The Sitri manor. Of the pillar homes Lelouch had visited, it was perhaps the most austere, most severe in terms of decoration. Not plain by any means. Rather, it was a home that carried with it an air of seriousness. Vibrant colours were at a minimum, even the rich crimsons devils tended to favour were a rarity, the sight of which only enhanced the energy they lent to a room. Like a piece of art in black and white, save for a single object in colour. It drew the focus to what was most important. That limited focus adding a commentary on everything else displayed.
Or at least, that was what Lelouch assumed the Sitri had been going for. Until Serafall got involved. For today, on the day of Sona Sitri's debut, the location for her debut ball was clothed in vibrant pinks and brilliant blues. Lelouch assumed the two colours were to represent each sister. The ice sculpture of the two clasping hands, Serafall in pink and a bespectacled girl he assumed to be Sona in blue suggested as much.
"Quite the garish display, don't you think Lelouch?" Riser asked, lounging in his chair, his Queen Yubelluna feeding him grapes and giggling like a schoolgirl despite being at least three years his senior.
The Bael heir tried to suppress his discomfort on looking at Riser's new acquisition for his peerage. That purple hair and cosmetics was... Well, it was a reminder for something he didn't need to remember. "It's... Perhaps a little much," he admitted, glancing up at the blinding pink crystal chandelier hanging overhead, refracting light in such a way that most everyone present was squinting in discomfort. "Though I wouldn't say as much in Lady Leviathan's presence. At least Ana seems to be enjoying the ice sculpture, even if only for the craftsmanship." Serafall was after all the master of ice among devils. Of course the former tsarevna as a magician who also preferred that element would be overjoyed to see a master's work.
"Ah, I may well be forever envious of your acquiring such an exquisite specimen of the female form. Beautiful, innocent, and so very gifted." The youngest Phenex son cupped his hands over his chest to make clear he was definitely not referring to Anastasia's gift for magic.
"How can you even tell?" Lelouch felt compelled to ask. It was certainly true but Ana wore far too much heavy clothing for it to be noticeable. Even he didn't know until he saw her in her pyjamas.
"A true connoisseur has his ways," Riser answered airily, leaning over to kiss his Queen on the forehead, setting her off in a new round of giggles. "Though I'll thank you for the confirmation."
"Ugh, do you ever stop?" Seekvaira asked with a sour look on her face.
"Oh, don't be like that, Seekvaira," Riser chided with a lazy wave, "If you like, there's always a place in my peerage for you. I don't have the stern librarian type yet."
"Even if I wanted to join another's peerage, it certainly wouldn't be yours."
Riser only laughed. "No, of course you prefer the tall, dark and reserved types, don't you."
Ah, the drama of young teen relationships. The slight colour to the cheeks of the Agares daughter, the way her eyes flicked to Lelouch for just an instant. Under normal circumstances it would be the first toe dipped into adult relationships. The added dynamic of hormones and attraction the first complication to bring children a little further away from being children.
Lelouch could certainly sympathise. His first attempt at navigating such things had been the easiest thing in the world. He simply ignored all of it. It had required no effort in those days when he had been drifting listlessly through life waiting for the opportunity to seek his revenge. At its most significant, teenage drama was an annoyance. A distraction to be discarded at the first opportunity. It was only as his rebellion rose and fell and rose again did he realise the importance of such things. A dreadful mistake with Kallen... There came a point where such simple, personal comfort could not be ignored. Perhaps it was foregoing such relationships that made his path more difficult than it needed to be. He had been satisfied with his life, with what he achieved. But he couldn't deny there were many of the simplest joys in life that he denied himself.
As if to reinforce this new wondering, Lelouch was certain devil puberty struck like a slash harken. It seemed growing into an adult for a devil was, similarly to everything else he had experienced, simply more than the equivalent for a human. In their physicality they quickly became how they imagined themselves, a pure image of who they were. Riser for example, only twelve and yet between the time Lelouch first met him two years ago to today, the baby fat had fallen off of him to give him sharp, aristocratic features. Likewise Seekvaira had grown and developed quite womanly curves at only fourteen. Lelouch himself had grown tall, more lithe to the point of appearing almost fey.
But that was only the physical, the outward appearance. Internally, controlling the turmoil roiling inside himself was like wrestling a hurricane. Everything, every desire, every expectation, every feeling was the most important in the world. He could well imagine how a precocious boy like Riser was so open about his desires for the feminine form, unrepentant about his focus on them as objects, collectables, before people. Lelouch did not find Seekvaira to be entirely to his tastes and yet all the same he couldn't help his eyes from wandering. And Seekvaira in turn sat up straighter to accentuate her curves for his perusal.
