Once the incident with the former Lord Bael losing his composure out of the way, Zekram began to attempt to get the peace back. The few guests from The Great King Faction allied clans were already starting to whisper negative words about House Bael.
If the standing Lord Bael had to be removed what did that mean for the rest of the clan? Since Azland had to be picked it would mean that Demaenetus himself didn't know how to choose his heirs.
Now that he was once again Lord Bael, he began to aid his Ancestor in his efforts. This was a very shameful event for all the guests who had been here to witness it.
He began to pull his political expertise to promise compensation for the shame. Devil society was just like this as your closest allies and family would jump ship the instant there was even a a bit of trouble. As Zekram and Demaenetus tried to appease the guests, Romonus walked over to check up on Magdaran.
His cousin was not the toughest guy around and Romonus could respect that. He made up for his weakness with his botany which he most certainly respected. It was how he made his Elixers so Magdaran was crucial for that.
When he got to his side, his cousin was already on his feet and healed. The constant consumption of herbs, Magical Fruits, and potions made him quite durable. His spirit though was crushed from the look of his downcast face.
Romonus and Sairaorg started to check in with him. They were quite pissed that their brother and cousin had been punched in front of everyone.
"You ok?"
Magdaran wiped his face off with his handkerchief and nodded.
"I am alright. Honesty, what was he thinking? He knows that will just ruin his reputation."
Sairaorg scoffed at the man they called Father.
"He wasn't thinking. He let his emotions take control and it cost him everything. His status is gone and his reputation is tainted. Romonus, I am sorry this had to happen on the day your engagement is set to be revealed."
Romonus did not mind it.
"Don't worry about it. Silvana won't care and neither will I. Until then, let's get you cleaned up."
He placed a hand on Magdaran's shoulder and with a simple spell cleaned and dried him off. Magdaran sighed as his Father had been neglectful, not abusive until now. He would much have preferred some attention growing up as he had been neglected.
"Thank you. I will have to deal with that stigma for the rest of my life. 'Former heir of Bael Clan punched by his own Father on the day of his cousin's engagement and birthday Ball.' My reputation is sullied."
Romonus patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't take it to heart, it will blow over. Right, Kharn?"
With a snap of his teeth, the Honey Badger agreed. Magdaran was the reason he got his magic Honey fix as without it he would become violent. More than he already was. Magdaran shook his head as he walked off as staying would just expose him to the gossip.
Romonus could not blame him so he let his cousin go. Sairaorg sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.
"That just happened. I could never have believed it before."
Romonus also could not believe his arrogant Uncle had struck his son.
"Honestly, if you told me that would have happened a few months ago I would not have believed you. My Uncle was always a man who kept himself in check, but guess me not being what he expected messed with him more than I thought."
Sairaorg felt that as part of the issue.
"That, or he was madder that his sons who he thought were failures being praised. Me, the Bael born with weak Demonic Power and no Power of Destruction. And Magdaran the Bael who likes plants. Then there is you who is changing the status quo with your opinions. I can see why he went mad."
Romonus shook his head as he turned around.
"Whatever happened he chose wrong. Children are supposed to be cherished and nurtured, not scorned."
Sairaorg crossed his arms as he wished that had been so. Too bad he was born to a Devil with an ego so fragile that just having a child without a Clan Trait was seen as a shame.
Romonus returned to his Peerage's side along with his Mother and Rias. When he returned Venelana held his hand. He smiled as he telepathically spoke with her.
'You look stunning Mother, I think I am dying to get a taste of you.'
She would love to take him up on that. She smiled his way.
'Oh, you flirt. I am open for you any time.'
He turned to gaze at her with an expression of longing
'I will say I will make it worth your while for making you wait this long.'
Venelana loved that gaze, something her ex-husband had not shown her in centuries.
'I can hardly wait Romonus. Go have fun. Your new fiance will be here any moment.'
He left her side and decided to enjoy the fancy food and drinks. Devils could drink from a young age so no one batted an eye to him and his young peerage drinking. However, they were not getting drunk because of how powerful their bodies were.
As the Ball progressed more and more of the 32 Pillars arrived. First, all of The Great King Faction allied Lords, their wives, and heirs showed up. They began to mingle among themselves, but this changed when the Satan Faction allied Lords and their entourages began to arrive starting a standoff.
This tension was made even worse when Sirzechs, Ajuka, Serafall, and Falbium showed up. As usual, Grayfia was right with Sirzechs meaning that two Super Devils and three Satan class Devils on the Satan Factions side had arrived.
4 if Romonus was to be counted which he was because he instantly went to be with his brother, Sister-In-Law, Uncle-In-Law, girlfriend, and a close family friend in Falbium.
When he arrived he instantly hugged Sirzechs who returned the powerful hug.
"Sirzechs, my brother. How are you doing these days?"
