Sumeragi Kaguya—the gentle, doll-like princess of the Kyoto Six. To the world, she is nothing more than a sheltered figurehead, a girl too young and too soft to wield any true power. But behind those innocent eyes lurks a soul that has already lived one life—the soul of Haman Karn, the Iron Lady of Axis, reborn into a world of Britannian oppression and Knightmare Frames.
When Zero, the masked leader of the Black Knights, comes to Kyoto seeking money, weapons, and machines, he expects to charm a
Code Geass: Kagura of the Shadow Reign - Six Houses Emergency Meeting — The Face of Betrayal Illuminated by Evidence
The great hall of the Kirihara estate was freezing, despite the morning hour. The cold seeped up through the weave of the tatami mats, creeping into the soles of her feet.
Sumeragi Kaguya sat upright on her cushion, spine straight. Her black hair, tied back with a vermilion ribbon, cast a shadow against the pale nape of her neck. Her dark brown eyes were fixed on the tea set placed on the floor before her. From the rim of the teacup, a thin wisp of steam rose, wavering as if it might vanish at any moment.
(So it begins.)
Haman Karn's voice echoed quietly from within.
(Yes. Today is my moment of reckoning.)
Kaguya clenched the hands resting on her lap. The small cut on her fingertip from last night throbbed dully. She'd gotten it when she'd grabbed the documents stolen from the intelligence division's facility. The pain pulled her consciousness back to the cold reality of the tatami.
(Katsuragi Soichiro. That man will denounce me as a Britannian pawn. The other two houses will fall in line. I'll be backed into a corner, isolated and without allies.)
The memory of Kirihara Taizou's urgent message from last night flashed through her mind. The date on the Katsuragi family's secret pact document was yesterday's—and the emergency meeting of the six houses had been moved up.
(That old fool intends to crush me completely.)
(But he's naive. I already hold decisive evidence. A copy of the secret pact, and a copy of the executed spy's confession. With these, I can turn everything around.)
Kaguya checked the stiffness of the paper hidden in her kimono sleeve with her fingertips.
(Still—the one presiding over this meeting is Kirihara. How far will that wily old badger actually stand by me?)
She raised her gaze. At the head of the room sat Kirihara Taizou. The old man, his short, salt-and-pepper hair neatly combed, clutched a string of prayer beads in his left hand, his narrow, thread-like eyes narrowed even further. His expression revealed nothing.
Beside Kirihara sat Katsuragi Soichiro. Mid-fifties. He wore a black haori and rested a white folding fan on his lap. His face was pallid. His narrow eyes occasionally slid toward Kaguya with a cold, sidelong glance. That gaze held unmistakable hostility.
(That man is Katsuragi Soichiro. The one behind this attempt to bring me down.)
(And those two are the heads of the other houses.)
To either side sat the heads of two other families. One was a fat man in his fifties, wiping sweat from his brow, his gaze darting about restlessly. The other was a thin man in his forties, expressionless, staring fixedly at the tatami.
(Those two will side with Katsuragi. The groundwork's already been laid, I'm sure.)
(But there's no need to worry. The evidence will overturn everything. Just wait—I'll savor the moment their faces change.)
Kaguya let out a small breath.
(Yes. I'm very much looking forward to it.)
Just then, Kirihara slowly opened his mouth.
"We shall now begin the emergency meeting of the six houses of Kyoto. Everyone, raise your heads."
The low, heavy voice made the air in the great hall tremble. Kaguya's heart gave a heavy thud.
"Today's agenda concerns the treatment of the head of the Sumeragi family, Sumeragi Kaguya. The head of the Katsuragi family, Katsuragi Soichiro, has submitted a motion for her removal."
The air instantly turned razor-sharp. Kaguya's expression didn't change. She kept her flower-blooming smile fixed on Kirihara's face.
(Here it comes.)
(Yes. Now my battle begins.)
She quietly tightened her grip on the documents inside her sleeve.
