Chapter 52: Lady Gremory
An unfamiliar ceiling, Rias thought to herself upon waking up. Finding herself peacefully resting on an exceptionally comfortable, ivory-white couch with fluffy wool-blanket draped over her. Where am I? She looked from side to side, examining the contents of the living room she resided in to gauge her position.
"You've awoken, Lady Rias." And eventually, her eyes landed upon the back of a raven-haired woman adorning a maid dress, who appeared to be preparing something in the room's open kitchen. "Are you feeling alright?"
"U-uhm," she stammered, a little unnerved by the maid's presence, but also aware that she wasn't expressing any palpable hostility. "…Where am I?"
"This is Lord Alduin's residence, Lady Rias." The maid answered plainly, still maintain complete focus on the cutting board in front of her. "Dinner will be ready shortly, in the meantime, the Young Lord would like to speak to you." She pointed to a sliding glass door that led into the villa's considerable backyard.
With the mention of Alduin's name, Rias immediately recalled their talk inside her clubroom, the last thing she remembered before waking up.
"What did he—"
"I assure you, Lady Rias, any questions you might have, the Young Lord will be more than happy to answer." She urged, clearly uninterested in conversing much while she was concentrated on her cooking.
Picking up on the maid's clear insistence, Rias breathed a begrudging sigh and made her way to the sliding door. You better have a good explanation for so tactlessly knocking me out like that, Alduin.
Once she stepped foot into the residence's green expanse, she couldn't help but take a moment to stop and marvel. Not just at its size, but the evident time and care that had gone into nurturing the area. The grass had a uniform, dark-green coloration, and when Rias crouched down to brush her hand against them, its firmness was made immediately clear.
The flowers were no different, the tulips, orchids, roses, and lilies that populated the greenery were vibrant to the point of picturesque perfection. Not even the slightest trace of withering or mismanagement to be found. It reminded Rias of the level of gardening expertise she was usually exposed to at Sona's household, which spoke volumes to the finesse Alduin had achieved.
I mean, I know everyone's gotta have a hobby, but I wasn't expecting him of all people to have such an elegant pastime. She mused.
In the middle of all the backyard's flowery splendour, she found a greenhouse awaiting her arrival. The silhouette of her draconic teacher visible through the structure's glassy exterior.
"What do you think?" His proud voice was the first thing she heard upon entering, that, and the sight of Alduin carefully tending to a potted, bright-pink peony as if it were his own child.
"It's quite something," she hummed her approval as she surveyed the greenhouse's interior. It wasn't as lush or awe-worthy as the outside of the backyard, but that was simply because Alduin didn't have enough time on his hands to work on it as much as he'd like to. Especially as of late with all that was going on. "I'll be honest, I'm quite surprised to find that you of all people happen to be a gardening aficionado. Pleasantly surprised, mind you. It's reassuring to know that brutish training isn't the only thing that goes on in that head of yours."
"Oh please, 'brutish' is a bit of an exaggeration if you ask me." He chuckled lightly, creating a wooden stool beside him with the flick of his wrist, and motioning for Rias to approach. "But I appreciate the compliment nonetheless."
"You're quite welcome," she wore a faint smile, sitting down and glancing at the peony he was currently working on. "Although, I imagine Sona would be able to provide much more in-depth comments about what you've got going on here. She excels at this kind of stuff."
"I'd expect nothing less from a Sitri, especially one of Sona's intellect." He nodded in agreement. "But there's still a fair amount of sprucing-up I'd like to give this place before I bring in an expert opinion. I'd hate to come off as an amateur after all." Pride was, and always would be a key component of a dragon's mentality. For Alduin, his gardening was one of his biggest sources of that.
"Fair enough," Rias straightened her posture, closing her eyes as she decided the time for small talk had passed. "Now then, I believe I'm owed an explanation as to why you brought me here? And why you chose to knock me out before doing so?" She crossed her arms and lifted her eyebrow, purposefully leaving her displeasure on full display.
"To answer your first question, safety." He began, redirecting his attention from the flower to his student. "I believe it's been made obvious to the both of us that whoever my mother's sent to do her bidding, possesses an extraordinary level of stealth. I don't know what she has planned next for you, if anything at all, but as your protector I can't in good conscience leave you in the clubroom anymore. Not when she's able to infiltrate it with such ease."
She frowned. "So this is involuntary relocation then?"
"Please," he let out an unamused scoff. "Let's not pretend like you wouldn't take the exact same precautions if you were in my position."
