Collapse, surrender to me!

"No."

"Why? Can't bear it? Friendship? Self-respect? Or the guilt towards your friend for choosing your sister before?"

The girl asked a series of questions, and Lelouch, who was sitting on a chair and looking out the window, answered with an expression of anxiety and pain on his face.

"……all."

In a sense, this answer was just as Gretchen had expected, and she shrugged helplessly.

I don't intend to give any advice.

She knew that Lelouch himself could imagine how big the gap would be if his side was missing a general and the other side had one more.

Of course, the defection of Suzaku Kururugi was not enough to put Lelouch in such a difficult situation.

more importantly.

When Zero, played by Lelouch, appeared in front of the public, he gained the support of the world with the slogan "Protecting the weak who are bullied by the strong."

The first people to respond enthusiastically to this proposal were not the British opposition, nor the British compliance faction, but those who stood in a neutral position.

They opposed British domination but at the same time rejected armed struggle.

There are many more people who hold this position than the other two.

For most people in Japan, the state is not a supreme institution.

What those who have families need most is a quiet life, and the state is valuable only if it can provide them with this security.

From this point of view, Britain today cannot gain the support of the Japanese because Britain is undoubtedly oppressing them.

But in the same way, those terrorist organizations that are part of the British opposition cannot gain support because they are also threatening people's lives from time to time.

You can't live on patriotism alone.

The ideas of the Black Knights led by Lelouch are exactly in line with the wishes of the middle-class people, which is also the biggest reason why they are accepted by the people.

But precisely because of this, Lelouch and the Black Knights must stick to their original purpose and make protecting the weak rather than subverting British rule their top priority.

But now, on the British side, someone with the same ideas as Lelouch appeared.

Euphemia.

This princess hopes that the people of the two countries can eventually integrate and live in harmony.

It is directly subverting Lelouch's foundation.

Chapter 408 You persuade me to surrender, I persuade you to surrender

Euphemia's style is quite ordinary and low-key. She was ridiculed as a powerless vase governor, but from another perspective, this vase played a role far beyond what a vase should have.

She attended most press conferences, inspected cultural and welfare facilities, and presided over various sports competitions.

At the memorial service for the civilians who died as a result of Lelouch's previous tactic of causing a landslide, Euphemia also went to deliver a speech as the organizer.

As a result, this evaluation gradually penetrated into the hearts of the Japanese living in District 11.

Although she has no real power to rule, but——

She will not discriminate against the Japanese.

Even the most harsh Japanese could not find any malice towards the Japanese in her words and deeds.

Of course she couldn’t find it, because Euphemia really wanted to make peace with the Japanese.

And now.

The friendly image of Euphemia that has quietly penetrated into the hearts of the people is strongly exaggerated by the scene in which she appointed Suzaku Kururugi as a knight, which is an obstacle that Lelouch cannot ignore.

After all, Lelouch was only using the excuse of protecting the oppressed people of Britain to achieve his own goals.

And Euphemia really wanted this.

This is totally unacceptable to Lelouch, whose goal is to overthrow British rule.

Zhuque's personal strength is nothing in front of this flag that determines the spiritual will of the force to which it belongs.

Now, the neutral Japanese people who support Lelouch and the Black Knights also have a certain degree of favorability towards Euphemia and Suzaku Kururugi. Of course, they don't trust them completely.

But there will undoubtedly be more and more people who hold out a glimmer of hope for the relationship between the two.

In addition, under the influence of this incident, the news spread by Britain that the Black Knights caused a landslide and killed innocent people was also very unfavorable to Lelouch and the Black Knights.

Although this battle did prove the strength of the Black Knights, it also cast a shadow on the image of the Black Knights that they advocated for protecting the weak. Some people expressed disappointment.

And here we have new options in Euphemia and Suzaku.

Up and down.

Lelouch's base is already in danger of being overturned.

Lelouch never thought that the enemy that brought him the greatest crisis was not his second sister who was so powerful on the battlefield.

But it’s this truly kind-hearted imperial sister.

It's really ironic.

Therefore,

"If you don't use geass——then there are only two ways."

After listening to Lelouch's answer, Graysch spoke again.

It's a very simple logic. One is to attack Suzaku, and the other is to attack Euphemia.

