As the aura started disappearing, the people in the room could finally look back up, but shock and fear were evident on their faces. Damon gave a slight frown when he saw that. He could not understand the reason behind their behaviour. He turned around and looked at Dias, who had a similar expression as the rest of them.
"Meet me in the office once this is over," he said softly, and Dias just nodded his head, still unable to speak.
"Bring the food," then Damon turned towards the maid who snapped out of her daze and hurriedly went off.
Liam and his family were out of a daze, too, as they slowly made their way towards the chairs, but they could not help but give glances towards Damon, trying to be wary of him.
The room was filled with silence as none of them spoke, Damon because he did not want to and Liam because he could not. He was still going through the trauma, trying to calm himself down forcefully.
The maid returned with a few more maids carrying food as they placed it in front of each person. Once again, they kept silent and started eating as the quiet room now had small noises of utensils crackling. After a few minutes, Damon broke the silence.
"What is the reason for your visit?" he asked without raising his head as he enjoyed his food.
Liam had calmed down by now as he looked at Damon before speaking.
"According to the rules of Aetas Kingdom, if the Lord dies, his immediate family member shall take his place unless he had left behind a will," he spoke each word carefully, making sure everyone heard it.
Dias, standing behind Damon, frowned as he knew where this would go.
Lawrence's death was too sudden, one moment, he was alive, and after a few moments, he died in Damon's arms. How could he have the time to write a will? He finally understood why Liam had come at this moment, and worry filled his mind. He looked towards Damon, and as he saw the shock on his face, he knew things might get out of hand.
Liam, too gained a renewed confidence as he looked at Damon's shocked face.
'You would have never expected this? Right?' he thought while a slight grin appeared on his face. Stacy and Kinis also gave a small smile after seeing Damon's face.
"According to rules, I am his immediate family member, his brother who should be the next Baron. Damon, how dare you go against the rules of the Kingdom and declare yourself as the Baron? Do you know what is the punishment for this crime?" he raised his voice as he spoke, his confidence shooting through the roof.
As he saw Damon's shocked face, he knew he would be the next Baron, and the kid had to step down. He started hatching plans on how he would take care of Damon to avoid any future troubles.
No one spoke for a few seconds before Damon finally opened his mouth.
"How is this possible," he said while looking towards Dias.
"My Lord, t-this is..." but Dias could not complete his words as Damon continued.
"How is this steak so good? Did we change chefs? I don't remember a steak this good," he turned towards the maid, "who made this?"
Everyone in the room was dumbstruck as they heard Damon's words.
'You were shocked because of the steak?'
They had similar thoughts as they looked at Damon. Dias, who was standing behind Damon, shook his head as he looked at Damon and then at the dumbstruck Liam.
'He is playing with my and Liam's old heart.'
"Y-yes, we had a new chef. The previous one was sick, so his son replaced him for his absence," she explained, "I hope the food is to your liking."
"Very much so," he nodded his head as he savoured the steak, "see if you can have him work for us too, along with his father."
"Yes, I will do as you command."
Damon turned back towards Liam, who still had a dumbstruck face. He wiped his hands with a cloth before he took out a scroll from his shirt and passed it to Liam, who took it without any questions asked.
"Is this the will you are talking about?" he asked as he stared at Lia with a playful smile.
It was the same scroll Lawrence had given to Damon before he died. This scroll carried his will, which declared Damon the territory heir.
As Liam read through the will, his face visibly changed colours, and light green mana appeared around his hands.
"Be careful, don't end up destroying it by 'mistake.' You should know what is the punishment for this crime, right?" Damon returned the words Liam had spoken a few moments ago.
Liam controlled his mana as he looked at the scroll in his trembling hands. He placed the scroll on the table before he leaned at the back of his chair.
"Can you pass me the scroll?" Damon looked at Kinis before asking with a small smile.
"Y-yes," she replied with a stutter and handed the scroll back to him.
Once again, the room was filled with silence other than the utensils clanging as Damon ate his food.
"Count Musgrave is supporting me, so unless you want to make an enemy out of him...," as all paths were closed, Liam lay down the last card he had on the table.
Damon paused eating, and once again, the fork played in his hand. He looked up and stared straight at Liam.
"Do you not understand?" he looked at Liam as if he was a fool, "do you think you can become the Baron after the Count helps you? Do you think he would not use it as a chance and assimilate Acheron Barony into his fief? I always thought you had some sense within you, but it seems you are a lost cause."
