The city was in chaos, and understandably so. Damien coldly watched the residents hustle past him to their homes or places of safety. He was on his way somewhere and didn't appreciate being bumped into or having to sidestep a distraught parent barreling down the pavement with their terrified kid in tow. Of course, Damien wasn't so cold-hearted to belittle these citizens for their show of weakness, but it didn't help that he was privy to the truth.
There was no werewolf. It was an elaborate shame to cause the chaos with which Damien was now so infuriated. For the duration of his stay, his place of residence was a mere three roads away, nestled deeply in the noble district. But the sea of people fleeing from their places of work due to the constant ring of bells across the city made the journey far more troublesome than it had any right to be.
The thought of using magic had crossed his mind, but looking at the sky and seeing it swarming with Plague Doctors observing the crowds below like hawks killed that idea. Magic wasn't allowed to be used in public spaces in the Kassinki capital except by licensed professionals. Such as the Healers Guild, Plague Doctors, or City Guards. As a Duke, Damien could get away with using a little magic here and there, especially if he claimed his safety was in danger. But all that hassle just to save a couple minutes was counterproductive.
"Olympia," Damien said, and the young vampire gave him a curious look. "Make a path for me. Don't be too violent, but this is tiresome."
Olympia nodded wordlessly and maneuvered herself in front of her master. She then straightened her back and shoved people aside. Some cursed, others stumbled, but they all fell silent as Damien and Vanity calmly walked by with indifference. Damien exerted an aura of authority, while Vanity made any human who gazed upon her shiver.
With Olympia's excellent work, the trio made it to the quieter parts of the noble district. Guards were flooding the street, a mixture of humans and beastmen marching side by side. It was rather bizarre to see so much security on these almost desolate streets, whereas back on the main road, Damien had noticed a total of three guards and the Plague Doctors in the sky.
"It shows where their priorities are... it seems the King is attempting to avoid any more incidents involving nobles," Damien muttered. 'It is likely the King has already caught wind of Duke Ferdinand's death. It's only been an hour since I killed him... that knight's family got the message out quick!' Damien had been hoping for a few hours of peace to plan his next move, but things were moving quickly. He looked to the sky, and the first signs of dawn were breaking over the horizon, basking the chaotic world in its warming light.
Damien shook his head and made his way to his temporary residence. It was a noble-style mansion with towering pillars, an expansive entrance, and a well-groomed front lawn. Since he did not have a permanent house in the capital, Princess Emilia had been so kind as to allow Damien to stay in this mansion. But, frankly, Damien didn't care for it. It was far too large and filled with antique furniture that was not his style. All it did was make Damien miss his castle back home... 'Funny that I consider Blackthorn my home.' Damien thought as he made his way inside and ascended the grand staircase to the master bedroom.
Damien has requested that no staff be present in the mansion for the duration of his stay, so the corridors were eerily quiet. Fewer eyes and ears privy to their movements, the better. 'And I have Olympia to tend to any needs, but I am getting ravenous...' Damien hadn't fed since splitting up with Fay a few days ago. Glancing at Vanity and Olympia, he could see they were suffering the same fate. Vanity seemed slow—likely conserving her energy. Meanwhile, Olympia was trying her best to hide her hunger, but she kept fidgeting.
Damien smiled, summoned two hand-sized jars, and held them out to his two beautiful companions. "We have a long day tomorrow. Rest up for a few hours and drink these. It's not fresh but better than staving." Damien had naturally planned for this and kept an emergency blood supply on him. Blackthorn was basically a blood factory at this point, with every resident donating their blood daily. Rose used most of it to keep the plants surrounding Blackthorn alive, but some blood was stored in jars for later use.
Olympia grabbed the jar with twitching hands and then did a deep bow, causing her strawberry-blonde hair to fall over her face. "Thank you!" She said, and seeing Damien nod, she left for her room down the hall.
With Olympia gone, Damien reached out and gently grabbed Vanity's unmoving arm. She was almost in a zombie state as he placed the jar directly in her palm. The feeling of the cold glass in her hand seemed to jolt her awake. "Oh... brother."
"Get some rest. Soon this will all be over."
Vanity blinked and then scoffed as she pulled her hand from his grip. Her delicate fingers wrapped around the food, and she glared at Damien.
Damien shifted on his feet, had he made his sister mad somehow?
"No, Damien, this will not be over soon." Vanity walked past him, and Damien could smell her scent as she passed. "This is only the beginning."
Damien followed her departing figure, and she looked at him one last time as she reached her room. "I want it all, Damien. Every. Last. Thing. You will be King, and I will enjoy the fruits of your labor. Understand?"
