Chương 172: Chapter 172

For a brief moment, Shuri wondered if he would remember to be discreet in showcasing his beyond-human capabilities.

But her wonderings were cut off when Aurelia walked out of the house.

"Shuri-sama. I believe we have to talk."

"?"

Unaware of what she would want to talk about, she nodded.

"Alright, Aurelia-san."

|DxD|

It had been a while since Igor had left, leaving Aurelia and Shuri alone in the house. Both were sitting on the couch in the living room, their eyes facing each other. With the clock having just went past seven, the Sun had already peeked into the house.

A few seconds had passed since they sat down and Shuri was getting a bit impatient, especially with how blankly Aurelia was looking at her.

"Aurelia-san. What do you need from me?"

"..."

Aurelia didn't reply immediately. She impassively looked at Shuri, her blue eyes penetrating into hers. Not knowing how to ease her words, she went straight to the point.

"You love Igor."

"?!"

It wasn't a question. It was a statement. Aurelia had tried to think of a way, but her tongue wasn't glib enough to gently slide into this sort of conversation.

"Yes or no."

Despite there being two options to choose from, only one answer was truly viable at this point.

"..."

Shuri could feel that this was a rhetorical question. The way Aurelia looked at her told her she knew.

"I…"

There was no use denying it.

"Yes…"

Trapping the fabric of her dress between her clenched fists, she reaffirmed her answer.

"I do."

Gone was her unease. Her back was straight as she looked at Aurelia. Her statement was controversial, but there wasn't a lick of fear on her face.

"..."

In front of Shuri's intense gaze, Aurelia allowed the faintest of smiles to grace her face before her expression faded back to one of neutrality.

"Very well, Shuri-sama. But as my lord's attendant, I have to know. Do you intend to realise your affections?"

"No."

Her answer was quick.

"My role is with my husband. In order to provide my daughter a stable home, I will get back together with Baraquiel."

"..."

Aurelia could see it. Her eyes wavered slightly at no. And no matter how Shuri would try to hide it, her energy briefly spiked up when she said "no".

"Have you ever considered Akeno-sama's feelings on the matter?"

"..."

Shuri's eyes narrowed as she regarded Aurelia with suspicion.

"What are you trying to say, Aurelia-san?"

"A very simple thing, Shuri-sama. Should the opportunity arise in the future, I wish for you to be my lord's wife."

"..."

The faintest of blushes adorned her cheeks, but she soon recompos-

"W-what are you saying? Why would you want that?"

She was so taken by surprise that she couldn't help but stutter. Aurelia's statement was a great shock to her that her normally composed state was shattered.

"What…do you mean by that?"

"Your potential, Shuri-sama. Being personally resurrected by Amaterasu-sama has not only given you a new lease on life, but also the perfect human body. If my lord were to procreate with you, there is a very high chance that the child born from your union would be a pure-blooded Aryan. There is also the added benefit that my lord would not need to court you, seeing as you harbour affections for him."

"..."

Shuri took her words in silently. Hearing her reasons, despite them being rather archaic, provided her more reassurance than if she were to say she did it out of the kindness of her heart.

"I…see."

A large part of her wanted to jump at this idea, but there remained one problem.

"But my daughter-"

"I'm afraid I have to interrupt you there, Shuri-sama. I greatly admire your will to provide the perfect life for your daughter, but there is reality to consider. Before I begin, I want to ask. If you were to reconcile with Baraquiel-sama, are you confident that you can love him again?"

"..."

Her silence was enough of an answer.

"My next question. I am quite sure that my lord will possibly frequently visit, if he does not live here on a permanent basis. Let us assume you have reconciled with Baraquiel-sama and he now lives here. How confident are you that you can hide your attraction to Lord Dimori from him?"

"?!"

Shuri widened her eyes at that statement. It was no secret that Baraquiel was very, very old. She would be lying if she said she could. It took nearly all of her willpower to keep her composure everytime she conversed with Igor. But she was not confident enough to hide her desires for months or even years on end.

Once again, her silence was her answer, prompting Aurelia to continue.

"My next question. Are you willing to share a bed with Baraquiel-sama and perform your wifely duties?"

"..."

Once again, the silence was deafening.

"Very well. From what you've…'told' me, I can conclude the most likely scenario of what would happen in this household for the next six years. Let us say that my lord and I will not be present for the foreseeable future. You will reconcile with Baraquiel-sama in your endeavor to provide Akeno-sama a stable household consisting of a mother and father. Baraquiel-sama is understanding and will not ask you to perform your wifely duties. A year or two pass and Akeno-sama inevitably starts to notice something wrong."

"..."

