In the halls of Ashford Academy, a single accidental discovery sparks chaos in the heart of the Britannian Empire. Princess Euphemia li Britannia, beloved by all for her gentle smile, picks up what she thinks is a study notebook in the student council room—only to find it's the private diary of her secret crush, Kururugi Suzaku.
Before she can stop herself, her eyes land on words that make her heart pound: Suzaku has been in love with her from the very first moment they met. But before she can
Code Geass: The Princess Who Fell for Her Rival - The name of the trap is a weapon called kindness.
The tense atmosphere still hung heavy in the hallway.
Before Euphemia li Britannia, her fists clenched tight, the宪兵 captain still had Suzaku's arm in his grip. Suzaku turned back and gave her a small nod, as if to say, "It's all right." His emerald-green eyes were calm, and yet Euphemia's chest tightened painfully.
(*Why. Why does Suzaku have to make that kind of face?*)
She bit her lip. Her large violet eyes were rapidly welling up with tears. Her rose-pink hair swayed gently in the cold draft of the hallway.
Euphemia tried to take a step forward.
That was when it happened.
"Hold on just a moment~"
A strangely drawn-out, yet jarringly bright voice echoed from down the hallway.
The宪兵 captain's movements stopped.
The students gathered in the hallway all turned toward the sound at once. The crowd of onlookers parted to the left and right, creating a path for one man.
The man approached with a light, casual gait, as if out for a stroll, his white military research coat fluttering behind him. Glossy lavender-gray hair. Behind silver-rimmed glasses, his narrow eyes were perpetually narrowed in a sleepy expression.
Lloyd Asplund.
He stopped in front of the宪兵 captain and pulled a single business card from his breast pocket. Then, with a light *pat*, he pressed it against the captain's chest.
"I am Lloyd Asplund. Count and head of the Britannian Army's Advanced Special Envoy Engineering Corps, commonly known as the 'Special Division.' A pleasure."
"[angry]Wh—what is the meaning of this?! This is an official military—"
The宪兵 captain raised his voice, anger seeping into it. But Lloyd, seemingly completely unbothered, continued.
"[gentle]Private Kururugi Suzaku is currently the sole devicer—that is, the pilot—of the seventh-generation prototype Knightmare Frame *Lancelot*, which our Special Division is developing. To detain him without evidence or a warrant—"
A pause.
Lloyd's narrowed eyes glinted sharply.
"—is equivalent to unilaterally halting the Empire's most advanced weapons project on your own authority. In that case, I am entitled to claim damages. A rough calculation... would put it at around one hundred million pounds, I suppose? From you personally, of course."
A wave of murmurs rippled through the hallway.
"O-one hundred million?!"
"Is that man the military's development chief...?"
The宪兵 captain's face went deathly pale. Even so, with a trembling voice, he held up his documents.
"[angry]Wh-what nonsense are you spouting?! We have a formal investigation warrant here! His transfer to the military prison has already been decided!"
"An investigation warrant, is it."
Lloyd plucked the document lightly with his fingers and examined it front and back, as if observing a rare insect.
"Yes, this is certainly the format used by the Military Law Investigation Division. But how strange. It's missing the required countersignature of the Legal Oversight Officer. There are proper procedures for interpreting military law, you see. Wouldn't it be fine to send this document by courier to the Legal Department and wait until a formal warrant is reissued?"
"[angry]Wha—! You insolent—! For insulting a superior officer, I'll have you—"
"Superior officer? You are a lieutenant. I am a count and head of the Special Division. Which of us is the superior officer?"
Lloyd delivered the retort sharply, then turned a pasted-on smile toward the captain. It was a perfect smile, devoid of any warmth.
The宪兵 captain was at a loss for words.
Suzaku watched the scene with a complicated expression. He understood that Lloyd had come to help him. This man always made only rational judgments. Their interests aligned, so he acted. That was all.
(*But... that's fine.*)
Suzaku quietly turned his gaze toward Euphemia. She was still clutching her own hands, looking anxious.
(*If this situation can just be resolved, Euphemia won't be hurt any further.*)
That was what he thought.
Euphemia, too, felt relief wash over her at Lloyd's arrival.
(*Mr. Lloyd came. With this, Suzaku is...*)
But at the same time, something pricked sharply deep in her chest.
"Test subject." Lloyd had definitely said that. Referring to Suzaku as if he were a piece of equipment.
(*That man isn't trying to protect Suzaku. He's only protecting his own research.*)
Euphemia stared at Lloyd's profile. He was now binding the宪兵 captain hand and foot in a web of logic. His tone remained utterly light, yet its content was ruthlessly dry.
(*But this isn't the time to say such things.*)
Euphemia shook her head.
The fruitless dispute between Lloyd and the captain over the document's interpretation continued. The onlookers in the hallway were gradually growing bored with the exchange, which showed no sign of ending. The buzz of private chatter grew louder.
Seizing that opening.
A single shadow slipped smoothly up behind Euphemia.
"Your Highness, Princess Euphemia."
A low, worried voice whispered near her ear. Euphemia flinched and turned around. There stood Marcus, dressed in the refined uniform befitting a noble's son, his brow furrowed.
"[whispers]Y-you're... from earlier."
"[gentle]Your Highness, I merely wish for the truth to come to light. If Private Suzaku is innocent, one need only prove it. If Your Highness were to personally check his locker, you could demonstrate before everyone that there is no evidence. That would surely clear away any suspicion here and now."
It was a cunningly designed trap.
*I want to protect Suzaku. I want to be of help.* Marcus had precisely pierced that pure desire. His voice carried not a shred of ill will. There was only a gentleness, as if he were genuinely concerned for Euphemia's sake.
Euphemia hesitated for a moment.
