In the morning of the before day of the party—or 36 hours before the party—Liebe is called into Professor Lilith's office. Liebe and Licht go. As they sat down:
Lilith said, "Good morning, good morning. How are you two?"
Liebe said, "Why did you call us early in the morning?"
Lilith said, "Oh, yeah, yeah. I have good news."
Licht said, "OK, sure."
Lilith said, "Someone called me this morning. They want to form an alliance with the great 14th Prince of Hell, Lilith Faust."
Licht said, "OK, so you want us to investigate and see if they are good or not or something?"
Lilith said, "Oh no, no. They are great, great. It's just they are more interested in Liebe than the actual alliance."
Licht said, "What?"
Liebe said, "Still not getting it."
Lilith said, "They wanted to know if Liebe—such a man of character, etc., etc.—would take in their daughter as his wife."
Liebe and Licht ended up spitting on each other's faces.
Licht said, "What is this? I'm way too young to be a brother-in-law, much less an uncle."
Liebe said, "Yeah, what he said. What he said. These are my daddy years—the years girls come to my bed and say, 'Sorry, Daddy, I have been naughty.' Not 'Sorry, Father, for breaking your trophy.'"
Licht said, "Who even is this girl? What do we know about her?"
Lilith said, "She is cute. Her father is a former pillar of the Empire. Not to mention, she cooks really well."
Licht said, "OK, Liebe, get married. When is the wedding?"
Liebe said, "There will be no wedding. And Liebe, get out. I need to talk to my mother on this."
Licht said, "Sure."
Liebe said, "What is this, Mom?"
Lilith said, "Your wedding. So, want to get married?"
Liebe said, "What do you mean, get married? I just lost Alysa a few months ago. I'm not ready to be married and settle down. I'm in my 'kill Abyssal monster, not think about it' phase."
Lilith said, "My old friend called. His name was Oriar Bouduin. Ring any bells?"
Liebe said, "Alysa's family?"
Lilith said, "Yeah. Her dad called and said you two nerds would make a cute couple."
Liebe just laughed, and Lilith also laughed.
Liebe said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Lilith said, "It's OK. But why are we laughing?"
Liebe said, "You are pranking me, is that it?"
Lilith said, "What prank?"
Liebe said, "I get it. I said you have no sense of humour, so you said you are making this up, am I right?"
Lilith said, "No, I'm serious. Oriar really did call."
Liebe said, "Sure, sure." As Liebe walked away laughing, thinking of a joke.
Lilith said, "Hey, Liebe, what should I tell them?"
Liebe said, "Tell them no, I guess. Alright, tell them I'm married to paperwork."
Lilith said, "OK."
As Liebe left:
Licht said, "So, what did the girl look like—my future sister-in-law?"
Liebe said, "There is no sister-in-law. Mom was just pranking me."
Licht said, "Damn. And here I thought I was getting free food."
The following night, as Liebe was getting ready, Licht and the team were ready. As Liebe was outside the dorm:
Licht said, "Look at the man. Looks like the beast will hunt tonight."
Liebe said, "Perhaps more than one prey."
As Warner and May were here:
Liebe said, "Warner, what are you doing here?"
Warner said, "Oh, me?"
Licht said, "Oh him. Since it's a party, might as well get a wingman and enjoy the hunt. And no better wingman than a birdman."
Liebe said, "Guys, I'm going to just have fun. Not necessarily a wingman."
Licht said, "It's alright, Warner." As Licht whispered into Warner's ear, "Do it."
As Warner began to cry and sob, saying, "I have been deemed unworthy by the God of Darkness. My bloodline must perish. My sins can't be atoned for—"
Mavia said, "Well, it's OK. Wingmen are overrated anyways. How about a wingwoman? May here knows the stuff."
Before Liebe could say anything, tears were appearing in May's face. It was apparent to Liebe they prepared thoroughly.
Liebe said, "Fine."
As they went:
Liebe said, "Hey, Licht, I don't know—it feels weird to ask, but why are you and Mia so close right now?"
Licht said, "You know, just leader and subordinate. You two should hold hands since May might get lost."
Liebe said, "Fine." As they held hands and went on, only to see the party was way too much. There were literal pools full of champagne and sake.
Licht said, "Wow, just wow. Exactly how much did he waste on this party?"
Liebe said, "By my rough estimates, at least 20 years of your salary."
Licht said, "What? And how much of your wealth?"
Liebe said, "For me, less than what I can earn in a day if I really tried."
Licht said, "Rich people, am I right?"
Liebe said, "Seems so."
As he was holding hands with May, they were having fun with the whole team. Then Eosian walked up to Liebe and said, "Half-breed."
Liebe said, "Eosian Bouduin."
Eosian said, "Fleet Admiral, good to see you could attend."
Liebe said, "Sure."
Eosian said, "Make yourselves at home."
Liebe said, "Of course."
Eosian said, "Why are you married to paperwork?"
Liebe said, "Huh? What?" Leaving him confused as Eosian walked away.
Aile said, "Sorry, sir, apologies. He is drunk."
Liebe said, "It's alright."
As Licht and Liebe were getting drunk, Eosian made an announcement, clearly hammered drunk on the mic.
He said, "Everyone, are we chilling?"
As everyone screamed, "Yeah!"
Eosian said, "Today, I'm celebrating because I'm happy. Because soon, I will be a big brother."
May said, "Does that mean—"
Liebe said, "Yeah. House Bouduin will have another child soon. Kinda feel bad for the kid since Eosian will be the big brother."
May said, "Come on, don't say that. He might be decently OK."
Liebe said, "Yeah, I gave up hope on that years ago."
Licht said, "Same."
Mia said, "It's really surprising to see him act normal and kind of OK as a human being."
Licht said, "Yeah, when someone is wayyyy too drunk, they start to act inversely of their actual personality. I was that drunk once, and I was awake for 10 hours."
Mia said, "I see."
Liebe said, "Let's just hope there is enough alcohol to keep him at that level drunk."
As Eosian screamed, "But the real reason I'm happy tonight is because my older sister is getting engaged to Kelvin Aink Fulrus—the only godkin who deserves to love her."
Hearing this, Liebe's world breaks apart. He can't process what he heard. He starts to cry, tears streaming down.
Eosian said, "Are you all happy?"
As everyone screamed, "Yeah!"
Eosian screamed, "Then let's party! A toast to my big sister and her wedding!"
As Liebe was crying, hearing the harshest words in the world, seeing everyone around him celebrate the death of his love, he couldn't look anyone in the eye.
He said, "Licht, watch May. I have to go."
As Liebe left the hall, every cheer felt like a dagger to his heart. Every smile felt like death. The thought of Alysa with someone else was simply too hard to bear for Liebe