Akeno felt her heartbeat moving so fast. Her face turned even redder as she thought about the forbidden relationship between them.
His indifferent eyes.
His manly eyes.
Those eyes were staring at her like an animal.
If he pushed her here, she was afraid she might not fight back and let herself be devoured by him.
Yet—
"I shouldn't ask you this question, but shouldn't you hate me?"
Riser didn't step forward and asked this question. He knew that he might be able to get a reward, and there was no doubt it would be tempting, yet he decided not to do it.
His chances of getting her were undoubtedly huge, yet he felt this was far from enough.
If they really had this forbidden relationship, in the beginning, it would be like a blazing fire. It was beautiful, yet it burnt their conscience as they carried deep guilt within their hearts.
Then, when the fire was extinguished, when everything was over, in their minds, it would be... 'That's it?'
That's all.
Nothing special.
Akeno was beautiful, yet did he lack a beautiful woman?
She might be able to reward him, but when he thought about the trouble that might come afterward, he decided to back down.
Not only was she part of Sirzech's faction due to her status as Rias's queen, but her heritage was even more troublesome.
Riser knew that Akeno was half human and half fallen angel.
The Gremory house did an excellent job of advertising, so everyone who was related to the supernatural knew that this house had always treated their peerage members like a family.
However, what about his house?
It was due to this excellent advertising that Akeno's father was relieved to know she had become the servant of the Gremory.
However, the fallen angel had always been the nemesis of the devil.
They had been fighting each other the moment they were born, killing each other with hatred.
Frankly, as a devil, deception was something natural to do.
Yet the problem was, who did he deceive now?
Did he have enough power to bear the consequences of deceiving Akeno?
If Akeno's father knew that he had deceived Akeno, then he might come to fight him. Even if he could fight Akeno's father and win, he was sure that by then, the entire fallen angel would come to avenge Akeno's father.
Frankly, there wouldn't be any end.
The fallen angel was one thing, and there was also the Gremory House, as he had taken advantage of their servant.
While he believed that Akeno wouldn't say anything if they really did it, he still felt hesitant.
Lastly and the most important point, two hours were far from enough for him!
Still, Akeno was flustered when she thought about the question asked by him.
Yes, she should hate him, but what was she about to do?
She was about to have an affair with her master's former fiance!
Her heart was beating so fast, cursing her fetish that it might cause a disaster for Rias.
Still, did she hate him?
Frankly, the reason why she didn't have a good impression of him was due to Rias.
Rias was her master, so when Rias didn't like Riser, Akeno could only follow.
Yet Rias's feelings toward Riser are different now.
It was wrong, yet Akeno didn't have the power to stop Rias, and due to their meeting, while she knew it was wrong, she was unable to forget about him.
Moreover—
"You were joking, Riser-sama. Someone with a lowly status like me... how could I hate you?"
Akeno was just a low-class devil.
Even if she was the queen of Rias Gremory, her low status didn't change.
Facing a high-class devil like him, she could only submit.
Riser only chuckled, then thought for a moment and asked, "It might be weird of me to ask you this."
"Please ask anything if you have any doubts about me, Riser-sama."
"Does that perverted dragon know that his master is going to the Underworld to visit me?"
"..."
Akeno blinked her eyes as she looked at his evil smile that sent a shudder down her spine, tempting her inner heart that was wishing to be tormented and looked down upon by such a smile.
Still, she needed to answer his question.
Hesitating, she shook her head. "No. I am the only one that she told."
"I see." Riser nodded. "I wonder how his expression is when he knows."
"...."
Akeno could only smile wrily when she thought Issei knew Rias had been coming to visit Riser in the Underworld.
What would Issei think?
Nevertheless, Akeno looked at Riser and then asked the question that she wanted to ask. "Um, Riser-sama... can I ask you something?"
"Hmm?"
"Do... do you hate Issei-kun?"
Riser closed his book, then looked at Akeno blankly, and asked, "What do you think?"
