Of Alliances And Assimilation

Flashback

"I'm getting my blooming soon?"

Hikari blinked a couple of times as she looked over at Lilith, from her position on the bed. Lilith, who had taken a seat on the chair in front of the White Dragon Empress' dressing table, nodded as she shifted herself slightly closer to her daughter.

"Your symptoms- both physical and mental- line up with what a Lilim's usually like pre-blooming, from what you've described." She replied. "And you're definitely in the age-range where it'd be classified as such. Yeah, I'd say your blooming's just around the corner. All you need is the trigger, which should take care of itself."

The short silverette let out a breath, and a short giggle as she shifted herself on the bed a little.

"Honestly, I wasn't sure it'd ever happen." Hikari remarked. "Not with the state you found me in. Thought that'd screw up my chances of going through one properly and getting a figure like yours, or even Kurumi's."

Lilith got off the chair, moved over to the bed, and pulled Hikari into a one-armed hug.

"With who you are, you're definitely more likely to have a post-bloom figure closer to mine than your sister's." She replied, gently squeezing her silverette daughter for a couple of seconds. "Though now that you mention it, I've got something planned for Kurumi."

"Of course, you do." Hikari replied, shifting herself slightly as Lilith released her. "Guess I shouldn't have been so worried, then. Definitely should've told you earlier."

"I guess I should've also told you about your growth might have been affected by your past sooner, too." Lilith remarked. "Guess we've both got a ways to go on that front."

Mother and daughter shared a small laugh at their shared realisation, as Lilith began moving towards the door, before turning around again.

"Oh, by the way." She spoke. "Katerea's actually busy tomorrow, so would you mind filling in on surveillance of the URF exiles? Sorry to have to ask, but-"

"No, it's fine." Hikari replied, sitting up slightly. "I'll do it."

Flashback end

Hikari was... slightly flustered.

That was putting it mildly, in fact. Though she supposed it was a somewhat natural reaction to have when one walked into their sister's room, with intention to ask if she'd seen her hairbrush that had gone missing from her dresser a couple of days ago... only to find said sister FAR bustier and more Lilith-like than she'd been not even 24 hours ago.

Or rather said sister accompanied by multiple clones of herself. All mid-orgy with the very guy she'd walked in on sleeping with their mother not even 72 hours ago.

That had to be some kind of cosmic joke. Or just bad luck.

She'd seen Kurumi naked before, loads of times. That was just part and parcel of being sisters, and as close to each other as they were, with neither (especially not Kurumi) being especially bothered by the possibility of being seen naked by the other. It was just the shock of seeing Kurumi with her new body, plus the fact that she was banging (or rather just DOMINATING) Raylix that caught the White Dragon Empress a little off-guard.

That, and there was also the looming threat of her blooming approaching, according to Lilith, with the only thing left before the process could begin being the trigger.

A Lilim's blooming... as soon as she'd had some free time, Hikari had dashed to the library (a rare thing for her to do. She'd noticed Irene doing a double-take as soon as she'd seen her coming through the door) and looked up as much as she could find on Lilim physiology, and anything relating to the process of blooming. It had taken a couple of hours of nigh-intolerably boring sifting through big books with even bigger words she could barely even pronounce, never mind understand, but she thought she'd gotten the gist of it.

Along with Fallen Angels, Lilim were one of the two species in the supernatural world that were most known for being naturally seductive in a number of ways, with the main difference between the two species being that while some Fallen could fail to ever develop in such a way, a Lilim's physical traits would always develop in one way or another, naturally correlating with any mental leaning towards said traits (which usually manifested in the form of what others would call a fetish). For pure Lilim, said physical traits would just develop as they grew up, but in the case of hybrid Lilim like Hikari herself, said development tended to take a bit longer to happen, and to be a bit more... sudden, when it finally did. Like going through puberty in the span of several seconds rather than several years, one of the books has pointed out.

Said blooming also needed some kind of external stimuli, or a trigger, for the process to start once the hybrid Lilim was ready to bloom. Said trigger could vary, there was no one blanket thing that could serve as a trigger for every hybrid Lilim in existence, but research into the topic had led to a Lilim's future partner, whoever that might be, serving as a common blooming trigger.

And if Hikari's blooming was apparently right around the corner, then her trigger also had to be pretty close by.

