Chapter 11

Venelana, Grayfia and Butler appeared in the same forest that was beside Daniel's mansion.

"From here, Madame." Butler led the way and walked through the forest with the two women behind him.

Venelana was suspicious of the man who told Butler about the engagement issue. Like, how did he know about it? And coincidentally it was the same day where Zeotiucs made the deal with Lord Phenex.

Everything was suspicious. Once she calmed down from what happened to her daughter, her brain was back on duty again and the gears were turning and rotating with high speed.

The situation was weird to her. She was of course suspecting her husband as he was acting weird lately, but she didn't know what he was up to. He was moving carefully so to not be caught.

She used the opportunity when Grayfia talked about that man and how he could help them with their plan to train Rias, although Venelana thought that Grayfia was enough to train her, she is so strong after all.

Being the queen of her son's peerage she was called the Strongest Queen in the underworld. Very proficient in ice magic and could attack and defend however she likes.

But she didn't question Grayfia's words as she wanted to know what that man was up to. Is he a foe or an ally? She needs to know or else she won't be able to sleep tonight.

Her daughter was more important to her than anything else in this world.

To Grayfia, she was suspicious about the matter of the man who told Butler about the engagement from the moment she heard about it.

It was so clear that this man was up to something and as if he wanted them to come to him as if he was leading them to him.

Besides, ever since Butler came back with Rias she felt like there was someone watching her and her master, Venelana, but she didn't know who and where he was watching them from.

Venelana also felt it but that after she calmed down from her emotional turmoil. She immediately suspected the one who was watching was related to that man who told Butler about the engagement, rather she felt like he was letting them know that he was watching, so if they didn't come, he would make them come whether they liked it or not.

The fear of the unknown. That was what Venelana felt from that man. So mysterious and his power is unknown.

But one thing for sure: He is so strong, maybe even stronger than her son who was deemed to be the strongest devil it the underworld.

Soon enough, the three reached the end of the forest and saw the mansion that had a very western design mixed with eastern style.

Although the view of the mansion was beautiful and amazing, but they didn't have the time to admire it as right now, in front of them, there was dark and tall figure with purple highlights, the figure resembled a knight with long dark cape and long sword on his waist.

His gaze was overwhelming as if any hostile intentions, they would see their heads rolling on the ground in the next moment.

Just a slight hostile thought about the master of this mansion and they are over.

Venelana and Grayfia gulped their saliva and sweated a little as the aura and sight of this knight was making them feel like standing in the middle of the sea of blood with him looking down on them from the top of a mountain of corpses.

Fear.

'As I predicted, he was expecting us to come to him.' Venelana thought while clutching her hands.

"Come this way, My Liege is waiting for you." Igris, one of the Shadows of the Shadow Monarch spoke to them with cold and calm tone, making them startled before Venelana walked in front of them and nodded to Igris who nodded back slightly and turned his back to them and led them to the gate of the mansion.

Venelana looked back at her maid and her son's butler before nodding at them then walked toward the gates that Igris opened and was waiting for them.

Venelana looked at the mansion behind the open gates and wondered who was that man? And what he wanted from them.

Soon everything will be revealed.

Then she walked forward with Grayfia and Butler walking behind her.

With Igris leading the way.

///

In the living room, you could see Daniel sitting on the couch while drinking tea that Shuri had brewed not long ago.

Currently, she is training at the training yard behind the mansion that Daniel created in the past years.

At the beginning he trained her in the forest, but when he saw how much damage was caused to the forest, he decided to create his own training place in a wide area that was unusable behind the mansion. Although he could repair the destroyed forest, but he found it tiring and boring to do so everytime after training, so he created a training yard and surrounded it with multifunctional barrier to repair and clean the yard automatically once the training ended.

Anyway, right now, he was waiting for some special guests while drinking the tea slowly enjoying the rich taste and the aroma.

Knock!

Knock!

"Come in." Getting the premission of his King, Igris slowly opened the door.

He stood beside it to let Venelana and those who came with her to enter.

Once she entered, she saw a wide room that was quite similar to the room in her home, but this room gave her a calming effect making her relax unlike the suffocating feeling she got when in her home.

Then her eyes shifted to the man who was sitting on the couch crossing his legs while drinking tea.

The man had jet black hair and grey eyes along with tall figure adorned with toned muscles that his black shirt couldn't hide.