No matter which side gets into trouble, the image of "the British princess who is willing to stand on the side of the Japanese" will be damaged.

The crisis will also disappear.

"So, you're going to do something to your best friend?"

"No, I'm going to take a gamble."

"What are you gambling?"

"The bond between me and Suzaku," Lelouch said, looking out the window.

"?"

Gray was stunned for a moment.

"Do you think... after Suzaku knows you are Zero, he will choose to stand on your side?!"

Lelouch said nothing.

But it was obvious that he believed that with his personal relationship with Suzaku, plus his brains and eloquence, he could convince Suzaku.

"Is this... the bond between men?"

Little Grace didn't quite understand this.

It's hard to draw a conclusion.

After all… in so many worlds, she didn’t seem to have met any gays.

……

Just when Lelouch was about to use his friendship to persuade Suzaku to surrender.

He definitely didn't expect it.

Euphemia on the other side did the same thing.

On the bridge, the princess quietly watched the scene in front of her for a while. Suddenly, she opened her mouth and called Suzaku beside her in a not loud voice.

"Suzaku."

"Yes. What is it, Your Highness Euphemia?"

"Can I ask a question?"

"Excuse me, Your Highness, what is the problem?" Suzaku responded gently.

"What do you think? Just..."

Euphemia paused and lowered her voice even lower.

"That... zero."

Zhuque was surprised to hear Youfei ask this question.

But that was only a moment.

After thinking for a moment, the boy did not answer, but asked seriously.

"You want to know what I think of that man, don't you?"

"Well..."

Euphemia tilted her head slightly.

"It's about like this, can you tell me?"

"understood."

Suzaku nodded slightly.

"So, I started out by saying, I don't think what he did was right."

Euphemia tilted her head back, staring at Suzaku's face.

"why?"

"Because he only believes in power. He is using power to punish others and trying to change something with power. This is meaningless. The results obtained by the wrong method will ultimately be subverted by the wrong power."

Rather than commenting on Zero, what Suzaku Kururugi said was more of an exposition of his personal beliefs.

This is why he is standing here even though he is the son of the former prime minister.

However, Euphemia did not seem to agree with him.

She stared at Suzaku, then suddenly lowered her eyes and said this.

"If that's the case, then everything my country, Britain, has done is meaningless. Because just as you said, Britain also only believes in strength and wants the whole world to submit to it."

Now Zhuque's eyes widened and he suddenly paid attention to his surroundings.

Fortunately, Euphemia's voice was very soft, and the staff were busy and did not dare to get too close to the princess.

"… Your Highness Euphemia, what are you doing——"

"It's strange, isn't it, that the British princess would say something like this."

Euphemia smiled.

"But, this is what I have always thought - yes, because of this kind of thinking, I have been discriminated against a lot in my country. I don't know how many times I have been scolded by my sister and mother..."

However, it’s not a big deal for her as the one being scolded; the real headache is for the person who scolded her.

In fact, as early as ten years ago, when Euphemia was still studying elementary courses in kindergarten, she wrote an essay that stunned her teacher.

"I think it would be great if the world became one. Whether it's Britain or the Chinese Federation, there would be no boundaries, and everyone would live together in harmony..."

There is nothing wrong with the first half of this composition, the problem lies in the second half.

That statement is simply the equivalent of "hoping Britain will disappear."

If the article had not been written by a child, then the state would be forgiven for thinking she had rebellious intentions.

There is nothing wrong with the world becoming a whole, but from the British perspective, that means the whole world must be ruled by Britain.

Rather than a happy world.

In the end, the teacher could only leave a comment: "Her Highness Euphemia prays for her subjects to live in peace and is a very kind child."

The teacher must have been sweating inside.

If he said one wrong word, young Euphemia would probably be fine, but he would definitely disappear from the face of the earth.

However, this is too unbelievable. It is obvious that Yufei's sister Cornelia is an out-and-out military believer and will never show mercy to those who do not recognize the justice of her country.

Euphemia, her younger sister, admired her sister very much, but she did not agree with this part of her sister's thoughts at all.

It is said that the nine sons of a dragon are all different.

The old emperor of Britain has more than a hundred children, so it is normal for some unusual people to appear.