Once Azazel and Odin—the two incorrigible troublemakers—left, the room fell silent again. After a long pause, Baraqiel finally turned to Akeno and spoke slowly.
"Can we talk properly now, Akeno?"
There was a hint of pleading in his tone, making the girl's body tremble slightly. She wanted to refuse, but didn't even know how to begin.
"I… I understand."
"R-Really? That's… that's great."
Hearing his daughter agree, a small smile broke across Baraqiel's face. He immediately reached out, trying to take her by the arm.
"Don't touch me!"
But Akeno brusquely shook off his hand, then turned to walk toward the inner room. Despite being treated like that, the middle-aged man actually nodded happily and quickly followed after her.
"Yoru…"
Rias spoke in a worried tone, but Yoru simply smiled, signaling her not to worry.
"I'll follow them. Don't worry."
If no one intervened, this father-daughter conversation was almost certain to end badly.
He didn't enter the room directly, instead stopping at the doorway. Sure enough, once he stood there, voices from inside began to reach his ears.
"Akeno, there are some things I want to ask you."
"Don't call my name so casually."
It seemed that, away from everyone else, Akeno's pent-up resentment burst out all at once. Her voice carried a cold, sharp edge unlike anything heard before.
"…You and… that Gremory soldier boy, exactly what—?"
"What are you trying to imply?"
"As your father, isn't it normal for me to want to know who my daughter likes? After all, he's just—"
But before he could finish, Akeno cut him off angrily.
"Enough! Don't act like a father now! If you wanted to act like one, why weren't you there back then?! Wasn't it you who stood by and let Mother die?!"
Back when Akeno was very young, her mother—a shrine maiden—had married the Fallen Angel Baraqiel. Because of that union, the narrow-minded elders of the shrine despised them. Not long after, her mother was killed. At the time, her father never appeared.
So when Baraqiel heard her shout those words, his head dropped in grief, his face heavy with guilt and silence.
"I can't understand why you'd even show up in front of me. Wouldn't it be better if we never met again? Who I like is none of your concern. Yoru and I are just fellow servants under Lady Rias. With both Lady Rias and Lady Sona around, how could he possibly fall for someone like me, tainted with such filthy blood?"
Akeno's lips curved into a mocking smile. The more she spoke like this, the more it pained Baraqiel and deepened his guilt.
"Akeno, I—"
"What could you possibly say now? Do you think I'd listen to you? The only reason I came in here with you was to tell you—don't call my name, don't put on the face of a father in front of me, and it would be best if you never appeared before me again."
Her years of bottled-up pain and anger burst forth in a single breath. Even though he was her biological father, in Akeno's heart he wasn't worthy of that title—she loathed him to the core. The person she loved most, her mother, had been killed because of him, and he hadn't even shown up. And now, after all this time, he dared to stand before her as if he had the right to call himself her father?
"Akeno, listen to me, I wasn't—"
"That's enough. I'm done talking. I'm satisfied with my current life, and I don't want you interfering in it. And as for Yoru—you have no right to belittle him!"
Just as she was about to leave the room, a familiar figure appeared in her sight.
"Sorry. I heard everything."
Yoru rubbed the bridge of his nose with a wry smile.
He was well aware that Akeno had feelings for him, but because she harbored self-hatred over her own bloodline, she had never confessed to him. Yoru understood this, and so he had never exposed her feelings—he simply stayed by her side, stepping in to protect her whenever she needed him most.
He hoped that one day, she would come to terms with herself and confess to him on her own.
"Y-Yoru…?"
Seeing his gentle expression, Akeno's heart began to race. At the same time, Baraqiel—realizing Yoru had been eavesdropping—immediately spoke up in anger, as if venting the frustration he'd endured in front of his daughter.
"You! How dare you eavesdrop! I—"
"Silence! Yoru is the last person you have the right to lecture!"
Her protectiveness was extreme—though without her painful past, it likely wouldn't have gone this far. Still, from what he'd heard outside, Yoru could tell that Baraqiel's guilt and love for his daughter were genuine. If he truly were a cold-blooded father, they would have turned into enemies long ago.
"Alright, calm down a bit. No matter what, for the time being Baraqiel is here as the representative of the Fallen Angels. Even if not as a father, at least as a representative you should let him finish speaking. Otherwise, people might think we demons don't know how to treat our guests."
Gently holding her soft hand, Yoru tried to reason with her calmly.
"But…"
Even after his words, Akeno still looked at Baraqiel with clear hostility, unwilling to soften her stance.
Seeing her pouty, defiant expression, Yoru couldn't help but smile slightly before turning to Baraqiel.
"Alright then, say what you need to say, Lord Baraqiel."
"I'm sorry, Akeno. Maybe my tone was wrong earlier, but I honestly just wanted to know how you've been living. Whether you have someone you like… if I don't even know that, then I've failed as a father."
"A father? Heh… nice words. And when have you ever fulfilled that responsibility? If it weren't for you, would Mother have been killed? Saying this now—who exactly do you think you're fooling?"
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