This is one looong chappy. As promised for the two reviews by Killjoy4life & randomwriter.
I haven't forgotten you, gREcOvITSIoZo and maoudiablo1911. Will get your chappys out too. Soon.
Till then, everyone say thank you randomwriter & Killjoy4life.
Also, this is the last political chapter. No more. I'm done with these mind melting political black holes.
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"We scammed Misla Bael out of her son." Ruval repeated.
"No, I heard you the first time." Rigal wiped the coffee off his mouth, "Didn't we agree to not antagonize Zekram Bael?" Rigal asked.
"We did, and that hasn't changed, but Riser's actions have already forced us to commit to this fuck-up. Now we can only mitigate the danger.
Though all hope is not lost. While the deal we had hoped to make did not come to pass, at least Lady Misla is willing to tolerate the situation for now.
Remember, she is not an idiot. Before she succumbs fully to the Sleep Disease, perhaps even earlier than that, she will no doubt go over the contract again, this time with a clearer head and realize the loopholes.
Once that happens, while she still won't reveal the contract to anyone, because that would be the same as signing her own son's death sentence, she will most definitely set up a contingency, in case her worst fears come true and we end up getting her son killed, to have the contract revealed after his death and her fall into eternal slumber. She is a seasoned player in this game. Do not underestimate her because of one mistake."
"Wait, what contract? And since when did Lady Misla suffer from Sleep Disease? I need someone to catch me up here." Rigal asked.
"Oh, right you weren't here when we practiced." Ruval realized, "So what happened was…"
We all recapped the events of the morning to him, as he finished his coffee.
"So that's what happened. What I don't get is, how does that stop old Zekram from spatchcocking us like turkey on thanksgiving once he finds out?"
"First of all, he won't find out. Mum's the word. Nothing in writing. Leave no evidence of the conspiracy. Officially, Sairaorg was never in a peerage. We have no connection to him, or his mother and we did not help him." My father lifted a hand and snapped his fingers, setting the desk, with the contract and two letters on it ablaze.
"That was a good desk." My mother watched wistfully as the desk was reduced to ashes, caressing my father's thigh, "We made so many good memories on it."
"Mom!" I cried, cringing from embarrassment.
Damnit! Is there any surface in this castle where they haven't made love?
It's a miracle they only have four children!
"TMI!" Rigal added, while Ruval just zoned out in shell shock. Being the oldest, he is probably the one who has seen the most…trauma.
"Ufufufu~" My mother giggled, leaning into my father's chest, making circles on it with her finger, "Our children are such prudes, dear~"
"Don't worry honey, we'll make many more on the new one." My father laughed jovially at our collective embarrassment, and leaned down to give her a passionate kiss.
"Memories or kids?" I asked with concern.
"Please no more kids." Ruval groaned.
"Too late. I think we'll have another by the end of the year." Rigal lolled his head back in disgust.
"Why the disgust? Don't you think your mother is pretty?" My mother asked mischievously.
"I think I'm gonna puke." I gagged at the thought.
"Kill me now." Ruval buried his face in his hands.
"I am not even going to dignify that with a response." Rigal just buried his head in the clouds, muttering 'happy thoughts, happy thoughts' all the while.
"Honey…" My father curtailed her behaviour and my mother giggled.
"Ufufufu~ Alright, I won't tease you anymore."
"Back to the point." My father centred us again, "After our discussion last night, I couldn't sleep. Something wasn't making sense.
Why is it that when the underworld quakes at the name Bael, somehow, children of hell knights and baronetcies can bully one with impunity? What gives Low and Mid Class devils the courage to harass a Bael at her own domicile? Most importantly, why would Venelana Gremory just sit and watch her nephew and sister-in-law suffer like that?
So I made a late-night visit to the Gremory mansion, and learned something interesting. The very same day that Misla Bael and her son were exiled, all houses under the Bael fold received a letter, whose contents boiled down to 'This is family business, mind your own.'
No one was to support them in any manner whatsoever. The only reason we did not receive one is because we weren't yet affiliated with them. Zekram Bael never even considered that we would dare try to pull something like this. That was when it clicked into place." My father said, unfolding the mystery.
"Zekram Bael wants them dead, to remove the stain from his bloodline. He just doesn't want the PR nightmare that comes with it.
First, when Sairaorg's condition became clear, he disinherited him and named Magdaran the new heir. Then, he gave a few months for the dust to settle, letting pressure build on Lady Misla from the opposing faction, before he gave them a choice. Exile or death. What she didn't know was that both choices were one and the same."
