Chapter 19: Crimson Mornings and the Cost of Ambition
The morning began not with the chirping of birds, but with the sensation of being buried alive in the world's most expensive, floral-scented marshmallows.
Lucian Gremory shifted, his consciousness slowly clawing its way back from the depths of a dreamless sleep. His arm felt heavy, pinned down by something warm, soft, and terrifyingly smooth. As his vision cleared, the first thing he saw was a curtain of crimson hair—vibrant, silky, and spread across his pillow like a spilled bottle of expensive wine.
Then, he felt the skin-to-skin contact.
Rias Gremory was draped over him, her porcelain skin glowing in the morning light. She was entirely naked, her breathing rhythmic and calm, her limbs entangled with his as if they were two pieces of a puzzle that had finally clicked into place.
Wait, Lucian's brain stuttered. This is wrong. This is fundamentally against the established laws of the canon timeline. This scene belongs to Issei. Why is it happening to me? Did I break the romantic system when I dismantled Riser?
He felt a surge of genuine, visceral desire—he was a teenage devil, after all, and Rias was a masterpiece of the underworld—but it was immediately followed by a cold spike of survival instinct. If Sirzechs appeared right now, the "Power of Destruction" wouldn't be a magic; it would be Lucian's cause of death.
He tried to slide out, moving with the stealth of a ninja, but Rias's grip tightened. Her eyes fluttered open, misty and full of a playful, sleepy warmth.
"Where are you going now, Lucian?" she cooed, her voice a low, morning rasp that sent a shiver down his spine.
"Rias... what are you doing in my bed? In the ORC? Naked?" Lucian hissed, trying to keep his eyes fixed on the ceiling while his body betrayed him by leaning into her warmth.
"You know I have to sleep naked, or I can't rest," she said, propping herself up on her elbow. The movement caused the sheets to slip, and Lucian's heart hammered against his ribs like a trapped bird. "And besides, sleeping in my own room is no fun. It's cold over there."
"Rias, I'm a gentleman. Or I'm trying to be," Lucian groaned, closing his eyes tight.
"Are you?" She leaned in, her lips brushing his cheek as she gave him a lingering kiss. "Gentlemen don't hug back this tightly."
Lucian realized his arms had instinctively wrapped around her waist. He let out a defeated sigh, finally opening his eyes to meet her gaze. "It's a manufacturing defect. My body acts independently of my common sense. You're the one forcing a poor, innocent Bishop into this scandalous situation."
"Poor? Innocent?" Rias laughed, a rich, melodic sound. She dropped her weight back onto him, her head resting on his chest. "You're a pervert, Lucian Gremory. A very naughty, very strategic pervert."
"I am a man of strategy!" Lucian defended, though his hands were currently tracing the curve of her spine. "Fine. I'm a pervert. Now can you please give me less work today? My head is killing me."
"I'll think about it," she whispered, squeezing him one last time before the door creaked open.
The Domestic Explosion
The door to the inner chambers didn't just open; it glided. Yubelluna stepped in, carrying a tray with two cups of steaming herbal tea. Behind her, Tamamo was trotting along, her three tails wagging—until she saw the bed.
Yubelluna froze. Her eyes swept over the tangled limbs, the discarded clothes, and the sight of her new Master pinned beneath the Gremory Heiress. She didn't scream. She didn't drop the tray. She simply closed her eyes, her face forming a tiny, unmistakable pout.
"I saw nothing, Master," Yubelluna said, her voice unusually flat. "Please carry on with your... morning exercises. I shall leave the tea by the door."
"It's not what it looks like, Yubel!" Lucian shouted, trying to sit up, which only made Rias giggle and cling to him more tightly.
Tamamo, however, was not so composed. She shifted into her adult form in a burst of green smoke, her eyes flashing with emerald indignation. "What the hell are you doing, Master?! I leave you alone for eight hours and you're already being devoured! I hate you! I'm going on strike! Don't you dare summon me for the next week!"
"Tamamo, wait—"
Rias, sensing the jealousy in the room, didn't back down. Instead, she sat up, pulling the sheet just high enough to be modest but low enough to be provocative, and hugged Lucian's arm against her chest. "He's my Bishop, isn't he? A King is allowed to dote on her favorite piece."