Damien absentmindedly nodded, and Vanity grinned before slamming the door behind her.
"Everything... huh?" Damien rubbed his chin in thought as he stared down the corridor. Then, after a while, he shrugged and entered his room, and his [Lazy] trait flared up the second he looked at the massive bed. Damien didn't even bother getting undressed and threw himself on the comfy sheets with a satisfying yawn.
***
Damien awoke to a knock on his bedroom door. With a groan, he pushed himself up and cast his Perception Field. Through the wooden door, Damien saw the outline of Olympia patiently waiting outside. As Damien approached the door, he opened it with Psychokinesis which startled Olympia. "M-master, there's someone waiting downstairs..."
Damien raised a brow. Who would visit him so early in the morning? A tiny seed of fear sprouted in his stomach. 'Have they found out?' Damien was sure he had covered all his tracks, but if Kharis didn't take his threat seriously and exposed him, then all of this would have been for nothing.
"Did they say who they were?" Damien probed. His hand almost reached for the golden gun in his inner pocket out of instinct. It was his most potent weapon, as he lacked offensive spells, so holding it made him feel safe.
"Yes..." Olympia cast a nervous glance down the grand staircase where a woman in a suit was waiting just out of sight. "She says she is from the castle. You have been summoned by the King."
Damien's blood ran cold, but he managed to keep calm on the outside. Was he just overthinking it? When you have committed a terrible deed, the guilt weighs on your conscious, and you start to suspect everything.
"Just me?"
Olympia nodded. "Yes, just you."
Damien used telepathy and spoke to Olympia. "I will go to the castle. If you do not hear back from me by the end of tomorrow, tell Vanity to come and rescue me." Vanity was one of the most powerful people on the peninsula, assuming she used her Ichor blood. She could single-handedly invade the castle and rescue him—but it would cost her years of cultivation. A steep price to pay for power.
Olympia nodded, nervousness evident on her face. Damien put a gloved hand on her shoulder, "Relax. I'll be back soon." Olympia calmed her expression as Damien descended the stairs.
"Duke Nightshade?" A stern-looking woman holding something similar to a clipboard who had been idly standing at the base of the stairs asked.
"That is me."
"Excellent." The woman checked his name off her list. "All the nobles in the kingdom have been summoned for a meeting. Do you need to bring anyone with you, or shall we leave immediately?"
Damien let a light smile creep onto his lips as the anxiety washed away. He wasn't being singled out. Actually, it was great news! He was invited into the castle as a guest. That made the next stage of his plan far more straightforward.
Damien summoned his suit jacket from a coat rack and walked past the lady. "No, let's leave right away."
The journey to the castle was swift as the roads were now vacant, except for the heavy military presence which parted wherever the stern lady walked. The bells continued to ring eerily through the empty city, and a tinge of guilt festered in Damien's mind, but the visions of the future under Prince August's rule canceled out that guilt. He was doing this for the greater good.
Being ushered into the royal palace, Damien found himself following the stern lady into a waiting room. The room was desolate, apart from a few plushy chairs around a small vintage table and a grandfather clock ominously ticking away in the far corner. Damien picked an armchair and perched himself as the stern lady made herself scarce.
A few minutes passed, and Damien could hear the murmurs of voices through the wall. A meeting was clearly occurring in the room next door, and the desire to eavesdrop was tempting, but Damien had no clue about the level of security and anti-magic wards in this place. So, deciding not to risk it, he continued to patiently wait.
An hour passed, and through the large glass windows, the sun had climbed the sky and now bathed the room in its warm glow. The hunger was starting to drive Damien mad. He refused to drink any blood that wasn't Fay's. Not out of some twisted sense of loyalty but rather the foul taste of other blood.
The door to the room slowly opened, and a face he knew all too well peeked around the corner. Scarlet eyes peered at him through raven hair, and a cheeky smile accompanied the girl. "Hi!" Fay quickly slipped into the room and carefully closed the door behind her as if afraid of making a sound. "Long time no see~."
Damien was surprised, but he smiled at his blood queen. "You seem awfully happy..."
Fay strolled over, gracefully sat on his leg, and lovingly put her head on his shoulder. "I have no idea how you did it..." She whispered, and her words tickled his ear. "But bravo! Everything is going as planned. But..."
"But?" Damien said as he played with a strand of her hair and tried to ignore the tantalizing smell of her blood.
"It seems you are getting a promotion!" Fay laughed and patted his chest. "I never knew the King valued you so highly. He wants you to be the new court member."
Damien's hand froze—that wasn't part of the plan.
