1269 Her Words Are My Words
After leaving the prison, William went to the Royal Palace that was located at the Capital City of the Demon Realm, Astryae.
All the Patriarchs that had survived the war and the newly elected Patriarchs who took over the management of their respective clans—after their Patriarchs had died in the war—gathered in the Royal Palace because the Half-Elf wanted to fully consolidate his authority, and ensure that no seeds of rebellion, or resistance, would emerge from their hearts.
Surprisingly the Patriarch of the Gremory Clan, Alvah survived the war.
William gave the old patriarch a side-long glance, making the latter flinch as if the Half-Elf had spat on his face.
When the Half-Elf went to the North of the Demon Continent to deal with the Gremory Clan, he had every intention to wipe them off the face of the world.
However, due to the appearance of the Demigod, El Sibon, William had no choice but to flee back then, because he was unable to fight against the Demigod who got stronger when it was fighting against womanizers.
The Patriarchs all kneeled on the floor, while the Prince of Darkness sat on the Demon Throne.
He sat cross-legged, and rested the side of his face on the palm of his hands, while scanning the faces that were looking back at him in fear, anxiety, and, to a certain extent, hate.
William didn’t pay any attention to these gazes because in his eyes, they were not important. The only reason why he was bothering to do this was due to the fact that his wife, Chiffon, was part demon.
Also, Invidia, Superbia, had helped him greatly in the war, so he decided to prevent the Holy Order of Light, and the Alliance to stake their claim in the Demon Realm.
Nisha, who had now become his steward in the Ainsworth Empire, also advised him that the Demon Continent was currently too weak to protect itself from outside forces. She insisted that the moment William were to suddenly disappear, the Pope would once again send her crusaders to conquer the entirety of the Demon Realm as soon, and as swiftly, as possible.
“I’m sure that all of you already know why I have gathered you here today,” William said. “I am here to open the election for the next Demon Lord. Naturally, all of you are free to voice who your candidates are. Just know that whoever you voted for that was not me, will be killed before this day is over.
“Not only that, those who nominated and voted for that person will also be killed without question. Now that that is out of the way, I hereby declare that the Tribal Election for the position of the Demon Lord has officially begun.”
The Demonic Patriarchs, who heard William’s declaration, could only keep their lips shut tight in fear that they would bring calamity upon their heads.
A minute passed and not a single person nominated anyone’s names, making the Half-Elf who was seated on the Demon Throne chuckle.
“Alvah of the Gremory Clan, stand up,” William ordered. “I heard you muttering a while ago that you want to nominate someone. Can you tell me who that person is?”
Alvah who was suddenly called couldn’t stop the corner of his lips from twitching. He had never done such a thing and, clearly, the Half-Elf was putting him on the spot, to serve as an example for the other Patriarchs, whom he had lorded over when Luciel was still the Demon Lord.
“Forgive me, your Excellency, but I was muttering that it should be you who should be the next Demon Lord of this generation,” Alvah replied. “There is no one as great, and as worthy, as you to lead us to a new era of prosperity and peace.
“Let it be known, that I, Alvah Gremory, hereby nominate William Von Ainsworth as 51st Demon Lord of the Demon Realm. Those who agree with my nomination, please, raise your hand.”
As soon as he finished his speech, all the hands of the Demon Patriarchs shot up to the air, as if they were afraid that if they were even a second late, William would chop their heads off of their bodies.
“Hah, this is so troublesome,” William said with a sigh. “Why are you making me do such troublesome things?”
The black-haired teenager sighed for the second time, making all the Patriarchs curse him inside their hearts.
‘Who wants you to become our new Demon Lord? We don’t want it! If not for the fact that you will kill us if we voice an opposing opinion, none of us would even raise our hands to elect you as our new Lord!’
That was the collective thought of all the Demons inside the throne room, making them feel as if they were all suffering from constipation.
“Fine,” William agreed in a reluctant tone. “Since all of you begged me to become your Demon Lord, I guess I’ll just let my steward, Nisha, handle everything.”
With a casual gesture from William, a lady—wearing a veil to cover her face—entered the throne room. All the demons glanced at their new Lord’s right hand, wanting to know more about her.
Sadly, aside from her curvaceous body that was filled with womanly charms, they couldn’t see her face, making them feel as if they were dealing with something mysterious.
A moment later, she stood beside the handsome Half-Elf who was giving everyone a devilish smile.
“From now on, all of you will treat her as you treat me,” William declared. “Her words are my words, and anyone who defies her would be exterminated without fail. Aside from the administrative concerns, my cousin, Eve, will remain the High-Priestess of the Demon Clan. She will handle anything related to your Spiritual concerns, and her authority is separate from the governance of the Demon Realm.
“She said that she deeply cared for all of you, and couldn’t bear to leave all of you in this difficult time. My cousin is such an angel, if any of you make her cry, I’ll make sure that you will be ground into meat paste, and your remains be fed to the fishes in the Black Sea.”
“Big Brother you shouldn’t be like that.”
A red-haired little girl entered the throne room with a grumpy look on her face, making the Dark Prince chuckle.
“Fine,” William smiled and made a gesture for Eve to come and join him.
The little girl was only planning to stand on the left side of the throne when she was suddenly lifted off her feet by a gentle breeze, making her sit on William’s lap, looking up at him.
“Like I said earlier, Eve’s words are also law,” William declared. “Those who dare to defy her would have their souls ripped out of their bodies, and barbecued on the flames of Darkness. Do any of you have any complaints?”
The Demons who heard this had no complaints whatsoever. After the red-headed girl had become the High-Priestess of the Demon Realm during Ahriman’s reign, Eve had done nothing but help those that were in need, giving her a very good reputation even amongst the Demons, whose hate for the Ainsworth name ran deep in their bones.
In short, aside from Eve, the entire Demon Race would gladly spit on anyone who had the name Ainsworth, including William.
Unfortunately, none of them had the guts to do it!
Seeing that all the Demons were only paying him lip service on the surface, the Half-Elf couldn’t help but sneer.
If they thought that they could do anything behind his back, they would be severely disappointed. In terms of management control, no one could beat Nisha, who commanded an Organization whose army may not be as strong as the Holy Order of Light, but their ability to do dirty things under the sun was second to none.