Chapter 1: Wait, that’s a Thing?

Some changes are good, some changes are bad. But for some, it's the things they didn't know about which trips them up. But that doesn't mean they can't learn from their mistakes and ensure the emperor gets what's coming to him...

The Holy Britannian Empire was a nation forged from war. Born from the defeated remnants of its predecessor, the British Empire, from its base in the American colonies, it would, over time, absorb figures of monarchies, nobility, intellectuals, clergy, and traditionalists fleeing revolutionary Europe and its harsh turn against the old order.

A nation born from such humiliation never forgot, nor did it forgive. As it expanded over the Americas, incorporating new lands from natives and other colonies alike, it refined its ideals, philosophy, and military with two lessons in mind: that, as the guardians of the old, they were superior to the rabble of the present. And that they'll never again face defeat, nor shall they suffer such humiliation.

As the decades passed, this victim mentality fell away and was slowly replaced with the same noble superiority mindset of the old world, only it pierced through every corner of life, from the royal family down to commoners and servants. They were Britannian; thus, no matter their social rank or financial situation, they were inherently better than others. Thus, it was their moral duty to spread that greatness to the world, and as reward, the riches and resources of these conquered lands.

While the land could be taken and made to benefit the Britannian people and state, the people who lived there were not Britannian. They couldn't hope to match the moral, intellectual, and physical capabilities of the average Britannian, but they couldn't be allowed to keep falling down the wrong path by holding onto inferior beliefs. So they couldn't be foreigners either; they couldn't hold onto silly cultures, customs, and languages.

Thus, the Area and Number system was born. These people would live for, serve, and die for the empire, but they would have no rights, freedoms, or place above the dirt until they earned it. Through service and blood, they would become closer to a true Britannian.

Such mindsets saw them continue to expand, reaching their greatest extent under the rule of the 98th Emperor, Charles zi Britannia, otherwise known as Charles the Cruel. Under his reign, the once mighty Europia United would be smashed. He would live to see the most populated superpower, the Chinese Federation, face its long-suffering internal pressures and ills, seeing the power fall to its own people.

But he would not live to see much else, as within days of it, he too would fall-slain by his exiled son, and now the current Emperor, the 99th Emperor Lelouch vi Britannia, who quickly reversed many of his father’s actions, and curtailed Britannia’s worse aspects, determined to reforge his nation, his empire into a better one for all who called it home.

It would not be easy or quick, as he faced issues from within and without, but he would face them all and prove himself worthy of the title of Emperor. Many believed it was simply pragmatism at play. Lelouch recognised that an empire run like it had been under his father and forefathers would surely collapse.

Others believed he was truly generous and fair, as unlike all his siblings, now dead or exiled, he wasn't fully raised in the lap of luxury, he wasn't pampered hand and foot while surrounded by propaganda and yes men. He had seen the evils of the empire, experienced its wars of conquest from the other side, and was profoundly changed by it. He and his newly forged court wished to atone, but to also ensure their children would not need to live with the guilt and shame that they had to.

This endeavour could and would take his entire reign to achieve, even beyond it, as Britannia's evils weren't so easily funded and ripped out. But for his children, for the new imperial children he fathered, such things were far outside their attention, dealing with factors, histories, and contexts no child could understand nor should be made to attempt such. Children deserve to be children, to see the world for what it could be before they see it for what it was.

And right now, in the year 2028, with the 10th anniversary of the 99th Emperor coming to power fast approaching, his children would do something that had never been done before within the royal family—a sign of the changing times.

Line Break

Light mist clung to the cobbled streets of Broceliande, lingering on even as morning had long passed and it entered afternoon. The morning rain had long passed, leaving nothing more than droplets on greenery and puddles in parks and streets.

Unlike other major settlements and even Pendragon before, Broceliande was built in a more naturalistic style, paying homage to the old world and its design principles that reminded the people of where they came from, to give them that fantastical, romanticised view of their past. Its streets were built wide, not just for major road use, but to facilitate bike and bus lanes, and wide sidewalks lined with shrubs and trees to offer shade. Some streets were exclusively for walking, and housed many of the smaller attractions and businesses, from family-owned stores to cafes and diners.

