Sam brought the Faerûnian group to the office after Damian texted on their private channel and joined the meeting with them.

Hellstrom, the queen, and even the princess Vesperine. The memo he recived stated there were three more people, Hellstorm, the queen's younger sister, and her two children. A boy of 8 years and a girl of 6. The memo did not mention anything about why they were here; the official reason they gave for the meeting was a business deal.

Of course, Souldealer, Einar, and everyone knew that wasn't the case, but they had refrained from asking questions. One did not come to another country with their whole family just to make deals. Besides, everyone already somewhat knew why.

Damian used mana hands to take fancy glasses and serve special non-alcoholic drinks. Doing such things himself was not bad at all.

Sam and Hellstorm had respective red and blue mana threads attached to their heads.

"Lord Keeper," The queen started.

Damian did not look them in the eyes; he had caught a certain desperation in them when he looked earlier. He did not want people to force pretend emotions for his sake.

"Yes," He replied.

"We have come here to give you Faerunia."

That forced him to look at the widow. The eyes held intensity rarely seen. The look of a wounded animal that did not care about anything other than revenge.

"How?" Damian asked.

"Use me," The princess said. "Uncle and I, with all the transcendents of Sanctuary, a fourth ranker can not face that many powerful warriors."

"That is not the issue," Damian replied.

"The claim of Vearon is false! He is nothing but a murderer! My father must have sought him out to renew their bonds or to ask for help, and instead that beast killed him!" Alex raised his voice uncontrollably as moisture filled his clear blue eyes.

"He did not," Damian replied calmly, "Your vengeance is misguided. Thaddeus Seablaze died in a duel. The sea witnessed it. A duel against me."

The disbelief and shock were not amusing to Damian. No matter what the man was like, to his family, he was a loved one.

He used the silence to describe what had happened. Only not revealing the presence of the sea god or all his many children. Neither did he mention any business with the gods, or Steelweaver and all that. Just that Sea Snake asked for a duel, which was witnessed by. Sam, Vidalia, Vearon, and Landbreaker.

The duel in which Damian killed him.

Before the princess could lose her control like last time, Damian froze her inside a thick wall of coat of seven. She released the explosive wave of water seconds after he completed the seal. Several small wormholes helped to remove the water from inside.

He had to grab the princess's limbs with dark veins to force her to stop.

Alex's face had darkened, but he did not move like his sister and mother. The queen had stood up, staring at Damian with the rage of years in her bloodshot eyes. Hellstorm was the calmest one. The aura leaking was not an issue for Damian anymore.

"I told him not to do it. I asked him to yield. But he was adamant in proving that all my strength came from Landbreaker's support." Damian continued looking straight in the widow's eyes.

Genuine emotions, he will not back down from.

"The sea did not allow any other kind of duel. Only a duel to the death. I will not apologize fighting for my people. The sea asked Vearon to be the judge."

The last sentence widened the widow's eyes. Hellstorm and Alex gritted their teeth. The princess had pure white eyes; it was hard to say if she was crying or angry. These were the people who knew the Sea Snake best. They had seen that unacceptable fire of vengeance in Thaddeus's eyes. Alex had even expressed before that it might be the downfall of his father.

Still with this news weighing down on them, nothing else could be discussed. Damian exchanged a look with Sam and added,

"This is a sanctuary. We protect all who ask for help. Vearon will not have his hands on any of you as long as you remain here. Hurt any of my people, and you will face the Sanctum's judgement. Take all the time you need; you are our guest. I do not need your allegiance or anything. My only hope is that you do not get consumed in the fire of vengeance as your king did."

Sam stood up, gesturing that the meeting had ended. Hellstorm, the queen, and Alex eyed Damian with a storm of emotions on their faces. Just as the three taking their princess reached near the door, Damian added,

"I don't know if you care any longer, but if Vearon won't accept the peace treaty, then Sanctuary will be against Faerunia. All deals between us will be cancelled. That includes waygate points and dungeon access to the nobles. And if the new king decides to march east, Faerunia will lose their king, again."

———

The information he recived from his spy network in Eldoris and Empire had nothing new or alarming. Damian had heard the same reports of discussion and deals for a while now. The joining of Leon and Mealor was not something he expected right now.

But knowing what a scum schemer the sun god was, he wouldn't miss the chance to sow some seeds for the internal issues of Sanctum. Only the Sun Temple was stupid or arrogant enough to lend Leon a hand for whatever it was he had planned.

The door opened, and Souldealer brought the group of red priests and Dawnstar nobles.

Damian could already sense Maelor and Leon. The middle-aged beauty in a dark red robe was the high priest Gloria. She was accompanied by two lower-rank devotees, a young man and a woman. Then two Dawnstar nobles. The youngest son of Duke Layden Varia, the boy who accepted the Emperor as his king. And the youngest boy of the Ashborne family, Grace's youngest brother, a prominent noble who followed Leon and Maelor to Virestone Reach.

Damian could sense a few more people where Souldealer had kept them before coming here. Some mana signatures among them were familiar, like Maelor's little sister.

He had to make additional chairs for the large group.

"Maelor," Damian initiated.

Maelor held no official rank; there were many people present who far outranked him. But Damian and Sanctuary cared not for ranks and noble titles. The change in the eyes of the people present did not go unnoticed.

"Damian," Maelor smiled.

It was a slightly restrained and melancholic smile though. Not something the charming prince was known for in the past.

"The lord of Virestone Reach is Leon, my lord. If you have forgotten." The young ashborn said. Both his eyes and voice held nothing but venom wrapped in pretense politeness.

Damian eyed the young man.

"I do not forget. My cowardly lord of nothing. I simply do not care."

The young Ashborn gritted his teeth and was about to reply when Leon raised his hand and stopped the guy.

"I am here to talk about the dungeons that are on Virestone Reach. You said I will have full control, then you send your officials, and now it's crowded like some common cheap market." Leon stated with neither anger nor overly familiar tone.

Damian raised an eyebrow. But before he could speak, the pretty priest spoke up.

"I assumed the great noble lord of Sanctuary would have at least enough manners to introduce. It's like I do not exist. Hahah.." She chuckled.

"Gloria Jerome Haysin," Damian said, looking straight at her, "Unlike the temple, people in Sanctum do not waste months talking nonsense in the name of formalities and decide nothing in the end anyway."

The surprise in her eyes was laden with slight fear and unknown emotions. Damian moved his eyes toward Leon.

"I said you can use the dungeons as you please. They are not yours to dictate who enters or not. Do they not pay taxes? Do the dungeon challengers not give you a portion of their loot? Isn't that the reason for your fast accumulation of wealth, resulting in armor and supplies for your upcoming suicidal endeavor?"

This time, it was Leon's time to receive the shock. Other than what the Sun God was going to offer as a deal for him to become his follower, there was not a single thing Damian didn't know about all these people gathered here.

"Told you, nothing you will do can be hidden from his eyes," Maelor added from the side.

"Is that against the great laws of your Sanctuary?" Leon asked, defiance clear in his eyes.

"No, go die if that is what you wish. If you survive the emperor's wrath and reach Sanctuary again, I will save you fools again. Only this time, you will be treated as the fools you are, nothing else. Maybe I can use some of you for testing new dungeons."

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