Chapter 66: Gentle Lies
"The last of the so-called PLANT big three has also passed away. All three are killed by a gun, is this fate or irony?" Loran sighed somewhat sorrowfully. Only at this time, Ade remembers that Loran was at the same age as them, not as him.
"The old Zala committed suicide." He was alone with Loran in the conference room at the moment. The two of them sitting opposite each other, "Taking all the blame and then dying silently at the perfect time, it almost makes you wonder if it's suicide or being suicided."
The terminal on the table is showing the latest information - the former Speaker Patrick Zala was found this morning at his home having killed himself with a gun, and Speaker Karn expressed her condolences.
Zala left the next Speaker a not too bad start. The war was his fault, Genesis was his fault, the defeat of the war was his fault, the signing of the treaty was also his fault, and only after carrying all the faults did he finally commit suicide.
"No one would care even if he was suicided, right?" Loran shook his head, relieved from the sorrow of nostalgia for the past, "It's also an issue to deal with Zala's son. Neither Diana nor I can make a decision. Dr. Adrien, do you have any suggestions?"
"What to do with Athrun Zala is a political issue, I …" Ade subconsciously wanted to say I'll ask Lacus. He may be too dependent on her, "I'll think about it and give an answer later."
Loran nodded and didn't dwell on the issue. Athrun was now under house arrest on the moon, well fed and entertained, except for not being able to go out and contact the outside world, his life was guaranteed. Now that Zala is also dead, no one on PLANT still cares about him. He has been living here for a period of time, but not even a single person from ZAFT asks about his situation.
"Both of Earth nor PLANT has no time to make trouble now." Loran let out a long breath, "This crisis can probably be considered to have passed."
Within a few hours after the bombing of Genesis that day, ZAFT stopped the war with TITANS unusually quickly. The leadership of TITANS, including Hymem, was wiped out by Genesis in one shot, and as the only survivor, Scirocco became the supreme leader. Zala immediately announced a request for peace talks, and Scirocco signed various agreements hastily and returned immediately.
With various war reparations and economic sanctions agreements, Scirocco's prestige reached its peak after returning to Earth. He quickly integrated the remaining TITANS forces, and his friendly relationship with the TITANS sponsors became a great guarantee in this process. Thanks to his efforts, the Earth Federation government's plan to overthrow the TITANS forces failed, and Londo Bell was able to continue to be faineant happily.
By the way, Scirocco was very restrained and only promoted himself to lieutenant colonel. Now the youngest colonel in the Federation is still Bright Noa.
On the PLANT side, Zala instantly died after taking all kinds of blames. Haman got the support of both the Char faction and the Zala faction, and was appointed as the temporary speaker directly through various policy loopholes without elections.
Then Haman sold Char directly. She proved the authenticity of Lacus's novel, appearing in front of the public as a victim. She transformed into an abused but strong female who stood up for her country at the critical moment, and her speeches on various public occasions made people weep. Char is now on bail as a murder suspect, and even if he won't be sentenced to death, his political career is already over.
Haman's moves surprised Ade, and even Lacus could not help but express her admiration. Haman's popularity in PLANT today is just the same as Lacus back then. If there is no accident, it is only a matter of time before this temporary speaker becomes the formal speaker.
Loran proclaimed to the public that it was the moon government who attacked and blew up Genesis, and declared again that the moon doesn't want to see any country continue to develop mass destruction weapons. Haman said it was all the dictatorship of the former Speaker, and that the moon's actions were reasonable and would not affect the friendly diplomatic relations between the two countries.
"And Doctor, this is the one that affects you the most, right?" Loran turned the news to the next page, which shows that Haman had just revoked the want of Lacus Clyne and rehabbed Siegel Clyne's reputation. "Ms. Karn warmly welcomes Miss Lacus back to her home country, is there something you would like to say, Doctor?"
"Lacus now knows so many secrets of us, there's no way we can let her go, right?" Ade shrugged, "Do Your Highness Loran thinks that she can go back?"
"My opinion doesn't work here, it's up to Diana to make the decision." Loran smiled helplessly, then gestured with his eyes to the next room, "Miss Lacus didn't tell you, right? Guess what she's been talking to Diana about?"
Ever since the day Lacus took the initiative to talk to Diana, she would come and talk to Diana from time to time. At this moment, the two were in the next room for talks. Not alone, of course, Harry was also present. According to Lacus -
"Your Highness Loran, General Ghingham and Captain Harry are the executors, and only Her Majesty Diana is the real decision-maker in the whole team. So Ade, I only had to convince her alone."
But Ade doesn't know what exactly she and Diana talked about. He asked, but Lacus said it was not convenient to tell him before this matter was finalized.
