. Granted, he did his part to ensure that the damage was minimal and that casualties were as low as possible, but the simple fact was that it was an entire world with millions of places where rifts could appear, and he didn't have nearly as many people that could handle it as he would need.
‘How kind of him.’ Calanthe shared his sentiments on the issue, as even if the arrogant despot was sincere with this first offer, nothing was stopping him from adding onto it, pressuring them to continue to work for him, or to hand over their secrets which he could use for his gains.
'Doubtful, but it does mean that they're most likely on the lookout for those who might have information.' Lelouch hummed, thinking of ways he would need to revise their field operations for the Knights of Arthur as the last thing he wanted was for one to be captured.
‘Geass users.’ Calanthe asked as he nodded his head, getting a sigh from her as she looked to her daughters in concern for their health and happiness, swearing that if Schneizel and his minions even looked at them with ill intent, she’ll personally gouge out their eyes and feed the still raw organs back to them.
'I was barely able to keep him at bay though that was my fault, I didn't properly prepare for such an engagement. I shall not make the same mistake twice.' Lelouch admitted as he looked at his flesh and blood hand, opening and closing it as he could still feel the lingering effects from his fight.
‘Regardless, our entrance in Wales is a bust, perhaps all those within Western Europe.’ Calanthe said, which wasn’t something Lelouch liked as it meant their operations in Western Europe were effectively crippled, but it wasn’t as if they had much choice.
'Unfortunately, but we can't afford to send in people through entryways that will most likely be watched for the foreseeable future.' He could already tell that their Welsh forest would be nothing but ash and smoke come morning, there was also the possibility that they'll attempt to study the gate once they discover it. He'll have to check up on the system to ensure they can't force their way through or worse, make things worse by further destabilizing the wall between.
‘It just means that you’ll have more time to be with your children, they miss their father then he’s busy.’ Calanthe teased him as the girls had been eager to spend more time with him than 2-year-olds wanted to do. She couldn’t help but enjoy the flutter her heart experienced when she thought that, how she had managed to find love and become a mother, a joy she had always experienced from afar, always the aunt, or babysitter.
‘Are they the only ones?’ Lelouch smirked, moving some of his daughter’s hair from her face as his wife merely scoffed at his implication.
‘I can handle a few hours without your arrogant butt close by.’ She told him, but he still leaned forwards and took her hand into his own, giving it a gentle squeeze as she looked back his way.
'Doesn't mean you have to, how about a nice dinner sometime, just the two of us?' He suggested, Calanthe’s eyes shining a little at the idea.
‘So long as you’re cooking. You look great in an apron.’ She teased him as the two knights with them chuckled at his expense, but he merely waved it off.
‘Hush you two, when you’re married, so if you don’t have a similar experience with the Mrs.’ He told them with a laugh of his own as they continued their trip back into town and to their own.
Line Break
On a whim, rather than head straight for Arthur's Hall, the couple decided to take a ride through town, observing all the many peoples that they had taken under their protection as they finished up their tasks for the day and went home, or left to have some evening fun wither at a diner, bar or a theatre. Seeing all these people of different nationalities, religions and cultures intermingling and co-existing without violence and discrimination made the two happy as this was proof that humans could achieve it. More so when they factored in the fey citizens that were among them, though they were a clear minority as most were merely the experts that the crown had loaned them or the families of those expects but only added to the vibrant atmosphere of the town.
It was because of this detour that they only arrived at the gates to Arthur's Hall long after the street lights had come on. Entering the grounds, they were dropped off at the entrance to their private residence, spotting a still-in-armour Lilicia waiting for them. ‘Lilicia, I would have assumed you would be at home by now, is there an issue?' C.C. asked as Lelouch helped her out of the carriage with their still-sleeping daughters’ safety held in her arms.
‘There was an issue that came up today, regarding the refugees that we brought back with us.’ Lilicia relayed to them as Lelouch stepped off the carriage and waved it off.
'Is it another case of someone demanding to speak with me? You know the drill; I’ll see to their complaints in the morning.’ He told her as he picked one of his daughters, Aidokleia from his wife to lessen her burden, only stopping in his attempt to walk past Lilicia as she didn’t move from her spot.