Her first instinct was to refute him further, but once the memory of what it felt like to be that woman's presence resurfaced, any and all gripes she was about to muster were squashed in an instant.
Never. Never again did she want to be exposed to that level of bloodlust. To that level of helplessness, trepidation, and despair.
"I'm sorry, but until I'm 100% sure she's no longer a threat to you, or anyone in Kuoh for that matter. You're going to have to remain here where myself and Thora can watch over you," he put on his best comforting smile.
She narrowed her eyes. "'Anyone in Kuoh', huh? Wouldn't that mean Sona also has to be relocated?"
Despite her tone, Alduin knew she already understood why she had to remain near him. In truth, she was simply expressing concern for closest rival-friend.
Having Sona go through the same she did was the last thing she wanted.
"Well, normally I wouldn't hesitate to, but I think we both know why, you, specifically, need to be guarded." The location of Martha's mutt was an unknown, but their motive most certainly wasn't.
"You don't think there's a chance she might make the same blunder as me?" She understood his reasoning, but still wasn't fully convinced. Like she was to most people, Martha Sallos was an enigma to Rias. She couldn't even begin to guess what the woman's true motives were, assuming her reason for doing what she did was a product of more than just plain pettiness.
And for some reason, she had a feeling even Alduin himself didn't have the full picture in regard to his mother's actions. But she couldn't say for certain, she wasn't a walking polygraph after all, which meant there was a chance he was simply keeping the truth to himself.
"I don't think so, after I sent you here, me and her had a brief conversation with each other—"
"About?" Rias quickly intervened before he had the chance to move on without elaborating, a poor habit of Alduin's she had noticed.
"Oh, you know, just catching up with each other and whatnot." It didn't take long for him to notice that she wasn't buying it. Guess I'll have to give her part of the story, he figured. "I also decided to let her in on the Fallen Angel situation, I thought it was proper since she shares your position as this town's overseer."
"You were right to do so," she approved. A little regretful that she missed out on the opportunity to flaunt her initial discovery of the crows in Sona's face. "Although, I fail to see the connection that has to her not repeating my mistake."
He shrugged. "One question led to another, and eventually I was given the chance to drop a not-so-subtle hint to avoid touching anything involving my family with a ten-foot pole."
That statement alone greatly intrigued her. It was faint, but she could've sworn there was a change in his tone when the word 'family' left his mouth. She couldn't help but wonder what exactly his relationship with his folks back home was. Especially his with his mother.
Granted, it was obvious now was an ill-fitting time to ask such a thing.
"And you're confident she'll listen?"
"Mhm," he nodded. "I'm pretty sure she got the memo."
She drummed her fingers across her thigh. "Did you tell her about what happened to me?"
He shook his head. "No, I didn't think it was my place to."
"I mean, I appreciate the thoughtfulness and all, and it's not that I don't trust that you warned her properly, however, I think there might be some use in using my incident as a cautionary tale for added measure. Sona might be an overseer of this town alongside me, but I care for safety just as much as I'd like to believe you do."
Abruptly, Alduin's expression changed. His even-tempered smile dropping into a frown.
"Yeah, you might want to change your mind on that by the time we're done talking. Or at least the manner in which you choose to go about it telling her," it wasn't anger or disappoint that she felt emanating off him.
It was guilt.
And that only confused her even further.
What in Lilith's name could be going on in that head of yours, Alduin? If only she was a mind-reader. Maybe then she'd be able to discern what the ashamed look in his eyes meant.
"And to answer your second question," he continued. "I knocked you out because I hoped it'd give you a chance to collect yourself, we wouldn't have been able to hold a conversation like this if you were still experiencing the aftereffects of your assailant's bloodlust, now would we?"
Only now did Rias realize just how much calmer she had become in comparison to before. The memory still affected her, yes, but the tremors and jittering in her appendages had all come to a halt.
"Thank you," she nodded her appreciation.
"Don't thank me yet, save for when that mutt's been dealt with." He waved her off.
"About that… won't you get in trouble if you attack her? Since she's… you know—"
"Working for my mother?" He finished her thoughts and earned an affirmative gesture in return. "Haha, I appreciate the concern, but you really don't need to worry about me on that front." He clasped his hands together as a carnivorous smile crept up his face, causing his student to flinch on instinct. "I am this town's protector. It's my responsibility to get rid of anyone who intrudes on it, just like those bothersome crows you discovered."
Martha's life was one thing, but that of her mutt? Alduin truly wouldn't hesitate to snuff out every last remnant of their lifeforce should they make the grave error of appearing before him.
