Pov Dia,
I ordered Riri not to enter the room until Akeno decided to leave it.
She was shocked by my words, but I did what had to be done. Now, I needed to go to Grigori.
Penemue: "Welcome to Grigori, Dia-sama."
Dia: "Thank you, Pene. Could you take me to Barakiel?"
Penemue: "Didn't you come to see Azazel-sama?"
Dia: "Not this time. I'll leave him alone with his artificial Longinus project."
Ever since I had revealed Tenchihômetsuzan to the world, Azazel hadn't stopped working on this Longinus, much to the dismay of his subordinates.
Penemue: "Lord Barakiel isn't here at the moment; he left for a private matter."
Dia: "That's exactly why I want to see him — it's about this private matter. Could you contact him so he can come?"
Penemue: "Of course."
She asked a subordinate to notify Barakiel while she escorted me to his office.
Dia: "It's weirdly quiet here."
Something felt wrong, but I couldn't tell what.
Penemue: "Kokabiel and some subordinates disappeared without a trace."
Usually, whenever I came here, I always felt his intense murderous intent. He never dared to act on it, though, because he still remembered the humiliation from the first time I visited.
Dia: "Do you want me to send people to look for him before he starts a war?"
Penemue: "It's our responsibility to handle it, so on behalf of all Grigori, we refuse your help."
Dia: "I understand, but know that if he targets my family, I will personally take care of it."
Penemue: "That's fair. We're heading inside — would you like a cup of tea or something else?"
Dia: "Tea would be perfect."
While she was preparing the tea, I took the opportunity to glance around the room. My eyes landed on a photograph — one of Barakiel with a woman who must have been Akeno's mother, judging by the resemblance and her youthful appearance, likely in her twenties. In the photo, their daughter was there too, smiling brightly.
Dia: "It's a nice family life you've built for yourself, Barakiel."
Barakiel: "And yet some people dared to destroy those few years of pure happiness."
I knew he was approaching, so I let my thoughts slip out.
Dia: "The Omoujin are more racist than most factions, so it was clear they would try to kill what they deemed heretical."
Barakiel: "I had done nothing to them. She loved me, and I loved her back. Why judge a love like that just because we belong to two races that supposedly shouldn't be together?"
Dia: "I don't know... Personally, I don't care, but I keep some of my relationships secret to protect those I care about — just like I kept May hidden long before Inglis was born. I also always leave bodyguards behind when I'm not there, to ensure they're protected from any threat."
He didn't know that Inglis was my adopted daughter, so I used the version the world was familiar with.
Dia: "This case is almost similar to Cleria Belial's, but neither survived, and there were no children between them."
Barakiel: "I was lucky not to lose everything."
He laughed bitterly, a self-deprecating chuckle, because he had lost his wife and the love of his daughter.
Barakiel: "Do you know where my daughter is?"
Dia: "My little sister brought her back to become a member of her peerage."
Barakiel: "It's better for her to stay with people her age, as long as she's not suffering."
Dia: "I spoke with her... Even if the conversation wasn't as courteous as I would have liked, I tried to stop her from hating her Fallen side — from hating herself. But I can't help you make her stop hating you."
Barakiel: "That's okay, I understand. She hoped I'd come to save them both, but I arrived too late — after Shuri had already died. The woman who once loved me so much no longer sees me as a hero... just an incompetent fool who couldn't protect his family."