'W-what is this? Lord Vani moved his chair himself?'
'Did he... greet us back?'
'He didn't complain about something before sitting down?!'
All three women were puzzled and speechless.
[They look frightened at your unexpected behavior.]
'I know. If I ignore it, it will surely pass. Probably,' Vani thought to himself.
He then looked at them.
"Why are you still standing? Sit."
"Y-yes, my lord."
They both sat down.
"You as well, Alice."
He spoke again.
Somehow, this time they looked even more shocked—so much so that they glanced at each other, their eyeballs nearly popping out.
"I-I'm sorry, I don't think I heard that right, my lord. Please repeat that?"
Alice lowered her back to whisper close to his ear.
To which Vani responded,
"No, you heard right. Here, sit on the chair right next to me."
His response once again rippled shock through them as they gave each other terrified glances.
Was Lord Vani treating Alice nicely because he wanted to kill her?
Alice, scared, calmly sat down on the chair.
Once she was seated, she could only stare at the table, terribly afraid of what fate had in store for her.
Then, Vani spoke again.
"You may begin."
Rebecca, who was once excited to eat her food, now sat there, frightened.
She grabbed her fork, reluctant to take a single bite.
The same went for Terra.
Meanwhile...
[Your subjects are terrified of you.]
[You have gained 20 evil points.]
'Thanks for the vote of confidence.'
Vani sighed inwardly, slyly looking at his two sisters as they were forcing the food down their throats.
Though they bore the title of sisters, they were not actually related to him.
In this world, little sisters are titles given to women who have earned the trust of a ruling monarch/king. The same went for other titles such as daughters and wives.
While sister was solely a path of loyalty, daughter was more of a deeper connection, often linked with a master-servant relationship.
'Not that that matters though; these people are certainly afraid of me. That's the only meaningful relationship I have with them.'
His gaze soon fell on his food.
Three dishes were merged together.
On one plate, slices of meat.
On another was a bowl of sauce.
And then the abomination, a plate filled with eyeballs and guts.
This is what demons eat, and while the former Vani would have eaten it with grace, the current Vani was not interested.
'Maybe I'll start by introducing a new menu of dishes to them. Eating this will make me die a second time.'
He pushed his fingers to the side of the plate and then moved it toward Alice.
"There, you can eat that."
Alice's face turned red at the offer, waving her hands frantically.
"I could never accept food meant for my lord; even my death cannot atone for such an action."
'Dude, it's just food.'
Vani maintained his composure.
"Take it, I insist."
Rebecca and Terra had their eyes glued to them; they were certain it was going to be Alice's last breakfast.
"Thank you, my lord." Alice steeled herself and pulled the food closer to start eating.
'There we go. Not that hard.' Vani smiled slightly.
[Alice feels grateful for the food. Look at you, being all generous.]
[You have gained 50 good points.]
'Your voice pisses me off.'
Vani began eating the hard meat with the sauce.
Halfway through, he realized something.
One person was missing from the table.
'Where is Sisha?' he asked.
Sisha was the leader of the snake people army, and she was indeed his daughter and the strongest soldier in the entire nation—nicknamed the Dancing Viper.
Actually, of everyone, she was the only one who had even the least bit of hope for him.
Hearing the question, Terra chose to answer.
"She is battling in the northern region. The lizard men are choosing to attack in a week's time. She intends to ambush them there."
"For real? I have no knowledge of this war," said Vani.
Alice chimed in,
"Your Lordship doesn't meddle with war affairs; it's understandable."
'True. Vani is such an idiot, gah!'
Slowly, Vani placed his meat on the plate.
"What are they attacking us for? We are demons, no? Even if from different nations, we still share similar heritage."
Everyone was quiet, staring at him with absolute shock.
[Wow, look at them, stunned that their lord would bother asking details about a war.]
'Shu—nah, actually, you're right. This can't go on like this. That leaves me with no other choice.'
Suddenly, Vani rested both his hands on the table.
"I had a dream."
The single sentence that left his mouth sent a thick aura that hastily enveloped the entire dining room.
In a single motion, they all turned their gazes away from Vani and looked dead at the table.
In that moment, they knew looking directly at him would most likely explode their hearts or cause them to fall unconscious.
They all wondered, why was Lord Vani angered?
Then his next words came:
"I had a dream that this nation crumbled under my leadership, and because of that, not only did you all betray me, but I was forced to be a slave as well.
That can never happen, and I refuse to be a slave to anyone. As such, I have decided to take my nation seriously and grow it to be the strongest, so no other nation would try and mess with me. Would you deny me this destiny by doubting me, or do you intend to watch this nation burn so you can betray me?"
"I will never betray you, my lord; please forgive my arrogance!" yelled Rebecca.
"M-me too, I beg your forgiveness," Terra followed.
"I as well," said Alice.
"Good. Now that we have that settled, tell me the reason for the war." Vani threw in a warm smile.
[Lying really suits you. I can't lie.]
Gulping down her saliva, it took a moment for Terra to fully grasp what Lord Vani had just told her.
'The demon king is going to start paying attention to the Nation of Darkin? This is a miracle more than it's news. I—I need to make sure I give a good report.'
Terra said in her mind before looking at Vani.
"This is the reason for the war, my lord."