Chapter 31
"So, what are you going to do, Princess?" Raizel amusedly asked and smiled when the girl raised her head and looked at him in despair.
"I don't know." She painfully answered, and Misla sighed at her words but did not feel any pity for her.
The girl was young and had obviously made inexcusable errors. If you looked at everything from an objective point of view, had Cleria been smarter and not gotten involved with a human, nothing like this would have ever happened.
She was responsible for everything that happened and was now happening to her.
"Please save Aradia." The Princess pleaded, and Raizel shook his head at her words.
"There is nothing in it for me." He bluntly said. "And I am not obliged to accept your father's request to save you either."
"But she's innocent!"
"You knew the Laws, you broke the Laws, and you now have to face the consequences of your actions." He corrected her. "Do I need to remind you why a King's Peerage is killed along with them after they have been indicted for committing treason?"
Cleria fell silent at his words and then lowered her head.
"I did not mean to commit treason..."
"Oh, you did, Princess." He smiled.
"I didn't mean it!" She burst out in rage, and her Demonic Power fluctuated, making Misla frown.
"You are committing another act of treason right now. Are you going to harm the Heir of the Darcaedes Family?" The Vapula asked, and Cleria paled at her words and controlled her emotions.
"You have read my memories. You know I did not mean it..." She lightly said, feeling her heart aching again.
"You did, Princess. And I say it because I have read your memories." He sighed. "You fell in love with a human. No one influenced you or forced you to do it. You chose to trust him with our Race's secrets. Again, no one forced you or influenced you to do it. And you stole a King Piece. Even if you did it in order to collect evidence, you stole it and took it to Arz, out of Devildom and Underworld. No one forced you to do it."
He stopped and looked at her, his eyes turning colder with every second.
"You could have kept it in the Belial Mansion or gone straight to Lord Ajuka, but you didn't. You could have gone to your Granduncle or Diehauser, but you did not." He said. "You took the Secret of Devildom to Arz, and you even revealed the secret to a human who was not even your servant. All of these were conscious actions, and even though you have your reasons, which might sound plausible in your head, they don't justify your crimes at all. The Noble Princess of the Belial Clan was fooled by a human? And she is a fool? Are these your excuses?"
A powerful presence burst out of him along with his harsh words, and it suffocated Cleria.
Misla too sensed the terrifying power, and she felt chills run up her spine.
She had no doubt in her mind that Raizel would kill the Belial Princess if she failed to convince him to save her and her Bishop.
"What do you want in return for saving Aradia?" Cleria asked, knowing well that just like Satan Lucifer, the Darcaedes Family possessed the right to veto any decision made by the Devil Council.
Now, it was only Sirzechs or Raizel who could save her Bishop, and she was well aware of the pressure Satan Lucifer was under.
He would not be able to save Aradia.
"The better question would be, what do you have to offer in return for saving Aradia?"
Cleria tried to think hard for an answer, but she could not think of anything worthy of Raizel's interest, except for herself.
But he had stopped after reading her memories yesterday, and she was not sure if he felt disgusted by her now.
Even though she was a maiden, she felt unclean under his eyes and did not dare to meet them.
She had dishonoured her Blood.
"I will give myself to you if you would have me. And I will be your servant for the rest of my life." She said, mustering up the courage to raise her head and look at him.
However, the coldness in those hauntingly crimson eyes froze her and forced her to lower her head again.
"Aradia is in the room right next to yours. The two of you are not allowed to leave the Darcaedes Palace. The only place in the Devildom that you can go to is the Belial Castle, and you have to return to the Palace within a day. Leave us alone now."
Hearing his words, Cleria was stunned to the core of her being, and when she raised her head, she met his eyes and could trace some anger in them.
They narrowed at her, and she gulped in fear before standing up and bowing to him.
"Thank you."
Cleria walked out of the study with her heart racing in an unknown emotion, and her mind running with myriad thoughts.
