Adrien appeared in his own room, it had been a real while since he came here. His room hadn't changed in the slightest.
It had been quite some time since he had last set foot here, but the place had not changed in the slightest. The same bookshelves lined the walls, filled with old notebooks and half-forgotten research.
Adrien looked at her for a moment, then walked over and gently caressed her head. She did not wake up. Her breathing remained soft and even, completely unaware that he had appeared beside her.
He was here to take a book and he was going to leave again, he had lots of things he wanted to do this summer break.
Turning away from the bed, he walked back to the shelves and pulled out an old notebook. It was one of the notebooks he had used to write down Ajuka's basic calculation magic circle formulas when he was a kid, he wanted to start from there.
Adrien left his room and headed toward his father's study in the western part of the castle.
He walked through the luxurious halls of Agares Castle, passing polished floors, tall windows, and walls decorated with old portraits and expensive ornaments. After a few minutes of walking, he reached the study. Adrien raised his hand and knocked twice.
Knock! Knock!
"Come in," a voice answered from inside.
As Adrien had expected, his father was still there.
He opened the door and stepped inside.
The room was dimly lit by candlelight. Of course, Agares Castle had electricity, but Valerius Agares preferred to keep things old-fashioned, especially in his private quarters.
His father was sitting on a luxurious wooden chair behind a heavy wooden desk. Bookshelves covered the wall directly across from the entrance, and a fireplace burned quietly in the corner of the room, filling the study with a soft orange glow.
Valerius did not seem particularly surprised to see him. Even though he could not sense Adrien's energy, he could still hear his footsteps. And Valerius Agares could tell his children's footsteps apart from everyone else's.
"Been a long time since you visited," Valerius said without looking up. "Did you forget about us?"
Adrien walked into the study and sat down on the chair in front of his father's desk. "How did you feel selling your son to the Gremorys?"
Valerius finally raised his eyes from the papers in front of him.
"Selling is an overstatement," he said calmly. "You are being married into House Gremory to unite our clans. And before you start acting like we gained nothing from it, understand this clearly: both sides put conditions on the table."
Adrien leaned back in his chair, unimpressed. "What was the deal?"
"House Gremory had four main demands. First, they wanted a direct blood tie with House Agares. A marriage between you and Rias Gremory connects the Demon King's family to an Archduke House. Politically, that is very valuable for them."
"Second," Valerius continued, ignoring him, "they wanted your reputation to protect Rias. After Kokabiel, the Three Factions Meeting, and the chaos with Katerea Leviathan, your name has become dangerous. If Rias is tied to you, other Houses and the enemy will be much more careful before targeting or insulting her even in Sirzechs's absence."
"Using me as a warning sign. How nice."
"Third, they wanted you involved in Rias's training. More specifically, they wanted you to help improve her peerage. You are already doing that, which means Sirzechs likely planned this part ahead of time." Valerius gave a faint smile. "Sirzechs is a skilled schemer. I would not be surprised if he spoke with Azazel about having you train Rias's pawn without ever mentioning the engagement deal. By the time the contract was revealed, you were already useful to them."
Adrien stared at him flatly. "That bastard."
"Fourth," Valerius said, "they wanted you close to Gremory territory after the marriage becomes official. You would be expected to spend a great deal of time there."
Adrien rested his cheek against his fist. "I'm going to find a way to break it, by the way."
Valerius ignored that completely. "As for House Agares, we also made our demands. First, you will keep the Agares name."
Adrien blinked.
"Normally, because you are not the heir of House Agares and Rias is the heiress of House Gremory, there would be pressure for you to take the Gremory name or become politically absorbed into their House. We refused that. you will remain Adrien Agares. You will keep your independence, your peerage, your territory, and your rank. House Gremory will have no right to command you, claim your assets, or interfere with your personal forces."
"That's the first intelligent thing I've heard today."
"Second, we demanded official recognition of your claim over Tokyo. House Gremory will support your authority over the territory publicly, and if another House tries to challenge it through the council, they are required to back us."
Adrien seemed impressed, "That's actually useful."
"Very useful," Valerius said. "Your control over Tokyo is powerful, but it is also unusual. Having the Gremorys and the Demon King's faction openly support it makes it far harder for other nobles to question."
He then lifted a third finger. "Third, we demanded access to Gremory political channels. That includes certain noble contacts, council influence, and internal information routes that House Gremory has built over the years."
Adrien wasn't the least bit interested in that so he didn't comment on it.
"Fourth," Valerius continued, "we demanded access to Rating Game data. Not everything, of course, but enough to benefit our House and your future matches."
"That's the greed they talk about in the bible, don't we have enough of it?"
"How would you know what's written in the bible."
"I've read it once, I guess after God died their system isn't working on someone like me."
"Fifth, we arranged a limited research exchange. House Agares will share information on territory management, defensive domain formations, and training methods. In return, House Gremory will provide resources, political support, and access to data we would normally have to fight for."
"Limited research?"
"Yes," Valerius said firmly. "Your personal techniques are excluded. Your teleportation method, your ring, and anything else you created yourself are not part of the deal."
"It's not a bad deal," Adrien admitted. "Actually, we're getting more out of it than they are. But that only matters if the engagement actually goes through," Adrien added.
His father's eyes narrowed slightly. "Are you truly going to try to break it? Do you intend to fight Sirzechs?"
Adrien stood up from his chair and gave him a faint smile. "I'll leave that to your imagination. I'm leaving."
Valerius watched him walk away, his expression unreadable. The fire in the corner crackled softly, filling the silence Adrien left behind.
Adrien walked out of the study and moved through the long hallway.
The castle was quiet at this hour. Only the faint sound of his footsteps echoed against the polished floor as he passed the tall windows and old portraits lining the walls.
After a while, he stepped out onto a balcony.
The cold night air immediately brushed against him. Adrien leaned against the railing and looked out over Agreas. The floating island was wrapped in darkness, with scattered lights glowing from the towns below like small stars.
"You came back."
A soft voice came from behind him.
Adrien turned his head and saw Xenovia standing near the balcony entrance. She was wearing her pajamas, her hair slightly messy.
"I'm leaving now," Adrien said with a small smile. "Do you need anything?"
Xenovia looked at him for a moment. "Then…" she said quietly, "can I hug you?"
Adrien was surprised. Xenovia was not usually the touchy type like Mary. She didn't even do foreplay that much when they have sex.
Before Adrien could answer, Xenovia stepped out onto the balcony. The cold night air moved around them as she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him without waiting for permission.
Adrien hugged her back, his arms settling around her lightly. "What's gotten into you?"
Xenovia stayed quiet for a moment, still holding onto him. "I don't know… I just feel like you've been distant lately."
Adrien looked down at her. "Well, I have been away for two nights, But have I been really that distant lately?"
"Maybe not on purpose," she said. "But you're always thinking about something else. You're here, but it feels like part of you is already somewhere far away. That's not like you."
Adrien went silent. He wanted to deny it, but the words did not come out immediately, because she wasn't exactly wrong.
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Yo, from next chapter we'll enter a new mini arc.
When we reach 200 power stones I'll drop a new chapter!