Yes. Devil puberty was a dangerous thing indeed. Especially for the nobility who were still expected to act within the customs of noble lineage. Were he and Seekvaira to give in to their temptations they would suffer for it, as would their houses. Little wonder the scions of noble houses tended to get rather close with their peerage.
For the moment Lelouch had precisely zero options for relieving stress in that way. Anastasia was in fact more exacerbating the issue than relieving it. She still insisted on sleeping with him occasionally and it had gotten impossible to ignore the woman's charms, especially with how she made no effort to hide them. It was a constant battle between his desires to indulge even in a small way, versus the possibility it was merely some sort of ploy on her part. Viy made interactions with her difficult to read. Every word may be a manipulation, no matter how much he wished to believe otherwise. The dance only became more complicated as she showed such genuine disappointment when he kept her at arm's length out of caution. For even that may have been manipulation. He had no way to know. No way to trust.
At the least, Lelouch didn't have to worry how Sairaorg would handle such things yet. Still just a little too young, though it was cute how he seemed to tag along with Kuisha Abaddon whenever they met. Not a problem yet. Might be a problem in future. Or a benefit. It would really depend. At the very least, he knew he would have to teach his little brother something of restraint. Might as well try to saddle a bear but an effort must be made at least.
A sudden musical sting roused him from his thoughts, a signal for the guests to rise and acknowledge the reason everyone was present.
"Lords and Ladies, it is my great honour to present to you today Lord and Lady Sitri and for the first time, Sona Sitri, heir to the House of Sitri."
Polite applause for the group of three, followed by the exuberant cheers of the Lady Leviathan who rushed over to greet her sister with clasped hands, much to the young girl's embarrassment.
Soon after, the familiar procession began. The introduction of the young devil to the movers and shakers of her particular social strata.
"Hmmm?" Riser voiced as he tracked the Sitri heir on her travels through the throng of blue blood devils. "Interesting. Seekvaira, I'm afraid the position for my stern librarian type has just been filled."
Lelouch rolled his eyes. "Riser, you saw her for the first time only two minutes ago. I'm starting to worry you could see a mannequin and find a reason to fondle it."
"There is something to be said for ladies who are firm!" Riser laughed. "Though no, I'll have you know I do have standards. I want a woman of every type. Simply put, dark hair suits that particular aesthetic better."
Seekvaira's face flushed for an entirely different reason to the one previous. Lelouch could see an argument brewing. Zephyrdor was already checked out of the conversation, as bored with the proceedings as ever. Sairaorg and Kuisha were... somewhere. And Lelouch himself had no interest in watching Seekvaira get angry and Riser not take it seriously, making her even angrier. It had happened at every one of these gatherings since the Phenex began attending them. Old hat at this point.
So instead his attention returned to the Sitri heir. Heir only because her sister Serafall took the title of Leviathan after the civil war, thus removing herself from the Sitri line of inheritance. At the very least it seemed the preteen girl had been trained well in the methods of aristocrat politicking. The parents merely followed the two sisters around as Serafall led Sona to each guest to introduce her younger sister. It was an odd mix of overprotectiveness and what seemed like hazing. The Satan seemed to be doing everything she could to get her more strait-laced sister to loosen up but Sona was having none of it.
It was a little amusing to watch a ten year old get picked up from behind by the midsection, entirely unresponsive save for the increasing redness of her face. Trying to hold a very serious countenance as she was whipped around from side to side.
Well... Perhaps more than a little amusing.
"And here are the other young devils here to make friends!"
"Lady Sitri," Riser rose from his seat and quickstepped over to the approaching sisters, taking Sona's hand. "A true pleasure to meet you in person!" But as he lowered himself to plant a kiss on the back of her hand he yelped as he felt a sudden, terrifying chill. "That is, err, yes! I am the great Riser Phenex, third son of the House of Phenex."
"The great?" Sona asked dryly.
"Of course! For who else but Riser Phenex embody such an auspicious title?!"
"Peter, Catherine, Alexander, Xerxes, Charlemagne, Frederick, Alfred, Cnut," Lelouch began to list.
"What did you call me?!"
The Bael heir ignored the affront of his... Friend? Acquaintance, for the sake of the newcomer, to whom he offered a friendly half-smile. "Lelouch Bael, a pleasure to meet you, Sona." He felt a sudden chill, dragging his attention to the older, pouting sister. "It'll be hard to make friends if you threaten to freeze anyone who talks to her, Levia-tan."
That made the pout only more severe. "Mou...!" Centuries old and making anime girl sounds. The only thing that made it worse was Lelouch now recognising what anime girl sounds were. "Fine! But be nice to my So-tan!" She only half turned around before turning back, "But not too nice!" she added before flouncing away.