The atmosphere in the room turned into a chemical weapon of jealousy. Lucian could only lay there, staring at the ceiling, wondering if there was a spell for instant teleportation to a different planet.
The Elegant Prince and the Pervert's Price
Later that day, the chaos shifted from the bedroom to the halls of Kuoh Academy.
Lucian sat in the back of History class, his head resting on his desk. He was exhausted. The high-level magic he had used during the Rating Game was starting to leave "burn marks" on his mana circuits—a dull, throbbing ache that pulsed behind his eyes.
Suddenly, the door was shoved open. Issei Hyoudou marched in, looking uncharacteristically serious.
"Lucian! Meeting in the ORC! Get up, you lazy genius!" Issei shouted.
Lucian stretched, his joints popping. "Look at you, Issei. Becoming a responsible devil? Actually doing your job?"
"I want to be a High-Ranking Devil!" Issei declared, punching the air. "I've got a dream! And part of that dream involves not getting scolded by Rias-senpai today!"
"You don't even know what a High-Ranking Devil actually does," Lucian muttered, grabbing his bag. "It's 90% paperwork and 10% avoiding being assassinated by your own relatives."
As they walked through the courtyard, the usual "Charming Prince" fan club was replaced by something new. The girls of Kuoh were looking at Lucian with a different kind of intensity.
"Lucian-sama! You said you'd help me with my English homework last week!" one girl cried out.
"Lucian-kun, I have two tickets to the cinema today!" another shouted.
Lucian dodged them with a polite, tired smile, his movements fluid and elegant. He didn't flirt back aggressively; he simply declined with a grace that made the girls swoon even harder.
"If Kiba is the Charming Prince," one girl whispered, clutching her heart as Lucian passed, "then Lucian is the Elegant Prince. He looks so... mysterious and tragic today."
Behind them, Motohama and Matsuda—the "Pervert Trio" remnants—were watching with bloodshot eyes. They cornered the group near the gym.
"Issei... you lucky bastard..." Matsuda growled. "Rumor has it... Asia-chan is living with you. Confirmed. Under one roof."
"It's not like that!" Issei squeaked.
"Die, traitor!" Motohama roared.
The two began beating Issei to a pulp, a comedic whirlwind of fists and jealous rage. Lucian didn't intervene. He just watched, leaning against a tree, until Issei was a limp, twitching pile of school uniform.
"Good work, boys," Lucian said politely. He then grabbed Issei by the back of his collar and began dragging his unconscious body toward the clubhouse.
The Price of Destruction
When Lucian arrived at the ORC, dragging Issei behind him like a sack of potatoes, he found a note pinned to the door in Rias's elegant handwriting:
> Meeting moved to Issei's house tonight. Be there by 7:00 PM. P.S. Lucian, don't be late or the 'punishment' continues.
>
"She didn't even mention this to me this morning," Lucian grumbled, dropping Issei onto the sofa. "She was too busy using me as a body pillow."
Akeno Himejima glided out from the kitchen, a tray of tea in her hands. She stopped when she saw Lucian. "Ara ara, Lucian-kun. You look a bit pale. Is the 'Elegant Prince' suffering from a royal hangover?"
Lucian tried to respond with a witty remark, but suddenly, his world tilted.
A sharp, jagged pain spiked in his right hand. He looked down and gasped. His hand was shaking violently, the skin turning a faint, bruised purple as tiny sparks of black-and-purple energy flickered around his fingertips.
It was the "Residue of Destruction." Because he had used the power surgically—compressing it rather than letting it explode—the excess energy had nowhere to go. It was eating his own nerves.
The room began to spin. A massive, crushing migraine slammed into his skull, making him lose his balance.
"Lucian?!" Akeno's teasing tone vanished instantly. She dropped the tray, the sound of shattering porcelain echoing in the room, and rushed toward him before he could hit the floor.
She caught him, pulling his head into her lap, her eyes wide with genuine alarm. "Your mana... it's collapsing! Lucian, look at me! What did you do to yourself?"
Lucian couldn't answer. He could only feel the cold, destructive hum of his own power trying to tear his hand apart from the inside out.
[Current Status: Critical Mana Instability]