This time when Lacus came to Star Palace, Reid didn't treat her as a little girl seeking his protection but rather as the leader of the Clyne Faction.
Although the reception was still held at the unfinished Colony Satellite port, the level of hospitality was maximized—Ange, Noin, and Une were all brought out. Of course, Murrue, who had officially moved into Star Palace and shared the same bed with him for several nights, also attended, as she would be interacting with Lacus frequently later on.
Unfortunately, while Reid had prepared a formal reception, Lacus was far from satisfied. This kind of treatment, as if she were a foreign politician, would make it difficult for her to act cute and manipulate people later. Moreover, Kira and Athrun might also distance themselves from her in such a formal setting.
So, right after meeting Reid, Lacus pulled off something drastic.
Lacus descended from the Eternal with Kira and Athrun, followed by Andrew Bartfeld at the rear.
Reid stood slightly behind Ange on her left, preparing to step forward and shake hands according to diplomatic protocol. But the moment Lacus saw Reid, she rushed toward him as if he were her last remaining family member, threw her arms around his waist, buried her face in his chest, and sobbed:
"Wuwu... Mr. Reid... Daddy is dead. Wuwu, my daddy is dead... ε(┬┬﹏┬┬)3"
Reid was genuinely startled this time. There was likely little acting in Lacus's display, so he hadn't sensed any malice beforehand. He had assumed she would rush over to ask about the Barge's situation and might even lecture him about peace—something entirely in line with her persona and personality.
But Lacus had blindsided him with this move. To outsiders, those with simpler minds might conclude that Reid and the late Siegel had indeed been close, which was why Lacus, treating the nine-years-older Reid as a true elder, had clung to him and cried.
Those with more complicated thoughts, especially those aware of Reid's romantic history, would immediately assume that this playboy had seduced yet another girl—this time, the princess of Plant. Combined with his rumored involvement with another princess from Orb (Mina could also be considered a princess, since Orb's representatives took turns in office, and Sahaku had once held the position), was this man planning to collect all the eligible, non-decorative queens and princesses into his harem?
As for Reid, he raised both hands in surrender, trying to signal to everyone: "I didn't touch this girl—she hugged me on her own!!"
Honestly, in this reincarnated life of his, Reid had faced countless challenges without ever surrendering—but this time, he truly "surrendered." The daggers in Ange's, Noin's, and Murrue's eyes were practically tangible, and even Une was glaring at him with clear displeasure.
Reid suddenly felt more wronged than Dou E. He quickly turned to the Xia sisters, who were always by his side, and said:
"Yulan, Yufang, quickly pull Miss Lacus away. This is a public setting. Be gentle—don't hurt her."
Xia Yulan and Xia Yufang had long been irritated by Lacus. What was wrong with this woman? Why was she suddenly hugging their master? If not for Reid's earlier hand signal indicating safety, Yulan would have already pinned her to the ground.
So Yulan and Yufang immediately stepped forward to pull Lacus away.
Lacus quickly realized that the Xia sisters were the type of fiercely loyal subordinates who wouldn't be easily swayed by her. Seizing the opportunity, she lifted her tear-streaked face from Reid's chest and said...
"Mr. Reid, are you going to push Lacus away too? Wuwu...."
As soon as these words were spoken, the looks from Lacus's close associates who had come down from the Eternal turned hostile toward Reid. Even Kira and Athrun's eyes showed reproach toward Reid.
Even Ange and the other two couldn't help but show a trace of pity in their eyes, as if Reid was truly bullying Lacus.
Realizing this, Reid quickly raised his hand to stop the Xia sisters from acting. If he pushed Lacus away now, he would undoubtedly be labeled as someone who bullies young girls.
After stopping the Xia sisters, Reid looked at Lacus, who had just checkmated him, and decided to fight fire with fire. With a forced smile, he said:
"Miss Lacus, I don't want to push you away. But if you keep hugging me like this, how am I supposed to explain it to Ange when I get back? I'm a married man, after all."
Everyone present scoffed at Reid's excuse. Didn't he know how complicated his love life was? If he truly considered himself a married man, why did he take two additional wives and maintain ambiguous relationships with several other women?
However, Lacus knew she couldn't afford to be seen as someone who actively destroys marriages. So she turned her pitiful gaze toward Ange beside Reid and said in a tearful voice:
"Sister Ange, would you misunderstand?"