A tear slipped out of her eyes, but she immediately wiped it away and then brisked her way back to her room to meet Aradia.
She really did not know why Raizel saved her.
As he had said, there was nothing in it for him, and he was not obliged to do it. So, why did he do it?
Did he really like her?
She blushed at the thought, recalling how passionately he had kissed her yesterday. And with the memory, a sense of relief washed over her heart.
Arriving at the door that was right next to her room, she knocked on it, and then opened it and entered.
There, on the large bed, her Bishop was sound asleep, looking very peaceful. And when she approached her, she was surprised to sense the Pure Demonic Power from her body.
It was the Power that only the Pure-Blood or certain Half-Blood Devils possessed, and she knew from the connection they shared and the Evil Piece residing inside her that her dear Aradia was no longer a Reincarnated Devil, but a Pure-Blood Devil.
Her green hair now had a beautiful lustre to it, and even her lips were a shade of natural red.
She was happy for her servant as this was no less than a dream come true for her.
Aradia had always told her how she wished she was born a Devil, and now Raizel had granted her this wish.
As she stood by the bedside, staring at her servant, she could not hold back the guilt that came crashing into her heart.
Everyone else was gone, and now she only had Aradia by her side. But did she even deserve to have her as her Bishop?
A tear slipped out of her eye again, and right at this moment, Aradia's eyes quivered as they opened.
As soon as her servant saw her, she frantically stood up, and before Cleria knew it, she was being hugged by a pair of soft arms.
"I am sorry..." She hoarsely said before all dams broke loose and tears came gushing out of her eyes.
Aradia too was crying, and then she pulled her to the bed, whispering soothing words in her King's ear.
Back inside the study, Misla kept looking at Raizel, who had been wearing a frown for several minutes now.
She was there in the Devil Council when he Vetoed the decision and told everyone that he was taking Cleria as his servant.
Of course, the Bael opposed his decision, but he did not bother to say anything to them.
He had already arranged for some compensation on Cleria's behalf, and once they saw it, they all shut up wisely.
In the end, no one dared to offend him. And there was nothing they could really do if he had decided to protect the Belial Princess.
"You like her?" She asked, and he smiled at her words.
"She's beautiful, isn't she?" He asked back, and Misla could only nod her head.
Indeed. Cleria was blessed with a beauty that even she envied.
"I need a Belial by my side." He revealed to her, and she curiously looked at him before nodding her head.
Today, he had not just gained a Belial Princess, but he had made the future Satan, Diehauser Belial, owe him a debt that was going to weigh on his heart for a long time.
He had also foiled Rizevim Lucifer's and the Great King Faction's plans, and had it not been for him, the King Piece would have surely fallen into the hands of the Church.
Misla did not ask him anything about Cleria again, and they continued their own discussion that had been interrupted earlier by the Belial Princess.
"You turn 15 tomorrow. When do you plan on participating in your first Rating Game Match?" She asked.
"I will wait for Rias and Sona. They want to be there to watch my first match. And since Lord Ajuka has control over the Rating Games again and he plans on changing the format and making it more fun, it is better to wait for some months." He answered. "Are you going to attend the Council Meeting next week?"
"Yes. They are planning on proposing the inclusion of some Extra Devil Houses in Ars Goetia, replacing the houses that are now Extinct. And House Abbadon have approached me for support."
"I won't be there, but Hilda will attend the meeting on our behalf. I will tell her to support House Abbadon's inclusion in Ars Goetia."
"Thank you." She gratefully smiled at him and then stood up together with him.
"I will see you in a few weeks." He told her, and then, to her surprise, reached forward and sipped her lips. "You are beautiful, and you don't have to envy anyone, Misla."
Her heart thumped hard when she heard those words.
It was as if he could see right through her, and she averted her eyes, trying to control the blush that crept on her cheeks.
Raizel chuckled at her reaction and then walked out of the study, walking towards the throne room to see his mother.