The Imperial Palace of Britaria was very special. It was a western-style country, but it had an oriental concept in the Imperial Palace. It didn't use a huge castle as the Imperial Palace. Instead, it was a city that belonged to the royal family. There were many palaces of different sizes, just like the Forbidden City. However, the buildings in the city were filled with a typical British style.
As a Western country, it was not too strange to have such a palace. After all, the Emperor had given birth to more than a hundred children. Without so many palaces, it would be impossible to accommodate so many princes and princesses. It would also be impossible to accommodate so many imperial concubines and even more attendants, servants, and guards who took care of the members of the imperial family.
After arriving at the Imperial Palace, Xiao Ran didn't feel uncomfortable at all because of the unique and majestic buildings. After all, he was a person who had seen the world. A mere Imperial Palace wouldn't cause any waves in his heart. However, after entering the Imperial Palace, Xiao Ran didn't meet the 'great' Emperor Charles immediately. Instead, he was brought to a palace that seemed to be specially used to receive foreign ministers. Together with Jeremiah and Veletta, they sat down in a separate waiting room in the palace.
As for Bismarck who brought them here, he separated from Xiao Ran after entering the Imperial Palace. Xiao Ran wasn't sure where he went, but it was very likely that he went to meet the Emperor.
As for what Bismarck said at the airport that the Emperor was waiting for him, Xiao Ran didn't believe it at all. Would a 'busy' Emperor specially wait for a newly promoted Knight of the Round Table? Xiao Ran knew that it was impossible. He didn't need to pay too much attention to the Emperor's words.
Apart from this sentence, Xiao Ran didn't believe anything Bismarck said in the car at all. It wasn't that she didn't believe him at all, but at least half of what Bismarck said was true, while the other half was false. Bismarck even hid and lied to Xiao Ran. Bismarck thought that even if Xiao Ran didn't believe him, she would at least be grateful. However, he didn't know that Xiao Ran had the ability to discern his inner state of mind and determine whether he was telling the truth or not.
According to what Bismarck said, he wanted to get a mecha from the Scarlet Knights for Xiao Ran. This was true, and he wanted to set up a benchmark. However, this benchmark might not necessarily be Xiao Ran, and it might be someone else. Xiao Ran felt that Bismarck wanted to set him up as an enemy of the Scarlet Knights. It seemed that he wanted to set Xiao Ran up against the Scarlet Knights. Many of the beautiful words he said were actually sugar-coated bullets. He wanted Xiao Ran to be a powerful cannon fodder to attract the Scarlet Knights so that Xiao Ran could find trouble with the Scarlet Knights. In the end, Bismarck would achieve his other goal.
In addition, it was true that Bismarck didn't have a deep understanding of the Scarlet Knights, and it was also true that he was wary of them. However, it was precisely because of this that he needed a suitable person to test the depths of the Scarlet Knights, and no one was more suitable than Xiao Ran, especially after the incident of spying on Euphoria. There was already an obvious conflict between the two sides, and Xiao Ran had even killed a member of the Scarlet Knights.
Besides, wasn't what Bismarck was expressing right now the same as Emperor Charles's? Otherwise, after the incident of Euphemia being spied on, Emperor Charles wouldn't have suddenly called him over from the 11th District to hold an official Knight of the Round Table conferring ceremony.
It would be strange if there wasn't some inside story. However, Xiao Ran didn't care at all. Whether it was the Scarlet Knights, Emperor Charles, Bismarck, or the entire Empire, Xiao Ran didn't care what they were planning. He could eat the sugar-coated bullets and spit them back out. No, he could even swallow the bullets together. Wasn't it just to test the Scarlet Knights? Wasn't it just to find trouble with the Scarlet Knights? Even if Emperor Charles and Bismarck didn't have such intentions, Xiao Ran was prepared to do it himself. It wasn't Xiao Ran's style to not take advantage of those fools. Even Charles was Xiao Ran's target. It was hard to say who was using who.
