18 The Step Mother Maid

"Grayfia, this is Irina and Xenovia." I introduced the both of them to the Silver Gray haired maid, who was watching over them with a stern expression.

"Who is she, Alex?" Xenovia asked out of curiosity and placed the bags down on the living room's table, "You have never told us about her."

"She is.." I nervously glanced at Grayfia, because I did not know how to introduce her without making things awkward between us.

"I am Grayfia Lucifuge." Grayfia introduced herself with a polite nod, "I am also Maou Sirzechs' Queen and his wife. Hence, that makes me Alexander's step mother."

"Step.."

"Mother?"

Both of them looked at me with a stunned expression and I nodded in confirmation, "She comes here every month to check on me and this time, she has decided to live here for a few days."

"You're allowed to continue staying in this house because Alexander has vouched for you." Grayfia stated firmly, "Even if you both are Exorcists, Alexander seems to trust you both a lot."

"What do you mean even if we are Exorcists?" Xenovia frowned at the statement as she took a slight offense, "Its not like we hunt your kind without any reason. It's our duty to slay the Stray Devils."

"I never spoke a word about your duties." Grayfia shook her head, "I only referred to your titles."

"Former Exorcists." Irina corrected with a sad smile and looked at me, "Father has replied back to me and he says he's disappointed in me."

"The church didn't allow us to reveal the truth to anybody else, so Irina wasn't able to explain the real reason for why she has decided to leave the Church." Xenovia stated by placing her hand on Irina's shoulder for support, "As for me, Sister Quarta wishes me well for my future."

"What do they mean?" Grayfia looked at me with a confused frown.

"We have decided to leave Church." Irina answered and looked at me, "Does she know?"

"Do you?" I glanced at the maid, "I mean, you do, probably."

"What?" Grayfia frowned exasperatedly at the suspense.

"That the God is dead." Xenovia replied with a stressful sigh, "We found out the truth from Kokabiel, just before he was killed by Alex."

"The Church never told us the truth and kept us in the dark." Irina explained further, "We realised there's no meaning in following this path anymore, so we have decided to become Alexander's Knight."

"Yes." Xenovia nodded firmly in agreement with Irina.

"I wasn't who asked them of this, they decided it on their own." I reasoned to Grayfia as I felt a little tug in my heart from their allegiance, "They think I have my own Peerage just because I am a Devil."

"Even if you don't, we have decided to follow you." Xenovia snorted in response and folded her hands.

"Yeah, we have even contacted Sona to enroll at the Kuoh Academy." Irina nodded with a cheerful smile, "Isn't that amazing? We can go to school together from now on."

Grayfia raised an amused eyebrow at me after hearing their words, "Who told you can't have your own Peerage? You're a High Class Devil as the Son of Maou Sirzechs Lucifer. All you need to do is visit the Underworld and collect your Evil Peices from Maou Beelzebub."

"You hear that?" Irina cheered and basically jumped at me into a bear hug, "This means we can be your Knights!"

"I don't understand why you guys are so obsessed with being my Knights." I sighed in response with an embarrassed flush on my cheeks, "Whatever, I am going to my room."

"Can you explain the events to me that happened in the past few days?" Grayfia asked the two girls and grabbed their attention, "I would like to know the details."

I left them to interact and went upstairs to my room. When I entered, I saw Ophis laying on my bed and staring at the ceiling in daze.

"What is it?" I asked by sitting next to her.

"I might be your enemy, Alex." Ophis replied by continuing to stare at the ceiling, "Will you kill me if we become enemies?"

"Oh?" I leaned down with an amused smile and rubbed by face on her soft cheeks, "What little evil plans are you plotting, Ophis?"

"They want you." Ophis replied and looked into my eyes, "They want to use your powers to win against Sirzechs and the other Maou of the New Satan Faction."

"And what do you think about it?" I chuckled by laying next to her on the bed and held her body in my arms, "Will they succeed?"

"No." Ophis scoffed with a smirk, "Its one of the reasons why I call them Idiots, they don't know thier place."

"And why are you with these idiots then?" I closed my eyes and smiled in bliss, "Are they at least fun?"

"Some of them are." Ophis turned over to my side and hugged my chest, "So don't kill them if they fight you."

"Fine." I chuckled and patted the back of her head, "Can we fight again?"

"No." Ophis gave a sharp response and pouted at me, "You'll win."

"Eh, so you want to maintain the record." I laughed in amusement and cuddled her on the bed, 'Guess, I'll sleep for a while..' I thought as I started feeling sleepy.

~

When Ophis realised that Alex was not responding to her, she sat up and lightly slapped her hand on his cheeks, "Baka." she pouted and crawled over his body to get off the bed.

Although, when she was about to head downstairs, Ophis remembered what he had told about this person and scanned the house to see if someone unknown to her was there.

When she got the answer, Ophis went downstairs and was suddenly picked off from the ground, "Baka Carrot." She greeted the girl named Irina, also Alexander's self proclaimed Knight.

"Where is Alex?" Xenovia asked because she saw Ophis coming from upstairs, "And what were you doing in his room?"

"We were talking." Ophis replied blatantly as Irina pecked several kisses on her cheeks, "He fell asleep."

"Did you meet Grayfia-san, Ophis?" Irina asked cheerfully by bringing them to the couch, "She's Alexander's Step mother and dresses like a maid."

'Sirzechs' Queen.' Ophis comprehended and curiously turned to Irina, "Where is she now?"

"She has gone to Gremory's place to discuss a few things." Xenovia was the one who replied and suspiciously narrowed her eyes at the girl, "What's your relationship with Alex, Ophis?"

