Chapter 443: Allies In Court
Within the royal court, Lilith, Malakor, and Sargathis stood side by side beneath the enormous pillars supporting the chamber, both wearing expressions of barely concealed confusion. The court was supposed to be filled with ministers, officers and noble representatives from the various factions that governed Velmora, yet most of the people who should have been standing behind them were simply absent.
The spaces normally occupied by the administrative officials were completely empty. Only Grand Chancellor Darbin, Amon and the officers who remained loyal to his faction were present, and even they seemed uncertain about the strange silence hanging over the chamber.
Lilith slowly glanced toward Sargathis, her crimson eyes narrowing as if silently asking whether he understood what was happening. Sargathis could only give her a similarly confused look. Neither of them had received any explanation for the sudden absence of so many officials, and considering everything that had happened during the previous week, the silence felt less like coincidence and more like something had been deliberately arranged.
Before either of them could question anyone, the loud voice of a eunuch suddenly echoed from beyond the enormous entrance doors.
"HIS MAJESTY HAS ARRIVED!!!!"
The announcement reverberated through the chamber, immediately silencing whatever quiet conversation remained among the people present. Amon’s expression tightened as he turned toward the entrance, while Lilith and Sargathis instinctively straightened. Grand Chancellor Darbin simply raised his eyebrows, his fingers pausing halfway through stroking his beard.
Swoosh!
The massive doors swung open and Damian entered.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
The shock wasn’t caused by Damian himself. They had all expected the prince to arrive eventually. It was the people coming behind him that made the entire court seem to freeze. Damian walked into the chamber surrounded by a crowd of ministers, officers and representatives from several powerful clans, and every person who had been conspicuously absent from the royal court was suddenly standing behind him.
Amon’s eyes widened.
His gaze moved from Minister Kan of the Royal Police to Patriarch Jugo, then to Lord Talos and the representatives of the Blood Demon, Kitsune, Negan and Succubus clans. His expression slowly became darker as he realized what he was looking at.
This wasn’t Damian attending court. This was Damian arriving with a faction.
Damian himself appeared completely relaxed. His black and purple robes flowed behind him as he crossed the chamber with an almost leisurely pace, his expression carrying the confidence of someone who already knew how the meeting would proceed. His wives and concubines followed him into the chamber, and unlike the normal arrangement expected of royal consorts, Damian made no effort to hide them away.
Racheal and Ruby moved toward the sides of his enormous throne. Damian climbed the elevated platform and settled into his seat before casually pulling Hazel onto one of his laps. Hazel seemed completely comfortable with the arrangement, immediately resting against him while Damian leaned back as if this were the most ordinary way for a monarch to conduct a royal court.
Rah, Mary and Alice remained behind the throne, each occupying a position where they could clearly observe the proceedings. William stood to Damian’s left with his hands clasped behind his back, his expression as calm as ever. The other ministers moved toward their respective positions while the representatives of the allied clans settled into the places they had been assigned.
Even the fifteen foot tall Grand Eunuch standing near the court entrance appeared momentarily uncertain about what he was supposed to do.
He had witnessed countless royal court sessions throughout his existence, but Damian seemed determined to turn every expectation of royal decorum upside down.
The strangest part wasn’t even the presence of the women. It was the fact that nobody accompanying Damian seemed embarrassed about it. They were acting like this was their court too.
Amon’s face hardened.
He stepped forward, cupped his fist and bowed respectfully, but the deep frown on his face made it clear that his courtesy was purely formal.
"Sire, it’s inappropriate to bring family into the royal court." Amon said, his gaze briefly moving toward the women surrounding Damian.
Damian’s expression immediately twisted.
His fingers stopped moving across Hazel’s hair, and his eyes slowly narrowed toward Amon. He was already preparing a response when Jugo stepped forward from the group behind him.
The Shark headed minister didn’t raise his voice, but his tone carried enough authority to immediately draw everyone’s attention.
