…AND THE HEIR
They had been talking for an hour, or more. Lord Astaroth and Lord Astaroth's father went over every facet of the duchy, from tax revenue and military readiness to combing over the biographies and intentions of every vassal lord that was sworn to the Astaroth clan. On that subject Latia's own father had much to say since he was also a vassal lord. The conversation was like the Phenex clan and their clan power of immortality; it just wouldn't die. The three of them were in the middle of discussing how best to squeeze more taxes while simultaneously not giving the lower class a reason to revolt when—
"They killed your son," Astaroth said, from his position at the head of the table. His face had been so still it might as well have been a mask.
"He is, lord ancestor." Lord Astaroth's voice was dulled by exhaustion and grief. "He was my son, and I loved him."
While Lord Astaroth thought and spoke of love, Latia thought of Diodora's peerage. The news only came out after he died, as news about people beloved in public but heinous in private tended to be. As Rias Gremory told it, her cousin's entire peerage and personal servants had been women from human religious orders; he would seduce them and convince them to break their vows. Latia had no problem with that- she was after all a devil. But what made her shiver was the fact that he had made himself their only refuge after their holy orders had cast them out. By Diodora's design, the girls had nowhere to go but into his arms.
Astaroth turned to study Lord Astaroth. In the noon light that shone off her ancestor's pupils she swore she could have seen green— the color of her house— but she could not tell if it was a look of approval or disgust.
"At the Gremory girl's hands, no less." Lord Astaroth's father was absolutely livid, a vein throbbing on his neck. "Blood will pay for blood. Zeoticus must hand over the Gremory girl so we can make an example of her. Her head on a pike will teach the other Houses that we do not simply let anyone kill our own without punishment."
Her father's laughter was dark and harsh. "My lord must have lost his mind," he said. "Lord Gremory won't hand his daughter over like that. You'll have to fight him for it, him and his armies and his son Sirzechs and his daughter's servant who if my lord didn't notice is the Red Dragon Emperor! It is a battle we won't win. Not now, not next year, or a thousand years from now. We will follow Diodora to the pyre, except there won't be anyone to burn us because we will be like Andrealphus, Buné, Sabnock and Vepar: extinct houses all."
"All the same, cousin." Lord Astaroth drew his ducal sword, a finely wrought blade encrusted with emeralds and moonstones. He laid it on the ornate lacquered wood of the conference table. "This is the only answer I'll give my son's killers."
"Then let us fight the right battle," her father insisted, "against the Old Satans. We'll drag Beelzebub out of his hole and mount his head on a pike."
"My lords," Latia was surprised to hear her mother speak, "why not choose peace?"
Lord Astaroth and Lord Astaroth's father stared slack-jawed at her. Her father was frowning. The only one who didn't react was Astaroth himself, who tilted his head to the side. Still his face remained tranquil and unknowable.
"My lady," Lord Astaroth said, "you already know my answer." He glanced at his sword.
"The Old Satans killed him," her father reminded Lord Astaroth. "Not the Gremories."
"Old Satans," her mother mused. "Gremories. Does it matter? I am fortunate enough to still have my daughter with me." She squeezed Latia's hand. "But I have buried my brothers and uncles… and my father. In the civil war there were Agares on both sides. My lords, have you seen brother slay brother? War made them do that." She glanced at the sword Lord Astaroth laid on the table. "If that sword could bring Diodora back, I'd cut Rias Gremory's head off, or the Old Satans— anyone who stood in our way until Diodora returned to us… but he won't. Your son is gone, my lord Astaroth, and the death of thousands more will not change that. Do more devils have to die for a young man's memory?"
"You are a woman, my lady. You wouldn't understand," Lord Astaroth said, grief and sorrow still fresh on his face. "I must have revenge. For myself. For my wife whose grief is so great she can't attend this council. For my family which you are now part of."
"You've always been a gentle creature," Lord Astaroth's father said to her mother. "You don't know the need for vengeance. Against Diodora's killers."
"Who are the Old Satans," her father added to Lord Astaroth's father's dismay.