Every move of his body was slow and elegant.

The man of course was Daniel, who turned his face toward the figure of the long brown haired woman who was looking at him in a daze.

Even Grayfia was the same, but for different reason.

"Good job Igris, you may return." Daniel said with calm indifferent tone snapping them out of their daze.

Igris bowed to Daniel before his figure disappeared in Daniel's shadow.

Looking at them, Daniel was expecting them to come. Before when he met Butler, he sneaked one of his shadows into his shadow to monitor them.

He expected that the engagement of Rias would be at this time. He didn't know the exact time, but all he knew was that it was around this time.

However, he expected them to come based on how they would react when they knew that someone unknown to them knew about Rias's engagement.

Of course something like that would raise suspicions and they'd start to wonder whether he was a foe or ally.

And seems that what he expected happened.

"Come, have a seat." Daniel said to Venelana who nodded and walked toward the couch opposite to him and sat there while Grayfia and Butler stood behind her.

On the surface Venelana was showing a friendly smile, but inside she was surprised by the way Igris disappeared in Daniel's shadow and became on high alert immediately, she was thinking of ways to escape if things got serious.

"You may calm down, wife of the Gremory, I will do nothing to you or the people who came with you. So rest assured."

"You say that, but how can I believe someone who was watching me and my people all the time in my mansion." Venelana replied.

"Fair point."

"And judging by the way that knight disappeared in your shadow, I think you put a shadow inside Butler's shadow so you could see what the shadow sees, after all they are connected to your shadow from what I could see."

"Good analysis Mrs. Gremory. You have a bright brain." Daniel said with a small smile.

But Venelana felt like he was mocking her, as if what he did earlier when he summoned Igris back was intentional to let her know how he was watching them this whole time which wasn't far from the truth. Daniel intentionally summoned Igris back in front of them rather than making him stand behind him to show Venelana how he was watching them. To tell them that he can watch them whenever he wanted and they won't know.

Before, when they were still in the underworld, he made them feel his presence, although slightly so they don't know from where he was watching.

Venelana felt irritated by that and wanted to flip the table but she held it, and smiled at him.

"Thanks for the compliment." She said with twitching smile.

Daniel saw this and didn't comment whether externally or internally. He was just indifferent to the matter.

He wanted to try something and got the result he wanted.

"Ahem. Back to business. I may conclude that you were expecting our arrival, right? Mr?"

"Just call me Daniel."

"Okay, Mr. Daniel."

He nodded.

"Then may I know what do you want from us? I suspect that you did all of this just to show your power, right?"

"Indeed, there is something I want from you and in return I can help you with your problem."

"But I can let Grayfia train Rias–"

"But you can't let her train there in the underworld, your husband seems cunning and once he knew, he would react and prepare something in advance so your efforts would be in vain. Even if you tried to train somewhere else, he would know and you know how he would do it it seems."

"He will do anything just to reach his goal and based on the way he talked to you, he seems hiding something from you, and that thing may put your family in danger." Daniel said based on his analysis of Zeotiucs, he knew inside those eyes unmatchable greed was hidden and that greed could devour everything if not dealt with.

Venelana was dilemma on what she was going to do. She already was suspecting her husband as his actions were weird in her eyes. He seems planning for something she didn't know.

From the day he married her and he didn't show her any ounce of love, just a woman who would bare his children.

It was a political marriage and she agreed on it but...but things became complicated with each day passed.

Nothing suspected anything except her and maybe her maid and queen of her son and maybe her son himself and his wife. Not sure.

And now looking at the man in front of her, she was thinking of accepting his offer, letting her daughter train in this place is safer than letting her train in the underworld or anywhere else, her husband had eyes everywhere after all, she by coincidence knew of a huge spying organization that her husband was managing to collect information from everywhere whether underworld, Heaven or Human world.

How many years it took him to do it, she can't imagine.

But with Daniel she would be safe and could train and get stronger as the time passed.

The pros outweigh the cons.

But before that, she need to know what he wants in return or else everything would be considered illogical.

"Then Mr. Daniel, let me hear what you want in return before I decide whether to accept or reject your offer."

Daniel smiled slightly when hearing that.

"Well..."

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A/N: Tell me your opinion on this chapter, I knew that the previous one was quite forced so I tried to cope and make this one more acceptable, so I hope you like it.

Your Author.