How did our intelligence department find two Longinuses? For that matter, when did we get an intelligence department?
This was just ridiculous. The entire Grigori only managed to pick up two Longinuses, but that was with the entire faction focusing on Sacred Gear research for centuries because of Azazel's obsessions. Heaven had only managed one. And now the Baels came along, and proceeded to match the Grigori in one go, using an intelligence department that might as well not exist as far as anyone could tell.
How are they even being funded? I handle most of the family's finances. We certainly don't have enough missing money to fund any kind of intelligence department.
It all made no sense to Misla. Not that any of that showed on her face. No, she merely smiled in her modest dress, doing her best to project the sexy-housewife-cum-MILF look, as Zerophimus droned on and on with his speech about the greatness of the Bael family and Devil kind and all that stuff. Really, the man could be such a fool at times.
Probably why Zekram still runs the family even though Zerophimus holds all of the legal power.
Not that that made things any better. The ancient Devil could be crafty. Whatever action he was taking, she could not see it being done without some good reason. She just couldn't figure out what it was. Why give the prideful and hard to control Albion to the weaker Sairaorg? Sorin was undeniably the stronger brother, and with more experience in leadership. If anyone could control the Vanishing Dragon as a child, it would be him. Not Sairaorg. Sairaorg was a nice boy, but… well, you needed more than a friendly personality to tame a Dragon. Yet, instead of that reasonable and obvious course of action, Zekram gave Albion to Sairaorg, and was positioning Sorin to become the head the intelligence department that they were still pretending to not exist.
Why?
Thankfully, Zero's speech came to an end, and Misla could cut off that pointless direction of speculation.
It was finally time to mingle with the crowd, but before that, Misla sauntered off to grab herself a quick drink. The wine went down her throat with ease, before making her eyes widen as electricity coursed down her spine. Said reaction was immediately replaced by a frown. While wines having direct physical effects were popular with young Devils and magical researchers, it most certainly wasn't to her taste.
I need to pay more attention, if I'm no longer grabbing the wines that I like.
Still, she hadn't come all this way for the wine. No, she had done it so that she could take a moment to observe her progeny. Sairaorg had dragged Vali over to Ravel and Zephyrdor. That second one made her blink. She wondered when Sairaorg had started spending time with the Glasya-Labolas child. Were they… a thought later and her ears sharpened.
"-so I just wanted to say congratulations."
"Thank you, scion Glasya-Labolas"
"You don't have to give me such fancy titles. Just call me Zephyrdor."
Her hearing became less sharp as her curiosity was sated. It seemed that her efforts at keeping track of her children hadn't left her clueless about their lives. That was good, as was Sairaorg making another friend. She would of course have to do a more thorough search into Zephyrdor's personality than what little she had done so far, and make sure that he wasn't a bad influence on Sairaorg. But that could wait for later.
Next her attention went to Sorin introducing the vampire princess dressed up as Arcueid Brunestud to his friends. Misla had to congratulate herself on picking that dress for the vampire girl. Sure she was only a Dhamphir instead of a pureblood, but Sorin did not seem to mind. Shame the girl wasn't a half-Devil or a pure Devil instead though. She looked absolutely adorable hugging Sorin's arm like that.
Ah, she would be such an adorable daughter in law to have. So polite and obedient too in her actions, but plenty of intelligence inside of that pretty head. Unfortunately marrying her would complicate Sorin's political prospects. Maybe if I'm lucky Sorin will take her as a mistress, and give me some quarter-Vampire grandchildren to spoil.
It really would be a shame to relegate such a girl to a position like a mere slave. So much potential wasted.
Though I suppose that is Zekram's test. To see if Sorin can draw out that hidden potential.
"Lady Bael, please pass on my congratulations to your sons for their birthday." Ravina's voice sounded out, as Lady Phenex sauntered up to her. The woman had gone all out in displaying the power of the Phenex clan tonight. The wine she was drinking was liquid fire, her dress was woven out of fire, and even her jewelry was on fire. Just in case someone somehow forgot that Phenexes were basically Hell's immortal fire elementals. "And my congratulations to yourself and your husband for finding two Longinus users at such a young age. A most impressive feat."
Misla suppressed the frown that wanted to show up on her face. Instead she kept on her smile and dipped her head.
"Lady Phenex, my thanks. However, I'm afraid that congratulations once again belong to Sorin instead. As we said, he was the one who found the two Longinuses."
It was important to always stick to the party line where possible. Do not contradict the family, and show unity to the world. She just wished that Zekram had picked a slightly more believable cover story than this nonsense.
"Of course, it is as you say." Ravina's false smile was all that Misla needed to see to confirm that the woman wasn't buying the bullshit either. "Though in that case, I must say that the choice to give the Vanishing Dragon to Sairaorg is most unusual. Aren't the Heavenly Dragons generally considered more powerful than the Holy Grail?"
