This... what is this...
A scene she'd never even dreamed of witnessing now unfolded directly before the crimson-haired girl's eyes.
If she could, Rias desperately wished this was just a nightmare brought on by food poisoning.
But clearly, that wasn't possible.
Because everything was far too vivid and real—the scent in the air, the sounds in her ears, even the vibrations traveling through the mattress. None of it differed from reality in the slightest.
Which meant...
But... why...
Rias opened her mouth, trying to demand an explanation. But to her shock, she found she couldn't make a single sound.
Why? Why couldn't she speak?
No—it wasn't just her voice. Her entire body felt weak and boneless, completely drained of strength.
If that was the case, then...
Though her thoughts were still sluggish, Rias gradually recognized where this familiar sensation of powerlessness came from.
Without a doubt, this was how things felt only in dreams.
Everyone knew that in dreams, you couldn't exert any real strength. Simple everyday tasks became impossibly difficult—even climbing a single step could make you stumble due to weak legs or dizziness.
The same went for being unable to shout loudly or speak clearly.
Exactly like her current state.
So in other words... she really was dreaming right now?
At this realization, a tiny spark of relief flickered through Rias.
After all, if this truly was a dream, then according to the rule that dreams were the opposite of reality, what she was seeing couldn't possibly be happening in real life.
Thank goodness—she knew Mom would never do something like this...
Just as Rias was secretly feeling relieved, the two figures who'd been busy nearby seemed to notice she was awake. They paused.
Venelana dismounted from the young man and came to her side, reaching out to gently stroke the crimson-haired girl's smooth, fair cheek with a warm smile.
"Oh my, you're awake, Rias-chan."
"Mm..."
Hearing this, Rias's throat moved involuntarily.
Again—this was something she'd never dreamed of before. Fighting side by side with Mom on the same battlefield, so to speak.
Was it really... okay?
Thinking about it more carefully, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with it. After all, this was just a dream.
But still—
As the saying went, you dream at night what you think about during the day. Even if this was a dream, Rias didn't believe she'd ended up here for no reason.
Most likely, something about Mom's recent behavior had unconsciously led her to construct this scene in her dreams.
And at the same time, she noticed a small pleasant surprise.
She could speak now. The sound she'd just made from her throat was proof.
So after tentatively clearing her throat, Rias carefully asked the question that concerned her most, playing along with the scene before her.
"Mom... why would you do something like this?"
"Why?"
Venelana pursed her lips slightly, repeating her daughter's question.
Then, contrary to her earlier demeanor, she sat down beside Rias, tilted her head, and thought seriously about it.
"If I had to say... it's probably just a woman's instinct?"
A woman's instinct...
Under normal circumstances, Rias would have scoffed at those words without hesitation.
After all, her mother had already been the strongest woman in the history of the Great King Bael family before she'd even married. After joining the Gremory household as its matriarch, she'd given birth to both Sirzechs and Rias herself.
Later, when her father—the previous head of the Gremory family—passed away young, the entire clan had been left in a precarious state with uncertain succession. It was her mother who'd single-handedly held everything together. Despite no new head being formally installed all these years, they hadn't lost a single inch of territory.
And yet this same woman—powerful, iron-willed, elegant, composed, and gentle to her family—was telling her she'd done this because of "a woman's instinct"?
Impossible.
"Well, I know you won't believe it right away, Rias-chan. But just hear me out slowly."
Noticing the distrust on her daughter's face, Venelana smiled gently and pulled her up from beneath the covers. Like she used to do when caring for Rias during childhood illnesses, she tenderly drew her now-grown daughter into her embrace, letting the crimson-haired girl's head rest softly against her shoulder.
"You know, Rias—I was originally a daughter of the Great King Bael family. Though I married into the Gremory household, that was essentially a strategy by the Bael family to exert control over other high-ranking noble houses."
"Of course, I never had any intention of making you or Sirzechs serve the Bael family's interests. But my marriage to your father truly was a political union—there was no emotional foundation to speak of."
"And then your father passed away so early. All these years, I've been managing the entire Gremory household practically alone. Though I never complained openly, the truth is... I've been exhausted."
"Especially now that Sirzechs has become the Demon Lord Lucifer and barely comes home once a year. And with you studying in the Human World, Rias... every day, I'm alone in this enormous castle. Year after year. Day after day."
"Then you brought Bokue home—and he happened to be such a wonderful young man. So I just... couldn't help myself, and..."
"You can't just brush this off with 'couldn't help myself'..."
By this point, Rias had almost forgotten she was supposed to be in a "dream." She found herself earnestly questioning Venelana.
"Mom, tell me first—when exactly did this start between you and Bokue?"
"Let me think..."
Venelana tapped her lips thoughtfully.
"Probably... the first time you brought Bokue home with you?"
The first time she brought Bokue home??
Rias's eyes went wide.
That was when she'd been summoned back to the Underworld over the whole engagement cancellation with the Phenex family!
So they'd already been sleeping together back then??
"I'm sorry, Rias. I know this is unfair to you."
Seeing her daughter's look of utter disbelief, Venelana lowered her head apologetically and spoke softly.
"But at the end of the day, I'm still a woman. When it comes to these things... even I can't control myself. But if you can accept this, I think we could continue this way together... and make the Gremory family even stronger. Wouldn't that be good?"
As she spoke, Venelana repositioned herself astride the young man and resumed rolling her hips, her womanhood eagerly swallowing his thick shaft.
"I... I accept...!"
In that instant, Rias climaxed.
Her rational mind screamed that she had to refuse—that she couldn't compromise on something like this.
But humans had both reason and emotion. Devils were the same—and if anything, a devil's passions burned even fiercer than a human's!
After everything her mother had just shared, Rias now fully understood the loneliness and hardship Venelana had endured all these years. And this wasn't just anyone—it was the mother who had given birth to her, raised her, cared for her since childhood.
How could she possibly harden her heart and refuse completely?
With that thought, Rias finally nodded.
"I... I understand. From now on... we'll make the Gremory family stronger together... ngh!"
"What a good girl."
Venelana smiled softly and beckoned toward the young man behind her.
The next second, Bokue thrust forward—his shaft still slick with her mother's arousal—and buried himself inside Rias's honeypot.
In that instant, Rias climaxed again.
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