47 Ch 47 Departure.

Once Romonus drank the drink Zekram poured him he stood up and left the office. When he was gone, Zekram fell limp on his chair as he wiped the sweat from his brow. His gambit had worked and Romonus accepted his terms. 

'Sweet Mother of God I lived.' 

He felt the stinging pain of calling on that name, but it was worth it. What he had said was true and he could have shown everything they walked about here, but he would be dead before seeing if it worked. 

He may be willing to die, but he did not want to. He had lived too long to die now, but he would need to stay out of Romonus' way from here on. At least, he could take joy that Romonus had accepted his decree. 

Though, he might as well enjoy the air he was breathing because he had just been marked for death. He was on borrowed time as Vespera wanted to get to him and now Romonus did too.

As for Romonus himself, he teleported back to his room and when he did so, his face was of barely concealed furry. Kharn jumped off his shoulder as Romonus started to pace across the room under the eyes of his lovers. 

He reached up with both hands and started to claw at his face tearing lacerations in it. His pride was wounded which was the sin he as a Demon embodied. What burned worse was that it was not by power but by fucking politics. 

"He fucking played me like a fiddle. That son of a bitch is going to regret this. I am going to enjoy ripping his soul out and tearing it apart for all to hear."

Before he went further Miria rushed over and grabbed his hands away from his face. 

"STOP! Do you think we want to see that?" 

He took a deep breath as his wounds closed instantly. The blood that was on his face was absorbed back into his body as he relaxed himself by taking control of his soul and emotions. Once he was in hold he was taken over by cold logic. 

"I am ok."

Miria sighed as she let go of his hands. 

"Good." 

Once he was back to himself Serafall got off the couch with a face that looked like she ate the most bitter of lemons. 

"What did he do? Don't tell me made you break off your engagement to Silvana." 

Silvana herself looked scared at that so she looked at him with worry. Since her head was currently in her hands her Soul Fire was surging in fear. 

"Did he?" 

Romonus sat down on his bed next to her. He reached down and patted her head. 

"No, we are still set to marry. He did something worse. He tried to make me give up our engagement so I pushed back with my strength. For a moment it seemed it worked until his Lord Ring activated. From there, my power meant squat. 

If I killed him a recording of his death would have been sent to every Clan and Lord in seconds. I would have been a Pariah and hunted down like a criminal. Doesn't matter how many Low, Middle, or High-Class Devils they send they would die. 

But add in Ultimate and Satan Class Devils and I will be overrun in time. If Ddraig and Albion can die to numbers, why can't I? In the end, he made me accept another engagement of his choosing. Fucking bastard." 

Roygun frowned as Romonus truly lost out in this exchange. 

"To whom?" 

Romonus turned to her with a bitter expression. 

"Seekvaira Agares. I don't want this engagement and neither will see." 

Serafall walked over to him and held his shoulders. 

"But she is the heir? Any groom she takes will join House Agares, not the other way around."

Romonus knew that, but Zekram was a conniving weasel. No offense to weasels. 

"I said that myself. However, Zekram is going to call up every favor he can to force her Father to accept. I can't do shit about it either as I signed a contract with him. I protected my engagement to Silvana and my status as heir, but now I have to accept a fiance of his choosing. 

However, I never did agree to not harming him so he is still fair game. I just got to be ready for that. All this is because of his blood-purist ideology. He was willing to die before he let me rule House Bael without it."

Miria could see why he felt like shit. She sat next to him and placed a hand on his head.

"Call her. You got Seekvaira's number from Latia right? Tell her ahead of time and tell Latia too." 

Shirone could feel his anger so she walked over to him not as a cat, but as herself. She hugged him before she began to use her Senjutsu to let him process his anger. 

"Feel better." 

He smiled as her Senjutsu always made him feel like everything was better. 

"Thank you. I need to tell them both." 

Romonus pulled out his phone and called Latia first and foremost. 

---

When Latia said she would make Romonus a gift she meant it. Her Uncle was helping her craft something she knew Romonus would love. A Living Metal Wolverine, as Romonus loved all members of the Mustelid family.