Misla did not hide the roll of her eyes at that question. Longinus rankings were essentially nothing more than pure speculation and gut feelings in many cases. You could find forums on humanity's internweb where Versus Discussions between fictional characters were treated with more rigour and precision than Longinus rankings. This wasn't helped by the fact that the quality of the wielder often impacted the performance of a Longinus. Not so much with the Heavenly Dragons - they always tended to end up around the same level if they could mature - but the Holy Grail's performance tended to be all over the place from generation to generation. Just claiming one was stronger than the other without accounting for all the other factors were completely meaningless. All that could be said was that the Heavenly Dragons were easier to wield.
Although whether or not that is because having a Dragon capable of bitch slapping Gods attached to your soul from the time you are a baby simply distorted your personality to be in line with the Dragons or not is another question. After all, it isn't too hard to wield a Sacred Gear if it brainwashes you into being able to wield it.
"Perhaps." Misla decided to say instead. "I'm afraid that my husband did not consult me on what he had planned. All I can say is that Sorin is quite happy with the results."
Although that might have to do with the cute older girl hanging on his arm. For someone who only just finished his first decade of life, he seems rather enamoured with the female form. And the female holes if what I smell off of Kuroka is correct.
"Indeed." Ravina nodded, and then paused, as if suddenly having a thought. "Tell me, Lady Bael, if this isn't too forward of me. Does your youngest have any interest in becoming the next Lord Bael?"
The smile completely slipped from Misla's face as she frowned in confusion. "He has never expressed any issues with the position." Or interest for that matter. He did spend time studying how to handle the necessary paperwork, and he was getting experience in running things with his orphanage though, but the former seemed more like a duty he was handling.
"Indeed. And yet your eldest, Sairaorg, is given the Longinus more powerful in direct combat, as befitting of one of Devilkind's Great Kings. Dear Sorin, in turn, is given a Sacred Gear more fitting for support and practices information gathering. Is Zerophimus perhaps planning to make Sairaorg his heir?"
No. Misla could definitively, easily answer that the answer to that question was no. Zerophimus detested Sairaorg. Zekram might try to move him to become the heir, but even then, Misla saw no gain for him.
Well, not unless he can do it in such a way as to not upset Sorin. If Sorin does not care for the position, and can keep all of the benefits that he cares about, he wouldn't be upset about being set aside. Though that seems like a rather big gamble. Moreover, why is Ravina suddenly so interested in this? Our discussion was marriage of Sairaorg to Ravel, not the spare to Ravel. The marriage would still happen… except Ravel would have to take the Bael name and marry into the family.
Yes, Ravel was the baby of the Phenex family. If it looked like the marriage was going to remove Ravel from the Phenex family, Ravina might be less enthused by it. Even if it made Ravel into the new Lady Bael, well, Misla knew personally how much of an anchor the position could be upon a person.
"That does not sound like my husband. Besides, as is well known, the Sephiroth Graal has plenty of potential of its own. This is merely a challenge for Sorin to overcome as a way to develop his full potential."
"Indeed? A rather expensive way to set up such a challenge."
The new voice that had snuck up on them made both Misla and Ravina turn to find Grayfia standing there. The wife of Lucifer, the strongest Queen, and the second strongest woman in all of Hell was wearing a maid uniform as usual for her. Not even a fun French maid uniform, but a plain and proper one. She also appeared to be standing there, completely unapologetic about having appeared next to two Ladies of the Great Houses without being noticed.
"I wasn't aware that the Bael Clan's wealth had blossomed so much that it could spend two Longinuses merely to test their heir."
Misla took a moment to consider the situation. As Sirzechs Lucifer's Queen cum maid cum wife, the woman asking questions meant that Sirzechs was interested. On the one hand, getting the curiosity and interest of the ruler of Hell - especially when she was married and estranged from his not so favorite uncle - wasn't entirely a good thing. On the other hand, the man had no interest or subtlety regarding politics. It was what made the Devil world work. The previous generation of Satans had been absolute rulers and tyrants. That was why they were overthrown. So the current generation went in the opposite direction, mostly running their own projects and foreign policy, and leaving the Great Houses be to run the internal politics of Hell. Sirzechs Lucifer did not subtly manipulate things. No, he acted rarely, in a direct and obvious manner, which was why no one worried about his theoretical ability to become an absolute ruler or exterminate most of Hell on a whim. So having merely his attention ought to be safe. If the man was actually upset, he would have come here and said so directly. As that was not happening, there ought not be any dangers from that angle.
