{Present, Dining Hall of Gremory Mansion}
—Rias Gremory—
Outside the Gremory windows, it was raining. Raining quite heavily, at that. Usually, Rias would spend these moments staring at the rain, watching the droplets hit the leaves and the roof.
And maybe, if her mother wasn't looking, she'd even run out into the rain.
But today? She was sitting elegantly, eating her breakfast. She wasn't even looking at the rain. Instead, she kept sneaking glances at the boy sitting opposite her.
"Have you read it yet, Faiser?" her father asked. The boy was caught mid-chew, bread stuffed in his mouth.
He took his time, washing it down with milk before answering.
"Not yet, Lord Gremory."
Her father had been keeping his distance from Faiser these last few days, and that worried her. Maybe something had happened between them. Maybe someone had been insulted. She'd even been pestering her mother about it.
Thankfully, whatever the issue was, it seemed to be resolved. Now Faiser was eating breakfast with her family, right alongside his queen.
"Well, they sent a letter to you and Ingvild," her father explained. "I was there when it was written, so I can tell you. It's about Ingvild keeping her High Class status even as your queen."
Rias immediately turned to him. "Doesn't that mean Ingvild can get her own Evil Pieces?"
It was the only logical outcome. Every High Class devil had the right to form their own peerage and could even leave the one they were serving.
"You can take your Evil Pieces by visiting Ajuka," he said. "It shouldn't take long."
Finally, Ingvild spoke while Faiser kept eating, unbothered by the letter.
"I don't need them," she said with a graceful smile, almost like a noble lady. "I'm happy being Faiser's queen, and I don't think I can handle the burden of being a peerage master."
Rias could admit to that. It didn't seem much at first, but handling a peerage was no easy task. Even with how lazy she could be, she still had to do her duties as a master. Otherwise, she'd end up rotting in her bed.
"That's expected," Sirzechs, who had been flipping through documents at the dining table, chuckled. "Though if you ever want them, they'll always be available at Ajuka's place."
Ingvild nodded, and Rias kept stealing glances.
It was still hard for her to believe that a guy the same age as her—even though he looked as old as Sirzechs—and a girl younger than her—or older by a hundred years physically—were both Ultimate Class.
It stung. They had the same amount of time as she did, yet they were already at a level she couldn't even dream of reaching. In terms of raw strength, she wasn't even truly High Class.
Sure, her Power of Destruction barely qualified her as High Class, and she was born with just enough demonic power to hold onto that rank. But Ultimate Class? That was leaps beyond High Class.
She was an ant.
She knew she had to grow stronger. She had something to prove too. The problem was she didn't know how. Training was one way, but training efficiently was something she still hadn't figured out.
'Maybe they can help?' she thought hopefully. 'We learned a lot that day. Maybe if we continue, we'll learn even more?'
But deep down, she wasn't sure he'd agree. To him, it would feel like a waste of time. Training with people so much weaker than him wouldn't help him at all.
"So, what are you doing today?" Sirzechs asked as Grayfia poured him tea.
"Well, I'll be going to check the foundation you've been building," Faiser said. "And I'm extremely thankful for that. After that, I'll be visiting the Valefar lands that are under me right now. I need to map them out and hopefully find enough clearing to safely grow the plants in my treasury. I need to increase their number before I can even start producing potions."
Sirzechs nodded. "I can send a good cartographer for that. And maybe the builders can help once they're done with the mansion. What do you say?"
"That… would be great, thank you," Faiser said, then looked towards Ingvild. "Ingvild has a few ideas regarding the use of the Barbatos land, and I was hoping you and the rest of the Satans could guide me about it. Her ideas are amazing, but I need to know about the existing competition, which only you would know."
"Insider information is illegal," her father chuckled. "Though it's not like anyone will know anything."
She felt left out of the discussion, and there wasn't much she could add.
"By the way, Lord Bael will be visiting us tomorrow." This made her mother perk up. "He said he wanted to talk about a situation regarding the Sleeping Devil Disease."
"Oh?" Faiser looked up. "I'll be happy to help. Though I think I'll be meeting Serafall in the morning, so I hope that isn't an issue?"
"He'll be arriving in the evening, so it isn't a worry," her father replied. By then, she had already finished eating.
She was a little frustrated at having nothing of value to add. She didn't want to stay quiet the whole time either. So, mustering up some courage, she finally asked him:
"Faiser!" The boy looked at her, and she felt embarrassed for calling him so loudly despite him sitting right across from her. "Would you… would you help us train again?"
She expected a no. He was already busy, and he didn't gain anything from it.
But surprisingly, he didn't decline.
"I would love to," he said, almost excitedly. "I asked Kiba to teach me swordsmanship, but I've been delaying too much. It's about time I start learning some actual skills."
