Gilgamesh ignored them and looked back at Rias. The red-haired devil's expression was conflicted. The moment Gilgamesh shifted his attention from her, her mind cooled. She was aware she couldn't win against him in a fight. And she didn't want her servants to be harmed either. Gilgamesh's power was the real deal.
So, she opened her mouth and said weakly, "Gilgamesh-kun, what did I do to make you turn against me like this?"
Rias tried to find a peaceful resolution between her and Gilgamesh. She put on an innocent act in this farce. She was certain her trail was hidden, and Gilgamesh didn't know her real plan in the past. But, unfortunately, Rias Gremory had always been spoiled. She was inexperienced, and her plan wasn't that great. Everything she possessed was because of her loving father and older brother. So far, she hadn't achieved anything noteworthy on her own.
"BUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Instead of responding, Gilgamesh laughed violently.
Unbeknownst to Rias, she had dug her own grave deeper with what she said.
Gilgamesh's Point of View.
I looked at Rias Gremory with a ridiculing gaze. A spoiled and foolish girl like her wasn't fit to earn my respect. After all, she was nothing but a wannabe selfish princess riding on the coattails of her family's prestige. It was a pity that only Venelana Gremory had kept a leash on her, but as she was the only one, this spoiled girl became a stereotypical rebellious teenager against her parents.
"Are you deaf, little girl?"
"What do you mean, Gilgamesh-kun? I don't understand this enmity you've directed at me," Rias replied with a strained smile.
*Snort* — I let out a cold snort, my eyes piercing her skull coldly.
"You want to know? Well, I already said it before, didn't I? You can't keep up your innocent mask anymore. Do you think I'm oblivious to your plan to kill me?"
"But I never had such—"
"—an insidious plan like that, huh? Then what should I call your plan to stage my death by the hands of Fallen Angels? It wasn't your fault, after all?"
"But… it wasn't me. How can you accuse me without…"
[—Rias… are you sure about this?]
Everyone's eyes widened at the loud voice echoing in the Occult Club's office. Akeno Himejima's eyes were the widest. After all, it was her voice.
My right hand was slightly raised in the air, parallel to my chest, palm open. Above the palm, a small magic circle smaller than the hand glowed blood red. The voice came from this magic circle.
On the day I went to see Issei's date with Raynare, I implemented a multi-purpose magical construct within the ORC like a ladybug. It hid well and recorded that conversation by my command.
The magical recorder continued:
[I don't have any more choices. This is the only way I can think of.]
That was Rias's voice. Next would be Akeno's turn again.
[I know that by orchestrating their death at their hands, they'll give you their loyalty and trust after you reincarnate them. However, if they find out the truth that you're abandoning them to die? Why didn't you choose another way with less risk than this?]
[There's another way to recruit them, of course. But… they won't give me their trust and loyalty immediately. To build trust between us, as Master and Servant, we need time. And we lack time… if they find out. It'll be a problem in the future. I just hope my care and affection for them can lessen the impact somehow. I don't need to worry about it. After all, my family is known for its affection toward its servants. He'll accept it even if the truth comes out. I'm sure of it!]
When the recorder finished, the magic circle vanished. I lowered my hand and looked at Rias's stunned face. Then, I spoke with a condescending tone:
"And to sate your curiosity, I wasn't bluffing when I said I'd enjoy a fight with your brother."
"Never dare disrespect my brother, Gilgamesh," Rias rebuked my words with sharp and venomous words.
"Disrespect your brother? Wasn't it you who disrespected what your brother fought for in the Devil Civil War in the past, little girl?"
I ridiculed her. When I saw her confused, I continued:
"Do you think your insidious plan to kill me and turn me into your servant is similar to how the old-time devils did things? Have you ever thought that what you did is no different from what your brother fought against in the past? Have you ever thought how hypocritical it was when you told me to stop disrespecting your brother while spitting on his sacrifice? Think, girl, think! Stop being a selfish girl and think about others outside of yourself. I know devils are greedy creatures, but excessive greed only means trouble for you, exactly what you're facing right now."
Rias bit her lower lip, her blue eyes shimmering with frustration. She couldn't respond because everything I said was correct. I was sure everyone in the room was curious about how I knew so much about the supernatural world, but I didn't stop. I wouldn't give Rias a moment to breathe and calm her fluctuating emotions. I'd press her wrong buttons mercilessly until she broke.