Katsuragi Soichiro set his fan on the tatami and slowly rose to his feet.
"Lord Kirihara, esteemed lords. I thank you for arranging this gathering today. Now, if I may be so bold as to proceed directly—I wish to lodge a grave accusation concerning the head of the Sumeragi family, Lady Sumeragi Kaguya."
His voice was unnaturally smooth, theatrical. Kaguya sneered inwardly.
(Ridiculous. An accusation, is it? You mean to claim I've been colluding with Britannia, I suppose.)
(Yes. I can already read that man's hand. But I must not argue back here. First, let him spew everything from his own mouth.)
Keeping her smile, Kaguya watched Katsuragi's face. Under her gaze, his lips twisted slightly.
"Lady Sumeragi Kaguya has sold the support routes to the Black Knights to the Britannian intelligence division. This is an act of betrayal against the six houses of Kyoto—a grave matter that calls her qualifications as head into question."
A stir ran through the air.
"What...?"
"Is this true?"
Both heads turned to look at Kaguya. She smiled sweetly.
"Oh my, Lord Katsuragi. Kaguya sold support routes to Britannia, did she? And where might that information have come from?"
Her voice was innocent, charming.
(This little girl—she still means to play dumb?)
Katsuragi clicked his tongue inwardly.
"I cannot reveal my source. However, this is a report from a reliable channel that has obtained internal Britannian intelligence. Lady Sumeragi Kaguya has been acting as a Britannian pawn, selling Kyoto's support routes and lining her own pockets."
Katsuragi picked up his fan and pointed it at Kaguya.
"I demand, here and now, that Lady Sumeragi Kaguya be removed as head. And I demand that she confess the full extent of the support routes she sold to Britannia—right here, before us all."
Silence fell. Kaguya's smile didn't waver.
(Confess, you say? Absurd. I have no obligation to confess anything to the likes of you.)
(Yes. That man is trying to pin his own crimes on you. The classic tactic of a traitor.)
Kaguya slowly opened her mouth.
"Lord Katsuragi. Kaguya has done no such thing. Kaguya simply wishes to be of service to Lord Zero and to Kyoto's future—that is all."
She clasped her hands before her chest with a dreamy expression.
"Kaguya respects Lord Zero from the bottom of her heart. For Lord Zero's sake, Kaguya would do anything. Selling support routes to Britannia—why, that's simply unthinkable."
Katsuragi snorted.
"Ha. Devotion to Lord Zero, is it? That's nothing but your mask. Behind that pretty face, you've been colluding with Britannia. As head of the six houses of Kyoto, I cannot allow a traitor like you to remain."
Katsuragi looked at the two other heads.
"You two agree with me, surely? At this rate, the six houses of Kyoto will be devoured from within by Britannian pawns."
The fat man wiped his sweat and nodded vigorously.
"Y-yes, indeed. As long as the suspicions surrounding the Sumeragi head remain unresolved, we cannot cooperate with peace of mind."
The thin man, still expressionless, gave a small nod.
"Agreed. We should resolve here and now to remove Lady Sumeragi Kaguya as head."
The air pressed in on Kaguya.
(Isolated and without allies. This is the situation I find myself in.)
(But I haven't lost anything yet. Rather, this is exactly the moment I've been waiting for—the moment to strip those men of their masks.)
(Yes. Now—present the evidence. Their faces will change in an instant.)
Kaguya slowly reached into her kimono sleeve.
"Lord Katsuragi. My lords. Where is the evidence that Kaguya is a Britannian pawn? Kaguya has never done any such thing—not once."
She drew a document from her sleeve.
"However, Kaguya does possess evidence proving her innocence. More than that—decisive evidence showing who the true traitor is."
She held the document out before Kirihara.
"Uncle. Please, take a look at this."
Kirihara's narrow eyes narrowed further.
"Hmm. This is... a secret pact document."
He took the document and began examining its contents. The atmosphere in the great hall shifted entirely. The blood drained from Katsuragi Soichiro's face.
