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In the bedroom on the second floor of the school building, the red-haired girl by the desk turned to see the silver-haired maid who had arrived via the teleportation circle. Her otherwise gentle expression instantly took on a hint of stiffness.
"My sincerest apologies for calling on you so late, Lady Rias."
The silver-haired maid took a step out of the magic circle and bowed slightly. The red teleportation circle vanished behind her.
Rias bit her lower lip. "Grayfia-nee, why did you suddenly come here..."
Although she phrased it as a question, the look on her face betrayed the fact that she clearly knew the reason for the maid's arrival.
With the magic circle's light gone, the desk lamp once again became the room's sole light source. The hazy, warm light diffused across the modestly sized room, vaguely outlining the striking figure of the silver-haired maid beneath her seemingly conservative attire.
"Though it may be a little late, your older brother, Sirzechs Lucifer-sama, still wished for me to bring his birthday wishes to you for this year, Lady Rias."
"My birthday... that was at the beginning of the month. And now it's almost the end of April." The red-haired girl complained, feigning composure.
"I apologize deeply, but there is a reason for this. Sirzechs-sama has not been in his role as the Satan for long, and many matters still require his personal approval." Grayfia's tone was calm and neither subservient nor arrogant. "Originally, Sirzechs-sama wished to personally come and celebrate your birthday, Lady Rias, so he has been trying diligently to complete his work ahead of schedule these past few days. Unfortunately, he was simply too busy in the end and could only ask me to convey his message on his behalf."
"It's really fine" Seeing the silver-haired maid apologize so sincerely again and again, Rias, who had just been complaining, felt somewhat embarrassed herself. "I know Brother is very busy. Besides, I'm not a child anymore. I doubt I'm so immature in Brother's eyes that I would throw a fit just because I didn't receive a birthday greeting... Well but thank you, Grayfia-nee, for helping to bring Brother's blessing."
"So, that's all. There isn't any other important matter, is there?" Rias's tone carried a hint of desperate expectation when she asked this. If... if that was truly all, that would be wonderful.
But life rarely goes as hoped.
"There is one more thing." The words that escaped Grayfia's red lips extinguished the red-haired girl's last hope. "It is regarding your engagement, Lady Rias. Since you have already turned eighteen, the Phoenix family wishes for you to return to the Underworld as soon as possible to hold the wedding ceremony."
"..."
The atmosphere in the room instantly fell silent. The girl remained motionless in her chair, half-turned sideways. The desk lamp shone from behind, casting large shadows on her face from her red hair cascading over her shoulders, obscuring her expression.
"The engagement... is that right?"
"Yes. These are also the words the Phoenix family asked me to convey to you, Lady Rias, before I came from the Underworld."
The Phoenix family, like the Gremory family, belonged to the Seventy-Two Pillars of nobility in the Underworld, and they were one of the few pure-blood Devil families remaining after the Great War. The engagement between the two families had no emotional basis. Rather than a marriage contract, it was more like a political mission carrying the burden of restoring the pure-blood Devil lineage.
Originally, this marriage contract would not have fallen to Rias. After all, she had her older brother, Sirzechs, and the Phoenix family had a younger daughter besides their three older sons. But because Sirzechs Gremory inherited the mantle of the Satan Lucifer, becoming Sirzechs Lucifer, Rias herself automatically became the successor to the Gremory clan headship. It is often said that uneasy lies the head that wears the crown, but the reality is often that you don't even get to choose whether you want the crown or not. The only difference is whether you willingly wear the crown or are forced to. Rias was now the latter.
She could, of course, choose to refuse vehemently, but that would certainly invite immense controversy and criticism for the Gremory family. Being a pure-blood Devil noble yet being unwilling to contribute to the restoration of the Underworld—once that stigma was attached, not only the Gremory family but even her brother, Sirzechs, who had ascended to the rank of Satan, would be implicated. This was something Rias absolutely could not accept.
Furthermore, with her father, Zeoticus Gremory, passing away prematurely, the Gremory family, objectively speaking, only consisted of her and her mother, Venelana Gremory. The situation could easily be described as precarious. If any further conflict were incited, being stripped of their title as one of the Seventy-Two Pillars was not impossible.
In that case...
Hah—
The red-haired girl let out a soft, slightly trembling sigh.
"I... I understand. Thank you, Grayfia-nee, for making the arduous journey."
The words settled, but this time, Grayfia did not immediately reply. Only after a brief pause did she speak again calmly.
"Actually, if you are truly unwilling to accept this engagement, Lady Rias, there is still one way..."
"I know. Just ask Brother to intervene, right?" Without waiting for the silver-haired maid to finish, Rias offered a helpless, slightly bitter smile.
Indeed, with her brother Sirzechs's current status as a Satan, mediating a marriage contract would be a matter of a single word. But the fundamental point remained. Due to the very sensitive nature of this engagement, if Sirzechs were to forcibly intervene as the Satan, it would surely invite questioning from the various nobles of the Seventy-Two Pillars, which would strike a devastating blow to her brother's authority. Rias could never accept dragging down her brother, who had only just attained his high position, due to her own momentary willfulness.
"In any case... I understand. Thank you for making this trip, Grayfia-nee. Please also extend my best wishes to Brother. I... will think about this myself."
With nothing more to be said, the silver-haired maid nodded in understanding. She glanced over the notebook on the desk behind the girl, then took a step back and bowed again. The red teleportation magic circle, bearing the Gremory family crest, lit up beneath her feet, and with a flash of red light, her figure instantly vanished.
The energy fluctuation of the teleportation magic quickly dissipated into the air, disturbing no one else in the old school building.
Inside the room, Rias only recovered and sat back in her chair after the magic circle on the floor completely disappeared. She leaned back against the chair, tilted her head, and stared fixedly at the ceiling, raising her finger to touch her lips.
"You said... you would come and save me... right?"
...
Meanwhile, at the Hanakain residence.
"Come on, Hana-Hana~ Dinner is already over, so it's time to eat Big Sister, Oho~ And since tomorrow and the day after are holidays and we don't have to go anywhere, let's Doo-doo hard for two days and two nights!"
"Are you trying to break yourself?"
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