Ajuka was enchanting the metal while she programmed the AI. All the while he used his Kankra Formula to grant it an Artificial Soul with Soul Stones made of criminals. Ajuka was more than happy to help as Latia explained what she wanted to gift Romonus. 

The creation of Archaon had inspired Ajuka and now he wanted to test out his theories. As they worked on the Sentient Robot, Latia's phone began to ring with Romonus' ringtone. 

"Romonus?" 

Latia pulled her phone out and answered the call with a smile. 

"Hi Romonus, your gift is coming along nicely." 

"I can't wait to see it, but something is very wrong Latia. Zekram being himself is forcing me to accept Seekvaira as my next fiance. Otherwise, he would have disowned me from the Bael Clan and Gremory Clans.

Now that I think about it, that might have been a better choice. I let my Pride win me over I guess." 

Instantly Latia's face fell to pure shock before turning to her Uncle. 

"Are you hearing this?" 

Ajuka nodded with a serious expression. He was already going to be busy because of the fixing of the Rating Games Serafall revealed, but not this. 

"I am. Romonus, explain how this happened?" 

"Simply put, he wanted me to break my engagement with Silvana. When I refused, he showed his true colors and threatened to disown me from the Clan. He even recorded when I threatened his life and used that to force my hand." 

Ajuka had known Zekram since he was young, and this was his specialty. It was why Sirzechs and Ajuka himself still had to play nice. 

"Did you make a deal on it?" 

"Yes. He will now force Lord Agares to engage her with me." 

Latia hearing that looked pissed. 

"That asshole is forcing the both of you. Since you are forced to be under contract, that leaves Seekvaira herself to fight this. I will call her myself. Uncle, can anything be done?" 

Ajuka sat down as he thought about it. 

"Breaking a contract is tricky, but it has been done before. What matters now is what Seekvaira does because she is the only free variable in this. Romonus is tied down by his contract and Lord Agares is the same. You need to tell her so she can be ready." 

Latia nodded as she spoke to Romonus. 

"Leave it to me. I will tell her, just be ready for anything." 

He sighed. 

"I am sorry Latia. I didn't want this to happen." 

She smiled and shook her head. 

"You did nothing wrong Romonus. This was forced on you too so don't take it to heart. I am sure Seekvaira will find a way out of it." 

Ajuka suddenly asked something.

"What if she accepts?" 

Latia scowled. 

"She was determined to find her husband, but since she was the one who got me into my Artificer hobby that is a possibility. However, I don't want to force this on her. You understand don't you Romonus?" 

"I understand perfectly. If something was to happen I wanted it to be natural, not forced." 

Latia sighed as she looked at the half-built Wolverine robot. 

'This can wait.' 

"I will visit her myself to tell her, just be patient Romonus." 

"Got it." 

She hung up the call which made Romonus feel better. Now though Latia was pissed that not only her Fiance got pulled along into a scheme, her best friend too. 

"Uncle, I will be back."

Ajuka placed a hand on her shoulder. 

"Go on." 

Latia made a teleport circle and teleported to the Agares Castle. The Agares Clan was the second-ranked of the 32 Pillars ranked at Arch Duke. Since she and Seekvaira were very close she had been granted a ring that she wore around her neck as a necklace. 

It let her teleport directly into the castle despite the wards. She did so inside Seekvaira's room which surprised the Agares heiress. She had been building a Gundam her Father bought for her from Japan. 

When she saw Latia's teleport circle she was wondering what happened. As soon as Latia teleported inside, Seekvaira got up to give her a big hug. Both girls were the same age at the moment so neither looked older than the other. 

"Latia, you rarely visit these days." 

Latia hugged her cousin and best friend back first. 

"I am glad to see you, I just wish it was in better circumstances." 

That sounded serious so Seekvaira pulled away with a serious look on her face. 

"What happened?" 

Latia took a deep breath as she told her. 

"Be ready because you will soon be engaged to Romonus?" 

Seekvaira was confused. 

"Why? He is your fiance and he never seemed to be interested in me."

Latia shook her head. 