"It was quite a surprise to stumble upon such finds." Misla admitted. It had certainly been for her, but she imagined even her husband was surprised that his spy network managed to locate two Longinuses like that. "There hadn't truly been a plan on what to do with the Longinuses until we had them. At that point, well, conveniently both children were near my own children's age. While the competition is set up as a challenge, giving the Longinus wielders to our children so that ties of friendship and camaraderie can bind them to House Bael was but the best choice."
Misla mentally patted herself on the back for coming up with such a workable excuse to Zekram's inane nonsense on the spot. After this though, she was going to have to hunt Zerophymus down and find out what the actual reason was, not this 'Sorin found them and wanted only the Grail' nonsense.
"I see." Grayfia nodded. "While it is of course the right of a House to keep the Sacred Gear wielders that it finds and recruits, I would ask for you to keep in mind that Longinuses are weapons that can destabilize the balance of the world. Perhaps if House Bael finds another Longinus, you could think about passing it onto another family? If it is ties of camaraderie that worry you, I believe that none are better than the Grimory at managing such ties."
Ah. So that was her purpose.
Not threat or fear, not truly. Most Longinuses, even at the cap of their recorded power were no true threat to Sirzechs. No, Sirzechs was ruled by greed. Not for himself, but his loved ones. This whole speech and questioning, it was just a way of trying to get his dear Rias a new toy. Granted, the approach could have used some refinement. Not only did Misla get no say in who Zekram gave the Longinuses to, but having Venelena drag her into a private closest and give her head for a couple of hours would have been more persuasive.
Or Grayfia giving me head for a couple of hours would have worked as well. Oh, well. No use crying over unspilled cum.
"I understand. Sadly it is not my decision, but I shall be certain to raise that concern with my husband if we happen to find another Longinus."
Zekram as well, though that part went unsaid. Not that any of the other two women missed that.
Grayfia bowed. "Thank you, Lady Misla. I am sorry to have taken up your time, and shall be taking my leave."
"Not at all, Lady Lucifer. It is always a pleasure to talk with the Queen of Hell."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How the fuck did this happen?
That was all Misla could think as she attended little Rias's birthday party. There wasn't much for her to do here; she wasn't the organizer as this wasn't her mansion, and she had no particular politicking planned for tonight. Unfortunately, not attending hadn't been an option. Aside from Rias being Lucifer's little sister - even if everyone pretended otherwise - this also doubled as a celebration of Hell receiving its third Longinus. Once more found by the Baels, and going exactly where Lucifer, through his wife, requested it to go. Except the request had been made to Misla, and she had had no say in where the Red Dragon Emperor went.
There was also the fact that the find was once again being credited to Sorin. The entire idea should have been ridiculous. Sorin was bad at quick thinking when put on the spot, social manipulation in general, or managing details of complex plans or strategies. Not just by the standards of Devils, but even by the standards of those of his age group and station. Sorin managing to dig through all the subtle clues to find the Longinuses before anyone else was ridiculous.
Or should have been ridiculous I suppose.
After all, he had turned a Twice Critical into a Longinus, and then promptly sealed the Sephiroth Graal away so that others could not bypass him to replicate the feat. The two Nekoshou, personally requested by him when he was five, allowing him to learn Senjutsu from them to be able to regain his lost life span. Practicing Magic for years on end, so that his raw abilities were high enough even if his knowledge was lacking. Acquiring the Sephiroth Graal, and the Holy Nails that apparently stabilized its usage, despite that aspect of Holy Grail safe usage being practically unknown. Acquiring a powerful wife that could provide protection during negotiations, even if the woman was a total cunt at times. And finally, taking advantage of Baraqiel's wife's death to acquire Twice Critical. All of that had taken years, and had all come together into creating a Longinus.
Someone had been setting things up like dominos into one anime-worthy grand master plan to get Sorin his Sorcerous Gear, and so far all signs pointed at that person being Sorin. Despite the first action taking place when he was five, and the timing with Shuri's death indicating either precognition, the ability to manipulate the Himejima family, or extremely well prepared opportunism. Having read up on some Light Novels and Xian Xia stories - it was important for a mother to understand her son's hobbies, however shitty they were - she figured Sorin sending his memories back from the future into the past was the most logical answer. Even if it did not answer a lot of details, like him having to learn Magic from scratch, not recognizing a lot of people and such.
There was also the issue that on the way of getting there, Sorin had stumbled. A lot. Everytime he entered a negotiation, he got what he needed for his plan, and connected the results well. Each individual negotiation though? He failed at them completely. Sorin hadn't been playing manipulative Chess Master. He had been playing Drunken Chess Grandmaster who stumbled his way to victory through a series of moves that each looked idiotic in execution.
Which makes the time travel thing sound even more like complete nonsense. Someone old and smart enough to figure out time travel would understand the bare basics of not getting ripped off in a negotiation. Unless they managed to send back only partial information with the time travel, so Sorin was acting with some extra information but not extra maturity. Would that even make any sense?
