Belphegor was bored. A simple statement that had the entire Varia running for cover. Nono was refusing to let him take any missions at all, Boss was frozen, Squalo was in a permanent snit, Levi was moping and Lussuria was still trying to mother him. He had promised Boss that he would stay, and a Prince never broke his word, but he was so bored. After two weeks and fifteen fatalities among the ranks, he decided it was worth Mammon's fees for some ideas.
It cost him money he had earmarked for a new pair of boots, but Mammon gave him a fantastic idea, one he couldn't believe he hadn't thought of himself. Mammon had suggested taking care of business relating to his Royal status while he had some down time. The caretakers could take care of the Royal business while he was away, since they knew to consult him on anything truly important, but there was another loose end to tie up.
The royal family always had two children. They were prone to twins, but if the child was a single, another child – and only one - would have to be born. In order to ascend to the throne, a prince or princess must kill his or her sibling. Which was why him calling himself a prince was technically false. By killing Rasiel, he had made himself King, even though he had never been formally crowned. Once he retire from the Varia he would take the throne, but not before.
His mother had been the one exception to the rule. She had a younger brother, Stephen, and she had declared that she had killed him and disposed of the body. Once he had killed her, he had gone through all the documents available in order to prepare for his role. Just because he had no intention to remain in the kingdom didn't mean he was content to be ignorant. His mother, Atarah, had let Stephen live, sending him away to England and making him promise not to seek the throne.
He didn't know how his mother could have been so weak, although it explained how she had been so easy to kill. Still, it presented a problem. He had considered going after Stephen immediately, but he had gotten side-tracked by the Mafia, and then the Varia and Boss and the coup. Now, a year later, he had time to take care of it.
Stephen was now Dr Stephen Granger, a dentist married to a Dr Cordelia Granger. They had one daughter, Hermione. That was even more of a problem – since Atarah was dead, Stephen might have a valid claim to throne. He didn't know for sure, since this situation had never come up before. No one had ever ascended to the throne without killing their sibling. Whether he did or not, it was best to be cautious, and to remove the stain on his Royal honour.
Squalo was only too eager to approve his time off, and even allowed him to expense the flight to England and a five star hotel. Mammon wasn't thrilled, but he agreed since the cost was much less than the money saved by Bel not staying in Italy and causing damage.
The Grangers lived in the countryside, a fair distance from any neighbours and potential witnesses. Excellent. He wouldn't have to worry about being quiet. The family were out on a family trip, given him plenty of time to set up inside. Setting up an intricate web of razor sharp wires took a couple of hours, and by the time he was done there wasn't the slightest chance the Granger's could escape.
It went perfectly. They came in chattering happily, walking into the living room together without paying any attention at all. They pulled the wires taut around themselves before they even realised what was happening, and bright red blood slicked their skin. He had placed the wires carefully so there was little chance of them cutting deeply enough to be immediately fatal. He hadn't gone to all this trouble to cut his fun short.
He manipulated his wires, pulling them carefully into the centre of the room where they hung like macabre puppets. The woman was crying, almost choking herself as she tried to stay quiet. Brave, for a peasant. Stephen hadn't chosen too badly, from the pool he had to select from. The girl was holding herself absolutely still, looking round at the wires and muttering to herself. Bel listened for a moment, and then laughed out loud. Maths. She was trying to work out how the wires worked. Smart little princess. Her father's disgrace didn't change her Royal blood, after all. Stephen himself was disgusting.
The fallen prince had cut his hair short, so his eyes were immediately visible. Bel wanted to cut them out of his head, but that would mean that he couldn't make the man watch what happened to his family. Such tough decisions.
"You know who I am?" Bel purred. He was curious to see just how much the coward had told his family which, judging by their looks of confusion, was not much.
"Nephew. If you had called ahead, I would have made up the guest room." Arrogant little weakling. He had forgotten the strength of a true prince, surrounded by the filthy trash he degraded himself by serving.
That was easily fixed. One sharp tug, and the woman was screaming, her left hand missing. She would probably pass out from the blood loss soon, but he had made his point well enough.
Stephen was aghast, staring at his wife. The girl was screaming too, high and terrified. He supposed, being raised surrounded by peasants, she couldn't be expected to understand the joy of being covered in a parent's blood.
"What do you want, your highness?" Stephen asked quietly, all bravado gone.
Bel laughed, irritated, and pulled another wire. Cordelia collapsed into the web holding her up, as her head hit the floor. If Stephen was being so pathetic already, there was no need to keep her alive.
"Mummy!" The girl was screaming, and the wires were all vibrating. That was interesting, and not tied to any Flame that he had ever heard of. Bel watched, curious, as the wires suddenly pulled themselves out of where they had been anchored, and all three collapsed to the floor.
The girl was still screaming, trapped under the headless corpse of her mother. Bel ignored her, stalking over to his unworthy uncle. The man was lying still, not even breathing. There was a growing pool of blood under his head. Bel threw his knife into the wall in irritation. All this preparation, and the man died from a blow to the head? An embarrassing end for Royalty.
Still, he had achieved what he came for, and discovered something interesting in the bargain. He quickly coiled up his wire and stowed it away with his knives. By then, the screaming had died down to sobbing, so he pulled the girl out, grinning as his clothes smeared with blood. It was beautiful.
He knew the next few hours and days were critical. Get the girl clean, change her clothes, take her somewhere warm and safe, and she would cling to him. She wouldn't be able to help herself, and Mammon could assist if she was especially stubborn. He had come to kill a prince, and come away with a princess. He laughed gleefully as he carried the girl outside, his grin widening as she clung to him.
This is complete and will absolutely not be updated.