Public transport in the form of the city's new rail and tram services ran from all districts, from the suburbs, to the city centre, and even towards wealthier parts of town where the large and opulent estates of the rich and noble called home. Traffic and law enforcement kept things running smoothly, enforcing new laws and interacting with the people in ways that would have been seen as impossible a decade prior.

Even the people seemed different. While crowds were never uniform, one wouldn't need to look hard to see or hear distinct differences in languages spoken freely and without fear. Businesses had signs written in more than just English, while others seemed to cater to foreign tastes altogether. Some gave these establishments a side-eye or even glared. Still, none moved to interfere or cause trouble, certainly not law enforcement.

The summer breeze passed through the trees and shrubs of gardens and parks, where residents took advantage of the weather to enjoy themselves. Children could be heard laughing and playing through parks, free from class and out with friends and family. Older students took the chance to walk with a romantic interest.

It was with this group which one saw the most acceptance, as unlike parents and older relatives, they hadn’t been soaked in Britannians now abandoned dogma nearly as long, they were young, quirk t adapt and perhaps for some, rebellious and this sought out what their parents would squirm at, in doing so, many forged new bonds of friendship and perhaps something more.

Not all old folks seemed slow to change. In one scene, a Britannian Girl walked by with a former 13-year-old boy. When seen by an elderly couple enjoying the day, the two merely made light remarks with no real heat, pondering how things were changing.

Perched on a hill overlooking all of them stood Broceliande Imperial Palace. It’s silhouetted a dramatic asymmetry of towers and turrets like ancient châteaus of the medieval period in France. Steep copper-tinged roofs adorned every building within the palace complex, with ornate dormers and tall chimneys standing above it all. The palace's base was a sturdy foundation of grey stone, which gave way to walls made of warm bricks.

Surrounding the complex is an equally impressive wall, 8 meters taller and at the top, 2.5 meters thick, as if the designers had genuine fears that the palace would come under siege. Of course, this joke among the people was taken quite seriously by the designers as the structure, built from the ground up by the current Emperor, held hidden measures to defend against any attacks, from a civil revolt to an attempted F.L.E.I.J.A strike.

But despite it being a fortress and the Emperor's official residence, it shared nothing else with Pendragon Imperial Palace, its interior being much more pleasant and warm, with few people walking on eggshells or scheming to undermine and backstab their rivals. Even the staff seemed more relaxed, as long gone were the days when a mistake or bad luck could see you imprisoned or disappear. Servants were no longer at risk of being approached by power players and middlemen to act as agents against the royal family or having the means to grow closer to the sovereign.

It was a perfect environment to raise children in, even if those children were the children of Lelouch, with all the issues that entailed.

Line Break

"Sis, why did you ask us here? I was going to go out?" Naoto ka Britannia asked. The young son of the Emperor of his consort, Lady Kallen, looked much like his papa did when he was 7, though he was born with his momma's blue eyes.

The elder royal siblings have gathered in the bedroom of their eldest sister, Princess of Louisiana, Artemis ci Britannia. The girl was born with her momma's lime green hair, which she had styled into ringtails, and her papa's eyes, but she looks nothing like her parents. Instead, according to them, she looks like her paternal grandmom, Marriane.

She wondered why it seemed to upset Papa that she did, but when she asked, he just held her tight and kept saying he loved her very much. Papa was strange.

Her room was larger than most apartment units, fitting for a princess. It had a massive canopy bed with ruffles and pink bedding. A glittering crystal chandelier hung overhead, though it was off at present. The curtains were drawn to expose the large windows, all of which opened to let in the afternoon light and air.

The walls were lined with floral wallpaper depicting exotic and pretty flowers across the empire. At the same time, on the bed, a large, incredibly expensive carpet covered most of the floor. A desk was placed in the corner for when she wished to handle her studies here instead of at the purpose-built schoolhouse within the palace, while a dresser was nearby. Lastly, the entire place was filled with stuffed animals, tools, and other trinkets that had caught her fancy at one point or another, which she frequently left lying about, much to the chagrin of her governess and parents.

At present, she sat with a giant stuffed elephant plush in her hands, looking at the little council she had made, just like papa and momma Kallen had when they were younger.

