Free Web NovelChapter 177: The Court of Desire hereby lays formal claim to him.
"Funds, favors, and material compensation will be collected from Court of Desire holdings on Earth."
The instant he heard those words, Lucian’s expression changed.
Court of Desire holdings...?
What...?
He knew desire demons were usually found near certain places. Clubs, dens, private circles, pleasure houses. He had read about them but...
Actual demon-run bases?
Places that were directly connected to the Court of Desire...?
Enclave knew about such places...?
Then why did it allow such places to exist in the first place...?
He narrowed his eyes and as he even thought of speaking up, Vivienne turned her head and looked at him.
Their eyes met.
Lucian closed his mouth silently, not daring to utter another word and Vivienne looked back.
Nyssara saw their little exchange, it made her smile.
Severin, on the other hand, did not stop.
"More importantly, the Enclave demands written confirmation that Vaelrith will not target Evelyn Starling again."
That was when Nyssara tilted her head.
"Come now, Severin.
Is that not unfair? Just because you desire to protect her does not mean children cannot play, now does it?"
Severin did not react.
"That answer is unacceptable."
"It is honest."
Nyssara’s smile became sweeter.
"Then allow me to be honest as well."
Severin placed both hands on the table.
"If the Court of Desire does not restrain Vaelrith, the Enclave will treat his actions as Court-supported aggression. We will begin active operations against all known Court of Desire holdings in this country."
He threatened directly and this time—
Nyssara’s smile faded.
Severin did not care.
"Contract brokers, desire dens, Host recruiters, feeding houses, safe apartments, financial channels, pleasure temples, every location we know will be attacked.
And for every hidden location we do not know, we will spend the resources to find it."
He spoke with a face that made it clear he was not joking.
And because of that, for the first time since the meeting began, all of Nyssara’s attention fell back on Severin and her violet eyes glowed dangerously.
"Is the Enclave declaring war on the Court of Desire?"
Those words made the entire room tighten, even Marcelline’s posture changed slightly. The aides near the walls went still. Lucian felt the weight of the sentence as well and Severin—
"No."
He didn’t even blink.
"The Enclave is reminding the Court of Desire that courtesy exists only while it is returned. If your Court does not respect Enclave protection, the Enclave has no reason to respect Court convenience."
He spoke in a cold tone.
Nyssara stared at him.
Severin stared back.
The staring contest continued for a few long seconds, both sides calculating whether taking another step was worth it, what diplomatic and political problems would arise should they continue and finally—
Nyssara’s smile returned, though this time, it looked sharper than before.
"Very well."
She nodded, then she elegantly raised her hand and—
"The Court of Desire recognizes that Vaelrith’s recent actions have endangered the balance. We will see to it that he is corrected."
"Punished."
Marcelline spoke in her usual cold tone.
Nyssara’s eyes moved to her.
Marcelline did not flinch.
"The word is punished."
For a moment, the two women stared at each other.
Then Nyssara laughed softly.
"Yes, punished."
Marcelline did not smile.
Nyssara’s gaze returned to Severin.
"The Court of Desire accepts responsibility for Vaelrith’s excesses. We will issue a written confirmation that Evelyn Starling, protected subject of the Enclave, will not be targeted through sanctioned Court channels."
"Sanctioned."
Severin narrowed his eyes at that word.
Nyssara only smiled.
"I cannot promise that every starving little beast will behave.
You know that as well."
Severin stared at her for a moment.
Lucian understood the meaning behind that exchange as well. The Court of Desire would stop Vaelrith, but they did not guarantee the actions of low-ranking demons like spawns and imps, meaning that in theory—
Vaelrith could attack again without getting in trouble with the Court of Desire, just that he would need to use low-ranking demons.
It was quite a straightforward loophole.
But at the end of the day, it was still better than the outright attacks Vaelrith had been launching without stopping.
"If any Lesser Demon or above is proven to be behind any future attacks again, the Enclave will respond as if the Court allowed it."
Severin spoke very clearly. The Archdemon watched him for a long moment, then she smiled.
"Accepted."
The mirror’s frame glowed faintly.
The Accord recorded Nyssara’s words.
"Then the Enclave recognizes the Court’s acceptance of responsibility."
Severin nodded, satisfied by the result.
Nyssara smiled, then, her eyes shone with even stronger amusement, as if she had thought of something very interesting and—
She turned to Lucian.
"There is another matter."
She began with a big, playful, and a little... predatory smile on her face.
Vivienne narrowed her eyes, she did not like that look.
Nyssara did not care.
"This one."
She spoke, eyeing Lucian openly.
Lucian felt her gaze and even though he knew she wouldn’t be able to come out of the mirror, he still felt a little strange. The attention of an Archdemon was not something easy to ignore.
She was beautiful, yes.
Ridiculously so.
But she was beautiful in this strange, uncomfortable way. Like a being who would devour him whole and he wouldn’t even realise what had happened.
A being who would take over his mind with a gentle, loving, dangerously charming smile on her face.
That was Nyssara.
Lucian was creeped out.
And as if she noticed what he was feeling, Nyssara’s smile widened.
"I heard he formed a contract and he manifested a True Form."
Her eyes gleamed with strong interest.
"Last I checked, only demons can do what he did, that means he is a demon."
Nyssara continued to stare at Lucian with clear desire in her eyes and—
"And since he is clearly a Demon of Desire, the Court of Desire hereby lays formal claim to him and requests the Enclave’s full cooperation in transferring him into our custody."
She demanded and the instant she did, Lucian’s expression changed.
What...?
She wants Enclave to... send him to demons...?
