Chapter 477: Chaos In The Royal Court!

Damian leaned back on his throne and rubbed his eyes with two fingers before letting out a quiet breath. The exhaustion from the sleepless night was beginning to settle into his bones, and for a brief moment he simply sat there with his eyes closed while the ministers and officials below watched him with increasingly strange expressions. They had never seen their prince look this tired before, yet none of them dared ask what had happened.

After several seconds, Damian lowered his hand and returned his attention to the court.

"After spending all night contemplating the current matter at hand, I have decided to set up Amon, Darbin’s and my in-laws’ execution in seven days’ time. I expect every preparation to be made to ensure it is successful."

The entire court fell silent.

The words seemed to take several moments to properly sink in. Ministers exchanged stunned glances while officials stared at Damian as though they had suddenly forgotten how to speak. Even William, who had spent enough time around Damian to understand that the prince rarely made empty threats, remained perfectly still.

Did they just hear him correctly?

Darbin was one of the twenty four Dukes of Hell. He was not some minor noble whose death would disappear beneath the countless conflicts of the underworld. He possessed a powerful clan, generations of influence and connections that extended far beyond Velmora. Killing him would undoubtedly enrage many demons of higher standing, and once that happened, the consequences would not remain confined to the Violet Realm.

What noble demon would dare cooperate with Damian afterward?

The silence continued until Damian casually glanced across the room and continued as though he had not just announced something capable of shaking the political foundation of the realm.

"With them gone, several ministerial positions will become vacant. All of you should send in recommendations from your families for those positions."

Buzz!

The reaction this time was immediate. Several people jolted upright while others turned toward one another in disbelief. The previous shock had barely settled before Damian delivered another statement capable of completely changing the balance of power within Velmora.

"Sire..." Jugo finally stepped forward, his voice noticeably hurried. "But if you do that, there will be no room for higher ranked demon nobles to join us."

Several officials quickly nodded in agreement. They had assumed the vacant positions would eventually be filled by powerful demon families from outside the realm, thereby strengthening Damian’s relationship with the greater underworld. That was how politics had always worked. Powerful positions attracted powerful bloodlines, and those bloodlines brought influence, armies and resources with them.

Damian simply yawned and rolled his shoulder before looking down at them with tired eyes.

"Didn’t I tell you I would be destroying the status quo and making the lesser races the powerhouse of the underworld?"

Buzz!

The court froze again.

Several ministers looked at Damian with expressions of pure disbelief. Others slowly turned toward their colleagues as though silently asking whether they had somehow missed an important conversation.

Before anyone could recover from the shock, a puff of smoke suddenly appeared beside Damian’s throne.

Pfft!

Rin materialized beside him and immediately raised one of his tails before smacking Damian lightly across the face. Damian’s head tilted slightly to the left from the unexpected strike, and the entire court stared in stunned silence.

"Don’t be silly," Rin scolded him. "You said those words in private. They are completely unaware of your intentions."

Damian slowly turned his tired eyes toward the fox.

"Ooh..." he muttered before looking back toward the court. "At least they know now."

The lack of concern in his voice somehow made the situation even more absurd.

Damian pushed himself off the throne and stretched his back slightly. The ministers instinctively straightened as he stood over them, and despite his exhaustion, there was something deeply unsettling about the casual manner in which he continued dismantling the political structure of the realm.

"For your contribution to solving the assassination case, Marquis Kan will now serve as my new Grand Chancellor. As for Lady Mary’s immense contribution to the recent events, Lord Talos will serve as my Minister of War. We will sort out the rest over time."

The room erupted into another wave of shocked expressions. Damian did not wait for anyone to speak.

"For now, I have some prisoners to torture and execute."

With those words, he began walking forward.

The stunned court watched as Damian descended from the throne without giving anyone an opportunity to question him. William immediately followed behind him while Rin casually walked along the armrest of the throne before jumping onto Damian’s shoulder.

Several eyes remained fixed on the prince as he passed through the hall. Even Marquis Kan and Lord Talos appeared too stunned by their sudden appointments to fully comprehend what had just happened.

"Sire... Please explain this better!" someone called from behind him.

"Sire, hold on!"

Several lower ranking officials began speaking over one another, their voices filled with confusion and panic. Damian did not slow down. He continued walking with the same exhausted expression as though the voices behind him were little more than distant noise.

The massive doors of the royal court swung open, and Damian stepped outside.