He continued.
"Quietly, he transferred the title of Queen Bael to his son's concubine, and exiled Lady Misla and Sairaorg to the countryside, officially, 'to spare them the rigors of internal politics'. Unofficially, it was to make sure they were forgotten. He removed their protections and no doubt encouraged the harassment from the shadows, all in an effort to break them down further and lower everyone's view of them. The underworld values power. The weak, are nothing, the strong everything. That was the message he was sending.
I think he planned to give them a few more years till anonymity set in, till people forgot, from the disrespect they had endured, that once they had been royalty. For given enough time, people will forget even their gods."
"Then, one day, a 'stray devil' would 'break in' to their manse, and Lady Misla and her son would be 'tragically' found dead in the struggle." Father chuckled darkly, "A stray devil would be framed and quartered, Zekram Bael would condemn the 'atrocity' and promise increased security in their territory, the news would be on people's lips for a day, in their minds for a week, and vanished from living memory within the month. And Zekram Bael would wash away the stain on his bloodline once and for all. All without dirtying his hands."
"Gotta admit, 'Mother and child found dead in tragic home invasion' sounds a lot better than 'Zekram Bael murders his own family in cold blood' or 'Former royalty assassinated days into exile'." I shrugged.
"Now, do you know why I am telling you this Riser?"
"To make me understand what makes him tick?" I answered, uncertain.
My father nodded.
"Justification is the only chain that binds Zekram Bael and it is a flimsy one. What you have done, adding a Bael to your peerage, he will take it as a grave insult to his clan. Even if we successfully keep it a secret and everything goes ideally, he will still come to know what we are planning the moment Sairaorg returns to the clan."
"Because there is one way for someone without demonic power to gain it. An Evil Piece." I finished his line of logic.
"Good. You understand then. Once he realizes how, he will realize what we had planned. And that he will not let go without extracting a toll from us, in blood. Thankfully, despite the stumble we have made into this, head-first and ass-up, we have somehow managed to land on our feet. If he wants to move against us in the open, he will need justification for it. One does not simply declare war on another house without good reason. And ironically, through your actions, we have defences aplenty.
Firstly, it is the abrupt nature of Sairaorg's entry into your peerage. We can declare that as a mistake made in the heat of passion and if needed apologise for it.
Secondly, it also serves to protect us from the accusations of conspiracy for the throne. After all, a member of another's peerage cannot become the head of the Bael clan.
Once he sees Sairaorg's power, if he is capable of such, Zekram will stop at nothing, pay anything to get him back into the fold, and this will force him into one of two paths.
Either he can try accusing us publicly, of vying for the throne, a path that will not only humiliate his clan but also backfire on him by virtue of both Sairaorg's attachment to us and the apologetic nature of the contract you have with Lady Misla, one left entirely up to her discretion.
Or to swallow his rage and treat with us in public, while moving against us in the shadows. This is the preferred option for us, because we have an advantage he does not know of. You, Riser, being as strong as you are, the potential you have. What are you, between peak High Class and Low Ultimate Class right now?"
I nodded.
"Just about there."
My father smiled proudly.
"That will be our secret weapon. He, being a staunch traditionalist and set in his view of the world will not be able to see this coming. What devil hides his own power, after all? We are beings of pride, our society, one that glorifies the strong and despises the weak. It would be inconceivable for him that a child such as you would be able to hide his power to such an extent.
Thirdly, since family and relatives are allowed to be in a peerage, so long as Sairaorg's presence in such is not revealed until your marriage to Rias has gone through, we can add our then relation to the Bael clan as another layer of defence against him. If needed we can also trade him into Rias' peerage to avoid any fallout. This should quell tempers and satisfy him to a great extent.
Finally, our best defence against Zekram will be you, Riser. He values and admires strength above all, in nobility ever more so. At the rate you're growing, how confident are you that you can reach Satan Class before your wedding?" He asked.
"Absolutely certain." I replied, giving a thumbs up.
My father smiled.
"Once our clan has someone that can match Serafall Sitri, Zekram's derision will turn to admiration, and though begrudgingly, he will have to forgive the insult, so long as the knowledge does not become public, in an effort to make a connection with us, by virtue of your power. You Riser, are our greatest hope now, when it comes to avoiding disaster."
