After a long journey, Xiao Ran finally completed all the tasks in District 19 and returned to the capital of Butaria. The fatigue of the journey did not have too much impact on Xiao Ran. Together with Luziano, he accompanied Moni in the hospital bed. Ka left the plane and watched Monica leave under the care and protection of a group of medical staff and guards. Then he turned to look at the long motorcade on the other side and Bimax standing in front of the motorcade.
In addition to Bimax, another person with a distinguished status in the empire, the imperial prince and prime minister, Shuzenair, also stood in front of the convoy. Shuzenair, a man with extremely deep scheming, let With his incomprehensible thoughts and ambition to dominate the world, he is also evaluated as the person closest to the emperor in the entire Butaria Empire.
In his eyes, he has no real enemies. He is a person who will not cling to anything for selfish reasons. That is to say, he will not use emotions to judge things but regard interests as the top priority. As long as the goal to be achieved can bring If he wants to achieve positive benefits and effects, then he can pay everything for it, including himself.
Such a person is definitely the most qualified candidate as a leader. Even Xiao Ran has to admit that this guy is more qualified to be a king than Lelouch, but his disregard for emotions and putting profit and utilization value first are... She has advantages but also disadvantages. To put it simply, she has no humanity. Reason overrides everything but she also holds ideals similar to Euphilia. There are many contradictions in her heart and behavior. Shuzenel has a good grasp of them. He is a very capable person, but he is too ambitious, has too many ideas, and lacks the necessary shining points of human nature. It is not surprising that he failed in the face of the protagonist Lelouch.
In the normal development of the plot, he once brought great danger to Lelouch, but in the end he was controlled by Lelouch's geass and finally became a loser, but this did not hinder this person's evaluation of him in Xiao Ran's eyes.
Xiao Ran also seemed to remember that Xiuzenair didn't seem to have the slightest affection for Charles, and even planned a coup against Charles. He was also Lelouch's last opponent in this world. He existed like a big boss, and his ability was unquestionable, especially It is the management of the country and the mastery of diplomacy, but it is much better than Lelouch, not to mention Nunnally and Euphilia who are still ignorant and don't know anything at all.
Xiao Ran could feel that Xiuzenair's eyes were on him at this time. It was not just him, but many people's eyes were on him. The things contained in these eyes were too complicated. There are all kinds of looks, whether they are admiration, appreciation, ridicule, there are many of them.
Luciano was used to being careless and didn't notice the strange atmosphere now. After watching the convoy transporting Monica leave, he patted his shoulder and said, "Let's go. I didn't expect that it would be His Highness Xiuzenaier and Knight Bimax came to pick us up together, don’t keep His Highness and the others waiting.”
Xiao Ran nodded slightly, and walked quickly to the front of the motorcade with Luziano, stopping in front of Bimax and Xiuzenaier. The closer they were, the more clearly they could see the expressions on their faces. and eyes.
Bimax had a complicated face, with a little surprise hidden in his eyes. His expression and eyes were indescribable, as if he had seen a younger generation grow up, but he was not happy or proud, nor was he jealous or jealous. Resentment, a little bit of loneliness and helplessness, in short, it is difficult to describe it simply in words.
Xiuzenair, on the other hand, was quite calm, with a false gentle smile, showing his stability and kindness, but Xiao Ran could see the ruthless nature of the other person's face at a glance.
As the person with the highest status, Xiuzenair took the initiative very well. After Xiao Ran stopped, he did not hide his appreciation and goodwill towards Xiao Ran. With a smile, he took the initiative to speak before Xiao Ran saluted: "Welcome to you. Come back, Knight Lelouch, Knight Luciano, thank you for everything you have done for the empire in District 19. If I remember correctly, this is the first official meeting between Knight Lelouch and me. We have been together for a long time. Daimyo, I have heard about everything you did in District 19, and I can’t help but admire you. Your feats have now spread throughout the empire, and you live up to your name as a Knight of the Round Table."