'Well, they wish to speak with you, yes, but they're not of the normal kind of people that normally do.' He rose an eyebrow at that, having dealt with more than a few people that demanded such, all kinds from religious leaders who didn't take kindly to his open practice and encouragement of a faith that was thought dead, former political leaders that sought some form of reestablishment under the guise of 'increasing the participation in the democratic process' or just folks that knew of his name and his crimes and wished to demand why they should follow a monster.
‘Be straight with us, girl. What is the issue?’ C.C. ordered the girl as she stood a little straighter and replied.
‘Their Black Knights, mam…They want to speak with his majesty.’ Both witch and warlock paused here, giving the other a look which was a mix of surprise, annoyance and resignation.
‘Black Knights? Who in the hell would be so brazen to…’ C.C. started to ask her, but then she could only think of a select few that would even dare make the trip, much less knew enough to have any reason to try. ‘No.’
‘Afraid so, mam. Jeremiah and Anya already confirmed their identities. They’re waiting for you in the drawing room.’ Lilicia replayed, relaying to them what her brother had instructed her to do upon their king's return.
There was silence between the group, the courtyard they stood in lit up only by the many crystal light posts stationed on the grounds. A slow breeze blew through, with the two parents hugging their children closer to keep them warm in the chill of the fall evening. ‘Are they under guard?’ Lelouch asked her.
‘Yes, Anya and Jeremiah are with them at the moment, ensuring no funny business.’ Lilicia replied. She may have had her misgivings about how chammy that Anya was being with Gino, but she had known the woman long enough to know that if the chips were down, she'll act to the best of her abilities and fulfil her duty.
C.C. turned to her husband, concerned about this entire situation. ‘Lelouch.’ He waved her off, appreciating the concern but heading forward regardless.
‘It’s fine…this was always a possibility.’ He told her with a smile before it fell from his face as he turned back to his knight. ‘Have they been served anything?’ If they came in with the refugees, then it would mean they might have been waiting for him for at least 2 hours now, and while he had misgivings, it was a king's duty to be a good host.
‘Tea and biscuits, my lord.’ He nodded at the reply before he gave her an order.
‘Have our guests escorted to the dining hall and the kitchen staff prepare for them, it seems that we’ll be hosting guests tonight.’ The woman nodded her head and turned to enter the manor once more to carry out his orders, leaving the family alone as Lelouch took a breath and turned to his wife.
‘What shall I do, Calanthe? You know as well as I do want, they wish for. What they want from me.’ She didn’t answer with words as she instead moved closer to him, leaning on him and grasping his hand, its cold metal somehow comforting to her as he soaked in her presence before the two walked in, making it to their private quarters to make ready for their guest.
Line Break
‘Right this way.’ One of the servants led them into another room, a dining hall if Kallen was correct.
‘Dinner shall be served once the Lord and Lady arrive.’ The servant bowed before they stepped out and quietly closed the door, leaving them all to explore the place.
It was larger than the room they had been placed in, lit up by 4 crystal chandeliers, the style of the space, the entire estate if she was honest, reminder her of Tudor architecture, with only the furniture being more modern, of a style she knew had been popular in the Scandinavian E.U countries. The only thing that didn't feet that were the dining table, which seemed to be been carved from a single California redwood she inspected it and saw no points where it seemed to have been joined together, regardless, it was easily large enough to seat 30 people with chairs for all of them already waiting for them along with eating utensils carefully placed in front of them.
Beyond that, the hall, much like the room they had waited in, had a view of the harbor and town which in the evening, appeared much more peaceful as the moon's rays reflected off the shifting waters while the hundreds of light in the port and the town illuminated the place like dots on a canvas, eye-catching but not blinding, they certainly didn't have enough of them for light pollution to be a thing as they could make out an entire sky of alien stars and constellations.
Cornelia's gaze was focused on the portraits that allied the wall of the place, or they seemed to be portraits as none seemed to stay still, appearing like a digital image that was made up of scenes of a video. In this case, she focused on an image of her brother and the witch she had heard so much about. The two were standing side by side, her brother looking a tad older but…better, she didn't have the right word to describe it as he stood there in a white suit, a groom's suit while the witch, C.C. stood by her newly wedded husband's side in a white and green wedding gown, a large bouquet in her hands. Both were smiling towards the artist before the image changed to the girl leaning in to kiss her husband on the cheek, then another of them hugging her close before it repeated itself.
