Chapter Fifteen: Assignment

The glorious victory in France was two years ago and was now wholly undone. The last beachhead had fallen months ago. And Spain was collapsing in on itself as partisans waged a guerilla war. Rebellions were cropping up faster than Britannia could put them down. Worse still, many of them on the homeland and the usual tactics would only make things worse.

And the Washington party was calling for blood to water their tree of liberty. They were getting it.

Princess Cornelia Li Britannia had won a neverending string of glorious victories. However, she felt as though none of it mattered. Putting a strand of her violet hair out of her eyes, she read the newspapers. "...Victory at Yorktown."

"You don't sound happy, Princess," said Guilford, sitting next to her. The dark-haired, spectacled knight had taken to tying his hair behind his back lately.

"I'm not, Guildford," said Cornelia, putting down the paper and checking herself in the mirror. Her wavy hair was in need of some combing. She did so quickly, wondering if her military uniform clung to much to her curves. Appearances were everything, in case the press was there.

The press.

Once the great tool of Britannian power, now it had become their enemy. An entire group of students had been shot in the streets of New York for activism. As a result, those working with them kept using their cameras. Then they started throwing Molotov cocktails as a bonus.

"While a victory is a victory," said Cornelia, remembering the urban fighting. "I am not pleased with the kind I've spent my career winning. Remember when we were marching on Paris? Then word came in of the disturbances throughout the homeland.

"When we withdrew, we expected to return and finish the job.

"Instead, we had to give up everything we'd won. We've gone from one place to another, putting down rebellions. And another one always sparks up. The only offensives we've done have been trying to reclaim ground seized by the EU."

Guilford remained silent. "Princess Cornelia, without your leadership, Britannia would have been lost. We have won many victories, and it has been my greatest honor to serve at your side. The men feel the same way."

"Perhaps," said Cornelia. "However, I wonder if the commoners do as well."

"They are loyal to the crown," said Guilford.

Cornelia looked out onto the streets of Pendragon. Broken, shattered streets were even now. A group of policemen was trying to control a series of protests. The sound of broken glass could be heard as the car turned. "Are they?

"They seem to have been rebelling against us nearly as much as the others. The Washington Party, in particular, is growing. And they don't fight like the French or Chinese; they force us to use urban tactics on our own streets."

"It will pass in time," said Guilford. "The specter of Washington cannot endure forever."

Washington.

How many ages of propaganda had been utilized to try and discredit and destroy him? They'd tried to claim Benjamin Franklin betrayed the revolution for titles. And until a few years ago, Cornelia had genuinely believed as much. One of the great geniuses of his time could not support such backward rebels genuinely.

Only now, recent evidence had come out that it was a pack of lies. Records had been broken open. They revealed that Franklin only surrendered after Washington was dead. Franklin himself had refused all titles. Noble families claiming descent were liars, plain and simple. They'd forged the lineage.

Her family had forged lineage, claiming a family connection to Franklin. In reality, she was a descendant of southern plantation owners. They'd married penniless nobles for their titles and then thrown in with the King for money. And then they rewrote history.

The strange thing was that Cornelia had never cared much for her ancestor's relations. She'd always been focused on living up to Britannia's glorious legacy. And yet, Zero had taken that from her too.

His name was on every anonymous post.

His mask was shown by the media.

And every time he appeared, he brought light to some lie told by Britannia. He revealed some horrific facet they'd wanted to be forgotten. Cornelia told herself he wasn't a single man at all, but a fad. Yet, Zero's mask had taken on a terrible life of its own, like some pagan god.

A vengeful deity bent on tearing down everything Britannia stood for.

And he was succeeding.

They passed into the richer districts of Pendragon. There were opulent manors and stores for rich people. And it was protected by knightmares who checked the IDs of everyone who passed by. Cornelia's transport was allowed to pass without any of that. There were benefits to being of Royal Blood, Cornelia supposed.

Cornelia shook her head. She was heading to a reunion long-awaited, and she didn't have time to feel sad. Euphie would need a strong face.

