Pfft!
A gush of blood sprayed from Bude's neck.
His eyes widened, and then with a thud, he fell straight down.
At this moment.
Silence once again fell inside and outside the palace.
"General Bude is dead too."
A minister stared with wide eyes, speaking blankly.
The other nobles and ministers were also filled with fear:
"What... what should we do?"
"What... what else can we do..."
Everyone's eyes had already shown subtle changes.
Ultimately.
The entire Empire had been almost completely devoured by Honest.
Among those standing here, where were there any loyal subjects?
Linde walked back into the palace and said indifferently, "From now on, I make the decisions."
"Who agrees, who objects?"
A minister immediately knelt down: "The Empire is corrupt; thanks to Your Excellency and General Esdeath for setting things right."
"Your subject requests His Majesty the Emperor to abdicate."
With one person taking the lead, the remaining ministers and nobles, fearing they would be too slow, had already started taking action.
"You... you all..."
The young Emperor trembled, extended his hand, then rolled his eyes and fainted.
Seeing this, Linde was not surprised.
This was also why he killed the chicken to scare the monkeys.
As for the other ministers, he temporarily had no plans to deal with them.
The Empire still needs people to govern it.
Once it stabilizes,
we can gradually replace them with our own people.
On the other side,
Esdeath ignored the young emperor and the ministers and nobles, and instead began to take over the entire palace guard.
She had some influence in the Imperial Capital.
Replacing some of the generals' positions was more than enough… At 3 PM,
inside the bedchamber,
Linde lay on Esdeath's lap, enjoying her lap pillow service.
"Master, how's the pressure?"
Esdeath's face was full of tenderness as she gently pressed Linde's head with her fingers, massaging him.
Her gentle demeanor made it hard to believe this was the S-domme queen of the battlefield.
"Mmm, just right."
Linde smiled slightly and instructed, "How are those ministers doing?"
"They are all under control. A few had some small schemes, but they have been successfully dealt with."
Esdeath smiled and began to massage Linde's shoulders with both hands, "What about the young emperor? Should he be killed now?"
Linde pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Let him live for now; just keep him under house arrest."
He was taking control of the Empire in this way to avoid trouble.
If the young emperor died,
who knows how many ambitious individuals would find an excuse to directly rebel.
Although all of this was trivial to him,
he didn't want to waste time on such boring matters.
"By the way, do you know about the Imperial Assassination Squad?"
"Yes, Master. Do you want to bring them under your command?"
"No, I'm very interested in one of them named Kurome."
"Easy. Just issue an order for her to come."
Linde sat up, gently tapped her delicate nose, and chuckled, "Not jealous at all?"
"With your abilities, Master, it's natural for you to have multiple women."
Esdeath smiled brightly, her cheeks already flushed crimson.
She took Linde's hand and guided it downwards, "But… Master, you want to get stronger again."
Feeling that softness, Linde's mind began to wander.
"As a Master, I will naturally satisfy the reasonable requests of my Retainer/Subordinates."
... The next day!
In the Imperial Palace's grand hall,
Linde sat on the imperial chair, subtly shifting his body.
"What's wrong, Master?"
"Nothing, I just feel this chair isn't very comfortable."
Linde stood up and stretched.
Countless people yearned to sit on this imperial throne.
In his opinion, it was nothing special.
"Because for you, Master, this mere imperial throne is not worth mentioning at all."
Esdeath spoke as if it were obvious.
In her mind now,
nothing could compare to even a fraction of Linde.
As the two conversed, footsteps were already heard.
A young girl in a sailor uniform appeared before Linde and Esdeath.
The girl had a lovely, pretty face, with beautiful black short hair falling naturally.
Her skin, like white jade, shimmered, outlining a charming silhouette with her black sailor uniform.
"Kurome greets Your Excellency."
Kurome stepped forward and knelt on one knee to salute.
She looked at Linde, a hint of curiosity flashing in her dark eyes.
Although she didn't know much,
she knew that this man had already replaced Honest and become the Empire's de facto controller.
Linde stepped down from the throne and smiled, "Rise, there's no need for such formality."
He glanced at his system panel.
Indeed.
The Demon Contract was glowing, and Kurome also possessed the aptitude to be a Retainer/Subordinate.
Kurome stood up and respectfully said, "May I ask why Your Excellency summoned me?"
"There is indeed something."
Linde looked directly into Kurome's eyes and said, "I want you to become my Retainer/Subordinate."
"???"
Kurome tilted her head.
She couldn't quite understand what this Excellency was saying.
"To put it simply, it's about becoming Master's concubine."
Esdeath, on the other side, explained with a smile.
"Eh eh eh eh eh?"
Kurome's pupils constricted violently, and she gesticulated wildly.
Her pretty face visibly reddened.
Did he… did he want her body?
Kurome felt an unprecedented shyness in her heart.
"Although what Esdeath said isn't entirely wrong, it's not the whole truth."
Linde began to explain carefully.
"So, Lord Linde and General Esdeath are both demons?"
After listening to Linde's explanation, Kurome's expression remained bewildered.
Although she understood every word,
when put together, it was too absurd.
Demons, what?
He must be joking, right?
"Esdeath."
Linde's voice rang out, and with a whoosh, a pair of slender, dark wings extended from Esdeath's back.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The airflow ruffled Kurome's skirt.
Mmm… it was also black.
From Linde's angle, he could clearly see under Kurome's skirt.
"Ah—"
Kurome immediately reacted, almost instinctively clamping her skirt between her legs.