When I woke up the next day, Asia was no longer beside me in bed.

  I yawned, ran a hand through my messy hair, and, after a quick stretch, stood up. I looked around, but there was nothing unusual — except for her absence.

  'Maybe Grayfia came to pick her up for breakfast,' I thought, scratching the back of my neck.

  Determined not to waste time thinking about it, I went to the door and opened it. But as soon as I stepped outside, another door opened at the exact same time.

  Makima stepped out of the room directly across from mine.

  The coincidence made me pause for a moment, and from the slight raise of her eyebrow, I could tell she was thinking the same thing.

  "Good morning, Master," Makima greeted.

  "Good morning, Makima. Did you sleep here?" I asked, crossing my arms.

  "Yes. Why do you ask?"

  "No reason, I just... didn't know your room was so close. You disappeared for a few minutes when Grayfia said she needed to talk to you yesterday," I said.

  "I was also surprised to see that we're neighbors."

  "Yeah... By the way, was Asia in there with you?"

  "No. Why do you ask?"

  "Because she wasn't in my room when I woke up, and st night she..." I started to expin but stopped mid-sentence when I noticed something in Makima's eyes.

  "Milicas, you don't need to be embarrassed to tell me that." Makima kept that enigmatic smile and expined calmly, "I was the one who suggested to Asia that she be a little more direct when thanking her Master."

  My mind immediately connected this information to something Asia had told me st night.

  "...Makima-san told me that hugs like that please men. She said I should thank you like this."

  I understood right away.

  "So it really was you..."

  "Asia wanted to reciprocate in some way but didn't know how. I just encouraged her not to be so shy," Makima expined.

  "Okay, that expins things. Asia has probably already gone for breakfast, so we should too." I grabbed her hand without much thought.

  Makima was visibly surprised but soon rexed her grip on my hand and followed me.

  I smiled, noticing that she didn't compin or try to pull away.

  We followed the long corridor from the bedroom area that led to the mansion's main staircase. Since I was already familiar with the path, it didn't take us long to reach the dining room on the second floor. When Makima and I entered the dining room, all eyes turned to us. The atmosphere in the room had been rexed until our arrival, but, in just a moment, the conversations stopped.

  The reason for this was sitting at the head of the table: Sirzechs Lucifer, a Maou — and my father.

  He hadn't attended the formal dinner st night because of his commitments as one of the Four Maou, so this was the first time I'd seen him since my arrival. It was also our first time seeing each other since our big argument. And, of course, it was also the first time he had seen Makima.

  Rias, Akeno, my grandmother Venena, and my grandfather Zeoticus were all present, as well as some servants who were bringing dishes to the table.

  "Ah, young Milicas has finally woken up," Venena commented with a soft smile. "And accompanied."

  Sirzechs, who was cutting a piece of meat, raised his eyes and analyzed Makima calmly. He said nothing for a moment, but his gaze remained steady.

  "Good morning, Dad," I greeted.

  Sirzechs smiled warmly in his own way — a corner smile. "Milicas, I'm gd to see you after so long. And you must be...?" He looked at Makima.

  Makima bowed slightly and didn't smile. "Makima, Queen of Master Milicas."

  Sirzechs didn't seem surprised, as he already knew who Makima was.

  "I see. Well, if my son trusts you, then I have no reason to question his judgment. Welcome to the Gremory Cn, Makima-san," Sirzechs said politely.

  "Thank you, Lucifer-sama."

  "Well, let's sit down," I said, pulling up a chair and motioning for Makima to sit next to me.

  "Yes, Master."

  When we sat down, I breathed an almost sigh of relief as I pced a napkin on my p. I knew my father was just being polite, but his mere politeness was already a good sign. My father was one of the most powerful beings in the Underworld and had an almost prophetic instinct for detecting threats, so him being peaceful and polite meant that he wouldn't question my choices of Pieces.

  As soon as I sat down at the table, the smell of fresh food filled my nostrils. Warm breads, exotic fruits from the Underworld, perfectly cooked eggs, and well-seasoned meats y spread across the table. It was very different from the food served at dinner the night before.

  The sound of hurried footsteps interrupted the brief silence of the family meal.

  All eyes turned towards Grayfia, who entered in a bit of a hurry and stopped at the entrance.

  "Milicas, I have a surprise for you."

  I raised an eyebrow. "For me?"

  "I think you'll like it. Come in, Asia. He's here."

  A moment ter, Asia entered the dining room, and my eyes widened at the sight of her wearing a cssic maid's uniform. The bck dress with white details fell perfectly on her, who had an angelic sweetness like any maid.

  Asia looked extremely embarrassed. Her face was tinged with red when she said:

  "M-Milicas-sama, w-what do you think...?" She looked shyly at me.

  'She looks absurdly cute!' I thought, but my mind took a second to process what I should say.

  "I... I'm speechless."

  It wasn't as if Asia wasn't already adorable normally, but seeing her in a maid's uniform, all shy and nervous, the most perverted part of my soul. Soon I – who had told Akeno that she deserves someone better than Issei — was thinking the same thoughts as Issei.