"…You're not worried about her getting angry at you?" The more she heard Alduin speak about his mother, the more invested she became in the true nature of their relationship. Of course, she knew better than to go digging again.
"Nope, as long as I have the backing of Lady Leviathan and your older brother, there really isn't anything she can do to me." He sighed, folding one leg over the other as he peered out of the greenhouse's glass. "Speaking of your older brother, I'm afraid I'm going to have to make a rather… shameless request of you."
She blinked. "Request?"
To Rias' shock, Alduin proceeded to stand up and bow to her, at a complete 90-degree angle. An action which demanded he swallow more pride than any dragon should be capable of, let alone be willing to.
"A-Alduin!?"
"Please, keep this incident to yourself." He made no effort to hide both the guilt and desperation in his voice. "My mother has wronged you, and there's no excuse for her actions, nor would I ever be so lacking in self-awareness that I'd try to make any, or ask you to forgive her. Both her and I are completely to blame for this."
"Y-you? Don't be ridiculous! You haven't done anything! And please raise your head already!"
"Exactly, I didn't do anything." He kept his head lowered. "I actually noticed the file on your desk with House Sallos' emblem on it before I went to go investigate the abandoned church."
Her face whitened a little. "Y-you did?"
"Yes, I chose to ignore it temporarily because I was certain my mother wouldn't try anything foolish here of all places, a town protected by two Satans." She could hear his voice begin to shake. "But at the same time, part of me knew that my mother would try something regardless of that. I knew just how deep that woman's apathy ran, yet I chose not to act on it, choosing to take comfort in my own delusions instead, and your life was threatened because of my inaction."
"Alduin…" She whispered, at a complete loss for words.
"However, despite all her faults, of which there are many, I know that letting Lord Lucifer finding out about what happened… would be the equivalent of signing her death warrant." Slowly, he raised his head, dropping his mask for once and allowing Rias to see the sheer exhaustion he was carrying. "I'm not going sit here and pretend like she's a good person, but at the end of the day, she is still family to me. And while I'd be more than happy to see her punished, I don't wish death upon her."
…Talk about being put in a tough position. Rias lowered her gaze, fiercely deliberating how she was supposed to proceed from this point onward. Her mind was experiencing a distinct split between her disdain for the figure that had threatened her, and pity for the plight her teacher was experiencing.
The question was, which would triumph over the other?
"You're saying all this on the assumption that my brother will immediately try to force a death penalty, but I don't think he's the type to jump to that straight away…"
"Had this happened to anyone else, I think you'd be right, Lord Lucifer does strike me as quite the pacifist." He exhaled deeply. "But this didn't happen to anyone else, now did it? It happened to his little sister, who he seems to cherish more than anyone in the world. If you truly believe he'll settle for anything less than my mother's grave, then I'm afraid you've gravely underestimated just how much he cares for you."
As much as she wanted to refute him, she had to admit that her brother could be rather… obsessive at times with his affection for her. Of course, she knew he meant well at the end of the day.
Just imagining her telling her brother what happened, word for word, was enough to make her realize that a peaceful resolution would be the last thing that entered his mind.
Honestly, it'd be a miracle if he didn't raze the entirety of House Buné itself to the ground.
"This is all… very hard to make heads or tails of," she said with a conflicted look on her face.
"I understand."
"…I'm definitely going to need some time to think over this."
"I understand that too," his posture softened to make it clear he wasn't trying to pressure her into agreeing. "If you do decide to inform Lord Lucifer in the end, just know that I don't plan to hold it against you. What my mother did was wrong, and if her actions result in her demise, then she has no one to blame but herself."
"But you don't want her demise to come to fruition."
"No, I do not." He admitted both plainly and solemnly. "Before I leave you to your own devices, I think you ought to know that your mother's going to be visiting tonight."
She seemed taken aback, but also a little excited at the same time. "She is? What for?"
"I'm not entirely sure, Lady Leviathan said she had something urgent to talk to me about, and that she'd directly be appearing at my residence." He stroked his chin. "It might be a good opportunity for the two of you to catch up with one another before we talk business, don't you think?"
"Yes… that sounds nice."
"Excellent," he smiled weakly. "Gasper's room is on the second floor if you're interested, I and Thora try not to disturb him too much during daylight hours, but I'm certain he'll be happy to see you."