‘They look happy…’ She murmured, gaining the attention of the rest as they turned to see the portraits much like her. Tamaki noted the picture next to the one Cornelia seemed to be drawn to.
‘I would say, hold on, is she pregnant in this?’ Tamaki looked into another portrait, this one presumable painted after the wedding as the two posed for it with the backdrop being the very manor they stood in, only it was still being built in the picture. C.C. sat on a stool with Lelouch behind her, a hand on her shoulder as she rested her own on her protruding gut.
Stepping forward, Guilford observe the image and got a brief flashback to Cornelia during her pregnancy. He banished it before he could go down that rabbit hole, it was a tragedy, and they moved on. ‘No, you’re right on that front, Tamaki.’ Milly walked to the third in the line, seeing that they told the story in chronological order as this time around, it around fell once more, with the two-now four posed with a massive red forest as their backdrop, they were in warm casual clothing as in their hands were two bundles with tiny faces sticking out, one asleep and other awake.
‘And the story begins with this next one,’ The reporter turned spy noted, tracing her hand over the portrait as it shifted to the two holding their children up for a closer look on, the one who was awake looking confused but oh so adorable. ‘Twins it seems.’ After some time, they saw all that there was to see without disturbing things and sat down with only Anya and Jeremiah remaining standing, taking up positions in the corners of the room, out of the way but close enough to act. A few more minutes later, the servant from before reappeared.
‘The Lord and Lady have arrived.’ They bowed as they opened the door for the four to enter, with Jeremiah and Anya, who had been silent since they were moved, bowing as well. They didn't have any time to question this as the apparent royal family walked into the room. Leading them was the man they sought out, out of his armour and wearing much more casual, comfortable clothing with the exception being the black and golden wool poncho he. C.C. wore equally casual clothing, with a thick jersey which even covered her hands, though in this case, they could make them out as she carried one of her children, a daughter, who clung to her mother’s side once they saw the group of strangers. The second one held onto her father’s hand as the man looked at them, his face stone.
However, now that they were there, Kallen noticed something…off with the two. While Lelouch looked older, as they had expected, the same could be said for C.C. as she had appeared like any other teenager the last time she had seen her, but now she looked older, her face developing a more mature shape to match how she had grown a little as well.
‘Welcome to Arthur’s Hall, our home.’ He greeted them, his wife matching that even if she seemed more miffed with their surprise arrival.
‘We hope you’ll enjoy the meal. Please dig in.’ The green-haired woman informed them as the kitchen staff entered the room, 6 of them all pushing carts with covered dishes which they went about placing before them, starting with what she assumed was an appetiser. Of course, while the staff revealed their starters to be faked feta with burst tomatoes and chilli honey as the staffer explained when Gino asked, the two parents encouraged their daughters to speak as they took their seats on the opposing side of the table, Lelouch of course taking the head seat.
‘Hello.’ The first one, the one with a green highlight started before she tucked away.
‘Hi. Welcome.’ Her sister added before they were both served their meals, which were much smaller than their own and set up for a child to limit spillage. With their food before them, Lelouch reached for the gloves he had been wearing and removed them, placing them at the side of his plate as he started to eat his meal, the rest following suit as they didn't quite know how to start things off with him. There was no conversation outside the parents tending to their children but Gino did notice something with Lelouch, namely the fact that one hand was a different color to the rest, being bronze, this didn’t go unnoticed.
‘Something the matter, Gino?’ Gino nearly jumped from his seat as Lelouch spoke up, his eyes boring into his own as the taller man gulped, suddenly being on the spot.
‘Wha-no no, it’s just the,’ He didn’t quite know how to say it, but Lelouch picked up on it fast, his gaze turning to his left arm, surprised that it would garner such a reaction though he supposed it was natural, as he had years to get used to it.
‘This?’ He lifted his hand, rolling back the sleeve to allow them to see more of it, with some of them looking on in shock as he displayed his artificial limb. ‘Lost it some years back.’
Concerned for him, Cornelia asked. ‘How?’ In the face of her concern, Lelouch only raised an eyebrow, being mildly startled by the lack of any rage or murderous intent from the former general, from the entire group to be honest.