The Li Britannia palace was near the old Vi Britannia palace. The latter was kept in perfect repair and went unoccupied. Both were similar in design, with stained glass windows and velvet carpets. Cornelia stepped out of the car and made her way forward along the familiar white flagstones. Several of the apple trees that had been just planted when she left had grown into full flower.

That had been around the time Empress Marianne was assassinated, and Nunnally crippled. That cursed day that ruined everything.

And there was Euphie.

The pink-haired little girl Cornelia remembered had grown into a beautiful young woman. Her hair was tied into buns, and she wore a beautiful white dress, which showed off a fair amount of cleavage. Euphie had developed well, though Cornelia thought she shouldn't consider that.

Euphemia Li Britannia bowed. "Sister Cornelia, you've returned. How... I heard about Yorktown?"

"Yes, we deflected the main thrust of the French Fleet," said Cornelia. "However, the rest of them were able to withdraw using aircover.

"And the attack destroyed a lot of buildings.

"They attacked without regard for civilian casualties, dropping firebombs into populated areas. They didn't even need to attack those areas; it was like they just wanted to kill as many of us as..." Visions of corpses, burned by white phosphorous.

"Nevermind."

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

Britannia was supposed to conquer the world and bring the unenlightened nations into the fold. The superior race would force the savages to become Britannian over time. Then the world would bring about a utopia of Caesars with the souls of Christ. Or something along those lines. They weren't supposed to abandon their attack. And they certainly weren't supposed to be treated like the numbers they ruled.

But they were, and the nations Britannia had been driven out of were cheering in the streets.

"Did you hear about Clovis?" asked Euphemia.

"No, what of him?" asked Cornelia.

The last time they'd met, Cornelia and Euphemia had a picnic in this very idyllic, green field. Clovis had been talking about showing some restraint in conquered Japan. Cornelia had scoffed, and Euphie had listened. Even so, it had been friendly; they'd all liked one another like siblings.

Except it wasn't like that anymore.

Cornelia's feelings of affection for Clovis had given way to contempt. She'd resented him for his failures, and for letting the terrorists run rampant. He'd been content to sit idle in his little paradise while her men fought and died.

Euphie ended the silence. "He...

"They caught footage of him committing a massacre of elevens. The news station broadcast it out over the entire homeland."

"What?" said Cornelia. "Why would they do such a thing?! Are they trying to destroy the Empire?" A public display of genocide by Britannian armies? Was he insane?

"I don't know but..." Euphie paused. "All those people dead. I can't believe Clovis would do something like that." She choked, and tears came out of her eyes.

Cornelia stepped forward and grabbed her. Euphie cried hard into her shoulder, even as they held one another. Cornelia did not cry, just let her let it out. What had happened to make it like this?

Wait, where were the servants?

"Euphie," said Cornelia, separating from them and drying her eyes. "There are certain situations where our government is obligated to perform ruthless actions. Still, this was clearly a massive blunder on Clovis' part."

"It gets worse," said Euphie. "The terrorists destroyed an entire battalion of Knightmares by themselves. Lord Jeremiah apparently has to fight a nonstop war to hold the area."

Lord Jeremiah? That former guard of Empress Marianne. "Why wasn't I told any of this?"

"I apologize for that, sister," said a calm voice.

Cornelia looked up and saw Schneizel coming forward, Kanon walking behind him. "I judged that you had other problems to concern yourself with. So I ordered the information downplayed. Officially, Clovis merely suffered a bad skirmish and chose to bow out gracefully.

"Of course, the truth will eventually get out, but this should blunt it at least."

"Schneizel, I assume that negotiations went well with the EU by your presence?" asked Cornelia.

"As well as can be expected, Cornelia," said Schneizel sadly. "They hate us, and they are glad we are having problems. If all of Britannia sank into the sea and every one of us died, the only response would be mild applause."

"It can't be that bad, can it, brother?" asked Euphie.

"Worse, I'm afraid," said Schneizel. "Britannia has spent the last decade enslaving and brutalizing other nations. Now we are on the defensive, and the other nations of the world are circling like vultures. The efforts of your sister and others like her have ensured we can hold on to most of our territory.

"But it will not be easy getting any kind of lasting peace.

