"Something fun?" Lea blinked surprised. "Uh, right now?" From what she had heard from Barbatos, she had expected Diavolo to be busy until evening.
"Yes!" Diavolo exclaimed enthusiastically. "I need a change of scenery, a breather of fresh air. How does that sound?"
"Oh, well, sure..!" Lea nodded, a bit flustered.
"Great!" He seemed to be excited, and with that, Diavolo stood up, gesturing Lea to follow him to the door. She couldn't help but to raise her brow when Diavolo slowly peeked his way out of the room, glancing around as if to make sure the coast was clear before stepping out to the hallway— His behavior told her that the prince was up to something a little mischievous.
Without another word, they made their way down the hallway, and once making sure Barbatos wasn't close by, Diavolo gestured Lea to follow him into one of the rooms. At first glance, the room looked like a regular study, though a smaller one than the one Diavolo occupied. Lea didn't have much time to ponder what they were doing there, though, when Diavolo kneeled in front of the fireplace, running his fingertips on the surface of stone flooring.
"A hatch..?!" Lea almost couldn't believe her eyes when Diavolo conjured a trapdoor out of thin air.
"One of the many secret pathways within the castle." Diavolo smirked as he pulled the hatch door open. "Hidden by magic, of course— Impossible to find unless you know exactly where to look..!"
Lea was impressed; A hidden path beneath the castle? "Where does that path lead, exactly?" Lea asked, cautiously peering inside the dark tunnel. Diavolo, who had used these secret paths more times than he could count, had already jumped in.
"You'll see soon enough." He gave her a reassuring smile. "Jump in— Don't worry, I'll catch you."
"Okay… If you say so..!" Carefully, Lea lowered herself into the tunnel as well. As promised, Diavolo did his best to make sure she'd get down safely, supporting her by taking a hold of her waist.
"There, just grab a hold of me..!" He assured.
Hesitantly, Lea did as told; She couldn't prevent herself from letting out a yelp of surprise when she jumped into his arms. It was only a mere second when he held her close to him, but it was enough to make her cheeks flush red— Thankfully, he probably had no way to notice it in the darkness of the tunnel.
"Good job!" Diavolo chuckled happily as he released his hold of her, reaching up to close the door behind them. When the hatch slammed shut, the darkness swallowed them. With a snap of fingers, Diavolo adjusted the lighting; A small, flickering light appeared, illuminating the path ahead.
"Watch your footing— Now, let's hurry!" Grabbing a hold of her hand, Diavolo dragged still bewildered Lea down the narrow tunnel.
Lea couldn't help but to secretly smile to herself. Seeing this happy-go-lucky -side of Diavolo always lifted up her spirits. In his study, he had looked so stressed, and she had been worried about him— And yet here he was, running through the dark corridors with a carefree grin on his face.
Eventually, they reached the end of the tunnel. When Diavolo helped Lea climb out, she was surprised to find herself in the castle's garden. The tunnel hadn't felt long enough to reach all the way outside, so Lea suspected it also had something to do with the magical properties of the path.
"There, we made it." Diavolo said as he climbed out as well, dusting himself off.
"Made it..? What was the rush, all of a sudden?" Lea couldn't help but ask.
Diavolo turned to look at her, a playful smirk on his lips. "I had the feeling that Barbatos might have followed us, and I don't want him to drag me back to my study."
"Ah." Lea blinked, surprised. "Is he... going to be mad at us?"
"Oh, no. Not mad at you, at least." Diavolo chuckled. But, before Lea could say anything, he already gestured to her to follow him. "Come. I want to show you around."
As they walked along the path, Lea could smell the fragrant scents of flowers all around them. It was still a bit chilly outside, but the breeze felt rather pleasant on her skin. They reached a large area, surrounded by hedges and statues.
"This is the hedge maze." Diavolo said, proudly gesturing towards it. "It's actually one of my favorite spots in the entire garden."
"Oh, a hedge maze..!" Lea smiled as she looked at the green wall in front of her. The maze seemed quite large, with numerous branches and pathways leading into different directions. "Are we allowed to go in, or..."
"Of course we are. Why else would I have brought you here?" Diavolo smirked. "It's a great place for thinking, or just enjoying a moment of peace. In the middle of it, there's a little statue garden and a gazebo. You'll love it there, I'm sure."
Lea had a lot of fun, strolling through the maze. Even though she got lost a couple of times, they always found their way back to the right path. They had to hurry over to the gazebo, though, when it started to rain.
"Oh, shoot." Diavolo murmured as they reached their destination, the rain already pouring heavily around them. "I hope we won't have to wait here for long."
"Ah, that's okay." Lea said as she looked around. Even in this weather, the place was beautiful. Across the sea of flowers, there were statues placed all around the area, and the whole area was lit by the soft glow of garden lights.
"Look at you, you're all soaked..!" Diavolo examined Lea with a worried look painted on his face. Lea was wearing a short sleeved blouse and a skirt, and the chilly weather had already filled her arms and legs with goosebumps.
"Ah, no, it's nothing..!" Lea shook her head, giving him a sheepish smile. "A little rain won't kill me- Wait, what are you doing?!"
"You'll catch a cold— Here, take this." Diavolo, who was busy unbuttoning his coat, demanded.