(Wh-what is that document... Don't tell me—)
His heart began to pound like a hammer. Kaguya watched his face, still smiling.
(Go on, how will you react? Your complexion tells the whole story.)
(Yes. Look at that man's face. It's as if he's just received a death sentence.)
Kirihara carefully examined the documents one by one. The great hall was silent as a frozen pond. The fat man stopped wiping his sweat; the thin man raised his face for the first time, staring at Kirihara's hands. Katsuragi, still gripping his fan, couldn't move a muscle. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
(Why... why is that document here... It couldn't have been taken from the intelligence facility...)
Kirihara closed the document.
"...Hmm. This indeed bears the seal of the Katsuragi family. And this signature belongs to the Britannian intelligence officer, Glen Walters."
His voice rang through the great hall.
"This document clearly records that the Katsuragi family would sell Kyoto's support routes to the Britannian intelligence division. In exchange, the Katsuragi family was promised a substantial sum and the status of Honorary Britannian."
Kirihara turned to look at Katsuragi. His narrow eyes glinted sharply.
"Katsuragi Soichiro. What is the meaning of this?"
Katsuragi took a step back.
"Th-that is... a forgery! I know nothing of such a document! Someone must have fabricated it to frame me!"
His voice was trembling. Kaguya smiled sweetly.
"Oh my, a forgery? But Lord Katsuragi—this document clearly bears the Katsuragi family seal. And the intelligence officer's signature is genuine as well. Uncle has confirmed it himself."
She drew yet another document from her sleeve.
"And this is a copy of the confession left behind by the executed spy, at the risk of his life. It meticulously records how Lord Katsuragi met secretly with the Britannian intelligence division and sold the support routes."
She held that document out before Kirihara as well.
"Uncle. Please confirm this one as well."
Kirihara took the second document and examined it.
"...Hmm. This is unmistakably that spy's handwriting. The contents also corroborate the secret pact between the Katsuragi family and the Britannian intelligence division."
He placed the document on the tatami and fixed Katsuragi with a direct stare.
"Katsuragi Soichiro. This is the true nature of the support routes you claimed Kaguya sold. The support routes that you sold to Britannia."
His voice was cold as ice. The air tilted entirely in Kaguya's favor. The fat man hurriedly bowed his head toward Kaguya.
"Th-this was a terrible misunderstanding! We simply believed Katsuragi's words... I am so sorry, Lady Kaguya!"
The thin man also bowed deeply.
"I too was taken in by Katsuragi's sweet talk. I sincerely apologize for having doubted Lady Sumeragi Kaguya."
Kaguya looked at the two heads, still smiling.
"Oh my, both of you, please raise your heads. Kaguya doesn't mind at all. Kaguya understands that you were only acting out of concern for Kyoto."
Her voice was as innocent and charming as ever.
(These men are nothing but weathervanes. Small men who merely lean toward whoever is stronger.)
(Yes. But for now, even these small men have their uses. To preserve the unity of the six houses, it's important not to strip them of their dignity.)
Katsuragi Soichiro collapsed where he stood, slumping to the floor.
"No... I... I was only trying to... for Kyoto's sake..."
His voice trembled with tears. Kirihara spoke coldly.
"Katsuragi Soichiro. You betrayed the six houses of Kyoto. That crime merits death ten thousand times over. As of today, I strip you of your seat as head of the Katsuragi family. Does anyone object?"
No one raised an objection. Neither the fat man nor the thin man spoke; both hung their heads in silence.
"Good. Then it is decided here: Katsuragi Soichiro is expelled as head. The Katsuragi family estate shall be held in trust by me until the proper heir takes over."
Kirihara tightened his grip on his prayer beads. Katsuragi's shoulders slumped heavily. Tears spilled from his eyes.
(It's over... Everything I had...)
Kaguya watched him, still smiling.
(Serves you right. With this, your ambitions are completely crushed.)
(Yes. But don't let your guard down. T
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