Sirzechs patted his back firmly before they released their hug.
"I have been great. You have no idea how easy my life is now that I have a full team of assistants working with me to get my duties done. That computer was the best investment I ever made. I got more time for Millicas and Grayfia."
"That's great, brother. Take time to enjoy the festivities. Uncle, good to see you in good health."
Ajuka gave a polite smile.
"Of course, I would be, I see your armor is stable now."
Archaon would normally be fully open to speaking with anyone, but at the moment that was being kept secret.
"That is is. Rare that Latia isn't with you."
"She is coming with her parents. Though, it seems that someone else is waiting for a greeting."
He meant Serafall because Grayfia was in maid mode and Falbium was snoring while walking. He turned over to his short-stack girlfriend.
"Serafall, you look amazing."
Serafall grinned as she pulled him away from her friends.
"Well, I need to scope out the competition. You are getting a new fiance and this is to be celebrated. Even if I am getting a little jealous."
He chuckled.
"Why? It's not like I am after every woman in the Underworld. Look across this room, the amount of women who can pass for 10/10 models in the human world are a dime a dozen. I only go for the extraordinary ones who I think will make the best wives for an immortal."
Serafall knew that which was why she didn't mind it.
"Oh, before I forget. I invited Miria so greet her when she gets here and my parents will be showing up with my baby sister. You haven't ever talked to her have you?"
He had yet to meet the nerd Sona.
"I have not had the pleasure, but she is Rias' friend right?"
"That she is. Good luck."
Until Silvana arrived Romonus got to moving around socializing with the Nobles. He hated doing so, but it was a skill he had. Regardless, all of them complimented him on the engagement and his fancy armor.
Each one was like an ego boost to Romonus and Archaon who were similar. Even Kharn the Badger got his fair share of compliments making the weasel feel deserving of his fancy Bloodborne hat.
When Miria arrived he saw her in a dazzling dress covered in purple diamonds drawing his eyes to her. He instantly moved to her side to shower her with praise making the purple-haired woman feel like a queen.
Latia also showed up as did Lord Sitri, his wife, and Sona. Even Roygun invited herself which meant that the entirety of Romonus' girlfriends were here. He thanked his lucky stars that they were all Devils or things would not go well for him.
Thanks to his efforts the airs began to stabilize until Avivoton, his wife and daughter finally did show up. They were the very last clan to show up and when they walked through the door the Ball Room was met with silence.
Zekram openly recoiled when he saw Silvana and her Mother because of their blue skin. She was certainly not a pure-blooded Devil so he turned to his side at Demaenetus who had been the one to set this up.
"Demaenetus. What did you do? I was adamant about a pure-blooded Noble. What is this shame you bring."
Demaenetus frowned as while he shared in the sentiment his grandson mattered more than some petty scheme.
"I did the best that I could. I could not find a match for him among the clans of the Great King Faction. House Berith is neutral so the status quo can remain as it has been."
Zekram was not pleased at all.
"This was supposed to expand the unity of House Bael with its allies. This will drive them away you damn fool. He might as well be a Satan rather than one of us. This example will just ruin the purity of the clans."
Demaenetus unlike his son was not going to take insults lying down.
"Then you should have searched for a suitable woman yourself. This is happening and look. Romonus is already interested. I did the best I could for his sake."
When Zekram looked over he could see it in Romonus' eyes that he did. This was not good, but if he stepped in Romonus would not be pleased. For Romonus despite already talking to her over FaceTime a couple of times she was prettier in person.
He instantly walked over to greet her and her parents. When he got there he had to look up to look at Avivoton because he was gigantic. The Devil had a thick black beard, and long black hair that was barely graying and braided into Viking-style braids.
His Noble attire was also mixed in with armor making him look more like a barbarian than a noble. He looked awesome in Romonus' opinion so he extended a hand to his future Father-In-Law.
"Sir, how tall are you if you don't mind me asking?"
Avivoton grinned and shook his hand back.
"6'10, I am impressive am I not."
When they shook hands, Romonus through his Eyes of the Soul noticed something.
'This guy is a secret Satan Class Devil. Despite the way his soul was split to form Silvana it's almost fully recovered. The Mother has it worse than him, she is still healing.'
This was why Avivoton became a recluse to train his powers in secret in case of a second Great War. He had been training daily because he hated sitting still and after fighting in two Wars retirement wasn't for him.
"I am glad to meet you, sir. As for you, my Lady, you must be Silvana's Mother. She has seldom spoken of you during our few days of chatting on the phone."
Silvana's Mother smiled as she was also tall. 6'5 and with a very voluptuous frame despite her being an Undead she was a captivating woman. When she spoke it was in Irish with a very heavy accent.
She had one pink eye and one golden one to show her blessed status by Arawan.
