Chapter 1

“Well Seir? Are you just gonna sit there grinning? Or are you going to tell us the game plan for the next round?”

It was almost time for the semi finals of the King of Hell summit. Everyone had gathered in the villa to discuss our next move. Seir had managed to acquire the services of the KImaris Household and it was looking like the geezer and Alessia were intending to participate as vassals for the Seir House from this point on.

The attention of everyone present was focused entirely on Seir and the tension was building gradually. The identity of our next opponent was still unclear at this stage, however there was a ⅓ chance that our next match would be against the Household of the FIrst Prince, so there was a need to ensure that we made the necessary preparations.

“Ahahaha, now now Kuro, there is no need to rush, I called everyone here so we could all get to know each other better.”

“W-what gives Seir!? We have a huge match coming up and you wanna waste time by team building?”

“Hyahahaha, oh? If that’s the case young Prince, then cart out your finest barrels of wine!”

“Ahaha, I got you covered there Earl. Alice, fetch the imported barrels for the Earl.”

“...Yes my Lord.”

“I’ll have another mint tea.”

“Hm, I’ll take some Japanese Sake, I’ve always wanted to try it, what about you Mei?”

“E-eh? I-I’ll take some sake too…”

“Plain green tea for me please Alice, Eliza and Beth, you two go help Alice.”

“Yes Shiro-sama” (both)

Alice carted the silver trolley away, the twins trotted behind her and the overall mood of the living room changed to a more jovial one.

“Hyahahaha, ah yes, there was one thing that the old vixen asked me to tell you Young Prince, but I can’t for the life of me remember what it was...”

“Oh? A message for me from Lady Asmodeus?”

“Aye lad, something about a carriage? No wait...it was about...”

“M-marriage father, it was about marriage…”

Mei-Lien blushed and glanced in my direction after correcting the geezer. She fiddled with her index fingers and looked away hurriedly when our eyes met.

“Hyahahahaha, that was it! Where would I be without you little Mei? Yes, yes, the old vixen spoke about a marriage proposal.”

“Ahaha, I thought I already accepted her proposal to have Kuro marry into her immediate family?”

“Say what now Seir!?”

The atmosphere of the room warped. I felt the piercing gaze of Shiro on my back and noticed Mei-Lien’s worried look, even Alessia was gazing uncharacteristically in my direction. It was becoming difficult to breathe…Just when my body was about to enter fight or flight mode, the tension was cut.

“Hyahahahaha, stop making my little Mei upset young one, we both know that no such proposal exists, there is no way that I’d let my son in law have anything to do with that old vixen! Besides, she has her eye firmly fixed on your head Young Prince,”

I breathed a sigh of relief and shot Seir a disgruntled look

“Ahahaha, tell Lady Asmodeus that I am flattered, but lack the worth both as a noble and as a man…”

“Hyahahaha, well said young one, Lucifer himself would have trouble handling that old vixen, but no, the proposal is for marriage between you and her niece.”

At that moment, Alice returned with the drinks and began to serve everyone.

“Her niece huh…”

“Aye lad, apparently the two of you were already betrothed a long time ago but something happened and the engagement was called off.”

Seir seemed to be lost in thought at this revelation. The rest of the room were sipping away at their newly provided beverages and making small talk amongst themselves. It seems Shiro, Mei-Lien and Alessia got along relatively well from what I could engage, although Alessia would occasionally look disapprovingly in my directions.

“Any idea which niece this is? Asmodeus House is a huge player, any link with them is a bonus. They say that if they had the physical strength to flank their financial might, then they would easily give Bael some much needed competition.”

Baako threw in his two cents. He methodically siped away at his tea and gazed around the room appraisingly.

“Hyahahaha, sadly that is true young Baako, although the old vixen gave me a run for my money in our youth, she has stepped away from the battlefield and focused on securing her family's financial security, there isn’t really anyone in the Asmodeus house that inherited her strength.”

“That is incorrect.”

Alessia drained her sake cup and spoke. She waited for everyone’s attention to be directed at her and continued.

“There is one. I’ve exchanged blades with her once. She is only loosely related to Lady Asmodeus by blood. In fact, only a select few in the upper echelons are aware of the relation because she does not carry the Asmodeus name.”

If Alessia acknowledged her strength, she must be pretty strong, although Seir never mentioned a betrothed. I gazed in his direction to try and catch his eye, he flashed a smile and showed his usual expression of nonchalance.

“Hyahahaha, oho!? If you advocate her skills little Lisa, then she must be something. I say marry her Young Prince! She is bound to be a beauty, Marriage is the best way to solidify an alliance.”

“She is indeed a woman of extreme beauty, Mei has met her too, it was at the Belith Estate, my grandfather invited her to be my sparring partner many years ago. The main advantage of the marriage is that there would potentially be one less household to face in the semi-finals.”

“Eh? What do you mean Alessia? I thought that the Asmodeus House was not competing this time?”

“Hm, do you not pay attention to what is said in a conversation? I already said that she does not carry the Asmodeus name.”

“...”

“Ahahaha, now now Alessia-san, please don’t bully my Kuro, he's a little slow, I’m sure that you have noticed at least that much? Besides, I can’t get married! Who will take care of my little Alice if I got married?”

I sighed and ignored Seir’s blatant attempt at baiting me into confrontation.

“Hyahahaha, I…”

Before the perverted geezer could voice his desire to “take care of” Alice, Alice spoke.

“My Lord, It was the desire of my late Master that you marry Duchess Dantalion....”

Duchess Dantalion? Wait, I’ve heard that name before, Dantalion...Danta…

“D-Duchess Dantalion!?”

Shiro blurted out the name of Seir’s possible betrothed and leapt from her seat. She ran over to the coffee table in the corner of room and grabbed a magazine from it. Shiro spun round in a smooth motion and raised the front cover of the magazine so that everyone in the room could see it.

The magazine was a popular fashion magazine. It covered the news of all the latest trends and lifestyle choices of Hell’s elite. I squinted my eyes to get a closer look and felt the old dragon stir a little. He would normally do this when something or someone peaked his interest.

Shiro came closer and showed a look of excitement and sheer glee. A few moments passed and the room finally regained it’s composure.

“Y-your Highness!? You have to introduce me to her!”

“Hyahahaha, whoa, if only I was 30 years younger.”

Shiro and the geezer were the first to speak, Seir flashed his teeth, laughed and rubbed the back of his head with his left hand.

“Ahahaha, she looks a lot different to when we were kids.”

“*sigh* What is it with this Household and its ability to corner Hell’s super rich and beautiful?”

“Eh? What gave you that impression Baako?”

Baako rolled his eyes at my comment and looked around the room, he starred from the Earl, to Mei-Lien, to Alessia, to Shiro and then to the magazine front cover.

“I’m not even gonna dignify that with a response…”

“Ahahaha, come now Baako, asides from yourself and little Alice, the rest of these lovely people were charmed by my Kuro-kun.”

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around that, believe me…”

“W-who’s your Kuro-kun!?”

My last comment was drowned out by the laughter that resulted from Baako’s quip. Seir had once again been able to deflect unwated attention away from himself by using me as his meat shield. It seems like I’m learning more and more about this guy as the days go by. Although I trust him completely, there is a lot more to this guy that I need to discover.

The girl on the front of the magazine was breathtakingly beautiful. I was certain that the image did not do her allure justice. Like a certain blonde haired youth, there was mischief reflected in her eyes, as I gazed at the cover, my mind wondered, what kind of person she was and what this proposal meant for us as the Summit rolled on.