Ch 114: Win/Win either way.

An hour later, Elisabeth teleported to Rias's mansion.

"Mother!" happily called out Ravel, and Elisabeth opened her arms with a warm smile, and hugged her daughter tightly.

"Where have you been, mother? I've been worried."

"I'm perfectly fine, Ravel."

Elisabeth looked up at Akeno and Rias.

"Welcome to the Gremory Residence, Lady Phenex." said Akeno with a polite smile.

"Greeting, Lady Phenex." smiled Rias in turn.

"Good morning, Rias-chan, Akeno. I hope my coming didn't disrupt your schedule too much."

"That is no issue. We can afford to ditch school from time to time." nodded Rias. "Can we invite you to tea?"

"That would be lovely. But first, could I borrow one of your rooms? I'd like to have a chat with Ravel."

"Mother?"

"Of course. Ravel, how about you bring your mother to my study?"

"Yes. This way, mother." said Ravel, leading Lady Phenex away.

As they were leaving, Rias and Akeno talked with a low voice.

"I thought she might have come to scold me about punching Riser's daylights out during the rating game."

"It's not that, ufufu. I think I know what this is about." grinned Akeno.

"You do?"

"Yes. I had a most interesting chat with Alice the other day, and I learned something juicy. Last week, Aunt Grayfia brought her to Noah's home. Lady Phenex wanted to offer him something in exchange for him not setting his sights on Ravel, until she got her out of your peerage."

"I can understand that, as her mother, but I wouldn't agree so easily… did Noah make her change her mind?"

"You could say that, ufufu." Akeno leaned close to Rias and whispered to her ears.

A mix of expressions crossed Rias's face as she got the gist of it.

"So, she's joining the harem as well, and Noah is cuckolding Lord Phenex. How scandalous… But I'm angry, Akeno. We've been right in front of his nose for a while now, and somehow, yet another woman appears and gets his attention before us. Can't they get in line?"

"You're right, Rias. I can't fault him when fate seems to throw women at him constantly, but this is still getting seriously irritating. How about we do something about it?"

"Oh? You have a plan?"

"The beginnings of one. After the peace conference, we'll simply ambush him. Let's take a page from Lady Phenex's playbook. If we lure him out to my room or yours, we'll just come at him rope in hand, tie him to the bed, and he doesn't get to leave until we chose to. Or he turns the tables on us. It's a win/win either way."

"…Your idea does have merit." nodded Rias, her heart beating fast as her imagination ran wild.

"But I'd prefer to have my first time with him alone."

"Me, too… How about this, Rias? We play Janken, and the winner gets to make a move on him first using that method. And then the winner will help make certain the loser quickly gets her turn. We do not need to leave the initiative to him, as long as we do not get in the way of something important like the conference."

"You're on!" grinned Rias.

Seconds later, Rias was on all four, groaning, while Akeno executed an impromptu victory dance.

…

"How is onii-sama doing, mother?" asked Ravel with concern when they were alone.

"He's stopped sulking and is starting to bounce back."

Elisabeth sighed as she sat on a sofa and gestured for Ravel to sit near her.

"But his peerage has gone on strike about him missing their birthdays and not giving them any gift for years. Not that I blame them. They want to hear honest apologies and for him to memorize their important dates before they resume training or participating in rating games. How are Mihae and Xuelan?"

"They're doing well, Mother." smiled Ravel. "Rias and the others are all friendly, and they treat us like sisters."

"I am relieved to hear it… Ravel, I, need to tell you something important." she sighed, taking her daughter's hands.

"Mother?" Asked Ravel, tensing.

"What do you know about the power dynamic between me and your father?"

"Well, you're clearly the one calling the shots, Mother. Father always aligns his view on yours whenever you give your opinion."

"Yes. That's because, in our bedroom, we have a… Master and Slave relationship. And he's the slave, obviously." confessed Elisabeth.

"That's… I'm not too surprised, but… Why are you telling my something so private?"

"The thing is, Ravel… I want the best for you. I planned to have you marry into one of the major houses, and then I would have taught you how to dominate your husband and gain everything that way. A devoted husband, a life of luxury. And you would have been able to prevent him from making a harem and having to share him."

"…I don't think I want this, Mother. I appreciate that you want me to be happy, and I want to make you proud, but dominating someone… I'm not sure that kind of relationship is for me."

"Besides, I already have someone in mind." admitted Ravel, blushing.

"Noah?"

Ravel nodded, lowering her eyes in embarrassment.

"I do not disapprove. He is a very capable young man. But there is another thing I must tell you. It's not going to be easy to say…"

"Mother? You can tell me anything. I'll always love you, mother." said Ravel with a reassuring tone.

"The thing is, that since I wanted you to lead your own house one day, and I had guessed that it would only be a matter of time before Noah made a move on you, I met him in private, to negotiate with him."

"And when the negotiation reached a stalemate… I made a grave mistake."

"I tried to use hypnosis and enslave him."

"You what!?" flinched Ravel, her eyes wide.

