The Knight of Ruin(DxD)

Before announcing it, Zeoticus wanted his children at his side. He turned to Rias and Romonus to call them forward.

"Romonus, Rias, come up." 

Romonus took a deep breath as he walked toward his Father while Rias did the same. If this had been before Romonus talked with her she would have caused a scene, but she was not scared. She had time to get ready to break her engagement. 

She looked toward Romonus who looked in her direction with a smile. It was a smile that said 1,000 words so she did not panic. It was time for her to take charge of her Fate all because of her brothers' encouraging words. 

When both of them were with their Father, they instantly became the center of the room. With a glance, Romonus could see several Lords who had their daughters, nieces, granddaughters, or even younger siblings whom they had suggested to Zeoticus. 

Marriage in Devil society was all about forging connections and alliances. Whoever was accepted would be tied to the Gremory Clan which held the rank of Duke. High up in the rankings of the remaining clans. 

"It has been 11 years since the blessing that was the birth of my twins, Rias and Romonus Gremory. During that time I have received many requests from many of the Pillars to tie our clans together. 

Now, my wife and I have come to a decision. Thanks to Lord Beelzebub and my son Lord Lucifer's recommendation, it has been decided that the Astaroth and Gremory households shall be linked in blood. It is my pleasure to announce the engagement of Latia Astaroth and my son." 

Sirzechs smiled as he gave a thumbs up to Ajuka. The green-haired man returned the gesture as he allowed a rare smile to appear on his face. Both of them were great friends, brothers even, and now they would be tied together. 

Instantly, a wave of applause was formed as Romonus and Latia looked at each other. Latia was from a branch family born of the union of the Astaroth and Ageres clans. Romonus smiled in her direction placed a hand over his heart and gave a light bow. 

She returned the gesture with a curtsy by holding the sides of her crimson dress. Romonus was for sure not going to fight the engagement as she was a wonderful person. She would make a wonderful bride and he would try to be the best husband he could. 

Thankfully, he would still be allowed to have his harem as Noble Devils always did. Though legally, Latia would be his legal wife which he had no complaints about. Once the applause settled down a little Zeoticus turned to Rias. 

"Now, my daughter Rias has had many suitors all of which would link our clans together as well. It has been decided that my daughter Rias Gremory shall be engaged to Riser Phenex. May they both have happy marriages." 

Riser grinned as he winked in Rias' direction. However, she snorted and looked away. She did it openly which made Riser snarl in displeasure. People started to look in his direction as Rias seemed heavily uninterested in him. 

Zeoticus cleared his throat as he tried to clear the air. 

"Enjoy the rest of the celebration. Rias, Romonus take this time to get to know your future spouses." 

Rias and Romonus bowed to their Father, but as they began to walk Romonus bent down to speak to Rias. 

"Don't let him touch you, don't let him rile you up, and keep deflecting. You have 7 years, I will make sure he can never lay a finger on you. All you have to do is trust me. Do you?" 

Rias nodded with a determined look on her face. 

"I trust you." 

From there, they both split up as Romonus walked to Latia. At the moment she was the same age as him, but he was taller than she was by a few inches. When he reached her, he bowed once again. 

"Lady Astaroth, I am Romonus. I wish to spend the rest of the evening by your side." 

Latia extended a hand to him. 

"As do I Lord Gremory, but if we are to be engaged do let's not refer to each other by honorifics. You can call me Latia and I shall call you Romonus." 

He smiled as he took her hand which was extremely soft. As he did so he looked at her nails which were painted a light blue and even the tips of her blonde hair were dyed blue as well. 

He smiled as he planted a polite kiss on the back of her hand. 

"If that is what you want. Before we go any further I wanted to ask what you feel about this engagement. It is expected for Nobles such as us to be married off, and you seem to have the power to fight your engagement. 

Quite easily may I add." 

Latia was no slouch as Ajuka himself had been mentoring her as she was his niece since she was a small girl. As a result, her strength was many times higher than would be expected of her age. It exceeded many of the older Nobles who never trained at that too. Not yet the Ultimate Class like him though.

She smiled when she heard his words.

"I see you are perceptive." 

He smiled back. 

"I was mentored by the best Knight, Rook, and Bishop of the Underworld. And you were mentored by Ajuka Beelzebub so we are even." 

Latia explained why she was not fighting her engagement. 

"I am not a fool Romonus. I have heard many rumors about you and for the past few years, my uncle began to bring up the idea of a marriage between us. He never forced the issue, but your brother Sirzechs and my Uncle have been talking about being family for years. 

If my Uncle was married and had a daughter he would engage them to Millicas. But he is uninterested in such a thing so I, his niece was chosen. Does that displease you?"

Romonus shook his head. 

"I was planning on fighting my engagement with all my heart if it had been to someone else. As you know, Devils are not commonly known to train themselves and I have been training since I was 3. I have earned my power and I did not wish to be engaged to a spoiled Noble brat who relied on her status for everything. 

I think that is the exact reason we were chosen for each other as you seem to have the same desire." 

"I do. For many years my Uncle has mentored me so I desired a groom to at least match my drive. And I have found them it seems." 

"I am pleased to have passed your scrutiny. The dance will begin soon, will you be joining me?" 

She smiled as she stood next to him and held his arm. 

"I shall. Until then, I have a simple question. What is your hobby?" 

