We reached the power stone goal for today ! Here's a bonus chapter, Enjoy!
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"I agree with you," Kiba said, his brows furrowing slightly. "But there are still a few contradictions I don't understand. The punishment for Adrien not attending the engagement ceremony—or, I suppose, breaking the engagement later—is that he would be treated like a criminal. But can we really afford that? If Adrien is that important, then branding him as a criminal would only push him away from us. Wouldn't that be almost the same as handing him over to our already overpowered enemies?"
A heavy silence fell over the room. Even Azazel didn't know how to answer Kiba's question, he was just hearing about the situation right now after all.
Akeno, who had been quietly listening for a while, finally opened her mouth. "I think everyone is misunderstanding something," she said. "Adrien isn't some wild beast that needs to be chained down. He actually enjoys the life he has now, he considers us his friends, and whether he admits it or not, he cares about us."
Rias looked toward her.
"Adrien probably didn't have many friends growing up. He was hidden from most of the Underworld, treated more like a secret weapon than a normal child. So I think… he values the people around him more than he lets on. That's why he got so angry when those higher-ups mocked Sona. He knew defending her would cause trouble for him later, but he still did it without hesitation. He did it because, in his own way, he cares."
"I think… I agree with Akeno," Issei said, surprising everyone in the room. He scratched his cheek awkwardly, his voice quieter than usual. "When I heard Adrien and the Prez were going to get engaged, I felt really sad. I mean, of course I did. But at the same time… I guess I always knew she might get engaged again sooner or later."
He looked down, clenching his fists slightly. "A-and if it had to be someone, then Adrien is way better than the other nobles I've met so far."
Kiba lowered his gaze, thinking carefully over Issei's words. "I see… Maybe Lord Sirzechs already understood that. Perhaps he knew Adrien would not truly betray us in the first place. The engagement was important because of what it meant on paper, not because Adrien needed to be forced into loyalty. But that also means Lord Sirzechs chose to bind Rias's future to someone she does not truly love. He trusted Adrien's character, but still sacrificed Rias's freedom of choice."
Kiba let out a small breath and added, "It is just as Azazel said. Lord Sirzechs chose Rias's safety and future prosperity over her personal feelings right now. From a political point of view, it may be the correct decision… but from Rias's point of view, it must still feel cruel."
"But couldn't Issei have been chosen to marry her instead?" Asia asked softly, looking between everyone with innocent confusion. "I mean… he is the Red Dragon Emperor, and in the future, he'll probably become incredibly strong too."
Azazel gave her a surprisingly honest look. "Yes and no, Asia. Yes, Issei is the Red Dragon Emperor, and yeah, his future potential is insane. I'm not denying that. But there are two problems. First, he isn't a pure-blooded devil. Now, personally, I don't think Sirzechs cares much about that kind of thing. He's not the type to look down on reincarnated devils or half-bloods, but devil society does care. Your race has been declining ever since the Great War and the Devil Civil War, so bloodlines still matter politically. If Rias is going to carry the Gremory name forward, the nobles would expect her future partner to be someone from an old pure-blooded House."
He leaned back against the chair he was sitting on, "And second, Issei's potential is huge, but Adrien is different. That brat isn't just talented. It's like the universe itself decided to cheat when making him, just hearing the shit and techniques that he was planning on creating made me realize how incredibly smart the kid is. If Issei is someone who might one day become one of the strongest, Adrien is someone people already expect to eventually stand face-to-face with beings like the Dragon Gods… the same kind of monsters only beings like God could reach."
Rias sat quietly, listening to everyone give their thoughts on the matter. At first, she wanted to reject it completely. But after thinking about it carefully, she slowly reached the same conclusion as them. It made perfect sense why her brother had chosen Adrien as her fiancé.
She was not throwing a tantrum like she had with Riser, because Adrien was nothing like him. Riser had treated her like a prize, like something he was entitled to own. Adrien, on the other hand, had never looked at her that way. Yes he was a pain in the ass to deal with but like Akeno said he cared for them in his own way. Even she felt her heart move by how he stood from Sona in front of the higher ups of the underworld, and she understood that he would the same for her.
If she truly had to marry someone from one of the main noble Houses, then yes… she probably would have chosen Adrien herself.
But as Kiba had said, even if the choice made sense, even if Adrien was the best possible option, it still felt cruel to her. Even though she did not dislike the idea of him, she hated the fact that the right to choose who she would love had been taken from her.
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Adrien and his Familia stood in front of the entrance hall, they didn't have any packed bags since Adrien had stored them in his dimensional storage. Issei was standing with them too, looking a little uncomfortable, but also weirdly excited to be surrounded by so many beautiful girls.
Rias and her Familia stood across from them with Zeoticus, Venelana, and Millicas, who had all come to see them off.
"Well then," Zeoticus said with a warm smile, "I hope your stay here was not too uncomfortable."
"No, it was really nice!" Mahiru said, her eyes shining as she looked around the entrance hall one last time. "It's my first time staying in a castle! I didn't even know beds could be that soft."
Venelana smiled warmly at her. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, dear."
Everyone said their goodbyes, they weren't gonna see each other for at least a month.
Akeno approached Adrien and hugged him, she didn't care that she was in front of Zeoticus and Venelana. She lifted her head to look at him her face was slightly red, "I'm really excited to move with you when we return to the human world. Till then I'll think about you and please myself till we can do the real thing."
The second sentence came as a whisper, so low that only Adrien heard it.
Adrien turned his head and looked at Akeno flatly. "I really have no idea what goes on in your head. Sometimes you act shy, and sometimes you act like a complete freak. Which one is the real you?"
"You have to find out of yourself," she winked.
gaze shifted toward Rias, who was still saying her goodbyes to the others. But he did not miss the quick glance she gave in his and Akeno's direction.
After a brief pause, Adrien spoke. "Rias, I want to talk to you for a second."
The entrance hall quieted slightly. Rias looked surprised, but Adrien had already turned and walked outside before she could answer. Everyone's attention shifted toward them at once.
Rias hesitated for only a moment before following him out of the manor.
Adrien was standing near the water fountain in front of the estate, his hands in his pockets as he looked at the garden. The sound of flowing water filled the brief silence between them.
Rias stopped a few steps away from him, folding her arms beneath her chest as she looked toward the flowers instead of directly at him.
"I kind of feel bad," he said "Like your mother said, I was half the reason this engagement happened. So… sorry about that. I didn't exactly plan to walk into your life and change your life like that. I'll try to find a way to break it off."
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Yo we reached the power stone goals so I'll be dropping a bonus chapter today.
When we reach 400 powers tones and I'll drop another bonus chapter.
If you can put reviews so I can know what you think about the story so far I'd be a real help!
From next chapter we'll be entering a new arc.