"And?" Raizel finally spoke, and the girl immediately raised her head to look at him in surprise.
"You don't..."
"Think bad of her because she's a Fallen?" He smiled. "I might have if she was human, but Fallen Angels are an incredible race." He said and watched her expression drop again after she heard those words.
Raizel quizzically raised his brow and then glanced at the kids who were with Rias. As if understanding his curiosity, a certain girl, who was the youngest of the group, only around five years of age, smiled at him when their eyes met.
"Akeno is Half-Human, Prince." She informed him and then stepped forward, courteously bowing to him. "I am Ravel Phenex, daughter of Raiken and Roxella Phenex."
"Pleased to meet you, Ravel." He drew his hand forward, taking her hand and planting a kiss on her knuckles.
Raizel then deliberately ignored Rias as he started greeting everyone around her, getting to know them.
There was the Heiress of the Sitri Family, Sona Sitri, the Heiress of the Agares Family, Seekvaira Agares, the Heir of the Bael Family, Sairaorg Bael, the Second Son of the Belial Family, Daeron Belial, and the Heir of the Paimon Family, Syrex Paimon.
Raziel was quite impressed by all of them. They were all very interesting characters.
Only Syrex was older than him and possessed Evil Pieces of his own, the rest were younger. Sairog was a few months younger than him, and Seekvaira was next.
Sona had just turned seven years old a few days ago, and Raizel learned that it was Rias' birthday three days later. She was turning seven on the 19th.
And as he had guessed, Ravel was only a few months and five years old.
"Would you like to meet my Peerage?" He asked after they chatted for a while, and all of them enthusiastically nodded their heads.
Under their eyes, Raizel used his Devil Magic to make his left hand shine, and then they all watched the four members of his Peerage walk over to them.
"Master Raizel." Freya obediently bowed to him, and Moka, Ban, and Kuroka followed her lead.
The young Devils were a little intimidated by Kuroka's presence, and Ravel was seemingly scared, but she calmed down when she heard Raziel introduce his peerage to them.
"This is my lovely maid and friend, Freya Lucifuge, and she's the current Heir of the Lucifuge Clan as well."
The young girl from the Phenex Family was surprised the most and curiously looked at Freya, who politely wished them good evening.
"Isn't Lucifuge one of the Six Families under the Lucifer Family?" She sceptically asked.
"They were. Now they serve the Darcaedes." Raizel informed her and continued introducing Moka, Ban, and Kuroka.
The young Devils were quite interested in the two Demons, who hailed from two of the most Powerful Demon Houses, especially Moka since she was a Blood Demon.
Raizel kept the young Devils company for some more time, and then he excused himself and went to greet the other Devils of the younger generation.
An hour later, Sona and Rias were standing alone, talking with each other, and the crimson-haired girl still seemed a little downcast.
"Things will turn out better when you receive your Evil Pieces and accept Akeno in your Peerage. They only frown at your closeness with a Half-Fallen because they find you treating her as your friend, just like you treat us." Sona tried to make her friend understand the mistakes she was making, but the crimson-haired girl only felt sadder.
"But Akeno is my friend."
"I know, Rias. And it is something you need to keep private and not talk about in public." The Heiress of the Sitri Family smiled at her, squeezing her hand.
"Mhm..."
"You haven't given me your name yet, Heiress Gremory."
"Eh!" Rias yelped in surprise at the sudden voice near her ear, and she immediately turned to look at the source, shocked to find that it was Prince Darcaedes.
"My apologies for startling you." He playfully smiled, and Sona giggled at his antics, knowing well that he deliberately did it. "So, may I have your name?" He asked again and smiled at the glare that the girl sent his way.
"Rias Gremory." She told him, ready to excuse herself away, but then she felt him lift her chin and make her look into his eyes.
Sona quizzically raised her brow as she watched them look into each other's eyes from so close.
And a lot of guests caught them in the act as well, including the head of the Gremory Family, Zeoticus.
"So, do you plan on making her part of your peerage in the future?" Raizel asked.
"Yes." And Rias timidly answered, unable to look away from his beautiful crimson eyes.
"Who is her Fallen Parent?"
"Baraqiel..." She whispered, and his smile widened at her answer.
"Wonderful!" He playfully said and then gently traced her cheek with his thumb. "You have not invited me to your birthday party yet." He reminded her. "I am invited, right?"
"Yes..." She finally blushed in embarrassment and Raizel let her go.
"I think I am going to enjoy teasing you." He spoke, earning a glare from her, but once she heard his next words, she shied her eyes away. "You are beautiful, Rias. And I would love to know you more."
"I would like that as well." The girl managed to politely reply before she excused herself away, leaving Raizel chuckling at her behaviour.
"That's quite a way to plant ideas in her parent's minds, Prince Raizel." Sona knowingly smiled at him.
"Why am I not surprised that you saw through my intentions, Heiress Sitri?" He looked into her violet eyes and smiled, and to make her flustered, he leaned in near her ear. "However, I want her because I like her. Don't worry."