The city was in chaos, and understandably so. Damien coldly watched the residents hustle past him to their homes or places of safety. He was on his way somewhere and didn't appreciate being bumped into or having to sidestep a distraught parent barreling down the pavement with their terrified kid in tow. Of course, Damien wasn't so cold-hearted to belittle these citizens for their show of weakness, but it didn't help that he was privy to the truth.
There was no werewolf. It was an elaborate shame to cause the chaos with which Damien was now so infuriated. For the duration of his stay, his place of residence was a mere three roads away, nestled deeply in the noble district. But the sea of people fleeing from their places of work due to the constant ring of bells across the city made the journey far more troublesome than it had any right to be.
The thought of using magic had crossed his mind, but looking at the sky and seeing it swarming with Plague Doctors observing the crowds below like hawks killed that idea. Magic wasn't allowed to be used in public spaces in the Kassinki capital except by licensed professionals. Such as the Healers Guild, Plague Doctors, or City Guards. As a Duke, Damien could get away with using a little magic here and there, especially if he claimed his safety was in danger. But all that hassle just to save a couple minutes was counterproductive.
"Olympia," Damien said, and the young vampire gave him a curious look. "Make a path for me. Don't be too violent, but this is tiresome."
Olympia nodded wordlessly and maneuvered herself in front of her master. She then straightened her back and shoved people aside. Some cursed, others stumbled, but they all fell silent as Damien and Vanity calmly walked by with indifference. Damien exerted an aura of authority, while Vanity made any human who gazed upon her shiver.
With Olympia's excellent work, the trio made it to the quieter parts of the noble district. Guards were flooding the street, a mixture of humans and beastmen marching side by side. It was rather bizarre to see so much security on these almost desolate streets, whereas back on the main road, Damien had noticed a total of three guards and the Plague Doctors in the sky.
"It shows where their priorities are... it seems the King is attempting to avoid any more incidents involving nobles," Damien muttered. 'It is likely the King has already caught wind of Duke Ferdinand's death. It's only been an hour since I killed him... that knight's family got the message out quick!' Damien had been hoping for a few hours of peace to plan his next move, but things were moving quickly. He looked to the sky, and the first signs of dawn were breaking over the horizon, basking the chaotic world in its warming light.
Damien shook his head and made his way to his temporary residence. It was a noble-style mansion with towering pillars, an expansive entrance, and a well-groomed front lawn. Since he did not have a permanent house in the capital, Princess Emilia had been so kind as to allow Damien to stay in this mansion. But, frankly, Damien didn't care for it. It was far too large and filled with antique furniture that was not his style. All it did was make Damien miss his castle back home... 'Funny that I consider Blackthorn my home.' Damien thought as he made his way inside and ascended the grand staircase to the master bedroom.
Damien has requested that no staff be present in the mansion for the duration of his stay, so the corridors were eerily quiet. Fewer eyes and ears privy to their movements, the better. 'And I have Olympia to tend to any needs, but I am getting ravenous...' Damien hadn't fed since splitting up with Fay a few days ago. Glancing at Vanity and Olympia, he could see they were suffering the same fate. Vanity seemed slow—likely conserving her energy. Meanwhile, Olympia was trying her best to hide her hunger, but she kept fidgeting.
Damien smiled, summoned two hand-sized jars, and held them out to his two beautiful companions. "We have a long day tomorrow. Rest up for a few hours and drink these. It's not fresh but better than staving." Damien had naturally planned for this and kept an emergency blood supply on him. Blackthorn was basically a blood factory at this point, with every resident donating their blood daily. Rose used most of it to keep the plants surrounding Blackthorn alive, but some blood was stored in jars for later use.
Olympia grabbed the jar with twitching hands and then did a deep bow, causing her strawberry-blonde hair to fall over her face. "Thank you!" She said, and seeing Damien nod, she left for her room down the hall.
With Olympia gone, Damien reached out and gently grabbed Vanity's unmoving arm. She was almost in a zombie state as he placed the jar directly in her palm. The feeling of the cold glass in her hand seemed to jolt her awake. "Oh... brother."
"Get some rest. Soon this will all be over."
Vanity blinked and then scoffed as she pulled her hand from his grip. Her delicate fingers wrapped around the food, and she glared at Damien.
Damien shifted on his feet, had he made his sister mad somehow?
"No, Damien, this will not be over soon." Vanity walked past him, and Damien could smell her scent as she passed. "This is only the beginning."
Damien followed her departing figure, and she looked at him one last time as she reached her room. "I want it all, Damien. Every. Last. Thing. You will be King, and I will enjoy the fruits of your labor. Understand?"
