Prince of Asmodeus

What Lies Beneath

Sirzechs left the two alone in hopes that when they come out they'll return to being the lovers they once were. But expectedly the progress was slow. It had been a full five minutes and the two hadn't uttered a single word to one another. Grayfia kept a calm exterior but on the inside, she was a mess. She had thought he died in the panic of the final days of the Great War and never expected to be having this confrontation. Issei, on the other hand, had no idea about what to say to her. All those years sealed away in his capsule and he never planned on how he was going to right his wrongs.

"I see you're still wearing the ring." Issei pointed out, finally putting an end to the prolonged silence. "I thought you would've gotten rid of it after my disappearance."

"Divorced women take it off, widowers don't," Grayfia affirmed.

"That implies that I'm still of importance to you; even after what happened," Issei noted. He was doing whatever he could to get under her stoic exterior. They both knew that he still loved her with all of his heart but didn't know if she felt the same about him. "You should know that you'll forever be my true love. I never wanted to do you wrong."

"Then why didn't you tell me Issei," Grayfia spoke with a harsher tone then she had ever spoken in before. She was demanding answers. And she wanted them now. "We had been together for over four centuries. You had entrusted me with every single dark secret that you've kept hidden from the rest of our faction. Then why? What led you to keep this from the woman that you planned on making your bride." Tears slowly began to form in Grayfia's eyes but she would not let them fall. She kept herself strong to release all of the frustration she'd been holding in for the past century.

When other men would look away in shame Issei kept his head held high and stared her deep in the eye. He knew that what he had done was a mistake but he would be a man and be held accountable for it. "I understand why you feel this way Grayfia. I didn't tell anyone because it was Gabriel's request to keep it between us." Issei leaned forward and wiped down his face. "Since that first meeting I've been wanting to tell you. It pained me knowing that I had to keep it all a secret from the person I hold dearest to my heart." He stood from his seat and walked toward the closest window to watch a variety of servants doing their daily work. "I also couldn't live with the thought that I was seen to be the perfect Devil, a prodigy in every field I went into. Yet, I fell in love with what everyone considered being the perfect Angel that God had ever created. The perfect creation of my fathers worst enemy. Every single day of those hundred years inside that capsule I thought of how much you must hate me."

For the first time ever Grayfia had thought about the toll the affair could have taken on Issei. Everyone, especially his father, had high expectations for his future. He made this mistake and she knew that hell would freeze over before he would forgive himself for it. She walked toward him and placed her hand on his left shoulder while resting her head on his right. "It's hard to deny my feelings for you Issei. After everything we've been through I won't allow this to be what separates us forever." She hesitated for a moment as if she were about to regret the next thing she would say. "If nothing stays a secret between us then we can move past this. Together."

"Then I have a question that has been long overdue." Issei pulled the ring off of Grayfias finger and summoned some of his lightning onto his fingertips. The lightning danced between his fingers until it flowed into the ring. Once within it, the physical had changed. For what was once a one-carat diamond, became a three-carat princess cut that had some of his lightning surging in a circular motion. The tears that once threatened to escape Grayfias eyes finally did when she realized what Issei was preparing to do.

"Grayfia Lucifuge, will you marry me?"

Grayfia said nothing but pulled Issei back up and grabbing hold of both of his cheeks. She gave him a long overdue passionate kiss that marked the rebirth of their romance, but not before saying "Of course you fool."