Chapter 33: The Wits of Older Women
Slowly, I started to disclose everything me, Lady Leviathan, and Lord Lucifer had discussed—I mean, not everything. Me obtaining a free ride to Familiar Forest and Tiamat's blood is my personal business. Point being, I made it clear why the marriage couldn't happen, at least not for now.
I couldn't allow myself to be bound to the Underworld, especially not by a marriage that would swamp me with countless responsibilities I'd need to handle. Like the shitty old man said, having a Clan Head and Heir married to one another wasn't going to be an easy marriage to work out when it came to sorting all of the formalities.
It's not as if I could just put a ring on and bolt into the human world the following day, that'd leave Roygun with a truckload of work to handle on her own while she's in the midst of pushing through the Top 10 ranks. As you'd imagine, that's not an endeavor you can pursue while multitasking.
Furthermore, I'm not the Patriarch yet. From the groom's side, this marriage is still being overseen by Sebastian. Similar to Rias' situation with the rooster, I'm not the one in control here, and I doubt he'll be in high spirits if he finds out what I'm planning before I'm actually out of the Underworld.
However, unlike my future student, I'm not looking to have this marriage annulled. I have no personal grudge with Roygun, nor do I take issue with being married to her. She's powerful, exceedingly beautiful, and even though we haven't talked much, her personality seems quite compatible with mine.
That's just how marriages are in devil society. You don't need to be head over heels for your fiancé/fiancée from the get-go. Love can come later. What's important is that the two of you can get along with each other to a point where your house doesn't end up like—well, mine.
Cough, cough, Martha and Sebastian.
"Roygun?" Since I spilled the beans, my fiancée's been eerily silent. "Are you… alright?" She's staring at me with even more intensity than before, her pupils darting from side to side. It's almost like she's trying to read my mind.
She remained mute, shuffling over to the other side of the mattress and reaching into a drawer below her nightstand, pulling out a claret bottle of wine, the brand unrecognizable to me, and in one swift motion, she flicked the cork off with her thumb, and took an alarmingly long sip.
Uh oh.
"Alduin."
"Y-yes?" I flinched, noticing her tone grow noticeably more… threatening.
"I'm going to ask you something, and I expect you to answer with complete and utter honesty. Otherwise, I'm not so sure I'll be able to abide by your previous request."
Right, I asked her not to eviscerate me on the spot.
"Of course."
"Tell me," she set the bottle aside, staring me dead in the eyes. "Are you planning to detach yourself from your house? Because the way I see it, you're giving your father every reason to disown you."
I shook my head. "No, I'm not. I understand why you might think that, but I assure you that I have absolutely no intention of relinquishing my last name. You may find this hard to believe, however… I'm actually doing this for my house's sake."
"Mhm, that is hard to believe." She nodded, crossing her arms. "Even if I were to assume you're being truthful, it doesn't eliminate the risk of your father dropping you, and if that were to happen, moving our marriage forward would prove to be quite challenging..."
"That won't happen."
"Oh?"
"Roygun, for a Buné clansman, do you have any idea how rare an existence like mine is?" I began, my confidence in my ability to convince Roygun rising. "Not only did my father purposefully get with my mother to have me possess her clan trait, but I'm also one amongst a handful of Bunés to even successfully awaken my paternal clan trait in the first place."
Throughout the Underworld, there's a grand total of one pureblood devil who possesses two clan traits at the same time.
Me.
"You're saying you're too valuable for him to give up? Is that it?"
"Yes, that's precisely what I'm saying." Besides, I don't think making another Heir is an option for him anymore. He and Martha definitely aren't on sleeping terms, and she doesn't strike me as the kind of woman to permit a mistress. Him having a successor without her blood would diminish her standing after all.
She hummed, her posture softening slightly, which made me think she was starting to become a little more agreeable.
"You do realize that you aren't only betting your future on that claim, but mine as well?" Her eyes narrowed, her demeanor pressing the gravity of the situation down on me.
"I know, if I'm not Heir, you won't be able to turn your house into one of the 72 Pillars. But I'm not making this claim lightly. Putting aside the support I already have, I won't let you lose out on—"
"Is that all you think I care about?" She frowned, glaring at me with fierce disapproval. "If my sole desire was a status change, there are other ways for me to achieve that goal. If you honestly think that's the only thing I'm after, then I'm afraid you've sorely misjudged me."
"Roygun, I wasn't trying to call you shallow if that's what you thought—"
"Quiet, I'm not done talking." She crawled over towards me, planting her hands on my shoulders and effortlessly pushing me down onto the mattress, looming over me with a firm, fixated gaze. "I told you, didn't I? I have no family within these walls, just subordinates and servants. I'm nearly four centuries old, and in all that time, my bedside has remained cold."
I felt my eyes start to widen, slowly coming to a realization regarding Roygun's true intent.
Ah, I'm a fool, aren't I?
I was so tunnel-visioned on the political aspect of all this that I overlooked the person in question.
