Chapter 460: Ruined Dinner

As soon as they entered the dining hall, Damian was greeted by the mixed aroma of several delicacies that would have made anyone’s mouth water. The smell of roasted meat, fried rice, fresh vegetables, grilled fish and various spices filled the enormous room, making it immediately obvious that the kitchen staff had taken the idea of a family dinner seriously.

The dining table itself was enormous and perfectly round, easily large enough to accommodate twenty people, and its design was rather unusual. The center and several inner sections rotated slowly, allowing every dish placed upon them to pass conveniently in front of everyone seated around the table. Only the outermost section remained stationary, providing the plates and utensils from which everyone actually ate.

Rin had apparently decided that waiting for Damian was beneath him. A whole roasted chicken sat on the plate directly in front of him, and the seven tailed fox was already tearing into it with absolutely no concern for manners. He had one paw firmly planted against the meat while he ripped off another piece with his teeth, chewing happily as though he had been waiting all day for this exact moment.

Alice was already eating as well, although unlike Rin, she did so quietly and with perfect composure, her attention remaining fixed on her meal. Only Rah and Mary had actually waited for Damian to arrive, both sitting patiently with their hands resting beside their plates.

William stood near the entrance with a black folder tucked beneath one arm. The moment Damian and the women entered, he straightened and bowed. Three attendants immediately stepped forward and pulled out chairs, allowing Damian, Hazel, Racheal,and Ruby to take their seats.

Once everyone was seated, Damian’s attention returned to William and a small frown appeared on his face when he noticed the folder still in the man’s hand.

"Even at the dinner table?" Damian asked.

William nodded without the slightest hesitation. As Damian’s Grand Chamberlain, he considered himself responsible for ensuring the prince remained informed regardless of where he happened to be.

"Unfortunately, Sire. Rest is a concept foreign to Gods." William replied calmly.

Damian rolled his eyes.

"Of course it is."

He looked toward Hazel, Ruby and Racheal and noticed that the three women had already started helping themselves to food from the rotating sections of the table. Hazel and Racheal placed generous portions of fried rice and salad onto his plate while Ruby went in an entirely different direction and placed an enormous roasted wild turkey beside it.

"You need to eat a lot!" Ruby declared with a bright smile, giving him a thumbs up.

Damian couldn’t help smiling at her enthusiasm as he looked across the table. There were far more dishes than he had expected, including several unfamiliar delicacies that immediately caught his interest.

"Don’t worry. Just like you don’t feel hungry, you don’t feel full either. You’ll have enough space for more." Hazel explained, apparently noticing his hesitation.

Damian nodded and finally picked up his spoon. The three women watched him expectantly until he took his first mouthful. He chewed slowly, and his eyes widened slightly when the taste hit him. The food was genuinely good, far better than he had expected from the palace kitchen. Hazel, Ruby and Racheal immediately exchanged amused glances before quietly giggling at his expression.

Damian ignored them and took another bite.

For a few minutes, the dining hall finally felt almost normal. Rin continued devouring his chicken, Alice quietly ate her meal, while Damian sampled several of the dishes as his wives watched with satisfaction. The peaceful atmosphere lasted until William opened his folder and adjusted the monocle resting over one eye.

"Sire, it is important that you are aware that the first Council of Princes in the past decade has been scheduled for one month after your coronation. Attendance is mandatory. Of course, these rules do not apply to Pride." William said calmly.

Damian rolled his eyes and scooped up a generous portion of salad before eating it in one bite.

"But before then, Your Majesty is expected to complete the Prince’s Journey within thirty days of your coronation to finalize your coronation ritual. That journey will consume another month. Meaning that after the Prince’s Journey, you will head directly to the Council of Princes." William continued.

Damian stopped chewing. He slowly lowered his spoon.

"Prince’s Journey?" He raised a brow.

William nodded. "It is a grand journey across every state within your realm. You will be hosted and entertained by every state you enter. It is a ceremony intended to help you familiarize yourself with your land and its people while they are given the opportunity to familiarize themselves with you."

Rin temporarily stopped eating and looked toward Damian.

"It is also another way to remind all the local lords, magistrates and officials governing the states scattered across your realm that the true God of this realm has returned." Rin added with a small smile.

