『Lady Rayne Phenex』
One of the biggest events of the Underworld to date had just revealed itself to possibly be one of the worst possible outcomes for her and her family.
The Phenex family was in an annoying situation at the moment, with their Son, Riser, having become an absolute recluse after his crushing defeat at the hands of Yuta Yukimura. She had tried to cheer her son up, but while he was quite tough physically, his untouchability had left Riser rather mentally fragile.
They faced ridicule for that, and while she did not blame her son, she was disappointed in him, very much so. She was sure his fugue would pass in a year or so, but it had left a mark on her family, especially because it also ended their arranged marriage with the Gremory family.
She did not blame the Gremory girl or the Yukimura boy either, while it was true that marrying Rias was his right after their arrangement, he made an absolute fool of himself at every turn. And the match was settled fairly despite her grievances. The boy himself was no doubt going to be a star with his unique abilities, but she quickly forgot about him.
After that, she was quite elated to hear that not only was there news of a new Leviathan that had been found, potentially replacing Katerea Leviathan, someone who disliked the Phenex Family quite heavily due to them supporting the New Satan faction during the war. But that he was exactly the same age as her daughter, Ravel.
She had made absolutely sure to dress Ravel to look her best and talk with her daughter about the issue. While there was not a single chance in hell of an arranged marriage between her daughter and him, there was nothing saying a romance couldn't bloom.
And her daughter seemed quite receptive to the idea, because, well, most boys her age weren't exactly good candidates for marrying or were already engaged in some way, while Ravel herself had just become of age. They had both dressed their best and everything, but it all came crashing down, metaphorically, when they saw the new lord Leviathan personally.
A Devil Youth of average height but with piercing red eyes, soft black hair tied loosely and with a regal aura and features that made it impossible for one to ignore the fact they were in front of a real devil. A good catch for any girl of the underworld, if she were in Ravel's position, she would have clung onto his arm like a schoolgirl to get noticed.
The only problem was that it was the same boy, Rias Gremory's former pawn. Yuta Yuki- Leviathan, who was found to be a relative of the Leviathan.
The same boy her son had assaulted and threatened to kill and maim.
It was a very, very small mercy that the match between the two of them was not a public affair. If it were found out that her son had tried to kill the young Leviathan, it would bring down the animosity of the entire Old Satan faction on their family. Which itself was bad, but it was even worse when her Son was working towards his Ultimate Devil promotion, which would make him one of the very few Ultimate Devils to have come out of the Phenex family. If this fact were revealed, he would never make it.
She was in indecision whether to approach him before seeing her friend Venelana being quite friendly with the boy. So she decided to take the chance when there was a neutral party between them, but still, it made it very hard to keep the nervous sweat off of her face.
The furrowed brow of the young man made her heart stop beating for a second; he definitely did not have a positive opinion of the two, and it reflected in his aura that he was probably letting slip without knowing.
As Venelana introduced the two, the air felt tense; the young man clearly wanted anything but to be talking with them at the moment. He shook her hand, a firm yet soft grip as they shook hands.
"Yes, I think I met your son before. Riser, right?"
Rayne struggled with her utmost to keep her composure, but her sweat glands betrayed her. Poor Ravel was worse off. It would have been easier if Ravel were not old enough to know how bad a situation this was.
"Y-yes, apologies for the actions of my son Lord Leviathan, please accept my deepest apologies. Perhaps you could take a vacation in the Phenex territory so that we could show you our sincerity?"
He looked at her, silently, though his eye seemed not to look her in the eyes, but her breasts, which she didn't know what to think about. It was a thousand times better than the alternative of hostility, but his silence spoke more than his eyes; he did not have anything good to say. She could feel basically the entire weight of her family resting on her shoulders.
As if some mercy, Venelana poked the young Leviathan on the side, giving him a sweet smile as she grabbed his shoulder.
"Yuta, would you mind giving me some time to catch up with my friend? How about you find Rias in the meantime? She should be looking for you, too, you know?"
He pursed his lips.
"Sure."
Venelana smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek, making my Rayne's head work double time to understand before Yuta went away, and she breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Venelana, what was that? I can't believe that boy is the new Leviathan."
She lightly smiled and took a drink of her wine, giving Rayne an inscrutable look.
"Seems like you aren't having a good time, Rayne. Yuta is not one to let a grudge go very easily. He killed 3 Fallen Angels within his first weeks of being a Devil just because they hurt his friend."
Rayne's grip tightened; the ways to salvage the situation just seemed to keep narrowing and narrowing in her eyes. Venelana seemed to be her only hope here.
"Lana, is there any way to fix this situation? This could cause a lot of problems."
She knew what Riser did was wrong, but she did not want her family ruined over it.
"Of course, there is, Rayne. I can gauge Yuta's mood pretty easily; he only dislikes you. He already took his pound of flesh from Riser so there is no grudge. I wouldn't expect him to go out of his way to ruin the Phenex family or anything. But at the same time, I wouldn't expect him to go out of his way to help you if any rumours emerged."