Well, she wasn't here at this party to contemplate such things. She did not have the information to figure it out, and besides, it wasn't like it was hard to figure out what she should do. Sorin was her son, so it was her duty to give him a lot of hugs - embarrassing him was a bonus - and help him out where she could. Which in this case was making sure he did not enter into a toxic and destructive marriage. Either by breaking the engagement, or fixing the relationship of the two parties.
Relationships, relationships. Life would be so much easier if you just ignored interpersonal relations in search for more material gains.
Of course, there was the fact that she did not have one son but two. Which meant juggling both of their needs, trying not to treat either as a favorite, while acknowledging that sometimes one needed more help than the other.
First thing on the agenda, was exploring the venue and seeing how her sons were interacting with their peers. Lucifer's big 'speech' was over now. She had barely listened to it, having spent the entire time contemplating Sorin's situation, and observing her children.
Like the fact that Sorin was holding Valerie's hand, and both were intently staring at Sirzechs. Valerie, and not Kuroka, despite Kuroka being the only woman Sorin had actually fucked, and the closest thing he had to someone that he loved as a partner. No, it was Valerie, the girl with whom his relationship was more a combination of friendly acquaintance and being her favorite snack. Well, okay, he was also Kuroka's favorite snack, but the two girls meant it in different manners. Not only did they spend the entire speech staring intently at Sirzechs as if they were doing something, but no magic ever left their bodies, so they weren't even trying to do anything to Sirzechs.
Misla wondered how many other Devils noticed, instead of dismissing it as bringing the Sephiroth Graal wielder being a mere show of power. More importantly, she wondered how many figured out what exactly Sorin and Valerie were doing. She certainly hadn't.
Sairaorg on the other hand, had not brought Vali along. As it turned out, taming a Heavenly Dragon wasn't as easy as it was to do the same to a Dhamphir princess who was abused her entire life. While Valerie fell into line with only minor effort on Sorin's part - it still surprised Misla that Sorin managed to find someone that he could out negotiate and was older than him - Vali fought Sairaorg every step of the way. Sairaorg in turn, simply failed to live up to Dragon boy's expectations.
Not that I can blame him for that. Subjugating a Heavenly Dragon wielder by force is a tall order.
The end result was a brat living in the house who was Sairaorg's subordinate in name only. Bringing him along would have embarrassed Sairaorg more than the tacit admission that came from not bringing him along did.
Unfortunately, that is one thing that I cannot help with. The brat has too many authority issues, and having anyone trying to take the place of his late mother might turn him outright homicidal.
Still, that was just their Longinus using companions. Both her children had other friends. Even if Sairaorg could not tame his Dragon, he had friends now, and a cute, potential fianceé! He would only need Vali if he wanted to truly challenge Sorin. If he just gave up on that impossible goal, then everything would be fine.
Eventually she let that thought go too. Her children were important, but she could not hover around them, protecting them forever. She would constantly check on them, and swoop in if they encountered trouble that they could not handle, but aside from that, for now, she ought to let them be. She had her own friends to interact with.
As the crowd started to mingle, Misla did so as well, gliding across the floor with the grace of a stalking cat. Her outfit had been custom made for this specific event, a more 'simplistic' outfit of furs woven from the skin of one of Hell's Great Felines - and even centuries after first hearing the term she still thought that was an idiotic name for a species - that was a call back to her birth family instead of her current one. It was a rather comfortable outfit, and one she wished would be acceptable to wear in the Bael manor. Perhaps after Sorin became the new head and Zero accidentally fell down the stairs onto a pile of Holy Swords?
"Lady Astaroth, Lord Astaroth, a pleasure to see you here."
She greeted the couple and her first targets for tonight. The couple were rather distant with their children, but had still raised a pair of boys with praise worthy moral character. Even beyond that, they were interesting to talk with, though admittedly oftentimes what they spoke flew over her head.
"Lady Bael, a pleasure." The two greeted, one after another, before Lady Astaroth continued. "Quite the nice party, wouldn't you say?"
"Yes, and little Rias looks most adorable." Misla agreed. "She is a very bright and cheerful girl. I'm sure she will manage her new Longinus quite well."
The two narrowed their eyes for a moment. "Yes, I am sure she will." Lord Astaroth nodded. "Still, I find it most curious that House Bael managed to find a third Longinus, so quickly. Tell me, how did you succeed at this?"
Misla gave her own polite smile in response. "Trade secret I'm afraid."
Which was a fancy way of saying that she did not truly know. Though honestly, she doubted they would be finding anymore. Half of all the Longinus were in control of the Biblical Factions at this point. Whatever method Sorin used ought to be failing now by sheer dint of the fact that he was running out of missing Longinuses. Sure, there was Sorin's claim that Gasper could evolve into a Longinus wielder naturally, but really, what were the odds of that? Most likely he was just making up nonsense and was going to secretly upgrade Gasper's Sacred Gear while no one was looking.