So yeah... there was that, too. Definitely a lot to think about, definitely a lot to try and forget about for the moment as, after a quick trip to the changing rooms to deposit her dressing gown, she moved towards the swimming pool-like bath, which was already filled with steamingly-hot water, and sunk into it. Almost immediately upon her bare skin touching and sinking into said water, Hikari couldn't help but let out a sigh at just how relaxing it was. It was to the point that she momentarily forgot where she was… as well as the 'communal' part of the communal bath.

Which only shocked her more than it normally would have, when she heard a door on the other side of the bath opening, and someone stepping through it. Through the steam rising from the water, and from Hikari's own half-sitting half-leaning against the inside of the bath-position, it was hard to tell just WHO had stepped in, was making their way over to the changing rooms. As they passed her before heading in, it became a bit clearer to the White Dragon Empress' red eyes that the person in question… had a distinctly male figure.

Well, if that wasn't a way to narrow down the number of potential people it could be down from seven to one...

Hikari was only alone for a couple more minutes before the door to the changing room opened up again, and a fully-naked Raylix stepped out, stretching and yawning as he made his way towards the bath, seemingly a few feet away from where Hikari was sitting, and sunk in. Just like Hikari had done when she first went in, she heard him letting out a low moan of his own at the sheer pleasure that came into sinking into a nice hot bath in the morning.

When the ripples of water that formed as a result of Raylix's body entering the water passed over Hikari's body, particularly her sensitive nipples, she couldn't help but let out a small "Eep!", which Raylix immediately perked up at. Looking over, he shifted a little bit closer to where he heard Hikari's squeak coming from, and when she came into clearer view to him, his eyes widened slightly.

"Oh, shit." He muttered, more to himself than anything. "Sorry, Hikari, didn't notice you were in here already."

"It... it's fine." Hikari replied. "I just got here a few minutes before you. Don't worry about it."

Shifting from side to side a little within the water, Hikari couldn't help but feel her heartbeat raising like crazy, and her face and body getting warmer and warmer. Hotter than the water she was soaking in, even.

"Hey, Raylix..."

"Hm?" Raylix looked up and replied, running his hands through his wet hair.

"Do you... think I'm attractive? I know I don't have a body like Mom or Kurumi, and... I know you prefer girls with big tits, just going off of the team that you had with you when we first met, plus Katerea." Hikari spoke, her soft voice barely able to be heard over the sound of the water. "Not to mention what you got up to with Kurumi last night, and Mom a couple of nights before.

Raylix let out a short chuckle, as Hikari shifted around a little.

"I know mine should be like that, given that I'm literally descended from Lilith, but if I never got there-"

"Then you'd still be attractive, Hikari." Raylix replied, cutting the silverette off. "Yes, I prefer a woman to have some curves on her, but them not having enormous tits and asses isn't a dealbreaker. You mentioned that everyone I was with prior to meeting you had a rocking bod, and that's MOSTLY true... except for Cinder. Figure-wise, she's not THAT different from you, and ugly is one of the LAST things I'd call her. So to answer you bluntly, yes you are."

Hikari let out a breathy giggle in response, a smile forming on her face in response to Raylix's words. She semi-consciously shifted herself a little closer to where Raylix was sitting within the bath, as he looked out across the pool-like tub, and let out a breath as he sunk a little bit deeper into the water.

"So, uh, does that answer your- wuh- mmph!"

Raylix didn't quite realise just HOW close Hikari had gotten to him until she suddenly pounced, quickly wrapping an arm around his neck, pulling his face closer to hers and forcefully kissing him. As she did so, she shifted herself onto his lap, resting her legs on either side of his waist and wrapping her other arm around his neck to make sure he couldn't pull away.

The kiss lasted a few seconds, with Hikari letting out a moan and pushing her tongue into Raylix's open mouth. Truth be told, she didn't know exactly what she was doing, she'd just seen it done in some of the movies, anime and… other stuff, she'd watched with Kurumi and Lilith over the years. Such was her inexperience that she didn't last too long within the kiss before having to pull back and take a breath, slowly sliding off of Raylix's lap and back into the bath as she did so.

Hikari would have spoken up, probably apologized for coming onto Raylix THAT strongly, but before she could do so, or before Raylix could even ask her what the hell that was all about, the silverette felt what felt like a strange liquid-y sound running through her ears, and a sudden coldness that contrasted HARD with the hotness of the bath flowing through her entire body, starting at her chest.