Waiting near the side of the corridor were Hazel, Racheal and Ruby. The three women immediately turned toward him, and as soon as Damian began descending the palace stairs, they moved to join him without needing an invitation.

The royal carriage was already waiting outside.

Damian entered first, followed closely by the three women and William. The moment he settled into his seat, Rin jumped onto his lap and curled up comfortably. Damian absentmindedly began stroking the fox’s fur as the carriage slowly began moving away from the royal court room.

For several minutes, none of them spoke. Racheal eventually turned toward Damian.

"Something happened last night, right?"

Damian glanced at her briefly.

The three women had already heard about his strange movements through the palace in the middle of the night. He had suddenly appeared exhausted, given William urgent orders and then disappeared back into his room. It was obvious something had disturbed him, and Racheal knew him well enough to understand that he rarely became unsettled without a reason.

"I just ran into someone unpleasant," Damian answered. "He made me realize that I have to act first, or I will eventually be crushed."

His fingers continued moving gently through Rin’s fur.

"But the person involved is not something you should concern yourselves with."

Hazel’s expression tightened slightly.

"You are certain you can handle it alone?"

Damian nodded without hesitation.

"It will only become a greater hassle if more people get involved. Just focus on what you have already been doing. If I need help with anything else, I’ll tell you."

The three women exchanged glances before slowly nodding. That was all they needed to hear.

They knew Damian well enough to understand that forcing themselves into a matter he had chosen to handle alone would only frustrate him. More importantly, he had promised them that he would ask for help when he needed it. For now, they trusted his judgment.

The carriage continued through the streets of the palace until it eventually stopped along the way. The three women stepped out one after another, leaving Damian, William and Rin inside.

"Try not to die while we’re gone," Ruby said with a small smile.

Damian looked at her with tired eyes.

"I’ll do my best."

The women laughed lightly before the carriage doors closed again.

The journey continued.

By the time Damian reached the dungeons, the exhaustion had returned fully to his expression. He stepped out of the carriage and was immediately led around the side of the heavily guarded prison complex.

Behind the dungeon, several prisoners had been tied to thick metal beams. Their arms were stretched above their heads while enchanted restraints prevented them from escaping. Among the prisoners were two humans.

Damian’s eyes rested on them for several seconds.

The remaining four were demons, but unlike the powerful assassins who had previously attempted to infiltrate the palace, these individuals possessed no demonic energy. They were ordinary demons. It was now obvious how they had managed to blend into the crowd during the execution.

If it wasn’t for their negative desires, he would have never noticed them.

William stepped closer, preparing himself for what he assumed would be an interrogation. There was information to be extracted. These people could have names, locations and connections that might help them uncover additional spies.

Damian raised his hand and moved through the air in a single motion.

Swish!

Several heads shot into the air.

Blood erupted from the severed bodies and splattered across the stone ground as the prisoners’ bodies collapsed heavily against their restraints. The suddenness of the attack left everyone around them completely frozen.

Even William’s eyes widened. He had expected Damian to interrogate them first.

There was a great deal they could have learned from these people. Their identities alone might have exposed entire networks operating within Velmora. More importantly, two of them were humans.

Humans who were almost certainly connected to Sol.

Killing them was not much different from openly declaring that the Prince of Pride’s followers were not welcome inside his realm.

Swoosh!

Damian turned around dramatically.

The guards and officials behind him immediately moved aside as he began walking away from the bloody scene without a second glance. Rin jumped from his shoulder and settled comfortably across the back of Damian’s neck.

"They must think you’re going crazy," Rin giggled.

Damian shrugged indifferently.

"Let them think whatever they want. It’s better if my intentions remain hidden from my allies as well. That way, the enemy cannot gauge my actions through the reactions of the people around me.

Rin’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. The reasoning made sense.

If even Damian’s closest ministers remained confused by his decisions, it would become much harder for spies to piece together his plans by observing changes in the behavior of his allies.

Damian continued walking until he reached Kor. The moment he stopped, Kor immediately straightened.

"Display their corpses in the town square," Damian ordered. "Let the world know what happens to those who dare spy on me."

Kor’s expression hardened.

"Understood, sire."

Damian nodded and began walking again.

"Now don’t let anyone bother me. I need to get some rest. I have a long night ahead of me."

"Understood!"

Kor and the surrounding guards immediately roared in unison as they bowed deeply.

Damian did not look back.

He simply continued walking toward the carriage, leaving behind a group of people who were now more confused about their prince than ever before.