One would think she ignored facts, as she didn't attend normal school or classes within the palace. Still, she would stick her tongue out and call those people dummies. It wasn't just her and her siblings there, but many of the servants also had their children attend, and Anthony was one of them, the son of their Master of the Horse.

Papa said it was good for them to speak with commoners like that, and it made the servants happy to know their kids were safe and getting really good teachers.

Artemis thought most of them were super boring and strict, never letting them have fun when they wanted to, but she got tired of arguing with the weird adults.

"I was talking with Anthony, and he said he was planning on going out with his papa," Artemis spoke up, but it was hardly news for the rest.

"Yeah, but what does it do with us? The servants have lives outside us; momma always says that." Her younger brother, Louis Bre Britannia, looked like his papa, but he wasn't nearly as bold as him. The light blonde and light purple-eyed boy was the shy one of the group.

"Did you promise to hang out with him?" Artemis's full-blooded younger sister, Atalanta, asked. The 5-year-old was happily holding one of her sister's dolls. Unlike her older sister, Atalanta looked like her momma, with her light black hair styled like the empress Dowager's. The two shared the same shade of violet eyes.

"No, Anthony wouldn't break his promises; only bad guys do that," Byakuya spoke up, confident in his words. The 5-year-old was Kallen's second son, one who looked like his uncle, who passed a long, long time ago. Still, Mama and Grandma said he looked even more handsome than Uncle Naoto, with his violet eyes like Papa to go with his rich red hair.

“No, don’t be stupid!” Artemis yelled at her brother, who pouted in anger.

"You can't call me stupid!" He hit her back, and the two got into an argument.

“I can when you’re being stupid!” Artemis yelled as Louis looked like he wanted to speak up and stop them, but was getting tongue-tied.

"No yelling, stupid!" It wasn't him who stopped the fight, but the youngest present. The one who spoke up was Louise Bre Britannia. The 5-year-old had her papa's violet eyes but looked like her maternal grandma, Claudia.

Standing with her twin was Marie, who, in contrast to the first sister who glared at Artemis, had her glare on Naoto to cow them into submission. “Yeah, or we’re gonna tell on you!”

The prospect of getting told off did the trick, as both sat down with grumpy faces. “Fine,” the two said, leaving Atalanta to try to pick things up. She really wanted to know why her sister was on about this.

“So, Anthony didn't break his promise. What did he do?" Atalanta asked, which got Artemis to start explaining again. Her brief argument was forgotten almost as fast as it formed.

"I thought it was weird that they were having the day off because it wasn't his birthday, or his papa's, or his mommas, so I asked, and he told me it was because Father's Day was coming up." She told them, which left the seven royal siblings confused. Looking between them, they saw none knew that that was.

“Father’s..day?” Byakuya

“Does his dad own a day? Can he do that? Can I get a day?” Naoto asked the follow-up.

Artemis shook her head, her ringtails swinging with the motion. "I asked him, but he said no. His papa doesn't own it; it's a commoner holiday. It's like a birthday, but it's for all papas!"

Louis gasped, but then frowned as he pulled his knees to his chest. “But…we don’t do that here.”

"Oh no, Papa's probably been waiting, and we forgot!" Atalanta felt horrified by this, almost as much as when she forgot to do the reading tasks her teacher told her to do, and she didn't know what to say.

“But we didn’t know!” Naoto countered, though he was sweating. This seemed like a super important thing. Why hadn't anyone told them?!

"Well, now we do, and we're going to do something about it!" Artemis took command, jumping onto her bed. She stood on her, ignoring the rules about said act, and raised her hand as high as she could, stubbing an elephant in her hand. "We're going to have the biggest, bestest party ever, and we're gonna plan it!"

“We are?”Louis

“Of course,” Artemis scoffed, tossing a ringtail over her shoulder, trying to imitate some of the adults she had seen at parties. “We are royals, this is something that we can easily do. We just need to tell the servants for help.”

“But won’t they tell pappa?” Byakuya asked, as they had all made the mistake of breaking the rules and being seen by the staff, who would tattle to their parents or the Major-Domo, who would then tell their parents.

Artemis deflated at the question. “Maybe we can ask instead?”

"Is Father's Day like a birthday?" Louise asked, her twin being quick to follow.

