Lea woke up in a good mood that morning. Stretching her limbs and yawning, she burrowed herself under the soft sheets and blankets, not quite ready to leave her warm bed. She laid there, letting her mind wander; How could her life change so drastically in just a span of a few weeks..? A month ago, she had lived a quiet, dull life, and now... Now, she had a whole new world at her fingertips, full of wonder and mysteries. Even the last night had been almost like a dream, and she couldn't help but to smile to herself.

"Oh, geez..." She murmured, her cheeks turning slightly pink as she recalled the evening. It had been the first ball she had ever attended, and it was so much more fun than she could've possibly imagined. The dance was wonderful. And, Diavolo— Lea was sure she would remember the way he had looked at her that night for a long time. The way his golden eyes had shone brightly when they had danced, his warm smile... His gentle, strong hands guiding her across the dancefloor.

"Ahhhh!" She pulled the pillow over her head and let out a muffled scream, trying to push those thoughts away. It didn't help, though. If the memory of dancing with him was enough to make her so giddy, what about the moment at the balcony? The image of Lord Diavolo in his demonic form had haunted her even in her dreams; That faint glow in his golden eyes, and that frickin' toned chest of his... Lea felt her cheeks burning, and groaned in frustration. She knew she should stop thinking about it, and yet, she couldn't.

"Stop, Lea, stop it." She scolded herself. "He's the prince of Devildom..." She mumbled to herself, pulling the blanket over her head. Lucifer and his brothers were trying to find a way for them to lift the curse that bound her to Lord Diavolo, but the idea of the ritual didn't bother her anymore as much as it probably should've. If Lord Diavolo was up to it, then, maybe..? No! Lea shook her head vigorously under the covers. What was she thinking?! "Get a grip, you dumbass!"

The buzzing of her D.D.D forced Lea to peek her head out from under the blanket.

"Leaaaa~!" Asmodeus' high pitched, lascivious squeal of her name from the other end of the phone was almost enough to break Lea's eardrum— Just a moment ago she had been still more or less half asleep, but now she was definitely wide awake..!

"A-asmo..?!" Lea stuttered, unable to mask the annoyance in her voice. Being abruptly shaken awake like this wasn't exactly the most pleasant experience..! "W-what is it..? What time is it, anyways-"

"My gosh, you devilish little rascal of a human~!" Asmo murmured, cherishing each and every word he uttered into the phone. "Like every morning, I was browsing my Devilgram feed while getting ready for school, and guess whose face has been popping up everywhere~?"

"Huh..?" Lea furrowed her brow in confusion, still busy rubbing the sleepydust from her eyes. "Your party make up tutorial really went viral?"

"No, you silly! Or… well, yes, now that you mentioned it~!" He almost purred. "But that's not why I'm calling! This is even bigger of a deal! But you surely know what I'm talking about, don't you~?"

"Even bigger than your video going viral?" Wow, this really had to be some juicy scoop..! "No, wait… What do you mean I should know what you're talking about?" A juicy scoop, one she should know of. "...Oh no." Of course, Lea had no idea of what Asmodeus was rambling about, but she could identify the ingredients of a disaster when they were presented to her on a silver plate.

"Don't play coy..! I almost couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the photo! I could have never guessed you had it in you~! Ah..! Oh my, look at the time..! Lucifer will kill me if I'm late for school again, gotta go~!"

"Asmo! No, WAIT! What photo?!" Lea almost shouted into the phone, but was only met with an eerie sound of a dial tone; He had already hung up. "Damn it, Asmo!" Lea groaned in frustration, slamming her head back to the pillow. "What on earth was he rambling about? I don't know if I even dare to open Devilgram myself…" Was her photo spreading all over the Devildom social media channels? That wasn't too far fetched, taking into account that Lord Diavolo had just presented her as his student council assistant during the midnight sun celebration ball. It was expected that her presence might interest the public, but she hadn't gotten the impression that it would be such a big deal…

Lea, who was still busy trying to muster up enough courage to open Devilgram, didn't have to torment herself with the uncertainty of the true nature of the situation much longer— Her D.D.D vibrated as a sign of a received message, and a swift tap of a finger opened a screenshot sent by no-one else but Asmodeus.