"Y-Yes..." She blushed and nodded, and to tease her even more, he planted a kiss on her cheek. "Eh!"
"Ne, ne, Ra-Kun, what are you doing to my dear Sona-tan?" A sudden voice sounded out before both of them felt someone wrap their arms around them, "Are you proposing to her?" And Sona's face turned red from shyness. "You can have her if you call me Levia-tan."
"Sera!"
Raizel laughed at her words and then raised his head, meeting her blue eyes that were different from her sister's.
"And if I propose to you?" He asked, catching the Satan Leviathan by surprise, and making her blush a little.
"Not fair, Ra-Kun! You must act your age!" She playfully admonished him, but he just grinned at her, not missing the opportunity she had provided him to take a jab at her.
Everyone in the Hall then witnessed Raizel and Serafall poke fun at each other, disregarding everyone else around them. But from time to time, they pulled Sona into their banter, which made the poor Heiress of the Sitri Family feel more shy and embarrassed.
"So, Ra-Kun. Are you going to attend Rias' birthday party?" Serafall asked after a while.
"Yes." He replied, lightly smiling. "But you're asking this question because you want to know if the doors of my territory are opening to the rest of the Devildom or not." He bared her intentions, making her slightly narrow her eyes at him. "And the answer to that is yes."
His words were loud enough for all the Devils to hear, after all, they all possessed incredible hearing, and neither he nor Serafall had shielded their conversation.
"After all, I was hoping to participate in the Ratings Games once I have enough members in my Peerage." He revealed, and Sona looked at him in surprise.
"Rias too wants to become the Rating Games' Champion one day." She told him.
"Is that so?" He smiled and turned to look at the crimson-haired girl, who shied from him and hid behind her mother. "That makes it even more fun." He grinned as he looked back at the Heiress Sitri. "Would you like to stay after the party? I will show you around the castle."
Sona did not immediately answer, and looked towards her parents, seeking their permission. Thankfully, both of them nodded their heads and she smiled at him.
"Okay."
"Great! I will see you later!" He grinned and then planted a kiss on Serafall's knuckles before excusing himself.
"Ne, ne, Sona-tan. Ra-Kun is cute, right?" Serafall immediately hugged her sister and mischievously asked.
"W-what are you talking about?! Let me go!" Sona managed to break free from her embrace and then rushed to her parents, hoping that they would save her from her sister's teasing, but unfortunately for her, they left her at Serafall's mercy.
A few hours later, after Raizel personally received gifts from all the Devil Houses of the Devildom, he found himself walking down the corridors of his Castle with two girls who were three years younger than him.
"It's truly the biggest Castle in the Underworld." Sona sighed as she saw that they had arrived inside another corridor, which stretched hundreds of metres in length.
"It's the oldest as well." He informed her and then glanced at the crimson-haired girl, who was absentmindedly looking around.
He was a little surprised that Rias joined them as well after the party, but he could guess that it was her father that made her stay.
"I am curious about something, Raizel." Sona suddenly said, and he turned to look t her.
"Yes?"
"Why is Freya your Pawn and not your Bishop or Queen?" She asked.
"I let my Evil Pieces choose their host rather than assign one myself." He told her.
"How?"
"Devil Magic." He grinned, taking her by surprise and making her lose herself in her thoughts.
Raizel curiously looked at the crimson-haired girl who sneaked a glance at him, and he knew she had something on her mind but was not voicing it.
"Yes, Rias?" He asked, and the girl blushed a little.
"I want to see your wings..." She revealed, and he understood why she would be interested in his Wings.
The Wings of Darcaedes were unlike other Devil Families. They were black like most, but their wings had crimson veins in them, which some believed made them appear very beautiful.
Both Rias and Sona gasped when they saw 8 Devil Wings sprout from his back, the veins on them shimmering tantalisingly.
"You really are an Ultimate-Class Devil..." Sona was amazed at his strength, but Rias was hooked to the shiny crimson veins that pulsed in his wings.
All Ultimate-Class Devils possessed four pairs of wings.
"They are beautiful." She sincerely said. And Raizel smiled at her and decided to leave his wings out as he continued giving them a tour of his home.
Sometime later, the two girls stood next to their Family Servants who had come to pick them up, and they were both surprised when Raizel handed them a letter each.
"Open them when you reach home." He smiled and then waved them goodbye as they left through the Magical Circles.
Rias immediately opened the letter when she arrived inside her room, burning with curiosity.
"My dearest, Rias. Do you know that Fallen Angels are one of the most exciting Races in existence?" He wrote, and then told her about their history and all sorts of exciting things about Fallen Angels that she had never heard before.
It was the first time in her life that Rias had read something so long, not losing her interest even for a moment.
And at another place, a certain Heiress with violet eyes was the same as her, except that the letter she received told her about how exciting the Evil Pieces were.