“Will there be cake and clowns like our birthdays had?” Marie laughed, as they had the most recent birthday there, having celebrated it back in March. However, their younger brother, Pelops, turned 3 just a few days ago, but he was still a baby, so he didn't count.

Artemis got off her bed to continue speaking. “Anthony didn’t say, so we need to look and ask. So let’s get to planning!”

“Yeah!” the group saluted as they all went their separate ways. Artemis had told them when the day would come, so now they would do what Papa and all their mommas did: 'research' and plot.

Line Break

Francesco liked to think of himself as a simple man with simple desires and needs. He didn't see himself as radical, but he didn't like the label passive either. He was not a fighter, but he didn't need to be. There were more ways to fight than with a sword or gun; for him, that meant providing for his family.

Being an Italian, he knew things would not be easy for them when the White Death led the charge, which saw his homeland conquered, and for those few months, it wasn't. Perhaps it was retribution from the heavens, as he and many others had known about refugees fleeing Britannia. Still, he had never really done much about it. He didn't speak when politicians called them trash, he didn't say a word when they were thrown into the poor parts of town, or treated as unwanted.

Sure, he didn't participate, but he felt God didn't see that as a thing to be proud of. And thus, for their sins, the barbaric Britannians' evils came upon them. He watched as he, his wife, and 3 sons were forced from their homes and into the very same slums as the rest of the undesirables.

He thought it perhaps presumptuous to think that his prayers for salvation, his pleas to God Almighty that Charles pay for his sins, led to the man's downfall. Still, it was an act of mercy he didn't take for granted.

The new Emperor being so different from the rest was a pleasant surprise, and within just a few years, though chance and decisions taken by him and his wife, Caterina that they wouldn’t just move from their native Livorno, to the Britannian homeland where he found work as the Master Gardener, and not to just some noble or influential figure but the honest to Christ emperor.

At times, he wondered if God Almighty was being too generous with him or if this was some cruel dream, as he could practice his craft, was treated well, given broad powers to handle his tasks, and received a generous salary every week.

Yes, he had to work six days a week, but Saturdays were a half-day, and on Fridays, he could leave two hours early. He also had paid vacations, so it wasn't like he and the family were strapped for that important family time.

He was walking through one of the gardens, wishing to check on one of the fountains that the staff had alerted him was leaking. He would like to see it for himself before he calls in the handyman, as it is one of the more visible ones, if such a thing could exist in vast, almost comically expensive, intricate gardens.

“Mr. Cestoni!” The man stopped as he heard a familiar voice calling out to him. Looking ahead, he saw the princess running along the garden’s path. "Mr. Cestoni, where are you?" She looked upset, worrying him, but when she finally spotted him, that look faded as she rushed over, the gardener needing to suppress the desire to tell her not to run so carelessly.

As she reached him, he bowed to her, as was expected. "Oh, what can I do for you, princess Artemis?"

Artemis' smile didn't fade, the girl having expressed how she liked his accent, how weird but not weird it sounded, and the girl not knowing how to describe things yet. “I need some help with something, something really important.”

“Oh?” His curiosity was piqued. Was there some new project in the works? Did she help him with a patch of flowers, or did she spot one she didn't know and sought him out to explain it?

Artemis swayed, looking a little bashful as she explained, "Well, Father's Day is coming up, and we don't know what to do for Father's Day, so I was hoping you'd know something."

“Oh yes, now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that being celebrated here. I’m sure that his majesty doesn’t mind.” Francesco told her he had only been employed here for around 4 years, but he liked to think he had gotten the lay of the land with things.

Clearly, Artemis didn’t agree with that sentiment. Stomping her foot in frustration, though he could hardly take her seriously when she looked like a doll. “But he’s our papa, he should be able to do all the dad stuff like…I don’t know, dad stuff!”

He had to hide his chuckle at her ignorance of what fathers liked. “You’re not wrong there, so what do you have in mind?”

"How do you plan a Father's Day?" Well, she was blunt like the empress Dowager.

"Well, there is no one-size-fits-all, your highness. We fathers are still different people. What one fellow likes could differ from what another does, and a father's day should be planned for the father in question." He explained, which kept her interested, but didn't give her what she wanted.

"How did your father's days go?" she asked him, and the man smiled as he thought about it.

