As he walked down the Emerald palace corridors with his attendant trailing only a step behind him, Reynald quietly sighed as he couldn't decide whether to thank his elder brother or mourn him.
Despite his close relationship with his elder brother, Reynald had never once believed he was fit to be the next Demon Lord. The reason for this was because his elder brother was more focused on becoming the strongest magic swordsman than he was on the family's affairs or future.
It was clear his brother had no intentions of improving anything once he became the next Demon Lord and would rather maintain their family's obsolete traditions, firmly refusing to expand their territory and influence in what he considered an outrageous sense of loyalty to the late Demon King.
Reynald on the other hand didn't particularly care about his family's ties to the Darknar family but didn't particularly oppose the idea either. He also wasn't against most of the family's traditions and was only focused on their ability to make changes if need be and not be held back by his ancient bloodline.
He believes firmly in accepting change and knew their family had no hope of surviving past this generation if they were to remain as passive and strict as always.
He was keenly aware of the family's shortcomings and wasn't as shackled down by his noble bloodline as his older brother to admit it.
Born as the second prince of the Jaxith family, he normally would not have the authority or power to push his family toward change but everything was different now.
His original plan had been to stick to his brother's side as his advisor and confidant to influence his brother's decisions in the right direction for their family's continued survival.
However, with his elder brother missing for months now, he had virtually left him the throne which was the only reason why Reynald could confidently work hard without reserves.
Another big reason was that his brother's stipend now went to him and he now has control over his private legions and elite guards and mage corps. Giving him adequate power to back his newfound authority.
Even his brother's estate, wives, and concubines were now his but Reynald didn't particularly care for used goods that held no tangible benefits for him.
That said, the fact that Crown Prince Andrea's corpse had not yet been found left a hint of unease in his heart. Reynald felt terrible for thinking this way but for the sake of the family, it would be very troublesome if his elder brother had been imprisoned by one of the three attacking families or was hiding in a village somewhere while recovering from his wounds.
Not only would such a thing hamper his plans, but it could also hinder the family's ability to make a move and be forced into a stalemate.
Hence why he had spend a good sum of money in recruiting Hunters to find his brother's corpse. He had even tasked the court magicians with locating the body through divination but their family did not possess a skiled user of spirit magic.
Of course, losing the crown prince was not enough to stop a demon family from attacking but allowing one to be used as a pawn by a lesser-ranked family was a disgrace and would become a permanent stain on their name.
"How troubling... Dear brother, let's hope you do not cause trouble for your family in the future."
Reynald muttered, quietly enough so that the members of his retinue could not hear even with their enhanced senses.
Although he considered his elder brother to be his closest confidant at one time. He wouldn't hesitate to eliminate him if he allows himself to be used against the family no Mather the reason.
Their mother was amongst the oldest current Demon Lords remaining in the demon continent. Someone that has met and served under the late Demon king and was on the verge of passing away due to her fading life force.
So naturally, this was the opportunity he had been waiting for over the years, the opportunity to show his family what he was capable of.
He had made several plans for the future of his precious noble family which included giving up on his aspirations for the thrown and becoming his elder brother's advisor but naturally, one of those plans included a scenario in which things hadn't worked out with his elder brother and he was forced to get rid of him.
Or, something unforeseen like this war had happened which contrary to expectations, was one of his most optimistic scenarios amongst the bunch.
However, in every one of these scenarios, he hadn't predicted the sudden creation of a sixth Great Family. Much less one that had successfully revived the name, Darknar.
Not only that, the sister he hadn't even considered an opponent up till two months ago was now capable of sitting at the same table as him.
'What a joke.'
He really had to avoid agitating the other ranked nobles under the Jaxith family before he could consolidate his position.
Currently, Reynald's backing was still not very secure. He was considered a protege so he had himself in the right position to take over. He also had his brother's multiple legions and personal guards but their allegiance was questionable at best. If his brother were to return right now they will no doubt, abandon his side for his.
As the second son, he only had the right to create a personal guard unit of not more than a hundred men just like everyone else. As such, he would need the backing of the other noble faction to support his rise to the throne if, in fact, his brother was still alive.