  "You look exquisite, Asia," I said, controlling my voice so as not to sound too excited.

  [Asia Argento feels extremely happy with your compliment.]

  [You have received +1 Retionship Point with Asia Argento.]

  "Ara~Asia is a lot naughtier than I imagined," Akeno said.

  Venena ughed. "Well, I must say that Asia looks lovely in that outfit."

  Sirzechs blushed slightly, probably because his taste obviously leaned toward maids, and he saw a bit of himself in me at that moment.

  "G-Grayfia, may I ask the reason for this... change of dress?"

  "Asia wanted to feel more useful to Milicas-sama and the Gremory cn. She suggested the idea herself, because she knows that even though I'm your Queen, darling, I still serve you."

  I looked at Asia in surprise. "You thought of that?"

  She nodded slowly. "I... I've always been cared for by others. You gave me a home, Milicas. I wanted to repay you, even in a small way. I woke up early, looked for Grayfia-san and asked her for guidance."

  "My heart warmed at such a sweet girl making this kind of request. That's why I was teaching Asia the duties of a woman from an early age," Grayfia added.

  "So that's why..." I was about to expin Asia's absence but stopped myself. "Anyway, if this is something you really want, Asia, then I'm happy. We'll stay here for today. "

  "I want to too!" Suddenly, Makima stood up.

  She looked at Grayfia, who was surprised. "Do you want to learn how to handle household chores too?"

  "Yes. I know you're your husband's Queen, so I also want to be a Queen who can help."

  Grayfia smiled with her mouth closed. "Very well. Come with me, and I'll teach you both how to properly serve your Master."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  When Makima, Asia, and Grayfia left the dining room, only the clinking of cutlery and the occasional tinkling of gsses remained.

  My father remained silent as he calmly finished his meal. His quietness was his way of showing that he wanted to talk about something serious but was giving me the chance to speak first.

  Since I didn't say anything, he was the one to break the silence.

  "Rias told me about what you did."

  "I imagine you're talking about Asia."

  "Exactly." Sirzechs put his fork down on his pte. "You killed a Fallen Angel, correct?"

  "Yes. Her name was Raynare."

  My thoughts went back to that night in the abandoned chapel. When Raynare realized that her death was inevitable, she tried to negotiate. She attempted to trick me. But I didn't give her the chance.

  "Raynare was after Asia's Sacred Gear. She killed Asia for it, but we got there in time."

  Sirzechs nodded, bringing a cup to his lips before continuing: "I was already informed about the Fallen Angels in Kuoh. Rias told me that her pawn, the Welsh Dragon, was killed and reborn as a devil because of an attack by two Fallen Angels."

  "Issei, huh?"

  I already knew what had happened, of course. I just pretended not to.

  That was something to consider. The Boosted Gear was one of the Thirteen Longinus, extremely powerful relics capable of killing even gods. Issei possessed one of the most dangerous artifacts in the world, and yet he almost died. Which made me wonder: why hadn't the Fallen Angels killed Asia since she arrived in the city? Even I didn't know the answer to that.

  "We knew about the presence of the Fallen Angels, but until then, we had no concrete proof that they were up to something big. Rias monitored them, but I didn't imagine they were actively hunting Sacred Gear users. At first, we thought the attack on Issei had been an isoted case."

  My gaze narrowed.

  "That's what bothers me most about this story. Until recently, I didn't understand how Asia was excommunicated from the Church and ended up falling into the hands of Fallen Angels. But now it's clear."

  "What do you mean, Milicas?" asked Venena.

  I looked at my grandmother and grandfather. "I don't believe the Fallen Angels acted alone in this. There's something bigger going on. Think about it: why was someone like Asia, who possessed such valuable power, excommunicated? If the problem was just her Sacred Gear, they could have simply isoted her, experimented on her, or done something simir to what they've done with so many others. But no... They branded her a heretic and cast her out."

  "And then the Fallen Angels found her," Sirzechs added, his gaze growing more serious.

  "That doesn't sound like a coincidence. It seems as if someone in the Church was deliberately handing Sacred Gear users over to the Fallen Angels. Someone already had pns for her or simply wanted her out of the way."

  Zeoticus let out a heavy sigh and pced his cup on the table.

  "Are you suggesting that different races are working together? That's unusual. Sirzechs and the other Maous are considering negotiating a treaty of total peace."

  The silence that followed was heavy.

  Sirzechs finally sighed and rested his chin on his hands.

  "That's worrying. But try to stay out of it, Milicas and Rias," he said, looking at both of us. "And report any important information directly to me."

  "Yes, sir," Rias and I said at the same time.

  I would have liked to tell Sirzechs and the others right then that Kokabiel was commanding several Fallen Angels and even a defector from the Church, but to do that, I would have to expin how I knew. Simply lying and saying something like 'I have an informant' wouldn't work.

  Besides, I had more pressing matters to attend to, such as convincing Rias Gremory to grant me possession of Gasper Vdi.

  *

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