Damien absentmindedly nodded, and Vanity grinned before slamming the door behind her.
"Everything... huh?" Damien rubbed his chin in thought as he stared down the corridor. Then, after a while, he shrugged and entered his room, and his [Lazy] trait flared up the second he looked at the massive bed. Damien didn't even bother getting undressed and threw himself on the comfy sheets with a satisfying yawn.
***
Damien awoke to a knock on his bedroom door. With a groan, he pushed himself up and cast his Perception Field. Through the wooden door, Damien saw the outline of Olympia patiently waiting outside. As Damien approached the door, he opened it with Psychokinesis which startled Olympia. "M-master, there's someone waiting downstairs..."
Damien raised a brow. Who would visit him so early in the morning? A tiny seed of fear sprouted in his stomach. 'Have they found out?' Damien was sure he had covered all his tracks, but if Kharis didn't take his threat seriously and exposed him, then all of this would have been for nothing.
"Did they say who they were?" Damien probed. His hand almost reached for the golden gun in his inner pocket out of instinct. It was his most potent weapon, as he lacked offensive spells, so holding it made him feel safe.
"Yes..." Olympia cast a nervous glance down the grand staircase where a woman in a suit was waiting just out of sight. "She says she is from the castle. You have been summoned by the King."
Damien's blood ran cold, but he managed to keep calm on the outside. Was he just overthinking it? When you have committed a terrible deed, the guilt weighs on your conscious, and you start to suspect everything.
"Just me?"
Olympia nodded. "Yes, just you."
Damien used telepathy and spoke to Olympia. "I will go to the castle. If you do not hear back from me by the end of tomorrow, tell Vanity to come and rescue me." Vanity was one of the most powerful people on the peninsula, assuming she used her Ichor blood. She could single-handedly invade the castle and rescue him—but it would cost her years of cultivation. A steep price to pay for power.
Olympia nodded, nervousness evident on her face. Damien put a gloved hand on her shoulder, "Relax. I'll be back soon." Olympia calmed her expression as Damien descended the stairs.
"Duke Nightshade?" A stern-looking woman holding something similar to a clipboard who had been idly standing at the base of the stairs asked.
"That is me."
"Excellent." The woman checked his name off her list. "All the nobles in the kingdom have been summoned for a meeting. Do you need to bring anyone with you, or shall we leave immediately?"
Damien let a light smile creep onto his lips as the anxiety washed away. He wasn't being singled out. Actually, it was great news! He was invited into the castle as a guest. That made the next stage of his plan far more straightforward.
Damien summoned his suit jacket from a coat rack and walked past the lady. "No, let's leave right away."
The journey to the castle was swift as the roads were now vacant, except for the heavy military presence which parted wherever the stern lady walked. The bells continued to ring eerily through the empty city, and a tinge of guilt festered in Damien's mind, but the visions of the future under Prince August's rule canceled out that guilt. He was doing this for the greater good.
Being ushered into the royal palace, Damien found himself following the stern lady into a waiting room. The room was desolate, apart from a few plushy chairs around a small vintage table and a grandfather clock ominously ticking away in the far corner. Damien picked an armchair and perched himself as the stern lady made herself scarce.
A few minutes passed, and Damien could hear the murmurs of voices through the wall. A meeting was clearly occurring in the room next door, and the desire to eavesdrop was tempting, but Damien had no clue about the level of security and anti-magic wards in this place. So, deciding not to risk it, he continued to patiently wait.
An hour passed, and through the large glass windows, the sun had climbed the sky and now bathed the room in its warm glow. The hunger was starting to drive Damien mad. He refused to drink any blood that wasn't Fay's. Not out of some twisted sense of loyalty but rather the foul taste of other blood.
The door to the room slowly opened, and a face he knew all too well peeked around the corner. Scarlet eyes peered at him through raven hair, and a cheeky smile accompanied the girl. "Hi!" Fay quickly slipped into the room and carefully closed the door behind her as if afraid of making a sound. "Long time no see~."
Damien was surprised, but he smiled at his blood queen. "You seem awfully happy..."
Fay strolled over, gracefully sat on his leg, and lovingly put her head on his shoulder. "I have no idea how you did it..." She whispered, and her words tickled his ear. "But bravo! Everything is going as planned. But..."
"But?" Damien said as he played with a strand of her hair and tried to ignore the tantalizing smell of her blood.
"It seems you are getting a promotion!" Fay laughed and patted his chest. "I never knew the King valued you so highly. He wants you to be the new court member."
Damien's hand froze—that wasn't part of the plan.
