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(TPD) Chapter 29: Albedo's Attention
🕑 Added 2025-01-02 12:54:18 +0000 UTCChapter 29: Albedo's Attention
How long does she plan to make me keep this up for? It's been months already, isn't my current level good enough? Avalon groaned inwardly, clutching the hilt of an armament that wasn't a part of his normal arsenal. He wasn't holding a sword, nor his regular or three-pronged kunai, but rather a spear. One with a bronze hilt and a gilded, triangular-shaped head with an edge sharp as a damascus knife. The length of the spar totalling at around two meters, around the same as Muramasa in spite of the latter being a katana.
"Wipe that dissatisfaction off your face, a Bael doesn't complain when they have a task assigned to them." The woman standing opposite him, wielding the exact same spear, was quick to adominish for him the silent disapproval she sensed from him. In spite of the way she addressed Avalon, she was not in fact Zekram, but rather Albedo—the latter's servant.
She had been instructed to impart the Bael Clan's spearmanship technique onto Avalon, the same one Sylas and the rest of the spear-wielding soldiers Avalon had witnessed use during the Mortis Campaign had been taught. As Great King, Zekram believed it would be shameful if the Bael Clan's Patriarch didn't know his own clan's martial technique.
"I don't mean to brag, but aren't I already good enough at this by now? What's the point of making me study the technique any further?" Avalon grumbled, it had already been over a year since he had begun learning it, and the technique didn't even suit him in the first place. He was the explosive type, someone whose style was centered around wild movements, aggression, and a stark lack of self-preservation.
The Bael Clan's spearmanship demanded fluidity, composure, and the patience of a still pond. It was a technique of grace and elegance, concepts that Avalon didn't embody even in the slightest since he was, well—Avalon. Zekram is helping me with my spellcraft in exchange for me learning this as she asked, so I guess this isn't all in vain.
"You're Her Majesty's fiancé, all you need to do is abide by her wishes, nothing more." Albedo scowled, the fact that Avalon was expressing any kind of discontent when he had been graced by such an honor, filling her with immense wrath. Do you have any idea how many would give their everything to be a quarter as close to Her Majesty as you? That flippancy of yours is an insult to everything her brilliance has curated!
"You're one hell of a fanatic, you know that?" Avalon rolled his eyes, as well as being his spearmanship instructor, Albedo was also responsible for managing Avalon's itinerary in Adaloth's stead while she was busy training with both Grayfia and Mathers throughout the day. Albedo's obsessive devotion to Zekram was a character trait he had become extremely familiar with over the past year.
"As long as Her Majesty acknowledges my undying devotion, I require nothing more—now cease your idle chatter, we're continuing." Albedo lunged at him, gripping the hilt of her spear with both hands and twirling it before performing an overhead strike aimed at Avalon's scalp.
I'm not really even embracing the technique like I do Souji's, I'm just imitating her on the spot and pretending like it's a part of my muscle memory. It's excessively elegant, it's not something that'll ever be a part of me. When they were sparring, neither of them used reinforcement since it would be completely in Avalon's favor, it was simply a contest of technique intended to drill the notion into Avalon's brain.
He kicked the side of his spear's blade, pushing up the rear side of the weapon and swiftly meeting Albedo's bladed side with his finely crafted hilt. The superior momentum that Avalon's innate speed generated proved superior to Albedo's sheer might, creating a brief window of opportunity as her arm reeled back from the impact.
His first instinct was to rush and snake the tip of his spear towards Albedo's chest, but he had a feeling doing so would earn him another earful about how he wasn't acting with enough grace. Instead, he chose to strike directly at the small part of Albedo's hilt in between the brunt of her palm and the tip of her fingers with machine-like precision. Knocking the spear out of her hand and disarming her, to which he proceeded to let his spear rest over the back of his shoulders in a Wukong-esque fashion.
