Instead of a bald head, he had dazzling golden hair. Moreover, his blue eyes were reminiscent of the sky. He was handsome—and as a matter of course, he didn’t have a flabby double chin like my father.

The Golden Prince, Prince Sazanjill, held his hand out to me.

“Why don’t you step away from that armor? It’d be dangerous if it fell.”

“…Wouldn’t the armor break?”

“That’d be much better than Lelouche getting hurt. I’ve saved a fair amount in my personal savings.”

…Please stop.

Please don’t pay for the decorations that your fiancée broke while disguising as a maid in someone else’s mansion because she sang too hard.

Please just stop. At least let me pay for it myself.

I reluctantly took his hand and sat up straight.

Sazanjill placed his hands on his hips and said, “Now then… I’m not very good at lecturing, but let me hear your explanation first.”

“Before that… Why did Your Highness Sazanjill come out?”

There was no one else around.

Prince Sazanjill was the only one who came out of the conference room to see what was going on, not Zeldo.

Hearing my question, Prince Sazanjill sighed softly.

“You see, I heard Lelouche singing even though she wasn’t supposed to be here. In order to keep the commotion to a minimum, I decided it’d be best for me to come out.”

Of course, at first, Zeldo said he’d go and see what was going on, Sazanjill added.

And here I thought my plan was pretty solid…

I pouted a little in frustration, but I still had some questions left.

“But how did you know it was me? Even if the voice is similar, I look like this.”

Obviously, since my identity had been revealed, I no longer keep up the hunchbacked acting.

I had grey hair, glasses, and freckles. I was dressed as a maid and even held a rag in hand. My singing voice wasn’t particularly distinctive, so why was he so sure it was me?

And yet, Prince Sazanjill burst out laughing.

“No, the voice is more than similar? We used to sing the same song, didn’t we?”

 “Huh? I don’t remember?”

“Not just the song, the way you’re hugging that armor as if dancing is the same. …Ah, if anything, your singing has become more poetic than before. I feel like there are more phrases. The line ‘second sun,’ in particular, is pretty good. The duke is always cheerful and lightens the mood.”

“Your Highness, I know I shouldn’t say this, but considering the situation…”

“Ah, indeed.”

After chuckling, Prince Sazanjill became serious.

“So, why did you do this?”

No way out.

No matter how much I tried to cover it up, right after he complimented my singing, I was completely in his pace.

This… from the flow of the conversation, I’ve already been taken by surprise. It’s a complete defeat.

So, I called out to her.

“Lumiere!”

“Y-yes!”

“Haa… I knew you’d drag Lumiere into this situation.”

“I’m sorry,” I apologized to the astonished prince while receiving a letter from the trudging Lumiere. Then, I handed it over to him.

“I snuck in to give this to Lord Zeldo.”

“May I read it?”

“Of course.”

“Hmm… I’ll tear up the envelope.”

There’s no envelope knife here after all…

Prince Sazanjil was considerate enough to open the envelop as carefully as possible. Then, he glanced over the contents and nodded softly, saying, “I see.”

“Indeed, there are those who suspect that the domestic faction was involved. According to Lord Isaac, neighboring countries have strengthened their maritime control, so there are hardly any pirate attacks. It’d be difficult to arrange for a ship from a neighboring country to cause trouble in Lapisenta waters without some kind of backing. If it was the work of a foreign faction, it’d be strange to damage the Territory of Luct, which is their base—”

Prince Sazanjill folded up the letter and looked me in the eye.

“It’s great that we can obtain a statement from Duke Fable, who can be considered the leader of the domestic faction, at this stage. If we tell him that the duke’s daughter has testified, he’ll cooperate with the questioning without any hesitation. Thanks to this, we can move forward to a resolution in the shortest possible time, but—”

He then took a breath and asked in a particularly low voice.

“—Why didn’t you tell me first?”

I could only bite my lip. Naturally, Prince Sazanjill’s voice was flat.

“Although both Lelouche and Ms. Fable are minors, no one would disregard a letter signed by the daughter a duke from the other faction. With Lumiere, who belongs to neither faction, acting as a go-between, the effectiveness of the testimony increases even more. But if you’d simply told me Ms. Fable’s testimony directly, without going to such a complicated route, I could’ve summoned Duke Fable here. It would’ve been a much quicker solution, but I’m sure you’ve realized this.”

“…”

“…Even if you don’t want to talk to me, there’s always Zafield. If you had told your father, Duke Elcage, he’d have made a wise decision. At the very least, I don’t see any reason for you to have gone to the trouble of disguising yourself and coming with Lumiere. Also, what’s the point of dragging Lord Isaac into this?”

“…”

“Silence, hm? Lumiere?”

“Y-yes?!”

Lumiere straightened up in a panic when she heard her name called.

Prince Sazanjill spoke to her with a serious expression.

“I’ll immediately arrange for a carriage to take you back, so please return with Lelouch. Of course, I have no intention of reprimanding you for this. I’ll make arrangements with the school and the baron, so you needn’t worry about anything. However… if you want to be Lelouch’s friend, don’t just do whatever she says. You can only be friends if you’re equals, right?”

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind…”

Lumiere bowed deeply, somewhat fearful. After placing his hand on her shoulder, Prince Sazanjill patted me on the head twice.

“Then, I shall return. Proudly for your carriage at the main gate. The embarrassment shall be your punishment.”

“I’m very sorry.”

As I bowed, I heard a bitter laugh from above. The prince, holding the letter, returned straight to the conference room. Faintly, I could hear his cheerful voice inside the closed conference room.

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