After all, he had already surpassed his brother's max potential in the last battle and could not simply give up right now after coming so far so soon.
However, strength alone would no longer guarantee his succession rights especially now that his sister had suddenly attained the support of so many powerhouses in such a short span making get military force, almost comparable to his.
She was the type that would normally attach herself to the masses and was loved by the people so he could tell that she would have the support of their citizens if a succession battle were to take place.
Reynald was speechless at her frightening intellect that seems to come out of nowhere, and like a serpent, she lurked in the shadows, waiting patiently until the perfect time to strike.
He had once considered himself patient for keeping a low profile as he gathered his strength in order to challenge his brother if his original plan wasn't going as well as he wanted. However, his patience paled in comparison to his sister who seems to have taken the world by storm at the precise time.
'How truly fearsome. If only he had pieced together her true nature in time. He might not have been stuck with the moniker of Devious Prince.
Reynald clicked his tongue as he considered what his sister's next move would be. Her expression was always impossible for him to read and with most of his support coming from his brother's forces, he hasn't fully prepared himself to take on any challenges.
Unfortunately for him, Duke Zeik Hal Zinder — one of the highest-ranked nobles under the Jaxith family and the closest noble to becoming an Elder.
He was also one of the first noble Reynald had managed to convince to side with him making him his biggest backer and an ally against his brother with the sole goal of making him the next Demon Lord in order to usher the next era of the Jaxith Family.
He had thrown off Reynald's hand as he reached out to pull him back after his devastating loss during the same battle that had taken away his elder brother, returning to his own territory within the Floato Region.
From what he has heard, it seems the Duke's first son was making his debut in that battle as well but had unfortunately met his end so Reynald could not blame the Duke.
After all, this outcome could not be helped, as he had not only lost his first son, but also many people from his demesne during their outstanding defeat, faced against the combined surprise alliance between three ruling class families.
Their combined defenses didn't stand a chance in front of the families Elders and the city was rapidly taken before anyone could retreat or escape.
Despite the overwhelming victory by the Demon Lord of the Jaxith family having been lured to the eastern border by the presence of another Demon Lord. Their catastrophic defeat in the southwest border still bore a blemish on their names and the loss of the prince placed a heavy toll on his shoulders.
So the last time he saw him, there had been an air around him that seemed to say that he would never be coming back to the capital.
Having also lost his demihuman slave-turned-strategist, a lion kin woman who Zeik had considered a treasure, maybe more.
With so many devastating losses, Reynald would be a fool if he expects him to quickly recover from the mental blows he has received. His desires must've already been broken.
Reynald felt a slight pain pricking at his gut as these thoughts rushed through his mind at breakneck speeds.
As he approaches the end of the corridor, he couldn't help but wonder, could discussing matters with his younger sister soothe that pain? Or would it aggravate it?
He had also been agonizing over a certain problem for the past few days. Ever since he heard the report of the representative they had sent to the Darknar family's first City's opening ceremony.
The report in itself had stumped him, to think sending a demon Earl as a representative was a mistake. That was something even he could not predict. If they had maybe sent a normal demon as a representative, maybe he wouldn't be facing the predicament he was today.
That was ― should he offer a tribute to the Darknar family's Demon Lord? If he did so, should he send them in the name of celebrating the founding of his family? Or as an apology for their representative possible rudeness?
The idea in itself terrified Reynald for some unknown reason. The new Darknar family was an unknown commodity in his equation. The idea that a family capable of rivaling the Great Five could just appear so suddenly was completely ludicrous.
Not to mention, unlike the Great Five, even a family as ancient as the Jaxith family had little to no information on this family which scared him. They were unexpected, unknown, and powerful players that had taken the entire continent by storm and without any information on them, how was he supposed to prepare various plans for dealing with them?
Reynald was the type of person that would rather not act unless he had enough information to prepare a foolproof plan with several contingencies for his opponent.
While he was someone that admired change, he was surprisingly the least willing to accept the concept of unpredictability.
Although the new Darknar Family most likely held no relationship with the original Darknar family, their strength and unknown elements alone make them the demon continents wildcard, and something that they absolutely cannot afford to anger.
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