Shuri briefly widened her eyes, but made no commitment to argue. She knew better than anyone how smart Akeno was.

"Baraquiel-sama is no longer as happy as he was before. It is very clear that the both of you are quite frankly, cohabiting at this point and this starts to affect Akeno-sama. Your dinners progressively grow colder and you sparsely spend anytime together. As Akeno-sama grows up, she notices more and more of these inconsistencies that are completely different from her childhood. Instead of being happy, she grows concerned as you and Baraquiel-sama insist on telling her that everything is fine. Gradually as she goes through puberty, grows up, and becomes more aware, truths are slowly revealed and inevitably, she finds out the reason why everything was the way it was. She finds out that because of her, her parents endured a loveless marriage. This, Shuri-sama, is a case of letting a wound fester."

Silence…

"..."

Aurelia's words hung in the air like a heavy scent as Shuri begrudgingly absorbed them with her fists clenched.

"If that upsets you, Shuri-sama, then I am afraid this outcome is the best one compared to this next scenario."

"?"

Raising her head, she hopelessly sighed.

"Another one? What could possibly be worse than disappointing my own daughter?"

"Lord Dimori's presence, Shuri-sama. This time, Baraquiel-sama notices your glances towards him and inevitably, the relationship between him and my lord is soured. Lord Dimori will not understand why until it is too late. However, his guaranteed reaction, should your actions remain constant, will border on the negative as he will not accept you for certain reasons I will not currently state. In the end, my lord will most likely vacate this house and limit contact with you for the foreseeable future due to his desire to respect and maintain Baraquiel-sama's dignity as his elder and as a man."

"..."

Aurelia's words most likely weren't completely accurate, but Shuri could actually imagine Igor leaving this house. She was aware of how much he respected Baraquiel both through his memories, and the evident regret in his eyes when he returned from the Underworld.

"Then…what should I do? What do you expect me to do, Aurelia-san?"

Adjusting her posture, Aurelia looked Shuri right in the eye without flinching.

I wish for you to be honest, Shuri-sama. Can you truly, truly stop loving my lord?"

"..."

Shuri's mind flashed back to the day he appeared in front of her. Before receiving his memories, she simply thought of him as a cute boy. But it was when she received his memories that everything changed.

She did not receive just his memories, but his feelings as well. His happiness, his rage, and his sadness were all the feelings she felt from him.

"I was grateful to Dimori-kun. When I found out all the things he went through to save me and Akeno, I felt immense gratitude towards him, Aurelia-san. I…I don't know when I started feeling 'more' for him. Maybe…"

Her mind reminisced to when Amaterasu insinuated that she might be a different person entirely.

'Aunty still feels the same. She still speaks the same. Her smile is still the same. Those eyes are still the same. Everything about her is the same. Her memories are gone, but who she is as a person is still there.'

"Maybe it was when he accepted me for who I am that I slowly started to love him. I don't know if you would understand, Aurelia-san, but I, a person with no memories and no self-identity, found out that I was both a wife and a mother. I had no clue how I was supposed to act. I had no clue how I was supposed to interact with the two people who were the closest to me."

She wiped the tears that were forming in her eyes, yet the warmest smile formed on her face.

"But he told me that none of it mattered, that I was still me. I felt as if an immense weight had been taken off my shoulders."

'See, I go by my gut and right now, my gut says Shuri is Shuri. This whole thing about her soul being cleansed simply tells me that she will no longer have to remember what her clan did to her. As for other things, they don't matter. I'll handle Akeno and explain the situation. As for 'others', I'll beat them up until they accept that aunty doesn't remember them.'

"Tell me, Aurelia-san. If you had someone who was willing to fight the entire world for you and accept you for everything you are along with your flaws, would you stop loving them. Can you stop loving them?"

"..."

Aurelia had no answer for that question. Falling in love was a concept foreign to her. As such, she remained silent while Shuri continued.

"Maybe others can, Aurelia-san. But I can't."

Her eyes glistened as she raised her head.

"No matter what you say or do, I can't stop loving him, I won't stop loving him, and I never will stop loving him. As long as I draw breath, this heart of mine will belong to him."

"..."

Aurelia could detect no falsities in Shuri's words. She was truthful and in all honesty, Aurelia felt a bit overwhelmed at how the ravenette could harbour so much affection for her lord in only a month. It was quite frightening and awe-inspiring to say the least.

"Very well, Shuri-sama. Then I can only propose one solution that may give you the happy ending we both desire."

Taking the time to breathe, Aurelia delivered her words.

"Should you receive the opportunity to be with Baraquiel-sama in private, come clean with your thoughts and feelings. It will be better for everyone involved."