Lea felt her heart skip a beat as she stared at him, the realization dawning upon her. "W-w-what?! No, you don't have to-" She gasped in shock, trying to quickly make up an excuse to decline his offer. "He's about to make me wear his coat! What is this, an ikemen dating sim?!"
"It's alright." He just chuckled at her flustered act as he removed his coat. "I feel bad for dragging you out here without a jacket. Here you go~!" Without waiting for further protests, he draped the coat over Lea's shoulders, carefully wrapping it around her delicate frame. "I'm rather warm-blooded, so I don't easily feel chilly anyways."
"Well… If you're not cold, I… I guess it's okay…" At this point, Lea just wanted to hide under the coat completely— Not just because of the warmth, but due to embarrassment. "What's up with the stuttering?! I'm acting like some foolish schoolgirl all of a sudden!" Despite her initial resistance, she had to admit that the warmth of the coat felt divine after shivering in the cold weather.
"I never thought this coat would be this heavy..!" She thought to herself, securing the garment around herself more snugly while sneakily stealing a sidelong glance at Diavolo. "No wonder he has such broad shoulders, to carry a coat like this-" She had to give herself mentally a major slap on the cheek once she realized the way she was looking at him. "Okay, he has a nice body, so what?! Like I care, I saw enough during that midnight sun ball anyways! Strutting around basically shirtless, showing off his rock hard abs and pecs- No, wait! I was supposed to stop thinking about such things, why am I visualizing him half-naked right now?!" Trying to calm down, Lea took a deep breath. "...Oh no… This coat even smells like him… Well, of course it does, it's his coat!"
"Come, let's take a seat." Diavolo smiled as he took a seat on one of the benches. Lea followed suit, and the two of them sat there quietly for a moment, listening to the sounds of rain. "Ah, it's kind of refreshing to listen to the rain, isn't it?" Diavolo smiled as he listened to the drops drumming on the roof above them. "Feels good to just sit down for a moment and relax."
"You seemed pretty tired." Lea noted, thinking back to the moment she had stepped into his study that morning.
"Hm, yeah." Diavolo admitted. "Those big events do that. You'd think I'd already gotten used to it, but constantly being in the spotlight… It's tiring. Everyone's watching your every move, waiting for you to slip up." He chuckled a dry, joyless laugh. "You must think I'm complaining, right? I know how lucky I am to be in my position. But sometimes, you just want to escape, you know."
"No, I think I understand. Or, well, I can imagine how that must feel like." Lea nodded slowly. She had gotten the idea that the life of the royal family in Devildom was no easy matter; Just by the sheer amount of work that went into a single event like the one that was just held, she could only imagine the constant pressure and stress he was under. "It must be hard."
For another short moment, they listened to the rain again, sitting there quietly.
"So... Do you want to talk about it?" Lea asked when Diavolo remained quiet, a pensive look painted on his face. It was rather unusual to see him this serious, almost somber.
"Well, it's..." Diavolo hesitated for a moment, his eyes only briefly flickering to Lea as he tried to put his thoughts to words. "It's not as bad as it was in the beginning when my father fell into slumber. The pressure." He sighed. "The war had just ended and Devildom was in chaos… To say that I was struggling doesn't make justice to how I felt." Diavolo confessed in a quiet tone. He spoke with a vulnerability that was rare for a future demon king, allowing Lea a glimpse into the heavy emotional burdens he carried.
Alongside with many others, Lucifer and Barbatos were there to support Diavolo, of course; They did their utmost to help him, but the emotional toll the future ruler had to endure wasn't something that was openly discussed.
Barbatos had an incredible ability to sense whenever his master was in distress, providing practical solutions to alleviate his burdens. Lucifer, on the other hand, shouldered much of the responsibility of the student council, taking care of numerous administrative issues. But even with these trusted demons, Diavolo felt compelled to maintain the act— The facade of a strong, capable ruler who could handle any challenge the world threw at him. He couldn't afford to appear weak, not even to his closest friends.
Having someone sit down with him and asking him how he really was doing, offering a listening ear without judgment, was a rare and comforting experience for Diavolo. Lea was someone he believed he could open up to, someone who wouldn't question his competence as a future ruler the moment his mask slipped.
"But, that was a long time ago." Diavolo finally spoke up again, breaking the silence. "I'm not that troubled kid anymore." He smiled, though a hint of sadness still lingered in his eyes. "...Still, it's nice to be reminded that not everyone expects something from me. That it's okay to not be okay." He said softly, a tender smile on his lips.
"Yeah." Lea nodded. She couldn't imagine the burden of leading an entire nation, and a nation in the midst of chaos at that. No wonder Diavolo had a habit of overworking himself— It was probably the only thing that helped him get by.
"Thank you for listening to me, Lea." Diavolo said quietly. "It's very kind of you."
"Of course. Don't mention it." Lea nodded, feeling touched by his sincere gratefulness.
Diavolo's features relaxed, a smile on his lips. "And... Thanks for being here. It's nice to have you around."
"No problem." Lea giggled softly. "It's nice to be here."
Little they knew, a certain demon butler had been listening to their conversation— Hidden out of sight, behind a tall hedge, Barbatos stood there with his umbrella. He had been determined to return the young master back to his duties at once he'd find him… but maybe a little longer break didn't hurt.