"As you say." Lord Astaroth said, unconvinced. "So, may I ask what it is that you wished to talk about?"
"I was wondering if you had some advice. While I know how to raise a regular child, raising a genius to maximize their potential is another thing."
Lady Astaroth smiled with the pride of a woman whose son was just praised. "Thank you, Lady Bael, but while each parent sees the best in their child, I'm afraid that Diodora isn't truly a genius. He simply has a good heart, and it is his hard work and serious attitude that takes him as far as he has gone."
"I did not mean Diodora." Misla corrected. "I mean your other son, Ajuka."
The smile of the two parents fell at that. Well, ex-parents as far as Devil law was concerned, but again, those were just ink on paper, the sort of thing parents ignored when they felt like it.
"I'm sorry, Lady Bael. Perhaps I misunderstood." Lord Astaroth said, in a slow, clearly articulated and halting manner. "Did you, perhaps, mean that, your son Sorin, is a genius, on the level of Ajuka?"
"Yes."
The two of them sighed, turned to each other and nodded, before Lady Astaroth replied. "Trade secret I'm afraid. I'm sure you understand."
"Of course, Lady Astaroth."
No, not really. Unlike my case, it isn't like you have no idea what you did with him. Though I don't think pressing the point would help.
She frowned as she took a glass of wine from the waiter that walked by her, the couple doing the same. She was about to take a drink when she sniffed it, and stopped. There was a scent to it, that seemed familiar, and yet wasn't.
Isn't this…
Glancing back at the waiter, tasting his scent still in the air, he was familiar too. One that she met centuries ago, who used to serve as a waiter in the House Bael back when Venelana still lived in that house. Perhaps she brought him with her to House Gremory?
But then why would she put an aphrodisiac in my wine?
There were many little known, or completely secret details about each of the Great Houses. Little tricks and abilities of their bloodlines, the less flashy stuff, that they did not reveal to others. For example, the Vapula could smell magic. It was an ability that sounded overly dramatic, but in practice was very rarely useful. Magic naturally had color, so most of the time, smell wasn't needed to detect it. When it came to finding those who were hidden, the scent of the body was much stronger than the scent of their magic. Really, the only time it was useful was when they were detecting an invisible, scentless object.
Like magical aphrodisiacs in our wine.
The question was, who was the other intended target? If someone was trying to drug her like this, there would be someone they were trying to hook her up with. Maybe she could take a sip and see to whom she developed a sudden attraction? No, that was an amateurish approach. She could make some animals drink it, but that could just get awkward.
What if-
"Lady Bael, is there a problem?"
She smiled at the worried sounding Lady Astaroth. "Not at all, my dear. Just recalled something I have to attend to. Please, excuse me."
She quickly left the conversation to find her target. Kurva, her "husband's" favorite mistress was hanging off of his arms on clothing that managed a tasteful combination of being high class enough for the party while also being woefully incomplete without a dick inside the wearer. It was a rather impressive feat to manage if Misla was honest with herself. Not that she cared over much.
Once she was close enough, she pulled out a small piece of paper, and put it on the bottom of her glass, channeling her aura into it. The paper quietly burned away, completely gone, and Misla drank her now non-poisoned wine. As she did, she noticed Kurva taking a sip from the wine now laced with the aphrodisiac.
I should thank Sorin for the liquid teleportation spell circle. Without his cheating as he calls it, I don't think I could have managed one that neither of those two would have detected.
Now it was just a matter of going back to the party, and waiting for Kurva to do what whores did best, and sleep around. Piece of cake.
Misla spent the rest of the party wandering around, making small talk here and there. Checking up on her children, she noted that Sairaorg was socializing like a proper noble, while Sorin had gone up to the roof, presumably to silently brood or monologue like an anime villain. He liked doing that occasionally to 'recharge his Chuuni power' as he put it. Really, she had been far too lenient with letting him watch anime.
The one highlight of the night had been when her nose had picked up a rather distinct and familiar smell, mixed in with Kurva's natural odors. At that point Misla had acted like a proper guest, and went to the room the smell was originating from, and loudly slammed open the doors to attract the attention of the other guests. As tradition and custom demanded.
Inside was a scene that she had expected, though the identity of one of the participants took her by surprise.
Kurva was there, as expected, though her dress had seen better days. The lower portions had been forcefully torn and ripped, exposing her long, pale legs, and the male essence that coated her inner thighs as she knelt on the ground, legs spread, more cum - both hers and her partner's - pooling beneath her feet. The top of her dress had been pulled down, exposing her large bosom, coated in more cum. Her eyes turned to look at Misla with a lusty, dazed gave, even as her mouth continued to bob up and down on the shaft she was sucking and moaning around.