Confused, she held her hands up to her chest, and her eyes widened as she felt her hands beginning to push away from where she was holding them at. Looking down, she saw her once-flat chest now had small bumps protruding from it, that were growing rather rapidly before her eyes.

"You okay, Hi-?" Raylix began to ask, before he caught a glimpse of her growing breasts. "Wait, what the hell?"

"I- I don't-" Hikari began, leaning forward a bit and resting her hands on the edge of the bath to hold her body- which was growing in weight by the second- up. "Shit, oh shit!"

The small bumps on he chest rapidly began taking on a more spherical shape, with her ass beginning to do the same soon after. The rest of her body followed suit, shaking all the while to the point that- with her body mostly partly submerged in the water as it was- Raylix couldn't quite make out what was actually happening to her until it was over.

And what a sight it was to see once it was, and when the ripples of the water triggered by her transformation slowly disappeared.

Hikari was visibly taller now, nearly matching Raylix's own height. Through the clear water of the bath, he could see her breasts... not only existed now, but were HUGE. As huge as Kurumi's and Eve's, if not the slightest bit smaller. As Hikari floated in the bath, and turned around and around as she began to mentally acknowledge and take in her own figure, he saw that her ass was similarly huge.

Gone was the body of someone that, if you didn't know earlier you could easily mistake for being a man, or at the very least androgynous. In its place, there was absolutely no mistaking it, that was a woman. And an absolutely GORGEOUS one at that.

Blinking a couple of times as she came to a step inside the bath, Hikari ran her hands down and up her body, feeling out the new curves that were her newly-grown tits, waist and ass beneath the water. Her eyes widening as she realised just what had occurred, she immediately reached for the edge of the bath and hoisted herself out, wanting to get a better look at herself. The white and blue wings of Divine Dividing were also manifested, seemingly to help Hikari get out even faster.

Raylix had to turn away for a second to avoid being splashed by the displaced water when Hikari's Divine Dividing wings appeared, but when he looked back, his eyes couldn't help but widen when he saw her new form, naked and glistening wet from all the water, rising up into the air and steadily landing on the floor just outside the bath.

Hikari looked down at herself, her eyes widening as she reached up and touched her tits, really felt them for the first time without any massive amount of water in the way... shifted her hands back down to her ass to grope herself there, more to simply feel them there than attempt to get any pleasure out of it, then shifted her hands back to her waist.

This was it, she thought to herself, looking down at herself again. A small smile crossed her face as it sank in for her that it had finally happened. This was what she looked like now, her bloomed figure...

Her eyes slid away from her own body, and over to Raylix, who was still in the bath.

...And he'd been the trigger. Hell, he'd seen the whole thing!

Suddenly feeling her face burning even hotter than the bathwater she'd been submerged in not even ten seconds ago, as everything seemed to hit her again at once, Hikari let out a shriek and, with such a massive flap of her Divine Dividing wings that it caused a wave of water to form in the bath that momentarily submerged Raylix, she made for the door, bursting out into the hallway and out of Raylix's sight faster than he could say-

"...What?"

Spitting bathwater out of his mouth as the wave passed over him, Raylix half-rose himself out of the bath, blinking and shaking his head to get the water out of his face and eyes. Resting himself against the edge of the bath, he took a couple of breaths. But before he could even begin to register what had just happened or question just WHY that had happened, he heard someone else stepping through the door.

"Was that Hikari I just saw flying past me?" Kurumi- no longer looking like she was on the edge of going into labour- asked, looking out into the hallway before back at Raylix, and raising her dressing gown a bit so it didn't get wet as she stepped closer. "What the hell just happened? Is everything okay?"

"Yea, I'm fine. I'm fine." Raylix replied. "But Hikari, uhh..."

"So it WAS her I just saw." Kurumi nodded. "So what... oh..."

Looking from Raylix (who was mostly out of the bath now) to the still-open door to the hallway, and the trail of water that had come both from inside the bath itself and off of Hikari's naked body as she'd flown from the room, Kurumi's eyes widened slightly as she looked back at Raylix.

"Ahh." She spoke, nodding. "So what happened, right before... that?"

She gestured, vaguely, to the aforementioned trail of water, as Raylix hoisted himself fully out of it and sat down on the edge, shivering slightly as his body made contact with the cooler air.