That made her breathe a small sigh of relief, but she still wanted to form a connection with the future lord of the Leviathan family and not end up on bad terms with him. Because that was like ignoring a Hydra making itself a home in your backyard.
"How do you suppose we could get into his good graces?"
Venelana chuckled in an almost sinister manner.
"I'm sure you already noticed, Rayne, but he has the weakness of every young hot-blooded devil. And I happen to know that Yuta has very much a preference towards more... experienced women."
Venelana sent a wink towards Rayne that made her almost physically stunned, and her face lit up with a blush.
"Wait, Lana, did you really-"
A gaze from Venelana reminded her of where they were.
"You wanted to know how to get into his good graces, didn't you, Rayne? Or do you think such things are below you, even after messing up to such tremendous levels and having a perfect opportunity right in front of you?"
Rayne bit her lip. Venelana was speaking sense. But...
"Can we continue this conversation somewhere more private?"
"Sure, follow me, Rayne.
♢—•♧•—♤—•♡•—♤—•♧•—♢
『Yuta Yukimura』
Times like these make me wish I had trained my sensing abilities.
Actually, scratch that, times like these make me wish I trained anything beyond raw power and combat.
My mood was kind of awkward after meeting the Phenex family. Although I didn't exactly blame them for Riser, I also did not feel like interacting with them beyond necessity. And I got the feeling they felt the same. If possible, I'd like to avoid all politics, but life seldom allows such luxury.
Other than that, the current reason for my lament was the fact that I couldn't find Rias. Mostly due to my very lacklustre sensing skills without using abilities, since I couldn't just whip them out in the middle of a ballroom.
But eventually, after fumbling about somewhat, I managed to find who I was looking for, and my breath got caught in my throat.
She was beautiful.
Rias had her crimson hair tied in a refreshing ponytail and wore a sexy yet not too revealing red dress that complemented her figure perfectly.
Spotting me in the crowd, her face brightened up, and she strutted over to me with a pep in her step before pulling me into a hug.
"Finally, Yuta-kun, it was so difficult to find you with everyone around. But I have to say, seeing you in that suit almost makes it worth it. You should wear it more often."
I pulled on the collar of my tuxedo with a frown.
"You think so? It's not awfully comfortable."
"Well, you do look dashing like this, I'm just used to you looking like... You." I'd take that as an insult if I didn't know what she meant. "Speaking of, what do you think about my outfit?"
I gave her a thumbs up.
"Absolutely gorgeous. Can't even find the words to describe it."
Rias smiled and took me by the hand.
"You always say the right thing, Yuta-kun. Let's get some privacy."
Rias led me out of the Ballroom and into the conspicuously empty balcony. We both took a moment to approach the railings and look down at the gigantic city of Lilith, somewhat resembling a gothic England. The entire city was lit with lanterns in the sky for celebration.
For me.
It was overwhelming.
Way too overwhelming. I didn't know what to think. I couldn't comprehend the amount of importance people put on me after being treated like less than dirt for almost all my life. Now people were celebrating the very fact that I existed.
It was curious, I felt like I had a sense of responsibility for them since they viewed me so highly. It was... not exactly bad. Overwhelming but not bad.
I'd need time to sort out what I felt about this whole affair.
Just as I was taking it all in, Rias grabbed my hand and smiled at me.
"Beautiful, isn't it? Yuta-kun. Feels weird to know that I'm no longer your king, but I guess that kind of relationship never properly applied to us, did it? I can still remember when I took you into my peerage after that truck hit you. You were so cute when you panicked back then."
I couldn't help but let out an honest chuckle at that, making Rias' eyes widen.
"Yeah... I remember, though I guess not much changed. I'm still keeping my head barely above the water, aren't I? One thing I know for sure, though..."
I gave Rias a smile.
"Even if I am no longer your pawn and you are no longer my king. You'll always rule my heart."
Although the line was cheesy, it was honest. I'd be forever grateful to Rias for bringing me back to life. She was not my first kiss; she was not the first person I slept with. But she would always have her spot in my heart.
I leaned my chin on my hand and looked out into the night sky of Lilith.
I recalled what happened for me to be able to reach this point. From a little devil to the heir of the Leviathan family. Yet at this moment, for some reason, as I looked out. I felt like...
...This might not be so bad after all.
A/N: Rayne, or Lady Phenex, is in a bit of a crisis while Yuta has absolutely no idea what is going on as always. Thankfully, Venelana is here to smooth... things... over? Hold up, what the hell is Venelana planning? Well, whatever it is, it is sure to be fun.
And here is what Yuta actually feels like being the Leviathan now that he sees the true scale of who he is. He is an actual Demon Lord. From a nobody to someone everybody knows. His feelings are conflicted, but he knows he doesn't dislike the fact. And a cute scene with Rias. Fun fact, this is actually one of the very, very few times Yuta has actually laughed in the story, that was why Rias was shocked. What did you guys think about the chapter overall? I'd love to know.
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