"I am glad to finally be putting a name to the face. I have heard so much in recent times about you Romonus. Though, since you didn't deny the proposal to our daughter we can only be grateful. My name is Caoimhe from Clan Cethin."
He shook her hand as well, but he noticed something. Caoimhe and her daughter Silvana were not looking up at his face. They were stuck gawking at the Archaon because it was a racial thing.
All Dullahans wanted to forge the perfect armor and weapon to serve them for their lives. Up to now, Caoimhe felt that her armor and sword were just that, but not any longer. Still, she controlled herself over geeking out before turning to her daughter.
"Go on already, no need to stick around us."
Romonus smiled as he extended a hand to Silvana. She reached out and a gloved hand as she was wearing a fancy black dress showing the heavily jeweled necklace she wore. It was what kept her head and body attached, but he thought it was pretty.
Once they both walked off to talk alone he complimented her.
"Glad to see you in person now. You look great."
She smiled back as she placed a strand of her white hair behind her ear.
"You too. I think it was a good idea for us to talk before meeting in person. I got to know you a little better and now I am sure we have plenty to talk about. If you don't mind me asking, how did you forge your armor?"
Archaon himself could tell Romonus wanted to keep him a surprise so he bided his time. He wanted to talk to her though. Complimenting him was complimenting his Master.
"It's my Master Piece, though I wanted to ask why the scythe? I won't lie that in the right hands a scythe can be deadly, but they take careful skill to use."
Silvana panicked inside as she spoke to herself. She had a bit of trouble speaking clearly because of her reclusive nature.
'Calm down, smart thoughts.'
When she opened her mouth what she wanted to say did not come out.
"The scythe is just what I need to be a better death dealer."
She instantly felt ashamed as her little quirk came out when she was nervous. She started to talk nonsense.
'DAMN IT!'
Romonus chuckled as he found an interesting fact.
"Ah, you can use Death Magic? Charming."
Silvana nodded.
"I can. I am not an expert on it since I never leave my home, but even then I am still a Dullahan Devil Hybrid blessed by Arawan the Celtic god of the Dead."
That got his attention because Balor the Evil God of the Baleful Eye was sealed away in Gasper's eyes. He was a Celtic god and also the equivalent of Kronus of the Greek Pantheon. He was the grandfather of Lugh who was the Father of Cú Chulainn
"From what I remember, I hear Arawan was a noble god who rules the Celtic Underworld and the wild."
Silvana smiled that he knew that.
"He does? People think that because him being a Death God he is evil, but he is a noble god who only sees that the dead pass on. I sometimes get visions of him because he is the patron god of the Dullahan race.
He is the only reason our race can bear offspring. Otherwise, we would just be smart sentient undead."
Either way, Romonus was interested in meeting Arawan or even the Dullahan Noble Clan.
"I wanted to get this out of the way, but I will be beginning my world exploration soon. I can see you have a lot of untapped power that you aren't using. Do you want to start to make use of it in the expedition? It might get dangerous."
Silvana looked at Archaon before finding it a good way to gather experience.
"I would, but for my entire life I have wanted to forge my armor and weapon, but nothing is good enough. Can you help me?"
She looked super hopeful and he loved Blacksmithing so he agreed.
"Of course, I am always ready to forge a new weapon or armor. I bet we have a lot to learn from each other in the coming years. And how can we forget?"
She tilted her head a little.
"Forget what?"
Romonus placed a hand over his left eye and as exaggerated as he could spoke.
"Show how the great Me, become the personification of Death."
Her face turned bright purple as steam left her ears. She couped her face in embarrassment.
"Is that how I look?"
He chuckled as he did not mind it. When one had power and was nearly ageless being a little whacky was fine.
"It's fine. If that makes you happy don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. I do have my question. You can hear them right?"
He meant the offhanded remarks The Great King Faction Clans were making about her. Even some of the Satan Faction were speaking badly of her, Avivoton, and her Mother. Saying how he had dirtied their race by breeding with an Undead.
Silvana could hear it. She had very good senses not just because of her blessed status, but because her Father and Mother mentoring her all this time. Especially because of her Avivoton, she was innately powerful from birth just sheltered.
"I can. I am used to it."
Romonus grinned as he asked her a question.
"What do you want to do about it?"
Silvana thought about it before she turned around with an irate expression.
"Shut them up."
He walked forward and wrapped an arm around her back.
"Then, let's shut them up."
From Romonus, a vast dark purple aura filled the entire Ball Room leaving all the Devils frozen in place. Only those who were in the Satan Class, above or he spared could still move. Romonus did not plan to make a bigger scene so he spoke plainly.
"I can hear you all. You are all talking very rudely about my fiance. I will not allow this, if you have a problem with my decision or with Silvana herself you can go through me."
Serafall smirked as she looked up at Sirzechs.
"Isn't he a charmer?"
Sirzechs smiled.