"....."
"I am already giving the Gremory family and Sirzech-sama enough face, not to mention what that perverted dragon did. Frankly, it won't be weird if he is killed on the spot."
Yes, if Issei didn't have the protection of Sirzech and Gremory and everything was part of the charade of the two, then Issei was already dead.
"I know that I might sound petty and small-minded, but if a man can accept his woman being treated like that during their important moment, then they might as well stop being a man."
"....."
Akeno fell in silence since she realized how ridiculous Issei's action was.
While Issei might seem like a ray of hope during their dark moments, it was only in the beginning, and when he lost, everyone became sober, and they quickly realized how crazy their action was.
Moreover, Akeno could also feel the chillness in the Gremory house and Sirzech.
The reason why they let Issei break into the engagement wasn't due to his status as the Sekiryuutei but due to his status as a new servant of Rias Gremory.
In other words, even if Issei died, the Gremory house didn't need to pay much since they hadn't given much investment in Issei.
Meanwhile, she, Koneko, and Kiba were in the engagement place and only became supporting roles on the side, so even if they were punished by the Phenex family for tarnishing the pride of the family, they wouldn't be punished too much.
However, Issei? His fate was already dead.
Fortunately, in the original, due to the status of the protagonist, Issei didn't have much of a problem in the aftermath of this problem, but if someone was sober enough, they knew how crazy his action was, and death was his only destination.
After all, even if Sirzech was the leader of the Maou faction, the Underworld wasn't a monolith.
If the Phenex family really got angry and would chase after the problem, especially when Issei, who was just a lowly devil, dared to tarnish the face of the aristocratic family, there was no doubt that Sirzech and the Gremory family would abandon Issei since the worth of Issei wasn't worth much compared to the entire Phenex family.
Unfortunately, the Phenex family chickened out and didn't dare to chase after this problem, so they could only follow the big wave by letting their youngest daughter be part of Issei's harem.
In the end, even if everyone said that the Gremory family had always treated their peerage like a family, it was nothing but an advertisement, words to deceive the public.
If the problem arose, they wouldn't hesitate to abandon their peerage.
In the end, they were devils, and deception was one of their talents.
If there was something fortunate, it was the fact that Sirzech was strong enough that no one dared to face him openly, so there wasn't any chance for him to sacrifice his servants.
Yet, what's the use of realizing that?
Akeno knew that she was nothing but a helpless woman. She was weak. Even if she knew that everything was just a play, so she would become the servant of Gremory, what could she do?
At that time, she was just a child and had nothing to rely on.
Losing her mother and having her father disappear during the time when she needed someone the most, Akeno might appear strong and always laugh, but inside?
She was weak.
Like the game of chess that the devil loved, she was just a piece on the top of the board that was played by a group of people with high status.
Her head was spinning, and her breathing became heavy as she thought about her life, but then, a gentle and warm arm pulled her before she fell on the firm and strong thighs.
"....."
Akeno blinked her eyes as she realized that Riser had given her a lap pillow.
"Just rest."
His hand gently caressed her beautiful, long, dark hair, making her close her eyes, enjoying his touch as she recalled the beautiful memory she kept inside her heart.
"Rias-san is stupid and naive, so it is impossible for her to deceive you."
"....."
Akeno was stunned before chuckling upon hearing those words.
Yes, the others might have played her, but Rias didn't play with her.
That was enough since it meant all the experiences, feelings, and actions she had shared with Rias weren't fake.
However, due to this, it might be hard for her to believe others easily.
"Riser-sama."
"Hmm?"
"Ca-Can I stay like this for a while?"
"...you have an hour."
"Thank you, Riser-sama."
Akeno smiled, smiling as she let him caress her hair.
She wasn't sure whether he deceived her or not, but even if she might have been burnt by him, there was no doubt that, in this freezing cold world, it was so warm by his side.
---
The fate will surely smile to those who work hard, okay?