"Alduin, I want a family. I don't want to be alone anymore. I'm tired of it. Day in and day out, I train, give orders, handle paperwork, and then go right back to sleep just to repeat the same monotonous routine the next morning." I felt a knot form in my throat as her lower lip trembled, filling me with all kinds of complex emotions. "I'm just so… fed up with it all."
I hesitated before speaking, grasping just how decisive my words from this point onward would be.
"But… why me?" I couldn't help but ask. "Most of the Underworld was, and probably still is, convinced that I don't even exist. Knowing my mother and father, there's no way you would have known anything about me beforehand. So why? Why did you choose me of all people?"
"I don't know…" Her voice quietened to a low whisper overflowing with uncertainty.
"What?"
"I said I don't know!" She buried her head into my chest, completely catching me off-guard as her nails dug into my shoulders, causing me to suck my teeth in pain.
Still, the sensation of pain was nowhere near to that of the confusion coursing through my mind.
"You… don't?" I whispered back.
"I didn't like any of the other options I examined… I even considered relinquishing my search for a fiancé altogether, but I was desperate, so very desperate. I heard rumors about House Buné's urban myth, and I thought… What the hell? If I end up not liking him, assuming he's real, I'll just cancel the engagement. Honestly, I'm not sure if I was even sober or not at the time I sent your father the letter…"
She nuzzled further into me, my face burning up to the point where it felt as if it had been doused in a vat full of lava.
"But now that you're here and I've had a chance to get to know you, even if only slightly, my mind's made up." She lifted her head, drawing her face so close to mine that even the slightest shift would bring our lips together, her wine-scented breath hitching against my skin. "I've decided that you're the one I want. I feel—no, I know that you and I will only grow more and more compatible as we get to know each other. There's nothing you can do to shake that belief, nothing at all."
"Roygun…" I didn't know where to begin. How was I supposed to find the right words to respond to such a confession?
"You understand, don't you? Why it's hard for me to accept that our marriage has to be delayed, especially when you yourself don't even know how long it'll be? I've waited a lot longer than a month for this, Alduin. I may as well have been waiting my whole life."
Reflexively, I reached out, tenderly stroking her cherry blossom locks.
"Yeah, I understand." I made an effort to sound comforting, but I've never been in a situation like this, so honestly, I have no idea what I'm doing. "I'm sorry, but…"
"I know, you made that deal before you knew about me. I'm not holding that against you."
I lifted a brow, wearing a playful smile.
"Alright… maybe a little." She chuckled dryly. "You said you were doing this for the sake of your house. Care to elaborate? For your fiancée's sake."
I nodded, taking a deep breath. "From the outside, House Buné looks stronger than ever to the Underworld. Notably because of our somewhat recent promotion to Marquis, which was mainly my mother's handiwork. And now that I've passed my awakening ceremony, I'm sure that image has only gotten stronger."
"Are you implying that isn't the case?"
"It couldn't be farther from it. House Buné is a castle of glass." I spoke steadily, my tone firm with resolve. "My father's pulling on one end of the rope, my mother's pulling on the other, and soon enough—it's going to tear. Of this, I am certain. I need to find a solution before that happens, and I can't do that while I'm being constrained by them."
"You believe putting yourself under the leash of two Satans is a better option?" Oh? For someone so keen on becoming a Pillar, she doesn't seem to fancy them very much.
"You can call it that if you like," I shrugged. "From my perspective, though, it's an awfully thin leash. If even one at all. Honestly, I found their deal fairly reasonable. What I was asking for wasn't a small matter, and they even threw in some hefty rewards on top of it. Rewards that are bound to help me both in the short and long run."
"Such as?" Clearly, she was full of doubt.
Oh well, if it helps get her on board, I might as well tell her. I've already disclosed all the super important bits anyway.
I smirked. "Tiamat's blood."
"The strongest Dragon King?!" She bellowed, positively flabbergasted.
"The very one," I affirmed. "For a Buné, such a thing is a top-shelf resource among top-shelf resources. After being offered that, how could I refuse? And before you ask, I already confirmed that they do, in fact, possess it—so I'm not worried about it being a scam."
"I see," she stroked her chin, seemingly content with my rationale. "You said that once you activate the Foreign Affairs badge, Serafall will come to pick you up, right?"
"Mhm." She refers to Lady Leviathan by name, interesting.
She hummed. "Do it. I want to talk to her."
"Eh…?"
"You heard me."
"But—"
"Now."
I gulped nervously. "Yes, Ma'am."
I reached into my robe, pulling out the badge I had brought alongside me.
Let's hope this doesn't end badly.
Hesitantly, I allowed my demonic power to trickle into it, causing the badge to emanate a soft, ice-blue glow as it registered itself to me. Marking me as an official member of the Department of Foreign Affairs, or as Lady Leviathan put it, a "representative."
Seconds later, a deep-blue teleportation circle bearing Lady Leviathan's crest appeared on her bedroom floor, signalling the Satan's imminent arrival, and as it formed, I noticed something—off, about the current situation.
"Uh… Roygun?"
"Yes?"