Xiao Ran sat calmly in the waiting room as he sipped on the tea served by the attendant. Compared to Xiao Ran, Jeremiah and Villeta were much more serious. Even when they were sitting, they would lift their heads and straighten their backs. Apart from taking a small sip of tea, they didn't do anything else.
They waited for two to three hours. Xiao Ran didn't care about how long he had waited. It was nothing more than some small tricks of the upper class. Xiao Ran was clear about this, so he didn't mind Emperor Charles doing this. There was no harm in waiting. Drinking tea and taking a nap wouldn't bother him. He could just treat it as a rest.
Finally, the door opened and a servant walked in to inform Xiao Ran that Emperor Charles wanted to see him. Jeremiah and Villeta heaved a sigh of relief. After all, it was quite uncomfortable to sit in the palace and not talk. Now that they could finally meet the great Emperor of Butaria, they weren't that excited, but they were a little nervous.
However, after Xiao Ran stood up, he pressed the two of them down and said, "There's no need for you to go. You don't feel comfortable staying here. Wait for me outside the palace."
Jeremiah was stunned for a moment when he heard Xiao Ran's words. However, as a woman, Veletta was much more sensitive than Jeremiah. She immediately pulled Jeremiah's arm and nodded to Xiao Ran and said, "Understood. We will wait for you outside, Sir."
Xiao Ran nodded and walked towards the servant who came in. He nodded and said, "I'll have to trouble you to bring them out of the palace."
The servant bowed respectfully and said, "I will arrange it later, Sir Knight."
"Let's go."
After Xiao Ran and the servant left, Jeremiah came back to his senses and smiled bitterly. "Indeed, we don't have the right to meet His Majesty yet. It's not because of our status, but because we are guilty subjects. If it weren't for Her Highness Euphemia and Sir Knight, we wouldn't even have the right to come here."
Veletta patted Jeremiah's shoulder and said, "Actually, Sir Knight didn't let us go because he wanted to protect us. Otherwise, if His Majesty wanted to punish us for failing to protect His Highness Culovis, Sir Knight wouldn't be able to absolve us. If we didn't go, His Majesty wouldn't be able to see us and this wouldn't have happened."
Xiao Ran followed the servant and passed by many buildings along the way. Finally, he arrived in front of a magnificent domed building. When the servant stopped, Xiao Ran looked at the guards on both sides and stopped as well.
"Sir Knight, His Majesty is waiting for you inside. You can go in by yourself. Just follow the red carpet straight ahead. I still have to arrange for your subordinates to leave, so I'll take my leave first."
Xiao Ran nodded. He glanced at the open door in front of him and the guards on both sides of the door. He walked straight in.
After passing through a long corridor, passing by groups of patrolling soldiers, and walking along a red carpet, they arrived in front of a door. Then, they saw Bismarck standing outside the door.
Bismarck nodded at Xiao Ran with a smile and said, "Apologies for making you wait. His Majesty had many things to deal with, but they're all done now. He's waiting for you inside. Follow me. By the way, if you're carrying any weapons, hand them to the guards on the side. You don't have to bring any weapons with you when you meet His Majesty. "
Xiao Ran nodded with a smile. He didn't bring any weapons with him. When he left the 11th district, the only thing he brought with him was the mask and the portable BIT carried by Jeremiah and Villetta. There was no need to bring a useless gun with him.
Seeing that Xiao Ran didn't move, Bismarck knew what was going on. He turned around and waved his hand at the guards outside the door. The guards directly pushed the door open. After Bismarck walked in front, Xiao Ran followed Bismarck through the door with steady steps.
After the door, there was a large meeting room with a gold-edged red carpet in the middle and a row of heavy chairs on both sides. Not far from the front was a flight of stairs with a throne at the top. The Emperor Charles who ruled the entire Britaria was sitting on the throne.