"Uh, I came in and- or rather she was in here before me- and we talked a bit." Raylix recounted. "Then she just... came onto me and kissed me, kinda like you did last night, and then she, ahh..."

"Grew a sweet pair of T and A?"

"...Yeah." Raylix nodded. "Then she got out to have a look at herself, I guess... then she flew right out of here."

"Right." Kurumi replied, letting out a breath and nodding. "Hopefully Mom's not in the middle of Sovereign stuff right now, she'll want to know as soon as possible."

"Can I help?" Raylix asked, shifting himself away from the edge of the bath and getting to his feet. "If I did something wrong, I-"

"No." Kurumi replied, immediately cutting across Raylix, before pausing for a moment and letting out a breath. "You're fine, Raylix, you didn't do anything wrong. It's just... this is something we've been expecting for a while, so there isn't really anything you COULD do to help."

"Oh... alright." Raylix nodded, raising a hand and brushing some of his wet hair out of his eyes, a slightly disappointed look on his face. Letting out a breath, Kurumi took a couple of steps closer to him.

"I'll come find you and explain everything once I've handled this, okay?" she spoke. "It's just... this is important."

"No, it's fine." Raylix replied, taking a breath and shrugging. "I get it. Go do what you need to."

Kurumi smiled, pushing herself up onto her tip-toes and briefly pressing her lips against Raylix's, before stepping back.

"You're not so bad." She remarked, a smile playing about her lips as she walked backwards towards the door, turning around once she was through the doorway and leaving Raylix's sight, in the same direction he'd seen Hikari going.

Line Break

The flames of his transportation-circle dissipated as quickly as they'd formed, with said transportation-circle itself fading as Riser Phenex stood outside the entrance to the Gremory Castle. With his Queen, Yubelluna, half a step behind him, he made his way towards the steps that led up to the castle's huge double-doors. Just before he began ascending the steps, he quickly turned to his Queen.

"I don't smell of sex, do I Luna?"

The purple-haired half-Succubus leaned forward a bit, sniffing Riser's upper body a bit before leaning down and doing the same with his lower body. Straightening back up, she shook her head a bit, momentarily revealing her covered purple eye before she quickly readjusted her hair, as well as her dress.

"No, my King." She replied. "You definitely don't. Seems Marion and Bülent did a good job cleaning you."

Riser let out a relieved breath as the doors opened, readjusting his jacket as his expression shifted from relief to neutrality. Neutrality that he suddenly found rather difficult to maintain when he locked eyes with who had come out to greet them.

"Good afternoon, Lord Riser, Ms. Yubelluna." Grayfia greeted, her voice steady as she looked down the steps at Riser and his Queen. The former felt rather assessed by her gaze, which wasn't much of a surprise: the Ultimate Queen was well-feared by all Devils, including her own King, the Crimson Satan and Strongest Devil Alive himself, Sirzechs Lucifer, so what real chance did he- or anyone, really- have against her in a battle of composure?

"Lady Grayfia." Riser inclined his head in return, ascending the steps with Yubelluna in tow. "I've come, just as Duke Gremory and Duchess Venelana have invited."

"You have." Grayfia replied, as the double-doors opened a little further. "Please, follow me."

With a slight nod as he finished ascending the steps, with Yubelluna still half a step behind him as the three Devils entered the Gremory Clan's primary home, made the short journey across the castle's grand entrance hall, and entered the spacious lounge. Grayfia stood by the open doors as Riser and Yubelluna entered, with Riser taking a glass of dark wine offered by another maid that was already standing in the room, waiting for them. Said maid shared a look with Grayfia before leaving the room.

"Please, make yourselves comfortable." Grayfia spoke, gesturing towards the couches and chairs around the lounge. "I will inform the Duke and Duchess of your arrival."

Riser immediately made for one of the comfortable-looking armchairs closer to the as-of-now-unlit fireplace, as Grayfia left the room. Yubelluna took a practiced place, standing behind her King as Riser took a sip of the wine that he'd taken, while looking up above the fireplace.

He remembered when the Gremory Clan's prized sword, Gaeneron, hung at that exact spot. It certainly completed the look, in his opinion… or at least it would, if Raylix hadn't made off with it when leaving the Gremory Clan for Lucifer-knows-where. He remembered how his older sister had almost burned her mansion down in grief when she'd got the news that the wedding she'd been helping plan for the better part of a year turned out to not be happening after all.