Was that elegant enough for you? He didn't make any of the inward smugness boiling inside him known in fear of getting scolded by Zekram later, choosing to just calmly gaze at Albedo's mildly frustrated figure with a profound sense of boredom. Finding himself missing Souji's lessons quite a bit.
It wasn't as if Albedo was weak, as a matter of fact her strength was on par with a low Ultimate-Class Devil, maybe even a middle strength one on her best day. However, even though Avalon couldn't match her in a contest of raw strength without using his reinforcement or Touki, his senses were extraordinary at finding his opponent's weak points or blind spots—giving him an unfair edge over her in a contest of raw technique. That, added with the fact that he was debatably the fastest devil in the Underworld at the moment, made him quite the difficult opponent.
"Why don't we take a break for now? Overworking can do more harm than good after all," he offered, lifting up the bottom of his shirt and wiping the sweat off his face.
Even if your attitude doesn't even remotely qualify, at least your strength is worthy of Her Majesty's attention. Albedo held back a faint smile, picking her spear back and up and recollecting herself. "That would depend, are you planning on allowing that filthy creature to touch you again?"
Avalon had started calling upon Tomoe's massaging ability more and more often, his ability to help with his muscle fatigue and the growing pains he was experiencing from his body's rapid growth proving invaluable to easing his stress. Sure, sometimes Tomoe seemed to enjoy it a little too much, but the lack of pain he felt was certainly worth it.
Darling! You can't let her talk about me like that! Tomoe growled from within their shared mindscape.
He sighed, "First of all, I'm the only one who's allowed to call him filthy, and secondly, why does it even matter?"
"It bothers me that you're interacting with Her Majesty after having your skin sullied by an inferior creature," she narrowed her eyes, which was met by a deep groan from Avalon in return. Even though she wasn't nearly as weak, Albedo clearly shared Sylas's overly purist ideal. The only difference being that Albedo believed anything that wasn't Zekram was impure, and that everyone beside her could only be categorized into varying levels of filth. Seeing as Tomoe wasn't even a devil, it was safe to say that Albedo's opinion of him was exceptionally low. "I don't want Her Majesty to be contaminated by that creature's presence."
"You know better than anyone how much work I'm doing on a day to day basis, how am I supposed to put in efficient work if I can't concentrate because my body is strained all the time?" Avalon proceeded to try catering to her mindset, "It'd be a problem for Zekram if I wasn't performing my best wouldn't it?"
Albedo pursed her lip, her facial expression indicating that she actually saw reason in his argument.
"Unless—you plan on doing it in his stead for me?" He said in a half-mischievous, half-joking fashion.
"If that's what is required in order to safeguard Her Majesty, then I suppose I will." She agreed, causing Avalon's eyes to light up with surprise behind his blindfold as he wondered if he had misheard her.
You aren't seriously going to let her take my role like that are you? Tomoe complained.
I mean, I wasn't actually expecting her to agree. She was supposed to get angry or insulted like usual, in other words—Avalon wasn't expecting himself to get this far. Also, don't pretend like you aren't interested to see what she's going to do.
They ended up in the living room of Zekram's area of the estate, which was kept separate from the general section where the majority of maids and butlers worked. It was also where Avalon would go to constantly hide from Adaloth when he was too exhausted to put up with her usual behaviour.
"Be gentle with me," he teased, laying face down on the couch with Albedo standing beside him. I'm tempted to see how far she'll go if I try something, but on second thought it might be too early for that.
"Not once in my service have I damaged Her Majesty's property, your concern is unfounded." He wasn't a fan of wording, but he decided to let it slide as long as she did a good job. "I'll need you to remove your shirt, it'll be difficult to massage you properly with it on."
"Already asking me to strip? Gosh, you should at least buy me dinner first." She breathed an exasperated sigh as he removed his sportswear, flinging it across the room while looking straight at her on purpose. It's been a literal lifetime since I've been able to flirt with a woman without them trying to assault me on the spot, it's not wrong to want to enjoy it a little right? "I'm all yours, Albedo."