Xiao Ran put one hand on his chest and made a formal salute, and said politely: "His Royal Highness Xiuzenaier praised me. This is what I should do. I also want to thank you for coming to greet us despite your busy schedule. "
Shuzenair raised his hand and waved it gently, shook his head and said seriously: "For the heroes, warriors and meritorious officials of the empire, I don't think that my presence here is something worthy of gratitude. They should be thanked. It is you who are the right ones. It is precisely because the empire has warriors and heroes like you that the empire can maintain and become stronger and stronger. As the prime minister and prince of the empire, you can serve as an example and representative to welcome the return of the heroes. , this is my honor.”
Luciano, the second fool, laughed. As for how much he thought Xiuzenair's words were true, or whether he was moved by them, only this second fool felt the most. It was clear. Of course, Xiao Ran was at least clear.
But for Xiao Ran, Xiuzenair's beautiful words will not affect him. He just thinks that Xiuzenair's superficial skills are really good. He is really giving both face and embarrassment. He speaks in a series of flirtatious words. I don’t know if this guy touched me.
However, Xiao Ran had guessed some of Xiuzenair's purpose, which was nothing more than to increase his favorability and win over him. But thinking about it on the other hand, since Xiuzenair was able to be controlled by Lelouch's geass in the end, Moreover, he has no favorable impression of Charles at all, and may even have plans for a coup. So can Xiao Ran win over this guy for his own use, and ask Lelouch to give him an order to obey Nunnally or It was the geass ordered by Euphilia to allow this guy to continue to exist as prime minister to manage this country with many affairs, and to free Nunnally and Euphilia, two simple girls, from those complicated things and intrigues. Coming out doesn't seem like a bad thing.
In addition, Shuzenel, like Cornelia, both have a high reputation in the empire and have many supporters. If Shuzenel can be turned into one of his own, it will be very important for the subsequent coup. It would be of great help.
"Your Highness is so polite. I feel flattered by your words." Xiao Ran smiled faintly, but he didn't look flattered at all. He said calmly: "As a Knight of the Round Table of the Empire, I don't have the sharpest sword in your Majesty's hand." We did not complete the mission entrusted by His Majesty, so we are not worthy of His Highness's praise. After all, we are fleeing back to the capital in disgrace with the name of losers."
Xiuzenaier's expression darkened slightly when he heard Xiao Ran's words. It wasn't that he felt that Xiao Ran didn't give him face or anything, but it was simply about the incident mentioned in Xiao Ran's words.
Shuzenair's eyes were a bit sharper: "You can't say that. Even if it suffered a failure in the end, the previous credit cannot be wiped out. It allowed the precarious 19th District to regain its footing and expand to such an extent that it could withstand the resistance. EU's countless attacks almost saved the entire situation by himself. With such great achievements, no one dares to put the title of loser on every soldier who fought bravely in the 19th District. If anyone really dares to do this, as a I, the Prime Minister of the Empire, would not allow it in the first place.”
Xiao Ran sighed softly and said, "Thank you for your understanding, Your Highness."
"This is not an understanding. If even a hero like you, Knight Lelouch, has to be questioned, then there will be nothing worth looking forward to in the future of this country." Shuzenel shook his head and said: " That failure was not your fault, Lelouch Knight. The enemy was so powerful that it was beyond expectation. The top combat forces assembled from both our country and the EU were no match for that one machine. No matter how you look at it, such a failure has nothing to do with Lelouch. It has nothing to do with you, Knight Xiu, it’s just because the other party’s power is so powerful that it’s impossible to resist it by any means.”
Luciano's smiling expression slowly turned serious, and he nodded deeply and said: "Where did such an enemy... come from? When the organization called the Black Knights first appeared, How could he control such a powerful force in Area 11? When I think about being defeated without any resistance at that time, I still can’t imagine the pilot of that machine. How did Pendragon do it? .”
Bimax, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke: "Concerning this question, His Majesty also hopes to get the answer from your mouths. He also wants to know from your mouths personally what happened that day, with the eyes of a Knight of the Round Table."
Xiao Ran smiled slightly and nodded: "Since Your Majesty is waiting for us, there is no need to waste time here."