"Oh… my… god!"

Soon the silence of the empty hallways of the castle was breached by the sound of Lea's bare feet stamping onto the cold marble floor as she stormed through the halls and down the stairs, all the way into the dining hall.

"Barbatos!" She called for the demon butler, not even trying to hide the panic in her voice. As expected, she found Barbatos from the kitchen, busy preparing the breakfast. Almost stumbling into her own feet, Lea had to grab a hold of the door frame as she rushed into the room. "Barbatos, have you… have you…" She panted, too out of breath to even form full sentences.

"Good morning, miss Lea." Barbatos greeted her in his usual calm manner, giving her a warm smile, acting as if there was nothing unusual about her blasted appearance this morning; The way her hair pointed to every direction told him she had jumped straight out of the bed, only hastily wrapping her dressing gown around herself on her way out of the room. "Someone seems to be in a brisk mood today."

Lea took a couple of deep breaths, trying to get her breathing under control. "Is... have you... and Diavolo, is he..." She whimpered, still clutching her phone in her hand.

"Am I what?"

Lea had rushed there looking for him, but hearing Diavolo's voice made her heart almost jump out of her chest nevertheless. Slowly, she turned around, only to meet Diavolo's confused gaze.

"Oh..?" Diavolo couldn't hide his surprise when he found Lea in the middle of the dining hall still in her pajamas. Usually at this hour they would be already sitting at the breakfast table, both ready for the day, so seeing Lea like this was unexpected. "Good… morning..?" Diavolo blinked slowly, still scanning her from head to toe— Or more like from bed hair to bare feet, on this occasion. He didn't seem to know how to react at first, but soon a wide smile spread onto his face. "My, aren't you looking cute this morning! Still a bit sleepy, I see-"

His words were cut short when Lea stormed out of the room.

"...Did I say something wrong?" He muttered, staring after her.

"Lord Diavolo's mysterious surprise guest introduced during the midnight sun celebration event at the demon lord's castle piqued the interest of the public…" Lea's hands were shaking as she read aloud from the article that adorned the front page. "But is the true reason for her stay business or pleasure… oh my GOD!" Her eyes were glued to the picture that accompanied the article, and she was barely able to keep reading. It was the picture that Asmodeus had sent her earlier, but here it was presented in all its glory, with the entire length and width of the page dedicated to the shot.

Yep. It was the two of them at the balcony, alright. In the photo, Lea's hand was resting on Diavolo's chest— The photo had been snapped just when she was examining his markings, but the angle it had been taken from and the cropping of the photo made it look like she was snuggled much closer to him than she truly was! "It looks like we're in the middle of some kind of a tender hearted moment there!" Only taking one more glance at the photo made Lea's cheeks flush red again. Without the proper context, the photograph could be interpreted wrong in so many ways.

As she stared at the picture, her eyes trailed onto the man standing next to her. What caught her attention was the way Diavolo was looking at her; During that moment, Lea had been preoccupied by marveling at the demon in front of her, not noticing that he had been just as busy studying her. His gaze was fixed upon her, a gentle smile playing on his lips, but it was the tenderness in his eyes that stirred a swarm of butterflies in her stomach. With a long, frustrated groan, she finally let the paper drop from her hands as she slammed her face against the table surface. "This is so... so..."

"There, there." Barbatos gave a gentle pat on her shoulder before pouring her another cup of tea.

Lea was experiencing her meltdown in the grand parlor, with Barbatos trying his best to calm her down.

She had managed to pull herself together, more or less, but was still fidgeting restlessly as she raised her gaze. "I-is Diavolo... Is he mad at me?"

"Why would you think that?"

"Well, I..." Lea was embarrassed by the sudden turn of events, but she had even more reasons to feel guilty. She had stormed out from the dinner hall earlier that morning, not having the nerve to face Diavolo right away. Instead, she had spent the rest of the morning hiding in her room, until Barbatos had come to fetch her for breakfast. The whole ordeal wasn't exactly easy on her nerves. "I kinda... panicked..."