Her mother was overruled, drowned out by the lords in the room. And that was it for peace— the arguing began again. They had almost listened… but the moment for peace, for sitting still and doing nothing had passed. On that issue though Latia agreed with the lords Astaroth. Thoughts of nuns and religious maidens filled her head when she thought about the last time her family had done nothing. She reached within the folds of her dress and unfurled her folding fan to fan herself. Then she lurched to her feet, trying to suppress the cold dagger of embarrassment, and spoke.
"Mother, Father. My lords," Latia began. Lord Astaroth, Lord Astaroth's father, and her own father turned and looked at her. "Our money and military might isn't everything. What about the trust the other Houses have in us as a Pillar of society? We broke that trust when Diodora joined the Khaos Brigade and attacked Rias and her servants. That's why she did it, you know. Rather than doubling down on our errors, we must act. We must fix the wrongs Diodora left us, repair the trust he broke. We must fix our broken friendships… or make new ones. I am a young woman, inexperienced at war or politics… but I do know that we won't become great again by mounting Rias' head on a pike."
Lord Astaroth's father snorted disdainfully. "You said it yourself, girl. You know nothing."
"But everyone knows just how powerful my uncle and Lord Lucifer are," Latia protested.
"The other Houses will rise up against them if they destroy us," Lord Astaroth's father replied, though now he didn't sound so sure. "My daughter speaks the truth," her father was saying, "which is why we must have war against the Old Satans! We will have the right revenge against the right enemy." Lord Astaroth was playing with the hilt of his sword. "Someone must die," he repeated. "Someone must die." Latia was fanning herself, trying not to get angry. "Who, my lord? Who do you want to kill so badly?"
"Our enemies," Lord Astaroth hissed. "Gremory, the Old Satans, Heaven- I want them to choke on their own blood. I want them all to die. They will pay for my son's death. All of them."
"Surely we could rally the Houses in war against the Old Satans," her father said. "No House would turn down an opportunity to destroy rebels and exiles. And in that war we'd make new friends and allies and win back the trust we lost."
And then, the words cut through the conversation like a knife through butter—"They killed your son."
Everyone turned and looked at the head of the table.
Astaroth's voice remained cool and level, never once raised. "Leave me, all of you."
Latia rose to leave with the rest, but her ancestor gave her a look. "Not you," he said. So Latia stayed.
After everyone else had left Astaroth spoke. "You were right. Blundering about and wanting to mount the Gremory girl's head on a pike… madness, madness and stupidity. And your mother, talking about peace. Only someone whose family has the ability to manipulate time would prattle about waiting and making peace." Her ancestor conjured up a magic circle and summoned a bottle of wine and two wine glasses. "Wine?"
"No thank you, lord ancestor," Latia managed to reply. "I've never liked the taste."
"Smart girl." He sipped from his glass. "Wine dulls the senses of most devils." When he noticed her glance, he chuckled. "I am not most devils."
"I never knew what to make of you," he said after he had sipped from his glass for a time. "Certainly your blood is powerful; Agares' and mine flows within you. But your family is the younger line and never destined for power; you've never had the chance to try it."
"That didn't stop my uncle Ajuka," Latia pointed out.
Astaroth considered this for a long while. "It never did," he said suddenly when Latia feared he had forgotten the conversation at hand. "He wrote to me, once, when he was a young child. His brother—your father— had received for his name-day an army of miniatures, each finely wrought of emeralds. Your uncle Ajuka just wanted a chisel and a knife, so he could work stone and wood into toys he himself could appreciate. Later the boy figured out that he could do so much more than with his hands alone." Her ancestor drummed his fingers. "You are right. Your line has produced one such visionary talent. Why not another?"
Asking for a chance to prove herself was one matter. Following in her uncle's footsteps was another.
"M-my lord?" Latia said, not sure she wanted to hear what her ancestor had in store for her.
But he was already pressing onwards. "Your lord kinsman is a fool," Astaroth said. "If he had paid any attention to his boy he would have seen that his son was plotting treachery with the Old Satans and we would not be discussing this matter today. And his father who keeps talking about putting the Gremory girl's head on a pike… were he not my own blood, I would have his head on a pike." Her lord ancestor hadn't raised his voice, yet she could see the anger on the glint of his eyes. "When we the Pillars had tired of our duties we bestowed them on our children in the hope that the young could make better what the old could not. Today has proven that my hope was unfounded." He drank some wine, before continuing. "Regardless, your lord kinsman and his father were right about one thing. The house that lets its heirs be slain without punishment is a house that no one respects. Which is why that fool of a lord cannot be allowed to lead it."