He laid down flat on his stomach, crossing his arms under his chin as Albedo reached out, putting her supple hands on his exposed back and reaching for the back of his shoulders. "What's wrong? You aren't thinking about something indecent are you?" He noticed her pause, I wonder how Zekram would feel about this.
"Haven't you spouted enough nonsense for a day?" She started to knead his muscles, to which Avalon decided to let out a needlessly audible moan which startled Albedo a little. Her Majesty won't take issue with this will she? No, of course not. I'm merely ensuring her fiancé's efficiency is adequate.
"It's not nonsense if it's true," he smiled in an impish fashion. "Also, you shouldn't be so tense all the time unless you want to end up getting wrinkles, how will you ever score a man if you ruin your beauty beforehand?" That comment hit a sore spot in Albedo's confidence, one that even Zekram had brought up, just in a much more idle fashion. Albedo's master had never tried or wished to deny her the opportunity to get with someone if she wished, as long as she fulfilled her duty what she did in her free time was her business. "Or a woman, I'm not one to judge."
Beautiful? I don't need such an empty compliment for someone who's hardly even seen what I look like of all people. Albedo increased the pressure she was applying onto his skin as if to convey her irritation. "I don't require your advice regarding my personal life, and even if I were to humor it, all it would do is get in the way of my work." She insisted, earning her a thoughtful hum from Avalon in return.
"I find it hard to believe that you're not even a little interested to experience what a relationship would feel like—even if it were a superficial one. It bothers you when people bring your fruitless love life up doesn't it? Why not get rid of that annoyance altogether?" She couldn't wrap her head around why he was so insistent on discussing the matter with her, but when Avalon really got talkative, it was hard to just shrug off what he said. I had every reason to be more disinterested in it than anyone else in my past life, but when it came down to it even I decided that I wanted to satisfy my curiosity.
"I'm not so weak-minded as to keel under a bit of verbal pressure," sensing that she had more to say, he shifted his head a little to the side and paid keen attention. "I've yet to come across someone who would suit me anyway, pursuing a romantic relationship isn't even a tertiary concern of mine." Why am I even humoring him like this? I should just move on from the matter altogether.
"I didn't say it had to be romantic," one-night-stand type relationships were commonplace in the Underworld, even more so than in the Human World. "You're experienced," he had to think of some sort of alternative to replace calling her flat-out old. "You've clearly worked hard, you'll need to find a way to let your hair down somehow if you want to avoid burning out. Zekram probably brought this up with you at some point as well didn't she? I imagine she's also concerned about you overheating."
"Like I just stated, there's no one within my palette at the moment."
"What about me?"
Albedo froze, her demeanor turning statue-like as she debated whether she had misheard him. "Pardon?"
"I said, what about me? I'm someone Zekram got engaged to, her approval should be more than reason for you shouldn't it? I'm not expecting anything intimate, but if you want to get rid of your cherry girl title then I don't mind lending a hand."
The horned woman shook her head, snapping herself out of her stupor and regaining her usual composed, ladylike attitude. "I'd appreciate it if you limited your joking, it could upset Her Majesty if you let it get out of hand."
"I'm not joking Albedo," the pitch of voice dropped to represent his earnestness, causing her lip to quiver from her heightening discontent. "I'm sure Zekram wouldn't mind, you've been such a faithful servant to her after all."
This isn't like you Avalon, Tomoe said. Since when were you the forward one? Or has something changed that even I don't know about?
Nothing's changed Tomoe, Avalon sighed inwardly. Juggling Zekram and Adaloth is exhausting, I'm just trying to find something that doesn't require me to overburden my mind.
Is that really all it is? He hummed, Or is my Darling finally deciding to come out of his shell? If that's the case, then maybe it's time for me to make my move as well.
"I've already asked you to drop the subject, and I don't know where you get the delusion that Her Majesty would be alright with such a thing." No matter how aggressive Albedo's massaging got, Avalon never seemed to get the hint that she really wanted him to keep his mouth closed. Each word that came out of it just seemed to either conflict or annoy her more than the last. Why would you even want anyone else when you have the unrivaled fortune of her attention?