"Not only are you putting yourself in a dangerous situation. You'll drag your servants, your family, or even your brother into something very dangerous. Don't think that just because your brother is powerful, he's become invincible. There are scarier monsters in this world that can crush your brother into oblivion easily."
I paused to catch my breath. I watched Rias's reaction and saw tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. They were tears of anger and frustration. She couldn't release her frustration, and it condensed into tears. The others, even Sona—a pure-blood devil who should know about this fact—focused on my words with rapt attention.
And then, I continued my cruel and painful exclamation.
"I know about the marriage contract between the House of Gremory and the House of Phenex. It's something that spread through the Underworld. And I also know how you're against this idea. But shouldn't you know it's your responsibility as an heir of the House of Gremory, the heiress, no less? The House of Gremory has always faced bad rumors because of its trait of loving its servants too much. At least, Duke Gremory had the House of Marchocias as a defender in the past, but now? Other demon families consider it a weakness. No, not just them! In the supernatural world, where the strong dominate the weak and power is the only thing that matters, kindness has always been synonymous with weakness. The family hasn't produced anything noteworthy for the devil kind in the last few centuries. And because your brother was enthroned with the title of Lucifer, in the eyes of the masses, his achievements belong to the Lucifer line, not Gremory."
I paused for another breath. Talking about the political intricacies of the Underworld certainly caused a sore throat. However, the joy of ridiculing Rias was worth it.
"And to gain another support, the marriage contract between the House of Gremory and the House of Phenex happened. Your job as the next duke of your house is to maintain the house."
"There… there must be another way! I'll protect my family's line and prestige! But I'll stick to my decision to abolish this stupid marriage contract!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" I laughed at Rias's ridiculous exclamation. "What are you going to do, huh? Are you as powerful as your brother? Do you have a blessed mind like the Sitri descendant over here? Can you live a torturous life until you achieve the necessary power like the current heir of the Great King Bael? Do your tears heal severe wounds?"
"I… I'll become the Rating Game champion, just like my dream! Yes, I'll make my dream come true!" Rias told me strongly, with absolute confidence. But her tears somewhat ruined the image in my eyes.
"How much longer?"
"Huh?"
After Rias gave me a clueless response, I scoffed at her.
"How long will it take until you have enough power to be the champion? The current champion, Deihauser of the fallen House of Belial, is strong, a limit at the Ultimate level, at Satan's level of power. How long will it take until you achieve your dream, little girl?"
"I… I… uh… I…" Rias stammered and couldn't look me in the eyes.
"A decade? Two decades? A century? Two centuries? Do you think that old bunch in the devil council will wait that long? Your family will lose its prestige before that happens, and the House of Gremory will fall to the Extra Devil rank, just like people like Abaddon and Bune, who helped the losing side in the civil war, degraded to the same level as traitors in the eyes of the masses."
I gave Rias a ridiculing look and a mocking smile.
Well, of course, she could keep her family's name safe if she managed to get a Longinus possessor.
In the light novel, the Gremory name wasn't tarnished after the fallout with the House of Phenex, due to the existence of the Red Dragon Emperor as her servant. It was reason enough to give them face and keep their prestige and name safe. However, in this world, everything was different.
"And what do you think will happen next? Ridiculous. Endless ridicule. The magnificent and kind Gremory name will be a laughingstock because the heiress can't uphold her responsibility. Girl, if you don't want to marry like this, you should disown yourself from the Gremory family tree, freeing yourself from the engagement, but of course, you wouldn't dare to do that, would you? In truth, you're nothing but a delusional, selfish, spoiled little girl. Looking at how pathetic you are makes me want to vomit…"
Rias tried her hardest to keep her tears in her eyes because she didn't want to show weakness.
"What do you want?" Rias asked shakily.
"To be honest, I don't want anything, Rias Gremory…" I said calmly while leaning back. "What I did before was to make sure you knew I'm not someone who'll shrug off and forgive what you tried to do to me like it was nothing. I just made a point of saying what will happen if you were to make me your enemy." I said coldly while gesturing with one hand before standing up.
"Rias Gremory… with this, I made my point. Where you stand and where I stand. And let me tell you, even if you called for reinforcements to face me, I assure you it won't stop me from getting to you. If I die, you'll fall with me." I declared with a harsh tone before turning and heading for the door.
"Oh, those Fallen Angels… You can leave them to me. I also plan to visit them after all," Gilgamesh said as he left the room, slamming the door.
Rias gave a wave while asking Sona and her peerage to leave, which they complied with.
With Rias.
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