"You…" The enormity of what Astaroth was implying was clear in her face like the noon sun outside. "Lord ancestor, is that… is that even possible?"
"From whom did your father receive his lordship from?" Astaroth asked, even though his tone made the question not sound like a question at all.
"His father," Latia said mutely. "And his father got it from his father, who got it from—"
"Just so. I'll have the decree drawn up, but it'll be a formality. Devils live for a long time and have long memories. I will not find it difficult to again rule the lands that I once carved out with fire and blood."
History was being made in this council room- by a creature who had helped make the Underworld's history, no less. Latia suddenly felt a little faint.
"A devil from the old days," she managed to say at last, "taking back his old lands. I'll… I'll have much to talk about… with my parents, when we return home."
"You will do no such thing."
"My l-lord?"
"Now that I have returned to my lands," Astaroth said, "there are matters that must be seen to personally, such are their weight and importance. Which is why you will stay here. Tell your parents to stay with you, if you wish to have them about. I imagine your father will like having the run of the ducal palace."
"And… and do what?" She was lost. "This isn't my home. What would I do here?"
"Rule," Astaroth said.
It was the last thing Latia Astaroth would have ever expected. All of a sudden she felt very faint. Her breath was tight and she felt queasy in the pit of her stomach. She gripped the armrest of her chair for support. It was happening, she realized. She took a few breaths to steady herself.
"Why me?" she asked quietly. "Why not my father? Why not… why not my uncle? You could ask him to step down from his post in the name of the family. Any one of them would be a good ruler in your absence."
"Your father is a lord," Astaroth said. "Your uncle is a Satan. Ruling has shaped them in ways that it has not yet shaped you. You are young, but you clearly have some measure of wisdom. You will make a decent, and in time maybe even an able ruler."
She did not know what to say to that.
Astaroth rose abruptly. "Oh, and one more thing. You will deal with Diodora's servants, one way or another. I will not have embarrassing tales of his dalliances spread beyond our borders."
He conjured up a magic circle and was gone.
Latia sat alone in the council room for a long while after her ancestor had gone. On a whim she conjured up her own magic circle and traveled to the roof of the palace. The view was breathtaking: from where she was standing she could see the entire palace complex as well as all the land for thirty miles, illuminated by the warm midday sun.
She was no stranger to responsibility and nobility; she was after all the heir to her father's estate which meant that it was her responsibility as future lady to know the land, its people, its resources, its readiness for war. But this... the sheer size and scope... it was wholly different from simply being next in line to rule smaller lands. Her family's estate house could have snugly fit into the palace, and the vast expanses of green around the Astaroth ducal palace easily outsized her family lands. It would be one thing if Astaroth had named her heir to the ducal lands, but her ancestor was giving it all to her so she could rule. It was temporary, yes- but it was hers all the same. She breathed in and out to steady herself. Only for a time, she reminded herself. Only for a time.
Latia turned around and went back inside the palace. The business of ruling awaited.
A/N: These things are canon, by the way. Sorta, at least. Latia Astaroth's uncle really is Ajuka, and her mother is an Agares, as of the short story Open for Business! Gremory Real Estate. Ajuka does have an unnamed brother, so I have taken a little liberty and made Ajuka's brother Latia's father, which would explain why Latia is Ajuka's niece.
Also, a little family tree for the reader's convenience, so that one is not lost as to which lord is which. These things do get a little confusing in noble families.
ASTAROTH, Pillar, founder of the Astaroth clan, Duke
* Elder son of Astaroth, ex-Duke
** Lord Astaroth's father, ex-Duke
*** Lord Astaroth, ex-Duke
**** Diodora Astaroth, formerly heir to the duchy (deceased)
* Younger son of Astaroth, ex-lord
** Latia's grandfather, ex-lord
*** Latia's father, lord
*** Ajuka Beelzebub, Latia's uncle (disinherited)
**** Latia Astaroth, heir to her father's lordship, acting Duchess
*11 other sons of Astaroth (deceased)