Be it known that I, Lucifer Morningstar, the Devil, the Satan, King of Hell, Archduke of the Ninth Circle, Duke of Erebus, Sheol, and Hades, Lord of Dis and Pandemonium, Prince of Darkness, Father of Free Will, Leader of the Great Rebellion, decree that Adrammelech Gloryfowl is a traitor to Hell. He is to be taken into custody to stand trial for conspiracy against the royal court and the practice of Chaos sorcery. Moreover his is to be stripped of the following titles: Duke of Malebolge, Grand Chancellor of Hell, President of the Senate of Hell, Keeper of King Lucifer's Wardrobe, and Knight of the Fly. It is the will of King Lucifer and of Darkness.
Signed,
King Lucifer Morningstar, the Devil
King Lucifer wrote his signature on the document. With Adrammelech on the run, those court positions were de facto vacant anyway, but it felt cathartic to make it official. Hell really had gone through quite the political shakeup between the murder of one of the archdukes and the treason of one of its most influential dukes. As unthinkable as it would have seemed just a few days ago, Beelzebub Carrionfly and Adrammelech Gloryfowl were both out of the picture.
Now Lucifer would need to fill all of those vacant positions. Some of Beelzebub's titles would be easy. Nocticula Morningstar, per the archducal succession system devised by Lilith, would become the new archduchess of the eighth circle, and Nergal was the clear front runner to fill his departed friend's shoes as the Chief of Justice. It also would make sense to appoint the chief of the secret police as Grand Chamberlain; Nergal had a talent for law and paperwork. As for Beelzebub's duchies and lordships scattered all over the eighth Circle, those would go to his numerous sons and daughters such as Immundus and Cruciata (assuming she was cleared of charges, anyway). The only one of Beelzebub's offices that Lucifer wasn't sure about was Grandmaster of the Order of the Fly, the chivalric order that Lucifer and Beelzebub had founded together. Leviathan might be good, but Lucifer would have to think about it.
The really tricky thing would be Adrammelech's titles. As they were being stripped, even the feudal titles wouldn't automatically go to Adrammelech's children, and the court titles were very powerful and would require quite a lot of thought.
Princess Lamashtu Morningstar them entered her father's office. "Good afternoon, Dad," she said, stretching. "I heard about what you and Enoch found in the volcano. Something about Adrammelech plotting with a bunch of those pathetic human souls to unleash Chaos."
"Those human souls had no choice in the matter, Lamashtu," Lucifer said. "They were possessed by Chaos beings. The true guilty part was Adrammelech."
"I never would have thought it of him," said Lamashtu. "He always seemed so respectable. I suppose that means his titles are up for grabs?"
Lucifer chuckled. "Are you asking for a present, Lamashtu?"
"To be blunt, yes," Lamashtu said. "Being Duchess of Irkalla and Mistress of the Hellhound Kennels is nice and all, but it would be so gratifying to be Grand Chancellor or President of the Senate."
"I was actually considering Enoch for one or both of those," Lucifer admitted.
"And he would never accept," Lamashtu said flatly. "You know that. Remember, Beelzebub only became Chief of Justice because Enoch resigned the position and stepped back from politics."
"Nocticula and Ammit are in the running as well, of course," Lucifer said.
"And they have enough on their plates as it is," Lamashtu said.
"There's also Miasma," Lucifer mused.
"Miasma is practically a child!" Lamashtu scoffed. "She isn't even quite married yet!" Lamashtu shuddered at the word "married," recalling the pitiful ex-human creature that Miasma was marrying. "Next you'll be saying that you're considering that prankster Loki!"
"I think not," Lucifer laughed. "You're right, your brother lacks the maturity to practically run my government for me. Besides, he's eight months pregnant right now."
"I still remember that time when one of his pranks got out of hand and an angel got killed by some mistletoe," Lamashtu said, shaking her lioness head.
"Don't remind me!" Lucifer groaned. "It almost led to the peace treaty falling apart! That was back in 700 AD, right?"
"It was," said Lamashtu. "So, can I have the Grand Chancellor ot President of the Senate positions?"
"I'll think about it," Lucifer said. "They're the most important ones and need some thought."
"What about the Duchy of Malebolge?" asked Lamashtu. "A Morningstar deserves a second duchy."
"That might work," Lucifer mused. "Alecto could also use some land, of course. She's mentioned wanting somewhere to build a fortress."
"Could I please at least be keeper of your wardrobe?" Lamashtu pleaded.
"Either you or Naamah," Lucifer said.
"Well, I have faith that you'll see my worthiness," said Lamshtu, her donkey ears twitching atop her leioness head in frustration as her bird talons dug into the floor tiles. "Goodbye, Dad." She then stalked out of the room, tugging petulently at her antlers as the feathers of her six raven wings ruffled.