Her partner was Creuserey Asmodeus, descendant of the original Asmodeus. He wore a proper dress robe up top, but her pants were pooled around his knees as he thrust in and out of Kurva's mouth, one hand keeping a firm grip on the slut's hair. His elven ears twitched in response to the doors opening, but he too had a lust addled gaze that was only slowly clearing into surprise and fear even as a large crowd arrived to observe the 'event'. A large crowd that included Zerophymus letting out a half distressed, half enraged grunt that was suppressed halfway. Probably in the hopes that people would forget that it was his arm that Kurva had been dangling from tonight until she decided to upgrade herself to a bigger and better cock.
So, one of the Old Satan Faction losers? Why the fuck would someone make him try to sleep with him? Who would be interested in making me sleep with him? Aside from maybe Kurva trying to ruin my reputation, or Creuserey just being really horny for me and having zero flirting skills, I can't think of anyone with the right motive. The best explanation I could think of is that Creuserey wasn't the other target, but had his wine switched with it by the actual target like I did with Kurva.
Before she could contemplate further, Super Maid - also known as Grayfia - marched into the room with thundering steps, grabbed Creuserey by the back of his neck and Kurva by the throat, and tossed them apart in one smooth motion. Misla noted that while Creuserey wasn't actually harmed by the action, Kurva had bruises on her neck that were already turning purple from the strength of the grip. She also seemed to be having trouble properly gasping for breath.
"If this is the shame you bring onto yourselves at a child's party, perhaps you should not be invited to civilized society." She spoke before fully releasing her Aura.
Misla hadn't felt that powerful, dreadful Aura come off of its leash in centuries. Maybe not since the Civil War. Nearly the entire audience stumbled back from the raw pressure of it, only a few extreme oddities like Roygun, True Asmodeus and the other Satans being able to completely ignore it. Not that Misla took note of that until sometime later. All of her instincts were screaming at her to vacate the ever loving fuck out of the premises, consequences be damned.
Creuserey managed to stumble to his feet, but Kurva could not manage even that, crawling in on herself in fright while lying on the floor. Creuserey attempted to open his mouth to say something, but before he could, a Magical circle appeared beneath him and Kurva. Grayfia clapped her hands, and with a flash of light the two of them were gone. As was the dreadful Aura of fear and terror, Grayfia turning around to give the audience a demure and polite smile.
"Dear guests, perhaps we can put this awful incident behind us and get back to the party?"
No one had the balls to gainsay her. Instead they all retreated, and went back to the audience hall, once more moving around to mingle and talk about various things both trivial and important.
As the party was starting to wind down, Misla noticed Roygun chatting with Rudiger. There was nothing improper about it that she could criticize. Both were properly dressed, Rudiger in a suit, and Roygun in a dress that human high society would have called modest. Both were in the top 10 of the Rating Games, giving them a common topic to talk about. Also, there was the fact that Rudiger's wife was by his side, which would further insure a lack of any impropriety. Still, that did not mean she did not have a reason to interrupt.
"Mr. and Mrs. Rosenkreutz, Roygun, it is a pleasure to see you all."
"Lady Bael" / "Misla, dear"
The three greeted her in response as she stepped in, moving to the side of her future potential daughter in law. "I'm sorry to bother, but do you mind if I steal away dear Roygun from you two for some mother-daughter talk?"
Roygun looked surprised for a moment, but then smiled and comfortingly took Misla's hand. "Of course, dear. Sorry you two, perhaps we can continue our discussion on the ethics of suicide bomber Pawn tactics some other time?"
"Of course, another time then Roygun." The two agreed.
"Well, mother dearest." Roygun spoke, turning to Misla. "Shall we be off?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The two of them were seated on separate couches, facing each other in Misla's room. They were still in the dresses they wore to the party, not bothering to change after returning to the Bael mansion. They had gotten some drinks, but Misla had made sure to get something non-alcoholic for the both of them, preferring to have this conversation while sober.
"So, I heard about your first meeting with Sorin." She began simply. "Can we just agree that you fucked up?"
Roygun winced. "It wasn't supposed to go that way. Sorin wasn't supposed to react like that."
Misla let out an annoyed sigh. "Let me take a wild guess. You tried to play the manipulative chess master, and when Sorin reacted in a way completely outside of your expectations all of your plans crumbled." She gave the other woman a small smile. "Really, you are so innocent that it would be endearing if it didn't happen in a case like this."
"Innocent?" Roygun asked confused.