"Not in the least bit because no one wants one. Father wants Britannia to continue its conquest of the world. The EU wants to reclaim all lost territory, and the High Eunachs of China want to capture Area 11. And many of those in the EU and China consider the mass genocide of our people their objectives."

"Isn't there anything we can do?" asked Euphie.

"Well, for now, we can defend our territories. If we put down revolutions and try to unify the population, we can work on fixing our reputation," said Schneizel. "I'm sorry, Euphie, but problems like these really do have no overnight solution.

"Zero has ruined our international and domestic reputation.

"And now he's discredited Clovis and defeated our armies in the field of battle."

"You mean Zero led the battle with Clovis?" asked Cornelia.

"I suspect so, yes," said Schneizel. "When the riots were in full-swing, I had some investigations made into what happened. It turns out that all those packages with footage were delivered to the offices by the same people. Tracing their faces, I realized that some of them were connected to a resistance group—one in the Shinjuku Ghettos.

"My best guess is that Zero is at least in contact with them.

"Which would explain why when Clovis launched his attack, the resistance was stronger. The media is already speculating that it was Zero."

"But how could any terrorist take out an entire battalion?" asked Euphie.

"It was Clovis' battle to lose. And he lost it," said Schneizel. "He was overconfident and sloppy. He committed his forces in a careless fashion. That allowed Zero to destroy them piecemeal. I have the after-action reports here; they are written by Villetta Nu, one of the only survivors."

"Thank you, but I've seen enough reports for a lifetime," said Cornelia.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

Cornelia was supposed to return home a conquering hero and be greeted by Euphie. She'd be congratulated and honored with medals before being given the rule of an area herself. It was meant to be triumphant, not feel like going to an execution.

"Unfortunately, I'm going to have to insist," said Schneizel, being passed the Kanon's folder. "Father has chosen you to take the role of Viceroy of Area 11."

"Me?" asked Cornelia. "Why me?"

"Zero is a problem, as is the JLF," said Schneizel. "And we suspect that the Chinese are going to be moving against it soon. Your orders are to root out and destroy the JLF and the resistance networks. Clovis tolerated them because he argued it would cost too much to justify the effort.

"The Royal Court no longer agrees with him."

"But what will happen to Clovis?" asked Euphie.

Cornelia almost dismissed the fact as irrelevant.

"Given that our policy is to downplay his failure, he'll probably be retired," said Schneizel. "Possibly disinherited, though he has been meeting with Father a great deal. I suspect that Clovis has some information he thinks Father might find valuable. He is probably trading it for amnesty.

"It's very unfortunate, but this is the way of the Royal Court.

"Still, it could be worse. We could be alive during the Emblem of Blood era."

Cornelia wasn't sure about that. At least during the aftermath of the Northern Rebellion, the borders had been secured. "So I'm to secure Area 11, destroy the resistance, crush the JLF and defeat the Chinese?"

"Yes," said Schneizel. "And the Emperor has decided to send three of the Knights of the Round with you. They will be under your direct command."

"Which ones? Nonette?" asked Cornelia, hopefully. She hadn't spoken to her in a long time.

"I'm afraid she's otherwise occupied," said Schneizel. "You'd best meet them directly. Euphemia, if you wish to accompany us, it would be good. Area 11 might be a good opportunity for you to start your career."

"Yes," said Cornelia. "I think it would." Sub-Viceroy maybe?

"Then come, let's be going," said Schneizel. "They should be inside already."

Cornelia walked and found no sign of any servants. A few guards were here or there, but the halls seemed almost empty. This was ridiculous. "Euphie, where are all the servants? I've only seen a few."

"We uh..." Euphie looked away.

"I'm afraid that we had to call off many servants temporarily," said Schneizel. "The Washington Party has been assassinating nobles using people in the palaces. I gave them all the week off while background checks were performed."

"It can't have spread that far," said Cornelia.

"The pride of Britannia is broken, Cornelia," said Schneizel, voice holding unusual anger. Cornelia had hardly ever heard Schneizel angry. "More and more information about corruption and brutality spreads every day. I've done my best to control the information and prosecuted some of the worst cases. But there is only so much I can do without alienating key supporters.

"Our own people are afraid. Of us, our eachother, of the numbers. They live in fear and hatred without the safety valve of foreign invasions.