Ange looked at Lacus's act of playing the victim and felt a headache coming on. But Lacus trying to play the innocent girl in front of Ange was like a novice trying to challenge a master—Ange had encountered all sorts of scheming women during her time at Arzenal.
Though Lacus was clever, she clearly didn't understand the intricacies of feminine rivalry. So Ange decided to teach her a lesson. She first glared fiercely at Reid, signaling that she'd deal with him later.
Then, Ange pulled Lacus off Reid, pressed her head into her own ample bosom to show her what true mature feminine charm was, hugged her tightly, and gently stroked Lacus's hair while saying soothingly:
"Poor Lacus, don't worry. I'll protect you. I won't let anyone bully you, especially not certain smelly men."
Ange's move was indeed masterful—not only did it resolve Reid's awkward dilemma, but it also "comforted" Lacus in front of everyone.
Given Ange's tremendous strength, Lacus found it hard to breathe but couldn't break free. Her slight trembling was mistaken by others for crying, creating a touching scene of sisterly affection.
Fortunately, Ange only wanted to give Lacus a small lesson—after all, her man wasn't someone just anyone could share, and even if someone wanted to, they'd need to pay proper respects first.
So when Lacus stopped struggling and began to convulse slightly, Ange released her.
Having narrowly escaped suffocation, Lacus didn't dare act up around Ange anymore. She obediently held Ange's hand as they entered the conference room where the real meeting would take place.
This meeting was organized by Reid to formalize the establishment of the Three Ships Alliance and determine their course of action.
So Reid began first:
"Alright, everyone's here. Since we're all familiar with each other, I'll skip the pleasantries.
Lacus, the Eternal's escape toward the Star Palace Colony Satellite can't be hidden from PLANT. They should be receiving the news soon, which means they'll likely declare war on the New Misurugi Republic."
At Reid's words, everyone present fell into silence—except for Cagalli, whose political awareness was extremely low, as she indignantly exclaimed:
"What! How can PLANT declare war? They don't even have evidence that Lacus and the Eternal are here."
Reid was exasperated by Cagalli's ignorance. Fortunately, Lacus was present and skilled at mediating tensions, so she helped explain for Reid:
"Miss Cagalli, Reid is right. Given Uncle Patrick's temperament, he would absolutely declare war immediately. Especially since the New Misurugi Republic has just built such a massive mobile fortress."
Here, Lacus not only answered Cagalli's question but also subtly referenced Reid, implying that such a large fortress would only escalate tensions.
But Reid wasn't having any of it. He stated bluntly:
"The construction of the [Barge] was necessary. I foresaw this war and built this ship precisely for it. Lacus, Athrun, I'll say something you might not want to hear: in the coming battle with PLANT, I will fight with everything I have, with the ultimate goal of annihilating the invading forces. After all, given the disparity in strength between the New Misurugi Republic and PLANT, I can't afford to hold back."
Lacus and Athrun had no response. They couldn't very well expect Reid and the others to surrender on the spot when ZAFT attacked.
It was important to remember that all the people of the New Misurugi Republic were in the Star Palace Colony Satellite. If Reid and Princess Angelise fled, it would mean abandoning their citizens, making it impossible to recover later.
At this point, Kira spoke up, his expression grave:
"We'll help defend the Star Palace Colony Satellite. With the Artemis Fortress and that ship, we should be able to hold out for a while if it's just defense."
Seeing Kira volunteer to help, Reid felt his earlier guidance hadn't been in vain.
But he still shook his head and immediately deployed his Mind Manipulation Technique, saying:
"No, Kira, you can't join this fight. To be precise, neither the Archangel, the Kusanagi, nor the Eternal—none of your three ships should participate."
Without waiting for the others to ask why, he continued:
"Don't ask why. Instead, ask yourselves: is your so-called search for a third path just acting like mercenaries, helping weaker nations defend their territory? The question you should be considering is higher than that. Will the outcome of this war between the New Misurugi Republic and PLANT truly affect the larger conflict between Naturals and Coordinators? My suggestion is that you remain here as observers. If things become untenable, I'll have my 'seeds of hope' join you to seek a future path together."