"Because of my mentor Mcgregor Mathers, I have cultivated an interest in experimenting with new magic types and I have recently begun to learn Alchemy. It is my wish to one day be able to never before see Elixers, but it is still just a hobby." 

"That sounds interesting. Maybe I can help you with your studies. As for me, because of my mixed heritage, I am close to my relative Seekvaira Agares. Because of her, I have an interest in Sci-Fi." 

"Anime?" 

That seemed to have made her perk up a lot. 

"You know of Anime?" 

He nodded. 

"Of course. I am quite a fan of anime myself. I have developed a few spells from anime I have seen in the past. Do you have any Mecha Anime recommendations?"

"I certainly do. I am quite glad you enjoy Anime like I do." 

---

While Romonus and his new fiance Latia got to know each other, Rias was with Riser. She had her arms crossed as she looked at the 15-year-old blonde. 

"Rias Gremory, word of you has most certainly spread. Your beauty shall only rise with age as I am sure to see once we are wed." 

"Don't count on it." 

Riser's eye twitched. 

"Huh? Don't count on what?" 

"Me marrying you. I have made up my mind to challenge our marriage. A good day to you." 

With that, she walked off leaving Riser slacked jawed. His Father Lord Phenex barely held back a chuckle. His wife elbowed him in the side as Riser was already starting to get mad. 

"How dare she?" 

His older brother Ruvel broke the silence. 

"I am happy for her. Being married to you would suck." 

"Ruvel." 

His mother tried to chastise him, but he did not relent. 

"Am I wrong though? Riser is not known for his respectful attitude. And neither Sirzechs nor Romonus approve of him. Just look." 

Riser looked in Sirzechs' direction who smiled in his direction with a kind, but teasing look. He then looked over at Romonus who turned to him with a smirk. Seeing not just the Devil King, but the next Gremory heir disapprove left him pissed. 

"When is the marriage?" 

Lord Phenex answered. 

"When Rias reaches the age of 18." 

Riser grit his teeth and clenches his hands tightly. 

"They are giving her time to break it off? Do they know who I am?" 

Ruvel nodded. 

"Which is why they are doing this. They know exactly who you are. Now suck it up."

As he had his crisis, Rias with a smile on her face walked over to her mother's side. Venelana reached down and held her hand as she was happy her daughter had a chance to choose for herself. 

She had time to grow stronger, master herself, and had a chance to choose for herself. She thought back to her childhood as she was the daughter of Demaenetus Bael's mistress. Despite inheriting the clan Power of Destruction and being the strongest woman ever born of Clan Bael, she was still not able to become the next heir. 

With her power, she could have fought her engagement at any time, but when she learned she would be marrying Zeoticus she did not. The Gremory clan were all kind lovable people and very quickly she had fallen in love with her husband. 

She had been lucky, but Rias did not have that luck with Riser. So she would have to fight for it. 

"How are you feeling Rias?" 

"I was scared before, but not anymore. Romonus promised to help me." 

"Did he? Are you even going to be able to endure the training regiment?" 

Rias blushed as it was true she had quite the last time. 

"Let's not talk about last time. New time, new me." 

Venelana smiled as she looked at Romonus chatting away with Latia. From the smiles, laughs, and good interaction they were having she was truly happy for the both of them. 

'I wish them a happy marriage.' 

Meanwhile, Sirzechs and Ajuka were both watching their relatives in the distance. Sirzechs patted Ajuka on the shoulder. 

"I am sure Romonus will make her happy." 

"He better, she is the closest thing I have to a child of my own." 

Serafall chimed in with the most obvious. 

"Then get married Juka-Kun."

Ajuka denied that. 

"I am good." 

Falbium opened his eyes as he had been sleep walking. 

"Marriage means no more naps so I don't blame you." 

Ajuka agreed with some of what Falbium said. 

"That and I don't have the time. I have other things to do. My duties as Beelzebub and my hobbies take priority. A wife would take that from me." 

Serafall had to agree. 

"True. We are busy as it is and being married would steal the little freedom I have." 

Sirzechs smiled. 

"How about Romonus?" 

Serafall laughed and waved him off. 

"He is like a little brother to me. Besides, Rias and Sona are close friends, me getting involved with him would just be weird." 

Sirzechs shrugged. 

"Just saying. The 4 of us are all reaching our 6th century in a few more decades. It would be nice to not be the only married Satan." 

Ajuka, Serafall, and Falbium all looked at each other before they all laughed. Ajuka patted Sirzechs on the shoulder with pity. 

"Just seeing you married is enough to make me appreciate being single. You be the outlier for us." 

Serafall giggled as she gave him a thumbs up. 

"Agreed. Good luck with that." 

Falbium closed his eyes and fell back asleep. Sirzechs frowned as he looked at Romonus and communicated telepathically. 

'Yo, Romonus. I got a mission for you.' 

Romonus turned to his brother. 

'What is it?' 

'Marry Serafall.' 

'Huh?' 

'You heard me. Add her to your harem or whatever. Do it for your brother.' 

Romonus got serious and gave his brother a thumbs up. Sirzechs returned the gesture with a smirk on his face. Grayfia who was watching the whole interaction sighed as her husband was up to no good again. 

Either way, Romonus was fine with getting closer to Serafall. She was a hottie and fun to be around. Chaotic girls were fun and since she was forever single she was a virgin. All the better.