"Romonus isn't the one behind it. It is a scheme made by Zekram, he is using Romonus' second fiance Silvana as a card. Since she is a half breed Zekram used some political weight to either break off the engagement or accept another one. 

Romonus choose the latter and Zekram is picking you." 

Seekvaira did not seem too bothered. 

"Oh, that is what worried you? My Father won't let it happen." 

She seemed super confident in her Father Lord Agares who would never allow it. She walked back to her Gundam and was about to start again when Latia broke it to her. 

She walked up behind her and grabbed her shoulders making Seekvaira jump. 

"Your Father owes House Bael and Zekram Bael many favors. Zekram plans to use all of them to force his hand. What will happen then?" 

"I will challenge Romonus to a rating game." 

Latia shook his head. 

"You only have two Pieces your Queen and Knight. He has two Rooks, a Pawn, and a Bishop not counting himself. You will lose." 

Seekvaira was starting to worry. 

"Can't he let me win?" 

Latia shook her head. 

"Zekram would call it a fixed game and force a do-over."

Seekvaira now looked about to panic. 

"Fuck." 

Latia nodded. 

"Very much so. Romonus was forced to sign a contract to not fight it so it is up to you and your Father. House Agares is neutral in the Great King and Satan Faction which will cause trouble." 

Seekvaira reached up and grabbed her head. 

"I will think of something." 

Latia nodded as she hugged her friend tight. 

"If all else fails, I am sure he will make you happy." 

Seekvaira sighed. 

"I have been looking for a groom but didn't want it this way. I wanted to find someone to-"

She stopped mid-sentence when she remembered one big fact about Romonus. She had treated him as just her friend's fiance, but wasn't he what she was looking for? He wasn't arrogant about blood purity, he was a huge nerd when it came to blacksmithing and alchemy. 

He always helped Latia in her Artificer work which was a bitter pill to swallow. She was the Gundam nerd while Latia had just picked up on it from her. Now, Latia was making some serious tech that Seekvaira was trying to outdo with limited success. 

The few times she had met him he had been nothing but polite and handsome. His dark purple eyes seemed to draw you in while his muscular body showed he was not a bookworm. 

"Latia, don't get mad ok? Would you care if I got to know him more?" 

Latia wrapped her arms around Seekvaira's neck hard. The Agares heiress held her friend's deceptively strong arms. 

"UNCLE, UNCLE, UNCLE!"

Latia let go of her and let Seekvaira catch her breath. She wasn't mad at Seekvaira thinking of accepting Romonus, she was mad that she made Romonus feel like a monster. 

"Honestly, this could have been solved over a phone call." 

Latia pulled her phone out and called Romonus who picked up. 

"Latia, how did it go?" 

Latia seemed a bit bitter, but smiling. 

"Better than I expected, you talk to her." 

Latia passed her phone to Seekvaira who answered. 

"Romounus, we saw each other yesterday at your engagement. You just greeted my Father and me." 

"That I did, I wish I could have spoken to you on better terms. I am sorry this had to happen." 

Seekvaira shook her head. 

"I was thinking about it, but will I still be the next Lord of Agares?" 

Romonus was confused. 

"Yes? I don't think Zekram wants to take that from you." 

Seekvaira took a deep breath as she answered. 

"I know you can't fight our engagement since you are under contract, but do we have to fight it? I know this may be a lot since you just got engaged, but we don't have to act on it right?" 

Romonus did not speak for a few seconds as he was here trying to find a way out and it was fixed that quickly. Why was it so fast? He suddenly thought of something, if a Dragon's Aura attracted women to someone like Issei, did that mean his Demon Aura did the same thing?

"I guess we don't." 

Seekvaira cleared her voice again as Latia was looking at her with squinted eyes. She leaned in to stare right at her face. With a whisper she warned her. 

"Don't mess this up Seekvaira." 

Seekvaira returned to the phone call and had an idea. 

"If I talk to my Father before Zekram can pull his schemes, his control will be weakened right?" 

Romounus thought about it. 

'If her Father Lord Agares moves before Zekram, he will still be bound by our contract without being the one to move first.' 

"That is true." 

Seekvaira stood up. 

"In that case, I will get my Father on this. We don't have to get married as soon as we turn 18 do we?" 