He looked at Liam as if he was the biggest fool? Why would a Count help him, someone with practically no value in taking the role of Baron? Why wouldn't he use him as a chess piece and through him away once he had control over Acheron Barony?
Acheron Barony was peaceful, but it was not as well developed as other Noble's territories. But it had something that many other territories did not, and that was what Count or any other Noble was after.
"Don't do something which would have no escape. Father may have looked over all the things you did, but I would not. This would be the last time I am going to overlook things. Next time I would do what should be done to someone like you," with that said, he started walking towards the door.
He stopped right in front of it before turning back.
"Don't make me kill my only living family left but do remember that I would not hesitate to do it if you bring snakes into this house. Dias, show them out; they are no longer welcome in this castle. And bring me the food in the office."
Damon walked away, leaving behind Liam and his family along with Dias, who was there to show them the way out.
Liam greeted his teeth as he looked back at what had happened. He thought back and could not help but be angry at his foolishness. Would Lawrence not make a will? How could he have not predicted Liam doing what he did and prepared for it beforehand?
'He played me, dammit it,' he cursed inside his head.
He regretted coming here after listening to Baron Foxridge's suggestion. Now that he thought about it, he was a fool who was played like a pawn in others' hands due to his ambition of being a baron.
'But I still have Count Johnathan Musgrave. He will surely help me,' he told himself.
He had just realized his mistake, but he once again overlooked the possibility that Count Johnathan was using him for his personal use. He took his family and walked out of the castle with that in mind.
"Kinis, make sure you have Count Johnathan's son in your grasp. He is the only way for me to be a count now," he told his daughter.
"Don't worry, father," Kinis replied.
Dias, who was watching them from a distance, sighed while shaking his head.
'He still hasn't learned his lesson; maybe he thinks Lord Damon would forgive him?'
He walked back into the castle and ordered the maids, "bring the food to Lord's office, make sure it is not cold."
With that said, he walked towards the office, following the orders Damon had given previously.
*KNOCK* *KNOCK*
"Come in, Dias."
He opened the door and walked in.
Damon was sitting behind a desk with a pen in his hands and papers spread around him.
"Take a seat," ordered Damon before he asked Dias something that had been bugging him for a while, "Dias, what happened in the dining hall earlier?"
He may not have noticed when he was addressing the crowd, but when it happened in the dining hall, he could easily tell that something mystical had happened without even him knowing. Dias had been with his father much time, so he was sure he might have some answers due to his vast knowledge.
Dias described the events and how an aura that affected his will was released from Damon, making him and others bow down.
He thought for a moment, but he could not remember reading anything related to it in the castle library. He turned towards Dias for an answer.
"Do you know what it was?"
Dias smiled before he explained.
"Even I don't know the full depths of, but I do have a little knowledge of what it is. Your father had the same aura, so one could say that you inherited from it, but from what he told me, it is not something inherent. Rather everyone has this thing called 'Will' inside them. How much we can express depends on an individual. It is also a very rare thing, so rare that according to your father, the number of people who have it in the Kingdom can be counted on one hand. He told me this because he trusted me, but I think you should try to control whatever it is and not show it in public."
Damon went into deep thought as he listened to Dias's words. He had something that a handful of people in the total Kingdom had.
"You can leave; also, make sure we get the food supplies from Baron Foxridge. They are really important," he gave an order, and Dias stood up before bowing and leaving the room.
'What is this exactly? Able to affect someone's will, where they have no choice but to surrender to you?' he thought hard about it, but he did not get any answers, 'I should look into this, but for now, I have more important things to do.'
He returned his focus to the papers on his desk. On one of them was news that would soon shake the whole continent. Lawrence Acheron had left this to his son, and he left the decision of what to do to him.
Damon did not know how his father had obtained this news before it was even known to the public, but he was glad that he knew it.
'What should I do? Should I take part in it or should I stay away from it?' he kept thinking, but he could not come to a decision, 'I am too weak to ignore if I am called. I am too weak to participate as well.'
Sigh.
He gave a small sigh as he looked at the two moons that hung in the sky.
He shook his head and went towards his room, 'I need to gather some strength before deciding. One month and I will awaken. I should start practising from now on.'
After his departure, the room fell in silence. The windows opened as the wind blew, turning the pages on the desk revealing specific news.
'Caresta Kingdom falls under Northern Kraghon Empire, with no surviving member of Royalty alive.'
In the 1678th year of Elion Calander, Caresta Kingdom was destroyed by Kraghon Empire, thus marking the beginning of an era that would later be known as 'The Great Waring Period.'