—Cole POV, Several Days Later, Underworld—
Arriving at Lilith's oversized mansion, in the early morning hours, I found Serafell sitting outside playing with some crude looking toy. Calling out to her as I walked through the front gate, I inquired as to why she was here. Since it was only supposed to be Lilith and me today, I thought maybe the Devils elected her to be Lilith's bodyguard or something like that.
"What are you doing here?", I inquired as I took a seat close to her, "You draw the short straw or something to be her bodyguard?"
"I uh…well, I am here for the date.", she said with an enthusiastic smile, "Zeoticus was adamantly against waking his grandmother up for you so…they picked two other women to replace her. They picked Leviathan and me to be her replacement, I am among the most beautiful women down here after all. It makes sense that they would select me!"
"Uh-huh, and it does not have anything to do with you having no prospects for marriage right now?", I teased her, "You have a very eccentric personality that is probably difficult for most Devil men to tolerate. While your male friends enjoy your company, none of them see you in a romantic capacity."
Watching her smile turn into a deadpan expression, she did not find the comment funny at all.
"Damn it, you do not need to remind me!!", she pouted as she started repeatedly kicking me in the shin, "I am a woman to remember, I do not need you adding to the pile of people telling me that. My parents, Sirzechs, Ajuka…everyone is telling me to dial it down a bit, but it is not that easy!!"
Realizing I had hit a sore spot for her, I decided to let it go as it really upset her. Looking into the home to see if Leviathan and Misla were already here, the only people I saw were Lilith and her servants. Asking where the other two were, her expression did a one hundred and eighty-degree turn again.
"Hehe!! We get to drag that old bat out of her room since she will not leave!!", Serafell cackled with pleasure, "Misla is waiting for us at her family's estate as her parents wanted to meet you first. After that, we are going to see Leviathan and give that bitch what she has coming."
"Fair enough, but does that mean Leviathan does not know about being chosen for the date then?", I remarked with a confused look.
"Oh yes, she has no idea that she was selected because she is not accepting visitors at the moment. We, well mainly Lilith and I, get to burst in there and drag her out kicking and screaming!!", Serafell said with a smirk, "I have wanted to do something to irritate her for centuries now because frankly, she was a bitch to us growing up. She used to berate me all the time for the smallest of infractions, now it is time for some payback!! Hehe!!"
Since I wanted to see how this would pan out, for my own amusement, I agreed to her plan. Telling her that we should get going then as we had a long day ahead of us, she jumped out of her seat to go get Lilith. Following after her, as I could tell something bad was going to happen, I wanted to be there to see Serafell eat it.
"Hey Old Witch, Cole is here now!!", Serafell shouted at Lilith as she and a maid came down the stairs, "We should get going so we can prank that bitch-"
Watching an old fashion clothing iron fly down the stairs and strike her in the face, I swore I heard a bell ring out as she crumpled to the floor. Looking up the stairs, the maid was standing there dumbfounded while Lilith with seething with rage.
"Never refer to me as an old witch brat, I am and always will be a young thousand years old no matter what birthday it is!", Lilith huffed as she came down the rest of the stairs, "Sorry about that Cole, children these days do not respect their elders. Sometimes you have to remind them to treat us with a level of honor."
"Right…", I replied looking at her clothing, "Is that what you are wearing?"
"Is something wrong with my attire?", she remarked with concern.
Fixated on Lilith's 17th-century attire, I was grateful we were shopping first as she was going to stand out like a sore thumb. Wearing a violet lace dress with black stockings, primitive elevator shoes, a corset, and carrying a parasol she looked like one of the porcelain dolls my grandmother used to collect that scared the shit out of me. Telling her we would go clothes shopping first to get her better clothing, I informed her it would be much more comfier than what she was wearing.
"I told you!!", Serafell shouted as she immediately recovered from the impact, "You should have worn a color that works with his taste."
"It has nothing to do with that…you look like you are going to a Renaissance Fair.", I told her bluntly, "I forget that your sense of fashion has been dead in my world for over a thousand years. We have come up with much more relaxed and comfortable clothing that will suit you better."
"If it gets me out of this corset, I am all for it!", Lilith agreed as she walked toward the door, "Let us go pick up the other two and be on our way."
Nodding my head, I offered her my right arm which she gratefully accepted. Offering my left to Serafell, she decided to jump on my back and make me give her a piggyback ride. Staring at her with a bit of irritation, Lilith let her do as she wanted since I did not care.
"Alright ladies, let us go pick up Misla.", I stated before teleporting us away.
—Vapula Territory, 3rd Person POV—
Ranked 60th among the pillars, House Vapula owned only a small territory of mostly grasslands on the western edge of the Underworld. As their family specialized in Lion Taming, the territory suited their abilities perfectly allowing their House to keep many of them around as faithful companions as humans did with dogs. Having received word from several higher-ranked families that Cole had an interest in Misla, her parents were mortified by what that could mean. Knowing that he could have had his pick of any single or widowed woman in the Underworld, it did not make sense for him to ask for Misla.
