Morning broke over the imperial capital like a blade of gold, slicing through the fog that clung to the rooftops. From my balcony, I could already feel the city shifting. It wasn't just rumor now. It was movement.
Factions were choosing.
Seraphina stood behind me, wrapping her arms loosely around my waist, resting her cheek against my back. "Everyone's talking about you," she murmured. "Merchants, sects, even the temple emissaries. They don't know whether to fear you… or follow you."
"Most will do both," I said calmly.
"That sounds exhausting."
"For them, maybe."
She smiled faintly. "I like when you talk like that."
By noon, the first envoys arrived.
Small sects. Merchant guilds. Rogue cultivation groups. None powerful alone—but together, they formed the foundation of influence. They were here not because I demanded it…
…but because Kael had frightened them into my arms.
I received them in a private hall rather than the throne room. Power was more convincing when it pretended to be casual.
Mireya stood at my right, arms crossed, intimidating without trying. Liara leaned casually against a pillar, eyes sharp. Seraphina sat beside me, serene and quietly possessive.
One by one, the representatives bowed.
"We wish to cooperate with Your Highness," they said in unison.
"Of course you do," I replied lightly. "Kael is unstable. I am not."
They swallowed.
"Serve me," I continued, "and I will protect your interests. Defy me… and you'll find yourselves standing where Kael now stands. Alone."
Not one of them argued.
When they were gone, Liara exhaled. "You just took half the city without a fight."
"Why fight," I said, "when people are eager to kneel?"
Seraphina smirked. "You're horrible."
"And yet…"
"…and yet I'm proud of you," she admitted.
Mireya watched me thoughtfully. "You didn't even raise your voice."
"I didn't need to. Power speaks for itself."
The tension finally broke when we left the hall and returned to the gardens. Without the eyes of envoys, the atmosphere softened.
Liara immediately stretched and flopped onto a bench. "Ugh. Politics is tiring."
Seraphina nudged her with her foot. "You just like watching him work."
"Can you blame me?"
Mireya leaned against a stone railing, arms folded, but a faint smile tugged at her lips. "It's strange. The more powerful he becomes… the calmer he looks."
I walked between them, letting a hand rest briefly on each of their shoulders. "That's because I'm exactly where I'm meant to be."
Seraphina's eyes softened. "You sound like someone who belongs on a throne."
"I belong wherever you are."
Her cheeks colored.
As the sun set, Kael made his move.
Scouts reported that he had formed an emergency alliance with a mid-tier sect and two mercenary clans. A desperate gamble. A loud one.
I laughed when I heard it.
"He's trying to make noise so people won't hear him drowning."
Mireya's gaze sharpened. "Will you answer?"
"Oh, absolutely."
Seraphina's grip tightened on my sleeve. "Just don't leave us behind."
"I wouldn't dare."
That night, beneath the lanterns of the garden, my harem stayed close. Seraphina leaned against me. Liara teased me. Mireya watched me with growing curiosity and something warmer beneath it.
They didn't see a tyrant.
They saw someone who made them feel chosen.
And that was far more dangerous.