"Wait, Your Highness… do you mean?" Ade felt his heart skip a beat, "No way … this… what good would it do her?"
"Not everything will always be there, turning a blind eye does not solve the problem." Loran calmly locked eyes with him, his tone was gentle, "lady Lacus is a very opinionated person, very determined, and a very persuasive person, I think she can convince Diana."
"Aren't you going to do anything about it, Your Highness?" Ade looked at him incomprehensibly, "You just let this kind of thing happen?"
"I know what Diana is doing, and I trust her." Loran looked him in the eye, "What about you? Aren't you going to do something about it? I know I'm being very tendentious and unfair to some people by saying this, but I still want to tell you as a friend, Doctor, that sometimes choices have to be made."
"… I understand."
Although he did not know why Loran said this to him, he understands what he is talking about. His emotional intelligence is not as good as Lacus's, but he is not stupid to this point. C.C. will be back next month at the latest, he thought he could still dwell on it, but now it seems that he doesn't have so much time to think.
Loran looked at his complicated expression and sighed softly, not saying anything more.
The real world will never become a gal game. People's life is only a few decades, and time will not be fixed forever. He understands.
The room fell into an embarrassing silence until Lacus and Diana finally finished talking and came out of the next room. Lacus showed a slightly surprised expression when she saw Ade, but immediately returned to her usual appearance. After saying goodbye to Loran and Diana, the two went home in the government car. On the way, Lacus still talked to him as usual, and Ade tried to speak to her like normal, but he knew that she must have found it and was just playing along with him.
When they arrived home, it was not yet time for dinner. The two sat down on the sofa in the living room and remained silent, as if both were waiting for the other to speak first.
Just as Ade was still organizing his words, Lacus broke the silence first, "My conversation with Her Majesty is over. Although it took a lot of work, our engagement can continue."
Ade looked at her in silence, waiting for her to continue.
"I know so many secrets of the moon, I was supposed not be allowed to leave, but fortunately, Your Majesty Diana is a woman of sense." The young lady still smiled, "After paying some price and promising some engagements, Her Majesty Diana allowed me to return to PLANT to continue to our agreement."
"… This is unreasonable." Ade shook his head, "I don't think there is any price that can be compared to the secret of Moonlight Butterfly."
"Her Majesty asked me to keep it a secret and not tell you the price, but that's the conclusion." The young girl said in a calm tone, "The main reason is because of Miss Karn. She is a hugely destabilizing factor, and Her Majesty wants to foster a pro-moon conservative force in PLANT to balance her. I managed to convince her that I was the best person for the job."
"Even if Diana agreed." Ade felt a little annoyed, "Are you a match for her reputation in PLANT now? She has support from both the Zala faction and the Char faction, what can you do to compete with her?"
"The reputation I earned in the past few years is always being there, and I am confident in my own strength. How can I know the result if I don't try?" Lacus showed a confident smile, "Ade, do you have such a low opinion of me?"
"But it's dangerous!" He struggled to find an excuse, "Haman even betrayed Char, I don't know what tricks she will play on you. There's no guarantee for your safety."
"There are some things that must be done even if there is danger. Ade, aren't you such a person?" The young girl softly whispered, "Although you always try to avoid any danger, you never let people down when they need you. I can't lose to you either, I will finish our agreement."
Why did I make this agreement? Why do you have to finish this agreement? Ade felt a blockage in his chest, very uncomfortable.
"The only thing I'm worried about is Ade. You must eat on time." The young lady glanced in the direction of the kitchen, her voice full of worry, "Don't order takeout or drink nutritional supplements again just because I'm not here anymore, it's bad for your health. How about learning to cook for yourself? I'm not going to leave right away, I can teach you."
"It doesn't matter about how I eat." He resisted raising his voice, "But you-"
The words were physically interrupted again before he finished. After two minutes, the young girl looked at him with a slight blush, "Don't worry about me, I'm okay."
Then the girl looked at the time and let out a cry, "Oops, it's already this time! I'm going to make dinner." Then she walked quickly to the kitchen, leaving Ade alone, sitting in place with a complicated feeling.
In the evening, the two did not discuss this issue again and went to rest early.
After taking a shower, Lacus returned to her room, and after dawdling in place for a while, she lay down on the bed with a long sigh, staring at the ceiling in awe. Her pretty pink hair was spread out messily underneath her, and her breathless mumbling to herself resounded in the room.
"'I'm okay' is a lie, an act, why can't you see it? Aren't you a NewType?" The bedroom light was a little blinding, she couldn't help but raise her left arm to cover her pupils, "Say 'please don't go', idiot."
