"Why do you look so sulky, Rias?" Altair was getting ready for dinner at the Sitri house, although it was more of a banquet than a dinner. There were guests, allies of the Sitri Family. He heard about the young Astaroth who approached Asia. Lily was with Asia in the sanctuary. Despite his concerns, he couldn't miss dinner with one of his business partners.
"The Sitri will try to get you to marry Sona," said the girl. Since they slept together, the restrictions on Rias were gone. After all, they couldn't bring her virginity back.
"Is that a problem for you? In case you haven't noticed, I have a coven," he told her.
Rias continued to pout, but didn't explain anything.
"Do whatever you want!" she said.
Altair approached her and took her chin in his hand, Rias's blue eyes trying to avoid his gaze.
"I need strength to go against Riser, do you understand that?" he asked tactfully.
"Mhm!" she said stubbornly.
He kissed her. Sweetly, but possessively. Rias melted into the kiss, almost forgetting her previous anger.
"You'll be there, right?" She nodded at his words. Her lips were moist from the kiss.
"Yes, I have to take care of you after all, it's my duty as your girlfriend," Altair's eyebrow twitched at her words.
"I can take care of myself. If I can't... it will be my own decision, you know?" she said.
Rias remained silent. She knew it was natural for harems to exist among noble families, but she still found it difficult to accept that her boyfriend would have one. And that he would sleep with devil girls before or after the party.
He wasn't chaste or pure. Rias wasn't even his first girlfriend, his first kiss, or his first time.
'Lavender,' Rias even began to think of her as a romantic rival.
The blonde didn't pay any attention to her. She said there was enough Altair for all of them.
"Do you want to marry Sona?" she asked directly.
"She's not a bad match. Although it will depend on her, even if her family offers the deal, I will need her consent," he said, adjusting his tie. "Do you have a personal problem with Sona?"
"No," she said, very quickly.
"Rivalry?" Rias' face expression said: Bingo! "If it's just something childish... can you let it go?"
"It's just that... I don't like to share," she said.
"You seemed to enjoy it a lot with Akeno," he teased.
"I didn't enjoy it," she denied, her face as red as a beet.
"If you say so, Rias," he combed his hair with his fingers. "How do I look?" he asked her.
"Ugly. I don't think you should go to the party. Why don't we stay here and watch anime?" She tried to seduce him to the dark side of otaku culture.
"Thanks, you look gorgeous today," he replied.
"I'm going with my family. See you there," said Rias, before disappearing in a circle of magic.
Altair would go alone on Lily's advice. She feared that the presence of the girls, who were not devils, would bring trouble to his reputation. Not all devils are as tolerant as the Gremory or the Sitri. He disliked them intensely. But he had no way to avoid it. He had to play by the rules of the underworld for now.
He looked at his phone. It was ten minutes before eight o'clock.
"Sona should be here soon. She's extremely punctual."
While he waited, Altair took one of the watches from Arcturus' collection, which Sirius had given him. First, he had to check that they weren't cursed in any way. No matter how much contempt he felt for the man, he couldn't deny that he had good taste.
For a proud pureblood, he had quite a collection of Muggle watches. He was surprised to find a Grandmaster Chime by Patek Philippe. It was expensive as hell.
He put it on his wrist. Although he didn't like strap watches, he quite liked this one.
He heard a knock at the door.
"Come in," unlike other devils, Sona had a habit of not teleporting directly into the room, but outside. "Wow, Miss Sitri, you look beautiful. The dress brings out the color of your eyes," he said, taking her hand and kissing it.
Sona blushed and remained silent, knowing that if she spoke, she would end up stuttering. Altair later found out from Rias that Sona was upset because she had not been invited to dinner.
"You look... attractive, Mr. Black," she said. "May I make an observation?" she asked. "Two."
"Go ahead," he said.
"One: your tie is wrong," she untied the knot and began to make a new one. "Your perfume is..." she shook her head.
She tied his tie with clinical precision, not allowing herself to be distracted.
"And two?" he asked.
He had to lean forward so that Sona could work properly.
"Even if you don't like the last name. Asmodeus is one of the original Maous. Denying it could be frowned upon," she said.
Altair frowned, but understood her point.
"I'll just say that I don't want to be considered a rebel. Falbium Asmodeus is the Maou," he said, quickly searching for an excuse.
"That... might work, but there's another problem there. Can you see what it is?" she asked him.
"I'll show submission..." he gritted his teeth.
Denying his surname and giving that reason would be saying that he was inferior to Falbium. Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it would leave him with a reputation for bending and giving in easily. The underworld respected the strong and despised the weak.
Lower-class devils could be considered slaves to those of the upper class.
"I won't say I understand your situation, but... the surname is yours. If your father hurt you, make him pay for it by using his surname. At least until you become strong enough to discard it," she advised, finishing tying his tie. The tip ended just above his belt buckle.
Altair considered her words. His pride told him to say "screw it" and introduce himself as Altair Black. But the Black surname carried no weight in the underworld. Taking the Asmodeus surname would make him appear more respectable, rather than a foreigner.
'The Malfoy name is mine now. I'm letting the surname live on because it's convenient for them to keep their connections,' he told himself.
'Ah, I'll take your name to do the same,' he said to his father in his mind.
"I'm ready," he told Sona.
She nodded. Before bowing and asking shyly, "My parents, they... they valued your work very much. They may ask..."
"Marriage?" he asked. She nodded. "Would you agree?" She didn't look at him for several seconds.
"It will be good for my family. And for me too," she said.
"Is that a yes?" he asked, noticing that she avoided answering directly. "If your parents offer your hand to me, it will be up to you. If you don't want us to be together, it won't happen," he said, watching her tremble.
She finally lowered her shoulders and let out a long sigh.
"I've had many suitors. But I've only ever considered you seriously. So yes, I'll accept," she looked him in the eyes, her violet eyes serious and firm.
"You're not upset about dinner anymore?" he asked, her confidence wavering as she turned her back on him.
"We have to go now," she didn't answer.
Altair approached her and put his hand on her back. He felt her shudder at his touch, but she didn't shy away from him.
"Although I've studied magic and practiced using magic circles to teleport a little, I don't know where the underworld is. Would you mind showing me?"
"Not at all," she took his hand, removed it from her waist, and hooked her arm through his. "It's more in keeping with etiquette," she whispered.
Altair watched the ground turn red before finding himself in another place.