"No, all that matters is that we wed before I am set to be Lord Bael at the turn of the Century." 

"That works for me. We got time." 

Romonus did warn her about his plans. 

"As I said, I won't be sticking around for long. I leave in 6 days and I won't be back for a year at least." 

Seekvaira understood that. 

"That is fine. As long as Zekram isn't the one to initiate things." 

Romonus was confused about why it was this easy. He was Prideful and considered himself the best, but was he really that good or was something else at play?

'Boss?'

He shook the thought from his head and spoke to Seekvaira.

"You just saved me the mental anguish of forcing you to be married to me. Thank you, Latia." 

Latia smirked. 

"You can always count on me. In the end, I think I am a good matchmaker. Just don't go having a harem like your Father or my Father." 

"Hell no, I can't look after each woman like that. Seekvaira, once again I am sorry for this." 

Seekvaira pushed her glasses up and shook her head. 

"Don't be. This will work out in the end." 

When they cut the call Seekvaira handed Latia her phone back. She smiled at her friend which made Latia frown. 

"Why are you smiling?" 

"We are already cousins and best friends, now we will be sisters. How can I not be happy when your fiance is such a hottie? He is also super smart so I think this will be for the best." 

Latia bonked her on the head. 

"Ow." 

Seekvaira held her head as Latia shook her head. 

"What was that for?" 

Latia just bonked her again. 

"Not only did you make me and Romonus feel like crap for you, you just accept it? Where are the tears? The crying that this is not fair? That you will marry the man you find. You made it too easy." 

Seekvaira just rubbed her sore head as she was more of a tactician and mage than anything. Latia despite having a thin frame was very strong because of the constant forging of her creations. 

"I mean, what was the point? He was the best candidate? WAIT! NOT AGAIN!" 

She covered her head as she saw Latia pulling her hand back for another one. Latia snorted as she turned around. 

"I am leaving." 

"Bye Latia." 

Latia held her head high as she left. Seekvaira looked at her Gundam before standing up to go see her Father and inform him of things. 

---

When Lord Agares heard of Zekram's scheme he was enraged as he had always been a supporter of Zekram. He tried to keep the peace between the factions, but this action was starting to push him in the direction of the Satan Faction. 

However, when Seekvaira told him that she did not mind and would like him to push for it first he was confused. She explained the conversation she had with Latia and Romonus which made her realize a way out of Zekram's scheme was to get a drop on it. 

Lord Agares was not so sure, but since his daughter herself was asking for it he went ahead with things. However, he did not push for it first and he waited for Zekram to 'cash in' his favors to get them out of the way. Zekram did not expect Lord Agares to not just accept, but push for the engagement himself. 

That made Zekram realize that Romonus already told Seekvaira and had come to terms with something. Lord Agares waited for Zekram to cash in his favors to get that leash off of him. 

Zekram was pissed, but he could do nothing about it. Those favors he had been hoarding were gone leaving Lord Agres free of him. As for Romonus, the next 6 days came by quickly as he made a few final preparations for his travels. 

Itsuki, Shirone, Akeno, and Miria were going to leave with him for the Vampire attack. Serafall as standing Leviathan could not go and she was going to be busy dismantling the Rating Game fixing along with her fellow Satans. 

Silvana and Roygun would be coming with him on his travels after his apprenticeship under Dormuteth The Abyss King. A Lich who had lived since the time of the Persian Empire when he had been a Death Mage. 

Regardless, the day he would depart on his 5-year journey through the world was set to begin. His first action would be to invade Romania for Valerie and Gasper. Then use the Grail to make himself and his peerage stronger. 

The Chaos he promised was here and he would enjoy every second of it. 

(I guess I need to explain something about the Political Landscape of DxD. The Christian Pantheon is quite weak without God. If the Devils become super weak from a second Civil War other Pantheons will move against them. 

Enough of those and Romonus will end up no better than Ddraig and Albion. Crushed under sheer numbers. It's just the smart thing to do to wait a few years because Romonus is just 12. Better to give him time until he turns 18 or 20 when he reaches his full maturity.)

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