Chapter Text
Cornelia's face was set like stone as she sat upon the overly luxurious-looking chair. She was only barely stopping herself from face-palming as she looked at the newest candidate sitting opposite her, with the ornate desk separating the two. In a rare turn of events, Schneizel had managed to join her today with the new interview. If it was anything else, she would probably leave it to her subordinates to deal with. But they were the only ones who would really know who it was that they were looking for.
That didn’t make it any better.
“Remind us again of the member of the family that is your favourite?” Schneizel raised his eyebrow again at the man’s previous answer.
The man brushed his finger through a lock of ebony-coloured hair in a typical display of vanity. “While I hold all of my brothers and sisters in high esteem, I must say that I respect father the most.”
No matter what. There was no way that this imposter could possibly be Lelouch.
She stood up abruptly, a scowl marring her features, and the chair skidded back, screeching across the floor. How dare this person try to fool the Royal Family of Britannia!
“Please excuse us for the moment, while my sister and I have a brief discussion.” Schneizel lightly touched her wrist.
Cornelia inwardly scoffed in response. Discuss? What was there to discuss in this case? It was abundantly clear that the impersonator this time had not even made attempts at researching the person he was impersonating. The answers were standard, things that may be accepted by the general public, but when it came to family, there was no way that this ‘Lelouch' could fool them.
“Of course, I will wait outside.” ‘Lelouch’ stepped outside the door, shutting the door behind him.
While Schneizel had stalled his words earlier, Cornelia did not appear to have any of that same restraint now. He chuckled.
‘What are you -“ Cornelia began, incensed.
“Dearest sister, please indulge me on this. While these people are not our long-lost siblings, far from it - I believe I know how to bring them into the spotlight.” Schneizel’s perpetual smile remained on his face.
All the headlines were speaking of it. “Lelouch returns after 7 years!”, “Prince found near Pendragon”, and even more ridiculous titles.
And the way that the man acted and spoke…
“Wow, that Prince Lelouch really sounds like a prick.” Rivalz commented one day during a Student Council meeting.
“Rivalz!” Shirley chided, “He’s a prince, don’t say something like that! But yeah, he’s nothing like our Lulu,” she added, blushing.
“Hey Lelouch, what do you think?"
The person in question wasn’t paying any attention to the meeting, but appeared to be deep in thought. “Sorry, what did you ask?”
Rivalz sighed, relaxing from his previous upright position stretching his arms over the paperwork, resting his head on his arms. “You really haven’t been listening, have you?”
The television suddenly became an object of interest, as the imposter continued an interview on TV. That idiot was ruining his reputation, if he ever had anything left to ruin, of his birth name. Not that he had ever associated his name with anything good in his life.
“… your sister?”
“My sister, oh, Nunnally.” ‘Lelouch’ on the screen seemed bored at this question. “She’s just another one of my many siblings. Not to speak ill of the dead, but she was just a weakling. An annoyance. Definitely not how a Britannian should-"
A major thud resounded throughout the student council room as Lelouch’s paperwork thudded on the desk. It was as if the temperature suddenly dropped into the negatives. He stood, hands balled into fists. How dare he say something like that?!?
“… Lelouch?”
The expression on his face at that moment could have brought a mass-murderer to tears.
Lelouch stalked out of the room.
“Lelouch!! Wait!" Milly had finally blinked out of her stupor, and dashed after him before skidding to a halt.
Grabbing at his hand desperately, she tugged him back in the direction of the Meeting room. “Lelouch, please, think about this. Don’t let it become something you’ll regret.”
Lelouch yanked his hand out of her grip. “And you think I won’t regret not defending my sister?” he all but yelled out. “I don’t care if he insults me. I could probably bear him insulting anyone else. But insulting Nunnally I can’t forgive.”
He turned and walked away. And for once, Milly couldn’t bring up any words to describe just how much of a bad idea this was.