"That he is. At least he can stand up for his woman as any man with balls should."
Zekram Bael at this point stood up as he was not going to stay quiet.
"That is quite enough. I have stayed silent, but this is not what I had in mind by this engagement."
Silvana wrapped her arm around Romonus as he responded for her sake.
"Why? She is perfect."
She blushed at the praise, but that seemed to grind Zekram nuts.
"Perfect? She is a half-breed. She is more zombie than she is a Devil. Her damn head can come off."
Romonus frowned.
"So what? Her Father is still a Pure-Blooded Devil making her a Noble. Her Mother is from the Noble Line of Dullahans making her still of Noble blood. Hybrids are always stronger than pure breeds anyways."
Sirzechs at this point spoke up.
"Zekram, if my brother is happy with who his fiance is to be who are we to stop him? His happiness is what matters most."
Zekram was unrelenting in his ideology.
"If he is to be the next Lord Bael he must marry a Pure Blooded Noble of our choosing. That is the only way to guarantee the right of succession. This Half Breed will not work."
Avivoton grit his teeth as black flames begin to appear in his open palms. His wife grabbed his arm.
"Keep a cool head, we are not on the Battlefield here."
"Fine."
Serafall crossed her arms as she stepped out to confront Zekram.
"Why not? Noble, Pure Blood, Commner, all that matters is that the two of them accept. Politics be damned."
Ajuka simply nodded
"I agree. Every day more Reincarnated Devils are introduced and more are marrying. We are already on the path to a new union."
Falbium raised a thumb while still sleeping. Zekram grit his teeth, but he calmed himself. He was still 10,000 years old with more experience than most.
"I see. May I remind everyone that this is how it has been since 10,000 years ago when our race was created by Lucifer? We have always believed in blood purity and since the creation of the Evil Piece System, more of our old traditions have died.
If Romonus, the heir of the Bael Clan won't respect them what hope that does show?"
Romonus without skipping a beat answered.
"That they are obsolete and worthless. Traditions only matter when they offer something positive. While there is merit in blood purity, that purity will only carry you so far. I will only wed those I accept and I accept Silvana Berith Cethin as my second fiance.
I will not give up my title as Heir of the Bael Clan either. If anyone thinks they will be better they are more than free to challenge me to an honor duel. I will put them in their place."
Berith grinned as he reached up for his necklace and ripped it off. Instantly his true power level was released from his body causing everyone to turn to him.
"I, Avivoton Berith of House Berith support my Son-In-Law, Romonus. Blood Purity has no meaning when there is more to life than just our pantheon. We are limited in Numbers and each Devil matters. Mixed blood or not. My daughter is better than any of your spoiled bastard children. I will kill the next one who insults her."
Sairaorg crossed his arms as he also had something to say.
"Look at my peerage. Most of them are from extinct Devil Households with mixed heritages. Despite their strength, they are still shamed. My cousin's three members are all young, but their power keeps growing. What does that show for blood purity?"
Zekram squinted his eyes as he could feel more and more allies on Romonus' side. Not only was Romonus almost a Super Devil, but he also had 4 Satan Class Devils at his side not including himself. The political weight alone from that going to be crushing, much less the weight of his power.
Even worse was when Demaenetus himself spoke in favor of his grandson. Things had gone in such a way that House Bael would be seen as a pariah in the Great King Faction. Zekram kept his noble appearance, but he was livid.
"Seems I can't do anything about it now. The choice is yours to make."
Once he quieted down Romonus glanced at Silvana.
"So? How was that?"
She was not expecting him to make such an open political move like that, but it cemented his power and mentality. Speak poorly of his chosen lovers at your own risk.
"Thank you. You didn't have to pull a move like that to ruin your reputation."
Kharn scoffed from his shoulder.
"What he said? Ruin my reputation? All the reputation I need is to show that I will not be afraid to stand up for what I want or believe in. Tradition, rules, and politics be damned. Don't you agree?"
Silvana thought of his mentality and could stand by it.
"I do."
He smiled happily in her direction.
"In that case, welcome to the family."
That brought up a question she had.
"How many women are in your harem?"
"4. My first fiance Latia is over there by her parents. Serafall of course, Miria who is over there drinking wine. That is going to be dangerous for everyone around her in a few minutes. Roygun Belphagor who is over there smiling at us. Counting you is 5."
Silvana was almost relieved.
"Good. I am still one of the first."
He nodded.
"That you are gorgeous. How about once this borring Ball ends we talk more at length about the forge."
Her face beamed into a smile upon hearing that.
"Sure."
Romonus loved power because having it made life so much easier. Sadly, politics slowed his goals so he was going to be leaving it for the next 5 years. He just had to get his final preparations which involved his harem.
He needed to see who would come with him and who would stay. Miria was now free from her duties and she knew he loved her. It was time to invite her as his second rook.
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