And he'd actually been looking forward to it, too. Celebrating the union of his Clan with the one that had birthed not one but TWO of the strongest young men amongst the Devils, maybe having a bit of fun with some of the Mittlefrank Opera Company's performers, it would've been a good day.

Damn him, for ruining it all. Damn him to… well, he couldn't exactly say Hell. MALEBOLGE, damn him to Malebolge. Yeah, that worked.

The doors to the lounge that Grayfia had exited through, which she'd pulled mostly to, opened up again, the sound of which prompted Riser to look up, stand up at the sight of Duke Zeoticus Gremory himself stepping through them, making an immediate beeline for him. The Duchess, Venelana, followed him through, but remained back by the door.

"Riser!" Zeoticus greeted, extending a hand that Riser took and shook. Waving his other hand, the nearest couch slid across the floor to a position directly below the crimson-haired Duke, before he took a seat and gestured for Riser to retake his. "Good to see you, lad. I hope you and your family are well?"

"You honour me, Duke Gremory." Riser replied, inclining his head as Venelana slowly made her way over and took a seat beside her husband. "And yes, everyone back home is well. I'll let Mother and Father know you asked about them."

"We really appreciate you making the time for this visit, Riser." Venelana spoke, opening a magic-circle with a wave of her hand. "We thought it would be good for you and our daughter to have some time together, get to know each other a little bit before you make your debut as a couple."

"Won't that not be for a few years?" Riser asked. Venelana and Zeoticus shared a short look with each other, seemingly not expecting Riser to ask that kind of question, before Zeoticus let out a short, good-natured chuckle.

"Maybe." He replied. "But still, no time like the present to get started on forging an unbreakable bond with your fiancée, eh?"

As he spoke, Venelana reached into the magic-circle she'd opened a second or so ago, pulled out a well-wrapped package, and held it out to the blond Devil.

"I suppose you're right." Riser remarked, his eyes sliding from Venelana to the package she was offering to him, which he took. "What is this?"

"A collection of sheet music, intended for the piano." Venelana replied, tilting her head slightly to the grand piano that was situated next to the doors to the kitchen and dining room, a bit behind Riser. He turned around to look at it before refocusing on the brunette Duchess. "Rias has recently taken an interest in the piano, so we had that made for her, as well as renditions of her favourite pieces commissioned, along with some Underworld and Human World classics."

She leaned forward slightly, the even slighter cleavage visible in the dress she'd donned for today making themselves a lot more apparent to Riser's eyes.

"I have no doubt that Rias would be thrilled if you presented them to her." Venelana spoke, before sitting back up straight. Riser's eyes slid, once again, from the Duchess sat in front of him to the package in his hands, as he nodded, and got to his feet.

"I see." He replied. "Is Rias here? Or should I wait here with my Queen?"

"She's in her room, I believe, is she not?" Zeoticus spoke, turning around to Grayfia, who nodded from her position by the door. "You can go and present your gift now, if you so wish. Like I said, no time like the present. Grayfia will escort you up."

"Of course." Riser nodded, inclining his head to Zeoticus and Venelana as he placed the package the latter had given him into a pocket-dimension, and carefully stepped past the couch they were sat on. Yubelluna, after imitating her King's gesture to the Duke and Duchess, followed him out of the room.

Across the hallway that they'd come through several minutes ago, up the extravagant staircase, through the door to the residential wing of the castle, and down a long hallway with closed doors on either side of it, until Grayfia came to a stop in front of one door in particular.

"This is Lady Rias' room." She spoke, turning around to face Riser and his Queen. "She should be inside. I must attend to other matters for now, but will return in a while to see how you're getting on."

"Thank you, Lady Grayfia." Riser replied, nodding to Grayfia as she turned on her heel and walked away, leaving Riser and Yubelluna alone by the door to Rias' room. When Grayfia was out of sight, the former turned to the latter. "Wait outside."

Yubelluna nodded, taking a casual position just beside the door as Riser, after taking a breath and squaring his shoulders for a second, reached up and knocked on the door. There was a pause for a couple of seconds, before a familiarly cheerful voice called out "Come in!"

