"Alright. Let's say that I'm actually willing to go along with your words. Who did you have in mind, sister?"
Aurelia answered without hesitation.
"Asia. She'll turn out to be a fine young woman and she would make a good wife."
"..."
*Blinks Once*
*Blinks Twice*
"W-what?!?!"
.
|DxD|
.
"Asia?"
"Yes."
"My little sister?"
"Yes, Igor."
"My little 'sister'?"
"Yes, Igor."
"My SISTER?!"
"...yes"
"..."
The blonde was by all means, flabbergasted. He couldn't believe that Aurelia would recommend that he marry his own sister.
"Let me get this straight, Sister Lia. You want me to marry Asia, my little sister?"
"To be accurate, Igor. Asia isn't your blood sister. So I see no problems there."
"..."
Vein Twitch!
The blonde felt like ripping his hair out of frustration. The way his elder sister just casually advised him to marry his little sister almost made him burst an artery.
"No! No, no, no, no, NO!"
There was absolutely no chance he was going to entertain such a preposterous notion.
"Sister Lia. Whether Asia is related to me through blood or not, I genuinely consider her as my little sister and she sees me as her older brother. For you to propose that I marry is…ugh."
The thought alone disgusted him. Bringing his hand to his forehead, he sighed.
"We don't need to discuss this any longer. Asia is my little sister and that's final. Don't try to persuade me."
Having said those words, he stood up and walked towards the door. With how muddled his thoughts were, he figured some good old-fashioned training would clear his mind.
But before he walked out, he turned to look at Aurelia, his gaze slightly threatening.
"Don't try to persuade Asia into this as well. Don't manipulate her. Don't direct her. Don't even hint at it. Asia is my bottom line."
Unknowingly, he released a heavy pressure.
"Don't cross it."
Walking away, he closed the door behind him without turning back, leaving Aurelia alone in the room. There was absolute silence as Aurelia stared at the door with slightly widened eyes.
"..."
Contrary to expectations, the silverette was neither intimidated, disappointed, or angry. Rather, she was proud. With a small smile forming on her face, she applauded the blonde.
"As expected of Igor-sama."
Not caring for the slip of the tongue, her eyes were filled with pride…and knowing.
[Even if I do not do anything, it is nigh impossible for Asia to not develop any feelings for you, Igor.]
If she, a bachelorette of over six decades was momentarily charmed by a person five decades her junior, then how will Asia be able to resist?
[Maybe if he was twenty years older, then it would be possible. But with only a four-year gap between them…]
Aurelia was sure that as Asia grew up, her expectations in her partner would largely be influenced by Igor. His presence would certainly make sure of that. Whether it be his strength in the future, his prestige, and even his mentality, all of it would make Asia subconsciously compare every single male she meets to her older brother.
The silverette was absolutely sure of that.
"Whether Asia-no…Lady Asia realises it in her teenage years or later, she will find that a capable man like Igor will be very hard to find. And as she slowly realises that there are no blood-ties between them, she will surely begin viewing him as an ideal partner."
With the blonde's rate of growth, the silverette was sure that within ten years, he would become a powerful entity unmatched within his generation. With his steadily increasing rate of growth combined with the time chamber, she was 99.9999999% sure Igor would have no rival within his age group.
"With such a dazzling star who shines above the rest, Lady Asia won't settle for lesser males, no? Especially when that dazzling star was so easily accessible to her."
In her mind, there was no need to even think about it. It was only a matter of time. Her biggest concern however, was the blonde.
"How will I make Igor consider the possibility?"
She knew from the beginning how hard-headed he was from how he refused any titles such as "-sama" and "Lord" added to his name. As stubborn as a bull, trying to convince him otherwise was already a task bordering on the realm of impossible, especially when it concerned Asia.
With how hard he refused the notion, she had no means for further suggesting the possibility to him without alienating herself.
"And since Lady Asia is still young, there is no feasible method of enticing him."
Temporarily mulling over the thought, she chose to temporarily postpone it.
"Lady Asia is still young. I will wait until she grows up and hopefully realises that Igor can be more than just a brother. By that time, it won't be considered manipulating if I 'encourage' her, right? Fufufu~."
Chuckling at the sudden thoughts she was having, she left the room as well and went on her way to the library. Meanwhile, a fleeting thought entered her mind.
[Since Igor seems to like legs, will it be wrong if I advise Lady Asia to train her legs?]
She briefly considered the thought before she threw it out.
[No. That would count as manipulation.]