“Nothing so grand, I’m afraid. The family and I like to rent a boat and go out on the water, maybe swim a little, then find a quiet spot to have a nice family lunch.” He sighed as he recalled his beautiful wife and 5 children, his youngest having only entered the world a few months back. He chuckled as it assumed he would have only sons like his father before him, much to his wife's 'sorrow', the woman having wished to balance out the household with what she called 'someone sensible'.

“That’s it?” Artemis asked, to which the man took no offense.

“That’s it, and you know why, your highness?” he asked, and when she shook her head, he continued. It's because what I cherish most is my family. Seeing them having fun, being healthy, and happy is the best gift I could ever ask for. A gift I give thanks to the Lord about every night before I go to bed."

“It needs to fit what papa likes…okay, thanks!” Artemis muttered before she turned and dashed off, waving at it as she did so.

“If she remains the same, she'll make a fine empress one day."

Line Break

In the nearly decade that Emperor Lelouch has been in power, much had changed for the better, but that didn't mean he could do it all. He needed capable and trustworthy people to help with everything. Lady Leila was an effective and respected prime minister. Still, she had since resigned from the role after she had triplets, and in her place had stepped up a figure which Britannia's surviving upper class had never thought they would see again.

Jugo Sumeragi was a Japanese man who managed to woo an imperial princess, the crown princess, so much that when she had to choose between her status and him, she chose him and left Britannia for Japan.

Such a thing would have been a shock before. Still, with how many reforms the Emperor had pushed through, often through force, he was perhaps expected to bring in someone like his brother-in-law to be prime minister. In the 3 years since he was appointed, he had helped steer the state through issues and minor crises while still managing domestic issues that involved tens of millions of people gaining full citizenship and the appeal of dozens of laws that negatively affected them.

Of course, Leila herself wasn't disconnected from the government. She was very hands-on regarding affairs in their European holdings, travelling from time to time and often managing meetings between the governments of these member states.

There was some talk about it, as they wanted to do. Lady Leila had used her feminine charms to bewitch their Emperor. She was working with the rump state remains of the E.U. in a plan to see Britannia's holdings in Europe break away, rejoin the E.U., and ascend back to a superpower status.

Frankly, Sakuya found the idea laughable. Her aunt would sooner have them join the UFN; it was the much stronger and more practical choice.

Jokes aside, Sakuya could say she was happy with things. She had been born right before the war and thus had no memories of Japan before it was occupied. She couldn't even recall her mother that well, as she passed from illness when she was only 2, but she had a father. She had a jovial, tongue-in-cheek, embarrassing, loving, cunning, and observant father.

Because of his efforts, she and her best friend Sakura could live as normal lives as they could during the worst of the colonial years.

But then her uncle went and killed her grandfather and turned it all on its head.

Part of that new world order was that she was visiting the imperial palace on behalf of her father, who was stuck with some work in South America. She would rather she could return to her studies in Japan, but this was the price that came with change and being a royal, even if she couldn't claim the throne.

"We need to pencil in a meeting with the Finance Ministry. He wished to hand some files to your father, my lady." Sakura, her best friend and main lady in waiting, read back to her.

Sakuya sighed. She did not try to tell Sakura she could refer to her by name; she knew it was fruitless. “He could just email them; we have secure lines for a reason…” Sometimes, she felt like a glorified messenger but needed to keep positive.

“And what about the meeting with the empress?” She asked.

“Still on, should I request your favourites?” Sakura asked, to which Sakuya rolled her eyes, letting out a short chuckle.

"No need. She'll tease me with nothing but pizza before growing bored and just presenting proper food." She struggled to get a read on the woman. She was an enigma, and she had a feeling C.C. liked that. She looked younger than her for a while and admitted she didn't have much of a file on herself. But she was honest…when she wasn't trying to vex people for amusement.

“True,” Sakura nodded, but stopped. Her pause caused the rest of them to pause in the middle of the hallway, a massive window lighting up the space, the same as the dozens more lining the long corridor. "Oh, you think we'll have time later on to explore? We haven't been here since the coronation, and I was wondering if we could hit up some shops."