Damian stared at him.

He wasn’t particularly thrilled about spending an entire month traveling around his own territory, especially when there were already more pressing problems waiting for him. Still, he understood the political purpose behind it. A ruler who remained hidden in his palace could easily become a distant figure to his subjects, while personally visiting the various states would reinforce his legitimacy.

Damian leaned back in his chair. An attendant immediately stepped forward and handed him a napkin, which he used to clean his lips before looking toward William again.

"And when will I be free? I need to make a quick trip back to Earth." Damian asked.

William turned another page.

"After the Council of Princes, we have the Realm Games six months later. Within that period, you are free, Sire."

Damian slowly nodded. Six months was more than enough time.

"Six months is more than enough to regain control of Earth by force." Damian said with quiet satisfaction.

The schedule wasn’t perfect, but he could work with it. The important thing was that he now knew exactly how much time he had before the next major obligation.

"Anything else?" Damian asked.

William hesitated.

That immediately caught Damian’s attention.

In all the time William had served him, the Grand Chamberlain rarely hesitated before delivering information. Damian lowered his spoon and stared at him.

"William?"

William reluctantly nodded.

"We received two letters this afternoon. One was from the Prince of Pride, and the other was carried through a symbol belonging to the Order of Demons."

The atmosphere around the table changed immediately.

Everyone looked toward William.

Even Alice, who had maintained an indifferent expression throughout most of the dinner, frowned slightly. Rah’s fingers tightened around her goblet while Mary exchanged a concerned glance with Hazel. Ruby’s expression hardened, and Racheal’s eyes narrowed.

"What does Sol have to say to me?" Damian asked calmly as he picked up a table knife and began slicing into the turkey.

The casualness of his response made everyone stare.

They had heard about Damian calling Sol by his name in the royal court. They had heard how the prince had openly refused to show fear toward the ruler of Pride.

But hearing it described was different from watching Damian casually discuss him over dinner.

William himself seemed briefly stunned.

"Well... Well..." He stuttered.

Damian glanced at him impatiently.

"Just read it out already."

William quickly nodded and pulled the first letter from the folder. A golden sun shaped wax seal covered the back. He broke it carefully, unfolded the letter and began reading.

"Little Fox, I heard you are having problems with those disgusting demons you have refused to get rid of. If it’s too much to handle, you can always reach out to me. I’ll help you purge all of Velmora of its demons and even give you a small portion of my loyal human subjects till you can regain your home planet. I even have a few hotties here who will serve you much better than those hoes will ever do. You know where to find me if you need my help."

Bang!

Damian’s fist slammed into the table.

The enormous dining table cracked beneath the impact, sending plates and utensils jumping as everyone instinctively jerked backward. Rin stopped chewing in the middle of tearing another piece from his chicken. Alice’s eyes widened, while Mary and the others stared at Damian with a mixture of anger and apprehension.

They were the ones being insulted. Yet Damian’s rage was so intense that their own anger became secondary.

"That fucking dog..." Damian hissed.

The lights in his eyes flickered between crimson and violet, while the air around him became noticeably heavier. His fingers tightened around the table knife before he slowly released it.

"And the Order?" Damian asked.

William’s expression had become considerably more serious. He reached into the folder and pulled out the second letter. Unlike Sol’s golden seal, this one carried the unmistakable symbol of a skull.

He broke the seal and unfolded the letter.

"For your crimes against demons, you will die before your coronation, and Velmora will be razed to the ground and rebuilt from your ashes."

Buzz!

The instant William finished reading, Damian stood.

His eyes were completely crimson.

Black cracks slowly spread across his face, crawling outward from around his eyes and extending toward his cheeks. The change was subtle at first, but within moments his entire expression had become something almost inhuman.

Alice instinctively stepped backward.

Hazel, Ruby, Racheal, Rah and Mary all stared at him with unease.

They still didn’t fully understand the nature of the inheritance behind that transformation. They only knew that whenever Damian lost himself to it, the presence radiating from his body stopped feeling like the man they knew.

It felt like death had taken human form.

Damian said nothing. He simply turned around and walked away from the table. The appetite he had only just discovered was gone.