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Everything in life requires moderation.
After Venelana had "gone through her third round," Bokue Keikain wisely decided to call it quits.
The scene shifted to the bathroom, where mist hung thick in the air and warm lighting cast a gentle glow. Rippling water reflected patterns across the ceiling.
The two of them lay quietly in the bathtub together, hot bathwater enveloping them from all sides.
They remained like this in comfortable silence, Venelana nestled against the young man's chest, her wine-red eyes gazing up at him with satisfaction still lingering in her expression.
"Mm... so you're not rushing back today, Bokue?"
"Not particularly. Why would I rush back?"
Bokue glanced down at the beauty in his arms with curiosity.
"Do I really come across as someone who bolts the second we're done?"
"No, that's not what I meant..."
Venelana's cheeks flushed as she explained.
"It's just that Grayfia went over to your place today. Didn't Rias mention throwing some kind of welcome party or something?"
"She did—at dinner."
Bokue thought back to the evening meal and answered.
After all, Grayfia was someone Rias had called "big sister" since childhood. While she'd been pretty shocked initially to learn that Bokue had won Grayfia over, at the end of the day, Rias had nothing against Grayfia herself.
Besides, this meant she'd get to live with her beloved older sister from now on. Overall, Rias was more happy than unhappy about the situation.
"That's not the kind of welcome party I meant..."
Hearing the young man's response, Venelana couldn't help but pout slightly.
Honestly—didn't he realize how far things had progressed between them? When she brought up the keyword "welcome party" in this context, how could it possibly mean a conventional welcome party?
Obviously, it meant throwing a massive impact session.
"Oh, if you're talking about that kind, then no..."
Bokue caught on and shook his head.
"Actually, Rias even—"
"'Even'?"
Venelana picked up on the note of exasperation in the young man's tone, and a bad feeling immediately washed over her.
Bokue hesitated for a moment.
"To put it bluntly, Rias thinks you sent Grayfia over to keep them all in line."
"...Huh?"
Hearing this, Venelana covered her face with her hands.
She didn't even know what to say. That girl really was... ugh!
Once again—she truly had no idea how to capture a man's heart!
Though she could only blame herself for raising her too well. Rias's father had died young, and with Sirzechs becoming successful and rising to the position of Lucifer, the Gremory family had been left with Rias as its sole heir from a very young age.
So Venelana had always raised Rias as the family's one and only successor.
And precisely because Rias knew she was the Gremory family's sole heir, she'd developed a strong, independent personality from a young age. She wasn't good at relying on others—even when there were people she could depend on, she'd still choose to work hard and handle everything herself.
Just like during the tripartite summit a few days ago. Despite having so many powerful figures on Itogami Island who could handle things, Rias had still insisted on taking on the role of Gremory family heir, trying her best to manage every possible situation that might arise during the conference single-handedly.
But the reality was that it hadn't been necessary at all.
The radical factions, the descendants of the original Leviathan—these things that Rias thought would require her absolute full effort, possibly even risking her life to resolve, could actually be handled with just a flick of Bokue's or Sirzechs's fingers. And these were all people she could absolutely trust and rely on.
The current situation with Grayfia's arrival was obviously no different.
As the older sister who'd watched Rias grow up, Grayfia did indeed exercise strict control over Gremory family members in many matters. Hell, even Sirzechs would get scolded by Grayfia if he messed something up.
If even her brother got reprimanded, how much more so would she, the little sister?
So from Rias's perspective, she actually held a certain degree of reverence and fear toward Grayfia.
And precisely because of this, in a certain red-haired girl's view, Grayfia's sudden arrival meant that from now on, they definitely couldn't continue their previous carefree lifestyle.
After all, she had no idea just how far things had progressed between Grayfia and Bokue Keikain.
It was like how adults gathering together to smoke didn't mean you could smoke in front of them—unless an elder offered you a cigarette first.
Moreover, as the heir to the Gremory family, she was spending every day leading her entire peerage in satisfying their carnal desires—and with so many people at once, no less. From an outsider's perspective, that would seem absolutely absurd and unreasonable.
In any case, once Grayfia-nee discovered it, she'd definitely be in for a serious scolding... or at least, that's how Rias saw it.
"Mou~ That girl really is something..."
Venelana's tone carried a mix of helplessness and affection, along with a touch of amused exasperation.
"Unfortunately, this isn't the kind of thing I can teach her personally, otherwise it wouldn't be such a hassle... Mm, anyway, I'll just have to rely on you to straighten Rias out, Bokue."
Bokue narrowed his eyes slightly at those words. "...Won't Grayfia object?"
He understood what Venelana meant. Indeed, the solution was quite simple.
All he needed to do was get intimate with Grayfia right in front of Rias—ah yes, really go at it—and let the latter see that the Grayfia-nee she revered and feared also had that side to her. After that, Rias would naturally be able to relax.
The only issue was that doing so would definitely change or even shatter Grayfia's image in Rias's mind.
"Of course she won't."
Venelana smiled faintly.
"Haven't you noticed yet, Bokue? While Grayfia acts strong and dominant around everyone else, she's completely different around you."
"We women naturally gravitate toward those who are dominant... and I don't just mean in terms of strength, but personality as well."
"So if it's you, Bokue, there definitely won't be any problem."
"..."
Buzz buzz—
At that moment, Bokue's phone on the bedroom nightstand outside suddenly vibrated.
The screen lit up, displaying a text notification.
[Tomorrow... are you free, Bokue?] —Sayaka Kirasaka
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