Bismarck led Xiao Ran to the bottom of the stairs. He placed his hand on his chest and bowed. "Your Majesty, Knight Lelouch Xiao has arrived."
Xiao Ran's eyes swept past Charles, who was sitting on the throne with his eyes closed, and he smiled leisurely in his heart. Imitating Bismarck, he placed his hands on his chest and bowed. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. He said, "Luluxiu Xiao pays his respects to Your Majesty."
Bismarck's superfluous act of telling Charles that Xiao Ran had arrived was to the point that Xiao Ran was full of complaints. The sound of the door opening wasn't loud, but it wasn't soft either. It was to the extent that Charles who was sitting on the throne could definitely hear it. However, this white-haired curly-haired man who was supporting his head with his hands on the throne had to wait for Bismarck to speak before slowly opening his eyes. Xiao Ran felt that he couldn't imitate this kind of pretentious behavior.
His eyes slowly opened and his body slowly straightened. His majestic gaze penetrated through and landed on Xiao Ran who was bowing with his hand on his chest. Charles slowly stood up and shook his cloak. He slowly said in a mighty and deep voice, "Stand up straight, Knight Bismarck, Knight Lelouch."
Bismarck and Xiao Ran stood up straight. The white-haired Charles on the stairs also focused his gaze on Xiao Ran. "Lelouch Xiao. Is that your name?"
Xiao Ran nodded gently. "Yes, Your Majesty. The name Lelouch Xiao has been with me ever since I came to this world."
Xiao Ran obviously understood what was going on when Charles asked such a question. To Charles, the name Lelouch was perhaps a rather special existence. It was almost impossible that he didn't know about Lelouch's current situation. At most, he didn't know that Lelouch had turned into ZERO, obtained GEASS, killed Culovis, and handed Nunnally over to Xiao Ran.
Moreover, the real Lelouch was in the 11th District at the moment. Xiao Ran, who had impersonated Lelouch, also came from the 11th District. As an emperor, it was normal for Charles to ask such a question.
However, Xiao Ran didn't lie. The name Lelouch had been with him ever since he came to this world.
Charles nodded slightly. "Knight Lelouch, why don't you take off your mask? Is your eye disease so serious that you can't withstand it in a room like this? Or are you saying that you can't show your true face?"
"Of course not, Your Majesty." Xiao Ran smiled. "I'm just worried that I'll scare Your Majesty if I take off my mask. Since Your Majesty doesn't mind, I'll take it off."
Xiao Ran slowly raised his hand and touched his mask. However, he was wondering why Charles wanted him to take off his mask. Did he want to confirm that he wasn't Lelouch? Or did he think that the mask was in the way and wanted to confirm his true identity? Or did he want to use GEASS to change his memory?
Xiao Ran took off his mask, but his eyes remained closed. When Charles saw Xiao Ran's true face under the mask, he nodded slightly. However, he was a little unhappy that Xiao Ran didn't open his eyes. At this point, Charles didn't continue to order Xiao Ran to open his eyes. Of course, it wasn't that he couldn't do that. However, as a king, there was no need for him to expose other people's secrets.
Xiao Ran's requirement to become a knight was to not do anything he didn't want to do. Although Charles didn't know if Xiao Ran would refuse to open his eyes, there was no need for him to try.
Charles nodded slightly, while Bismarck whispered to Xiao Ran, "It's done."
Xiao Ran closed his eyes, smiled, and put the mask back on his face. In fact, he wasn't worried about whether Charles would let him open his eyes or not. In the end, Xiao Ran wouldn't suffer a loss. At most, he would spend some energy to forcibly control Charles and Xiao Ran, which would only be beneficial to Xiao Ran.
The only thing he had to worry about was the Blood Knights. If there were any high-level mental cultivators among the Blood Knights who were in contact with Charles, they were likely to sense that something was wrong with Charles and Bismarck, which might lead to some unnecessary trouble. It was precisely because of this that Xiao Ran didn't really intend to control Charles at this time.
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