"I do not like it…", Lord Vapula replied as he paced around his study, "Why did he ask for our daughter by name? She has never left the Underworld, and I am certain she never met Lord Cole."
"Could they have mistaken our daughter for another Misla?", Lady Vapula suggested, "Maybe he will not show up today, and that will be the end of that."
"No, Lord Bael and Lord Phenex made it quite clear he meant our daughter…", he sighed looking at his daughter as she sat looking out the window, "I am sorry they are forcing you to cater to him. If we were of higher standing maybe I could have done more to prevent this from happening."
Turning back to her father, Misla gave them a warm smile and shook her head. Seeing this as an opportunity to help her family out, she was okay with being married off to Cole. Assuming that he was a kindhearted man, based on rumors of the Youkai's improved living situation, she hoped that Cole would treat her well.
"Sometimes I wonder if you should have been born an Angel.", her father said with a smile, "Very few women I know would be willing to do this with a smile on their face."
Hearing a knock on the door, the three of them took a seat together and got comfortable. Greeting Cole and company as the servants let them in, the family's head maid guided them to the study. Walking into the room with a slight nod, the Vapula Family could feel the presence Cole commanded and knew why the Upper Pillars were so insistent on this. Having only seen him from a distance, they did not realize how truly terrifying he was till he was right in front of them.
"Hello Lord Cole, thank you for coming today.", Misla stated as rose to greet him.
"It is a welcome sight to see you in good health.", Cole replied with a smile, "I am sure you have a lot of questions, I will do my best to answer them for you."
Pulling out refreshments from his storage, as Cole knew the House Vapula were not overly wealthy, he poured them tea and told them to speak freely. Thanking him for the refreshments, Misla's father gathered the courage to ask him what would become of his only daughter.
"Please tell me you will not hurt our daughter. My wife and I have struggled to sire more children so Misla is currently the only heir to the House Vapula lineage.", Lord Vapula spoke up, "If you are still looking to make the Devils pay further for our sins, please take my head instead."
Watching him bow his head and offer up his neck, Cole was impressed by the extent he would go to for his daughter. Certain that Lord Vapula would understand his reasonings now, he decided to share with them instead of just Misla.
"Hmm…I can respect a man that truly puts his family first.", Cole remarked with a firm nod, "I have no desire to hurt or do anything negative to your daughter. Currently, I am trying to save her from the fate you would unwittingly place her in with the Bael Family."
"...I beg your pardon?", Lady Vapula questioned as she looked at her husband, "What is he talking about dear?"
Looking at him in shock, Lord Vapula was surprised that Cole was aware of the backroom talks he had with Zekram. Having only recently begun discussions of marrying his daughter to Lord Bael's son, he was concerned by what Cole was suggesting. Lord Vapula had done thorough research into her potential husband before agreeing to talk about marriage and had found nothing wrong with him.
"I am sure you did proper background checks on the man, but what would happen in the future would be a first for him. As I am sure you are aware, when two households come together in marriage the one supplying the husband usually wants the children to be born with their family's power…in this cause the Power of Destruction.", Cole told him, "Unfortunately, Misla's future child is born with your family's power and the Bael Family would be furious about that. While they would not physically abuse her, they would verbally berate her for being unable to sire a proper heir for the family. After a few decades of that, her husband would send the two off to the countryside to be forgotten about by society."
"...what…", Lord Vapula stuttered as he dropped his cup in shock, "Our darling daughter would be abandoned by them..? That cannot be!"
"You are a noble yourself, you do not see the 1st ranked family not having an heir with Family Power as an issue? It is not like you are in the top ten families, your household is ranked 60th among the pillars which would reflect terribly on the Bael Family.", Cole reminded him, "Instead of just having another child with Misla, Lord Bael finds another wife and has a child with them that does inherit the Power of Destruction. When that happens, Misla and her child are tossed to the side as they are no longer needed. Can you really tell me that is not a strong possibility given their status?"
"No…no, I could not…", Lord Vapula agreed looking at his daughter, "Dear Misla, I…I only wanted you to be happy! Yes it would have helped us politically, but I thought marrying into their household would ensure you good treatment. If I had only thought of that potential issue, I would have seen the danger it would place you in. It never once crossed my mind about the repercussions of not siring them a child with their Power of Destruction."
Holding his daughter tightly, Lord Vapula apologized for going behind her back to arrange the marriage. Understanding her father was coming from a good place, Misla accepted the apology and told him not to worry about it now.
"This is only a date, there is no requirement of marriage or sexual gratification needed to go. My hope was showing interest would be sufficient to break negotiations so you could pursue more suitable spouses.", Cole chuckled as he looked at Lilith, "Anyways the four of us should get going now. We have one last person to pick up, and I have been told she is quite the grouch at the moment."
"Oh, I thought Runeas was rather easygoing and fun.", Lord Vapula stated with a concerned look, "Was she not happy about being woken up?"
"She is, but Zeoticus was against letting her come. Leviathan and I took her place!", Serafell bragged with a peace sign.
Assuring her parents that Misla would be back sometime that evening, Cole teleported the four of them to Leviathan's country home.