"We are Devils. We all try to play the brilliant manipulator at one point or another. And we all, at one point or another, learn a very important and simple lesson. You can only manipulate someone if you can predict their reactions to various stimuli, and the reactions of some people are wildly outside of the social norms. Making a plan that works on most Devils does not work unless you can be sure that your target is like most Devils. It is just that most Devils learn this at a much younger age, and not in a marriage interview with their future husband."
Roygun blushed at that. "I, uh-"
"You never had a desire or need to manipulate others like that." Misla summarized for her. "So tell me, what the fuck made you decide that your fiancé should be the first person in your life you try to manipulate like that? Were you dropped on your head before the meeting or something?"
"I, uh, wanted to ensure that we had a loving, equal and monogamous marriage with each other."
For a minute, Misla did not reply. She just stared at the woman in front of her. "You wanted a loving and monogamous marriage." She eventually repeated.
"Yes."
"And you tried to do so by taunting him with infidelity?"
Roygun fidgeted. "Yes?"
"Okay, walk me through your logic here, because I'm not seeing it."
Roygun fidgeted some more, and took a sip from her drink before replying. "I was expecting Sorin to be more emotional, like a Devil is supposed to be." She said. "That he would either make demands, or try to prove that he was good enough to please me. To react to what I said."
"Instead, he just agreed to it, presumably because he was too focused on his path to acquiring a God slaying Dragon to deal with it at the time."
"Yes, his reaction makes sense in hindsight." Roygun agreed. "At that time I did not know that though. If he argued, I figured we could have reached some compromise that left both of us happy. Preferably for both of us to keep our bodies unsullied until he was old enough to mount me, though now that I know he was using sex with his cat as a way to recharge his life force-"
"Yes, I do not believe that would have been an acceptable option." Misla agreed. "That might change now that he has the Sephiroth Graal well and truly sealed away. Maybe. I'm told cat girls can be rather addicting."
Or at least that was what Zero told her back when he could not keep away from her bed. Before his descent into madness.
"I certainly hope so." Roygun agreed. "Still, even if we could not agree upon monogamy, maybe we could have agreed upon an open relationship to maintain equality."
"That is what you have now." Misla pointed out. "Even if you have not been taking advantage of the opportunity."
Roygun sighed. "It isn't the same. What matters isn't just the result, but how we get there. Had we had a verbal disagreement and argument, I could have given enough ground, let Sorin win enough to make him satisfied with the results. Instead, he just choked down what I demanded, souring the whole agreement."
"Assuming you could have manipulated him well enough. You don't exactly have a stellar record at that." Misla helpfully pointed out. "So, what would have been your plan if he tried to physically seduce you?"
"Rock the fuck out of his world." Roygun replied simply, with full confidence. "He has only sampled that cat of his, and she was likewise a virgin before they got together. I could have rocked his world hard enough to, I believe the weaboo term is, ahegao him. It would have been the same plan if we ended up in a temporary open relationship. Just give him such mind blowing sex that he never desired another woman, with the added benefit of him being good enough to please me as well."
"He might have slept with one of his orphans as well, but I see your point." Misla agreed. "Still, I'm surprised that you are so interested in monogamy. From what I know of your history, you are quite the party girl."
Roygun did not answer. Instead, she stared down at her glass, contemplating. "What is civilization?"
Misla frowned at the nonsequitur. "Civilization is the creations of sapient beings. Why do you ask?"
"That isn't how I see it. To me, civilization is the conquest of nature by sapients." Roygun paused, and then sat back. "Our bodies want us to get laid. It feels good, we have a deep seated need for it, and the hormones for it are addicting. Not just that, but our bodies want us to get around, be with many people. Having multiple partners, cheating, these are all natural things, it is the way we were intended to be. But following that, makes us nothing more than animals. Or children I suppose."
Misla frowned. "So you just want to grow up? And you think giving up promiscuity is the way to do that?"
"Isn't it?" Roygun asked. "Look at all the young Devils who have just reached adulthood. They are looking to sleep around as much as possible. But the adults? They are much tamer about it. It isn't about the urges dying down; we don't grow old, and lose the hormones of youth. No, they just grew up mentally. Started pursuing more cerebral than physical pleasures. I can understand that now. Sex feels just as good as before, and the urge is still there, but it isn't fulfilling anymore. Just sex isn't something I emotionally desire anymore."
"And so, your solution to your pet theory of what it means to grow up, is to try and make Sorin skip straight to the end process."
The woman's theory was rather ridiculous, of course. It was true that grown up Devils were more subtle in their infidelities, but it wasn't as if every adult Devil gave up having a harem. Misla wasn't even certain if monogamous couples were in the majority, without accounting for what fraction of those couples might have cheating going on. On the other hand, she also wasn't interested in discouraging Sorin's fianceé from remaining faithful to him. After all, if the two of them could end up in a loving, stable, and happy marriage, then that was good, no matter what stupidity on Roygun's part led them there.
