Chapter 31: The Precarious Gremory Family (Patreon)

In a second-floor bedroom of the school building, the red-haired girl sitting by the desk turned her head. Seeing the silver-haired maid arrive via a teleportation circle, a hint of stiffness instantly crept into her otherwise gentle expression.

"My apologies for disturbing you so late, Lady Rias."

The silver-haired maid took a step out of the magic circle and gave a slight bow. Behind her, the red teleportation circle dissipated.

Rias lightly bit her lower lip.

"Grayfia-nee-san, why did you suddenly come here...?"

Though phrased as a question, the look on her face betrayed the fact that she clearly knew why the other had come.

With the light of the magic circle gone, the desk lamp once again became the room's sole light source. The hazy, warm light diffused through the modestly sized room, faintly outlining the stunning curves hidden beneath the silver-haired maid's seemingly conservative attire.

"Though it may be somewhat late, your brother, Lord Sirzechs Lucifer, wished for me to convey this year's birthday blessings to you, Lady Rias."

"Birthday... That was at the beginning of the month, and it's almost the end of April now," the red-haired girl retorted, feigning composure.

"My deepest apologies, but there is a reason for this. Lord Lucifer has only recently succeeded the title of Devil King, and many matters still require his personal approval."

Grayfia's tone was calm, neither servile nor overbearing.

"Actually, Lord Lucifer had hoped to celebrate your birthday personally, Lady Rias. He spent these past days trying desperately to finish his work ahead of schedule, but unfortunately, he was simply too overwhelmed. In the end, he could only entrust me to deliver the message on his behalf."

"Oh, it's really okay~"

Seeing the silver-haired maid apologize so sincerely and repeatedly, Rias, who had been complaining just a second ago, felt a little embarrassed herself.

"I know Onii-sama is busy. Besides, I'm not a child anymore. My image in his eyes isn't so childish that I'd burst into tears just because I didn't get a birthday wish, right...? Well~ But thank you anyway, Grayfia-nee-san, for bringing Onii-sama's greetings."

"So... that's all it is? There shouldn't be anything else important, right?"

A thread of desperate hope laced Rias's voice as she asked this.

If only... if only that were really all.

But life often goes against one's wishes.

"There is one more matter."

The words spoken by Grayfia's red lips snuffed out the red-haired girl's last flicker of hope.

"It concerns your marriage engagement, Lady Rias. Now that you have turned eighteen, the Phenex family's wish is for you to return to the Underworld as soon as possible to hold the wedding ceremony."

"..."

Silence instantly fell upon the room.

The girl remained motionless in her chair, her body half-turned. The lamplight shone from behind her, illuminating the cascade of red hair spilling over her shoulders and casting deep shadows across her face, obscuring her expression.

"Marriage engagement... huh."

"Yes. This is the message the Phenex family asked me to convey to you before I left the Underworld, Lady Rias."

The Phenex family, like the Gremory family, belongs to the noble 72 Pillars of the Underworld. They are also one of the few remaining pure-blooded devil families after the Great War.

There were no feelings involved in the marriage agreement between the two families; it was less a marriage and more a political duty, burdened with the task of reviving the pure-blooded devil lineage.

Originally, this engagement wouldn't necessarily have fallen upon Rias. After all, she had her older brother, Sirzechs. Furthermore, the Phenex family had a youngest daughter in addition to their three sons.

However, because Sirzechs Gremory inherited the title of the Devil King Lucifer, becoming Sirzechs Lucifer, the Gremory family's succession automatically passed to Rias herself.

It is often said, "He who wishes to wear the crown must bear its weight," but reality often means you don't even get to choose whether you want the crown or not.

The only difference lies in whether one puts on the crown willingly or is forced to wear it.

Rias currently belonged to the latter category.

She could, of course, choose to forcefully refuse. But doing so would inevitably bring a great deal of conflict and criticism upon the Gremory family.

"A pure-blooded devil noble unwilling to contribute to the revival of the Underworld" – once such an accusation was leveled, not just the Gremory family, but even her brother Sirzechs, who was now a Devil King, would be implicated.

This was absolutely unacceptable to Rias.

Moreover, with her father, Zeoticus Gremory, having passed away early, the Gremory family, from an objective standpoint, consisted only of her and her mother, Venelana Gremory.

Describing their situation as precarious wouldn't be an exaggeration. If more conflict arose, being expelled from the 72 Pillars wasn't entirely impossible.

In that case...

Heh—

The red-haired girl let out a soft sigh, tinged with a slight tremor.

"I... I understand. Thank you, Grayfia-nee-san, for making the trip."

Her words hung in the air, but this time, Grayfia didn't respond immediately. After a brief pause, she spoke again, her voice calm.

"Actually, if you truly do not wish to accept this engagement, Lady Rias, there is another way..."

"I know. Just have Onii-sama step in and handle it, right?"

Before the silver-haired maid could finish, Rias gave a helpless, slightly bitter smile.

Certainly, with her brother Sirzechs' current status as a Devil King, mediating a marriage engagement was merely a matter of saying the word. But ultimately, it came back to the same issue.

Due to the particularly sensitive nature of this engagement, forcefully intervening as the Devil King would undoubtedly raise questions among the nobles of the 72 Pillars. It would deal a huge blow to her brother's authority.

To burden her brother, who had worked so hard to reach his current high position, because of her own momentary willfulness – this was something Rias could never accept.

"Anyway... I understand now. Thank you for making this trip, Grayfia-nee-san. Please also send my regards to Onii-sama. I... I'll think about it myself."

There was nothing more to be said. The silver-haired maid nodded, indicating her understanding.

Her gaze swept over the notebook on the desk behind the girl. Then, she stepped back and bowed once more. The red teleportation circle, marked with the Gremory family crest, lit up beneath her feet. With a flash of red light, her figure vanished from the spot.

The fluctuations of teleportation magic quickly dissipated into the air, not disturbing anyone else in the old school building.

In the room, Rias only seemed to snap back to reality after the magic circle on the floor had completely faded. She slumped back into her chair, leaned her head against the backrest, and stared fixedly at the ceiling above. She raised a fingertip to touch her lips.

"You said... you'd come save me... right?"

...

Meanwhile, at the Hanakain household.

"Come on, Hana~ We've already had dinner, next it's time to eat... me~ Besides, tomorrow and the day after are rest days, we don't have to go anywhere. Let's go at it hard for two days and two nights!"

"Are you trying to burst...?"