Bimax nodded, and just when he was about to say something, Xiuzenair suddenly smiled and said: "In that case, let's set off quickly, Knight Luciano, you and Knight Bimax are riding in the same car. I have long admired Lelouch Knight, and I would like to take this opportunity to get acquainted with Lelouch Knight more."
Luciano didn't think anything was wrong. Bimax glanced at Xiuzenair and frowned slightly but said nothing in the end. Xiuzenair raised his hand and took the initiative to open the car door behind him: "Please, Knight Lelouch."
Xiao Ran felt that something was not right about the situation between Xiuzenair and Bimax, but he didn't know what happened between the two people, what it meant, and what deeper meaning was hidden behind it. After smiling slightly, Xiao Ran nodded and took the initiative to get in the car without any courtesy.
Xiuzenair was never a person who decided his thoughts based on emotion. This kind of indifference made him not think that Xiao Ran's behavior was any disrespect to him, and he looked at Bimax and Luziano indifferently. The man nodded and got into the car, and then someone closed the door for him.
Huzenel's car is much more luxurious than Bimax's car. It is a large extended version. It is not only longer but also taller. It is more like a luxury car with a luxury car at the front and a luxury cabin. It's quite spacious inside.
Shuzenair sat down directly after entering the carriage, opened the refrigerator next to him, looked at Xiao Ran, and asked with a smile: "Knight Lelouch, what do you need to drink? There should be no chance for a long time in the 19th District." Get in touch with these things.”
"Just do whatever you want. There really aren't that many places to enjoy on the battlefield, but Her Highness Cornelia didn't treat me badly, so I can still relax from time to time."
Xiuzenair smiled, filled the glass with ice, and poured the wine. He handed the glass to Xiao Ran's hand in one movement, poured himself a glass of the same wine, and took a sip first without asking Xiao Ran, as if to prove something. Then he shook the wine glass and said slowly: "This is my favorite wine. The annual production is not much. Even with my status, I can only get a small amount. Knight Lelouch, you have a lot of wine today." It’s a blessing.”
"Really, I want to experience the fine wine that even His Highness praised."
Xiao Ran smiled and took a sip of the wine in the glass. The taste could only be said to be good, but it was far from the level that made Xiao Ran feel good. After all, the Burning Legion governed several worlds, and there were all kinds of strange things in the huge universe. There are many things, and the same goes for wine. Xiao Ran really likes a kind of wine that he usually drinks. What he feels in his mouth is not hot but cold, which is in line with Xiao Ran's personal personality.
Next, the two of them talked some irrelevant nonsense in the car. Shuzenair did not show how curious he was about the situation in the 19th District. It was not that he didn't want to know more about the 19th District. There is no need to ask Xiao Ran now. After all, Xiao Ran will still say it when he is in front of Charles. Xiuzenair does not lack this patience.
The reason why he wanted to chat with Xiao Ran alone was because Xiuzenaier wanted to know more about Xiao Ran, the name Lelouch, and get closer to Xiao Ran.
But in addition, Shuzenair also had other deeper purposes. After the convoy set off, Shuzenair put the wine glass on the horizontal table and said: "Knight Lelouch was originally from District 11. Man, I don’t know how much Lelouch Knight knows about the Black Knights.”
Xiao Ran shook his head: "I don't know much about it. When I was in District 19, the Black Knights didn't take many actions, and they never showed such power. If I have to say it, it can only be described as mysterious. .”
"Mysterious, yes, it is indeed mysterious." Xiuzenaier smiled meaningfully and said: "Just like you, Lelouch Knight, represent mystery, and the core power of the resistance has mysteriously disappeared. What?"
Xiao Ran raised his eyebrows and looked at Xiuzenair: "Huh?"
"Haha." Shuzenair said with a smile: "Because of the relationship with the Black Knights, His Majesty, Knight Bimax, sent to District 11 to thoroughly investigate all the information about the Black Knights. It seems that Knight Bimax has temporarily taken over. I don’t know what Knight Lelouch thinks of Governor Euphilia’s position.”