"Then I think I'll pay him a visit," she agreed. Ever since Alduin had informed her about the progress they had made with Gasper's Forbidden Balor View, she had been quite eager to meet up with her adorable little Dhampir again. And perhaps… apologize for the isolationist treatment he had been given thus far. "I'll… also make sure to mull over what you've asked of me, but if I'm being completely honest, I'm not sure if my final answer will please you."
He hummed his acknowledgment. "Like I said, regardless of what you decide on, I will not hold it against you. Giving my request some consideration is all I ask of you."
She nodded and stood up to take her leave, failing to notice the strange look on Alduin's face as he watched her back fade into the distance.
I'm sorry, but I already know what your answer's going to be. Especially now that I've thrown the word 'family' around you of all people. He slumped on his stool, listlessly observing his gradually expanding plant collection within the greenhouse. Have I done the right thing here?
"The concept of right and wrong itself is subjective to the individual. I wouldn't waste effort contemplating that, instead, focus on the fact that you did what you, Alduin, wished to do. Not what you were asked of by another."
Am I supposed to take comfort in that?
"Ideally, yes. But knowing you, there's probably a whole lot of brooding you're going to force yourself to go through before you attain any semblance of comfort."
Did you really have to be so blunt about it? Alduin rolled his eyes.
"If I don't, then who will?"
Touché.
===
About an hour and some change had gone by, and the residences of Alduin's villa, except Gasper, who was watching television while being spoon-fed by Thora in the living room, now found themselves gathered around the dining table. With plates of expertly seasoned and garnished Tonkatsu in front of them, courtesy of Thora's decision to take advantage of her new station and try her hand at cuisine outside of the Underworld.
From the smell alone, it was safe to say the attempt had proven a great success. Unfortunately, as enticing as the finely cut strips of pork cutlet were, they needed to prolong their hunger a little longer.
Their guest had yet to arrive after all.
"Did Serafall tell you what time my mother would be arriving?" Rias asked, despite all the training she had received on table manners, the fragrance the meat strips emanated was slowly eating away at her restraint.
Akeno wasn't a bad cook by any means, but her specialty mostly revolved around tea-related beverages and snacks. The Lightning Priestess had a long way to go before her culinary expertise reached a point where it could rival the Head Maid's.
Thora's cooking almost reminded the crimson-haired princess of that of Grayfia's. It had been no more than a week since she left the Underworld to assume her mantle in Kuoh, but she already missed the silver-haired maid's dishes enough to point where it made her want to cry.
He sighed. "No, she just said she'd be arriving 'tonight'." Like Rias, he was also fighting the temptation to wolf down his entire meal in one go. Come on Alduin, you don't want to look bad in front of your boss's and student's mother, right? Hold it in!
"I see."
For a few minutes, Rias and Alduin remained in a bizarre, silent deadlock. Their eyes glued to their plates as they counted each second, hoping the next would involve a crimson flash of light illuminating the room.
Whirr!
And eventually, it happened. The bleeding crimson, G-shaped crest of the Gremory Clan had made its presence known on the floorboard.
Finally! They simultaneously sighed in relief, quickly straightening their postures to appear professional.
"Apologies, I hope I wasn't too tardy. It's been quite some time since I last ventured to the surface." A polite, courtly voice called out to them.
Woah, and I thought Sebastian's genetics were strong. Alduin's eyes laid upon the spitting image of his student, only with a far more mature figure, and slightly shorter, flaxen hair. Her attire consisted of a long, frilly white dress with black lining. Long white sleeves that completely covered her hands and spanned up to the boundary of her bicep, black stockings, and white high heels.
Normally he'd take a moment to stop and gawk at her exceptionally well-endowed curves, but thanks to his recent "experience" with Roygun and Thora. Maintaining a respectful demeanour proved to be a much easier task this time around.
"There's no need to apologise, Lady Gremory." Alduin stood up, sliding his chair backwards and putting one hand on his chest as he performed a typical, noble bow of respect. "It's an honour to have you at my residence."
"Oh my, what a respectful young man you are. My son certainly knows how to choose them." She cupped her mouth and giggled as her eyes drifted across the room, widening in surprise as they landed upon her daughter.
"Hi Mom." Rias waved with a warm smile. Happy to see the woman who was more likely than not, the one most involved in getting her older brother to open a path that'd free her from an unwanted marriage.
Honestly, where did her husband get the nerve to just up and choose a partner like that without her, or her daughter's input? As much as she loved the man, he had a bad tendency to be rather thoughtless in matters such as these.
"Sweetie? What are you doing here?" As Alduin had hoped, Venelana was pleasantly surprised by Rias' presence.