"My reasoning what that I would take him as a slave, train him to be an obedient husband, and then transfer his ownership to you, after I would have taught you how to be a competent dominant… But it backfired on me."

"…What happened?"

Elisabeth blushed, remembering some of the things she had experienced. "Ravel… Noah proved to be immune to my magic. Worse, he had noticed my attempt. He played along for a while, but at the crucial moment, he overpowered me in an instant. And then…"

"And then?" asked Ravel, frowning.

"He started doing to me, what I planned to do to him."

"What are you saying Mother?" asked Ravel, feeling faint.

"I'm saying that Noah has started training me as his slave, Ravel. I do not know if I'll end up joining his harem officially one day, or if I'll just stay as the wife of the Head of our house. But in that case, I will still be his slave, coming to him whenever he calls." said Elisabeth, too embarrassed to admit to her daughter how much she truly had enjoyed the whole thing.

"That's terrible! I can't believe he would do that to you! Wait, you spent the last two days or so in his house? What kind of things did he do to you?"

"…I'd rather not say. Please don't ask me, Ravel."

Ravel rose and angrily paced around the room. After a while, she stopped and turned to Elisabeth.

"Mother, do you have his phone number?"

"Yes?"

"Please call him and tell him to come here, right now."

"Ravel, I'm not sure it would be a good idea."

"I don't care. I'm putting my foot down for once, Mother. Call him, or I'll ask Rias for his number and do it myself. I will save you, whatever the cost!"

"…I'll call him." sighed Elisabeth, taking her smartphone. "But no matter how angry you are, do not be violent with him, Ravel. It wouldn't end well for you."

A minute later, Noah appeared in the room.

"Hi again, Elisabeth. And hello, Ravel. What can I do for you?" smiled Noah.

"You can release my mom! I am very disappointed in you, Noah." scolded Ravel. To Noah, Ravel looked like she was about to puff her cheeks.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're cute even when you're angry?" grinned Noah as he sat down.

"Before I consider you demand, I'd like you to tell me what your mother told you, to be sure we're on the same page."

"She told me that she tried to hypnotize you, but you somehow turned the table on her, and you're now training her as your sex slave. Stop this this instant!" said Ravel, pointing her index at him while adopting a cheeky posture.

"That's the gist of it, yes. I'm not going to stop it, though."

"You!"

"Elisabeth, did you mention to your daughter how much pleasure you felt, being treated that way?"

"…no." replied Elisabeth in a barely audible voice.

"And do you really want for me to cut contact with you and release you?"

"…no."

Ravel stared at her mother, her mouth wide open, as if she couldn't understand her answer.

"There you have it, Ravel. This is now something between consenting adults, and while I understand your objections, since I am disrupting the relationship between your parents, I'm still not releasing her. If she tried to enslave me, it's only fair that she gets enslaved."

"I-I challenge you to a d-duel!" declared Ravel, making him go blank for an instant.

"Seriously? Have you not seen me duel with Diodora?"

"Not a duel with a battle! A duel of willpower! For thirty days, I will take my mother's place and accept your training. And at the end of the last day, if I'm still resisting you, you will never try to make me your slave, even if I may one day accept being your l-lover, or even your w-wife, and you will stop that relationship with my mother!"

Ravel blushed and stuttered in embarrassment when she mentioned being his lover or wife.

Elisabeth was about to warn her daughter to back off her challenge before Noah could accept it, as she knew Ravel would lose, but she repressed that urge. It would be a good opportunity for Ravel to know the happiness of being Noah's slave, too.

"I agree with it." smiled Noah. "For one month, I will train you, and I will not give any order to or summon your mom for the duration. But this challenge will start in a month or so. I'm very busy right now, and the delay will give you a chance to retract your challenge. It is potentially a life-changing decision, and you should think about it properly."

Ravel nodded.

"Now, if there isn't anything else, I have to train myself while I can." said Noah, giving them a few seconds to ask him something, but they didn't.

"See you later, Ravel, Elisabeth." smiled Noah with a nod, before disappearing.

Elisabeth rose and hugged her daughter fiercely.

"I am very proud of you, my brave daughter. Your mother loves you very much." she muttered.

"Yes, Mother. I love you, too. I'll save you, you can count on me."

They hugged each other for few minutes, then Elisabeth left.

Alone in the room, Ravel smiled in satisfaction.

Noah had swallowed her bait, hook, line, and sinker.

If she received training by him for a month and disliked it, she would be in an excellent position to become his lover, not his slave, and gain an advantage over the rest of his harem. She didn't really mind having to share him, but if she could put herself in position to get a greater share of his time, she would go for it. And if she fell into being his sex slave, she would have acquired a liking for it during the training, and would still be happy to have secured a permanent place by his side.

The news about her mother being trained as his slave had been shocking, but she had already planned to ask Noah to include her mother in his harem one day, after learning from Kaede and Suzu that they had obtained immortality that way. Ravel didn't really care about her father. He had always been distant with her and her siblings, and now, she knew why.

Ravel felt like humming to herself as she left the room.

She would of course try her best to endure his training. But whether she succeeded of not, it would still be a win/win either way.