Oh yes, that was a good point. And even with the coronation, she and Sakura had been too young to enjoy things, and the city had changed since then. Tapping her chin, she mused aloud. "I don't know. Do you want us to hit them up, or do you want Ash and you to hit them up?"

Her best friend and lover turned red like fire engines as she expected and wanted.

“M-my lady!” Sakura hid behind her tablet.

Ash, the typically cool and collected soldier, the Knight of Five, scouted and trained by the Knight of One himself, looked like he had no clue what to say and was spouting nonsense. “Sakuya, I would never-I mean, I’m not against spending time with Sakura, but she’s a close and trusted friend, so I don’t need to fear she would-not that I would be receptive in the least-!

“Auntie!” They were saved from further embarrassment by the arrival of an unexpected face. They turned and caught Prince Naoto rushing towards them. In his hands, he held a pencil and a book.

“There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you!” He yelled as he caught up with them.

“Naoto, shouldn’t you still be playing?” Sakuya asked, as if she remembered correctly. He and his siblings typically spent their afternoons having fun with the servant children or, if their parents weren't busy, with them.

“Nope, something more important came up!” Naoto replied.

“Oh, something more important than spending your free time with your friends and toys?” The 19-year-old teased him, expecting him to hesitate, but he surprised her by not even noticing the bait.

“We’re planning dad’s big day!”

“The emperor?” Ash asked, as there weren't many who could match, not unless he took a serious blow to the head and smoked something to believe the prince would see another as his dad, or God forbid, believe himself the product of infidelity.

"But, his birthday is still months away, is it his 10th anniversary?” Sakura asked, as plans for the 10th anniversary of Britannia’s 99th ruler had been in the works for nearly a year. Still, she didn't know what the young imperials could add.

"Nope, nope, and noppity nope! It's for Father's Day! It's in a couple of weeks, and we'll blow his socks off with it." Naoto stated, holding up his notebook where he had written 'ideas' in pretty smart handwriting. Clearly, for all their complaining, it seemed like the boy at least took his lessons to heart.

“Is…that celebrated here?” Ash asked, to which Sakuya shook her head.

“I’ve never seen it happen.” She wasn't born in Britannia, and she was thankful for it. Still, she had heard enough to know that the nobility and the royal family were less families and more snakes competing, and not afraid to devour each other to do it.

“Because all your boring old people never told us, now we look stupid.” Naoto crossed his arms.

"Naoto," Sakuya warned him, to which the boy corrected.

“We look silly.” She smiled as she rubbed at his hair. The boy tried to fight her off, but she knew he liked it and kept on doing it a little longer.

"Better, and no, you don't. It just wasn't a thing that happened in the royal family, " she explained to him, which seemed to perplex the boy.

“Why not?”

Sakuya looked towards Sakura and Ash, hoping for help. Still, her best friend and dependable boyfriend decided to leave her to handle this, no doubt as payback for her earlier tease.

As she drew up plans to get back at them, she tried to explain things to the boy in a way that wouldn't be too complicated but not so dumbed down that he was insulted. "Well, Father's Day is meant for good fathers—those who love their kids, protect and provide for them, and are kind to them. Your grandfather wasn't like that, not like it at all."

“Not even a little bit?” Naoto asked, as he hadn't heard much about his grandfather on his papa's side. He had heard plenty about grandpa from momma's side and even met the man a few times, but all he knew about Emperor Charles was that he died before he was born.

Sakuya nearly laughed at the idea of Charles being a good anything. The only thing he seemed capable of was spreading misery, death, slavery, and bullshit racial superiority theories as accurate as the idea that the moon was cheese.

Not for the first time, she wondered how he allowed his daughter to marry her father and have her, but what she and her father had heard from Lelouch painted Charles as a selfish hypocrite who didn’t even believe in the hateful shit he parroted time and time again.

"Not even a teeny tiny bit. Even then, before your father claimed the throne, Britannia was very…mean, I suppose. The people in power like us didn't celebrate things like that; they thought it was for commoners." Sakuya said nothing about that and kept to the story as Naoto would understand.

The young prince paused, his face twisting as he tried to understand such a thing before ultimately giving up. “That sounds really dumb.”

“It is, and I feel silly for not realizing it beforehand. Good job catching that, Naoto.” Sakuya praised him, which made his cheeks turn a little red. Then he slumped with a loud groan, nearly melting into her arms.