Smiling to himself, Riser opened the door and stepped into Rias' bedroom. It was extremely spacious, just as every other room in the castle was, but very much suited to a young girl's tastes and needs. The entire floor was covered in a soft dark-red carpet, the walls were painted a softer, warmer but yet similar tone. A canopy bed with black and blue sheets, and frilly white curtains, sat against one wall, while shelves lined with books, toys and other trinkets filled the others.

Rias Gremory sat cross-legged in front of her bed, an assortment of blocks and figurines surrounding her. Riser tilted his head to get a better look, and could only barely resist chuckling at the elaborate scene she seemed to be arranging them all into. As he'd come in, he saw her brushing some of her vivid crimson hair out of her face, before glancing up as she'd heard the door opening.

Her bright blue eyes lit up upon recognising Riser, and she got to her feet.

"Riser!" she exclaimed, a grin crossing her face as she brushed her hands on her dress. "I didn't know you were coming!"

Riser inclined his head to her, a small smile crossing his own face as he forced down his earlier chuckle.

"Just thought I'd drop by, Rias." He replied. "I had some free time, and, well, I couldn't pass up the opportunity." Tilting his head again and looking past the crimson-haired Heiress, he gestured to the scattered toys and blocks with a hand. "You working on something other there?"

"Mmhmm!" Rias hummed, nodding, turning around and bending down to a small cluster of figures holding various kinds of weapons, who all seemed to be facing off against an assortment of blocks arranged into something that, if Riser squinted right, vaguely looked like a dragon. "These are the knights, and they're fighting the dragon. But the dragon's really strong, so the knights are calling for help from the magicians!"

As Rias pointed over to another assortment of figures that looked to be wearing miniature robes, that were a ways away from the main arrangement she'd come up with, Riser made his way closer and, with a hum, bent down to inspect the arrangement.

"Looks like a tough fight." He observed, his eyes sliding from one side of the arrangement to the other, before over to Rias. "Who do you see coming out on top?"

Rias hummed, herself, resting a hand on her chin in an attempt to look dramatic, before pointing to the 'knights'.

"Them!" she declared. "Because they're brave, they never give up, they always stick together… and they might have a secret weapon that'll weaken the dragon enough for the Magicians to finish it off!"

Riser chuckled, stretching as he returned to his full height.

"Can't argue with that logic, I suppose." He replied. "You'll make a good tactician someday, I'm sure."

Rias beamed at the compliment, before spreading two small little Devil wings from her back and flying up to her bed, landing on it and letting out a soft "Oof!" as she looked over at Riser, a curious expression on her face.

"Why are you here, though?" she asked. "Did Father or Mother ask you to come?"

"No, I decided to come of my own free will." Riser calmly lied, pausing for a second before chuckling. "They definitely appreciated my appearance, though, as future parents-in-law of a Phenex should… as well as the gift I bought for you."

Any further thoughts of Riser having been asked to come and visit her by her parents, and the expression that reflected such, disappeared from Rias' mind and face as soon as she heard Riser's last five words, with her face lighting up at the mention of-

"A gift?" she repeated. "For me?"

"Yup." Riser replied, retrieving the package Venelana had given him from a magic-circle and neatly placing it in front of her on the bed. "I saw it on a trip to Phey, and thought of you." He added, on the spot.

Rias- who either didn't hear him or wasn't paying attention- eagerly took the package laid out for her. After picking it up and giving it a small shake to try and figure out what was inside, she made for the bow. She tried for a few seconds to undo it in a conventional, neat manner, before giving up and just tearing the whole thing off at once, with the wrapping itself following not long after.

And when the wrapping was fully off, screwed up into a ball and tossed across the room (which Riser immediately incinerated in mid-air with a well-placed shot of fire), and Rias could fully focus on the revealed contents, did her face somehow light up even more than a minute ago.

"Piano music!" she exclaimed, immediately beginning to flip through the pages, excitement clear all over her face. "And there's so many songs!" She stopped at a random page and, resting a finger at the top of the page, sung the first few seconds of it while sliding said finger across the first line of the music. "This one's from the Human World, too!"

"Yes, I believe a few of them are." Riser replied. "Mother mentioned to me before we first met, that you'd taken an interest in learning the piano, so maybe you'd enjoy having more music to play."

Rias' excitement and joy bubbled over. Closing the book of music and tossing it aside, she spread her wings again and launched herself at Riser, throwing her arms around his waist as she landed on the ground.