"Don't you think our positioning is a little… improper for Lady Leviathan's reception?" I doubt summoning her while I'm being straddled is going to leave a positive impression on her.
"No, this is perfect. Serafall may have made a deal with you, but she ought to understand who you truly belong to. My adorable fiancé." She pressed down onto me, squishing her chest against mine and resting her head in the crook of my neck.
Someone's feeling a little possessive…
I was forced to exert an impossible level of self-control to prevent my "sword" from unsheathing itself, made doable only by the emotional control training Sebastian had hammered into me all my life.
Soon enough, a pair of flamboyant, raven twintails manifested into existence. Coupled with the same turquoise formal dress and dark striped skirt I had seen back at the Sitri Manor.
"Al-chan! ☆ It's about time you called! ☆ Me and Sirzechs-chan thought you had gone back on your word for a second—! ☆" In the midst of her theatrics, stopping and staring at the suggestive sight unfolding before her. "A-Alduin… just what exactly have you summoned me to…?"
"It's a long story—"
"Hush darling, I'll handle the conversation from here on out." Roygun put her finger to my lip. Hold on, where did 'darling' come from? "It's been a while, hasn't it? Serafall. I take it you're still a bachelorette, isn't about time you find someone? You're not getting any younger after all. It won't be long before you're deemed expired goods."
"R-Roygun! What the hell are youdoing here?!" The Satan's presence quickly grew hostile, causing me to inhale a sharp, fearful breath as the temperature around us plummeted. Even just a sliver of her demonic power was enough to scare me out of my wits!
Do these two have some kind of grudge?
"How rude. I'll have you know you're standing in my bedroom. You should be grateful that I'm humoring your presence at all. If it weren't for your meddling, I wouldn't even consider burdening myself with the displeasure of seeing your face."
"Meddling?! The fuck that's supposed to mean?! More importantly! What do you think you're doing molesting my employee like that?! Get off him right this instance!" She stomped, the floorboard letting out a pained creak as I felt my body break into a nervous sweat.
"Why should I? He's my betrothed. I'm free to touch him however I please. Unlike you, since your relationship is merely that of employee and employer—you'd get sued for workplace harassment." Roygun smirked at her, shamelessly getting a rise out of Serafall for the sake of her own enjoyment.
Maybe I was wrong. She and Martha might get along with one another after all.
"Alduin! Is this true?!" She glared at me, her eyes widened in shock.
"Y-yeah, pretty much." I scratched my nape, not sure how else to respond. "Technically we got engaged a month ago, but I only became aware of it after our meeting, you know how my father can be."
I purposefully left out exactly when I learnt about our engagement, I don't think she'd appreciate it if she knew Thora told me everything literally minutes after I left the manor. Notifying her and Lord Lucifer kinda slipped my mind, tee-hee, I'm such a clutz.
"Thanks to your interference, we won't be able to officialize that engagement for an unknown amount of time." Roygun scowled at her. "Hmph, some Satan you are, getting in the way of true love just because you're incapable of obtaining it—how unseemly of you."
Woah, harsh.
"Roygun, don't you think that's a little…?"
"A little what? Crude? It's the truth. The truth tends to hurt." She continued to stare Lady Leviathan down. "Now then, regarding this bothersome little stipulation you've put on my darling, I want to discuss visitation."
"Hah! Why would I bother discussing that with you? Wench. All you'll do if I let you up there is continue your starved prowl for younger men, just like you're doing now." Lady Leviathan crossed her arms, her left eye twitching with indignation.
"Oh please, I've got everything I need right here." She scoffed, squishing me as if I were naught but a sentient body pillow. "Ah, but you obviously can't relate, can you? Knowing how touch-starved you are, you're probably willing to strip for the first man desperate enough to come within a hundred meters of your… meager figure."
Twitch!
"You really like pushing your luck, don't you? Roygun." Deciding that she'd had enough, her demonic power started to flare to life, this time on purpose, as she revealed a haunting, toothy grin. "Need I offer you a physical reminder as to who it is you're talking to? Girl."
You've both lived for centuries… should age even matter between you anymore?
Roygun breathed a stifled, vindictive giggle. "Look, darling. The pent-up hag's finally revealing her true colors. To think she'd flaunt her presence so openly with no regard whatsoever for her employee, how shameful. This is why you shouldn't get involved with these kinds of people."
If these two are going to argue with each other, couldn't they at least spare me from the crossfire? I genuinely feel like I'm going to collapse from the pressure. It's a miracle I haven't done so already.
"You're one to talk, clinging to your fiancé instead of getting up and facing me like an adult." I could hear the sound of Lady Leviathan's knuckles cracking as she flexed her hands. "I presume you forgot your big girl pants alongside the rest of your clothes?"
Roygun narrowed her eyes, finally deciding to release me from her deeply evocative clasp as she started to approach Lady Leviathan.
"Have it your way then." She replicated the Satan's boast of might, the aura of demonic power radiating around her making it seem like she could tear space itself in two.
Yeah, I think I'd best leave before I'm torn apart by whatever catastrophe's about to unfold before me.
———
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