"But dad, there is one problem you're forgetting." Rigal intercepted, "This whole plan hinges on the assumption that Ajuka is both able and willing to remove the Evil Piece from Sairaorg, something he has never done before, even when the Shinto pantheon threatened war over their subjects being turned into devils against their will. That is assuming it is even possible to remove an Evil Piece in the first place."
"Of course he didn't. If we gave in to the Shinto, what message would that send? That anyone can come to our house, bend us over and have their way with us? Besides, they lost that staring contest when they blinked first, they even had to cede their territory to us- that town, Kuoh- in the treaty.
Ajuka is not fool enough to undermine the image of the Evil Piece system over something that significant and public.
But in private and well compensated? He will be more than willing to do it. Of course, if that happens, news of it will reach Zekram before the piece is even out of Sairaorg, so Ajuka is not exactly our first option. He was just the stick we used to threaten Lady Misla into compliance.
As to whether it is possible to remove an Evil Piece, I have no doubt about it. It is almost certainly possible to remove an Evil Piece from someone- at least from Pure Blooded devils, who unlike their reincarnated counterparts have not undergone the qualitative transformation from one species to another. Not only Ajuka, there are also some others who can remove an Evil Piece from someone. People who have extensive expertise in removing something even more precarious from the souls of people."
"Sacred Gears." Rigal realized, "You mean to ask Governor Azazel of Grigori?"
"He would certainly be capable of it, not to mention he would have no reason to blab about it to Zekram either, especially when fed enough hush money." My mother pitched in, "We were already in contact with them to negotiate the purchase of a sacred gear, a little added cost to that is…while not insignificant, certainly within the realm of possibility."
"Wait, you were going to buy a sacred gear? But you didn't even discuss it with-" I stopped mid-sentence as it clicked to me, "You have been planning to support Sairaorg since the beginning, haven't you?"
Ravel was too young to need a sacred gear, Rigal too uninterested in personal power, and if they were going to get it for Ruval, they would have done so already. While my nephews and nieces were old enough to get one, the circumstantial evidence pointed away from that, especially the expression of surprise Ruval wore on his face at the news. If they were going to do something so life altering to one of his kids, he would have known. So the only candiate was either me- and they hadn't discussed it with me either- or…someone who needed a power to replace their lack of another.
My father grinned.
"Took you long enough to realize that. And that expression is almost shameful, Ruval. Close your mouth before flies wander in to settle." My father laughed, "You of all people, as the heir to house Phenex, should have realized by now, with how lax and accepting we were being towards Riser's mistake."
"But-but…" Ruval.exe has stopped working.
"Ruval, you're getting mandatory political retraining. In my office starting Monday. You have slacked off for so long that your political skills have gotten rusty. How can the heir to the clan not realize something so simple."
"Since when?" Ruval asked, embarrassed.
"Since the day I went to negotiate Riser's engagement. While I was there the topic of conversation came upon the newborn Milicas and Lady Venelana mentioned that her father had come to them shortly after his birth with a request to adopt him into house Bael. He was rejected of course, and he had the good sense to not antagonize Sirzechs over it, but it revealed something. Tell me Ruval, what is it?"
Ruval sighed.
"He wanted to mould Milicas into the perfect heir…because he lacks faith in Magdaran."
"Yes. It seems you haven't lost touch completely." My father praised, "It means we have some wiggle room there, for another, more suitable heir to come in. That was when we decided to see if Lady Misla was open to cooperation- we started planting spies around her house, investigating her connections, disposition, finances, etc. Of course, Riser's ill-timed actions have moved up the schedule on that significantly, and doubled the costs-something we will have to talk about, Riser- because we planned to slowly gauge her openness to the concept and Sairaorg's capability over the next few months before we decided to invest. Now…" He sighed, rubbing his eyes.
"Riser, next time you want to do something like that, talk to us first."
"But I told Ruval. Didn't he tell you?"
I decided to instead throw Ruval under the bus.
He gave me a dirty look and sliced a finger against his neck, mock threatening me and I stuck out my tongue at him in return.
Sorry, but it is your duty as the big brother. May you rest in peace.
"You knew?" My father asked, sternly, "And it never occurred to you to inform us?"
"I was going to tell you after the party!" Ruval defended himself, "How was I supposed to know he would do something like that during the party? I didn't even know Sairaorg was going to be invited!"
"Didn't you handle the catering and roster?"
"Mom handled the roster of invitations." He, in turn, pulled my mother down with him.
"Dear…" My father turned to her and she sighed.