She was baffled that he felt the need to learn swordsmanship, despite having abilities that could defeat anyone instantly.
"It's always good to add to your arsenal," Sirzechs agreed with Faiser. "The finesse of the sword is a sight to behold."
"Which is why I asked Kiba," Faiser said. "So, not tomorrow, but how about after that?" He looked at her. "I'd be learning swordsmanship, and maybe Ingvild can train with your peerage?"
This made Ingvild look up, think for a second, then nod before going back to eating her food. As for Rias, her face brightened.
"Perfect!" She jumped off her chair, amusing the people around her. "Then I'll prepare a schedule for everyone!"
She didn't even wait for the others and almost dashed out of the room—causing the men to chuckle, while her sister-in-law shook her head and her mother sighed.
"She needs to start behaving like a lady," Venelana said, looking toward the direction her daughter had vanished. "She's old enough for that."
But sometimes, age didn't equal maturity.
* * *
One hour after breakfast.
Yeah, that was the sweet timing to spread your wings and soar into the sky.
Most devils relied on their wings for travel, except for the Lords, who used teleportation circles even for the tiniest distances.
True royalty habits.
For me, teleportation wasn't that fancy. Sure, it was instant, but it didn't really feel like royalty.
Now that I think about it, I can use the normal teleportation method too, right? The one with circles.
Maybe I should try that at those fancy gatherings.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
I could hear the serenity in her voice. She was happy with what she saw, and so was I.
Below us was the Barbatos estate, being rebuilt. The fountain stood strong, huge enough to hold ten generations.
"It won't take long to finish." Maybe a week, maybe less. "And then we can shift here."
"Yeah," she smiled. "To your home."
Wait, wait, wait—that didn't sound right.
"Not mine," I corrected her. "Ours."
I was going to have a full damn peerage. I needed a big enough house for them. And if they were my peerage, they were my responsibility too—like the head of a family.
Seeing her fall silent, I glanced at her. She had a soft smile on her face.
"Don't try to alienate yourself." I couldn't fully understand what she was feeling, but I knew. I never cared about having people around or belonging anywhere. I just did whatever I wanted. Even now, I just do whatever I want. But for some, it was different. And with her, I could see it—she desperately wanted to belong.
And she was my queen, so it was my responsibility to give her that.
"Being in a peerage means being family," I said. "Not everyone sees it that way, sure, but maybe it's the Gremory effect. I also think a peerage is no different from family. And a house belongs to a family, not just one person."
She exhaled sharply and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
It was nice being around her. Mostly because I didn't have to hide so many things or be stuck in some transactional relationship. Even with the Satans—no matter how helpful they were—I couldn't say everything, or expect them to blindly have my back.
But with a peerage, with my members, I could trust them. That was the foundation of a peerage. And I was sure as hell going to build one that could handle even the damned dragon gods.
"I heard that Rias and Sona will be going to the human world," she said, reminding me of a small discussion I'd had with Sirzechs. "Will we be going too?"
To be honest, there wasn't much reason to go there. I could meet the same people here—at least the ones who mattered.
Wait, no. I did need to go for a certain event. But did I need to go alongside the two heiresses?
I wasn't sure.
"I'll see. Maybe we will, maybe not." I looked at her. "Do you want to go?"
She seemed to think about it as we descended. "Maybe. I want to explore the human world."
Personally, I wouldn't explore the human world at all. The world in general, sure—nature was beautiful. But humans? No thanks.
I had been one, and honestly, humans could be worse than devils. Lucifer would spit blood if he saw modern men and women.
"It doesn't show much, but I have a bit of a human side too," she said. "And it wants to see the outside world."
Well, then I guess we were going to the human world.
"Then we'll go once the mansions are complete, the potion starts flowing," and once I get around two more members.
I already had one in mind. For the others, I'd have to ask Sirzechs for help.
"So not fair!"
The sudden yell of a certain woman surprised us both.
"If you were going to take a tour, you should have invited me too!"
Honestly, I still haven't figured out how she has so much free time.
"Shouldn't you be working? Flipping through documents or something, Serafall?"
I owed her a lot, but she showed up a bit too often. And honestly, it was exhausting to deal with her energy.
"So, you don't want me to come visit you?" She puffed her cheeks, and I couldn't help but sigh.
"I never said that, did I?"
"So you do want me to visit!" She beamed.
"I… didn't say that either."
Tiresome as she was, it still felt good. Especially seeing her act all cutesy, and Ingvild laughing at it.
But it wouldn't be so relaxing a month from now. Going to Kuoh meant its own troubles.
And honestly, I hoped I didn't get dragged into them. That was for Rias and Sona to deal with, right?
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{A/N:A/N: Got a pat reon named RedLamp01 with 30+ chapters. }