"I would have been surprised if you hadn't. I'm sure the young master also knows that this was quite a lot for you to take in." Barbatos smiled cordially. "He surely is not mad."

"That's... good."

"Though, I am not sure he understands the true reason for your distress." Barbatos chuckled softly. "It would be kind of you to explain to him, should he ask."

"...Yeah." Lea mumbled. "But it's just so… You know, it's... I mean, the whole article, the way it looks like, is... embarrassing. And awkward."

"How so?"

"Well... Because it makes it seem like we're..." Lea paused, trying to find the right words. "Close."

"Oh." Barbatos tilted his head slightly. "Are you not close, then?"

"What?!" Lea looked up at him, a bit flustered. "We are, of course, but..." She averted her eyes. "You know. This whole situation, with the photo and the article... It looks like we're- Ugh, nevermind." Letting out a deep sigh, she slowly stood up. "Where is he?"

"In his study. Do you wish me to accompany you there, or..?" Barbatos offered, but Lea shook her head.

"No, I think I'll find my way there on my own."

Her heavy, dragging steps echoed against the walls of the empty corridor, filling the space around her. She hadn't been in his study many times before, but she remembered the way. There was a big wooden door at the end of the hallway, and behind it was a study where Diavolo did his work. As she reached the door, she took a deep breath before knocking.

"Come in." A familiar, velvety voice responded, and Lea quietly entered.

The study was big, spacious and luxurious, yet somehow cozy. The dim light coming from the fireplace gave the room a soft glow, and the walls were covered with tall bookshelves. At the center of the room stood a big desk, and behind it, a man in his red attire. Diavolo was bent over his work, reading through a big pile of papers. His expression was calm and collected, the way he always was, and yet there was a hint of exhaustion in his features. Lea felt a little pang in her chest; How much work had piled up for him since he had taken her in?

"Uhm... hi." She greeted him quietly, still nervously lingering in the doorway.

Lea's voice made Diavolo raise his gaze, and he was quick to put his paperwork aside. "Oh, Lea..! Hi." He had most probably expected Barbatos, and clearly was surprised to see her there, but he didn't seem displeased. "Please, sit down. Would you like to have some tea, or-"

"No, it's fine." Lea slowly made her way inside and lowered herself onto the armchair in front of his desk. "I just... wanted to talk to you." She took a deep breath, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her skirt as she tried to find the right words. "I… I'm sorry." Lea's voice was merely a whisper as she muttered the apology, her embarrassment still too overwhelming for her to meet Diavolo's gaze directly. "I got here barely a week ago and I've already caused you so much trouble." With all the media attention, the situation was awkward for her, sure… But as the future ruler of Devildom, Lord Diavolo had definitely gotten the short end of the stick.

"What? You mean this?" Diavolo nodded at the newspaper on his desk. Of course, a very familiar looking picture decorated the frontpage. Lea didn't even bother to read the headline; The media companies were exaggerating the rumors and coming up with their own theories like there was no tomorrow. Surprisingly, Diavolo didn't seem too bothered about the whole mess. "Lea." Diavolo leaned his elbows against the table, his golden eyes shining in the dim light of the room. "Don't worry about this. It's not your fault. And, to be honest, it's not the worst thing that could have happened."

"Still. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I think it's more worrying that I haven't given them any reason for such a scoop like this before—" Diavolo laughed. "I haven't been too active when it comes to dating, so it's kind of nice that now at least the public can enjoy the illusion that I have stepped up my game..!" He added with a playful glint in his eye.

Lea couldn't help but smile at his lighthearted response, a wave of relief washing over her. It was clear that Diavolo was taking the situation in stride, and his good-natured humor was infectious. She finally mustered the courage to look at him, her embarrassment easing as she met his gaze.

"Ah, there's that lovely smile of yours~!" Diavolo grinned. "Honestly, I'm glad you came over when you did— I really needed a break." He smiled tiredly, stretching his tired body as he leaned back in his chair.

"How come?" Lea asked.

"You know, there's a lot of paperwork involved in hosting an event of that scale, especially if it's not one of the regular annual festivals." He rubbed his chin, letting his gaze wander around the room for a moment. "Hey— Would you like to do something fun?"