"I should have known when Riser asked me to invite Sairaorg…"
"Hm? I thought you invited him so we could gauge Lady Misla's reaction in public, before we approached her?"
"That was the thought too, but… I thought we would wait till after the we had finalized the pricing with Grigori?" She asked, "And Lady Misla didn't even make it to the party."
"The Sleep Disease, of course. It's so clear in hindsight." My father connected the dots, "Still, you could have told me Riser was the one-"
"I know you're not telling me that. When were you going to tell me about your plans for Riser and Rias' children?"
"What about my non-existent children?" I asked.
"Your father, apparently, wants to have one of your future kids take over the Bael clan." My mother huffed, and pouted, crossing her arms.
"I was going to tell you, dear, after they were married with kids at the risk of counting my chickens before they hatched. Engagements fall through all the time."
"With the Gremorys? They have a reputation for keeping their word."
Oh mother dearest, how wrong you are…if only you knew the plot.
"Riser could end up breaking it, look at his attitude…" My father countered sheepishly in the face of my mother's pouting face- his one weakness.
"Pfft, yeah. No, once he sees Rias all grown-up, he will probably never look at another woman ever again. Have you seen Lady Venelana. I'm willing to bet the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Back me up dad!" Ruval teased, poking our father.
"Go on, dear, back up your son." Faced with my mother's lethal glare my father shrivelled up into a plum beside her.
"How could I ever know, when before you, my sweet, beautiful firebird, all other women appear as but pale imitations~" He cooed, kissing her hand and my mother snorted, hiding a shy smile.
"Good answer. You get to stay out of the guest bedroom…this time."
My father sighed in relief and turned to Ruval, and said jokingly.
"Stop trying to get your old man in trouble, or I'll un-name you as heir!"
"What an entertaining clusterfuck~" Rigal chuckled from the side, "It's like a reverse Gift of the Magi situation here."
"Ara ara~" My mother chimed in, poking at him, "Why do you think you're out of it? Already over a hundred years old and you've yet to give me any grandbabies. Where are they? Where are my grandbabies?"
"I've just been busy. I will get around to it." Rigal said.
"Like you get around to visit us?" She huffed, "Most CEOs delegate their work and enjoy life, but you- hmph! How did I raise such a workaholic?"
"He's just got a fetish for micromanagement." Ruval chimed in, laughing at his brother's misery.
"When was the last time you spent time with your harem? Do you make time for them?" My father asked, "You need to spend time together to strengthen your bond."
"I spend time with them, its no problem. And there's not even that many-"
"How much time?" My mother caught on.
"A day." He replied.
"A day per harem member? Per week?"
"Thereabouts." He lied through his teeth.
"A month?" Mother pressed and he caved.
"A year."
"One day per harem member per year?!" She exclaimed.
"…of them tog…" Rigal muttered, looking away.
"Speak up, Rigal."
"For all of them together." He admitted.
My father just about facepalmed.
"One day per year, for all of them together?!" Even I couldn't help but be surprised. That is just asking for a divorce.
"What's the point of having a harem if you don't use them?" My father said with exasperation.
"My grandbabies…" My mother cried dejected.
"Ah, but the profits of our enterprises are through the roof!" Rigal said proudly and my father gave up, patting him on the back.
"Good job."
Then he addressed us all.
"Look, I know we all fancy ourselves great schemers and masterminds…" He joked, "But family, communication is key. We cannot keep being dysfunctional like this. I admit we were also wrong. If we had told you about our plans with Sairaorg, this might not have happened. So, from now on, no more secret plotting, no more masterminding in the shadows, no more solo runs. When you plan something, share it with the class, every step, every detail. No more secrets among family, understood?"
"Aye aye captain." I saluted, and he ruffled my hair with a smile.
"Especially you, Riser. No more messes like this one, got it?"
I nodded.
"I know, I'm sorry. Won't happen again."
[A/N : *narrator voice* It will most definitely happen again.]
"Oh, that reminds me." Rigal pulled out a bunch of reports and charts from his storage spell, laying them out over the table, "I found the longinus."
Let's go! Woo!
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At this point, Riser might as well make his whole peerage secret.
#secretpeerage
Anyways, here's 3500 words of more politics.
Next time, mc gets a longinus.
Till then, thanks for reading, don't forget to donate your powerstones and tell me how you feel about it. Especially you, maoudiablo1911. I made this whole thing to reconcile the mistakes you pointed out. Thanks for that.
Tell me if this does something.
See ya!
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