(*It's true... if there's no evidence, I can prove his innocence in front of everyone.*)
She directed her gaze at Suzaku. But he remained facing the argument between the宪兵 captain and Lloyd. He hadn't noticed this whispered conversation.
(*Suzaku's locker.*)
She knew the number. Before, when helping the student council go to the gymnasium, Suzaku had mentioned it casually. *'My locker is number 87. If anything comes up, could you hold onto my things for me?'* She never imagined a day like this would come.
"[scared]...I understand. But if I open it without permission, I wonder if Suzaku will hate me."
"[gentle]Not at all. Your Highness's sincerity will surely reach him. Now, this way."
Marcus bowed elegantly, then indicated the hallway leading to the locker building. Euphemia looked at Suzaku one more time, then began to walk, as if having made up her mind.
As he watched her retreating figure, Marcus's mouth twisted into an ugly sneer for just a split second.
(*She took the bait.*)
He immediately signaled his nearby cronies with a glance. One secretly took out a smartphone and typed something in. Another mingled into the crowd of onlookers and began spreading a deliberate whisper: *'Her Highness the Princess is going to confirm the evidence, it seems.'*
The rumor spread like wildfire. The curious students who had been listening to Lloyd's argument began to shuffle after Euphemia in a crowd. One of the宪兵s also signaled the captain with his eyes before joining the throng.
The hallway of the locker building was quickly filled with over a dozen onlookers and several宪兵s.
Euphemia stood before locker number 87.
An old metal door. On the nameplate, in neat, precise handwriting, was written 'Kururugi Suzaku.'
(*Suzaku. I'm sorry. But this is to clear away the suspicion against you.*)
With trembling fingers, she reached for the locker. The lock was—open. A light *click*. She had no idea that Marcus had tampered with it beforehand.
She opened the door.
Inside were a few textbooks. Neatly folded gym clothes. And, placed on top of a sports bag, a single envelope.
"[whispers]There's nothing. As I thought, there's nothing... Suzaku is innocent."
Euphemia let out a sigh of relief and picked up the envelope. She would check its contents and prove his innocence to everyone.
That was what she thought, when—
She noticed a familiar crest drawn on the surface of the envelope.
That silhouette, like a black bird spreading its wings.
—The Black Knights.
Euphemia's hand stopped dead. Her violet eyes widened.
(*Why. Why is something like this in Suzaku's locker?*)
She hurriedly broke the seal. What emerged was a single sheet of letter paper. On it, in a well-practiced hand, was written:
*'Regarding the agreement to provide information to the Black Knights, the cooperation of Private Kururugi Suzaku is hereby approved. Signed, Kururugi Suzaku.'*
It was an exquisitely forged secret letter. It perfectly imitated Suzaku's handwriting, and the wording followed the format of classified military documents. Even someone other than Euphemia would likely believe it to be genuine.
Euphemia couldn't stop her hands from trembling.
(*No. Suzaku would never write something like this. It's a fake. It absolutely has to be a fake.*)
She wanted to scream that.
But her voice wouldn't come out.
She could feel the eyes of everyone around her focused intently on her, and on the document in her hands. Over a dozen students watched the scene, holding their breath. The宪兵s were reporting something over their radios.
"[sarcastic]Her Highness has produced it herself. There can be no greater evidence than this, I should think."
Marcus's low voice broke the silence. It was the finishing blow.
The envelope slipped smoothly from Euphemia's fingers.
The secret letter fluttered down, scattering onto the floor. The trembling spread from her fingertips to her wrists, to her arms, to her entire body.
(*I...*)
She bit her lip.
(*Did I do this?*)
(*I tried to protect Suzaku. And with my own hands, I found the evidence to frame him, in front of everyone?*)
The fact that she herself had pulled the trigger on this trap slowly, mercilessly, ate away at her heart.
"[cold]Hmm... We will confiscate this as evidence. Record it as evidence found in plain view."
The宪兵 captain solemnly picked up the document. A faint hint of triumph colored his face.
The students in the hallway began to stir noisily.
"So Kururugi Suzaku really was a Black Knights spy, huh."
"I knew you couldn't trust a Number."
"Her Highness the Princess found it herself, so it's gotta be certain."
Euphemia felt each of those words stab into her chest like a sharp knife. She stood rooted to the spot, able only to tremble.
That was when it happened.
"—Euphemia."
A quiet voice came from down the hallway.
When Euphemia looked up, Suzaku was standing there. He looked back and forth between the scattered secret letter and Euphemia's pale face. His emerald-green eyes flickered, just for a moment, with deep sorrow.
(*Suzaku...*)
Euphemia tried to open her mouth. *No, I— I believe in you, this is all a lie,* she wanted to scream.
But her voice stuck in her throat and wouldn't come out.
Suzaku almost took a step toward her. But—his feet stopped abruptly.
(*If I shout here that it's a fake, Euphemia will be dragged in even further. She might be suspected of being an accomplice who knew and kept silent.*)
Suzaku coolly calculated the situation.
(*She acted out of good intentions. She was only trying to help me. If this is the result—then I have no choice but to take responsibility.*)
He quietly erased his expression. The gentle gaze he had directed at Euphemia just moments before faded smoothly away.
"[gentle]...It's all right, Euphemia. There's no problem."
Saying only that, Suzaku stepped forward before the宪兵 captain. He held out both hands.
"[serious]I will accept being taken into custody."
A single tear spilled from Euphemia's large violet eyes.
"[crying]N-no... Suzaku. I... I was only..."
The words wouldn't come.
(*No. I only wanted to help you. And yet, again, because of me, again you—*)
Unable to produce a sound, she just moved her mouth wordlessly. Suzaku was no longer look
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