Chapter Text
‘Dammit!’ Lelouch inwardly cursed as he manoeuvred the wheelchair at the swiftest possible speed, away from Euphemia, away from the crowds, but most of all – away from the reporters that threatened to pounce at the possibility of a scoop.
And what was Euphy thinking, attempting to disguise herself using only sunglasses? Well, part of it was probably his fault for not insisting on her changing into something else that an ordinary person would not so easily recognise as the Sub-Viceroy. But nothing could be done about it now.
The time and effort that he had spend anxiously hiding himself and Nunnally, masking their presence from the wider world, and even thinking of contingencies such as escaping into the EU upon graduation to avoid the royal family would not be for naught.
However, even as he thought this, both the crowd and the media were honing in on their location, and in a split second, they found themselves in the middle of an indefensible circle, with Euphemia desperately trying to draw attention to herself, rather than the two others by her side.
Pushing towards the direction of the chaos, he slipped amongst the charging crowd, weaving through without any excuses or apologies, eventually navigating the wheelchair to hide beneath a nearby empty stall. Hopefully there, they would be able to avoid the cameras panning over the area voraciously.
“What has Euphemia done now?” The exasperated sound escaped Cornelia, as she paced in her office as her subordinates came to report about her arrived in distress.
“Viceroy, she...” the man gulped.
"Well?" She crossed her arms across her chest, facing the messenger.
“She... It may be better for you to see for yourself.”
Cornelia opened the television within her office to Euphy’s outrageous words about so-called equality with the Numbers, and Britannia's apparent acknowledgement of its existence. With the backing of Schneizel, there was nothing she could do other than pile pressure against the project using the standing of the Viceroy. And all that would serve to do would be to put Euphy in danger.
Maybe it was better that there was little she could truly do, as her first thought was to lecture her non-stop until she understood just how nonsensical she was being, publically or not.
No, it had nothing to do with the fact that Cornelia was worried about her sister. Not at all.
Well, maybe just a bit.
Staring at the screen as if it would cause it to burn and make the shocking events of the entire day disappear, (although a voice in her head may have told her that this was not shocking at all, just a typical Euphy thing,) a flash of colour caught her attention. She staggered upright at the sight, her chair tipping over in the motion and falling onto the ground.
“Lady Cornelia?” came the worried voice of her knight.
“Is that?” She mused. “No, it can’t be...”
The ebony-haired boy in the background did not escape her eyes.