"She is alright with it though," he shrugged.
"And what led you to that asinine conclusion?" She scoffed.
"I'm having sex with Adaloth, and she's aware of it, she's been aware of it for quite some time now actually."
Like the rusty chain of a bike, Albedo completely locked up. A tremor running through her hand as the terrifying sense of truth radiating from Avalon's being plagued her. "...What?" She muttered, struggling to maintain her composure.
"You heard me, and you probably had your suspicions beforehand didn't you? As someone who spends so much time around the both of us, you probably picked up on the fact that our relationship isn't that of a normal King and Queen, let alone a brother and sister." There wasn't so much as a hint of shame in his voice as he stood up to face Albedo, gently cupping the side of her face with his warm palm. "Like I said, Zekram's already known about this for quite some time, but she's fine with it as long as I fulfill my duty, and because she's aware that I'm only doing it to keep my sister tame. She's quite the psychopath you see," he breathed a flat chuckle. "She's completely obsessed with me, and loathes Zekram for getting in the way of her utopia. She's probably also pissed at you for being my interim Queen until she's finished her training with Grayfia."
A flurry of thoughts swirled around Albedo's head, her head trying to piece together everything Avalon had just told her as if to make sense of at all—but alas, that effort proved futile. After having such a bomb dropped on her in the most casual manner possible, thinking clearly had become exceptionally hard. "...Unhand me."
"Only if you unhand me first," he smiled and pointed down.
"What are you talking abou—!" Her eyes widened from the shock of seeing her arm inexplicably wrapped around his waist, like it had a mind of its own.
"Don't look at me, even if I'm fast it doesn't mean I can just erase your sense of feeling, that was all you." He drew closer, bringing his mouth up to her ear and whispering, "Not that I mind."
"What are the two of you doing?" An authoritative voice called out to them, one that Albedo recognized all too well, the infatuated servant slowly craning her head to meet the judgemental gaze of the raven-haired woman staring at them with her arms folded.
Zekram was in the room with them. Of course, Avalon had sensed her approaching presence beforehand, and Zekram was also well aware of this fact, which led her to question what he was trying to accomplish.
"You're supposed to knock before entering," Avalon chided her while still cupping Albedo's face. "She was just helping me unwind with a massage after our grueling training session this morning, isn't that right?" He looked at her expectantly.
"Y-Yes… That's right Your Majesty…" She responded with a blatant lack of confidence.
Zekram rolled her eyes, clearly uninterested in entertaining whatever it was Avalon was getting up to. "Last time I checked, administering a massage required at least one party to be laying down," she couldn't wait to hear what sort of outlandish response Avalon had in store.
"It's an experimental technique, Albedo has quite the ingenuitive mind after all."
"Uh-huh," his fiancée replied with a distinct lack of amusement. "If you're done flirting with my servant, then I suggest you head downstairs. Adaloth's looking for you and is under the delusion that I have you trapped in my basement."
You have a basement? What would you even keep in there? Actually, on second thought I don't want to know. Avalon didn't skim over the last part of her sentence, "When isn't she looking for me?" He sighed, stepping out of the room but popping his head back in at the last minute. "Oh, and Albedo," he caught her attention. "I'm pretty good at handling rough play, so don't worry about being too pent up for me."
"Wha—!" She was about to shout some kind of retort, but the ice-cold glare hitting the back of her neck caused her to freeze in place.
"Albedo," Zekram's voice called a chill to run down Albedo's spine. "How about you sit down for a while?"
---
"You haven't checked up with me in a while," was the first sound that reached Avalon's ear canal the second he entered the general living space, where most of the servants roaming the Bael Clan's estate were allowed to freely roam.