"Thank you, thank you so much, Riser!" she squealed out, into his jacket. "This is the best gift ever!"

Had she been much bigger, Riser would probably have found himself bowled over by the Gremory Heiress, but with the size difference between them as it was, he only ended up being forced half a step backwards in response to Rias flying at him. As she continued squeezing and hugging him, Riser reached down and semi-awkwardly patted her on the head.

"Glad you like, Rias. You're welcome." He replied, as Rias pulled back and immediately made for the bed, grabbing the book of music off of it and clutching it to her chest with one hand, while rushing over and grabbing Riser's hand with the other.

"I'm gonna try some of these right now!" she declared, making for the door while doing her best to pull Riser along with her. "Come on, you can listen to me practice!"

Riser blinked, slightly surprised by Rias' sudden declaration and her trying to pull him along. Letting out a quiet snort of amusement at it all, he let himself be pulled towards the door of Rias' room. It took the Heiress a couple of seconds to grab the door and yank it open, but she underestimated her own energy: Riser's hand slipped from hers as she dashed out of the room, almost tripping over herself as she turned and dashed off down the hall.

By the time Riser fully made his way out of the room and looked in the direction that he'd seen Rias head off in, he saw that she'd already gone far enough that he couldn't see her in the hallway.

"I take it she liked it?" Yubelluna asked from her position just beside the now-open door, as she turned to face her King. Said King let out a chuckle as he looked from the now-empty hallway to her.

"She sure did." He replied. "Come on, we're heading back downstairs. Apparently."

They definitely took a bit longer about it than Rias did, but before long, both King and Queen descended the same staircase that they'd come up earlier, and judging by the sounds of her excited talking emanating from the lounge that they'd been sitting in earlier, they had a good feeling they knew where Rias had made for.

As they reached the very bottom of the staircase and made for the lounge, Riser looked over and saw Rias sat at the piano, holding the book up to her parents and verbally going a mile a minute (at least) on about all the songs she was going to learn and play for them, Riser and the entire Underworld to hear and love. Venelana was closer to her daughter, attentively listening with a patient smile on her face, while Zeoticus was a couple of steps further back, looking entirely neutral apart from the satisfied expression on his face.

Looking past her mother when she heard the footfalls in the doorway to the lounge, Rias noticed Riser and Yubelluna's approach, and waved enthusiastically.

"Riser, come on! What took you so long?"

Venelana looked up as well, her smile widening ever-so-slightly as she saw Riser and his Queen approaching.

"It seems your gift went down pretty well, Riser." Zeoticus remarked, looking over at Riser as well. "Rias absolutely loved it."

Riser glanced past the Gremory Duke and Duchess for a second, watching Rias flipping through the pages of the book at such a pace that she looked like a blur. She clearly couldn't decide which song to play first, but she was clearly so excited that that barely seemed to matter.

"I'd say that loving it is an understatement." Riser replied. Zeoticus glanced at Rias, letting out a chuckle as he looked back at Riser.

"You might be right." He remarked. "You've definitely made her day, if not her whole week."

"Glad to hear it." Riser replied, as he watched Rias finally settle on a song, and rest the book on the rack above the keys. As she shifted a bit closer to the piano itself on the stool, and began sounding out the first few notes, he took half a step closer to Zeoticus as Venelana did the same. "Although I definitely could have gotten her something... I don't know... more fitting for a young Heiress like her?" he added, his voice slightly quieter as Rias began attempting the first few notes of the song she'd chosen on the piano itself. "Especially one that's literally the younger sister of the Underworld's saviour."

"I'm sure you could, Riser." Zeoticus replied, his voice also a little quieter as he closed the distance with Riser, and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Lucifer knows you've the capacity to get all kinds of wonderful gifts for my daughter, and you'll absolutely have the chance to in the future. But you have to understand-"

"Yeah, yeah, I understand perfectly." Riser cut across Zeoticus, taking half a step back and pulling his shoulder away from Zeoticus' hand. "Mother's told it to me enough times already. Our families' unions is essential for the future of not just our Clans, but for all noble Devil Clans; a potential child between us," he gestured casually to himself and Rias "has the potential to lead the next generation of our kind, and this wouldn't have had to happen had-"

"Yes, yes." Zeoticus cut across Riser in return, stepping towards him and gently shushing him, glancing behind him to look over at Rias, who hadn't been paying attention or heard a single thing that either of them were saying. "I'm glad you understand the importance of your relationship with Rias. Which is why, while Rias is still young, it's best to present her with gifts that are guaranteed to go down really well with her, so she's more likely to develop a closer bond with you. Then, when she's rock-solid in loving you, you can splurge all you want on the kinds of gifts one would get for a noble Devil."