There was another reason why Aurelia had so much confidence that Asia would eventually view Igor as more than just an elder brother.
[I will let the connection between them slowly have an effect before I possibly suggest that to her.]
She could remember how over a year ago, the blonde had excitedly recounted how he and Asia met. At the time, she was curious why he had associated himself with a half-blood so she had asked. Barring the gruesome end of the kidnapper and the stare-down between him and Asia, the silverette had picked up one key point.
'I don't even know how to explain it, sister. I don't even know how to explain it now. I could just FEEL it in my blood that Asia was my sister. Like, FEEL it. There was no doubt or anything. It wasn't like as if I knew Asia was my sister all the time or something. It was like…ugh! I can't explain it! It's like…damnit. What's that word in English? Bloody- it's right on the tip of my tongue! Aii, forget it. All I know is, I just want to protect little Asia to the best of my abili-no…BEYOND my ability.'
Recalling the memory, Aurelia had accurately identified that what Igor had formed with Asia was a soul connection. As for how or why it had formed, she still had no answers. Incidents regarding soul connections were too few and far in-between with very few accounts of them. Even amongst her ancestry, there were very few cases of soul connections.
[The only reason I know for a soul connection forming is when lovers from a previous life meet each other again after reincarnation.]
As for whether Asia and Igor were indeed lovers in some sort of previous life, she was unsure about that. Maybe it was the desire for family that made him link with Asia who shared the same ancestry as him or some other reason she did not know.
Either way…
[As long as Igor and Lady Asia have a dozen children or two that will run around the time chamber, I will be happy~.]
As for regarding Asia as "Lady", she had no problems doing so. While her clan viewed normal humans and half-bloods as lower, she did not possess such an inclination. There was hardly any room for arrogance to grow when revenge occupied most of the space in her mind.
And since there was a high likelihood that Asia would indeed be the wife of Igor, it was not a stretch to refer to her as "Lady".
[As Igor continues to accumulate power and prestige, calling her the next Queen of Aria would not be a mistake.]
As she had these thoughts, Aurelia couldn't help but smile as she entered the library. While she was confident in completing the seals, she did not want the original ancestral line to die out. If Igor and Asia could establish a royal lineage, then she would be completely satisfied. Even if their children married the new generation Aryans created from the seals, the lineage from the first generation would still be preserved.
Although the surname would change from Drachenburg to Dimori, she had no qualms. As a woman, she couldn't continue the family line and thus unfortunately, would end with her.
Sigh…
In a rather melancholic turn of events, those latter thoughts gradually soured her rather jubilant mood. Sitting down at her desk, her desire to continue working on the seals diminished.
Grabbing a drawing of the perfectly drawn circle of the first seal, her gaze became forlorn.
"Mother…father…brothers…sister…"
Recalling all of them who died in front of her, she couldn't help but feel sad.
"Without your bodies, I can't even try and resurrect you."
With the dimension to Aria having collapsed, she wasn't even sure if there were any bodies to salvage. With their dimension having collapsed, it was already impossible to find it.
"Enough thinking, Aurelia. I must continue to work on these seals."
The disappointment of having hidden like a coward as her people died resurfaced, and the only way to squash it down was by drowning herself in seals and inscriptions.
[I have failed before. But not this time!]
.
AN
.
Here are the current rankings for some of the characters. They are not in any particular order.
Year: 1999
.
Aurelia von Drachenburg
Base: Low-God Class (Threshold)
Combat Capability: Peak-God Class
.
Baraquiel
Base: Mid-God Class
Combat Capability: Peak-God Class (Potentially/Unverified)
.
Azazel
Base: Peak-God Class
Combat Capability: Unknown
.
Cleria Belial
Base: High-Class
Combat Capability: Low to Mid-God Class (Unverified)
.
Masaomi Yaegaki
Base (Pre-Transformation/Revival): Ultimate Class (Exact Ranking Unspecified)
Base (Post-Transformation/Revival): Unknown (Possibly does not exceed mid-god class)
.
Shuri Himejima
Base: Mid to High-Class (Unspecified whether her revival brought her body to her peak or not.)
Combat Capability: High-Class? (Loss of memories may have negatively or positively affected her combat capability)
.
Vasco Strada
Base: Low-God Class
Combat Capability: Mid-God Class
.
Igor von Dimori
Base (weighted/suppressed): High-God Class
Base (normal/full-power): Peak-God Class
Super Kaioken?(Suppressed [x50] state): Peak-God Class
Super Kaioken?(Full-Power): Low-Supreme Class