In Chapter Seventeen of The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli argues that it is better to be feared than loved.

  I, for one, disagree.

  Machiavelli always spoke from the perspective of a Ruler, of power observed from above. He warned that love is fickle, easily abandoned the moment it no longer serves the interests of the people beneath you. And perhaps, in theory, he was right.

  However, the flaw in that reasoning becomes painfully obvious the first time you witness it for yourself.

  When no one meets your eyes. When breathing quiets down to complete silence. When people take a step back or lower their gaze, waiting for you to pass as if they didn't want their sight to draw attention to them, to make themselves small.

  That was not something a man ought to be.

  Machiavelli followed his argument with the supposed reliability of fear, its consistency, and its permanence. ‘Break a man once, and he will never rise against you again.’ A philosophy dressed up in words like ‘justice’ and ‘righteousness’.

  But what people often forget is that those at the top decide what justice is. They define what righteousness looks like. Those at the bottom can only nod in agreement or suffer beneath a system designed to grind them down.

  Fear is not a tool of governance. Fear is a tool of war. Fear is a tool of suffering.

  And those before my eyes saw me as the very essence of it at the moment. Even those who had slept in the same cave as I had. Even those we had rescued, fed, and protected. They would not meet my gaze. They looked at the ground, at the horizon, at anything but me.

  Only four people managed to look at me properly.

  “How is everyone?” I asked, trying and failing spectacularly to lighten the air.

  “Are you alright, Your Grace?” Stevin asked, taking a step toward me as he searched my face. “You… you lost control earlier. But you saved us.”

  “From what I remember, you had to jump away to avoid one of my spikes.” I sighed. “You’re not hurt, are you?”

  “I’m fine,” he said with a smile. “I should not have approached. That was my mistake. Please forgive me.”

  Even after everything that had happened to him, he was smiling. Wearing a facade that no teenage boy should ever have to learn how to wear.

  I assured him there was nothing to forgive, then turned toward the Princess and Craiena. They met my eyes, even if they could only manage a brief nod in return. Years at a Royal Court may have taught them how to look at danger without flinching.

  Even Craiena’s magic was withdrawn, that intoxicating cinnamon-scented Charm Magic held deliberately far from me. They were afraid of me, too.

  That realization didn’t make me feel any better. Not that I felt good in any sense of the word at this very moment, but at least the maddening song that had filled my head earlier was gone.

  In its place, despite the night still clinging to the land, I could feel the last pair of eyes watching me. The most dangerous of them all.

  I turned to meet Relia's eyes. “How are you?”

  “Perhaps I should be asking you that,” she replied, stepping closer. “You moved like the end of the world itself. And that Crown of yours looked… odd. What is it made of?”

  “Another time,” I said quietly before tilting my chin toward the horizon. “You should now rest. The sun will be up soon. I’ll wake you when it’s safe to eat, alright?”

  She sighed, clearly displeased, but nodded all the same. The promise of rest and blood was enough to placate her, for now. That, more than anything else, felt like the only blessing of the night.

  The only achievement I could truly claim was mine was that I had somehow prevented a Cataclysm from unfolding here.

  Relia was far too dangerous to be unleashed freely, especially now that most of her power had returned. The sooner she recovered the rest and returned to her own kingdom, the better.

  For everyone, including my heart.

  “But what happened?” I asked the others the moment Relia’s shadow made its way inside my clothes. Prompting the others to stay silent for a while.

  A while that I did not have at my disposal.

  “Stevin,” I sighed, turning to the youngest and bravest of the bunch. “Can you tell me?”

  “Well…” he muttered, unsure of where to begin.

  By the time the sun crept past the horizon, Stevin had finished speaking as we were making our way toward the ruins of the mansion to regroup with William and what remained of the Second Legion.

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  A carnage littered the field on the front of the estate, but despite the gruesome sight, William, who was now back in his normal form, was laughing and joking around even more so now that he saw the Princess was alive and well. And perhaps because he wasn’t witness to Stevin’s story of what had happened earlier when I lost control.

  “Enna,” I said, turning toward the red-haired woman beside me. “I cannot go on much longer. Could one or some of you go meet up with Melsa and Arther and find out what the Guild wants, or at least tell them to meet us at a later time?”

  “S-Sure,” she stuttered, barely looking my way before trying to move away.

  But I caught her forearm before she could, prompting a small yelp to leave her mouth and making me release her suddenly. It broke my heart for some reason to receive that type of reaction.

  “I will go with her,” Airina added before moving away, leaving only Silvien by my side.

  My voice trembled as I sighed, watching them explain things to the Duchess before they started walking away. “Don’t you want to go with them?”

  But Silvien said nothing to my question, only giving a quiet shake of her head, looking at the ground.