A woman of about 5'6 was laying down back-first on the couch with one leg over the other, sporting light-red hair tied into a singular braid running down her back, and haunting bright-yellow eyes that seemed to illuminate the space around her. Her slender figure was pronounced by the tight, white dress shirt she wore alongside a black tie, coupled by black pants and brown shoes.
"Care to remind me how long a while is in Adaloth time?" Avalon asked his lounging sister, internally wondering how bothersome the following conversation was going to be. As a matter of fact, I should just ask Pandorica to create a conversion calculator for me.
"Yesterday evening, you didn't pick up when I was messaging you while I was conducting some business with Grayfia at the Agares Clan." She turned her head to the side, causing a loose strand of hair to fall onto her face while her fixed gaze remained attached to him. "Explain," she ordered in a dry tone.
What I was doing then again? He clutched his forehead, slowly starting to remember the fact that he had gone out with Zekram and Sairaorg to Lilith to pick up Misla from the Serafall Memorial Hospital. After which he had suggested that they go out for lunch, which is when Adaloth started to call him, and also when told Pandorica to put his phone on mute so he could focus on the outing.
"I was—"
"Lap pillow first, explanation second," she instructed while lifting her head up for him to scoot his lap under.
Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? He reluctantly complied, only to be interrupted again as he was about to speak.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" She pointed to her head.
"Grayfia should've taught you some humility while she was at it," he breathed an exasperated sigh, gently stroking her hair which caused Adaloth to snuggle up to him as she made herself comfortable.
She pinched his cheek, "I'm not about to take a lesson in humility from you of all people, now hurry and tell me who you were with."
"We're assuming I was with someone?"
"I know you were, someone's always involved whenever you ignore me, and if you decided to ignore me just for the hell of it I'd suggest you start thinking about what you'd like on your obituary." When such a sentence came from Adaloth of all people, it usually wasn't said in jest.
"I was in Lilith with Sairaorg, we were going to pick up Misla from the hospital."
"Misla? That's a woman's name isn't it?"
He swiftly chopped her on the head, "Misla's his mother, she was afflicted with Sleep Disease when I arrived here for the first time." Granted, she's 100% my type alongside Ruval's mother, but you don't need to know that.
"Sleep Disease? Ah, Grayfia mentioned something about a cure having just been discovered—I didn't know you were involved with that," she shot a suspicious glance at him. I know exactly who Misla is, she's the first wife of the man you'll be replacing as Great King and the mother of your student, who you went to visit alongside her son. You ignored me because you were doing something together, if only she knew Zekram was with him as well.
"Saying that I was involved would be an exaggeration, I helped catch that she was diseased at the beginning, Ajuka and Lord Sitri did all the actual curing." As much as she wanted to interrogate him on Misla, the soothing sensation of being coddled by him made it hard for her to give life to any frustration.
"Are you and Misla close?"
"Of course we're close, I update her on Sairaorg's progress all the time." He had debated telling her about what was going to happen with Sylas eventually, knowing full well how much she despised the negligent husband. However, a part of him felt that it would be a little too self-serving, Sylas hadn't so much as made a snide remark about her or Sairaorg once Zekram had gotten involved—Avalon wasn't worried about him doing anything rash.
"I see, it's good that she's recovered," she said without any warmth or sentiment whatsoever. "Apparently something happened with Lars and Esdeath over at Mortis if you haven't already heard."
"I'm aware, they found a runaway child with some special kind of ability," the way that he was obsessively keeping watch over them made it seem like he knew anything that happened to them before it even did. "I'm actually thinking of heading over there in person and checking it out first-hand."
"Zekram won't let you leave unless there's a valid reason for you to go," the one decision she made that I actually agree with. He's impossible to manage on the battlefield.
"I know," he breathed an exasperated sigh. Hopefully Grigori does something grand soon, Zekram's been giving this all this time so they can prepare, they better have something to show for it.
---
This chapter was significantly more relaxed as you can probably tell, I just thought it would be good to have a more mellowed out chapter after the time-skip. Of course, the action has to return one way or another, so you have that to look forward to.