"I..." Ophis was astounded that she did not have a answer to such a simple question, "He's more than a friend to me." Friend, such word she had rarely used to describe someone in her lifetime.

"Then I guess, I have no problem if you consider him as a friend." Xenovia nodded with a satisfied expression, "Irina, I am going to my room for some mediation, so don't disturb me."

"Alright!" Irina replied cheerfully and hugged Ophis in her arms, "Let's go watch that program you like so much."

"Acceptable." Ophis snorted arrogantly and allowed the mortal Carrot to adore her as an reward.

~

By the time it was evening, Grayfia had returned back to the house and started preparing the dinner.

While she maintained a calm expression, Grayfia was anxious how Alexander would react to the revelation of the bonds they shared during his childhood, and the fact, that his memories of her were erased after the death of his mother.

Of course, Grayfia knew about the girl, Irina Shidou, because she was the only friend Alexander had when he was a kid. Though they never made any contact during that time, but Grayfia had kept a keen eye on the girl due to her family's status.

"What are you doing?" The question caught her off guard and she turned to the intruder by getting out of her thoughtful daze.

"I am preparing dinner, can't you see?" She questioned with a light scowl of annoyance, because the answer should be obvious to him.

"No, I cook the meals in the house." Alex argued by stubbornly folding his hands, "Leave the Kitchen, do laundry or something."

"We both know that could be done by magic." She sighed in response, 'Why is he always in such an irritated mood?' she wondered, "At least, let me help you."

"Fine." He whined and allowed her to stay in the kitchen, "What are you making, anyways?"

"I thought you could try some Indian cuisine tonight." Grayfia replied, "I have asked both your Knights and they don't mind."

"Then let's go with Butter Chicken Curry, Naan, and Kulfi for dessert." Alex suggested and she was surprised that he has knowledge of the Indian cuisine.

Not only that, when she saw him work in the kitchen, Grayfia wondered if he was a professional cook. Because, even the top chefs of the Gremory mansion did not have cooking skills of his level.

It was the first time Grayfia saw him cook and she now viewed him in a new light, "You know, your mom was bad at cooking." She stated with a fond smile, "I am surprised you're talented."

Alex raised an eyebrow at her with a startled expression, "You knew my mom?" He questioned with a frown, "How?"

"There are things you don't know." Grayfia solemnly shook her head, "Things that happened before your were born and also the things after."

"What things?" His frowned deepened and it amused her a little.

He was quick to tease, she noted.

"I was there when your father, my husband dated your mom." She replied, "We kept our relationship a secret to her and I simply acted as his maid."

"Are you.." He hesitated from saying whatever was in his mind, "Why did you allow him to date another woman when you were already married to him?"

"It's common for Devils to have multiple wives, but this time, your father's situation was a little unique." She answered with a genuine smile, "He met your mother on his conference trip in Kyoto with the Shinto Gods. Marine was young and a cheerful one at that, they met at the Amaterasu Temple and eventually fell in love over several more meetings."

"That still does not answers my question." Alex impressively focused on the dish and the conversation at the same time.

"I am getting there." Grayfia noted that he was a little impatient, probably because it was related to his mother's past, "The Maou are allowed to have only a single wife due to several complex reasons. My marriage to him was a political deal, for the welfare of both our families and the Underworld."

"So that's the reason you gave him the free reign." He nodded in comprehension, "Still doesn't makes that much sense to me."

"Then what would you have done in his place?" Grayfia asked curiously.

"I would've had two wives and simply said fuck off to the rules." He shrugged in response.

'Unfortunately, Sirzechs is type who thinks about the bigger picture.' Grayfia mentally sighed and shook her head, "Devils live a long life, so I allowed him to have his secret relationship with your mother."

Alex nodded in acknowledgment.

"Then, you were born." Grayfia sighed anxiously, "It was the time when the Civil War had turned into a cold war between the Old and New Satan Factions. Even during your mom's labour, he couldn't be there because he was busy protecting his family from the Clans that had started betraying the New Satan Faction."

She noticed that Alex was carefully listening to her with his palms clenched into tight fists, "Sirzechs did not wanted your mother to be left alone, so he sent me to take care of her." she stated with a smile and saw him relax a little, "By that time, we had already become friends over our meetings through the years."

"So you were there when I was born." Alex asked with a suspicious frown, "Why didn't I know about this any soon?"

"Not only was I there when you were born, but I was present after that as well." Grayfia replied with a smile, because his expressions and emotions were too easy to read.

"How?" He frowned with a dumbfounded expression and tried to remember to his best capabilities.

"You won't find the memories that have been erased from your mind." Grayfia informed him, "I was the one who erased them, after all."

"What?" He was baffled, "Why would you do that?!"

"For your own safety." Grayfia replied firmly and sighed, "It was a decision I had made for you, because I did not wanted you to rely on me too much. I thought you would be able to live a normal life away from the Supernatural world, until after a year later, we discovered that you had awakened the power of Destruction."

"That's the time you showed up in my life once again." Alex scowled comprehensively, "That makes sense." He stared straight at her, "You sealed my powers and continued to check after me, until eventually, shit hit the fan."

"Language." She frowned at him, "Also, we are in the kitchen, so refrain using such words."

"My bad." He apologised and turned away to the dish on the stove, "Still, why should I trust you?"

"I'll show you the proof, if you want." Grayfia said and he immediately turned back to her, "No, not now." She smiled and ruffled his hair, "After dinner."

Alexander did his own version of pouting with a deep scowl, and continued to finish cooking the dinner.