"Well, it is good to see that you put some thought behind your plan, even if it failed horribly. Do you have any plans on how to recover now?"
Roygun winced. "I'm not too sure. I don't really understand what Sorin wants or likes at the moment."
"Well, he appreciates honesty and straight forward behavior." Misla said. "Had you not tried to manipulate him, but laid out what you wanted and why, he would have happily worked with you to find a compromise that makes you both happy. It is how he treats most social situations. Find some agreement that makes both sides happy and better off than before."
"Most social interactions?"
"Sometimes he thinks trying is just too much trouble. Other times, he just wants the other person to burn and die."
Granted, that was mostly with bandits, who apparently made great props in his LARP'ing, but by Roygun's wince, she appeared to have reached a different conclusion.
"As I said, fortunately you haven't actually slept around since your meeting." Misla continued. "Since you haven't done anything that would offend him or harm something he cares about other than speak some words behind closed doors with him, you should just try apologizing. If you do that and explain yourself, he will probably forgive you. Then the two of you can start over from scratch."
Roygun looked. "Just like that? Apologize for insulting his pride and it all goes away?"
"Sorin does not really understand the concept of pride." Misla lamented. It was saddening in a way, for a mother to learn that her son was incomplete in some ways. That some parts of what made a Devil a Devil just weren't there. However, sometimes one had to admit these things to help out her son. "He cares about his reputation, because losing that can mean losing political influence, or losing material benefits his position as heir affords him. Had you actually slept around that would have hurt his greed, but words to insult his pride? He probably completely dismissed them shortly after the conversation. So yes, just apologize and start over. Or you might as well call the marriage off, because if the two of you can't deal with arguments except by not mentioning them and hoping that they eventually go away, then your odds of having a functioning marriage after even a decade are around the same as Gabriel showing up begging to be made into Leviathan's sex slave. You will have arguments and disagreements in a marriage. If you want your marriage to be happy and loving, you need a way to deal with them."
"I understand." Roygun said, nodding as if in consideration.
Misla wondered if she did. She wondered if this entire thing was just a phase for Roygun, one that she would eventually grow bored of, and go back to her wild partying lifestyle. That was something she would have to watch out for, at least until Roygun had more investment in this relationship than feeling good, and whatever deal she made with Zekram.
"Good. Then before I let you go for the night, I want to discuss Sairaorg with you?"
"Sairarog?" The confusion was back on the younger woman. "What about Sorin's elder brother?"
"I am sure that you were told about the condition of Sorin remaining heir."
"He needs to beat Sairaorg in a Rating Game, twice." Roygun said. "You are worried about Sorin losing the position and me abandoning him because of that? I assure you-"
Misla held up her hand to stop the rambling. "At this point, if Sorin dies at some point, odds are still on Sairaorg losing the Rating Games to him. So no, I'm not worried about Sorin mysteriously losing. I'm worried about Sairaorg, and him having enough of a support network."
Roygun looked confused. "You want me to support Sairaorg over Sorin? I might be new to the whole proper relationships concept, but I'm fairly certain I'm supposed to support my partner by default."
"I don't want you to help Sairaorg defeat Sorin." Aside from Sorin proving himself to be a better leader, or that just setting the bar ridiculously high, a mother wasn't supposed to take sides like that. "I want you to help Sairaorg get his footing in society so that even if he never gains the position of heir, he will still have a decent standing. You were able to get a high position in society by becoming one of the best at the Ratings Games. I want you to help Sairaorg do the same by coaching him."
Roygun still looked uncertain. "What if Sorin sees this the wrong way? We just established that I fucked up and how to fix it. I don't want to apologize and then immediately fuck things up again."
"I'm not asking you to do this behind his back. Talk with him, and only move forward with it if Sorin is fine with it. If he isn't, I can find someone else to help Sairaorg. Either way, offer the same training to Sorin. He is a young boy who has more than a passing interest in fighting, it would give the two of you a chance to spend time together and bond. Maybe offer to make both of them members of your Peerage. I don't think Sorin will accept, but Sairaorg might. That would let him gain actual experience in Rating Games."
Roygun thought about it for a short time, before nodding. "I do not think it will work, but the last time I tried to go off of what I believed, it backfired horribly. I will try your suggestion, but I won't press it or go through with it if Sorin makes the slightest bit of protest."
Misla nodded. That was likely the best that she could get. "That is fair. So, let me show you to the guest rooms. You can stay over tonight, and then tomorrow you can go and talk to Sorin."
AN:
On the appearance of some of the leaders of the Old Satan Faction. They aren't actually terrorists at this point. This is still the point in the timeline where the Four Real Satans are trying to make peace with them, so they aren't treated as criminals or anything. Which is why they can show up at parties like this without issues.
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