Meanwhile Sona seemed to be looking at him like the second coming of the first Lucifer. "How did you do that?"
He shrugged. "People who want to loosen you up, it's best to indulge them at least a little or they'll just try harder. Then again, that gets diminishing returns the more time you spend with them."
Introductions passed, all of the young devils greeting the newcomer to the fold. The fold being the group of bored children and teenagers waiting for the festivities to come to a close. Before long Sairaorg and Kuisha returned, giggling.
"So what exactly do we do for the next few hours?" Sona asked.
"Chat, wait for something interesting to happen, pretend to be awake," Zephyrdor listed before letting his eyes close.
The guest of honour gave the slightest smile. "That sounds dull. Maybe we should play a game to pass the time." Lelouch's eyebrows raised as he watched Sona's glasses shine with non-existent light. What an oddly specific use of magic.
A servant was flagged down and Sona requested they fetch a chess set, causing Zephyrdor and Sairaorg to groan. "Gah, it's like a girl Lulu!" the second Bael son groaned.
Zephyrdor blinked. "Oh shit!" he pointed at the two dark-haired, sharp-featured, purple-eyed devils, "She is a girl Lelouch!" Suddenly Seekvaira started cackling madly while pointing at a horrified Riser.
A chess set was laid out on the table. "Winner plays on?" Sona asked, taking the white side.
The elfin-eared Zephyrdor sighed and took his place on the other side. "Might as well get this over with."
Much as his attitude to the game predicted, it was terribly short and disappointingly one-sided. Zephyrdor it turned out was a very aggressive, impatient player. He spent only a handful of seconds considering each move, always taking the most expedient and obvious path to capturing pieces. How much was him not actually wanting to play and how much was him simply being a poor player was difficult to determine.
Second, Sairaorg stepped forward. In attitude and playstyle he was largely similar to Zephyrdor. Very aggressive, but more tempered than Sona's first opponent. More willing to stop and think, something his elder brother had drilled into him over the years. Even so, Sairaorg's attitude when facing an enemy with greater skill or strategy was to defeat them with overwhelming power. Something not possible to express in a chess match where both sides were equal.
Riser would have gone next, were he not biting his fingernails, murmuring to himself while his Queen gave him a shoulder rub.
Seekvaira took her turn next in a face-off between bespectacled young ladies. It was the first match to not be over so quickly. The first match where Sona's opponent actually approached the game with an overarching strategy. Namely, the blonde attempted to set her forces in such a way that she could blitz the enemy with her stronger pieces the moment anything from Sona's back row moved to the front. It didn't work particularly well. It wasn't a subtle strategy, easily seen through by a chess prodigy. But it was certainly better than the nothing that came before.
Then came Kuisha who despite being reticent about playing against a pillar house heir put in the best showing yet. She was undeniably quite good for her age. A cautious player. One more keen to keep her pieces covered with overlapping lines of defense so most successes would be costly for Sona. On top of that she favoured setting traps. Weaknesses in her defensive formations that once exploited would only cause more devastating losses turns later.
Or so the intention was. For while the two older girls were decent and good for their age respectively, Sona was on another level entirely. A well-honed base strategy that gave her a strong start, but also one that was adaptable to the opponent's style of play. The kind of player that prided themselves on staying several steps ahead of any opponent.
It was enough that Lelouch was actually somewhat enthusiastic when he took his seat. His smile showing teeth. "Well then, it seems it's my turn."
"Very well."
The game was long, and it started slow. Slow enough that the two players could engage in a little conversation as they went. "You aren't quite what I expected, based on what Rias had to say about you," Sona observed.
Lelouch rested his chin in his hand as he made his move. "You know my cousin?" It was a little odd. Both had been a little young for such things before today after all.
"Through correspondence," Sona answered, "We speak through letters. She said you're the nicest person in the world."
The Bael's smile crawled its way up to a grin. "Is that so? That isn't the impression you get then?"
"No," the girl responded with brutal honesty that only amused him more. "You seem to me rather aloof. As though you consider yourself above it all, like you've seen it all before."
"Is that so?" the boy laughed lightly. "Well, perhaps you're both right. We all act differently around our loved ones, do we not?"
The game continued. Distraction after distraction after distraction after distraction. Ever keeping the opponent guessing as the game went on. Shifting their attention where he wanted it. Then shifting it again elsewhere. Then again. Giving the opponent a view of every potential avenue of attack... Before moving a single, unimportant piece that would change the entire shape of the board, recontextualising his entire formation to reveal its true, devastating purpose.