Riser exhaled softly, stretching a little bit.

"That's understandable." He replied. "Besides, it won't be long before she reaches that point. Just a few years, maybe?"

"Indeed." Zeoticus nodded, resting a hand on Riser's shoulder and patting it a couple of times as he walked past. "Glad you understand. Feel free to ask the staff for a drink, or a snack, or something, you'll find someone in the kitchen who'll get you whatever you want."

Riser nodded, and moved over to a chair that was closer to the stool that Rias was perched on, while Zeoticus and Venelana left the room. Duke and Duchess remained silent and semi-in step with each other as they made for the stairs, and began slowly ascending them.

"They seem to be getting along well." Venelana remarked, glancing back towards the open door to the living room, where Rias' attempts to play the start of the song she'd settled on could be heard, before looking back at her husband. "Won't be surprised if Rias ends up playing during some Devil gatherings in the near future."

"Yes, definitely a good sign that she's getting along with Riser." Zeoticus replied, humming as he reached the top of the staircase, before turning to the residential wing and holding the door open for his wife as they stepped through. "And her bond with him, whatever it is now, will only grow stronger with time if the right moves are made. Hopefully, when it's time for the deal to truly be sealed and for them to be married, Rias won't even think of betraying her fiancé, or her family."

Venelana paused as the door to the residential wing closed behind her and Zeoticus, turning to Zeoticus in the hallway.

"That's assuming nothing… unexpected, happens to get in the way of the path we've set Rias down." She spoke, glancing at the painting of a younger Zeoticus, clad in his war attire and holding Gaeneron up in both hands, before back at her husband in the present. "And that Rias herself doesn't rebel as… most children are known to do."

"She won't." Zeoticus replied, firmly meeting his wife's gaze. "Riser is doing everything he needs to do, and Rias is responding as expected. Whatever her feelings on what we've done for her when she grows up, she'll remember her bond with Riser, forged as far back as she can remember. That's not a bond easily broken, Venelana. And besides, even if she did rebel, we've taken every precaution possible to prevent a repeat of… last time."

Venelana couldn't help but let out a quiet sigh as Zeoticus stepped past her. She remained in place for a couple of seconds as he moved, before speaking up again.

"I was sceptical when you first dreamed up the idea of this engagement." She spoke, her purple eyes boring holes into the back of her husband's head. "But I trusted your judgement regardless, knowing that you've always acted in the best interest of not just your, but OUR Clan. And I still do. But it might benefit you to remember that whatever wounds were dealt to us in the past, Rias is still our Heiress in the here and now… she's not Raylix."

Zeoticus stopped in his tracks, turned around quickly. The mere MENTION of his second son's name was enough for the composed mask that he'd worn ever since before Riser had arrived to crack, ever-so-slightly, for the slightest moment. Venelana saw it, a hint of the anger he'd let loose for nearly a week straight after Raylix's sudden departure, that was still simmering just below the surface.

"I know." Zeoticus replied, his voice a half-sigh as he took a breath to recompose himself after that half-second slip. "But every time I-"

His words seemed to die in his throat at that moment, as if the thought was still there in his mind but he hadn't quite figured out how to word the rest of it. After a second or so's pause, he closed his mouth again, seemingly abandoning the effort.

"Forget it, Vene." He continued, his tone softer as he closed the distance between himself and her, wrapping an arm around his wife's back and pulling her close before planting a kiss on the top of her head. "You're right. Rias is just as much a part of our Clan as Raylix… was. And as much as she now bears the responsibility that he abandoned, she matters just as much as you, I or the Clan at large."

Venelana nodded, leaning up slightly to press her lips against her husband's.

"That's right, Zeo." She replied. "And I know what you're thinking, and trust me, I have the same thoughts at times."

"I'd be concerned if you didn't, considering she was your idea to begin with." Zeoticus replied, pulling back slightly. "But again, you're right. Rias is her own person, and should be treated as such."

Venelana nodded again, satisfied that her husband had gotten the message as the pair of them continued, towards his bedroom.