"And every day I get more and more reports about atrocities from concerned citizens. They have started doing detective work in their spare time. People want me to set this right, to fix all this, but...

"I can't do it.

"We've won most of the battles. But we're still losing this war."

"You can't blame yourself, Schneizel," said Euphie. "You're doing the best you can."

Schneizel shook his head. "It's not enough.

"Something needs to change here. People can't understand one another in this kind of situation."

At last, they opened the door. Euphie went a bit pale as they entered, and within Cornelia saw why. Sitting in the chairs were two men. The first was a man with long, blonde hair and a slim form, clad in fine white. The other was Luciano Bradley, clad all in black and orange and balancing a dagger on one finger. A little way off was a pink-haired teenaged girl, playing with a cellphone, and clad in the same uniform.

"Prince Schneizel, nice of you to keep us waiting," said the blonde man, standing up and running forward. "I was afraid we'd run out of wine." His voice was cheerful as he offered a hand. "The pink-haired girl is Anya, just so you know. She doesn't like introducing herself."

"Late," said the girl.

"Sir Weinburg, please, we have formalities to get through," said Schneizel.

"Yeah, yeah," said Sir Weinburg. "I'm Gino Weinburg, Knight of Three at your service. Old Man Bismark felt I ought to get some culture, even if it's inferior."

"I am Princess Cornelia, the Witch of Britannia," said Cornelia, not taking the hand. "I expect you to obey my orders to the letter."

"Right, right, no special treatment, got it," said Gino. "Have it your way milady. Ah, Princess Euphemia, I'm sorry about the scare Luciano gave you when we came here. He's not what you can call polite company."

Luciano Bradley said nothing.

"Sir Bradley?" asked Schneizel, voice hard.

Luciano stood up and moved forward. "I am Luciano Bradley, the Knight of Ten. No doubt you've heard my other titles already?"

"The Vampire of Britannia," said Cornelia. "I saw the footage from New York this morning, what the censors allowed to be shown." It had been horrific.

"I prefer the term Master of Homocide, personally. But, well, one does not choose their titles," said Luciano, before looking at her for the first time. "I must admit, I have a certain professional admiration for your work, Princess. You massacre innocent civilians with expertise that inspired my own work."

"...That's the first time I've ever heard you compliment someone, Luciano," said Gino. "I don't think I like this mission anymore." He looked genuinely disturbed at this.

"

"We are nothing alike, I assure you," said Cornelia. She didn't kill for pleasure or without need.

"Whatever you wish to believe," said Luciano. "I wonder, what is the precise difference between a Britannian and a Chinaman anyway? If you stab them, do they not bleed? If you threaten them, do they not beg for mercy?

"How many people have begged you for mercy, Princess Cornelia? And how many have you granted it to? Which rules of war have you not broken when you were convinced no one was watching?"

"That is enough, Luciano," said Schneizel flatly. "If you cannot be civil, I suggest you leave us."

"Whatever you desire, Prince Schneizel," said Luciano. "I didn't want to remain in their company anyway. Good day, milady. I shall leave you to the parasite."

"Psycho," muttered Anya.

"...That guy manages to find a way to bring down the mood no matter who we have company with," said Gino as he walked out.

"Parasite?" asked Euphie.

"Luciano started out as a standard infantry and got assigned to black ops," said Gino. "Ended up working his way up to Knightmare duty. Our families are around the same rank, and I went into the corps the normal way. So he considers me to have not earned my rank."

"But why wouldn't he be handed a Knightmare?" asked Euphie.

"That is an unpleasant story," said Cornelia quickly. "Best not to focus on it.

"I take it he is not popular among the Knights of the Round either?"

"You could say that," said Gino. "Luciano's a good pilot and gets results, but we generally send him to the worst fronts. Places where there basically are no rules to follow. He enjoys it more that way.

"The thing is, with everyone being assigned to defensive roles, there aren't as many of those. So he's been getting sent to locations on the homeland instead. Thus New York."

"Well, I'm sure he'll get his fill in Area 11," said Cornelia.

Cornelia would drive Zero into the open.

Britannia would be avenged.