"Is there a rule against family members observing court proceedings?" Jugo asked firmly.
Amon’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected Jugo to challenge him.
The chamber became noticeably quieter as everyone turned toward the two ministers. Jugo was a Baron. Amon was a Marquis and one of the most influential officials in the entire Underworld. Under ordinary circumstances, a Baron wouldn’t dare interrupt a Marquis during a royal court session unless he wanted to invite a political confrontation.
But Jugo wasn’t behaving like a Baron who had wandered into a Marquis’s territory. He was behaving like a man who knew exactly who stood behind him.
Grand Chancellor Darbin slowly raised one hand to his beard and began stroking it with a knowing smile. His attention moved from Jugo toward Damian, who remained comfortably seated upon his throne while Hazel’s fingers casually moved across his chest and another of his women rested nearby.
So that was what had happened.
Dabin had been placed under house arrest for barely a week, yet in that short period, Damian had somehow managed to pull multiple noble clans into his camp.
Darbin’s smile widened slightly.
"He is quite effective."
The Chancellor wasn’t particularly disturbed. If anything, he was entertained. Amon, however, was not.
His frown deepened as he looked toward the women occupying positions around Damian. He could understand having family members present during a private discussion, but calling these women mere observers was ridiculous. They were sitting directly beside the throne, standing behind it and, in Hazel’s case, practically occupying Damian’s lap.
"There is none." Amon finally answered, his eyes remaining fixed on Jugo.
"Then I suggest you stay silent." Lord Talos’s cold voice came from behind Jugo.
Amon’s head snapped toward him. His expression darkened even further.
Lord Talos didn’t even bother moving from his position. He simply stood there with his hands behind his back, his delicate face completely expressionless as he stared at Amon.
Amon looked from Talos to Jugo, then toward the other officials that came in with Damian
Something was wrong. Everything unfolding before him made absolutely no sense.
The Kosak Clan was supposed to be concerned about its position. Talos’s family had always been loyal to the crown, but that loyalty had never translated into openly challenging the Grand Chancellor’s faction in front of the entire court. The other clans were even more confusing.
When had Damian gathered all of them?
How?
Amon’s eyes slowly returned to Damian. The prince must have been very busy since he regained consciousness.
"Enough!" Damian’s voice finally echoed across the chamber.
The argument immediately stopped.
Damian leaned back against his throne, his expression calm and authoritative as his gaze swept across the room. Outwardly, he looked like a monarch simply restoring order to his court.
Inwardly, however, Damian was almost ridiculously pleased. This was exactly what he had wanted.
This was what having a support base looked like.
Before, whenever Damian spoke, Amon and the other factions could simply dismiss his words because there was nobody behind him capable of forcing them to take those words seriously. Every order had been a negotiation.
Now things were different.
Amon could still oppose him but he couldn’t casually push Damian around anymore.
Damian glanced toward Jugo and Talos for a moment before returning his attention to Amon.
"Return to your positions."
Amon’s jaw tightened. For several seconds, he remained still.
Then he lowered his head.
"Yes, Sire."
He returned to his position alongside the other ministers, his expression remaining grim as he tried to understand how quickly the political landscape had shifted beneath his feet.
Damian watched him retreat before releasing a slow breath through his nose.
This felt good.
He had spent too long being surrounded by people who could openly disregard his authority. Now he finally had people willing to stand beside him.
Damian’s eyes moved across the chamber once more, taking in the faces of his supporters. The sight was still somewhat strange to him. He wasn’t accustomed to having a political faction. On Earth, his power had come almost entirely from himself. Here, however, raw strength wasn’t enough. He needed people.
"Huff!"
Damian exhaled slowly before shifting his attention toward Kan. The Kosak patriarch immediately straightened.
"Minister Kan." Damian’s tone became more formal. "Brief the court on the findings regarding the failed assassination attempt."
Kan stepped forward and immediately cupped his fists.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The chamber fell completely silent. This was the moment everyone had been waiting for.