Chapter 457: Damian’s Plans

Splash!

Damian dropped into the steaming pool inside his birth house and allowed himself to sink beneath the surface without resistance. The warm water closed over his head, muffling the sounds of the room as he continued sinking until his back finally touched the smooth stone at the bottom.

He remained there, completely motionless, staring upward through the distorted water while his thoughts wandered through everything that had happened over the past several days.

William stood beside the pool with his usual dignified posture, his hands resting behind his back as he watched his master without showing much concern. There was little point worrying about Damian drowning. If anything in this palace could kill the Prince of Lust, it certainly wasn’t a bath.

On the other side of the pool, Loth sat comfortably with Rin resting across her lap. She gently ran a towel through his fur, carefully drying him after his own bath while the seven tailed fox looked toward the submerged Damian with growing annoyance.

"Most of your power problems are solved. What are you whining about this time?" Rin asked.

Damian gave no response.

Loth glanced toward the bottom of the pool before looking at Rin with a faint smile. She could tell Damian was exhausted. He had spent the previous night fighting the Order of Demons and overseeing the purge throughout the capital, then followed it by holding one of the most intense royal court sessions Velmora had seen in centuries. Even someone as abnormal as Damian needed time to mentally recover from something like that.

Rin rolled his eyes and adjusted himself more comfortably against Loth’s lap.

"So dramatic." He muttered, earning a quiet chuckle from her.

Several seconds later, Damian’s body slowly rose through the water and broke the surface. Water streamed down his black hair and face as he floated on his back, his dull gaze fixed on the ceiling. He looked less like a triumphant prince who had just reclaimed his court and more like a man who had discovered that solving one problem simply revealed five more waiting behind it.

"Who do I execute tomorrow to send a message?" Damian asked calmly.

Rin’s expression immediately twisted into a frown.

"Don’t tell me you’re getting cold feet now?" Rin asked.

Damian slowly shook his head. "I’m not getting cold feet."

"His Majesty is not wrong." William finally spoke, his calm voice carrying across the room. "Duke Darbin and Amon are very important members of the Underworld. I doubt the council will simply stand idle and watch them die. I wouldn’t be surprised if delegates arrive by this evening or tomorrow morning."

Rin turned toward William with a skeptical expression, but William continued before he could respond.

"When Sol commenced a similar purge, he also killed the delegates sent to him."

"And thereby made himself enemy number one of all demons." William interrupted calmly. "As someone who intends to recruit more noble families, His Majesty must learn to play politics."

Rin opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing.

Damian remained floating in the water, silently considering William’s words. That was exactly the issue he needed to think about. He had already decided that he wanted to dismantle the old political structure and replace it with something more loyal to him. But if he intended to recruit hundreds of families into his camp, he couldn’t simply execute every powerful demon who stood against him. Fear could force obedience, but excessive fear would eventually convince everyone that supporting him was more dangerous than opposing him.

"What do you suggest?" Damian asked calmly.

William lowered his head slightly. "Sire, if you must break the resolve of your enemies, then execute the Demigod generals who directly participated in the rebellion. Their deaths will send the message you desire without destroying the foundation of the clans themselves. As for the clan leaders, they should be kept alive and, if possible, forced to submit to you or eventually replaced. In the end, you still need their power."

Damian’s eyes narrowed slightly.

He understood the logic but the problem was that he had no intention of placing Darbin or Amon beneath him.

"I need demons. It doesn’t have to be the Dukes." Damian said.

William fell silent.

Damian slowly lifted himself until his shoulders emerged from the water, his wet hair hanging around his face as he looked toward William.

"I’m not rebuilding the same system that failed me. I don’t need another group of powerful families sitting above everyone else and deciding what I can and cannot do. That’s exactly what I’m trying to eliminate."

He reached toward the edge of the pool and rested his arm against the stone.

"I need demons, but I don’t want to become a puppet of the council. That’s why I intend to shake Darbin and Amon off my back and replace their influence with new blood."

William understood immediately.

Damian wasn’t trying to eliminate noble power entirely. He was trying to redistribute it.

If he replaced the old families with weaker clans that owed everything to him, the balance of power would fundamentally change. Instead of Damian depending on the nobles, the nobles would depend on Damian.

"Then what of the council?" William asked.

Damian raised one hand, signaling that he had heard enough for now.

"We’ll continue as planned."

His voice became firmer.

"If the council makes a move, we delay. Mary and Rachael needs time to pull as many new allies as possible from their forces before Amon and Darbin are released. If those two regain control of their armies before we can pull people away from them, we’ll have accomplished nothing."

William immediately nodded.

"Yes, Sire."

Rin’s ears perked up as he looked at Damian with renewed approval. At least they weren’t going to surrender their advantage simply because the council might complain. If the delegates arrived, Damian could stall them while his people quietly dismantled the military and political foundations of the two families.

Rin leaned forward slightly, resting his front paws against Loth’s arm as he studied Damian.

"So what’s your plan for your royal court?"

Damian glanced toward him.

Rin already knew the answer would be unpleasant for the old aristocracy. Damian had made his intentions clear from the beginning. He wanted to resist becoming dependent on powerful demons from ancient backgrounds. His goal was to build a coalition of lower ranking families, newly promoted nobles and former enemies willing to swear loyalty directly to him.

He wasn’t interested in winning the old game. He wanted to change the rules.

"I’ll push out every remaining member of the Damika and Amon clans from positions of authority." Damian said. "Lord Kan becomes Grand Chancellor, and Lord Talos becomes Minister of War. The remaining positions will be filled with newcomers."

Rin nodded slowly.

That would give Damian a court built almost entirely from people whose positions existed because of him. They wouldn’t possess centuries of independent influence like Amon’s or Darbin’s families. Their fortunes would rise or fall with the Prince of Lust.

It was exactly the kind of court Damian wanted.

Loth, who had remained quietly listening while continuing to dry Rin’s fur, finally spoke.

"What about the people you plan to recruit from the families of Amon and Darbin?"

She immediately covered her mouth. Her eyes widened when she realized she had addressed Damian without the proper title.

"I’m sorry, Sire, I..."

Damian casually waved her concern away.

"Don’t worry about it. Between me and my women, there shouldn’t be any formalities unless we’re in public."

Loth lowered her hand slowly and nodded, visibly relieved.

Damian leaned back against the edge of the pool and looked toward the ceiling again.

"They are descendants of traitors. They will have to prove themselves in the Dark World."

His voice contained no hesitation.

"That’s where their strength and expertise will be useful. Not here in the capital, where generations of privilege can make them conceited and greedy."

Rin’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Damian wasn’t simply punishing them. He was relocating them.

The defectors who wanted to remain useful would be given a path forward, but it wouldn’t be comfortable. They would be sent somewhere where their family names meant very little and their survival depended entirely on their own ability.

"If they want their family name restored, they’ll earn it through service." Damian continued. "And if they fail, then they have no business holding power in my realm."

William gave a small nod of approval.

That approach also solved another problem. Damian could preserve the useful talents accumulated by those ancient clans without allowing those same families to regain control of the capital.