  “Are you afraid of me?” I asked, feeling a deep sadness welling up in my chest. “Silvien, are you afraid of me?”

  “N-No.” she stuttered. “It was just… too much to see at once.”

  For a moment, I closed my eyes and nodded lightly. “Go with them then, take a breath, and recover from this night. I will be fine.”

  She blinked, almost turning her head to me, but I stopped her from doing so when I placed a few coins in her hand.

  “Go. Leave me be.”

  She stared for a moment at the coins, but she didn’t argue further. She just closed her fist around the crowns and rushed to catch up with the other two, leaving me to stand alone near Stevin, his family, the Princess, and those who cared and defended her.

  “Your Grace?” Stevin asked with a whisper, approaching my side after noticing I was alone.

  His eyes traveled to the three women as they walked off the estate grounds and entered the main road toward the city.

  “I am tired,” I sighed. “When I came with you two, I expected something else.”

  “Everyone is tired,” Stevin nodded. “Should we prepare the room you had? The guest mansion seems to be intact still.”

  I shook my head. “No. I think it’s time for me to go back to my Castle. I am not wanted here.”

  It was a sad realization to understand that I, in a singular moment, became an object of fear.

  Yes, it solved many issues, postponing others, and saved lives. But it came at a cost I didn’t want to pay. I lost control of powers I barely attempted to understand, and was as exhausted as I was in the days Julia died.

  The type of exhaustion you know ought to knock you right off your heels, put you to sleep in an instant, but I knew not much sleep would come my way if I attempted to sleep now.

  I had four Directives left. Three about the Fractures abovehead and an optional one about taking the beastfolk to safety. But… I assume they could figure that one out themselves. So I could leave without fear. Go back to the quiet of my Castle, sleep in the bed I had there, sit in the garden of blue and purple flowers, and eat the fruits that waited for me there.

  ‘Ephe,’ I said in my head, ‘I have an ability slot left, right?’

  [Yes.]

  ‘Can you craft me an ability to teleport me back to the Calcan Castle?’

  [Is Elio Certain?]

  [The Custodians and Ephe do Not Recommend this.]

  [The Fractures are-]

  ‘I am certain,’ I interrupted, ‘I can always come back later. Now I need to rest.’

  [...]

  [Understood.]

  [Crafting Initialized.]

  [...]

  [...]

  [Do you Wish to Give Birth to the Law?]

  ‘Yes.’

  [New Ability: Law of Transference]

  [Transference Location Available: Calcan Castle.]

  [Does Elio Wish to Proceed?]

  …

  Do I?

  It was a fair question. It was best if I left, not only for Stevin and his entire entourage, but also for my weird companions, to finally show a normal act in the worst of times. But an act I couldn’t really blame them for. I was afraid of myself, too, to some extent.

  Would it be better if I waited a day? Should I try lying down and sleep on it? See how I feel whenever I wake up? Or should I just go?

  “Your Grace…” Stevin muttered, his eyes matching the emptiness I was looking into as he pulled me back to reality. “You are wanted here. You helped me when I could’ve been dead now. How many does this one make?”

  That silly question made me chuckle lightly. “I stopped counting after the dog-eating part.”

  “Gods, were those dogs good…” he sighed, making me grimace and want to activate my power right then and there, but he continued, “What I wanted to say is that, despite the truly horrific sight of seeing a Vampire Lord really butchering people as if they were nothing, it was still something we knew you could do. Everyone is afraid now because they witnessed what they knew you were capable of, but they also know you have saved them. They are just conflicted between gratitude and horror.”

  “None of what you are saying is actually of any help, did you know that?” I sighed, “Not to mention putting that much accent on the whole ‘horror’ part of the deal…”

  But the idiot only shrugged, “It is the truth, though. It scared me, and it certainly scared everyone else. We pushed you far, and because of that, I feel like I have to ask you to stay. But if you want to leave, Your Grace, then I can only wish you the best of luck.”

  [Ephe recommends that Elio Remains.]

  [Elio is Exhausted.]

  [Elio needs Rest.]

  Well… fuck.

  “What were you saying about that bed?” I asked, turning to the fucker to my left, only to see him grinning before he turned to the others who stood a bit of distance away, talking to themselves.

  I could only sigh, annoyed at yet another stupid decision.

  But it was best to sleep on it then, see how I feel about all that happened in the morning. If I decided to stay, well, at least I now have a way that could take me back to Calcan Castle in an instant. And if not, well, best of luck to them all.

  But now, as Stevin came to take me to my room, as the others averted my gaze until I passed, as my eyes grew heavier with unprocessed feelings I was too tired to understand, I could only pray that I would manage to get some sleep.

  I was no Prince, after all.

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