'An Afanc thought it was tasty and ate it whole. It didn’t live long enough to enjoy it.’ He kept it short, not giving them any more information as to what an Afanc was or how it died, merely turning his attention back to his girl and helping to ensure she didn't make a mess of things.
However, while Aidokleia was content to just eat her food along with her father, her sister was far more curious, having not touched her food and rather her violet gave had been on their guests, her little mind wondering who they were, why they were in her house, and if they were like the other people that lived there? Of course, she didn’t have the patience to wait long for her answers as she slammed her hands on the table, alerting the group to her as she pointed at them. ‘Names, what names?’
Having forgotten that there was a child present, the group didn't know how to react as it wasn't like they had much experience with children, to begin with. Cornelia was the only one but she hadn't interacted with a human younger than 10 in years. Deciding to give them some help, C.C. spoke up, her attention on her curious daughter. 'Sweetie, it's rude to ask for names before giving yours. Why don't you tell them your name first?'
With the remainder of what good manners were, the toddler turned to the guests with a big smile. ‘Okay! I am Aido.’ She introduced herself to them.
‘Epa!’ Her sister, who had some sauce on her face, responded while her father cleaned her up. Amused by this, C.C. turned to the silent group in a way that many recalled she used to do often in their Black Knight days.
‘You all already know who we are, as for the members of our family, these are our daughters. Aidokleia and Epainespoina, forgive them for not knowing how to pronounce their full names yet.’ She hadn't been the biggest fans of the names, but she wouldn't lie and say they hadn't grown on them, and they were quite original as she hadn't been comfortable giving them names like "Sarah" or "Catherine".
With this said, they found themselves on the spot, not really knowing what to do but going along with it regardless. ‘Kallen…Kallen Kozuki.’ After all, the rest of them introduced themselves, with some having a harder time than others as anyone whose name was more than 3 syllables was a challenge for the toddlers to repeat, ending with them saying things like "Corny" instead of Cornelia or "Nagi" rather then Nagisa. The only one whose name they got right was Guilford, though they seemed to prefer to call him Gills much to the amusement of the parents who watched the Spearhead of the Empire" flounder over a simple interaction with toddlers.
However, this left another question for the curious little girl as after hearing and memorizing most of their names, she still didn’t know who they were, having thought that if she heard them say their names, she would get an answer. So, she turned to her father who always helped her with stuff she didn’t understand and pointed at them again. ‘Who they, papa?’ Lelouch paused in his meal, thinking of a way to explain things to them while their guests worried that he might say something which while true, reflected poorly on them.
‘They’re…some people we know, it was before you were born.’ Chiba kept it to herself how much he was leaving out with that response, but it was enough for the girl as it was her sister that asked the next question.
‘Oh? They nice?’ Here, the eyes of the parents may have appeared to be amused, but they could tell there were observant, wary of them.
‘That remains to be seen.’ C.C. replied, her gaze locked onto Chiba for a moment, recalling how she had been part of the coup, how she had always been vocal against Lelouch with the Japanese woman having the instinctive knowledge that the green-haired woman could kill her before she could react before any of them could react if she was as powerful as her husband. However, her eyes remained dangerous as she smiled towards the group, more accurately, towards the only other royal present. ‘I’m sure some are very nice in fact,’ Lelouch gave his wife a look but she ignored it in favour of some entertainment along with her dinner.
‘You see the tall lady there?’ Cornelia’s eyes widen in surprise as C.C. pointed her out to the twins, her smile setting off alarms in her mind before the mother finished her statement. ‘Well, she’s your aunt.’
The reaction was immediate as both girls jumped to their feet, standing atop the chairs as they looked towards the stunned woman with stars in their eyes, having never met any other relatives besides their parents but seeing other kids with them and hearing about such in their books, they couldn’t contain their joy at finally having this chance. ‘Really! Auntie!’ Forgetting their manners, they both jump off their seats and rushed the lady who reacted like a scared cat to the toddlers running towards her.
‘You tall!’
‘Presents!’
As they bombarded the woman with questions, Lelouch looked at his wife with tired annoyance. ‘Why did you do that?’ C.C. merely hid her smile behind her sleeve as she got what she wanted and also gave something to break the tension that was building in the room. They can talk after the meal but for the moment.
Let them enjoy the reunion.