Reid's words sounded noble and righteous, nearly bringing Kira to tears. The young man felt deeply moved that Reid valued him so highly and resolved to find that third path no matter what.
But the reality was that Reid was confident of victory in this battle and intended to use it to advance the Bright Sword Plan to its next phase—a phase Kira and the others would undoubtedly oppose.
That's why Reid didn't want them involved in the defensive battle. Without participation, they'd have no standing to dissuade him from pushing the plan forward. Otherwise, a simple "We didn't help you defend just so you could XXX" would be hard to counter.
Still, Reid's speech had been flawlessly "correct"—so much so that even Lacus detected no deception. She instead responded with conviction:
"Reid, my father once said when he was alive that your existence might be the cornerstone of humanity's future development. I don't know how he reached this conclusion, but I'm willing to trust his judgment and my own eyes. If this battle fails, I hope you can lead your team and come with us."
Regarding Lacus's invitation, Reid only wanted to say he hoped she wouldn't regret it in a few days. But for now, he smiled and agreed, stating he hadn't lived long enough to follow Orb's example.
At this point, even Cagalli, who had been called out, couldn't muster the energy to be angry with Reid, as he was now facing opponents stronger than the Atlantic Federation.
With his objectives achieved in this meeting, Reid concluded it there. The Archangel's leave was over, and everyone returned to the ship to prepare for their "escape."
And Patrick Zala did not disappoint Reid's high expectations.
Upon learning that the Eternal was heading toward the Star Palace Colony Satellite, Patrick Zala immediately deduced that Lacus intended to seek refuge with Reid.
This revelation led Patrick to believe he had found the reason why he couldn't capture Lacus in PLANT. It must be Reid, using his covert intelligence network within PLANT, who had aided Lacus Clyne—all for the sake of the Anti-Neutron Jammer technology.
Then, combining this with the New Misurugi Republic's massive mobile fortress assembled in just three days, Patrick Zala pieced together a logical chain in his typical "shoot first, draw the target later" fashion:
Reid helps the Clyne Faction escape → obtains Anti-Neutron Jammer technology → unlocks nuclear energy to complete the super mobile fortress → successfully rescues Lacus Clyne and reunites → overthrows his rule → the Clyne Faction regains power, with Reid pulling the strings from behind.
Patrick Zala had essentially frightened himself into a cold sweat, endlessly cursing Reid's cunning and ill intentions.
He then recalled that Athrun also seemed to hold some goodwill toward Reid, the man who had killed his mother, and even blamed Reid for Athrun's rebellion against him.
In Patrick Zala's mind, Reid was now akin to the root of all evil, his hatred ranking just below Muruta Azrael and the leaders of the Earth Alliance's three major nations.
Thus, Patrick Zala immediately convened an emergency PLANT council meeting, declaring war on the New Misurugi Republic under the pretext that the Anti-Neutron Jammer technology might be leaked from there, and mobilized troops for an immediate attack.
The current PLANT council was essentially Patrick Zala's personal stage, with most moderate factions either under investigation for treason or conveniently "ill" and on leave.
So Patrick Zala's proposal was swiftly approved.
Just as Reid had predicted, on the second day after Lacus arrived at the Star Palace Colony Satellite, PLANT announced to the world—citing the New Misurugi Republic's harboring of Lacus Clyne, a fugitive guilty of stealing state assets (they certainly couldn't publicly admit it was about the Anti-Neutron Jammer, lest the Earth Alliance catch wind of it)—that this was a severe provocation against PLANT's dignity and sovereignty. Thus, they declared war on the New Misurugi Republic.
The moment PLANT announced the declaration, its subordinate, the Oceania Union, promptly followed suit.
Having long anticipated this moment, Reid and his team were not the least bit surprised.
Ange, representing the New Misurugi Republic, issued a declaration of war.
She openly accused PLANT of coveting the New Misurugi Republic's technology and launching an unjustified crusade under false pretenses.
She stated that the New Misurugi Republic believed justice would prevail and feared no aggression from PLANT. Finally, she added the line Reid had requested:
"As an ancient saying from the East Asian Republic goes, 'Do not say you were not warned.' Since PLANT seeks war, then war it shall be! I hereby declare that the New Misurugi Republic, effective immediately, is at war with PLANT and its ally, the Oceania Union—until one side is annihilated or surrenders!"
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