"I was just doing some training and routine planning with Alduin," she walked up to her mother as they embraced each other in a tight, welcoming hug. "Oh, and Gasper's here as well."
"Gasper?" Rias smirked inwardly, noticing the flicker of delight in Venelana's eyes.
Back when Rias and her peerage were all living at the Gremory Mansion, there was nothing the Lady loved to do more than dote on Gasper and Koneko, the runts of the litter, in her free time. She couldn't help it, they were just too gosh-darn adorable!
The Gremory Matriarch peered through the doorframe connecting the dining and living room. Watching as Gasper gleefully kicked his legs over the couch with Kamen Rider playing on the television while Thora carefully spoon-fed him his food bite by bite.
"Mwore!" Gasper mumbled with his mouth still full.
"Gasper," Thora said in an admonishing tone. "Remember what I said? You need to chew your food properly, otherwise you'll choke." She sighed, picking up a napkin and wiping crumbs of meat off his face.
"Owkway!" The younger Dhampir nodded, clearly not processing a word that came out of Thora's mouth.
She shook her head. I'm glad that he's starting to come out of his shell and all, but his rowdiness is starting to remind me of when the Young Lord was little. He must be having some kind of an influence on him. Like master like student, I suppose.
"Sweetie, didn't your older brother say that Gasper was being kept under a seal?" Of course, she wasn't even remotely disappointed to see Gasper out and about, in fact, the opposite couldn't be more true. However, she was aware of why the Dhampir was sealed in the first place. Even back home, Gasper's movements were heavily monitored by Grayfia.
Whenever Gasper encountered anyone he was unfamiliar with, like one of the other maids or butlers, he got startled to the point where Forbidden Balor View activated on instinct.
"It's funny you mention that," Rias wore a devious smile that sent a chill down Alduin's spine. Causing beads of sweat to form around her teacher's brow. "You see, a certain someone decided to go ahead and undo that seal without asking me," she said while staring a hole through Alduin's skull, which in turn made Venelana shoot him a questioning look. "Ah, but my memory's a little foggy, I just can't seem to remember who exactly that certain someone could be, what about you, Alduin? You wouldn't happen to know who was responsible for that, would you?"
He gulped. "Lady Gremory, I assure you there's a perfectly good explanation for all this—!"
"Pfffft! You should see the look on your face!" Rias pointed at him as she broke out into wild laughter. Thoroughly enjoying how her teacher looked like a helpless kitten under her mother's glare.
You little shit! He clenched his fist. His face tightening up as he called upon every last fibre of strength his body carried to restrain his anger. Restricting it to a mere eye-twitch and forced smile.
"I'm glad to see the two of you are getting along." Venelana breathed an amused chuckle. "Although, I would like to be clued in regarding Gasper's situation at some point." She directed an expecting glance at Aduin.
He nodded in return, making it clear that he hadn't forgotten her desire to have an 'urgent conversation' with him, as Serafall had worded it.
"Mama-Lana!" Gasper's high-pitched voice and hurried footsteps cheered from the other room, his attention grabbed by Rias' laughter.
"There's my little rascal!" Venelana was quick to kneel down and grab the Dhampir into a tight, spine-crushing hug. "Goodness, you've put on a little weight haven't you? I guess it won't be long before my adorable little bodybuilder puts on more muscle then Sairaorg!" She scooped him up in her arms while spinning him around.
"Hehe," and clearly, Gasper was enjoying her overwhelming affection. "Mama-Thora said I'm going to be stronger than Alduin soon!" He flexed his arm and sported a toothy, ear-to-ear grin.
"M-Mama!?" Thora stammered. Her face ever so slightly flushed.
"Oh? …Mama-Thora?" She squinted, exchanging a fierce, competitive stare with the maid. "I can't say I've had the pleasure of meeting you."
Thora cleared her throat, swiftly gathering herself. "The pleasure is all mine, Lady Gremory." She folded both hands in front of her skirt and bowed. "My name is Thora, I'm Lord Alduin's humble attendant."
"A 'humble attendant', huh? You mean to tell me a humble attendant managed to get this little bundle of joy to acknowledge her as his Mama?" Her priorities were abundantly clear.
"I assure you I meant no disrespect, Lady Gremory." She raised her head, an equally competitive glint shimmering in the older Dhampir's eyes. "I'm simply privileged to have the honour of looking after young Gasper at all."
Alduin could've sworn he saw sparks flying between the two.
Good grief, this is going to be a long night, isn't it? He sighed inwardly.
———
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