One single move. A knight. It wasn't a crippling move. It didn't even see the knight threaten any piece, thus why the move seemed so innocuous at first glance. But as Sona studied the board, seconds turned to minutes as it slowly dawned on her she wasn't merely facing a surprisingly good player. She was facing someone who could rival her. Someone she could imagine beating her. And that terrified Sona Sitri more than anything else could.
The atmosphere changed, though Lelouch couldn't know why. Even so this change brought more attention to the game. First from the young devils nearby, then as the guest of honour grew increasingly distraught, from nearby nobles. And a rumour that had begun to circulate recently gained an interesting new development. Before long, many of the guests were paying a great deal of interest to a chess match between two children.
"Oh dear," Riser said suddenly, grabbing Lelouch's attention for a moment, but the blond was unwilling to expand on why he would say it, or why Sona glared at him as if to tell him to shut up.
"Lady Sitri–" he tried to speak.
"Shut up," she snapped at him, "I'm thinking."
The Bael heir's eyes narrowed. Something important was happening and he was in the dark. The fingers of the hand holding his chin stretched up to tap his ear, a small yellow magic circle containing the Bael crest appearing next to his ear. 'Ana, something important is happening because of this chess game. I need you to look into it.'
'Of course, Master Lelouch,' came the response.
Play slowed even further. Partially for Sona taking even longer on her turns as she struggled for a way out of the bind he put her in. Partially for Lelouch pretending to think. Or rather, pretending to think about his next move when he was really trying to piece together what was so important about this game. Snatchings of mutterings from the audience were his only clues beyond the obvious.
"The Bael heir and Sitri heir?"
"–Preposterous. It would quash the lineage–"
"–between Great King and Satan factions–"
'Master Lelouch!' he heard in his ear, quickly covering the magic circle as much as he could. 'Your father is arguing with Lord and Lady Sitri. It was too quiet but when your father saw me I heard what he was saying. Sona Sitri has predicated any arranged marriage on whether her betrothed can defeat her in chess.'
Lelouch's reaction was... Probably not as subtle as he would have hoped. He tried to suppress it before anyone could notice. She had predicated her marriage candidates on chess?! Dear gods and devils and everything in between, she really was a female him! Though he wasn't sure he would cry over such a gambit backfiring.
The air in the room... It was getting colder. And suddenly he agreed with Riser. Oh dear.
He could see the state of the board. Sona had already lost, he just hadn't called it and she hadn't noticed. He probably only had seconds until something terrible happened, whether that be Sona realising or Serafall acting like Serafall. He had to figure out the best move here. In the wider view, marrying Sona would cut the heart out of the Phenex ploy. However, it would also complicate the future lineage of their respective houses. But complicate it only. It would be manageable. There was precedent. More importantly, the immediate consequences. Serafall would react badly. The other Satans would need to step in or let her spark another civil war. Sona, his would-be bride, would likely hate him for a long time. Rias likewise would probably be none too pleased about it.
So as an option it was potentially good, but the way it was happening was not. Bad blood was the worst way to start such arrangements.
Sending another quick message to Ana, he stood. "Well, this has been fun but–"
"Wait wait wait I can still–!" Sona begged.
"I'm afraid we'll have to postpone the end of this game."
"... What?" the girl asked in a small, hopeful voice.
"Yes, I am afraid my son is quite correct," Herodotus cut in as he made his way over to the table. "It is time for us to return home, Lelouch. Lady Sona, I congratulate you on your debut. I'm sure you will do wonderful things for devilkind in the future."
"I... Thank you?"
Lelouch smiled down at her. "I'll be sure to note down the state of the board while it's still up here," he promised, pointing at his head. "So that we can continue it another time. Or perhaps simply begin another game."
"... Yes. Yes!" she finally smiled through her fretful tears. "I think I would like that."
"Then farewell, Lady Sitri. I look forward to the next time we meet."
"So-tan!" a distraught Leviathan bawled as she tackle-hugged her sister. "Are you alright?! Let big sis dry your tears! That evil boy will never make you cry again!"
"No, sister, I..." Sona said as she wiped at her eyes, "I think... Maybe Rias was right about him after all."
Lelouch moved toward his father, a confused Sairaorg following behind him and waving goodbye to the Lady Abaddon.
"Would you care to tell me why I just engaged in such theatre?" Herodotus asked after bidding farewell to the Lord and Lady Sitri.
"Because it just endeared us to the next generation of the Sitri, opened up an opportunity for a marriage arrangement on good terms and turned the Phenex plan into wet tissue paper. Now no matter what we choose, the House of Bael stands only to gain from it."