“It wasn’t my idea, big sis was the one who heard about it.” He said, his voice muffled by her shoulder as it wrapped his little arms around her. Sakuya smiled at his actions, saying he liked to act like he was 'too cool for hugs since he was 6,' but always sought them out.

"And you're helping her, that counts, you know. So, what did you need my help with?” Sakuya asked as she stood up, easily picking up the boy and carrying her.

"Oh, I wanted to ask how you celebrated it with Uncle Jugo." Naoto cheered, holding up his notebook.

"Hmm, that is a question. Why don't we find somewhere to sit? I can tell you about the time your uncle decided to try building some go-karts for him, Sakura, and me to ride along a track and how he messed up." She proposed, to which his eyes lit up at the chance to hear some more stories, and stories would help them, a double win.

"Sakuya, we have a meeting." Sakura tried to remind her, but Sakuya waved off her former body double’s warning.

"It can wait. I'm sure the father will understand me wanting his nephew to hear about his greatest hits." The worst that could happen was the finance minister being upset, but she could smooth that over.

Watching the woman walk off, the second prince in hand, as she swung him about with exaggerated noises and jokes that got the boy laughing and giggling, Sakura looked towards Ash, who looked lovestruck all over again.

She wouldn't be surprised if he pictured Sakuya being like that with their kids.

Instead, she just sucked it up and went along with it, giving chase to the distant royals. "I wouldn't call it a hit, but it was an…experience." She muttered, but she couldn't keep the giggle behind her lips, as that would be a fun story to bring up.

Line Break

And we have a fresh chapter for a brand-new story! Well, not really new, more a continuation of Demon Reigns, which I have to say, was a bit of a surprise for me, as I thought I was done with it. Still, I was commissioned to keep going, so… here we are. However, this is a little different from Demon Reigns, which is more serious and a little depressing. With Cornelia's death, Tohdoh is basically left miserable. Nunnally was exiled from her family, but it was necessary, as I didn't want to write something that came off as the best ending, but still a good ending.

This will be a little different as I’m aiming for a more wholesome and sweet continuation because let’s face it, the world is shit right now, and while I don’t mind angst, sometimes you need something sweet to bite into. It won’t just be sugary wholesomeness, but that is what I’m aiming for with this. One last thing, I’m posting this today, Sunday 7th, because I was too busy during the week to get this done, but know that it's taking the Friday slot, so the next chapter will be around Friday 15th.

So yeah, I hope you enjoy this.

Line Break

Well, that is that. I must admit, in the earlier drafts, I expected to have Lelouch or someone else of importance from the main story appear. Still, when I sat and thought about it, it makes more sense that the continuation, set years in the future, would start with his kids, whom he gleefully unleashed on the world. I also enjoyed the gardener OC, as with Rivalz in the previous story, it's important to have a figure like him who is disconnected from the power to see how a more relatable person sees and interacts with the world.

Why Italian? Well, I was watching an Overly Sarcastic Productions Pope Fights, and thought why not?

If they were older, I would have thrown in a joke scene about them sneaking off with the Guren and Shinkiro or something just to have Lelouch and Kallen need to explain to the entire empire like exhausted parents: 'No, we're not at war. No, I'm not starting one; my kids just find the keys.' But it was a fun time to introduce Sakuya and Ash, who have been people I've been asked more than once to do something with.

And I did, and I gave them perhaps the best timeline. Sakuya never lost her dad, who gained a position of power, and Ash and his brother were never ‘adopted’ by Norland, who does not exist because if the writers couldn't care less about giving him a character deeper than a puddle, I won't in my wholesome story.

Basically, with those changes, there is no reason for any conflict between Ash and Sakuya, or reasons that could have never become an item. And yes, they're dating and quite serious about it. She just likes to tease him about liking Sakura more, like an inside joke based on how he developed a crush on her in Rose, but he has no clue who that was.

And yes, Leila would know about Father's Day, so would Kallen(to an extent), but neither would have celebrated it in years. While C.C. was born before it was a thing, and Lelouch…well, we saw the disrespect he gave Charles with his funeral; the notion of celebrating his father properly would physically sicken him.

In the next chapter, we'll have the older royals feature.